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Display a printable version Many Unanswered Questions
"What is your name?" She looked up at the young officer before her. "You know my name." "I do, Miss Wilson, but I need you to state it for the record." He kept his pen poised above the form on his clipboard. "Am I under arrest?" "No, ma'am." "Then why am I being detained and questioned?" She crossed her arms and sat back, her attention on the officer now. Young though he was, apparently the officer was used to people not answering his questions. His voice was calm and patient. "You're in protective custody." "From what?" "Those people who were trying to trying to kill you." "You mean the Children of Anu? They weren't trying to kill me." At the mention of the Children, he began to write on another part of the form. "What were they trying to do?" Karen, in no mood to play ball, changed the subject again. "Where's David?" "Who?" "David Hauberk." "The Detective? Doing paperwork most likely." She noticed that the officer did not look at her this time. "I want to see him." "I can't do that until you answer my questions." "Look, Sergeant...?" "Mueller." "Sergeant Mueller, are you aware that in an average lifetime, a person will spend six months sitting at red lights?" She uncrossed her arms and leaned forward with her hands in her lap. "No. I was not aware of that." He gave her a quizzical but wary look. She nodded. "It's an interesting statistic I picked up somewhere. You want to know what else I know? I know that there is a special department within the Kendrick police called the Special Unit. I know this Special Unit knows about some of the special things going on in Kendrick. I can see by your badge with the 'S.U.' on it that you are also a member of this Special Unit that knows just how special Kendrick is. So, unless you get Detective Hauberk in here - who, by the way, was only a Sergeant when I last saw him, dead on my kitchen floor after he poisoned me - I will make sure that you never, ever hit another green light for as long as you live in Kendrick. Do I make myself clear?" *** Detective David Hauberk raised an eyebrow at Karen's threat. It was certainly a creative one and would only be a minor annoyance if John Mueller was not a police officer to whom time was of the essence and a red light could mean the difference between life and death. She had changed. Hardened. It was partly his fault and he knew it. He had stayed away from her because of it and now the confrontation would not be denied. He knew it the moment the man in charge had told him they needed to extract one Karen Wilson from the Camden district. "Can she do that?" Sergeant Taylor asked. He shrugged at him. "She couldn't the last time I saw her." "Well, apparently, the last time she saw you, you were dead." "Yes. I know." He took a breath and headed for the door. "Things change." *** The door to the interrogation room opened and David stepped inside. "I'll take it from here, Sergeant Mueller." Karen and David gazed at each other while Sergeant Mueller packed his stuff up and left without a word. He closed the door behind him, happy to be out of the line of fire. David took Sergeant Mueller's place at the table across from Karen. For a long moment, they continued to stare at each other. He could not tell what the expression on her face meant but he suspected that it was going to be an unpleasant conversation. He might as well make the opening volley. "Hello, Karen. How are you?" Karen kept her eyes on David as she pulled out her cell phone, opened it and began speaking without dialing a number first. "Reginald?" "Yes, Karen?" "Would you make sure that this room is private please?" There was a pause. "It is now." "Thank you." She hung up the phone and put it in her purse again. Before she opened her mouth to speak again, David held up a finger. "They'll be busting in here momentarily. I'll assure them that everything is fine and not to interrupt us again." Karen nodded and waited. They did not wait long before Sergeant Mueller and Sergeant Taylor entered in a rush without knocking, their hands on their still holstered side arms. "Is everything all right, Detective?" Sergeant Taylor asked. "Just fine." "There's an equipment malfunction. We should move - " David shook his head. "No. We'll stay right here. Everything's fine." "Sir?" "Everything is fine, Sergeant. Miss Wilson and I are going to have a private conversation." The two Sergeants looked at him and then at each other. Sergeant Taylor nodded. "Yes, Sir. Just knock on the door when you want out." They left, closed and locked the door after themselves. "Is that standard procedure?" "Which part?" She gestured to the door. "The locking us in part." He nodded. "They understand that, sometimes, the people we bring here need to not be recorded. If that happens, the door is locked to contain... the danger." "Is that what I am now?" "I don't know. Are you? You're the one threatening police officers with red lights." It was supposed to be a joke but the words sounded flat and accusatory in his ears. "Why am I here, David? And why are you still alive?" "I'm happy to see you, too." "Dammit!" She slammed her fist on the table and stood. "I saw you shot. I saw you on the floor dead. I saw... blood. I saw blood from you and from Heather. When I got back after being rescued from the ritual, both of your bodies were gone! Why are you still alive?!" *** "Shit. She looks mad." Sergeant Mueller said. "I know." "Why?" "It might be because of the whole 'she thought he was dead' thing." Sergeant Taylor sipped his coffee and watched the silent conversation on the other side of the mirror. "What happened with that? That was before I got introduced to the Special Unit." "Back in December, the Order was coming after Karen for the Kendrick-shattering ritual. You know, the one with all the power outages and riots. He was trying to keep her from it. They tricked him. Had him drug her. Then came in, shot him and took her. He, being a cop expecting trouble, had