Laura put her hand on the glass and muttered a silent
prayer.
“With all my
heart.” She said, willing the operation to be a success.
This was
Charlie’s last hope and, Laura felt, theirs. In the time since the battle in
the cave, Charlie had sunk deeper and deeper into depression. He hadn’t even
been able to comfort Laura after her abduction by Manzetti. They hadn’t be
intimate in weeks. The loss of his sight had turned him inward. Autumn’s games
made him bitter. A tear slipped from her eye. ‘Please let this work,’ she
thought.
Inside the
surgical theatre Charlie’s lifeless eyes gazed lazily at the ceiling. He could
feel the prickling needles as the local was administered to his skull.
“So, I need to
be awake for this, huh?” Charlie said.
“Yes, Charlie.”
Dr. Rothery said. “How will we know if your sight comes back otherwise.”
Charlie
couldn’t escape the logic. He closed his eyes and thought of how Laura had gone
with him to Rothery. Experimental surgery, he had laughed. When Rothery
explained it, it didn’t seem so bad.
“Charlie, the other doctors and I can’t find
anything physically wrong with you. By all rights, you should have your vision.
I believe that something is stopping your vision. It could be something
physical. It could be something psychological. Either way, your encounter with
that powerful relic has caused part of your brain to shut down. I propose this:
you allow me to do exploratory surgery on your brain. I will stimulate
different areas of your brain with a small electric current, triggering
different brain centers to activate. In my research, this has returned the
sight of many patients.”
“How many?”
“Four.” The doctor chuckled.
So Charlie had
agreed. Now here he was, listening to the bone saw that was opening his head.
He thought of Laura. Was she watching? Charlie could smell his bone-smoke. Had
there been any food in his stomach he would have vomited. Instead, he closed
his sightless eyes and thought of the first time he and Laura had kissed.
That night. On
the docks. Moonlight. Goblin jazz wafting from the car stereo. The two had
grown very close since the case that threw them together. PLONCH!!! They had
talked all…wait a PLONCH …winter season cookies sent to another orphan…PLONCH
four years old running PLONCH “Um Doc?”
Charlie hadn’t
noticed how much time had passed. He heard Dr. Rothery chuckle.
“Charlie? From
your tone, I believe you are having unexplained memories and sensations.
Perhaps smelling things? Strange sounds.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s
perfectly natural in this kind of examination. I am triggering memory centers.
You may very well remember things you had forgotten. Hear music. You see
Charlie, everything we ever experience is recorded in our brains. Retaining
access to all those memories is tricky. Shall I continue?”
Charlie
chuckled. His head was locked into position, which made him laugh awkwardly.
“With the surgery or the science lesson?”
Rothery
chuckled. “Tell me what you feel when I do this…” Rothery touched the thin, metal rod carrying the current to
Charlie’s cortex.
From the
observation room Laura watched the moment unfold. There was a huge spark. Dr.
Rothery flew across the room, slamming into some equipment against the wall.
Charlie’s legs bucked. The nurses shrieked. And a noise went up from Charlie
that caused Laura to burst into tears and pound on the glass.
The electrode
had fused to the spot on Charlie’s cortex. Power, feeding back on itself. The
red wire that fed power to the electrode glowed orange for a moment and then
burst into flame. Charlie’s body shook. His breath had stopped coming, but the
scream continued.
He had long
since left the room. Moments rushing past him. A house full of windows and
doors were thrown open, blasting Charlie. It was more than he could take. He
couldn’t process all the information fast enough. It was happening again. Just
like the Skiv. What had they done. A vault door, pried open…
His body tensed
as a wave of electricity shook him. A moment later the electrode fell to the
floor and Charlie’s body released. He lay on the table gasping for air. Dr.
Rothery stood and moved toward Charlie. Laura’s pounding echoed through the
room and they could all hear the muted cries of “What’s happening?!”
Charlie opened
his eyes. He could see. But he didn’t know were he was. Whispers of
trinity…Don’t be here…a child’s voice…I’m hiding…
Dr. Rothery
looked down into the eyes of Charlie Pickens. “Charlie…oh my…”
Confused,
frightened…Charlie’s eyes locked with the doctor’s. They were now the most
startling shade of green and seemed to pulse with energy slightly with each
blink.
Rothery turned
to Laura, confused. Laura’s breath caught in her throat. She knew that, one way
or another, she had lost Charlie forever.
Big City
“ASCENT”
by Eric Schwartz
As the heavy
metal door slid open Smiles leaned against the doorjamb. He smiled at the
always annoyed Sottie. The long hair was matted to his goblin head from
sleeping. Sottie shook his head.
“Don’t you ever
phone first?” Sottie said making room for Smiles to enter.
“And deprive
you of your chance to get pissy with me. Never.” Smiles chuckled as he walked
into the Sottie’s strange home. “So, what have you got for me?”
Several weeks
before, after coming up trumps on his own, Smiles had given the pictures of his
sister Gina to Sottie, to see what he could find out. The last month had been
murder. Smiles had barely talked to Stack. Keeping these pictures from him
these last 5 months had been agonizing. But he didn’t want to hurt Stack or
further a plot by Manzetti. He had to determine if the pictures were authentic,
or if she’d been aged with digital processing. Once it had been determined that
the pictures were genuine, evidence that she was alive, then he’d set out to
find her. Then the thing with Charlie happened. A medical inquest still
couldn’t determine what had happened. The boy could see…but his mind was gone.
Fried. Burned out. It had been two weeks since he and Laura had committed
Charlie. It was breaking his heart.
Smiles hoped
that Sottie had the good news that would break this crappy streak.
The goblin led
him through the room to a bank of computers. “Be glad you came to me instead of
somebody else. I spent a couple weeks trying to get some information from those
buildings in the back. I had to do a lot of enhancements to the pictures but in
the end I had nothing tangible. That’s when I noticed this.” He slid a
magnifying glass over a section of the picture that Smiles knew all too well.
The glass enhanced a small section a purse. A small metallic symbol.
Smiles
shrugged. “So…what is it? It looks like a buckle or an emblem. The make of
purse.”
“That’s what I
thought. I figured that I might get something from the purse. Maybe an idea of
where it was purchased. The purse is a Melvo Sacci purse. A middle of the road
accessory. However, this emblem means nothing. It’s not part of the bag. It
fact that logo is not a registered trademark for any handbag company. It means
that this is a broach or pin of some kind.”
“And…this is
good?”
“Not at first…”
“I love how
succinct your stories are.”
“Anyway… I then
checked on the symbol. It took for-freakin-ever!”
“But you did
come up with something.”
“You bet. It’s
called the Cycle of Moog. It’s a religious symbol. More to the point it’s the
symbol of the Mooghans.”
“Who are they?”
Smiles shook his head. “I’m lost.”
“The Mooghan
Pod Dwellers are something of a cult. A get back to nature…save the planet type
group. It grew out of a little known Hwiss sect a long time ago. They renounce
all worldly possessions and go and live in these little pod communities. This
particular pin is given to members who wish to reintegrate themselves in
society. It shows their eternal connection to the ‘world spirit’.”
“So you are
saying that my sister joined this cult for a while and then left?”
