Ghost Agents: Retribution (The Ghost Agents Trilogy) by Nita DeBorde | Character Guest Post

(Part 1 – Père Lachaise Cemetery)

“Claire, thank you so much for letting me come along with you tonight.”

The nervous young agent recruit checked their surroundings as they prepared to exit the car.

“No problem at all, Hugo,” Claire assured him with a smile. “Your cousin, Sophie, is a good friend and I would do anything for her.”

“Me too,” the young man said with a smile. “She is the reason I wanted to be a Bureau agent in the first place.”

They exited the car and made their way toward the entrance of the Père Lachaise cemetery.

“You know,” Claire told him as they approached the gate. “She really believes in you. She told me just yesterday that she thinks you have the potential to be a great agent.”

Hugo let out a heavy breath. “I hope she is right. I do not want to let her down, but this last two weeks of agent training has been rough.”

Claire gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. “I promise it will get easier.”

She pushed the gate open and led the way inside. Though the cemetery had officially been closed to tourists for the last several hours, Bureau leadership had arranged for a handful of agents to be on site.

“So,” Hugo asked as they made their way up the cobblestone path, “why are there so many agents meeting here tonight?”

“Well, as you know, today is November 1… la Toussaint.”

“Yes.” Hugo motioned to the bouquets of chrysanthemums that adorned almost every grave marker in the massive cemetery. “This is the day when we French remember and honor our loved ones who have passed away. My family visits multiple cemeteries every year to lay flowers.”

Claire smiled. “It’s a beautiful tradition for the living.” She paused in the middle of the walkway. “But for energy projections, this holiday is even more significant. It’s their biggest celebration of the year, essentially mixing the revelry of Mardi Gras with the joy and excitement of Christmas.”

“Why is that?”

Claire smiled again. “I’ll let them tell you.” With a wink, she started back up the path.

“I am surprised we have not encountered any projections yet,” Hugo commented with a slight frown. “With a cemetery this size, I thought we would have met several already.”

“Just wait,” Claire assured him.

As if on cue, the sound of cheering rose up from somewhere in front of them. A few moments later, a chorus of voices singing a beautiful, haunting melody floated through the stillness of the cemetery.

They followed the sound. As they approached the source of the singing, Claire reached out a hand, urging Hugo to slow his pace. A half dozen agents had already gathered at the location. Several of them greeted Claire with a smile before turning their attention back to the reason for their presence there.

A few feet away, a large group of energy projections was gathered around one of the ornate grave markers, on top of which stood a translucent figure dressed in a waistcoat with long tails and a top hat. His hands moved gracefully as if he were conducting a massive symphony. All around him, the energy projections lifted their voices and swayed with the rhythm of the Irish folk song My Gentle Harp, a tune which was later used for the more well-known song O, Danny Boy.

As the final notes of the song’s last refrain faded into the night, the “conductor” held his hands in the air triumphantly, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd of projections around him. As he stepped down off his makeshift conductor’s stand, he spotted the group of Bureau agents.

“Claire!” he called out enthusiastically, then hesitated before adding, “And other lovely people whose faces and names I do not remember…”

As the projection headed in their direction, the other agents dispersed, moving through the crowd to conduct their regular wellness checks, a necessary part of every Bureau agent’s job.

“Oscar,” Claire said as the translucent figure approached, “I’d like you to meet Hugo Laurent. He’s a new agent recruit in the middle of his agent training.” She paused. “And he’s Sophie’s cousin.”

Oscar tipped his top hat in greeting then planted a kiss on each of Claire’s cheeks.

“Ah, Sophie,” he said, placing a hand over his heart. “Such a lovely soul.” He scanned their surroundings. “Is she here tonight?”

Claire shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. There was a situation at the Montparnasse Cemetery that she needed to tend to.”

Oscar frowned deeply. “Those miscreants at Montparnasse…”

Claire chuckled then turned to address her charge for that evening.

“Hugo, please let me introduce you to the famous author, playwright, and poet, Oscar Wilde.”

Oscar gave a gentlemanly bow. “Oh, I think ‘famous’ might be a bit of a stretch…Infamous perhaps.” He affectionately touched Claire’s cheek then gave Hugo a once over. “A new agent, eh? Young man, might I inquire as to which acumens you possess?”

Hugo cleared his throat nervously. “Well, sir, I possess Sensory Acumen and Communicative Acumen, as well as Affective Acumen.”

Oscar nodded. “A well-rounded arsenal for a Bureau agent, I must say.” He gave Claire a knowing smile. “And Affective Acumen. How lucky for him on Toussaint. He can join in the revelry.”

Claire nodded. “Indeed, which is one of the reasons Sophie and I thought tonight would be the perfect time to get him out in the field.”

Oscar closed his eyes and spread his arms wide. “Ah, yes, Toussaint. This most glorious day of the year, when the livings make our job so much easier by remembering and celebrating our history for us.”

Claire extended her hand in Hugo’s direction. “That answers your question from earlier.”

With a dramatic wave, Oscar opened his eyes and turned back toward the group of projections behind him. “Jim!” he called out, “Come join us for a moment.”

The translucent form of a young man with shoulder-length hair looked their way. Oscar motioned for him to come over, and the young man complied, though clearly he was in no hurry to do so.

As the projection slowly approached, Hugo leaned over and whispered to Claire, “Is that Jim Morrison?”

Claire nodded. “The one and only.”

Hugo’s eyes grew wide.

“Jim, look what Claire has brought us,” Oscar said to his fellow projection. “it’s a new Bureau agent who has come to join in our Toussaint celebration.”

Jim studied Hugo with a keen eye. “Bitchin’.” He nodded to Claire. “It’s good that you brought him here. We all need a reminder that no one gets out of this life alive.”

“Mr. Morrison,” Hugo spoke up, finally finding his voice. “I just want to tell you I’m a huge fan of your music.”

Jim’s smile was subdued as he floated toward the young man. He put a hand on Hugo’s shoulder, causing him to shutter involuntarily from the chill that undoubtedly spread through his entire body.

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are,” Jim said, giving Hugo’s shoulder a squeeze. “If you trade in your reality for a role, you give up your ability to feel and in exchange put on a mask.”

Hugo hesitated, clearly uncertain how to respond. “Thank you, Mr. Morrison,” he eventually said. “That’s very deep advice.”

Jim gave a sincere nod, satisfied that his work was accomplished, then turned and floated back to stand next to Oscar.

“Jim is indeed very deep,” Oscar remarked. “His poetic soul is always ready to share profound nuggets of truth with anyone who will listen.” He smiled at his friend. “We are kindred spirits in that way.”

Another cheer rose up from the gathering of projections behind them, drawing Oscar’s and Jim’s attention.

“Well,” Claire said, taking her cue, “we won’t keep you from your Toussaint celebration any longer. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us.”

Jim floated away but Oscar stayed behind.

“Of course, my dear.” He gave another stately bow and a nod to Hugo before kissing Claire one more time on each cheek. He motioned to the cemetery around them as he floated off to join the other projections in their revelry. “Anytime you need us, you know where to find us.”