Twelve hours of sleep can restore anyone, and Anneka Stojespal is no exception.

The agent sprawls in the comfortable bed within House Stojespal's lavish guest suites. It's fit for royalty and rich aristocracy. She's neither, but as adoptive family, hotels aren't an option. While it's too lavish to be comfortable, she isn't fool enough to reject Stojespal hospitality. She's been one of them for years, now.

Anneka yawns and pulls herself upright. A quick once-over of running fingers through tangled red hair is enough to make herself acceptable; picking up the local newspaper, she snaps it open, squinting at the Cyrillic headlines splashed across the first few pages. They all describe unexplainable sights, sounds, and encounters; some of them involve people long dead. She arches her brow.

"You see these, yet?"

"Your house servants are excellent." Coulson's voice floats in from the bathroom. He's shaving; she can tell by the stilted tone of voice. "The paper was delivered before the sun came up. They even ironed it before they brought it in." There's silence for a moment, followed by a sudden, "Ow."

"Technically they are not mine. Oh, yes, Grandmother Dragana has them well-trained. There's nothing they won't do for the old dragon." She holds the paper closer, frowning. "What do you think all of this really is?"

"Your debriefing was interesting. I wish I could have been on the scene myself, but I had to smooth things over with the mayor's office and Polyuchyn's police department. They'll cooperate with us for as long as we need if we'll fix this for them." She heard him chuckle, faintly. "I didn't promise them anything, per se, but I did buy us some goodwill and time."

Anneka flips a crinkling page, scanning more headlines. Mysterious Sound Plagues Residents. Down the page, Northern Polyuchyn Reports Strange Lights. Ghostly Encounters Unnerve South Polyuchyn. A loud and exasperated sigh issues from behind the newspaper. "The reporters are really jumping on this. They're probably running this shit two time zones out from here."

"You're their closest point of contact, and the reporters' interest is only natural." Coulson straightens his tie as he steps back out into the main suite. Today he's wearing his charcoal suit; the one that screams figure of authority. He's going to be busy with more diplomatic fun, she surmises. "People just want to understand the inexplicable any way they can."

"I suppose." Crisply folding the newspaper, she sets it aside and picks up her coffee cup, swilling it around. "They won't find it there, though. I have a feeling this case may take us a while to clear up."

He pauses at the hallway mirror, fiddling with his tie a moment more. "What makes you say that?"

"You would call it a hunch. Sally Petrovna would call it Khoro's intuition. I... just have a feeling." Shaking her head, Anneka sips at her coffee, frowning. "I couldn't see anything in that alley, but I could feel it. I know Sally Petrovna did, too."

"Huh." Once finished, he settles on the corner of the bed, glancing over at her. It's a subtle gesture, one she knows means he's giving her his full attention. "From everything you said in your debriefing, it sounds like there really was something there. I believe that. There are a lot of unexplained things in this world." He shakes his head. "To find one in our proverbial backyard isn't surprising."

"No. It is not." Eyeing him sidelong, she arches her brow. "Philip Coulson, how do you think we should go forward with this?"

"I think we're going to have to talk to these 'consultants' of yours some more."

She scowls. "They are not mine."

"No, but you're the closest point of contact we have." Coulson grins. "Talk to them. Let's arrange a meeting. I can provide the go-ahead to hire them on as temporary consultants with the agency, and Nick's already wired me the funding for it. He thinks there's something going on, too."

A no-brainer, she thinks to herself, if he's already sent the money. Even she knows that the Director doesn't do anything lightly.

"Fast it is, then. I will arrange meetings with Morrigan today, if I can reach her. Will you be there?"

"Yeah. I'll be there. I want to handle the recruitment. Give me a few hours, though, because I have to talk to the mayor's office again, and at ten o'clock, I'll be spending four hours in Irja's office hashing out where we can keep Val when we don't need her, since it looks like we're going to be here for a little while."

"I'm surprised the Director was on board with this," she mutters, taking a sip of coffee and cradling the cup in her hands. After glancing at it for a second or two, she shrugs and offers it to Coulson. He takes a healthy swig before passing it back.

"Nick's very interested in building bridges with offworlders. The way he looks at it, they can give us more than what we might get from the agency alone. Extra talent. Better problem-solving. That kind of thing. Personally," he observed, "I agree. I think it's in our best interest to stay on friendly terms with some of these people."

"That is not wrong, I think." Sighing, she pulls herself upright, running her fingers through her hair and yawning. "I'll start with Morrigan; she shouldn't be too hard to track down. I just need a shower, first."

"Oh, before I forget." Coulson stands and adjusts his tie one last time. "The Baroness said something about dinner, tonight, after today's ambassadorial marathon. Think you'll be back by then?"

"I should be." Anneka grins. "I will run a few diagnostics and talk to Morrigan, but I will not be gone all day. Don't worry. I am not so cruel as to make you face the family alone."