Sottie folded
his arms in pride. “That’s what I’m saying.”
“So where do I
find these…Pod Dwellers?”
“There are only
a handful of communities left world wide. I’d say start with the nearest one.
It’s 213 miles away in the northeast corner of the Black Flats. Take some extra
drinking water.”
Smiles looked
down at the picture of his sister Gina. The face that he hadn’t laid eyes on in
8 years and smiled. He had a lead. If Sottie hadn’t had such a tangy morning
whiff to him, Smiles might have kissed him.
*
Stack woke up
agitated. He hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything for days. He sat up on
the edge of the bed, his stomach fluttering, his hands moving in and out of
fists. The waves had been getting closer together until they had become a
constant bout of anger. In the worst moments his muscles would tense, he would
involuntarily bite his lip, the rage immobilizing him. Of all the people he
thought would understand, Needless seemed to understand the least. It was
Manzetti. It was knowing that Manzetti was still alive and in town. If he was
gone everything would be better.
With an audible
growl Stack stood up and vigorously scratched his head. He snapped the
waistband of his sweats and moved like the reanimated dead to the bathroom. He
splashed some cool water on his face. Then he cupped his hand and pulled some
water to his mouth and drank. He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment,
the gray morning light from the window showing his age, shading the bags under
his eyes.
He pinched the
bridge of his nose and then fanned his thumb and forefinger out into a full-on
eye rub. He shook his head. Where had Smiles been? He opened his eyes. He
watched his face fall. Smiles was gone. Needless didn’t understand. Charlie had
lost his mind. Laura…well, he couldn’t really think about that now. Not with
Charlie in the hospital. He blinked.
“I’m alone.”
*
The newsroom
seemed so strange. Laura didn’t recognize every face at every desk. There were
some sidelong glances as she moved through the room. It almost felt like her
first day. Did they all know? What do I tell them? How long will this day take?
She flopped down at her desk and dropped her tote bag on the floor. Her feet
embraced each other under her chair and her shoes immediately came off. Then
there was silence. Just for a moment. But there was silence.
Step one,
complete. She had made it to her desk. That was the end of the first step of
reintegration. She had been away so long. So much had happened. Charlie’s blindness.
Manzetti. And now… It was like Charlie was gone. She could see him. She could
touch him. But the maker of those Butguster sandwiches was gone. He just sat
there and mumbled. And the eyes. Those green eyes. The doctors had no
explanation. He could see…but his mind was gone. Charlie was gone. After she
and Smiles had committed him to the Psychiatric ward at Big City General, she
knew it was time to go back to work.
Charlie’s face
still smiled from the small picture taped to the side of her computer monitor.
The picture, it seemed, had been taken a lifetime ago. She smiled slightly at
the sweet memory of that night. A quieter time. The two of them had slipped off
for a quiet weekend further on up the coast. It had been their first weekend
together and Charlie had reserved a room at a bed and breakfast five hours
north in Manton Bay.
They had driven
up the coast through the dawn hours. The sun finally emerged as the eastern
mountain range headed northeast and the suburbs and vineyards of Skion Valley finally
gave way to the rolling hills and forests. To their left they watched the night
get pushed further and further out to sea by the pink and orange streaks of
morning. After they arrived they laid in bed the rest of the afternoon and
marveled at the quiet. They had forgotten what quiet like that had been like.
That night,
over dinner in a small, candlelit, bluff-top restaurant Charlie told her that
he loved her for the first time. She could still feel the tingle on her neck
and how her ears had gotten hot. She could still feel the quiver in her belly
that made her smile. It was weeks before she said it back, but she felt it
then. She knew it then. That night they made love in the forest. The heat of
the day had burned off and they could see their breath as they whispered the
words that lovers whisper.
The noise of
the day’s news pulled Laura back into it. The swirling cacophony of life in Big
City shook her out of the sweet moment. The room seemed to go on. Life seemed
to go on. If the newsroom knew what she had been through, what they had been
through, it didn’t stop to care. This place was in the business of reporting
what had happened, not slowing down and comforting those it had happened to.
Laura folded
her hands in her lap, looked down at them and cried. She was helpless against
the wave of tears that gripped her. The only person who noticed was the guy
from the mailroom who dropped an overnight letter into her bin.
*
Needless sipped
his tepid Java Jalopy Elven Supremo and checked his watch. The ferry ride over
had taken nearly all the heat out of him and his coffee. The normal sounds of a
prison were a little strong for his ears at that hour, but this needed to be
done early, before Stack got to work.
Needless, on
advice from Breen, was waiting to speak to Paul Mest, the fleck-addled
foot-soldier for Manzetti that he had chased through the streets of Big City
several months before. They knew he was working for Manzetti, but he would
never roll. The DA finally got Mest convicted on a drug charge, but his ties to
Manzetti still couldn’t be proven.
Needless
adjusted himself on the plastic seat. ‘What’s taking so long?’ He didn’t like
being here. He didn’t like what he had to do. But Stack hadn’t been himself.
Not for weeks. And it seemed to be getting worse. He was short tempered and
couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything. Moreover, his obsession with Manzetti
seemed to be growing. Ever since Needless had told Stack that he didn’t know
how much longer he could follow him on his crusade to get Manzetti, things had
been chilly between them.
Even Breen had
noticed. This was why Needless now sat drinking cold coffee in an interrogation
cell on Thieves Island. Ever since Laura had been kidnapped, concern about a
Manzetti mole on the department had reared its head again. The first concerns
were raised when some tissue samples from Needless’ departmental check up went
missing and later were used to frame him as a werewolf. And then the
information tying them to Michael Vester , the inmate Autumn had implanted the
Skiv in. It all pointed to there being someone, on the force, feeding
information to Manzetti.
Needless
finished his coffee and tossed the cup across the room into a small waste paper
basket. He checked his watch again. Breen had asked him to smoke out the mole,
but do it without Stack. Breen wasn’t sure they could trust Stack to be
level-headed in the investigation. What would he do when the find the
informant? As much as Needless agreed with Breen, he hated going behind Stack’s
back. Even if there was tension between them, they were partners. To Needless,
that was as sacred as being brothers.
Yet he stood
there, watching the guard escort Mest into the room. It made Needless want to
strangle Mest. It made him want to take out every frustration on the half-awake
shmoe in the neon orange jumpsuit. But he didn’t. The guard led Mest into the
room, undid the cuffs and sat the prisoner down across from Needless.
“Good morning,
Paul.” Needless smile and clasped his hands on top of his head. “You may not
remember me. The night we met you were pretty flecked up.”
Mest nodded.
“Yeah, I remember you. You smashed my face with your forehead.”
“I’m
impressed.”
“What do you
want?”
“Look, I know
that you were working as a low level bagman for Manzetti when we picked you
up.”
“No idea what
you’re talking about.”
“AND I know we
can’t prove it. And don’t worry. Doodles knows you didn’t roll on him. I’m sure
he’s very impressed. And I know you won’t roll on him.”
Mest smiled.
“Well…sounds like that’s all settled.”
