Discretion

[.deceitful.]

Let me tell you something.

If you ever decide you want to be some kind of bad guy, if you ever decide you want to be some kind of public enemy or other assorted slimeballs, for christ's sake...dont use a warehouse to hold any kind of hostage, prisoner, whatever.

I dont what it is, but criminal types are always drawn to these places.

True, your normal, average, hostage might not be clever enough to take advantage of their surroundings, but me? I live an average life, but I'm average at nothing I do.

He came back through the door, a murderous aura emanating from him like a heat wave on summer's blacktop.

I came across him, full frontal, grunting with the effort and pulling with every muscle as I smashed the chair across his head. The blow drove him backward into the closing door, slamming it shut and wedging it closed. The sound echoed in the large empty space.

"One for the money..."

My voice echoed in the thick gloom. My shadow loomed over him. I have no idea if he saw the chair hoisted on high. I have no idea if he saw it coming down. All my breath was violently expelled as the chair slammed home on his prone body with a mighty crash.

"Two for the show..."

I hit him again.

"Three to get ready..."

The chair shattered under the impact, metal legs skittering across the cement floor.

"And four for the K.O."

"...fuck ...you ...they ...you ...kill you..."

I stepped back. I was dumbstruck. An ordinary man would've died after the first blow. What was going on here? No man was that tough. None.

I had a fix for that though.

I grabbed his throat in one hand, grabbed one of the broken chair legs with the other, adrenaline lending strength to my battered body. I dragged them both over to the table. There was a wall of sandbags behind where I'd previously been sitting. I had plans for those sandbags.

I slung him against the bags. I didnt hesitate. I drove that metal stake through the middle of his gut with a wet squelch. The blood on my face didnt bother me. Neither did his cry of pain.

And then came the finishing touch. I grabbed the battery and set it at his feet. Made sure the jumper cables were hooked up. By this time, I could hear someone else battering at the door. I had to work fast.

Back to the table, I grabbed two of the knives he'd been using. I grabbed his right hand and speared it, nailing it to the sandbags. Did his left too. I couldn't stop now. I grabbed the final knife, made short work of his hamstrings; slit 'em both. Sobs of pain filled the air, but it wasn't over.

I stared him dead in the eyes when I clamped both the cables to the metal pole in his gut. He sizzled. I think he was frying from the inside out. I couldn't care less, I shoved the last knife into his crotch and walked away.

"That's a message to Cerberus. Dont FUCK with me."

The door burst open finally, and, in the heat of the night, I went to work. In hindsight, my troubles were just beginning.

[King]

"Spoken like a truly brave woman," I said with a smile. "Well, the kitchen is over there. Help yourself to whatever you find; don't worry, I had someone restock the house with edible food." I turned from her and started walking back toward the stairs; I needed to get my own shower, and to do some thinking. I'd just crossed a terrible threshold, and I still wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do.

Just in case she was still feeling a little nervous about the house and being alone, I turned toward her as I reached the fleeting case and smiled again. "Don't worry, no one is going to find us here."

And with that I vanished behind the corner, into the upper reaches of the house.

[Skylar]

Brave? Hardly. I knew better. Maybe it was just foolishness that made me seem like I had a spine. At any rate, I was in this now, and there was no turning back. Truth was, I was alright with that choice.

When I got into the kitchen I stood, mouth open wide, looking around. It looked like something straight outta cribs. Ridiculously massive. It was awesome. I, of course, went straight to the fridge. What did I want? Hell it didn’t matter, there was everything right here!

I grabbed some ground beef, and the makings for some great burgers after searching through the cupboards. Lettuce, tomatoes, pickles....ketchup, mustard, mayo. These burgers were sure to be win.

The counter top had a café style flat top grill. I was actually excited. I fired that beast up and started cooking up some food for the two of us, assuming Christian ate. I mean, I knew he was super, but was he super human? Eh, it didn’t really matter to me. He was the only friend I had, and good or bad, I was taking it, and keeping it close.

[.deceitful.]

My hands were sticky.

Behind me, in the gloom of the warehouse which held nothing but bad memories for me now, the same stickiness on my hands splattered the floor and walls.

I had no mercy.

As it turned out, my interrogator had a whole crew with him. I counted no less than five other men as I struggled to survive. In the end, I did. There was a chain in my hand, connected to a pulley in the ceiling. At the end of that chain, there was a rusted metal hook. That hook had been shoved into the roof of this man's mouth. His screams came around it as I pulled on the chain, hoisting him high into the air, kicking and struggling.

I know what you're thinking right now.

