The Mountain - V
V.
Angela
guided Greed through the streets. A light rain was falling and it was getting
cold to the point it was almost sleet.
“I hate
this weather.” Angela remarked.
“I
don’t mind it, unless it interferes with my case. Damn washouts are such a
pain.” Greed lamented.
“How
long have you been a detective?”
“Small
talk? Really?”
“I
assume you have questions of your own, just figured I’d open the dam since
you’re so stubborn you’d go to the grave knowing nothing but seething wishing
that you had known.”
Greed
clicked his teeth at that remark then let his shoulders drop.
“Twenty-five
years.”
“A
lifer eh?”
“How
long have you been doing…this?”
“All my
life.”
Greed
shot Angela a look.
“Well,
not street work. My sister and I joined the tactical team only a few years ago
but we’ve been in training since we were children.”
“Like a
military brat.”
“More
like a boarding school student. The Union is in our blood and our family name.”
“That
prolific huh? How come I’ve never heard of it then?”
“Mums
the word.”
“Huh?”
“Secrecy
is our business. We don’t stand out on purpose. The nature of our work makes it
highly necessary to stay in the dark otherwise the things we uncover would
shock the skin off you.”
“Now
you’re just pulling my leg. In my time I’ve seen things that would put you in
an asylum. Butchered bodies, murdered children, burnt corpses. And don’t get me
started on the war.”
“Child’s
play.”
“What?”
Greed snapped.
“The
things we’ve seen or simply heard spoken of in relation to our work would make
you question your own existence.”
Greed
scoffed.
“Fine,
don’t believe me. Most men take longer to understand. Woman have an intuition
about these things. Probably why our great grandmother is so highly regarded.”
“Great-grandmother?”
“She
was in the Union in the 1800’s. Joined after an incident in her youth. Her
family, save my great uncle, have all been Union members. It’s the family
business if I had to put it in simple terms.”
“Ghost
fighting women.”
“Much
more than that my dear.” Angela said with a bit of endearment in her voice. She
knew that if this man was going to join them in the long run, something she
wasn’t wholly against, he’d need a lot of convincing. She wasn’t lying when she
said it took men longer to catch on, that was unless they saw something first
hand that clicked. Most cases don’t get that far and for good reason. Women did
have a sixth sense and it did the Union well. When, after Amelia Darrows,
Angela and Erika’s great grandmother, joined more women were recruited by her
keen eye. Still the power of men in the hierarchy was hard to combat. They did
it with closing cases instead of internal strife. But recruiting new members
was tough either way. Living in a time such as now, where material woes were
few and far between and the Order was quieter than ever, once the ranks thinned
out it seemed next to impossible to refill them. So stumbling across a
detective who was nominally capable and mentally stable was a blessing and a
curse.
“How
far are we?”
“Turn
here. That building there.” Angela said folding the map and retrieving her gun.
She hadn’t had it on her since her part in this case started. Couldn’t play a
prostitute with a gun in this town so she had to go without. But now in the
thick of it she was glad to have its cold metal between her fingers again.
Greed
also drew his gun as they entered the building. It was dark inside owing to the
large buildings around it blocking out sunlight and the rain clouds still
gracing the sky with their grey hue. Angela withdrew a flashlight and Greed
used his lighter.
“Split
up?” Greed asked.
“Sure.”
Angela motioned for him to take the left corridor while she took the right. She
always wondered how so many buildings could be run down in such a large city.
Wouldn’t it be more frugal to sell the building to a new owner and have them
reuse it? Wasting valuable resources and leaving eyesores of architecture hurt
her inner artist. She always fawned over local architecture wherever she went
with her sister, enjoying gothic over most but neo-American also caught her
eye. This however, burnt out, run down, rat hole made her turn her nose. Such a
waste of space as well. On the drive in they passed no less than five homeless
people and those are the ones she cared to count. She imagined if a building
like this was repurposed as housing for them. Instead it was possible the scene
of a crime, covered in muck and dust and blood.
“Shame.”
