Dark Angel
A Sentinel Story
By: Clarence P. Browne -and- Mary Shukes
Part Four - Harsh Lessons
Darkness...
Blair came to groggily in absolute
darkness. He tried to feel around, but found his hands were bound. "Jim?"
he said weakly.
"Not just yet, Little Brother.
There will be time for training after you adjust, but for now you've got
to acclimate yourself to our presence in your little area. Otherwise, you'll
keep overloading and continue blacking out like you did for those four
rapists..."
"What? But... I... That is..."
"Calm yourself, Little Brother.
If your heart beats any faster it may just leap out of your chest. Take
it slowly... Adjust."
"Why do you keep calling me
Little Brother?" demanded Blair. "And why can't I see?"
"Does it bother you? Would
you prefer Apprentice?"
"I would prefer to SEE."
"Then see. There is ample light
for such as ourselves... Calm is the key. If you continue to fret, then
we doubt many of the lessons will take hold. Concentrate first on your
heartbeat... Keep it slow and steady, and breathe in slow rhythm along
with it. If it helps, visualize a calm pool of water..."
"Dammit, I don't need you to
teach me how to meditate... I'm just a little out of sorts considering
I've been KIDNAPPED."
"Anger is hardly what we mean
by calm, Little Brother. Anger closes the mind, and to learn you must remain
open..."
"Hey, I'm as open-minded as
ANYONE that gets snatched off the street and taken to God-knows-where to
be trussed up like a kite, okay?"
"Hmmm... We suppose that some...
concessions should be made to make you more... receptive..."
Blair felt the ropes loosen around his wrists,
then fall away. "Gee, thanks," he said caustically as he rubbed the rope
burns.
"It was necessary to restrain
you, otherwise you would have hurt yourself."
"How did you find me, Bobo?"
"Well, we see you've been doing
your homework. This pleases me. Very well... When we escaped, we took the
liberty of appropriating the laptop possessed by our former warden. Luckily,
as a fairly high ranking official of the penal system he had access to
various databases - such as Hospital Admissions. From there, it was easy
to cross reference the time of your episode to all Emergency Room admissions
within the hour, and the process of elimination did the rest. There were,
of course, other admissions; but among all those stab wounds, gunshots,
and et cetera you were the only fainting spell. After that, a quick check
to the DMV netted your address - though you weren't home when we looked.
We _did_, however notice several flyers from the Rainier University, and
ONE of them had a listing for our old friend Jack Kelso... So we visited
him and found out that you were a 'Special Advisor' to the Police, no doubt
through the use of your skills..."
"Anthropology?"
"Heh. A sense of humor is a
good thing... No. Obviously, we meant the use of your enhanced senses in
the employ of the Police."
"MY enhanced senses? Oh...
Oh YEAH. MY enhanced senses. Of course! How silly."
"Hmmm... You're sweating. It
isn't THAT hot here, is it?"
"Uh, no. Just a side effect
of the pills I got for that bump I took..."
"Pills? Bah. You'll not be
needing any of those..."
"But the pain-"
"Live with it. Pain is the
enforcer of Fear... To master Pain is to be free of them both. Learn..."
"I don't know if I can-"
"SILENCE! Indecision... Doubt...
You must be free of such things, Little Brother. You cannot become what
you need to be if you listen to those voices that second-guess your own
ability. FOCUS. What do you see?"
"I see that I'm in trouble...."
"Hmmm... THIS is going to be
a little more difficult than we had anticipated... Luckily, we just love
a challenge... Heh."
Blair wasn't sure whether to
laugh or cry...
Jim Ellison stepped into his apartment feeling strangely uneasy. Something was wrong, he knew it, but aside from that he had no idea. He scanned his apartment, and noticed a manilla envelope in the kitchen. He strode to it and snatched it off the counter. It contained a note, and a wad of cash that would choke a gorilla. He read the note for some sort of clue...
"To Whom
It May Concern.
"Blair
Sandburg, regrettably, has to move out in order to further his education.
In all fairness, so as not to leave you in the lurch for his half of the
rent, please accept this money. Ten thousand dollars should be amply acceptable
for his half, and should provide plenty of leeway until you can find a
new roommate. Hopefully, you haven't grown attatched to him - but if you
have, please accept this additional ten thousand dollars to ease your mental
transition.
"In short,
buy yourself something nice.
"You're
welcome. See you soon."
Jim quickly counted the money.
Twenty thousand dollars in cash, just like the note said... He threw the
money to the floor angrily. "You miserable motherFUCKER! You won't get
away with this!" He caught sight of the back of the note, and read it quickly...
"Oh,
yes I will," was written on it, along
with a happyface giving a raspberry.
:)
"FUCK!" Jim shouted as he brought
his fist down on the counter. "That TEARS it, you freak! I'm going
to hunt you down and tear off your goddamn HEAD!" He examined the
note studiously, hoping for some indication of where to look; but it was
positively sterile. Just like all the murders so far, there were no fingerprints.
He scanned the apartment again; nothing out of place. No signs of a struggle...
