En Route to Loch Ness

You can hardly contain your excitement as you and Pops begin the descent into Scotland. It's been a LONG flight (well over 12 hours) and you're jonesing to get out of your cramped seat and start 'rocking' the 'lochs'. Pops snores quietly to your right in the middle seat as you stare out the window at the gorgeous landscape of Scotland below. It only makes sense to get this crazy expedition started with the Loch where it all began, <A href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Ness">Loch Ness!</a> This loch is about 23 miles long and is staggeringly deep at about 755 feet deep. Any number of strange creatures could lurk near the bottom of this DEEP loch. Allegedly, more people have been to the surface of the moon than the bottom of Loch Ness. The plane hits some rough air on the descent which causes it to bounce around fitfully. Pops adjusts his position and begins muttering fitfully in his sleep. [[Continue.]]

'What the....what is that thing? Mommy...wha...what is that?' Pops mutters in his sleep. You smile to yourself. It sounds like he's dreaming about his experience at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Champlain">Lake Champlain</a>. Pops saw <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Champlain#%22Champ%22,_Lake_Champlain_monster">'something'</a> at the lake when he was a kid. It changed him forever. He wouldn't be hunting cryptids today if it wasn't for that experience. The plane bumps angrily as it hits another patch of rough air and Pops is jolted awake from his dream. His eyes snap open and he quickly glances to his left at you. 'Everything ok, kid?' He asks. 'We're all good, Pops. Just descending into Scotland. You OK?' You reply. [[Continue.|Descent]]

'Yeah. Just having a bit of a dream.' Pops says. 'I noticed. Let me guess, did it involve <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Champlain#%22Champ%22,_Lake_Champlain_monster">Champ?'</a> You inquire. 'Ha. You're a sharp one, Jess. I knew there was a reason I brought you along with me on this expedition.' 'And here I thought you were bringing me along because of my gift of ghostly gabbing!' You reply. [[Continue.|Scotland]]

'Hmm...I'm not sure if your gift for connecting with the undead will be terribly useful on this one, but you never know! Maybe there's a spirit or two that can help point us in the direction of Nessie?' Pops replies. 'Well, I'm at your disposal, Pops. I'll be your research assistant, your ghost whisperer, or whatever else you might need on this trip.' Pops reaches over and gives your shoulder a warm squeeze. 'Thanks, kid. It's great to have you by my side on this one. I'd prefer your Mom's company, but my daughter will do just fine.' He says with a wink. You push his hand off your shoulder and give him a gentle punch in the gut. 'HEY!! Watch it, old man!' [[Continue.|Flight lands.]]

'Go easy on me, Jess. I'm getting a bit brittle in my old age!' Pops exclaims. 'Do I intimidate the almighty Daniel 'Danger' Cohen?' You reply. 'I never claimed 'danger' was my middle name. That was just some silly nickname the media came up with when I ran afoul of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Devil">Jersey Devil</a> all those years ago. This being said, you do intimidate a bit.' He replies. 'Well, I must get it from Mom.' 'Yeah, I suppose you do. She intimidated the hell out of me back in the day. But, she also cast a spell on me. I couldn't resist her charms. Fear be damned, I had to ask her out.' 'Fortune favors the bold, right?' You reply. 'You got that right, Jess! [[Continue.|Exit plane]]

After enduring a few more minutes of bumpy air, the plane lands safely on the runway at Inverness Airport in Scotland. Just a few miles Southwest of here is Loch Ness! You and Pops slowly disembark the plane and retrieve your luggage. The agent who represents Pops has lined up a ride for both of you. You make your way outside and see a driver holding up a sign that says, 'Daniel Cohen'. [[Continue.|Enter Car]]

Pops waves at the driver and you make your way towards the luxury car that will be taking you to Loch Ness. 'Pops! Are you kidding me? Your agent hooked us up with a sweet ride!' You exclaim. 'Well. Apparently, Daniel 'Danger' Cohen is a bigger deal than we thought, Jess.' Pops says with a wink. The two of you enter the car and the driver closes the door snugly behind you. The driver opens his door and assumes the position behind the wheel. A man with black, slicked back hair sits in the passenger seat in front. He slowly turns back towards you with a grim look on his face. He reeks of bad news. [[Continue.|Meet Ironside]]

'Nice to meet you, Daniel. I presume this is your daughter, Jess?' You glance nervously at Pops. He gives you a similarly nervous look in return. 'Uhh, yes. Do I know you?' Pops replies. The mans face softens a bit and a faint smile creeps over his face. 'You don't. I'm Slade Ironside. I head up a government agency called Neptune. We explore underwater anomalies. We understand you've been working on something that may be of use to us. You call it the SIREN, right?' You give Pops a look of incredulity. How the hell does this guy know about the SIREN? [[Continue.|The Siren]]

'How do you know about the SIREN?' Pops asks. 'It's really not important how we know what we know, Daniel. We just know things. Did you bring the SIREN with you?' Slade asks. 'Yeah. I brought it. But, it's a prototype. It's barely been tested.' 'But, it works, right?' Slade responds. 'I've been able to communicate with a few fish, that's about it.' 'That's all that matters. We can help you if you help us.' Slade says. [[Continue.|End En Route]]

'I don't know about this. My agent didn't tell me anything about you.' Pops replies. 'We're offering to significantly enhance your deal. We'll double your contract and you'll likely have something much more compelling to write about. It's also not unlikely we'll engage you for future jobs if you help us.' Pops glances over at you. He's doing his best to maintain a poker face, but you can see a melange of anxiety, excitement, and fear in his eyes. It's been awhile since Pop's penned a best-seller...too long his agent would say. 'Jess is coming with us. Or, I'm not doing the deal.' Pops replies. 'Not a problem. Shall we proceed to our base of operations at Loch Ness? We've discovered something we need your help with immediately.' Slade says with a thin smile. [[Continue.|End]]

'I assume it has something to do with Nessie?' Pops inquires. 'It does. But, we're onto something much bigger than just Nessie. We may be onto something that will change things forever.' Slade replies. Slade motions to the driver and he slowly pulls the car away from the curb. It's hard to fathom what could possibly be bigger than uncovering definitive proof of Nessie. But, you and Pops are about to find out. To be continued.....