User blog:Joeaikman/Wiki Chapter 6

The taxi pulled up outside the Master house. The man that stepped out of it was short and slim, with messy, black hair, and high cheekbones. You could say that his face was pinched, but in a handsome sort of a way. His name was Dan Master. He was Task’s older brother. He had come into town after Hoagy had told him about what he had seen Task doing, and Hoagy and Carson were both waiting for him.

“Hoagster! Carman! What is up? You didn’t need to be here from the start. I was going to see my mum first. See how she is holding up.”

“She is out. Task is more important.”

Hoagy’s comment caused Dan to frown. He knew that his baby brother was the most important thing, but he had been hoping to spend some time with his family. His mother knew that he was coming in this morning. Could she not have tried a bit harder to be around. She never seemed to be in whenever Dan came calling.

“Where is he then?”

“He- He is also out. We thought we should talk first. About Task. More about what we saw.”

Dan knew Hoagy and Carson pretty well. They were good kids with good hearts. They were Task’s best friends. He had known the both of them since he was like two. Carson and Task had been born a few minutes apart. They were close. Task had never been part of the cool crowd like he had, but sometimes Dan was envious of the loyal friends he had.

“I considered coming back into town when I heard what happened with that dead guy. Mum told me that Task was fine, so I stayed away. Seems like it would have been a good idea to come back now, though.”

“It would have been. He has been in a bad way ever since that night. If you had cared then you would have come back no matter what!”

Dan sighed. He forgot how attached Hoagy was to Task. He didn’t understand the complexities of the outside world. He didn’t understand that if their mother said he shouldn’t see Task then that really meant that he couldn’t. That was why he was hoping to see her first. So that he could explain why he was in town.

-

Alexa was sat at the table of a twenty four hour diner. There was a cup of cold coffee in one hand, and a tired look upon her face. She had been up all night looking for Banfa. She knew that Max had removed her from the case, so now she was spending her free time, coincidentally her nights, to find him, with the help of Orion, of course. Now she was trying to get herself to feel more awake, so that she could face another working day. She couldn’t let Max find out what she was doing. He would have her skin.

He wouldn’t punish Orion though, that much she knew. Most of the rest of the precinct just seemed to ignore him whenever he was around. Whenever he did some sort of prank it was always her that got the blame. Orion often joked that she was the only person that could see him. Like he didn’t exist to the others.

“Officer Alexa?”

She heard her name and looked up. She was surprised to see Teddy Lee, the teacher that she had visited a couple of days ago. He was stood at the bar, with a cream cheese bagel in one hand and a coffee in the other. She wasn’t sure why he had opened conversation with her, but she didn’t want to talk to the man. She blamed him for the failure of finding the purple clothed girl, whether that be unfair or not.

She was even more perplexed when he decided to sit down opposite her. He was dressed for his work, even though it was the weekend. What was he doing at school today? Why was he here if that was where he had to be? This diner was on the exact opposite side of town from the high school. There was no reason for him to be here.

“One of your colleagues said that I would find you here. A boy I taught a few years back. Timothy Shallot. I didn’t know he was serving as a detective now.”

“He- He has only just been promoted. He was on the phones before.”

“I knew that he had gone to the Police Academy after he graduated. I was surprised. He was a clever boy.”

Teddy realised what he had just said.

“Not that I don’t think police officers can be clever! I just-”

“Believe me. I have met my fair share of police officers who don’t know what they are doing. Some of them can be quite moronic. What is is that you want, Professor Lee?” He passed some papers over the table to her. They were linked together by a small paper clip. It was green, like the ones you find in schools. She flicked through them, which didn’t take long. There was only five of them.

“These five little girls matched the description that you gave me. I sent round a request to all the junior schools. These are the reports they gave me.”

“What aspect of the description matched them together?”

“They all dress in purple- and- and they all went missing in the last few months.”

“You think that one of these girls is the girl that I saw? You think that maybe she is living in the woods nearby to the Fugi place?”

“I think that is a possibility.”

Alexa frowned and looked across the table. Teddy looked more scared than worried. The thought of children being taken clearly scared him. Alexa thought about it, and it scared her too. She knew what she had to do.