“Top that off
with the fact that you are inconsequential. I don’t care about you. I figure
there’s no point in trying to get you to roll on Manzetti. I’m sure they didn’t
give you any information that was of any use because they knew you’d get
caught.”
Mest was
slightly confused. “Then why am I here?”
Needless rested
his elbows on the table and leaned in. “Because I need to find out what you
know about a crooked cop.”
*
Stack pounded
on his dashboard. The sun and the humidity seemed oppressive that morning and
his A/C wasn’t doing anything except blowing a billowing haze of coolant into
his car. He rolled down the window and stared at the unmoving traffic. He
fidgeted with the change in his ashtray. The morning sun reflected off the
downtown high-rises for a moment, blinding him. He closed his eyes and looked
away, catching his own gaze in his rear-view mirror.
He looked old.
His eyes were red with sleeplessness. He rubbed his eyes, which only served to
swirl around the encroaching sweat. He laid his head back on the head rest and
closed his eyes. For a moment the noise of idling traffic receded in his mind.
A quiet came over him. He wasn’t
asleep, just…restful.
A shriek from
outside the car broke the quiet. He looked up in time to see a woman two lanes
over and 4 cars up stand up, screaming and pointing at a young elf who was now
dashing through the still traffic.
“He took my
purse!”
Stack threw his
car into park and bolted out onto the motionless expressway. As he ran he
extracted his gun from his shoulder holster. “Stop! Police!”
The kid turned
for a second, his eyes bulged, he turned back and increased his speed. The
purse, however, flew into the air and came crashing down on the hood of a car.
Stack slowed. The contents of the purse had scattered. Stack stopped and began
picking up the contents with the driver of the car it landed on. The woman
whose purse it was arrived a moment later. She stared at Stack for a moment.
“Excuse me!”
She snatched her bag out of his hands. “Aren’t you going to arrest him?!”
Stack looked
down the row of cars the guy had run down. “Nah. He’s too scared to try again.
Plus, you got your bag back.”
“Yeah. But he
took it.”
Stack blinked.
“But you got it back, with everything in it. Isn’t that enough?”
She stopped her
bag check, looked him in the face like she was talking to an idiot and
bellowed. “He took my purse!”
Stack set his
jaw. “Did he hit you? Did he rape anybody? Did he break your car window?”
“No. He stuck
his hand into the open window of my car and yanked it off the passenger seat.”
“And now it’s
back.” Stack fitted his gun back into his holster. “He’s a stupid kid, who did
a stupid thing. Now I could go back to my car,
call it in, have him picked up and prosecuted. Frankly, I don’t believe
it’s necessary. He had a good scare and is probably sitting in the shade under
the expressway, jumping at every little noise because he thinks the cops are
after him. I would suggest that you get back into your car and be thankful that
you got your property back.”
The woman
clicked her tongue, shook her head and moved back toward her car. “Fucking
cops,” she mumbled.
Stack wiped
some sweat from his brow. “Glad I could help,” he yelled after her. He waved a
subtle thank you to the driver who had been helping him. He put his hands in
his pockets and walked back to his car.
“Yep,” he said quietly to himself, “to protect and serve.”
*
Needless
stepped off the ferry and fumed toward his car.
“Nothing.
Nothing!” He spoke to no one. “Stupid…I wish I had put your nose up into your
brain. You dumb shit.” Had there been a way to slam the car door open he would
have. He, instead, had to wait to slam it shut. The inside of his car felt like
an oven. It didn’t help his mood.
Mest had been no help. He
acknowledged that there was an informant on the police force, but he had no
idea who it was. They had never met. Needless started his car and cranked up
the AC. He hit the passenger seat a couple of times. He bellowed a few more
expletives to the inside of the car.
He stopped and
took a long breath. His phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. He cocked his
head.
“That can’t be
right.”
*
Laura knocked on the door of Kendra’s office.
Kendra was just finishing up a conversation on the phone. She waved Laura in
and held up a finger indicating it would be a minute. Laura waited and
pretended that she wasn’t listening to the call.
Kendra was one
of the few people who actually knew what had happened to Laura. After being
returned by Manzetti, Commissioner Bledsoe and Breen had asked her not to write
up the story. It was just the kind of publicity that Manzetti would want,
letting small timers know that he was back in the game. Reluctantly Laura had
held back on the story.
“Okay. Well
when will he announce the appointment? Okay. I’ll make sure Medrano gets down
there to cover it. Okay. Bye bye.”
Kendra hung up the phone. She folded her hands and looked at Laura. “So
you think you’re ready?”
Laura slipped
into the chair opposite Kendra. “Honestly, I don’t know,” she chuckled.
“Well, the
mayor is appointing a new Transit Authority Manager. Guy named Prembrant Alder.
The Mayor and Alder will be holding a press conference at City Hall in half an
hour. I need you to get down there.”
Laura nodded quietly and stood up. “Look Laur…” Kendra always called
Laura that, and she always hated it. “…I know it’s your first day back. We’re
just a little short handed right now. I was hoping to ease you back in, it’s
just not going to happen.”
“No. That’s
okay. I need something to put my back up against.”
Kendra’s voice
changed tone and speed, which was always her non-verbal signal that it was time
to wrap it up. “Great. If you could get down there and have the article in my
inbox by tonight.” She then looked back at her day planner that lay eternally
open on her desk.
Laura walked
out of the office and toward her desk.
‘Step two,’ she
thought.
*
Smiles dialed
Stack’s number again. Again the automated operator yelled at him; “The number
you have reached has been disconnected or is out of service. Please check the
number and dial again.” Smile swore that the last time he did it the
telephone’s voice added the word “asshole”. He shut down his phone and looked
up as Needless entered the Gobblin’ Goblin, crossed the room and sat down.
“Thanks for
coming.”
“No problem.”
Needless noticed Johnson’s pack of cigarettes next to his coffee mug. “Can I
get one of them?”
Smiles obliged.
He slid the cigarette out and handed it to Needless. He’d only seen him smoke a
few times, always under stress. Each too a long drag and looked at each other.
“Have you
talked to Stack?” They both asked, at nearly the same time.
Smiles
shrugged. “Well that answers that question.”
Needless
flicked an ash. “So what’s up?”
“I’ve been
trying to get Stack on his phone, but it’s saying the line has been
disconnected.”
“I know me too.
What of it?” Needless took a drag. Smiles slid the pictures of Gina across to
Needless. Needless blew some smoke up toward the ceiling and his eyes lowered
to the picture. He almost choked. He looked up at Smiles. “Is this for real?!”
Smiles nodded. “How… what…”
“I’ve had this
thing for months. Some one slipped them to me at the hospital during that whole
thing with the hooker. The Siren. I’ve spent the last few months trying to find
out if they’re authentic or not. Seeing what information I could get off them.”
“And Stack
doesn’t know?”
“No. I didn’t
want to tell him. Not at first, in case this was another one of Manzetti’s things.”
“It’s not?”
“I’m still not
sure. That’s why I called you. I have to leave town. I finally got something of
importance off these pictures.” Smiles pointed to the symbol on her purse.
“This is a symbol worn by members of a naturalist cult.”
Needless was
fairly confused by now. “She’s in a cult?”