I know you're thinking; "What kind of policeman kills people like that? Arent you just as bad as they are? What happened to justice and due process of law?"

Well fuck you. And fuck them.

I'm human. So I'm not your average cop. Sue me. You sleep well in your comfortable bed at night, because of ME. You walk the streets like you own them, because of ME. You leave your house and expect to come back to all your valuables, because of ME.

So dont fucking complain when a couple of scumbags that you didnt even know existed, get what they deserve! I AM justice! I dont give two shits about process! Some shitheads dont deserve process!

I digress.

Just like the rookie, you dont deserve my cynicism.

Just take my word when I say, they got what was coming for them.

I limped outside, leaving the scene of carnage behind a corrugated steel door. It was catching up to me now. With the adrenaline draining from my body, the pain came back tenfold. I slumped, leaning against the side of the warehouse with a heavy thud. I had to use it to support myself.

I was a mess. I looked like I'd been to hell and back. I had no phone, no gun, no watch...nothing.

I dropped to a knee, desperately trying to catch my breath. Breathe in, breathe out. Steady. One eye squinted shut from the effort and the pain, I looked around, trying to find a clue as to where I was.

If I could determine that, then that would be a start to things getting better.

[King]

The shower was nice.

I don't know how long I just let the almost scalding hot water splash against my face, running down my body in a multitude of streams; it was so very relaxing. Five minutes turned into ten, and ten into twenty. Before long, nearly an hour had passed me by. . . but I didn't move. I remained where I was until the water went cold, like arctic rivers, lost in my own personal thoughts. There was so much we would have to do in the upcoming days, yet so little time.

A towel around my waist was the first order of business once I was out of the steam-filled bathroom. It rolled out into the bedroom like fog, spiraling in thick evanescent pillars that evaporated against the room's temperature. Carelessly, I threw another towel over my head and began to dry my hair. I shuffled it about vigorously before pausing, as something caught my interest.

It was a delightful smell - obviously she could cook. But I wasn't much for a meal, and so I found myself next face down against the large bed near the southern most wall of the room. I sprawled out on the right side, burrowing my face in to the pillow.

Yes, I had a lot of thinking to do.

[Skylar]

Everything was done, and smelling awesome. I wasn’t hungry, least not much, not enough to eat all I cooked. Maybe I just needed something to kill some time. I dunno, but I munched on a burger as I glanced at the time. An hour had passed already!?

I tossed away what I hadn’t eaten off my plate, and cleaned my mess up. I wrapped the extras, placed everything in the fridge that needed to go there, washed the dishes I dirtied, and wiped down everything. The place looked as if it were never touched. With a satisfactory nod to myself, I cocked my head to the side and took note that I no longer heard the shower on the second floor running.

I clicked the light off, and almost turned it back on. The massive house was freaky when it was dark, and so instead, I quickly followed the light from the living room where we had spoken.

“Christian?” I looked around the living room but saw nothing. The though of roaming through the house alone made me more then nervous, but what other choice did I have? I didn’t wanna stay down here by myself.....

The staircase was bigger then I remembered, and I had just came down them. I sighed, too loudly and thought about sprinting up them, then laughed at myself. The only thing I knew about the upstairs was where I had been, so I went that way, only to find Christian crashed out on the bed.

From the foot of the bed I crawled up beside him. It was almost, too soft, and the pillows were the biggest I had ever seen. I lay my head down, pulled my knees up and snuggled as close as I could. It was cold, I was cold.

“Is this really happening?” My voice was small. I felt small with everything that was going on, with everything I had learned in the last 24 hours. I leaned up long enough to pull the blanket up over me. I wasn't sure if he was even awake, and if he was, if he would answer. It didn't really matter, my words were more an outloud thought anyways, but still....

[King]

I'm not sure whether it was all the way me, or if it was mostly the sleep, but for the first time since I had known her I reached out to gently touch her. My fingers gently skimmed over her cheek, down to her lips, caressing the soft flesh of her face before cradling it in the crescent curve of my palm. My eyes weren't opened nor had I moved aside from that single arm, but I spoke to her nonetheless. "It is. . ."

I took a deep breath, the kind only those in a deep sleep took. "But I promise I'll protect you. I won't let them hurt anyone else close to me."

There wasn't anything else to say, though I like to think I finally just fully succumbed to the slumber that had been pulling at my consciousness. Tomorrow would be a bright new day.

[Skylar]

My lids fell slowly as his fingers caressed my cheek. I felt my heart pound, and a lump form in my throat. His touch was so soft, and even though I wasn’t sure if I should like it or not, I did. I nuzzled my face into his massive palm and shook my head to his words.

