Haunting

The next morning Addyson woke to the smell of waffles and pancakes, and to the smell of something burning.

Freaking out, she jumped out of the bed and ran down the hall to the kitchen, only to see Barry trying to cook breakfast.

When he saw her standing there, he sheepishly smiled at her, "Ay, good mornin' lass."

Addyson smiled, "Mornin' dear brother. What are ya' burnin'?"

"The damn eggs. I was tryin' ta cook ya breakfast."

She smiled, "Ya didn't have ta, ya know."

"Deal with it."

Addyson laughed, "Whatever ya say brother."

He quickly handed her a plate practically full with waffles and pancakes.

She stared at the plate and back to him.

"What's the matter?"

She looked at him like he was crazy, "Do ya really expect me ta eat all o' this?"

He nodded.

"Whatever ya don't finish I'll eat."

A few minutes later all that was left on her plate was a tall stack of pancakes.

"Now I feel like a cow!"

Barry smiled and pulled the plate over to him, "I forgot ya couldn't eat many pancakes. Always were a waffle lass."

She smiled, "I'm goin' ta get myself a shower. Do ya need to meet the T.A.P.S guys at a certain time?"

Barry nodded, "Yah, actually I do. They said ta meet them at their offices in Warwick. Is that far from 'ere?"

"Nah, it's only about twenty minutes or so."

He nodded again, "Ight, now go get ya shower. I'll clean up the kitchen and then get one myself, and we can head out that way.
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As Addyson stepped out of the shower and walked into her closet, she gathered a few articles of clothing and quickly got dressed.

She walked past the bathroom and heard Barry let out a small cry of pain as, no doubt, the hot water hit him quickly.

Laughing she continued her way down the hall to the now smoke free, and completely spotless kitchen.

She plopped onto the couch and turned the television onto TBS and watched a few old episode of Home Improvement.

She heard the bathroom door open and turned to see Barry shuffle his way into the guest room.

She grew immersed in the show and didn't realize Barry standing behind her, staring at the television in confusion.

"Ay, what are ya watchin'?" Barry asked, a weird look on his face.

"It's called Home Improvement. It's a pretty funny show actually. I bet ya'd like it."

Barry shook his head, "Ya, sure. Com'on let's get goin'."

Addyson turned off the television and grabbed her keys off the counter.

Barry stepped out of the door, groaning.

"I forgot about the damn stairs!"

Addyson let out a laugh, and started down the stairs, skipping steps.
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When Barry finally made it to the bottom and out to the car, Addyson was already inside, buckled up, and ready to go.

"Ya have too much energy lass," He exclaimed shaking his head in disbelief.

Addyson quickly glanced at him as she turned onto the main road, "Never in a million years."

As they drove down the highway, Barry flicked between radio stations constantly, never fully listening to a song.

"Barry, will ya please pick a bloody song, and listen' ta it?" Addyson cried as he moved to change the station.

He gave her an evil glare and sat back in the seat.

"Thank ya."

Soon the Warwick exit appeared and they took a left at the light.

They soon found themselves within the town limits of Warwick and instantly spotted the T.A.P.S Headquarters, on a small side street.

Addyson parked her car a feet feet from the door, and carefully exited.

When she made her way to the curb, Barry was rushing her to the front door.

"Com'on lass, I don't wanna keep them waitin'."

Addyson huffed, "I'm comin', take a chill pill, will ya?"

He pushed open the door, and grabbed her arm, pulling her in closely behind him.

As they walked in they saw a young woman, with dark brown hair sitting at the front desk, bent over a notebook and manila folder.

"Ay, young lass."

The lady jumped about two feet into the air, and took a deep breath when she saw Barry's familiar face.

"Barry, holy crap. You scared me half to death."

Barry chortled, "I'm sorry dear. I want ya ta meet my sister."

Addyson poked her head around Barry's shoulder, giving the girl a smile and a slight wave.