“Yes and no.
This emblem is given to members who leave the commune and go back into the
world. Anyway, I’m heading out to this…commune area, see what I can find out.”
“Okay. What do
you want me to do?” Needless took one last drag and stubbed out the smoke.
“Just tell
Stack. Let him know what’s going on and why I didn’t tell him. I will call him
as soon as I know something. I left him a voicemail at his desk, but I wanted
to make sure he got the message.”
Needless
nodded. He was still slightly dazed by it all. He stood up. “You’re sure about
this?”
Smiles nodded.
Needless tossed Smiles’ lighter back to him and nodded slightly as he left the
restaurant. Smiles lit another smoke and finished his coffee.
*
Stack looked at
his phone again. He rolled his eyes. A police provided phone and it was roaming
in the police station. Nice. He slipped the phone back into his pocket and
picked up his desk top phone. A mechanical voice came out.
“You have no
new messages.”
Stack dropped
the phone back into the cradle and cracked his knuckles. He checked his watch.
Still no Needless. He moved through the squad room and walked down the flight
of stairs and, as if clockwork, stepped out into the sunshine as the Java
Jalopy pulled up for its late morning “cop stop”.
“Greta!
Punctual as ever.” Stack smiled. He reached into his pocket for some money.
“The ever
caffeinated Sgt. Forray. What can I get for you?” Greta, always the beautiful
anachronism inside the half rusted, refurbished ice cream truck, leaned out the
window giving Stack the brief thrill of her humidity moistened cleavage.
Stack smiled at
the question. “How about a Deep Mountain Dark, black.”
Greta eyed him
curiously. “You’re moving in a different direction. You don’t normally go for
the underground beans. Shaking things up a bit?”
Out of the
corner of his eye he saw Needless approaching. He smiled coyly at Greta.
“Things need a change.”
Greta
maneuvered her cleavage as she saw Needless approaching. She tucked a falling,
sweaty strand of hair behind her ear. “Hi Needless. Looking for another cup? If
you’ve got your cup, I can just give you a refill.”
Needless hardly
paid her any mind and stepped directly up to Stack. “Hey, you got a minute?”
Stack turned
and looked at him. “Sure.” He looked at his watch. “Half the morning’s gone.
Between traffic and waiting for you to show up, I should have taken a vacation
day.” He turned and moved back through the doors into the building.
Needless hung
back a moment, stunned. He glanced at Greta, who blushed slightly. Needless’
mouth barely opened. “No more coffee, he’s cut off.” Pissed off, Needless followed his partner in the station.
“What the hell
is up with you,” he quietly snapped at Stack.
“Nothing.
Where’ve you been?”
Needless
swallowed. “I had some stuff to take care of.”
“You could have
called, just to let me know everything was okay.”
Needless
grabbed his arm and spun Stack around. “Woah! Hold on a second, wifey. I didn’t
realize that I have to check in with you now.”
Stack yanked
his arm away. “Look. Manzetti is still out there. He took Laura, no problem.
Who knows what can happen. Until he’s caught, I want to make sure everybody is
safe.”
Needless could
only stare. “Listen to yourself, man. He’s won. He’s made you totally
paranoid.” Stack rolled his eyes and
moved through the room toward his desk. “No, I’m serious, Stack. You’re not
yourself. Take a few days off. See a doctor. Talk to somebody.”
Stack turned
and glared at him. “The people I thought would understand …don’t! If I talk to
my cat anymore, I’m afraid he’ll talk back. Don’t tell me to get help and then
go behind my back and talk to Paul Mest!”
“How did you…”
“I asked some
of the guards there to call me if anybody came to see him. They called me
twenty minutes ago, just to let me know you were there this morning. So what’s
going on? You running your own investigation now? Did he tell you something?”
Needless set
his jaw. “Come with me.” He turned and moved toward Breen’s office. Stack
marched after him. Breen wasn’t in there when they arrived. Needless shut the
door behind Stack. “Now look. Breen and
I are convinced there is a mole close to us here that’s feeding information
about you to Manzetti.”
“I’m of the
same mind. What of it?”
“Breen asked me
to look into it.”
“Without me.”
“Yeah, Stack,
without you.” Needless sighed. Stack
slammed his open palm down on Breen’s desk. Needless looked down at Stack’s
hand and watched it curl into a fist.
“Stack, you haven’t been yourself. You haven’t been able to concentrate
on anything. You’ve been having mood swings.”
“How am I
supposed to act when everybody is against me?”
“Nobody’s
against you. We’re doing this to keep you from doing something stupid. What
would you do if and when we do find the mole? Hmm? “
Stack shook his
head. “I don’t know…arrest him?”
“Maybe. But
maybe not. I’m trying to help keep you from losing your badge. This shit has
been on slow burn for a year and I don’t want to watch you fly off the handle
and do something you can’t take back.”
Stack glared at
him. “Is that it? Are you done? Is our little conference at an end or was there
something else you wanted to tell me?”
Needless shook
his head and smirked. “You asshole. I don’t know what’s up with you man, but
I’m washing my hands of it. Anything I had to tell you…you’ll find out in time
any way.” He moved past Stack and threw the door open just as Breen was moving
to open it. He shook his head as Breen watched Stack and Needless exit his
office and walk angrily in separate directions.
Stack stormed
out of the squad room.
Needless
crashed down at his desk.
Across the
squad room the Mole watched, casually. Careful not to stare. He dialed the
phone, let it ring twice and hung up.
*
Mayor Denzien
cleared his throat. Laura looked at her watch. It was just another conference,
nothing of special importance. Another Bureaucrat. Another appointment. Denzien
looked like he was bored and moreover, every time he said “my friend Premrandt
Alder” it sounded scripted. He droned on. Laura made a few notes, knowing full
well she would base her article on her memory and the press release that the
Mayor’s Office would circulate after
the conference.
A jerk off
assignment. First one back. Figures.
Just as she
settled in for more of the Mayor’s snorefest, an envelope fell in her lap. She
looked around but could not see where it came from. It was simply addressed to
Laura. She hastily opened it.
The message
inside was very simple;
“Watch
Nick.
ps.
You’re Welcome
*
Across town
Stack was driving away from the station. He needed to clear his head. He needed
to find someplace quiet. Bastards. He slammed his hand on the dash. He was
shaky. Too much coffee. Needed to eat something.
His cell phone
rang. He pushed the answer button and pulled it to his head.
“What?!”
The voice on
the other end of the phone was smooth and calm which did nothing but clash with
Stack’s frame of mind. “Hello Stack.”
Stack slammed
on his brakes in the middle of the street. Horns began blaring.
“Manzetti!”
“Turn on your
radio. The all news station. Quick. You’ll miss it.”
“You son of a
bitch!”
“Sshhh turn it
on. I’ll call you back in five minutes.” The line went dead.
Stack switched
on the radio and looked in the rearview mirror. He pulled over to the side of
the road to let stopped traffic by. He turned the radio up.
*
Laura stood up
and looked around. Nobody stood out. At the podium, the Mayor continued.
“So it is
because of this experience and dedication that I am pleased to announce the
Pembrandt Alder has been appointed to the office of Big City Transit Authority
Manager.” The room politely applauded as Alder stepped up to the microphone to
speak.