Nothing. Whatever it was, it was DAMN careful about leaving clues, and
that pissed Jim off even MORE. "You scumbag! You think you can waltz into
my HOUSE and mindfuck me with these goddamn NOTES? I'll find you...
And when I do you're going to be a REAL Angel! I swear to GOD!"
Bobo slammed his hand through
a wall in frustration. "No! Wrong! By all that's holy, man, are you making
mistakes JUST to ANNOY us? How many times do we have to go through this
with you? THINK! FOCUS!"
"I-it's a little b-bit difficult
under the stress, Bobo," stammered Sandburg.
"STRESS? It's SIMPLE! Clear
your mind, and tell us what color that damnable scarf on that damnable
mannequin is... NOW!"
Blair was in serious trouble,
and he knew it... "I don't see _ANY_ scarf, man!" he blurted. He gasped
as he realized what he said, and began silently reciting the mantra for
peace before entering the next life.
Bobo stared at Blair icily and then walked over
to the mannequin... He sighed, and then dragged it over to the dim flicker
of what passed for the lighting and held it squarely in front of Blair
as he proclaimed, "FINALLY! How can you tell us you saw a CHARTEUSE colored
scarf? Or a blue one with little white snowflakes? We weary of what passes
for humor to you, and suggest that you take this training MUCH more seriously."
Bobo flung the mannequin away, and it shattered against the block wall.
"And clean yourself up! You've got the bladder of a ninety year old dowager!
Toughen the hell up, would you?"
"S-sorry," muttered Blair sheepishly.
"I'm just still getting adjusted, I guess... Say, I know! How about we
have a little talk, so I can feel more at ease?"
"A what? A little TALK? For
what purpose?"
"Oh, you know... Get to know
each other... So I know what I'm dealing with here, y'know?"
"Heh. It is to laugh... You
REALLY want to know what you're dealing with?"
"It'd be a start..."
"Very well... Look deep into
the darkest, most primal part of your soul and dredge up the most horrible
thing imaginable... Call it your Ultimate Nightmare, for visualization's
sake..."
"And I guess that thing would
be you?" said Blair, trying not to sound smarmy.
"No, clearly not. That thing
you conjured up, if given form and substance... Would worship us as its
GOD."
"Oh, damn..."
"There, now you know... Feel
better?"
"Uh..."
"GREAT. Now back to business..."
"Waitasec! I have so many questions..."
"QUESTIONS? What sort of questions
could you POSSIBLY have?"
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"You want the whole list? Why
do you do what you do? Why do you kill people for no reason? Why-"
"No REASON?" said Bobo incredulously.
"How long HAVE you been in school?"
"Well, I-"
"Nevermind. It was obviously
TOO long. You're so wrapped up in the STUDY of life that you don't even
understand what it IS anymore. You and the rest of your smug little coffee
klatsch society bolting your windows and doors as the world rolls merrily
into the crapper. Too busy walking around with your USA Today and your
E-Trading to even look outside. And when you gather in those little bleeding-heart
clubs to shake a stern finger at what you THINK is wrong with the world,
it's really pathetic... Amnesty International? The NAACP? The ACLU? Greenpeace?
All of them just big circle jerks... You so desperately need to
feel superior that you champion anything that pulls your little heartstring...
Bah! All rubbish! For all that smug righteousness and intellectualized
indignation, you never see the big picture..."
"What's the big picture, then,
if you're so enlightened?"
"The big picture is that things
are the way they are until they are CHANGED. Newton's Law states that objects
in motion STAY in motion until acted on by a greater force, yes?"
"I... I don't get the connection,"
admitted Sandburg.
"Heh. We know you don't...
Your ilk would rather concentrate on a frayed thread than step back and
admire the tapestry... It's not your fault, mind you, just a result of
conditioning... For all their howling, do you expect fatass Ed Asner or
pussy Mike Farrell to lead a charge to free their precious 'political prisoners'?
No, clearly not. But do you have the faintest idea WHY?"
"Because they have to work
within the parameters of the law, and international treaty?"
"WRONG. Because they - and
all others like them - are just BULLSHITTING. Do you think they REALLY
care what happens to some ex-hippie cop-killer, or some dissident in the
bowels of South America? NO. They just care about being on television...
They just want more people like YOU to think that they're concerned, connected
and righteous. We've BEEN to South America. We've SEEN and FOUGHT these
people that so irritate you 'activists', and you know what?"
"Uh..."
"We didn't see Ed Asner ONCE.
And we LOOKED. His fat ass should just shut up, because it's OBVIOUS he
doesn't really care about anything but being on the damnable television...
If he had a shred of decency he'd show some concern for the WIDOW of that
dead cop that his 'flock' seem hell-bent to demonize. If he had an ounce
of integrity, he'd acknowledge that he doesn't know SHIT about the cause
he's championing. But then, that would be admitting we aren't as superior
as we claim, wouldn't it? Full steam ahead!"
"Now, hold on a sec, you're
painting with a pretty broad brush..."
"Really? Just for grins, are
you in favor of the death penalty?"
"No!"
"Why? Tell us..."
"Because to sink to their level...
We'd be no better than they are..."
