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DICK DODGERS's blog: "BEAUTIFUL DAYS"

created on 11/10/2006  |  http://fubar.com/beautiful-days/b23191
BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER TWELVE(FINAL) BEAUTIFUL DAYS 12(THE END) "You are now tuned into the sounds of RADIO ROB here on your F.M. dial. The forecast for tonight...? SNOW! And lots of it. You know what RADIO ROB knows you'll stay indoors for the remainder of the evening. In the next hour we got some of your favorite underground hits, we got The Yo Yo from Little Brother, Musick from Dudley Perkins, everybody's favorite duo Amphibeus Tungs with 4 Siblings. You are tuned in to the station that smacks that eardrum with nothin' but the best, that's 102.7 on your F.M. dial. We gonna kick it all off with Crazie Vizion with...BEAUTIFUL DAYS! BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER 12 SWAN SONG SILLILQUY Part two END OF DAYS. John helped Sophie load up the car with the explosives found in the shed behind their former safehouse. Able struggling to hold on to what little life he has left as he lie bleeding in the backseat. Refusing medical attention as usual. But highly understandable at this point. They hop back in the car. Crank up. And peel off back for the city. This little tussle between me and Patch has taken a nasty turn for the worse. See now we are on the rooftop of the APEX slugging it out. Neither man refusing to quit. I have to get to the ground. To my guns. I swing. He swings. I know I'm not hurting him, but i think he's starting to realize...he's not hurting me either. Blood flying every which way. I got to pace myself. I kick him in the chest and send him flying over the edge. He grabs on to the flagpole sticking out from the roof's side. He swings around once and propels himself to the next roof. I have to jump...SHIT! I pace myself yet again. It's all about timing...do it. I run. Faster. Faster. Faster. Then...I jump...and i miss. Luckily I wear a looooong trenchcoat.. it got snagged on a gutter on the side of the building I was jumping to. I'm hanging by it. My foot happens to catch my hat before it falls. Patch slowly creeps over to the ledge to see , what he hopes, to be me hurling to my death. What he gets instead...me grabbing him. And snatching him down on my level. Right below my feet are the letters from the OMAR building. The building we are choosing to beat the shit out of each other on as of right now. We are now on the letters. I swing, he lands on the M. I hop over to the M and i feel the sign drop slightly. He climbs on me and tries to hit me. I kick him off. He falls on the A. The sign drops even more. Now we are tussling on this sign. He picks me up, slams me on the O, sign gives way. I seek refuge in the open part of the O. A lone cable on the O is enough to keep it attached to the building at least, but sending me swinging from front to back. I look down...SON OF A BITCH, Patch is still hangin' on. He looks down and realizes...He has a back up gun in his boot. He draws, I grab. I kick him off the O. He lands on the edge of the rooftop. Hanging by one hand. The O swings back his way. I have his gun now. I aim...BULLSEYE. Right in his good eye. He drops. I look down smiling before I hear... SNAP!. Down goes the O. With me inside. I feel the wind rushing up as i drop down. I'm clinging to the inside of this O. In the middle of traffic, I touch down. The glass in the O shattering. And the O falling over to it's side. I peek up out of the O. I crawl out. Exhausted. My hats gone. No sooner than i say that. The wind blows it right up to me. I light up a cig. I get up...stunned. I look to the ground across the street...there's my guns. I head for them. Out of nowhere. A fist. Comes right down on my eye. It's Patch! "There's no stopping me now, Dick!", said Patch. "Yea no shit!", I said. I dive and roll for my guns. I grab them and begin to open fire on him...son of a bitch kept comin'. "Shit!", I yelled as he rushed at me, bullets not harming him. He knocks the shit outta me. I get up. He kicks me. He's got the upper hand so far. He picks me up and tosses me across the street into a news stand. He's on his way towards me...out of nowhere...CAR! Runs him down. He is pinned underneath. It's John again. His father in the backseat still injured...but where's Sophie? "Sophie? Where is she?", I said "She is fufilling her destiny!", said the dying, Abel. "What do you mean?", I asked. "The earth is dead. It has cried as we cried. It has lived as we lived. And now, I lies lifeless. Raped of all spirit. Same as mankind. Dead. Spiritless. Without hope. We look to man as god. Our vision tainted. Man is not god. But man does possess the power of God. The power to create and destroy. Which gives man the impression that it is alright to destroy God's property as well. These days we live in are days of dark despair. Days of blindness. The earth has cried it's final