-

“This where you sit. You answer phones and file whatever paperwork I give you. When you answer the phone you should tell them that this is Norm Tigris’ office, who you are, and ask them who they are and why they are calling. I am not a harsh taskmaster, so I will let you be creative about how you do it.”

Norm smiled at Starla then, and she gave him an awkward, encouraging smile back. He frowned and then added.

“Just try to keep it to formal English please. We want to give off an official representation, and that runs down from the mayor, to me, and also to you and the other secretaries. Now, let me show you my paper clip colour coding system…”

Starla sighed as Norm started to ramble on about the difference between red and green paper clips. She had been up all night last night, and this meant she was yawning like every five seconds. That Scrav person had been messaging her again, asking where she had moved to. Asking why she hadn’t been at work. He scared her, but he wouldn’t guess where she was now.

“Who is this stunning beauty that you have been keeping away from me, Norm? Is this your new girlfriend?”

She saw Norm swallow awkwardly and smirked. She knew what that meant. She had been taught to look for those kind of signs by her old boss. They were useful to find the weaknesses behind potential targets.

“This is my new secretary, Mr Mayor. You do remember that you said I could-”

The mayor waved away Norm’s simperings.

“Yes, yes. I remember. One new secretary. Although I may have to steal this one from you. She really is quite beautiful.”

Starla gave a small little curtesy, and Barry licked his lips slightly as she did. She laughed inside. Sucker. Norm wouldn’t be the target then. He was clearly smitten. This one would be easier to manipulate and use.

“Remember to tell Matthew Pika that I want to speak with him again this afternoon. Starla should be there to take notes, since Dion is currently indisposed.”

“Is she still with-”

“She is still on the important… job I gave her, yes.”

Shit. There was another. She had to find out whatever she could on this Dior person. They could be a danger to her mission, and it was pivotal to her own survival that she succeed here. She was lost in these thoughts when her phone pinged.

“I told you that all personal phones were meant to be off, Miss Icks.”

“I am sorry, sir. My father went into surgery this morning and my mother told me that she would text me when he got out.”

Norm frowned at that, but the mayor waved it off.

“It is the girl’s father, Norm. Let her off this one time. Check it, my dear.”

She pulled out her phone and gave a little gasp when she saw who it was and what they had said.

“Is everything alright, darling?”

“Y- yes, sir. Just one small complication.”

She couldn’t take her eyes away from the message.

''I found you, honey. I found you and I know where you are. I can see you. I can see you and your boss. Which one will you fuck this time, Starla. Which one? The gay or the sleaze. I am coming. You can’t hide from me.

Scrav.''

-

“I’ll have another pint, Dick.”

Jose was sat at the bar of the local drinking establishment. It was a dirty place, with dirty windows and dirty customers. The bartender was dirty too, although today he was making an effort. He was cleaning the insides of one of the glasses with his dirty rag. Jose wasn’t sure it would do much good, but he didn’t want to stop the man from his illusion of cleanliness.

“I think you have had enough already, friend. We don’t want you ending up like you did last friday, do we?”

Jose scowled at the memory. He could swear that he hadn’t been that drunk, but Dick had told him otherwise. Apparently he had spent the evening talking relentlessly about his former master and her wife. He had been worried that he may have spilled some of their darker secrets, but Dick assured him that it had been no more than gossip.

“Give me your keys. I will drive round and give you them in the morning. You shouldn’t be driving like this. Get gone, man.”

Jose reluctantly got up and left the tavern. It was darker than he had thought. The streetlight before him was broken, and flickered on and off as he walked past. He knew the quickest way back. He went right onto the main road, left down a suburban street. He walked along there for twenty minutes, and then turned onto a road that was lined by tall trees with no houses. This was the country road that led to his master’s mansion.

It was a mile down this road when he thought he heard somebody behind him. He turned, but there was nobody there. He must just be spooked. He had been on edge for the last few days. This wasn’t the first time he thought somebody was watching him.

He turned around, and felt a thunk as he was hit with something heavy from behind. He fell forwards, his world spinning, but it went black before he hit the ground.