"Addyson, this is Kris, the T.A.P.S. case manager. Kris, this is my wee sis Addyson."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Kris said as she extended her hand to Addyson.

Addyson smiled back, and shook her hand, "It's nice ta meet ya too."

"Now, are the boys 'round?"

Kris nodded, "Steve and Tango are in the back room unpacking, and Grant and Jason are in their offices."

"Alright, thanks dear."

He took off towards the back of the building, Addyson close in tow.

They came to an office where a plaque with the words, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson was hung on the door.

Barry knocked sharply on the door and a chorus of 'Come in' was heard.

He slowly pushed the door open, still pulling Addyson along.

When they entered the room, two men in their late thirties were sitting at two seperate desks.

Barry cleared his throat, and both men looked up at him.

"Hey Barry! Glad to see you could make it out this way." The man on their left said as he stood up to shake Barry's hand.

He looked to be about 6'0, semi pot-bellied, but yet muscular and was completely bald, shaven or natural, Addyson couldn't tell.

Barry nodded, "Ya know I'd do anything ta help ya."

The other man stood too, and slapped Barry on the back a few times.

"Good to see you. We sure are glad we have someone like you to help us out."

He was a little shorter than the other man and was very skinny, with short blackish brown hair.

"Oi, guys I would like ya ta meet me sister, Addyson."

Barry moved out of the way, and Addyson smiled brightly to both men as they extended their hands and introduced themselves.

"I'm Jason. I pretty much run everything around here." The tall man added before he sat back down.

The other guy laughed, and shook her hand, "I'm Grant. I pretty much run everything that Jason doesn't want to deal with."

Jason glared at Grant, and Grant only shrugged, "What, it's true!"

"Whatever."

Grant shook his head, "Anyways, we really appreciate you making it out here for helping with the analysis on this hectic case. The others should be in the back room setting up the monitors and the other equipment."

Barry nodded, "Alright, we'll be seein' ya."

The two nodded as they excited the room.

"These are the last two people you will probably meet for the rest of your life." Barry said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Addyson nodded, "Ya sure."

They walked into a small room, where two men were quietly setting up some equipment."

"Now Tango, you know to hook this up, right?" One of the young men asked.

The other nodded, a semi-confused expression on his face.

"Are you sure about that Tang?"

The other broke out in laughter, "No, I have no clue whatsoever."

"Well..," The man began to explain.

"Ya simply hook the red cable ta the red port, and continue 'til ya see the image on the screen. Everyone know that Tango."

Both men jumped and quickly turned to see who was speaking to them.

"Hey Barry!" They both cried as they rushed to give him that bro-hug thing.

"How are ya lads holdin' up.. well Tango how are ya holding up."

They both laughed as they watched the other guy turn a bright shade of red.

"You know I don't like to fly. I tried to get on the plane, but no way."

Barry placed his hand on the man's shoulder, "Don't worry about it Steve. I was only messin'."

They stood around exchanging laughs for a few minutes when the boys called "Tango" noticed Addyson standing there.

He cleared his throat to get Barry's attention.

"Ah, sorry lass, I almost forgot ya were standin' there."

Addyson turned a slight shade of pink and gave him a shifty smile.

"Lads, this is my sister Addyson. Addyson, this is Dave Tango, and Steve Gonsalves."

They both extended their hands to her her and one at at time Addyson shook them.

While they stood there in a semi-awkward silence, Addyson took the time to look the two boys, who were most likely her age, over.

Dave was about her height, and had what looked like black hair hidden under a newspaper boy cap.

His eyes were a very dark brown, possibly even black, and he was of a skinny stature.

Steve on the other hand, looked to be as tall as, or even taller than Jason, and seemed to only have sideburns.

His black T.A.P.S. hat hid whatever hair he did happen to have, if he had any at all, for all she knew he could have been bald, like Jason, but with intense sideburns.

The only accessory that he happened to have, unlike everyone else Addyson had met that day, were that his arms were covered in tattoos.