There was a
loud crack that filled the giant marble foyer of City Hall. A woman screamed.
Police and security scrambled.
Laura looked at
the podium in time to watch Alder crumple at the feet of the shocked mayor. Her
eyes grew wide as she looked again at the paper. “You’re Welcome.” A chill ran through her. As hell broke loose
she realized that she was the only one in the room who knew who did this.
*
“We’re still not sure of the details but
from where I’m sitting, it’s clear that Pembrandt Alder, the recently appointed
Manager of the Transit Authority, has been shot. Again, I can’t get close
enough to the podium to get any more information, but I can tell you that it
appears to have been a shot to the head…I will continue to relay details until
we have an official word. It’s absolute mayhem here. People are running around
in a panic… “
Stack sat
dumbstruck, staring at his radio as it all unfolded. He looked at his phone.
Manzetti. The phone rang. It rang
again. Stack stared. It rang again. Dazed, he answered.
“What?”
“For whatever
reason, Laura and the police kept quiet about her kidnapping. In two hours
there will be no question that this was me. The Mayor and a good chunk of Big
City is going to know that I am back…in a big, big way.”
“Why…”
“Alder dangled
from my teat ten years ago, like most of the City Council at that time. He sold
me out in the end. Surprised you didn’t recognize his name. Anyway. Just a
little revenge. I like a good revenge killing around lunch. It aids the
digestion.
“Fucking
animal.”
“Anyway, Stack.
Since this is, sort of, my coming out party, only one thing still stands in my
way of taking back what’s mine. You.”
“Damn right.”
“So here’s my
proposition; I want you to do something for me.”
Stack shook his
head in confusion. “Are you out of your mind?!”
“Open your
glove compartment.” Stack leaned over
and opened the glove compartment. Inside he found pictures. Smiles. Charlie.
Laura. Needless. All recent. “Those were all taken this morning. I can have any
of them killed at anytime, as you just witnessed. Cops, security, the press…I
still got to Alder. So let me restate my proposition. You are going to do
something for me. You are going to do something for me or they are all going to
die. Am I clear?”
Sweat and tears
began stinging Stack’s eyes. “Yes.”
“Good. Now go
to the bus station on Whedon. Go to locker 1013. The key is in your glove
compartment. And don’t call anybody. I have remotely changed your cell phone
service. If you try to tell anybody what’s going on, I will execute one of your
friends. I’ll call you later.” The line went dead again.
Stack shook
with rage. He pounded on the passenger seat. He drove his fist into the radio
and he bellowed at the top of his lungs. He broke down in tears. His shoulders
slumped as he did a U-turn in the middle of the street and headed to the Whedon
Ave. Bus Terminal.
*
Breen was
barking orders to the buzzing squadroom. “Okay Phillips, Squonk, Parker,
Callisto, grab some patrolmen and get over to the city building. Tant and
Chalmers, you two help coordinate the background check. I will be at the
command post. C’mon people we’ve got a couple hundred witnesses to interview.”
Needless
watched as Breen gave everyone their orders. His phone rang. He pulled the
receiver to his ear.
“D’yen.”
“Needless, it’s
Laura. I’m assuming you’ve heard about Alder by now.”
“No comment.”
“Look, shut up.
I have information about it.”
“How?”
“It was
Manzetti.”
Needless
lowered the phone and rolled his eyes. He raised the phone. “Laura, can I tell
you how sick I am of hearing that name.”
“It’s true.
Somebody slipped me a note from him just before Alder was killed.”
Needless waved
to Breen who came over. “Hold on a second Laura.” He cupped the phone as Breen
approached. “It’s Laura. She said that some how Manzetti slipped her a note
before Alder was shot, warning her in advance that it was going to happen.”
Breen moved
around to Stack’s desk. “Patch me through.”
Needless
conferenced Breen in. “Laura, Capt. Breen is on with me.”
Breen cleared
his throat. “Laura. There are some police on their way down there to take
statements from everybody. They will get your information. I will send word for
you to come back to the station. Can you sit on this for a bit? I want to clear
it with the commissioner.”
There was a
pause. “You know what, Captain, you have had me sit on quite a bit of
information lately. I couldn’t even reveal my own story to the paper. I’m a
journalist, not a puppet of the police. I need to let the public know who it
was that shot this man on live television.”
Breen looked at
Needless. Needless spoke up. “Laura, I’m asking you, as a friend, please don’t.
Not yet. It’s too soon.”
There was
silence as Laura thought, then she sighed. “Okay. Look. Two hours. That’s all.
After that, I have to give this to my editor, and nobody better scoop me on
this.” Laura hung up.
Needless nearly
put his fist through the phone. “What the hell is he playing at?!”
“I don’t know.
You get out there and find Stack. I promise you this has something to do with
him.”
“But what?”
Breen took a
deep breath. “I don’t know. But he’s out there by himself, Needless. You need
to get to him.”
Needless
nodded.
*
Smiles pushed
it up to ninety. They didn’t call them the Black Flats for nothing. Ahead of
him the road stretched on, seeming to vaporize into the waves of heat that rose
from everything. Occasionally, small outcroppings of red sandstone or the blue
leaves of the Mequee bushes broke up the gray-black expanse. Other than that,
and the infrequent gas station, the landscape was nothing to write home about.
Bleak, foreboding, deadly. Keeping one constant eye on the temperature gauge,
Smiles pressed on.
His mind
swirled with images of reunion. Warm embraces. Seeing her smile again. Feeling
whole again. The holes of his life had ached so strongly of late. Seeing her
picture again. Becoming so immersed in his father’s legacy. Hospitalizing
Charlie. It brought it all back. The waves of depression and loneliness that
had crippled him once. That had rattled him so deeply that it changed him
forever.
Gina was his
way back to the man he used to be. The man that his friends felt compelled to
nickname Smiles. He looked again at her picture. Her eyes remained fixed on him
from the passenger seat. His stomach leapt like a small boy waiting on his
birthday morning.
A gust of wind
blew a streak of gray-black sand across the road ahead of him. The dust and
sand swirled in the wake of the speeding car.
*
Stack pulled up
at the Bus Terminal. He leaned over and snatched the locker key from and
stepped out into the midday sun. The phone rang. He took a deep breath and
pulled the phone to his head.
“What?!”
“Are you there
yet?”
Stack chuckled
and began to make his way toward the building. “Yeah. I’m here.”
“Good.
Remember, locker number 1013.”
“Yeah! I got it…”
Stack was about ready to hang up.
“Stack!” The
voice was familiar and fairly close. Stack turned to see Greta waving from the
Java Jalopy. “Hey Sergeant!”
“Who is that?”
Manzetti growled.
Stack took a
breath. “It’s the Java Jalopy girl. I buy coffee from her truck.” He chuckled.
“She scared the hell out of me.”
“Can you wave
and smile.”
Stack thought
for a moment. His eyes widened at the thought. “No, she’d know something was
wrong and probably tell Needless. I should say hi.”
There was a
short growl. “Fine, but make it fast and keep the phone on. I want to hear
everything.”
