Missing Pieces Part IV

## Official Summary

Mitch and Kiera travel to Florida to attend the Congregation of the Gentle Hand's monthly tent revival and attempt to reconnect with Pierce. Finding Pierce is simple enough, but ascertaining the nature of the group and its aims is nearly impossible with ears everywhere and Pierce's own allegiances in question.

Elijah, the Congregation's charismatic leader, puts on a touching service on the theme of kindness, and seems every inch the guileless saint, but ORPHEUS has seen his kind before. Can Kiera and Mitch uncover the truth without compromising their anonymity?

## Detailed Recap

Mitch and Kiera fly to Orlando, Florida, and drive to Naperville. Mitch buys a machete at a sporting goods store. They spend the night at a crappy motel and feel a sense of foreboding.

The tent revival is hosted at the farm owned by the Congregation. Esther welcomes people while Elijah preps in seclusion. Pierce behaves as usual, trying not to get his hopes up about ORPHEUS coming to find him -- but soon sees a tall, muscular guy who's a little awkward in the crowd, who looks like a possible agent. Pierce approaches Mitch and says an outdated code phrase. Mitch is startled, but Pierce plays it off, getting him a plate of fried chicken and talking about the group's philosophy just like he would for any nervous attendee. Kiera watches from a distance, taking Pierce's measure.

Organ music begins to play, and people start filing into the tent. Pierce pulls Mitch aside and warns him that hallucinogenic incense will be burned, and Mitch passes the warning on to Kiera. They take seats. Elijah appears, looking like a hipster-farmer with round glasses. He gives a sermon about kindness, alluding to "problems" and "hatred" the group recently encountered. He leads them in a hymn, and the drugged incense is burned. Mitch is unaffected, and Pierce and Kiera feel a bit tipsy. The music changes to a digital recording of a cassette tape, organ music with weird reverb. Almost imperceptible under the music is a humming voice, that hypnotizes everyone so they rock back and forth in unison. Elijah asks if anyone wants to join their "family" and learn deeper lessons about kindness. Kiera and Mitch join several others in walking to the front. Elijah seems to inspect each volunteer, selecting some and gently rejecting others. When he gets to Kiera, he seems surprised by something about her. She can tell he's using some kind of psychic ability on her. He selects her to join the group. Mitch is not selected.

Mitch mentions the strange music to Pierce and suggests that they should take it back to ORPHEUS for examination, but he laughs and says it's trivial compared to what's really going on. He suggests that Mitch stay nearby, although he isn't allowed to go into the farmhouse with the new recruits.

Kiera mingles and tries to blend in. She's greeted by a thin guy with a blond ponytail who introduces himself as Trevor Norton. Trevor says the farm was his family's, but he gave it to Elijah for the congregation. He shakes Kiera's hand -- and uses psychometry on her. He seems frustrated, so it seems he didn't learn anything. She gives him a menacing smile and sarcastically tells him to have a great night, which intimidates him.

## Quotes

"The world is full of trouble, and much of it is due to mankind's inability to accept his own fundamental goodness and see it in others around him." - Elijah

## Music Credits

* Three Chain Links - Magic Hour
* The Good Lawdz - Preachin' Dem Blues
* Bustedbenz - A Mighty Fortress is Our God
* Josh Woodward - The Vagabond
* Black Juggernaut - Stormwitch
* Kevin Macleod - Dances and Dames
* Opening and Closing Themes by Nathan Kross and Rob Stith