cry. As has man. And for the earth and mankind alike, only one final option remains... RESSURECTION! ", said Able. I understood what he meant. I hauled ass to the APEX. I run as fast as I can. I run thru the demolished entrance way from the previous car crash. I head upstairs...I get to the hallway... It's lined with explosives. "Sophie!" She's in the room at the end of the hall. I had to get in there... I call for her. She knows it's me. She tells me to leave... "Get out of here!" she yells. I enter the room. It's laced with explosives. At the center of it all...Sophie. Also laced with explosives. "Sophie what the hell are u doing?", I asked "Someone has to stay to flip the switch!", she said. "Fuck it let John do it!", I said. "It's not his job to do!", she said. "It's the only way I can slow them down enough for you to finish it. You need John for that. He knows where to go. I don't.", she said. "I'm not leaving without you!", I said. I walk over to her. She's perched down on the floor by the window. I lean to her...we kiss. I thought that kiss would never end. When it does...she says... with tears in her eyes... "Now go!" "No!", I said. "Yesssssssssss!", said a voice from the fire escape. It was Patch. He reached in and grabbed me. Snatched me out onto the fire escape. We fall off into the alley below. The rest of Patch's gang head into the Apex. They are going for Sophie. I had to get to her. I try to fight him off enough to get back up to the ladder to the fire escape. He picks me up and tosses me into the alley across the street. He runs over and kicks me even farther down the alley way. He knows what he's doing. He's keeping me from Sophie. He is running right for me. I time it. He jumps to kick me again. I catch him. I run him head first into the side of the dumpster. I stomp him twice in the face. I run for the building. Patch's gang is running up the stairs. They realize the explosives in the hall. By then it's too late for them... "Good night!", said Sophie as she flipped the switch. I'm running for the entrance or what's left of it of the front of the Apex. I get half way to where the front door used to be... THE APEX BLOWS! I am hurled back into the building wall across the street. The Apex is up in flames. Flying debris. Burning pieces of brick and wood. It was history... And so was Sophie! I hear laughter. It's Patch. Still in the alley. "Bitch really brought the house down!", he said as he continued to laugh. I rush over...I beat the shit out of him. Every blow I land to his face is smashing what ever machinery that lies beneath the fake flesh. I can feel it. I smash all that lies beneath the surface. His face is horribly disfigured. I slam him back into the gate that ends the alley way. He staggers down. He goes down. Laying there. I'm winded. I drop to my knees...thinking... "Sophie!" Patch gets up...he rushes at me. At the point of impact. I get my hand under his chin... Killswitch! He goes down...then offline. He's history. Not getting back up. John rolls up. "Quick!", he said. "We must hurry!", he said. "Where's your dad?", I asked. "He's gone on to the next life.", he replied. I get in the car. We speed to downtown. Why are we at the D.A.'s office? Then i realize...that was the building we were held captive, prior to going to the APEX. We crash right through the front door. Taking out receptionists and others standing in the lobby. They draw. So do John and I . The lobby is huge. Whoever we didn't run over...we shot. "My father's hand...take it!", he yelled as he shot out the window. "What?!", I replied. "Do it!", he yelled. I reach over to the back seat and I grab the dead hand of his father...but he is not so dead...I feel his spirit... I hear drums... I see it... A purple cloud...covering the sky. People dying. The children. The animals. They all struggle to breathe. Then...silence...nothing. They died. All of them...then...and emergence...life...coming form below the earth...a bunker. But once they hit the outside world...they feel a change...they know who they are...but they don't. Some pass out. Comatose. I see it all in the flash of a second... I get back to my senses. I snap back. The car stops by the elevator. "Reach out and press the top floor button!", he said. "O.K.!", I said as i did so. "Now get in there! You will know where to go!", he said. "You have your guns?", He asked. "Yea!", I replied. "Take those too!", he said pointing to the back floor to the bag of automatic weapons. I take them and I hop in the elevator. I get to the top floor. I was met with a group of men armed with semi automatic weapons. The elevator door had opened up and they open fire...to find... no one there. I am perched at the top of the elevator out of the way of harm. I toss out a grenade that was in the bag of weapons. Gunmen go flying. I make my way out of the smoke with two Mack 11's blazing at the gunmen who remain. I tear my way through the men. I