-

Jamahl and Timothy approached Matthew the moment that he left his office. It was a standard office building, but the Pika law firm resided on the three top floors, and Matthew had the top all to himself. Well, himself and his secretaries and clerks. They were all men, and none of them were around now. Matthew Pika was, curiously, alone.

“Right, Pika! Stop there in the name of the law!”

There was a bemused expression upon Matthew’s face as he turned around. He rose his arms in a mock surrender. There was no smile on Jamahl’s face, although his weapons were hidden. Timothy had one hand on his gun.

“Am I under arrest for defending the wrong person, officer?”

Jamahl growled at that, knowing that the barb had meant to knock him for his behaviour in the previous interview.

“I want to know what it is that your client is playing at. Off the record. I want to know why you would hand him over to us with no evidence to prove he is innocent.”

“We just want to show that you have our full co-operation, officer.”

Jamahl growled again, but even he could see that this wasn’t getting them anywhere.

“Have a good day, officer.”

Matthew gave him a shining smile and slowly walked away, looking back at them over his shoulder once. Jamahl almost went for his gun, and hit out at the car as the duo prepared to leave.

“If the son of a bitch wanted to show his co-operation then he would tell us why he is doing what he is doing. He would tell us whatever game he is playing.”

-

Carson was sat next to Hoagy in the sports changing rooms. He was wearing his black shorts and the white polo shirt that the sports coach made them wear as their uniform. The other boys were all outside, playing basketball with some special coach. The girls played sports at the same time as the boys, but they would be playing hockey, or badminton. One of the sports that the teachers assigned for girls.

“Task wasn’t in school today. Dan texted me to say that he was looking after him for a few days. They are going to a hotel in the woods tomorrow. Some place that the two of them went to with their parents when they were younger.”

Carson grunted at that. He had noticed that Task was absent for drama and French this morning. He guessed that meant that Dan had decided not to send him in today. Maybe he was trying to keep him away from Duke.

Then suddenly the door opened, and the two of them had to duck behind a bench. Carson almost let out a yelp when he saw who was pushing themselves in. It was Kylie that came in first, with a boy called Jag Orr following her. There lips were locked together, and Kylie was making some kind of noises that Carson had never heard from her before.

“I- I didn’t know…”

He whispered to himself more than anybody else. He was heartbroken. Kylie was the only girl that he had ever wanted. Jag was just one of a group of nameless jocks. How could she be attracted to him but not her. He was stupid and boneheaded and had no subtlety whatsoever. He was nothing. NOTHING.

“Did you hear something, babe?”

Jag had managed to detach himself from Kylie’s face and was looking around. Hoagy pulled Carson further down and put his finger to his mouth, indicating that they needed to be silent. Kylie eventually grabbed Jag by the shirt and pulled his lips back down to hers. They didn’t look any harder for them. They were too busy sucking face.

Carson tried to control himself when he saw Jag moving his hands up and over Kylie’s bodies. Hoagy grabbed his hands and squeezed him by the hand, applying pressure to assure that Carson didn’t call out and try to stop them. They had to remain silent, he knew that. Jag would beat them up badly if he knew they were here.

“Get the fuck out of here, bitch.”

Carson looked back up at where Jag had been kissing Kylie, and was surprised to see that they had stopped. Duke was the one talking, and Kylie was stood behind Jag, who had his arm up defensively.

“You think you can cheat on me with this dick, and with that freakshow. I saw the way you were talking to him. Where is he? Where is the freakshow death boy? I’m gonna kill him when I find him. He will wish that he was never born.”

Carson gulped. Hoagy looked confused, but Carson knew who the freakshow death boy. There was only one person it could be.

Duke was angry at Task. He was going to kill him.

-

“You are as healthy as you were last time you asked for a checkup, sir. There is no complications that I can see.”

Frank jerked out his arms a few times as he rose from the doctor’s chair. His live-in medical expert was sat next to him. Dan Kor was Korean, and was an illegal resident in the country. He had been part of a group that had escaped North Korea, but had killed his companions and taken their money, before setting himself up as a black market doctor.