She whispered moving up the halls. She listened for movement and checked each
side room but found nothing. Part of her, the adventurous side, wanted this to
be something. Their last four cases were recon ops with no real action and she
was always drawn in by the prospect of fighting with the Order. There was very
little fighting but she stayed diligent. She knew here work was important but
she still wanted the excitement of a fight. Another part of her, the smarter
side as her sister would put it, was worried. She remembered learning a little
about The Enigma back in training. There was a series of classes dedicated to
the threat Tier system. Most cases fell low on the list. But The Enigma was
right up at the top with the Old Ones. The idea always seemed absurd to her. OF
course there was anecdotal proof and some physical evidence but most people who
came in contact with an Old One went crazy. Even for the Union, hearsay was
little to go on, but they were cautious. So when The Enigma was introduced as
an A-Tier threat, meant to be handled by more than one tactical team at a time
if at all possible, Angela dismissed it. B-Tier and above incidents were few
and far between and something really only seen in the past. The last high tier
case being Ashley, Kansas and even then it still hotly debated if the Enigma is
responsible. Erika was convinced, Angela was not. Not entirely. However, the
prospect should be handled accordingly. Whether or not this was an A-tier case
Angela would be better off sticking to her guns and being responsible.
With
her wing of the building completed, finding nothing of note, she returned to
the main hall. She checked her watch and their time frame was fast approaching
a close.
“Greed?”
Angela called out.
No
response.
She
moved up slowly scanning from room to room. There was skittering of rats on the
floors and in the walls but no other sounds.
Then
she heard screaming. She burst into a sprint tracing the sound deeper and
deeper until he found Greed. He was kneeling over something in a closed off
room. Rats scattered away and the smell hit her hard in the nose making her
gag. With a quick glance she saw a body with a severed head against one wall
and Greed covering up another.
“Are we
too late?”
“No,
she’s dehydrated and delirious but she’s still alive. We don’t have much time.”
“I’m
sorry…I’m sorry…I’m sorry.” The woman repeated.
Angela
recognized her though she was beaten and looked ill. It was Misty, the woman
who was captured with her before.
“We
have to get her out of here.” Greed said moving to the woman’s hand restraints.
“I’ll
radio back…wait…” Angela said shushing Greed from making more noise.
Greed
stood and withdrew his gun placing his hand over Misty to stop her from
muttering.
“Someone
is coming.” Angela whispered. She turned off her light and stepped back behind
Greed raising her own gun. Foot steps echoed up the hallway getting closer and
closer. Greed cocked his gun. The footsteps stopped.
“Shit.”
Greed said under his breath.
The
footsteps retreated in a run back down the hall.
Greed
followed.
“Stop
you sonofabitch!”
Angela
knelt to check on Misty, still muttering apologies to no one.
“I’m
here Misty, it’s me Angela.”
“Angela…”
“Yeah
let’s get you out of here.” Angela undid the woman’s hand restraints, kicked a
rat that was nibbling on her thigh and hoisted her up. The woman was frail and
weak and could barely stand on her own two legs. Angela holstered her gun and
carried Misty out of the room back down the hallway. After a few feet gun
shorts rang out and Angela could hear Greed.
“Goddamnit!”
“Greed!
Where are you?”
“I’m
here. Fuck.”
Angela
dragged Misty down the hall towards Greed’s voice.
She
could barely see in the dark
“Ow!
Watch it!” Greed yelled.
Angela
kicked him in the side..
“Sorry.
Are you okay?”
“Bastard
stabbed me.”
“Where
did he go? Can you stand?”
“Yeah,
I think so. I shot at him but he came right at me, knocked the gun out of my
hand. We traded blows he slashed at me then he ran off. We need to get the hell
out of here.”
“Get up
and let’s go, take my flashlight.” Angela tossed the flashlight to Greed who
used the light to check his wound. It was a quick slash to his arm and chest
but not too deep. He held pressure as they walked out. Misty was breathing
heavily and in sporadic bursts. Angela laid her in the back seat of the car and
Greed went for the driver’s seat.
“No,
give me the keys.”
Greed
winced and tossed them over. From the shadow of the entrance Angela saw a flash
of light and heard Greed’s gun go off. The bullets missed their target unless
he meant to hit the windshield, the building, and the ground. Angela and Greed
dove into the car and she sped away the gun going off and missing again and
again.
“Hold
on Misty, we’ll get you some help.”
Angela
placed her hand on Misty’s face as the woman faded into unconsciousness.
“I’m
just a victim…of…circum…stance…”
“Radio
in.” Greed said grimacing in pain.
Angela
took the walkie in hand.
“Erika,
Victoria, we found something at our site. Encountered the Butcher. Need to rush
two vics to the hospital. Will rendezvous at the station when able. Over.”
Static then no reply.
Greed
reached for it again to repeat the information, but Angela brushed him off.