make my way across the room where there are mirrors. The mirrors lift...out come more gunmen. I jump on top of the large conference table sitting in the middle of the room. I shot anything that moved. I took out every one. They lie smoking on the ground. One more mirror. I knew what to do. I launch the empty clip at the mirror and there is an open room. It's the office that i was tied up in earlier. There is a figure standing behind the desk...his back turned to me... "Good evening Detective!", he said. It was the Engineer! But that voice...I knew that voice... "Kells?", I asked. "In the flesh!", as he turned to reveal himself to be none other than the D.A. "I knew it! ", I said. I knew that you knew!", he said. "You knew ever since you saw the picture in the Apex!", he said. "You killed the human race!", I said. "Well as you can see...not all of them!, he said. "I'm here. And you're here. Both human!" As he began to explain, it's like I could see the events as he narrated... "It was a perfect plan. 25 years in the making. I had always been a student of science. I learned every aspect of it since i was 6. My father, a world renowned scientist in his own repects. I learned from him. And as i got older. It was around that time I began to learn about... CHEMICAL WARFARE! The gun squad enters the building. John tries to hold them off but there are too many. They make short work of him. They head for the stairs... The Engineer goes on... I learned that a human, not expecting it, can not escape airborne chemicals. By the time they would have time to haul ass to an underground bunker...their asses are history! Those who make it to shelter of some kind...well, they have to deal with the after effects of being exposed to the earth's atmosphere after it is altered by the chemicals. Which could be fatal. I also learned the important of health sciences. What makes a human healthy...and unhealthy. What makes up a human being. By the time I was 12, I would create my first artificial human. The gun squad makes their way up the stairs on each side of the building...getting closer and closer to the top floor... I would spend the next six years learning abroad...London, Japan, China, Antarctica, Iceland, Even visiting the North Pole. But not just to do Earth sciences...I was strategically laying out my bombs. Each to go off simulteaneously at strategic points around the globe to where once set off, the poison would cover every inch of it. The gun squad makes their way up the stairs even closer...they are around the 6th floor... The gas was released killing all humans with the exception of those who survived today. Killing all plant and animal life. All living things. The earth died that day. And I had by that time...only 20 artificial humans done. I had just seen my 30th birthday. But there were survivors. A doctor who knew of my plan and all he could save. They emerged for the underground bunker they hid in and the effects of the gas took it's toll on them. Sending them into comatose states. I found them. I allowed them to live among my artificial humans to study the interaction. As the comatose patients would awaken. They would have no knowledge of any events prior to their comatose state. Which is exactly what I was banking on. I would use the 20 artificial humans... to make more. And more. And more! The squad's footsteps get closer... I would then send them out into the world to find a spot to erect a city. This city would be run solely by me. And the awakened humans who survived. But in my greedy state I did not think to monitor other comatosed survivors. So they blended in with the others to where I could not keep up with them all. So that list I was looking for that list you had, Detective...held the names of all survivors. Dr. Figgis began to get his memory back as well as his daughter...I could not have that. So they had to be terminated...as well as the remaining humans. The gun squad draws closer... "So you...you sick fuck...you had these "Imposters", build this city and make us think that we lived in a natural world?", I asked. "Yes!", he replied. "The process was called...OPERATION: MYSPACE! "What the hell is that?", I asked. "The erection of a community...under one leader. The false sense of security. The brainwashing of a small group of individuals that would continue to grow into more brainwashed citizens. All at my command. Even the ones who still had their traces of humanity. We would soon take them as well...by making them believe...they were equal! That way they feel safe...that way... they don't leave... The squad is making its way up the main staircase... That machine you see over there, Detective...it is a server. It is what powers the city and every artificial human in it. When i can't watch it, I have special artificial humans who monitor it as I am away. For example...a night...at the opera. When the people want to travel...they go to the airport...the plane..one