I couldn’t help but think of the girlfriend that he had lost. I didn’t say anything else though, there was nothing else to say. I stayed close to him, draped my arm around him and gently rubbed his arm.

I’m not sure when I fell asleep, but there were no night terrors, no waking up screaming, soaked in my own sweat. I felt safe. No....I was safe, and I knew it..

[King]

I awoke the next morning cuddled up against some woman I barely knew, the events of the previous night still fresh in my mind. There was still part of me that didn't want to believe everything had actually happened - Alex, John, Meg, being on the run; then, there was part of me that found the hunt to be exhilarating. This was my chance to finally be free of this evil, and to uproot it from the world itself.

Meg was still sleeping. She looked so peaceful, far more so than the first time we met, so it wasn't too surprising that I didn't want to wake her. When your life turned to shit and you were thrown into a storm of chaos, you often find yourself savoring even the smallest sliver of serenity. Call it a small piece of heaven, if you will.

But, as the heavy rays of light slowly began to creep through whatever cracks they could find between the curtains, I knew the day was awaiting us. We had a lot to do.

Gently, I nudged the slumbering angel though keeping her within my embrace. "Meg, wake up. We've gotta get going."

We had an agenda. First, we would need to contact the individual whom's number she had wrote on her arm. Chances are Cerberus had gotten to them already, but there was always the possibility that they were still alive. Depending on who they were, I may have been able to help them or-- they would be able to help us --which I desperately hoped for. We would need anything and everything could salvage in order to take these son of a bitches down.

"Who was it you were talking to on the phone when we met the other day?"

[Skylar]

I was peaceful, as much so as I ever remembered. I felt him nudge me, yet I didn’t stir right away, it kinda just blended into the dream I was having, you know that feeling? And strangely enough, I can’t remember what I was dreaming.

My lids peeked open, to lay upon him. I smiled, I couldn’t help myself, not that I wanted to. I felt nice to feel....well, nice. “Going?” My words were mixed with a yawn as I stretched, and oddly enough, did not move away from him. Perhaps I should feel bad. Laying in bed with a man I barely knew, his arm wrapped around me, while I never even got to see my future spouse buried....but I didn’t. Even if I be damned, I didn’t....

I wasn’t ready to leave this place yet. Wasn’t ready to face the harsh fact that we were being hunted like rabid animals. But I had sold my soul, for whatever that was worth. Given my word to help Christian however I could, and come hell or high water, that was exactly what I was going to do.

........When we met...I wonder if he remembered he had a gun in my face. I chuckled a little bit and ran my tongue over my parched lips before speaking again. “Oh, what was his name...”God, I couldn’t remember, and somehow I knew it was crucial that I did....”He said he was a detective, working on the case. I don’t know if he was bullshitting me or not to be honest with you. In fact, I don’t think he even gave me his name. Frankly, I don’t think he needs to know I’m with you.” I knew deep down that Christian would have a better idea of this whole thing then I would, but that didn’t stop me from putting my two cents worth in. I didn’t know if that guy was really a cop, dirty, clean..whatever...What I did know was that he had interest in me, which worried me.

[.deceitful.]

7:17 AM
Friday Morning
North Regional Hospital


I woke up.

No, not really woke up so much as clawed my way toward consciousness.

I lurched up with a gasp, just as startled to be awake as I was to realize I'd been asleep. I was caged in a sterile environment. Stainless steel and spotless white layered over the whispered hum of electronics created a cocoon around me and for a moment I was at peace.

...where the fuck was I?

At this point, the events of the night before came rushing back to me and I lunged out of the bed, knocking aside the rolling tray with a loud clatter -- with my memories, had also came the paranoia.

The ruckus drew attention of the big burly type and they rushed in along with the doctor. They did what they could to calm me. I refused to be calm. A third and fourth ape came to join us and suddenly I found myself restrained. Words spilled from the doctors mouth as he hurriedly related what he knew to me.

I breathed deeply.

I calmed down.

"So you're saying I walked in here about 3 in the morning and collapsed? And this is North Regional?"

"That's right."

I frowned. Bits and pieces were starting to come back now. I was worse than I'd expected last night. I think luck smiled on me last night. I'd somehow managed to find my bearings, and make it back to civilization.

"Listen, you can be discharged today if you want. All that's left is healing, we've done all we can for you. You looked worse than you actually were."

I took solace in the fact that somewhere, the fuckers who'd done this to me had already got what they deserved.