"We really wish we could laugh,
sometimes... Heh. So you'd rather have scumbags trotting around and doing
as they will? Selling drugs to children, killing women, robbing and hurting
the weak? You'd rather feel superior than SAFE?"
"It's not that simple!" argued
Blair. "People have taken money from selling drugs and sent their kids
to college. Heck, some even start record companies. I've met lots of girls
that danced on tables to pay their way through med school. Sometimes people
do things that aren't good in order to DO good. Sometimes, the end justifies
the means..."
"THAT'S why we do what we do,
Little Brother... And with that, the prosecution rests. Heh. Get yourself
some sleep, you've`gotten a lot of serious training and you need to digest
it... You're welcome. See you SOON."
Blair suddenly felt very cold,
and he wasn't sure whether he was shivering or shaking...
"What's the problem, Ellison?
You look like hell... And where's Sandburg? Didn't I tell you to bring
him to me?"
"Simon, it came into my HOUSE.
It has Blair, and God knows what it's going to DO with him..."
"Jim, calm down," urged Simon.
"I know that you're upset about this thing putting the grab on Sandburg,
but in your current state you're no good to him or anybody. What about
King G? Did you find him?"
"Yeah, I found him... Seeing
that thing at work was a religious experience for him, and he's going back
to school... Word is the 357s are finished. The other mobs and gangs are
going through serious powerplays as they try to regroup, but it'll be months
before they can recover... If at all..."
"And we're stuck with cleaning
up the mess. Perfect..."
Jim froze in his tracks. "What
did you say?"
"C'mon, Jim. Nature abhors
a vacuum. There's going to be a lot of bloodshed as these gangs try to
reorganize..."
"No, about us cleaning up the
mess... Is that all we are?"
"Is what all we are?"
"Janitors... Just here to clean
up the mess..."
"Hey! None of that kind of
talk, Jim... Maybe I used a poor choice of words, but you're reading too
much into an idle comment."
"It wasn't idle... Simon, I
don't know how to say this without sounding like a nutcase, so I'll just
say it... What you said, about us cleaning up the mess... That THING said
to me in my dreams..."
Simon pondered the information before he responded.
"Well, that settles it... You're off the case."
"Simon, I have to go find Blair."
"What you HAVE to do is STAND
DOWN. This thing is a walking nightmare, and God knows if the shit it's
been doing wasn't enough to rattle ANYONE... But now you're PERSONALLY
involved, and that's just a gold-engraved invitation to disaster..."
"Simon, NO. You CAN'T pull
me off this... I'm the only one who has a chance of catching him!"
"That's ENOUGH, Ellison. You
can't be on this... I'm sorry."
"Simon, please..."
"No, Jim. In the state you're
in, you're liable to get yourself killed... The department can't afford
to have you running off half-cocked. When you calm down, you'll know I'm
right..."
Jim pulled his badge out and
threw it on Simon's desk, and followed that with his pistol. "By then Blair
could be dead, Simon."
"If what you say is true, and
this thing DOES have him, what makes you think Sandburg's not dead already?"
"He's still alive... If he
were dead, I'd know... I don't know HOW I'd know, just that I WOULD. Does
that sound crazy?"
"Yes. But I'm forced to consider
the source." Simon picked up Jim's badge. "Are you positive you want to
do this?"
"Absolutely."
"Well, you have to be able
to do something if you DO find it," he shrugged as he put Jim's badge and
gun in his desk. "So you can keep your backup piece..."
"Thanks, Simon."
"Don't thank me yet. I want
all the information you have on it, plus anything you manage to scare up
on your own... Check in at least once an hour, or I'll have to pick YOU
up for interfering in a police investigation. If you miss a check and we
don't find you after three hours, we'll have to assume you got killed..."
"I'll be careful."
"Good. Good luck. God knows
you'll need it..."
Jack Kelso fidgeted in the flickering
light of the overhead fluorescents of his office. His eyes kept going to
the pistol in his top desk drawer... It sickened and saddened him that
he was party to the creation of the rampaging beast that was ravaging the
city, and a wave of nausea flooded over him as he considered the ramifications
of such information becoming public. He'd be destroyed... His career; everything
he worked so hard to achieve would turn to ashes... He looked at the thick
dossier on his desk - the only holdover he had from the BOBO Project. All
the information he had on the sole survivor, along with enough interoffice
memorandums on it to implicate himself a thousand times over. The missions...
The targets... The foul methods... The complete suspension of countless
civil rights laws in the recruiting process...
'Sometimes, it's worse to let
them live' the monster told him after shattering his spine... He now knew
how right it was, and sagged in his chair under the weight of it. The information
would be of scant help against Fiendish, but it would certainly bury Dr.
Jack Kelso for a long, long time...
And all because it wouldn't
kill one measly kid. He looked at the dossier again... The son of some
Colombian drug czar that needed a slap to bring him to heel, and the goddamn
freak balked at the mission! What the hell was something like that getting
ETHICAL for, anyway? It wasn't like it was going to heaven, right? Damn
it all! He sighed and reached into his desk to pick up the pistol. He checked
to make sure the safety was off, and held it against his temple. "Damn
him," he muttered woefully. "And damn me, too..."
BLAM!