big giant computer, waiting to hack into their systems installing false memories of travel. The humans that show up...same deal. Through the use of knockout gas...then machine enhanced hypnosis, they believe they have traveled to their destination and returned safely. This is done with all modes of transportation that is expected to reach strategic points in the world that no longer exist, thanks to me. The AH's are programmed to feel like us, taste as we taste, feel as we feel, hurt as we hurt, but...I have the ability to take away all that... and give it back as well...!" "So they obey only you?", I asked. "I designed them as God allegedly designed man. In my image. As I live and breathe. As I walk and talk. As I love and hurt. They are mirror images of the flesh and bone without being such. They are who we are, but then something more. And as God would do, I can make them greater or I can shut them down. At my own will. How many "men" can you say have that ability. I can control their love, their losses, their wins, and most of all...their pain. Whether it be emotional, physical, mental...all of it! I can shut that pain off and make them invincible, or I can intensify it and make them weak. But why would I shut that pain completely off? This makes them stronger than me? Well the answer is simple, they fuck with me...I shut them down for good. They wouldn't dare try me. I'm the closest thing to God they have!" "Patch didn't seem to think so. He turned off his pain!", I said. "And as you can see...HE PAID THE PRICE!, said the Engineer. "Thanks to me!", I said. "See what I mean? Man is God!", he said. "So you are just some sick fuck who gets off on playin' God?, I asked. HA HA! Don't be a fool!", he said. You look towards heaven for the meaning of life. But the meaning of life is here for all of us. Not in books of God and scripture, but on the faces of us all. Call me crazy for saying so, but man is god. To look in the face of God is to look into my eyes. And the eyes of those around us. Any man, woman, or child is a fool to think otherwise. With these hands I can create a universe. And with these same hands, I can destroy it. Truly the powers of a God. Who would argue such a thing. From the eyes of God...I give you VISION. With that vision you see...that these are truly beautiful days we are living in. The squad enters the top floor area where I had emerged from the elevator. "If I am harmed in anyway, Detective...they are programmed to drop what they are doing, and hunt down my attacker. I die...you die!", said the Engineer. "They have sensors that automatically sense your lifeline. In other words. they hear your heart beat and neuro patterns in a specific rhythm. They stop hearing it...they attack the closet life force to your dead ass! Gotcha!, I said. I pull my guns out. Upside down...in classic Jake fashion...I aim them right at his forehead...then I turn... and I take out the server! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!, screams the Engineer. I then turn my attention back to him... "BEAUTIFUL DAYS MY ASS!", I said. as I blew him away. I turn around...and the gunsquad had entered the room. They were frozen in place with their guns aimed right at me. Around the city...families shut down...workers shut down...people everywhere that were not of the flesh...frozen in time. No server to provide a life force. Just me. Good ol' Jake Reed...left to scan the city on his own...in search of the remaining humans. TWO DAYS LATER... I see this kid... Laughing. Enjoying the thrills of life. All that a young man would enjoy. He's about six. He is playing outside in the snow with one of those giant rubber balls. Tossing it up and down. Every now and then he stops. Looking around to see if he sees another sign of human life. No such luck. He looks up. And he only sees frozen people. He was alone...until...he heres a sound...not just any sound...a familiar one... Those are footsteps... He runs over and he sees a figure... Trenchcoat, fedora, a little less dramatic...THE FUCKIN' KID SEE'S ME , ALRIGHT! He runs over to me...I look at him. "You hungry?, I ask. He shakes his head yea. "C'mon!", I said. A smile fell over his face. He enters the alleyway in which I was standing prior. He sees other humans...ones I tracked down so far. He recognizes two of them and he goes running for them with open arms. They greet him the same way. I stepped out into the snow. My breath hanging in the air, i reach to my left pocket for my cigarettes. My right for my zippo. I observe the city streets. The steam rising from it. Yet everything else is still. The flakes begin to fall again. I look to my left. The child runs up to me. The joy of life tattooed on his face as he plays with his giant rubber ball. I take a drag and i pat him on the head. He smiles at me and runs off with his toy. And in the midst of it all, all i can do is utter in my head just one name...SOPHIE... FIN!