Stack stepped
up to Greta. “Hello again Greta. What brings you to this neck of the woods?”
“New arrivals
to our fair city need a liquid jolt too.”
“Could I get
another Deep Mountain Dark? And make it a tall one.”
Greta turned
and began to get his coffee. “Wow! You’re really serious about this stuff.”
“Love it. Can I
put this on my card?”
Greta took his
credit card and swiped it. “Sure.” A moment later she slip him the receipt to
sign and a pen.
Stack chuckled
as he started to sign it. “I think I’m spoiling you, Greta. You’re going to
have start…” He scribbled for a second and then shook the pen. “Man, this pen
isn’t working.” He scribbled again. “Shoot. Do you have another one?
Thanks.” He finished signing. “There
you go. See you around.” He waved as he took his coffee and stepped away. When
he was far enough away his tone dropped as he spoke into the phone. “Happy?”
Manzetti’s
tones came back. “It will do.”
Stack smirked
slightly to himself as he dropped the cup of coffee in the garbage next to the
door. “Good.” Stack, with Manzetti following on the phone, stepped into the
terminal.
In the Java Jalopy,
Greta shook for a moment. She read and reread the back of the receipt:
Needless
ASAP Trouble! No search .
Manzetti avatar hostages
She shook for a
moment, looked around and pulled down the side window door.
A moment later,
anyone standing in the parking lot of the bus terminal heard the squeal of
tires and saw the Java Jalopy speed from the parking lot. A young mobile
barista named Greta had been asked to go above and beyond and she wasn’t about
to let her best customers down.
*
The body of
Pembrandt Alder had been whisked off to the Medical Examiner. The initial mad
rush of the press to get details was starting to subside a bit as reporters
were being questioned, and video tapes were being confiscated and reviewed. Laura sat in the seat she had been sitting
in the entire time. She was still too stunned to move much. She had threatened
Breen and Needless…that was something she hadn’t planned to do today. She had
witnessed an assassination…not your normal weekday afternoon. She had hoped to
get to the hospital to see Charlie, but it probably wasn’t going to happen.
She missed him
terribly. There had been so little recognition in his eyes lately. He saw her
now. He could look at her. He just didn’t seem to know who she was. There was a
look of familiarity in those strange new eyes.
He just seemed…lost.
She checked her
watch and dialed Kendra. A panicked voice blasted from the phone.
“Laura! Are you
okay?! What’s going on?”
Laura gripped
the note from Manzetti tightly. “Nothing yet. I can’t leave until I’ve been
questioned. I want to let you know that I should have something big for you in
a couple hours.”
“Really? What?”
“Put the
notebook down. I’m not giving this up until I’m ready. In fact, I am going to
submit my story on my voicemail. I have changed my password so my backup person
does not have it. In…” She checked her watch. “…about and hour and twenty-five
minutes I will call you with the password.”
“Is it big?”
Laura chuckled
and hung up the phone. She tucked the phone into her pocket and indicated to
the officer near her that she needed to use the restroom. The officer nodded
and Laura ducked into the ladies room. Moving quickly to the furthest stall,
checking for feet as she went, Laura slipped inside and closed the door. She
dialed her number at work.
She listened to
her own outgoing message and then began. “City Hall was the scene of the first
political assassination in Big City in decades this afternoon. The victim,
fifty-three year old Pembrandt Alder, was shot dead during a press conference
by an assailant working for long- absent mob boss Nick Manzetti… ”
*
Needless used
his key to open the door to Stack’s apartment. The door creaked slightly on the
hinges as Needless moved inside.
“Stack?” His footsteps echoed as he stepped onto the
hardwood floor. “Stack! It’s me.”
There was
nothing. Needless closed the door and continued into the apartment. It was
quiet and still. No messages flashed on the machine. Mail had been piling up on
the coffee table. The bed wasn’t made. It looked to Needless like Stack had
been restless, but not much was out of place.
He stood in the
middle of the apartment and sighed slightly with disappointment. He wanted to
find Stack. To make sure he was safe. He turned to leave and something caught
his eye in the kitchen. A tail. The cat’s tail. Needless moved to the kitchen.
There, in the middle of the floor, he found Stack’s cat, Arrow, dead.
He crouched
down to look at it. There was blood on the cats mouth, and deep bites in on his
front paws. It seems that Arrow had chewed the hell out of himself before he
died. But there wasn’t enough damage to
kill him. Why had he died…the water bowl was over turned.
Needless stood
and thought. He looked around the room. The only thing out of the ordinary was
the glass pitcher on the counter. Needless examined the pitcher for a moment
and then bolted into the living room and looked in the fish tank. A line of
lime still on the glass indicated that Stack recently added water to the tank. Needless
peered inside. Sure enough, the fish were belly up.
Needless pulled
out his phone and dialed.
The voice at
the other end sounded ever so slightly annoyed. “Tim Carnaby.”
“Tim. It’s John
D’yen. Can you get over here to Stack’s apartment ASAP? And bring something to
test water for drugs or poison.”
*
“You know
Stack, I’ve always been a little sorry that we never got to work together. You
know, buddy movie stuff.” Manzetti’s
voice continued to drone as Stack moved through the Terminal to the lockers.
“See…a little difference in our philosophical approaches to life, and a chance
at a friendship goes down the toilet.”
“The thing I
hate about ‘bad guys’, like yourself. You always talk. You never shut up.”
“It’s second
nature to us. We have inflated egos and love what comes out of our mouths. We
plot and plan and scheme and at the end of the day the only thing that matters
is whether or not you gave any really evil speeches.”
Stack’s eyes
narrowed as he read the numbers on the lockers. “Well, it’s the simple things…”
“That’s what
I’ve been saying…but my henchmen won’t hear of it. You find the locker yet?”
“I’m looking.”
The number played over and over in his head. 1013. 1013. 1013!! “Got it.” He
inserted the key and turned it.
“Well Stack,
this is where I leave you for the moment. They next part is up to you. You’re a
smart guy. Enjoy.” The line went dead. Stack slipped the phone into his pocket.
Stack reached
into the locker and extracted a manila envelope. Inside he found a set of car
keys and a simple note: International Terminal Parking, floor three, aisle J,
blue A’lle’a four door.
*
Smiles stepped
out into the oppressive, heat-gripped visitor’s parking lot. Before him
stretched an expanse of reflective domes, not much larger than family camping
tents. These were the Pods that Sottie has spoken about. Around the settlement
there was nothing. A few red outcroppings and, a half a mile to the north, one
of the few water sources to be found in the Flats, the Goheanan Chain, a string
of cave lakes that stretched on for miles underground.
Smiles lit a
cigarette. He swore, for just a moment, that the cigarette lit itself. Nothing
in this heat would surprise him. He loosened another button on his shirt,
sucked his ‘grette down quickly and made his way into the Visitor’s Center.
The young lady
behind the information counter looked up and smiled at him. “Hello sir. Can I
help you with something? Are you here visiting family or are you inquiring
about joining?”