She could also see a few peeking out at her from the bottom of his shorts.

This intrigued Addyson.

Not many boys back in Ireland had tattoos, and if they did, they were in places where they could have easily been hidden.

She stood there for a few minutes staring at his various tattoos, when Barry walked up behind her and silently muttered, "It isn't nice to stare."

She broke out of her daze, and looked up at Steve, "I'm sorry, I wasn't tryin' ta stare. I don't think I've ever seen so many tattoos on a person before."

He smiled, and Addyson turned red out of her embarrassment.

"It's alright; I get it quite a lot."

She nodded, and watched as they finished setting up the equipment and sat down in three chairs facing away from her.
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A few hours later, a bored and cranky Addyson watched as the boy concluded their analysis and called Jason and Grant into the room.

The three guys showed the two bosses what they had found, and concluded with high fives, and a ton of 'congratulations guys!"

When Jason and Grant had finally left, the three sat there yawning and semi dozing off.

Steve sighed, "Let's get this shit packed back up, so they have it when they fly back out."

Barry and Tango nodded, and they slowly began to break everything down.

After they were finished, they were quite surprised to see Addyson still sitting there.

"Are you thirsty?" Steve asked as he looked behind him at a heavily lidded Addyson.

She quickly nodded, and Steve stood up, stretched and walked out of the room.

Barry slowly turned around and gave her a small smile.

"I didn't think ya'd still be sitting there."

Addyson gave him a dirty look, causing him to laugh.

"Ay, cheer up lass. We're done."

"Ay, well I'm starvin'!"

"Ay, well I'm starvin'!" Barry mocked her as Steve walked back into the room, a water bottle in his hand.

"Here you go."

He watched her as she took the bottle from his hands and quickly opened it, downing half the bottle in under a minute.

"Wow..."

Addyson turned a bright red, "Sorry about that."

Steve smiled back, "No worries."

He moved back to the table and helped Tango remove cables from the DVR recorder and place them into a small black bag.
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When they had finished cleaning the room up, Jason, Grant and Kris walked into the room and joined in on the conversation.

"So what are your plans while you're visiting Barry?" Jason asked, as he looked around the room for an empty chair.

Barry shrugged, "Ah, I have no idea yet. I have no idea what's around 'ere."

Jason nodded, "We should all go out to dinner in a few days. Everyone can get to know you better."

Everyone turned to look at Addyson, who was off in her own little world.

Barry coughed, making her turn around.

"Oh, me? Haha, I'm sorry, I wasn't payin' much attention."

"Well did ya at least here what was proposed to us?"

Addyson nodded, "Ya, something about food. Which reminds me..."

Barry rolled his eyes, "I know, 'Ay, I'm starvin''."

They narrowed their eyes at each other while everyone broke out in laughs.

"Do you two always act like this?" Grant asked a little uneasy at the situation.

Barry and Addyson shrugged, "Dunno. We haven't seen each other in a few years. She's got the apartment 'ere in the States, and I'm o' course livin' o'er in Ireland."

"That must really suck," Tango suggested.

"Ay, but if her apartment has it's way with me, I'll sure be dead before I leave."

They all threw him questioning looks and Addyson laughed, "Maybe if you got your arse off the couch once in a while, then you wouldn't be complainin' about the stairs!"

A chorus of, 'ooooohhhhh, burrrrnnnn' was heard through the room making everyone start laughing.

"Ay, you better watch yourself lass. I know where ya sleep now."

Addyson rolled her eyes, "Ay, shut it."

Barry retorted by throwing her a nasty look, casuing everyone to start laughing again.

"You two are definitely related." Jason commented as he shook his head.

Barry rolled his eyes, "Ay, o' course we're related."

He threw his arm around Addysons shoulder, "But I love her none the less."

Addyson smiled up to him and continued to laugh along with everyone.

Grant stood from his chair and clapped his hands, "Alright guys, everything's done.. so let's go somewhere fun!"