BEAUTIFUL DAYS chapter 11

BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER ELEVEN A distant memory... Football. There's a man tossing one to me. But I'm not the Jake I am now...I'm a child. I'm in a whole new setting. Green grass. Sun's shining. I smell hot dogs. I see other children playing. Families joined together for picnics. An entire park of people. Then all of a sudden...it all stops. Everything. No more hot dog smell. No more football. No more families. Just me. And a purple sky... BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER 11 SWAN SONG SILLIOQUY part one A fist to the face wakes me up from my dream... "Wake up, dick!, said Patch. "Thanks for that!", I said. "That dream was scaring the shit outta me!" "You know what? You're a real SMART ASS!", said Patch. "And it's really PISSIN' me off! "Well I figured the whole, ONE EYE, thing would be enough to piss anybody off...,I said right before I got a fist to the face! "I dunno what the hell he wants with you, but he wants your sorry ass!", said Patch. It was only then I really started to pay attention to my surroundings. I'm tied to a chair in an office building of some sort. I was wondering where Sophie was at this point. Then enters a little girl. About ten I think. She comes into the room and approaches me. She looks up at Patch. And she says... "LEAVE!" No doubt in my mind...it's the Engineer. Speaking through this little girl, I found it quite eerie. This tiny vessel that houses the mind and voice of the Engineer himself approaches me and says... "How far did you think you were gonna get in MY world?" "Well I made it this far!", I said. "I bet you're wondering why you are still alive!", said the Engineer. "Would be nice to know!", I said. "You are still here, because you owe me something.", he said through the little girl. "I don't owe you JACK SHIT!", I said. "Quite the contrary!", said the Engineer. "You owe me quite a bit!" "How the hell do you figure?", I said. "Your life, the life you know, is because of me! I gave you the world in which you have come to know and love, the wife you once had, the house you once had, the promotion to detective...EVERYTHING! And i took it all away. ALL OF IT!", said the Engineer. "Now why would you wanna go and do a thing like that, Mr. Stingy Pants?!, I said with classic sarcassim. "You really out to start showing some respect!", said the Engineer. "I need you in a sense, Detective. I need you because you bridge the gap between the humans and my creations. You have managed to get along with both so well. You have interacted with them like no other human I've known, but of course, I'm still weeding them all out.", said the Engineer. "You're gonna kill us all! Like you did before!", I said. "Well before...just didn't work out the way I planned it.", he said through the girl. "It was a mistake clearly in the timing more so than anything else. You see, I cannot allow any humans to interact with my creations here anymore. The risk is becoming too high.", said the Engineer. "What ever it is you don't want us, the humans, to know... we are starting to remember. That explains your beef with the Figgis'. Now what? You try and hunt down what's left of us? Shut us all up?, I asked. "What you know and what I know MUST stay separated.", he said. "The truth...IS NOT AN OPTION!", said the Engineer. "So what exactly does all this have to do with me again?", I asked. "I have studied you from day one. Everything good in your life. The wife, a machine that I watched your intimate and most private actions through. The Sarge, I watched your actions through in the workplace as well as your personal life. The way you interact with friends. Sparks the bartender, the band, the majority of the patrons, almost that ENTIRE bar. ALL of it!", he said. "Because I knew one day...that if anyone was to bring me down... It would be you!", said the Engineer. "I had to know what makes you so different. And now it seems, you have evolved even more. You are too interesting to just, KILL, Detective. You know about Sophie. And her father. And the reason why she was locked away.", he said. "You tried to keep her from spreading the truth. You wanted to quarantine her in a way. Keep her from spreading the truth and telling other humans that they were basically FUCKED by you!", I said. "Well I would have worded it different, but you're on the right track, he said. "You have something that belongs to me, Detective.", he said through this little girl who is now going into my coat pockets to give me a cigarette. "Let me light that for you!", he said through her, flicking my lucky zippo. "There is a list. A list that I compiled not too long ago. A list of names. It should have been in that file that you stole from Marsha Jude's. We tore apart that safe house of