Knock on Coffins

"Knock on Coffins" is the second episode of Shadow Unit, with production number 1x02. It was written by Elizabeth Bear.

Basic Statistics
Locations: Washington, DC; Omaha, Nebraska

Point of View Characters: Hafidha, Chaz, Todd, Falkner, Frost, Lau, Reyes

Away Team: Reyes, Todd, Lau, Hafidha

Timeline : June 2007

Unsub: James Cauldwell

Major backstory revealed: Todd's associations with Jonestown; some of the circumstances surrounding Hafidha's initial conversion; Chaz's relations in Texas.

Synopsis
The WTF's latest case involves five college students in Omaha who have suddenly become schizophrenic. The first working theory is that the unsub is trying to turn them into gammas, so they decide to send brain scans to Frost. Also, Reyes tells Hafidha that she's coming along to work on the university's computer system. Before they leave, Chaz brings her a letter which says he's inherited land from his (until then unknown) grandparents, asking her to see if it's legitimate. It is.

In Omaha, the team decides that the unsub's victims tend to be disaffected -- "lonely, not loners." They think they might be looking at something resembling a cult. Hafidha and Todd toy with the idea that the unsub might be trying to turn his victims into gammas, but Frost shoots that theory down.

During an interview with one of the victims, Reyes and Todd realize that she is having post-traumatic flashbacks to the Vietnam War, which shouldn't be possible, because she hadn't yet been born. From her flashbacks, they manage to get the names of a few Vietnam veterans who might be connected to their unsub.

Back on campus, they realize that all five victims had recently been the victim of a crime, and Todd finds a flier for self-defense classes. When they get to the class, however, the teacher is gone, along with the "advanced students." Hafidha does some research and comes up with the name of their unsub: James Cauldwell. She tries to get online to find the alias they believe he must be using, but the network is down. Finally, after some fervent prayers, it works, and they have a name: James Baker. They follow the name to an address, and en route, they realize that they have been on the same wireless network for fifteen miles. It's not the network; it's Hafidha. She's just experienced breakthrough.

At Cauldwell's house, they break in and discover him with his "advanced students." Because he is holding a knife to a student's throat, Hafidha and Todd are forced to shoot him.

Later, Todd revisits the victim who gave them the names, and Hafidha and Chaz share a conversation about breakthrough.

LiveJournal references
"As a five year old kid, was I stronger or better than that guy in Omaha who was trying to make it up to his war buddies and his kid?"