Frank had picked Dan up a few years before, taking him in of the street. He had been living in the country for a number of years before then, and was more than happy to take on the job of looking after Frank’s various other minions, and had risen to be one of a number of advisors that he kept close to him.

“I have been feeling a bit stiff recently. Is there anything you can suggest?”

“I would suggest that you stop worrying so much. You are working yourself up and getting stiff because of bad reactions to it. Are you sleeping well?”

“Not for a few weeks. I have bad dreams. Bad dreams about lost loves and kids that I don’t have.”

“Maybe your heart is telling you that you want to settle down, sir.”

“Maybe. I can tell when something is coming, Dan, and I feel it in my bones now. Something dark is coming. Something terrible. I will survive it, though. I always do.”

-

“Mr Pika, you are the only lawyer in the town that has chosen to stand for Mr Fugi in his trial.”

Tim Mitty was sat at a table opposite the dapper lawyer that he had secured a personal interview with. He had tried to secure Trent a ticket in too, but he was unable to get him that. Matthew was a powerful man, and had to be protected. Or so the guy that he had spoken to on the phone had said.

“Can you explain why Mr Fugi is now in a prison cell? Some amongst the law community are saying that you have rather lost your touch.”

“Mr Kung Fugi is an innocent man. He is where he is because I think that is the best place for him to be. He is safe where he is. He will be proven innocent. I am quite sure of it.”

Tim sighed.

“That is the same thing that you have been saying for the last half an hour Mr Pika. I do get told that if a man repeatedly states what he says is the truth then it tends to be a lie. What are your thoughts on that?”

Matthew laughed and leaned forwards, resting his elbows on the desk and resting his chin on his knuckles.

“My thoughts are that you ask a hell of a lot of questions, Mr Mitty. I thought this was going to be an interview, not an interrogation.”

“I think you will find that an interrogation is just a very vigorous interview.”

Matthew laughed again.

“I like you, Mr Mitty. You are funny. That is why I am going to advise that you stop looking. This case goes deeper than you know. Drop it and write about something else. Drop it. That is my expert advice.”

-

“It’s too dark. We should wait until more people get here. I shouldn’t be doing this. I’m not a police officer. We should wait for Jamahl, or wait for Timothy. Someone more official. Someone with a badge. Somebody-”

“Teddy, the only other officer we could have brought is Max. I don’t trust him after recent incidents between the two of us. I think he has some involvement in some dark things.I would much rather have you with me. You over him, certainly.”

Alexa and Teddy were traipsing through the dark forests outside of town. They both had a torch, but that was it. That was the only light that they had besides the pale light that the moon cast down upon them. It was dark and dangerous. Then Alexa spotted it. She spotted a light in the distance. The flicker of a fire in the distance.

“Stay here, Teddy. I think I have seen something. Make sure nobody follows me. I want to see if that little girl is over there. Have this. Try not to use it.”

She shoved her firearm into Teddy’s hands, and he almost dropped it. By the time he looked up from the weapon Alexa was gone, running off into the dark.

She ran towards it. It was a flicker at first, then it was more. She dodged branches and jumped over logs. She stopped when she was beside it, and was forced to step backwards. It was too hot. It was also blazing purple, not red or orange or yellow. It was like nothing that she had ever seen before.

Then it went out, and she was in complete darkness. That was when she realised that she had dropped her torch whilst she ran. She looked behind her. There was no sign of Teddy and his torch. The trees were blocking her view of him. She was lost from the one person that she had brought with her. She had no weapon.

“Who are you?”

The voice shocked her. She turned and saw the little girl that resembled the one from before. She wore her hair in pigtails, but now she was wearing a red coat, and her hair was tied up with red bits of cloth. She must have been living in the woods. How was she so clean? How had she survived? How was she so calm to see a stranger?

“Why are you here?”

She turned again. There was another girl. She looked similar to the other girls, except she wore silver. She had a ponytail, not pigtails.

“Who is the man who is with you?”

She turned to where the fire had been and saw the girl in the purple from before. Her hair was worn long, falling over her shoulders.