yours. Your little Indian friends claimed they had no clue what happened to the file. By the time we had got into the house it was indeed gone. So I had them both shot and we took the girl instead. That's why the two of you are here now.", said the Engineer. "Where is she?", I asked. "Safe! At least until you tell me what I want to hear!", he said. I left that file on the table. Where ever it is now is beyond me!", I said. Well then you aren't telling me what I want to hear then, my friend. , said the Engineer. "I'm afraid that Ms. Figgis won't be making it out of here alive., said the Engineer. I knew I had to make a move. Bastards took my .45's. Don't know where the hell they or Sophie was. Little did I know, on the next floor below, housed an office that Sophie was being held in. Along with Patch's gang. They sat around looking at a phone. Patch enters the room... "I thought you were supposed to call when you wanted us to drop this bitch!", said Page. "Yea well he wanted some "quality time" with the fuckin" Detective!" , said Patch. "So now I gotta wait for that call from him with you assholes!" "And what the fuck are you starin" at?, said Patch to Sophie, who sat tied to a chair as well. "Absolutely nothing!", she said. "You better watch that mouth of yours if you know what's good for you!, said Patch. At that moment, back to me and the Engineer, the little girl vessel he's sporting is headed over to the phone to make a call down to Patch and his gang. This call would mean the end of Sophie. I had to think fast. Me being who I am, that didn't take long to do... "Wait!", I called out. "It's at the Apex!", I said. "I knew you would come around!", said the Engineer placing the phone back on the hook. Next thing i know, I'm being dragged down the steps by Patch and his thugs along with Sophie. They stuff us, still tied, in a van. We are on our way to the Apex. While in the back of the van, I get a chance to talk to Sophie. As we lay there on the van floor, tied from shoulder to feet, I ask her... "Are you ok? "I'm fine! Can't say the same for John and Able though, I'm afraid.", she said. "Are they dead?",I asked. "Not sure about John, but I saw the old man get hit... She explained... and I had a vision...I saw the events take place without even listening... After I left for the city and had my run in with the Engineer, Sophie had come out and asked for a towel to take a shower. John granted the request. As he returned to the living room he noticed a look in his father's eyes. A distant stare. As if he knew the moment was bound to come, but just wasn't aware until then just when it would happen. At that moment a cluster of gun fire hits the room. John and Able drop to the floor. Sophie, still in the shower, is unaware of the events. Patch and his gang kicked in the door and rushed into the house. Toby stood with his gun drawn by the front door, Patch ran over to Able and pressed a gun to his back. Cotton and Page ran through the house looking for the files and Sophie. The files weren't found, but Sophie was. John pulls his gun and has it aimed at Patch... "You wanna drop the guuuuuuun, INJUN!", said Patch, pressing the gun tighter to Able's back. "Let him go!", said John. "You don't wanna test my shootin' skills, my friend!", said Toby with his gun aimed at John. "They don't call me the gunman for nothin' !", he said. "You can test that theory if you want.", said John to Toby. "But my friend, you will lose!", He said. "Is that a fact?", said Toby. The tension could be cut with a fuckin' knife. Patch's eye on John, his gun pressed to Able's back. John's gun aimed at Patch. His eyes on Toby. Toby with his gun and eyes directly on John. At that moment, Cotton enters the room and says... "She's gone!" At that moment a shot is fired from the kitchen, and hits Cotton in the neck. John fires and hits Toby right between the eyes. Sophie fires at Patch and misses. Page dives from the hall to the kitchen and lands on Sophie. She drops her gun. Page has his gun to her forehead. "Looks like you got a situation here, John Boy!", said Patch. "Now drop that fuckin' gun or I'll kill em both! John drops his gun. "Now kick it over here!", said Patch. John kicks the gun over to Patch's feet. "Page! You find the goods?", Patch asked. "No dice! Just the chick!", he replied. "Well, Mr. John! Where's the files?, said Patch. "If they aren't in that room, I don't know where they are!", said John. "Fine!", We'll be takin' the chick until they turn up!", said Patch. "You can reach us through here!", said Patch, tossing him a cell phone. Page makes his way out the door with Sophie. At that instant, the two fallen thugs, Cotton and Toby rise up as if on cue. They pick up their guns. "You can let him go now!", said John. "I guess you're right!"said Patch. He fires a bullet