Smiles stepped
up to the counter and presented the photos of Gina. “Neither actually. My name
is Robert Johnson. I’m a private investigator in Big City. I’m looking for my
sister, Gina. I was told that this symbol is a symbol of your religion. The
‘Cycle of Moog’? Is that correct?” Smiles indicated the symbol attached to
Gina’s bag in the picture.
“That is
correct. We, unfortunately do not give out the private information about
Dwellers or former dwellers.”
“Please, miss,
I am not asking for personal information. My sister disappeared eight years
ago. I received these pictures. I just want to know if she is all right.”
The young lady
looked at his face for a moment and then stood up. “I will see what I can do.”
She moved from the room for nearly ten minutes. When she returned she was with
an older woman; short, upper middle age, white-gray hair cut into a bob. Her
eyes twinkled at the site of Smiles.
“Mr. Johnson,
this is the Settlement Matron, Alicia Emple,” the young lady said, introducing
the two.
Smiles shook
the her hand. “Ms. Emple.”
“Alicia, please. Can we
step outside?”
Smiles was hoping she
wasn’t going to say that. “Certainly.”
Alicia showed him through
the door in the back, out onto the grounds of the settlement. Smiles was
surprised at how quiet it was on the grounds. He listened for a moment to the
wind and some of the chimes dangling from the visitor center. He chuckled for a
moment.
“They’re meditating.”
Alicia smiled as they stepped from the shade of the center and began to move
amongst the pods. “Most of them anyway. Some are tending to the garden.”
“Garden? How do you…”
She motioned to a larger
structure near the center of the community. “Hydroponics. We also keep about an
acre of cave land we leased from the government. Up near The Chain. Very
fertile underground land.”
“You’re vegetarians?”
She smiled. “We don’t eat
flesh. Beyond that, we’ll consume most anything. You would be amazed, I’m sure,
to find out that ancient Goblins discovered some very nice ways of eating
pebbles.”
“Rock eating?”
“You would be surprised
how nourishing the microbes, plant life and fungus that cover the outside of a
rock can be. No, they don’t actually chew the pebbles, but they did find that
sucking on certain types of rocks can produce restorative effects.”
“Wow is really all I can
say.”
Alicia stopped and looked
at him. “But you’re not here to discuss pebble recipes. You’re here to discuss
Gina.”
Smiles caught his breath.
“Is…she here?”
Alicia motioned for him
to move into the nearest pod. He stooped and walked inside. It was surprisingly
cool. Smiles surmised that the reflective nature of the exterior kept the heat
of the day back. It was simply decorated. A bed, a small area that looked like
a kitchen and a book case. There was an elegance to the pod. A large rug
covered the floor and a circle of pillows seemed to be the only place to sit.
Alicia motioned to the pillows. Smiles sat down.
“She is not here.” She
smiled and produced an ashtray. Smiles tried to wave it away and Alicia smiled
and produced a pack of smokes from one of her pillows. “I smelled them on you.”
She lit one. “Gina came to us about four years ago. She seemed to have nowhere
to turn. She didn’t talk very much and seemed to have been through quite a
lot.”
“How long was she here?”
Smiles, in relief, lit another cigarette.
“Nearly a year. Then, one
night, she was gone. Vanished.”
“Did you ever try to find
her?”
Alicia smiled and shook
her head. “No. People leave all the time. Sometimes they feel they’ve gained
what they wanted from their stay, the receive the Circle of Moog and they
return to society. Sometimes, unfortunately, some people come and ‘rescue’
believers. They believe that we are a mind control cult and their loved ones
need rehabilitation. Those instances are sad, but not uncommon. So, we never
looked for Gina. I will admit, I was surprised that she left quietly like she
did, but it didn’t seem very out of the ordinary.”
Smiles wanted to cry out.
His sister was alive somewhere. “Have you heard from her since?”
Alicia took in a long,
lung full of smoke and nodded. “She has turned up twice since. The first time,
was nearly six or seven months ago. She appeared here at my door out of a clear
blue sky. She stayed on for a few days and received the Rites of Moog, and the
Circle. She said she had a few things to take care of and then she said she
would return to move to the next step of her spiritual journey.”
“Smiles, so she came
back?”
“Yes about a month or a
month and a half ago. She returned with information. She stayed for nearly a
week, preparing herself.”
Smiles stubbed out his
smoke and shook his head. “Prepare herself for what?”
Alicia followed suit and
immediately lit another. “She is undertaking the Walk of Ascension. It is the
next level of a Mooghan’s spiritual journey.”
“What does that entail?”
“A complete cleansing of
the life you lead. A stripping away of all the things that weigh us down.
Usually a Mooghan goes to a remote location; a cave, a bog, and they live off
the land in silence. They become one with the world around them. They commune
with the world.”
It was all Smiles could
do not to roll his eyes. “Do you know where she went.”
Alicia rose and moved to
her bookcase. “No, but I do have this.” She slipped a piece of paper out of a
book on the bookcase and handed it to Smiles. “Just incase she received mail
here.”
P.O.
Box 1344 - Thrombis
. Smiles looked up. “So she’s near Thrombis?” The former mining town was well
known as a corrupt, dusty shithole of a burg. Smiles had spent some time there
on several cases. As much as he disliked spending more time there, it seemed
unavoidable.
Alicia nodded. “Yes. Mr.
Johnson, before you run off to find your sister, please let me stress to you
one thing. Your sister is not the woman she was many years ago. She has been
through some horrible things. Even without that, life changes people. For better
or worse, the flow of life changes people. If you find her, give it time. Take
the time it needs to grow together again. But, regardless of that, the number
you have in your hand is how you will find your sister.”
*
Laura felt a hand on her
shoulder. She turned and looked up, half expecting to see Manzetti himself.
Breen sat down in the chair behind her. She smirked bitterly.
“I thought I
should take your statement myself.” Breen said, leaning back against the chair.
Laura handed
him the note she received from Manzetti. “I got this a minute before the
assassination.”
Breen read it
and sighed. “Well, that’s good enough for me. What’s all this about ‘You
‘re Welcome.’ ?”
“I don’t know.
He gave me the story that will make this story even bigger.”
“Laura, for
whatever reason, Manzetti wants you to tell everybody that he’s back. To carry
that message to the press, the underworld, the establishment. He wants you to
do that. He wants you to run the story.”
“Why?”
“He needs a
public mouthpiece. Don’t you understand that? You are his chosen link to the
outside world.”
“Why me?”
“Because of
Stack. It’s always about Stack. I don’t know how yet, but somehow you running
that story will hurt Stack. I am here to beg you, not as a cop, but as a friend
of a friend. Please don’t run your story, until we’ve had a chance to track
down Stack.”
“Stack’s gone?”
“We don’t know
where he is. Needless is out looking for him right now. Please, give us some
more time.”
Laura thought
for a moment. Finally she took a deep, defeated breath. She looked up, the
determination returning to her face. “You have to guarantee me new information
first.”
Breen chuckled
and nodded. “Fine.”
Laura pulled
out her phone. “All right. Let me delete the story from my voicemail.” She dialed a few numbers, listened and
dialed a few more. Her eyes squinted slightly in confusion. You have no new messages. That couldn’t
be right. Her free hand clenched into a
fist. She dialed Kendra.