"I'm just gonna give one this one last shot, some antibodies, and then you can be on your way."

I shrugged free, sat on the bed, and offered my arm. He shot me up. I called the station, explained the situation, then headed out and hailed a cab.

"Boss!"

I looked around for the shout, found the rookie waiting for me, and waved the cab on.

"Thanks kid."

"The hospital called us when they saw your badge. ...what happened out there?"

I ignored his question. I climbed in and we headed off. I looked at my hands. The pain from last night was now just a memory but one little thing bothered me. Last night, that man pulled out all my nails trying to get me to talk.

...they were all there now.

Cerberus. A dirty detective. Several murders. Megan Williams. Men who were tough as steel.

I glared ahead through the windshield. My heart beat strongly. I was involved in something major and I was about to turn this city upside down. Somehow she was the key to all this. I needed her in cuffs.

[King]

She was right. It was just a little too risky to put all of our cards out on the table for this guy we knew nothing about; he could have been working for Cerberus, sure, but something just didn't add up right. When she was finished talking, or at least I thought she was, I took several moments to try and piece together some kind of strategy.

"Well, maybe we don't have to tell him you're with me." I hadn't moved much since we awoke. "The game is to try and figure out how much he knows about the situation, if anything, and if we can trust him. We both know we're kind of strapped for assistance, so if we can get another person on our side-- some linked with the authorities --it'll be a great help."

I yawned, rustling the hair about my face.

"Go ahead and call him. He won't be able to trace it here, so we'll be okay. Remember, try to figure out what he knows - if he's had any contact with Cerberus, and what his angle is. We'll go from there."

[Skylar]

I could be wrong. He seemed as leery about it all as I did, but I had to agree that at least contacting him to try to get information from him could be useful in our search. I laid there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, taking note that he was still beside me.

Rolling on my side, I propped my check in my palm, facing him. At first I didn’t say anything, I just locked my gaze to his. The intensity in his eyes was unmistakable. I’m not sure what else more I was looking for, but I was comforted none the less. The right side of my mouth perked ever so slightly as I moved the crazed locks from his face.

I rolled back over and grabbed the phone from beside the bed, and dug the piece of paper from my pocket. I stared at it for a moment, and turned once more to Christian. “You know, there wasn’t a scrap of news about any of this in the papers or on the t.v. There were no obituaries for John, Brad, Jake....nothing..” I’m not sure what my point was, but that in itself worried me, although I am sure that this wasn’t something Christian didn’t already know...

904-443-4757

That number was etched in my brain. I took a deep breath, and hit the talk button. The phone began to ring, and I tossed Christian a worried look...

[.deceitful.]

7:49 AM
Friday Morning



Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring.

For a moment, the phone startled me.

Then I looked at the rookie, expecting him to reach for his phone.

"That's you..."

"Eh?"

I grunted. Who could be calling me at this number? This was my work number. I retrieved the phone, looked at the display. No number. Weird. Did I mention I was paranoid, especially now? I thrust my hand out at the rookie, demanding he stop. I wasn't taking any chances. This was a secure line and only a handful of people had the number.

"Can you trace a call from this?"

I pointed at the laptop in the car. I knew how to use the thing, but I was pretty sure this kid was far more proficient than myself.

"Absolutely sir, I can run a triangulation program that -- "

I let him brag. I just hoped he could deliver.

I got out of the car, stood beside it so they couldn't hear the tapping of the keys. I flipped the phone open.

I didnt have much to say; whoever was calling me obviously knew who they were trying to reach. I was the only one in the dark here. Story of my fucking life.

"Detective speaking."

I knew I should be less brusque so the kid would have more time to trace the call, considering my inkling that this call may have something to do with last night's events. I just wasn't feeling it really, and if it was friends of those guys from last night, then I definitely wasn't feeling it.

On the plus side, with my attitude, there was no way they should suspect a trace going on.

[Skylar]

7:50 am. Friday.
Safe house.

I became more nervous as the phone just rang. I tossed another glance to Christian, who was still beside me. That alone made me feel empowered. I considered hanging up, but then his voice caught my attention. It was him, that much I knew, only he sounded tired, worn. Last time I spoke to him he had taken me by surprise, this time however....I was calm, cool, but not so very collected...

“Good morning Detective. I’m not sure I caught your name the last time we spoke.”

My voice was kind, I was gentle...if that even made any sense. I also assumed he would remember my voice, that he would know who I am. I had to try a different approach now that I had a better understanding as to what was going on. I really wondered what all he knew, if anything....or everything....