“This place should be undisturbed. You are trespassing. You are an intruder. You must leave. You must go, and take your friend with you.”

She backed away, but then felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see another of them, older, this one was in her late teens. Her hair was deep purple. She wore it short, in a bob. Her eyes were purple, a deep purple.

“Her name is Alexa Day, sisters. She is meant to be here. It has been told.”

-

“I’m worried about him.”

Shop was stood at the door to his mansion, looking out over his grounds. The driveway tapered off into a country road. That was where Jose should have come up last night. The bartender had already returned the keys and car, and had been worried when Shop had told him that Jose had never returned last night.

“He never misses work. I can’t even remember him ever missing a day on account of being ill. This is worrying. Where could he be?”

“Does he have any friends or family that he could have gone to?”

Dion was stood behind him, dressed in a long T shirt and nothing else. She was tired, and she kept pushing at her eyes with the backs of her hands. She was telling herself that, just because she slept over at Shop’s, that didn’t make her a slut. They hadn’t done anything after all, only fooled around.

“Not that I know of. Maybe he is lying in some ditch somewhere.”

Dion groaned at that. She had already decided that, despite all of Shop’s admirable qualities, his imagination was just too vivid for it’s own good.

“Or he just wanted a day off because you overwork him. Let him have that, darling. I am sure we can drive ourselves around town for one day.”

Shop carried on looking out of the door, but eventually he gave up and relented, walking over to her.

“Who said that I wanted to be anywhere but here, anyway.”

-

“Oh hallowed father. I beg of you to protect your loyal servant Gregory Wass. Show him the light and show him the truth. Show him how he can prove himself innocent of a crime he wrongfully believes he committed. Spare him from the harshness and punishments that he is willing to give himself.”

Jude was knelt before the altar in the church that he oversaw. His eyes were closed, and his hands were crossed in prayer in front of him. He whispered his words under his breath, but still they echoed around the large vaulted hall. He didn’t notice the figure approaching him from behind.

“Good evening, reverend.”

Jude turned to look. He didn’t recognise the man stood there.

“And who would you be, friend? You are a new face to this church.”

“Not quite, sir. My parents used to drag me here every sunday. Back when I was little. I still hold to God’s word, but I pray in my own places.”

“And yet here you are now. What is troubling you so?”

“I- I am convicted. I have my fair share of sins, reverend. The good lord will not look on me favourably for them. Yet I try to live my life well. It is the others that cause me to sin. Does that make me a bad person.”

“The only person that should dictate your actions should be the lord, friend. Do not let the actions of others drag you down to their level.”

“What if I already have?”

Jude thought that he saw tears in the eyes of the stranger, as if he knew that his own death was on the horizon. He was too young for that, surely.

“Our God is a forgiving one. He will look at your sins and see if you did your best to make amends for them. I can help you with that, if you would like.”

“I wouldn’t want to sink you like I was sunk myself, reverend. I will deal with my own sins in my own time.”

“If that is the way you would have it. You know where my church is.”

He turned back to kneel at the altar, but soon realised that the stranger was still stood behind him.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, friend.”

“Not that I can think of, sir. I just wanted to thank you for your time.”

The stranger smiled a weak smile at him, and tipped his stetson hat. Then he turned and began to leave.

“Wait, friend. Tell me one thing. What is your name? So that I may pray for you tonight.”

“My name…? That would be Billy Tile.”

-

Brendan was stood in the same alleyway as he had been in before. It was dark, with the stars above and the moon illuminating him. His shadow was long and covered most of the pathway. Litter was strewn across the floor, and there was graffiti on the walls. It was a dirty place, and the perfect place to meet dirty people.

The sound of nightclub music beating came out as the door on his right opened. A moment later it was gone, replaced with Dragon. He was a small, thin boy, a bit of a wimp, as he had been when he had been younger. Brendan had met him when he was still in school. Back then he had dreamed of being a DJ. He had achieved that, but needed a little extra money on the side.

“Thought it would be a few more days before we met up again, boss.”

“You aren’t selling well enough, Drag. Duke found himself a new vendor. I need you to do the same. If you want to make sure my boss is happy then we need to start shipping more product, and trust me, you don’t want him to be unhappy.”