“Big City
Herald, this is Kendra.”
Laura stood.
“Hey! Kendra, where the hell is my story?!”
“Sorry Laura, I
couldn’t wait. I got IT to hack in and it’s going to press. Great story.” The line went dead. Laura blinked at Breen.
Breen cocked his head
slightly. “What?”
*
Carnaby shook
the beaker full of water and watched it turn deep green. He looked at Needless
who stood in the corner, his arms folded. Carnaby sighed.
“He’s been
drugged.” Carnaby took another sample.
Needless’ brow
furrowed until his angular eyebrows nearly met. “What is it? What have they put
in him?”
“I can’t be
sure. I need to run some more tests. From what you said about his mood of late,
I’d imagine that they have been feeding him ever increasing dosages of
something nasty. Wherever he is right now, he’s not right.”
Needless looked
down at the dead cat and clenched his fist. “I can’t believe they did it again.
They pulled the exact same thing with him that they did with me.”
“You were
probably a test run. It’s not exactly the same.” Tim stood up and moved to the sink. He opened the doors and
surveyed the pipes. He began talking as he worked. Needless followed. “When
they drugged you it was to knock you out. And they used the carbon water filter
on your kitchen faucet.” He pointed to Stack’s faucet. “No filter.” Tim’s hand
followed the kitchen wall with his eyes and then stopped. He then bolted to the
bathroom. Needless followed. “And they would need to do it from someplace
else.” He turned to Needless. “Get the landlord.”
A few moments
later Needless returned with a half dressed, frightened Teadum.
“What can I do
for you officers? Is everything all right with Sgt. Forray?” Teadum looked confused, his eyes moving to
the dead cat and back to Sgt. D’yen, who he had met on several occasions.
Tim Carnaby
leaned in to him and pointed at the kitchen sink. “Does Sgt. Forray pay for
city water?”
“Yeah. It’s
part of the deal. He signed…” Teadum
was cut off by Carnaby’s impatient hand.
“Do you get the
bill and divide it amongst the tenants or does the city bill him directly?”
“The city bills
him.”
Carnaby smiled
slightly. “Then presumably there is a water meter and a specific set of pipes
that feed water to this apartment. “ Teadum nodded. “Good. Can you take us to
them?”
Teadum lead
them through to his apartment and down to the basement. He pointed out the
pipes that ran to Stack’s flat. Carnaby saw what he was looking for. He grabbed
a chair and stepped up next to a pipe fitting near the ceiling. The extra
fitting had several pen markings on it.
“These are
dosage markings. Notes made showing when and how much the gave him. They’ve
been doing this for months, slowly increasing the dosage.”
Needless
thought for a moment. “Why?”
“When they
drugged you they gave you one dose several times over the course of several
weeks. Same dosage. To progressively alter a person’s state of mind would take
quite a while. They would need to monitor him and regulate his dosage.”
“But what for?”
“To make him
susceptible to suggestion maybe. Kill him maybe. I can’t be sure. I don’t even
know what they’re using.
The pipe with the
markings seemed fitted with its own nozzle for stopping water flow. Needless
and Teadum watched as Tim turned the water off to Stack’s apartment. He then
twisted the middle section of the pipe fitting and slipped out a four inch long
section of the pipe. From the slot that remained, he removed a mesh cylinder
fitted into the pipe. The three inch long filter was filled with small blue
rocks, Carnaby sniffed the filter and nearly fell off the chair from the
strength of it.
Teadum shook
his head in confusion. “What the hell is that?”
Carnaby looked
at Needless. “You have got to find Stack.”
*
Stack stepped
from his car and checked the information again. International Terminal Parking,
floor three, aisle J, blue A’lle’a four door.
He began the long trek up aisle J. His stomach aired its disappointment
at not being fed. Stack could feel his pulse throb in his temple. He didn’t
feel like he was in the moment. Like it was happening to somebody else.
Somebody on TV.
When he spied
the car he jogged the rest of the way to it. He looked in the windows. Nothing
looked out of the ordinary. Clean interior. There’s gotta be something weird,
he thought. He moved to the trunk,
slipped the key in and turned it. As the hatch opened Stack was hit with a
sicken wave. The odor of death. The interior of the trunk was line with plastic
to keep the smell from escaping. The body of the man stared up at him. Stack
didn’t recognize him. The corpse had been here for a few weeks at least. Stack
reached into the back pocket, looking for a wallet.
As he began to
extract the wallet there was a slight click and then a high pitched whine, like
when somebody waits for the flash on a disposable camera to recharge. Stack’s
brow furrowed. He rolled the cadaver over slightly and found himself looking at
a large bomb. The time was quickly running down.
“Oh shit.”
*
Treden
Vost sipped his coffee. He shook the news paper to open it fully. He didn’t
know if this action was necessary, but he had always done it. He always
figured, if he had had a wife, it would have driven her nuts. The suddenness of
the ringing phone startled him. He looked at the clock. Unusual time for a
phone call.
“Hello?” He
said pulling the receiver to his head.
“Mr. Vost?”
Came a foreign accent.
“Yes?”
“What was your
mother’s maiden name?”
Vost thought.
“Wilkinson. Who is this?”
“Very well, Mr.
Vost. This is Toby Haupfershoen from Drexell Banking. I am calling in regard to
your off-shore account with us.”
Treden paused
for a long time. “I’m sorry. I don’t have any off shore accounts.”
“Yes sir, I
understand that discretion is needed, but this is an unusual circumstance.”
“No, I think
you have the wrong Treden Vost.”
“Of course sir.
All the same, we have had some issues with our online transaction server, and
we have had to issue you a new code number.”
“I really think
you are making a mistake.”
“If you would
please take a moment to jot this down. The number is 4645KHM100165Q. All
capital letters. The new protection program is case sensitive. Thank you sir.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call our toll free number.”
While Treden
tried to get a word in edgewise, the line clicked dead. He had, of course,
jotted down the number. He mumbled ‘Drexell’ several times and opened his
laptop.
A few moments
later, Treden Vost blinked disbelieving at the screen. The account balance had
7 zeroes. They had his picture. They had his social number, personal
information, credit cards. Someone had stolen his identity…and given him
everything he could ever want, money, and wobs of it, just waiting to be spent.
He rolled his
chair back and stood up, his eyes never leaving the screen. It was too much to
believe. He turned to get another cup of coffee. As he did his eyes met a pair
of slightly pulsing eyes. He gasped. The cloaked figure seemed to look right
through him. The man then began to speak. A gravelly, low-end hissing and
spitting. His hand began to raise and Treden felt himself lifted off the
ground. He felt the room seem to become liquid around him…there was a sinking
moment, and when he next blinked, he was sitting in a dark cell…with a tailor.
“Excuse me sir.
I need to measure your inseam.”
Treden blinked
again…when he opened his eyes again…he was still in the room and the old man
was just cramming his hand up into his crotch.
Back at
Treden’s apartment, Slith stepped into the room with the hooded Zahn. He
snatched up the scrap of paper with the new code on it. He looked at Zahn and,
as usual, recoiled slightly. Together the two locked up the apartment and left.
They were now in the endgame and everything had to be perfect.
