James Brighton Society, Chapter 4: Pages 3-4

Page 3, 6 Panels- Capt. Lennox's Office/Front Entrance, D.C. Metro Police Precinct, Georgetown

Panel 1: Back to Tasha a second later, standing a few steps away from the front of the desk. She extends the folders in her hand forward toward her superior, desperately pleading her case to the Captain. You can barely see the front door to the office in the background along with most of the office

DET. RANDOLPH [pleading her case, to Capt. Lennox]: And I am, sir. But I think there is something incredibly suspicious here. We have an obligation to the public to follow through this--

Panel 2-3: A two-part set of panels that focuses back on the Captain, now exasperated by the Detective's persistence. In Panel 2, he stands up from his chair, slamming his hand down on the desk in frustration. In the next panel, the Captain moves around the left edge of the desk toward his subordinate to confront her.

CAPT. LENNOX [interjecting with an increased level of force, Panel 2]: You are meddling in forces you cannot possibly understand, little girl! Forces that not even your little friend the Chief will be able to shield you from. CAPT. LENNOX [Cont., calmer yet still intimidating; Panel 3]: So, unless you want to keep your job...I recommend keeping your mouth shut and following what the Twins gave us on suspects there. CAPT. LENNOX [Panel 3, Bubble 2]: You can start with the Mech neighborhood there provide a little "tender touch" to the bucket heads. You Latins are good at that...

Panel 4: Action shot a handful of seconds later, showing him laying what he believes is a comforting gesture. Though looking at the body language from Tasha at that point, she is keeping her composure by the very faintest of edges at that point. The background behind her consists mostly of the wall to the left and the ceiling above.

CAPT. LENNOX [Cont., to Det. Randolph]: Right? DET. RANDOLPH [thought bubble]: ...Jackass! DET. RANDOLPH [actual speech, to Capt. Lennox]: Yes, sir!

Panel 5: We move to an action shot from outside the office door, showing the good Detective slamming out in a mode of visible frustration as the Captain (visible in the background over her left shoulder) can be seen turning around and returning to his work.

DET. RANDOLPH [thought bubble]: I may get canned for this. But fuck it--I can't let the Society get away with whatever they're planning.

Panel 6: Cut to the front of the precinct's office a minute later. We see Officer Reese glance up from a collection of papers in front of him just as the Detective is approaching him. The young man looks out and flashes a subtle grin, knowing precisely what's about to happen next.

DET. RANDOLPH [Cont., Off-Panel caption]: "Even if the victim couldn't give any less of a shit about me!" OFFICER REESE [to Det. Randolph]: How was the meeting with the Captain?

Page 4, 5 Panels- Front Entrance, D.C. Metro Police Precinct, Georgetown

Panel 1: We move to a shot of Tasha standing a few steps behind the desk, looking over in the direction of her friend. She situates her jacket onto her body at that moment, shaking her head at the question. You can see a cop walking behind her in the background with a suspect in front in handcuffs.

DET. RANDOLPH [frustrated sigh, to Officer Reese]: Quick and fruitless. He told me to head off to Navy Yard to find suspects in Brennan's death using the Twins notes.

Panel 2: Back to Reese who gives her a sympathetic glance in regards to her plight. He leans forward slightly on the desk toward his friend, placing his hand gently on top of some of the papers.

OFFICER REESE [sympathetic]: Damn...sorry to hear that! What are you gonna do?

Panel 3-4: A two-part set of panels that centers back on the good Detective in the same setting and layout to what we saw at the top of the page. In Panel 3, she grins slyly, already knowing the answer to that question before she says it. In the next panel, a split second later, Tasha tilts her head toward the right in the direction of the door in a subtle gesture of joining her.

DET. RANDOLPH [calmly, to Officer Reese; Panel 3]: I'm going to Capitol Hill, of course. 'Cause what's at stake here is... DET. RANDOLPH [correcting, realizing she's about to say more than she's ready to admit; Panel 3, Bubble 2]: Not worth explaining right now. DET. RANDOLPH [Panel 4]: You wanna come with me?

Panel 5: Back to the Officer in the same setting and layout that we saw in Panel 3. He looks intrigued by the offer. His right hand that was on the counter starts to slide off toward the far edge of the desk as he speaks.

OFFICER REESE [intrigued, to Det. Randolph]: What about that occult PI with the weird name you were with in Woodland, Grem?