his vest on but it still did a job on him. He was in the hospital for a long while. The extraction team found another dead girl in the apartment. David said that one of the members of the Order slit her throat. We had to clean it all up." *** David shrugged. "I'm alive because I had my vest on." He pulled open collar of his shirt to reveal a bullet hole shaped scar near his collar bone. "But I didn't get away unscathed if that makes you happy." "It doesn't make me happy. Why'd you let me think you were dead?" He looked uncomfortable. "I was in the hospital for a while. By the time I got out, I figured it was better if I wasn't in your life." "You let me think you were dead!" "I know." He nodded. "I'm sorry." "What happened to Heather's body?" "She was a Jane Doe in the morgue for about a week. Then, after she was identified, her family was called and she was listed as the victim of a mugging gone wrong. She's buried in the Kendrick cemetery." Karen sighed and bowed her head as she sat back down. "At least she's at rest." *** "She threatened me with a curse of red lights. Can she do that?" Sergeant Taylor shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. She's the Master of the City's representative. There's a rumor that she's the new Master of the City." "Wouldn't that make her the Mistress of the City?" "Don't be stupid. It's just a title." *** "I didn't mean to hurt you." "You drugged me. You handed me over to them." "No. I was betrayed." "So was I." Her voice was quiet and full of pain. "They were never supposed to be there." He reached out and put his hand over hers. "I was protecting you. I knew they wanted to use you." As much as Karen wanted to leave her hand in his and to throw herself into his arms, sobbing on his shoulder out of relief that he was still alive, she pulled her hand away and crossed her arms. She deliberately closed herself off from him and they both knew it. "You should have known better. You're in this Special Unit. You made things worse and caused the death of one of my courier gargoyles with that candle of yours. You almost got me killed, too. You could have just told me what you knew." The venom in the word 'special' made her statement sound like an accusation. He looked away from her. "There are only so many times I can say I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I should have trusted you. I know that now. I'm sorry." "Why am I here?" "What?" "Why am I here in this interrogation cell?" She lifted her arms to indicate the room they were in. "What do you want from me? How did you know where I'd be?" *** "Oh, bad move, Hauberk." Sergeant Taylor muttered and shook his head. "What? Looks like his trying to comfort her." "He is." "And?" "They were dating when he drugged her to try to protect her from the Order. Or, they had just broken up. I never got a clear understanding on the situation other than to know that there was another guy involved." "Ooops." Sergeant Mueller watched Karen cross her arms. "Yeah. 'Oooops.'" *** "This wasn't my idea." David said. "I got a call from the boss. He told me that someone important to the city was about to make a mistake and to make sure that I got that person out." "Your boss told you. Who is that and how did they know?" He shook his head. "I don't know how he knew. Even if I did, I couldn't tell you. I just know that I got the order to extract you from the Camden district before you were hurt." He gestured to her bruised face. "I was almost too late." "I can take care of myself. I don't need to be rescued." "My boss thought otherwise." "Is that what the Special Unit is here for? Rescuing damsels in distress?" Karen scowled. "Is that what the rest of the Kendrick police think it does?" "No. Of course not. The Special Unit is to protect all of Kendrick's citizens from the dangerous supernatural creatures out there. You may be trying to help and protect Kendrick but not all you people are. Some of you are a menace and flat out evil." "'You people,' huh?" She tried to keep the pain out of her voice. "You mean like werewolves?" "Exactly." "Except, the last werewolf we met together was a Guardian and one of the good guys and you were just going to shoot him without question or thought. And I'm one of 'you people' now, huh?" "That's not fair." "But true." "That was the first time we... I... had encountered a werewolf that wasn't a slavering beast out to kill anything that moved." "Well, I guess your Special Unit doesn't know everything, does it?" ***
"What?" "I don't know what he just said to her but that's the same look my wife gets when I just monumentally fucked up and am seconds away from sleeping on the couch." "I'd give my eyeteeth to know what they're talking about." Sergeant Taylor squinted at the couple beyond the glass. "Maybe I'll sneak a peek at the Detective's report after this." "Sergeant!" "Yes?" "Make sure you tell me what you read. Or better yet, let me know when you've got it so I can read it for myself." "You got it, partner." The two men grinned at each other then returned to their observations. *** "No. It doesn't." David's face shifted from raw emotion into a professional mask. "That is why you are here. We know there's something going on in the Camden district. We know there's a group there. We didn't know its name until you mentioned it. This, 'Children of Anu.' We need to know more about it." "Why should I tell you?" "Because the Special Unit is trying to protect Kendrick and because I'm asking you." "So, I should tell a man who has lied to me, betrayed me and let me think he was dead about my business and the business of 'you people' because he's asking." David nodded. "Yes." "No." "No?" Karen shook her head. "No." "Why not?" "You know, I'd like to tell you it's because I'm being mean and spiteful and because I'm still angry and lashing out at you. I'd like this to be revenge. But, it's not. It's because I don't know anything about them and I was going to find out when you, your boss and your Special Unit interrupted me. You all may have just messed up my