“Let’s
get you fixed up. They can handle themselves.”
Angela
replaced the walkie and concentrated on the road. She had to get to the
hospital fast or else Misty would die.
The
smell of the river thickened the air turning up Erika’s nose. If it bothered
Victoria she didn’t let it be known. The two women parked their car and entered
the closest warehouse to them. There were three to check and plenty of time to
check them. Their ride wasn’t as far as the other two so they could take their
time before the rendezvous. Erika held a handkerchief doused in peppermint oil
to cut the smell of fish and waste. It didn’t do much but mix in her nose but
she knew that without it the weight of the stench would topple her.
Inside
the first warehouse it was completely barren. Empty from floor to ceiling and
wide open. You couldn’t hide a pack of cards inside. So Victoria took the lead
and entered the next closest building.
“What
do you think of this detective? Think he’ll join the Union?”
“I’m
not sure.”
“Seems
like he’s having a rough go of it at his precinct.”
“Why do
you say that?”
“I was eavesdropping
on his conversation with his captain. Apparently he’s on thin ice. No thanks to
us.”
“That
shouldn’t’ be a big deal for him. He seems capable enough. Just this case is
out of his league.”
“True,
but if you think he’d be a good addition.”
“I’m
not sure.”
“I do
need more tactical members in this region and with your sabbatical coming up…”
“I
know, don’t guilt me into not taking my vacation. Angela would kill me.”
“Either
way you know we’re always looking for new recruits. Just that from what I’ve
seen he seems pretty mediocre.”
“We’ll
see how it plays out I guess. I’ll keep it in the back of my mind. He’ll need
training.”
“Most
men do.”
The two
women shared a laugh and continued their search. The second warehouse was
packed tight with old containers and machines. Long abandoned and closed up
from use. Most of the riverside buildings at this pier were rusted and broken
apart, but this building was mostly intact. Splitting up they had to shout to
hear each other.
“How
certain are you that this is an A-Tier case?”
“Just a
hunch and a few signs.”
“You?
Playing a hunch?”
“Amelia
did that didn’t’ she? It’s practically in my blood.”
“Maybe
in Angela’s blood. You never struck me as a ‘hunch’ type of woman. More of a
hard evidence type.”
“Most
of the time I am, but this subject is near and dear to me.”
“That’s
a strange way to talk about extraplanar beings.”
“You
know in the academy I was the only one in my class to correctly rank and
identify the signs for an A-Tier and S-Tier event.”
“So you
did your homework? What’s your point? I passed that test too. Are you trying to
say you want a supervisor job? I could put in a word.”
“That’s
not what I’m saying. Although I would enjoy that. Maybe set me up in Spain.”
“Best
you’d get is Alaska, Siberia, or Antarctica. All the cold places go to newbies.
Warm and scenic are for veterans.”
Erika
shivered at the thought.
“Maybe
I’ll just stay on a tactical team then. But my point was, I took extra care to
ace the test. I was shooting for an analyst position, someone who reads the
texts and predicts anomalies. I was only stuck on tactical because Angela
needed a partner and wanted someone she could trust.”
“So
you’re saying…”
“I’m
saying this has all the signs of The Enigma.”
“And
you want the clout in solving this.” Victoria said pushing open a door to a
small office. Dust flew in the air with the gust from the door. Erika didn’t
respond right away.
“Erika?
Hello?” Victoria called out moving towards her last known position from the
sound of her voice. Victoria called out and ran back and forth retracing her
steps in the direction Erika had went. There was no answer.
“Erika!
Answer me! That’s an order.”
Erika’s
voice entered Victoria’s ear from a shadow shushing her.
“What’s
going on?” Victoria whispered.
“Look
over there.” Erika pointed towards a corner of the room obscured by shadows.
Something caught the light and sparkled. Victoria turned her flashlight over in
that direction. In the corner sat a woman missing her left arm, part of her
jaw, and cut open exposing her insides. A necklace draped down and sat atop her
exposed ribs catching the light and shining it back. A trail of blood led away
to an office closed off. Erika forced open the door and found a shrine with
words written in blood with a finger.
“Do you
believe me now?” Erika said stepping away and heading for the car. She had to
radio this to Angela. If they found something then they might be running out of
time. The vessel might already be complete. If that is the case then they were
far shorter on time then she had hoped. They’d have to find the epicenter of
the circle. There they’d find the vessel, there they’d find the Butcher.
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