into the old man's back. Toby gets off a shot to John's leg. The gang make their way out of the house and to the car. They peel off. That's about where the vision ends. I come to, and Sophie is still in the middle of explaining. Right now she's around the part where Page dives on her and we hear Patch at that point say... "Shut the fuck up back there! This ain't no goddamned social hour!" His goons laugh. The van stops. We arrive at the Apex. Patch enters with his gang and us tied up still. He goes to the front desk and asks for the same exact room that he took Sophie's father's life in. They drag us up the stairs and sit us down in the room. With Page and Cotton standing at the front door on guard. Patch, makes his way downstairs. "I'll be right back!", he said. He heads downstairs. Toby is in the room with Sophie and me. Babysittin'. Of course, you know me, the man with the plan, I call over to the son of a bitch... "Hey, buddy! How's bout a smoke?, I said. "Fuck that!", said Toby. "We are here for those fuckin' files so where are they?" "Gimmie the smoke and I'll tell ya!", I said. Toby, now impatient, runs over and gun butts me and yells... "I'm not playin' no fuckin' games, Dick!" "Neither was I! I really want that cigarette!", I said right when I kicked him in the balls! He dropped to his knees. The cell phone drops from his coat. He drops his gun. I kick it out of his reach. "Sophie!", I yelled out. "See if you can get over to the cell phone and hit the redial button!" I said to her. "OK!" she said as she worked her way to the floor. Toby made his way for her. I fall on top of him, preventing him from moving another inch. She made it! "OK, John, should answer!", I said. "What?", said Sophie. Stunned. "How do you know?" she asked. " I just do!", I replied. "Now tell him where we are!", I said. Patch is outside on the telephone with the Engineer. "We got em here! Toby is grillin' em on exactly where the files are. Soon as they find em we are on our way back.", said Patch. "Excellent!", said the Engineer. "Speed this up! I'm growing impatient!", said the Engineer. "Sure thing!", said Patch. At that moment, upstairs in the room, I found my way to my lucky zippo. And I'm able to burn the ropes around my wrists. I'm laying on top of Toby, back first. Muffling his mouth with the floor. I break free. I take that son of a bitch Toby and grab him by his collar and say... "I hope you fuckers know how to fly!" Patch is on the corner about to make his way back inside. There's a crash. He looks up. It's Toby. Tossed out. Head first. Onto the pavement below. "Fuck!", said Patch, drawing his gun and heading inside. Patch runs inside to the front desk and stops. He hears a noise but can't quite place where it's coming from. By the time he realizes, it's a car...the car comes crashing through the front of the building running down Patch. The driver is John. His father lay shot and bleeding in the back seat. John yells out... "You fuckers call a cab?" I send Sophie down the fire escape. The crash caught the attention of Cotton and Page. "Go in there and check that shit out!" , said Page to Cotton. Cotton runs into the room to see it empty. He runs over to the window and peeks his head out. He is greeted to a barrel of a .45. I shoot. Turns out that son of a bitch, Toby had grabbed my guns and had planned on keeping them for himself. No fuckin' way. I cover Sophie. John pulls out of the front lobby of the building. He spots Sophie. She looks back up at me... "Come on! she yells. I look down at her. Almost in the same manner of her father when he knew he wasn't gonna make it outta the Apex that night. But there was something more to my look. With that said, I yell back down to her... "Go!" John pulls her into the car and takes off. I kick Toby off the fire escape to the ground below. At that point, Page dives out the window at me. We both sail off the fire escape. I grab on to the railing and drop one of my guns to the ground below. Page is hanging on me for dear life. He starts punching my side. I elbow him to the face. Patch enters the hotel room. He pulls out his gun and aims it right for me. I'm struggling to hold on with one hand as Page is holding on to my other one. I can't reach my remaining gun. At that point... I hear drums... I let go. Right when Patch gets a shot off. He misses. I time myself. I grab the next railing below. That move was intended to shake off Page and cause him to fall. Didn't work. Can't win em all! The son of a bitch is still hangin' on! Patch comes and looks down at us. He aims. He shoots. I shift to the right...he hits Page. Down he goes. I hop onto the fire escape below Patch. He tries to fire a shot down. He's outta ammo! "Fuck!", He screams. I hop into the room window below the one that we were held captive