“I already have three others working for me. Where do you think I would be able to find a fourth without a track record. I don’t have the school.”

“There are other ways. Go to an AA meeting and find one there, or a book club, or a university lecture or something.”

“I- I don’t go to university, dude.”

Brendan slammed his fist against a metal panel on the wall.

“I don’t have to do everything for you, do I? If I have to hire your fucking underlings for you then what need do I have for you at all? I might as well shoot you now and be done with you.”

Suddenly Brendan had a gun in his hand now. He had produced it out of nowhere, and now it was pointing at Dragon. The man backed away and raised his hands.

“I- I’ll find someone, alright. I will. I promise that I will. Please.”

Brendan cocked the gun, and pushed it away from his body.

“Please…”

Brendan breathed heavily a couple of times. Then he lowered the gun. He wiped the sweat off his brow, and then brandished it again.

“One more mistake, Dragon. One more and you are done.”

-

Alexa stood on the far left of the line of officers that had been gathered out of town, outside of the complex that had been home to the deaths of all those men so many years before. She had been called here early in the morning. Called here by Max shortly after she had left the four girls. She intended to return to them as soon as she found out what it was that Max wanted. What it was that had given Max cause to come here of all places.

It was him that stood opposite them. Max, dressed in his finest uniform, badges stuck on his right breast, his hat covering his dark hair. He was stood at attention, as they were. He started to walk down the line of them. There was ten gathered officers. Some of them were from balistics, and she didn’t even know their names.

“Alexa!”

She started at the sound of her name being shouted by the man in front of her.

“Did you hear what I just said, Alexa?”

“Erm- No, sir.”

“I said that we recieved an anonymous tip that we could find a clue about Drakan’s killer somewhere in this building. We have people from bomb disposal and ballistics with us, but you, Jamahl and Timothy will have to enter the building via the main entrance. Find the clue and get out of there. Got it?”

She looked to her right, where Orion was stood. She guessed that Max wanted him with her, so she didn’t press the issue that she would rather he come with her than Jamahl or Timothy. They were partners after all.

“Got it, sir!”

“Then go. Lets find whatever it is. Stat.”

The three of them went in a line. Jamahl went in first, his gun drawn. He cleared the first of the rooms. Then Timothy, who drew his gun to clear the corridor. Alexa ran on past him, heading through a door on the right. It was empty. All the stuff here had been cleared out after the deaths. Still, being here was chilling, as if there was something here she had forgotten.

Jamahl and Timothy had both moved on by the time she went out. She heard Jamahl call out the all clear around the corner, so followed him. They had both gone by the time she got round, and then she heard the scream.

It was bloodcurdling, and she ran after it instinctively, not even thinking of flying. Not even thinking of what she might see on the other side of that corner. Not even thinking of what it could be. She had thought maybe the anonymous tip had been Banfa. It hadn’t been.

The first thing she saw was Timothy on his knees. Then she saw Jamahl talking frantically over his walkie talkie, but she never heard the words. She was too busy staring at the body that was swinging from the noose above the stage. She recognised Banfa’s clothes, but she didn’t recognise his face. Because it wasn’t his face. The murderer hadn’t left him with that.

The pig's head looked down at her, sewn onto Banfa's body at the neck. It was dead. It's eyes weren't. They were laughing at her.

-

Dan Master sat at the bottom of the stairs of his family’s house. His face was wet from tears. His eyes were red and flushed from crying. His hair was ruffled from all the times he had run his hand through it. Outside he saw the lights flashing red and blue. He moved to the side when he heard people coming down the stairs. They passed him by, with a stretcher carried between them. The bag was already zipped up, and he stifled a whimper, and put his hand to his face, to wipe away the tears. The door opened, and with that Task was gone. He had left his home for good.

-

A red hoodied figure walks into the light of an abandoned building. Tied to a chair is Jose. There is tape over his mouth and his eyes are closed. He is unconscious, but alive. The figure stops at a small table and looks at an array of metal tools. Eventually they make a decision, and pick up a pair of pliers.