one chance to get in there on even terms with them and made Heather's death truly be in vain. Now, I'm going to have to start all over again and hope to hell I can find out what's going on before it blows up in my face. Your Special Unit can't handle this. You guys need to back off and let me do my job. Whether you like it or not, this is my city and I'm going to protect it the best I can. Don't make me your enemy even though I'm one of 'you people' now." She stood up, brushed her skirt off and put her purse over her shoulder. "This interview is over." "No. It's not, Karen. I have a job to do. This is my city, too. I need to protect the regular citizens from those things that are happening in the shadows." He stood. "You can help me with that. Please." "No. Not right now. I can't. I have to think about things." She walked to the door and tried it. It was still locked. "Open." She muttered at it and was rewarded with the sound of the door unlocking itself and opening. *** "Looks like the interview is over." Sergeant Mueller said. "Not until the Detective raps on the glass or the door. That door doesn't unlock for anyone but him." The two Sergeants watched Karen try the locked door. Then, they watched it as it unlocked and opened itself for her. "Shit!" They muttered in unison and moved from the Observation room on an intercept course, hoping that things were not about to get really ugly but both certain that it was. *** The door opened and Karen stepped out into the hallway. Sergeants Mueller and Taylor came out of the door to her right. Both of them looked uncertain but ready for action. "Gentlemen, I'm leaving now." She started to turn, then paused. She looked back at Sergeant Mueller. "Don't worry about what I said to you. You were only doing your job and I was... am ... having a bad day." She turned and walked down the hallway towards the next electronically locked door. Both Sergeants looked to David for orders. He waved them off and followed Karen, wondering how she did what she did and what else she could do now. She had changed. She had become the Master of the City's representative through and through. Karen reached the next door. "Reginald, please open the way for me. I want to leave this place." She kept her voice low. The speaker next to the door responded in the same type of sotto voice. "Yes, Karen. We'll talk about this later." She smiled to herself as the red light clicked green and the door opened to the surprise of the officers on the other side. Behind her, David followed, giving quiet orders into his cell phone to let Karen Wilson go and for no one to try and stop her. Observe and report. *** Elsewhere... "I found it! Reggie, I think this is it!" Vicki's excited voice carried far in the echoing rock at low tide under the docks over the southern tip of Discovery Bay. Reggie, and the rest of the Children who had heard Vicki's shout, came running. All of them were wet and dirty after scrubbing through the low tide muck underneath and to the sides of the docks that fed the industrial district of Kendrick. What Vicki had found was a small, moss covered cave entrance that had been completely hidden by a tangle of overgrown weeds hanging down from the ridge above the cave. "Let me see." Reggie pushed through everyone to get a good look at what Vicki was shining her flashlight on. Just on the inside of the cave entrance, above the high tide waterline, there were crude but unmistakable drawings and hieroglyphics. The largest of these drawings was a bullheaded man carrying a club. He was taller and fiercer than the rest of those drawn around him. The club was held high and a light poured from it, burning all enemies. "Anu." He said. "Great God Anu!" "I can see that the path goes up and then opens up more. I'll bet we just have to follow the map to find the sacred chamber." Reggie grinned at the shining eyes of his younger sister. "I'll bet it does. You done good, kid." He turned to the rest of the Children. "I'm going in with Mike." He pointed to two of his more trusted members. "You and you, guard the entrance. We're going to start a regular watch on this spot until I say otherwise. Sam, make it happen." "I want to go, too, Reggie." Vicki stood impatiently. "You will, but not just yet. Mike and I have to make sure its safe." He glanced at Mike and his still bandaged hand. "Mike is going to make sure of it. He's still got to prove himself worthy again after his fuck up. Don't you, Mike?" Mike said nothing and turned away. Reggie bared a shark-like grin. "You'll come next. You can stay with Sam for now." "All right." Vicki acquiesced but was clearly unhappy about it. "But, I go next." "Promise." Reggie patted her head. "All right, you guys, move it!"
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| Last updated on 1/3/2008 9:09:28 PM by Jennifer Brozek |
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| Other documents at this level: 01 - Caller ID: Unknown 02 - Eye of the Engraving 03 - Arbiter 04 - Forgotten School Days 05 - Sacrificium Memoriae 06 - The Inspiration of Insanity 07 - The Running Feeling 08 - Afternoon Tea 09 - Sins of the Brother 10 - Burning Bridges 11 - Betrayal 12 - Warfare & the Rite 13 - Beginnings and Endings 14 - Heart's Desire 15 - Burn 16 - Many Happy Returns 18 - Concessions 19 - Blue Moon Revelations 20 - First Blood 21 - Transcript 22 - Ultimatums Part One 23 - Ultimatums Part Two 24 - Too Little Too Late |
Karen gazed at herself in the mirror in the police interrogation room over the officer's shoulder. She was not actually looking at herself or even trying to see who was behind the mirror watching her and the officer. She already knew who one of them was: David Hauberk. Right now, she was trying to wrap her mind around the fact that he was not dead and was wondering what had happened in her kitchen after V'Ger and Todesengel had murdered Heather, shot David, and had taken her from her home. She had spent months grieving for him and wondering who had stolen his and Heather's bodies. Finally, she had a clue.