were beneath him, and began to check out the scene. BPRD file said the rock was at least five hundred pounds, Hellboy thought, stroking his chin. Whoever took it needed some heavy machinery, or was pretty damn strong.
He stood up, looking around for any signs that a machine had been driven across the yard, but found nothing. The lawn was intact.
Kramer stood shivering with the Graken legions.
"You heard nothing," Hellboy said to him again, hoping to jar some memory that might give him something to work with.
The man shook his head as he blew hot breath into his cupped hands. "Not a sound."
Hellboy turned his attention to the Graken Spriggin. "And I suppose you guys didn't hear or see anything either?"
The creatures were silent, helplessness etched on their homely faces.
"Evil is afoot," King Seamus said, slowly nodding his large head. "'Tis dark magick that took our mother."
"Y'know what, Tiny," Hellboy said, gazing up into the gray winter sky, at the cawing crows circling above. "You just might be right."
Hellboy reached across the meeting table for a bagel. "Does this look like cinnamon raisin to you?"
Abe Sapien popped a piece of lox into his mouth and started to chew. "Either that or chocolate chip," he said after he'd swallowed. He brought a napkin to his mouth. No talking with his mouth full for Abe.
The amphibious BPRD agent had excellent manners.
"Whatever." Hellboy cut the bagel in half with a knife. Breakfast meetings with actual breakfast weren't the norm at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, but every once in a while the suits tossed a bone to the grunts--to keep morale up and all. Hellboy wasn't complaining; he was starved.
"Is there any cream cheese?"
Kate Corrigan, the assistant director of field operations, looked up from her notes long enough to pluck a small container of cream cheese from the tray in the table's center and slide it over to him.
"Hey, H.B.," Liz Sherman called from across the table, where she sat slumped in her chair, hands clasped in a death grip around a steaming mug of coffee. "Hear you kept us from going to war yesterday."
Hellboy thanked Kate and glanced at Liz, petite and pretty, dark circles under her eyes from too little sleep.
"Yeah, I guess," he said as he slathered his bagel with the cream cheese. "Had a tribe of Graken Spriggin up in arms over in Plymouth 'cause a statue of their mother got ripped off."
"Graken Spriggin," Abe repeated, pretending to shiver with revulsion as he helped himself to more of the raw salmon. "They are a nasty bunch."
"Yeah, real sweethearts," Hellboy agreed, around a mouthful of bagel.
"So what'd you do?" Liz asked, taking a sip from her coffee.
"Good question," Kate said, setting her pen down. "Considering that I don't have a report on the case yet."
"You look particularly stunning this morning, Kate," Hellboy said as he wiped cream cheese from the corner of his mouth. "That a new blouse you're wearing?"
She smirked. "Yeah, like you'd really notice. Keep this up, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Manning take you out of the field until your paperwork's caught up."
"Ouch!" Hellboy grimaced.
"So where is Tom this morning?" Abe asked, expertly diverting the subject.
Good one, Abe. I can always count on you.
"Yeah, where is he?" Hellboy joined in. It wasn't like the Director to be absent from a morning meeting. "Surprised not to see our fearless leader, especially with the grub and all."
"The Director's running a little late, I guess," Kate said, quickly glancing at her watch before picking up her pen and removing the cap. "So, who wants to start?"
Liz sat forward in her chair. "Now, hold on. I hate cliffhangers. Is Hellboy going to tell us how he kept the Graken from going on the warpath or not?"
She reached for the carafe of coffee and refreshed her cup.
Hellboy spread what remained of the cream cheese on the other half of his bagel. "I promised 'em I'd bring their boulder back, and then I had to swear on a sacred woodchuck."
Abe stared with dark, glistening eyes. "Sacred woodchuck?"
Hellboy shrugged, mouth full. "Could'a been a weasel, I guess."
Liz stared at him. "You're making that up."
"Would I do that? It'll be in the report."
"And if you can't bring this rock back, what then?" Liz asked.
He finished chewing and swallowed. "Then the Graken Spriggin will lay siege to the world."
Kate sighed, picking up her notepad and turning to a fresh page. "So what've we got, people? Should we be worried?" She looked around