in. I make my way to the hall. Patch makes a call... "Hello, says the voice on the other end. The Engineer. "Major thrillseekin' fuckin' action goin' on. And I'm outta bullets!", said Patch. "I FUCKING TOLD YOU WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU FUCK UP!, yelled the Engineer! "Not so fast!" says Patch! I'll deliver! Turns out, Patch found a way to hack into the Engineer's main system. He was able to hack into the main computer that runs all the androids, and turn off his pain mechanism. He was invincible. As I made my way down the hall towards the elevator, I am greeted by Patch coming out of the stairway door. He nails me. I go flying back. He dives on me and we take a nasty tumble down the stairs. Meanwhile, Sophie and John head for the only safe place they feel is left, The D.A.'s house. They roll up. The two of them emerge from the car. They head towards the front door. The house explodes. Blows right the fuck up! The impact sends Sophie and John flying back onto the top of the car. They lay there stunned. The house now in flames. It all makes sense to Sophie now. She knows what she has to do. They won't stop. They will never stop. "Jake's in serious trouble!", she said to John. "I noticed a shed behind the house." she said. "I noticed what was in that shed. I need you to take me to it, but more importantly, I need you to understand!", she said. John knew. And he agreed. Patch and I go flying out of a window on to a fire escape. I pull my other gun. Patch smacks it out of my hand. It goes flying in about the same direction my other one dropped down to. I kick Patch's legs from under him. He falls off the fire escape. He grabs on to the railing and thrusts himself up to the roof of the building. Son of a bitch. I gotta go after him...and I fuckin' hate heights! END CHAPTER ELEVEN.

BEAUTIFUL DAYS chapter 10

BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER TEN "The earth is dead. It has cried as we cried. It has lived as we lived. And now, I lies lifeless. Raped of all spirit. Same as mankind. Dead. Spiritless. Without hope. We look to man as god. Our vision tainted. Man is not god. But man does possess the power of God. The power to create and destroy. Which gives man the impression that it is alright to destroy God's property as well. These days we live in are days of dark despair. Days of blindness. The earth has cried it's final cry. As has man. And for the earth and mankind alike, only one final option remains... RESSURECTION! Able. BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER TEN KNOW YOUR ENEMY! I didn't sleep last night. Just peered out of this window. She's still in slumber land. I must have overworked her last night. Oh well, she wouldn't be the first. She's starting to come around. She sits up. She stretches. The early morning sun shining off her body. Oh what a body it is. At that point the only thing I could think to say to her was... "So where's your husband?" "Dead!", she said. "You killed him. He was one of them!", I said. "How did you know that?", she asked. "I'm a dick! Remember?, I replied. "He was there waiting on me when I escaped from Marsha Jude's. I thought I was returning to the loving arms of man I married. Instead I had to keep him from killing both me and my father." ,she explained. There's a kill switch. You know where it is. You stopped him and Sarge both. Where is it?, I asked. "Under the chin. Behind the base of the jaw. When I hit the sergeant with the shovel from behind, I shoved the other end of the handle right through the base of his jaw.", she said. "I see.", I said. "My father showed me where the switches are." , she said. "I'm gonna find the Engineer. And I'm gonna find him today!, I said. "My father knew who he was, and where he could be found. , she said. "Well where the hell is he?", I asked. "That's something im afraid my dad took with him to the grave. He wouldn't tell me. For my own protection he said. The night he found the whereabouts was the night he was killed.", she said. "Well today, I put a end to this shit! Once and for all!, I said. "I have faith that if anyone can, it's you!, Sophie said to me gazing off into my eyes. We kissed at that point. That pretty much sealed the deal. I had made a pact on that kiss that I had to deliver on. Which pretty much meant my rep was on the line from that point on. From that point, I was on a mission to find the Engineer! A shotgun blast. A foot goes crashing into the door where the blast went through. The door flies open to reveal Patch and his crew. Guns drawn. Tearing the place apart searching for any sign of life they can find. Nothing! "So much for this place!", said Page. "So we gotta run all over fuckin' town until we find this asshole?", said Toby. "We run all over town...UNTIL I FUCKIN' SAY STOP RUNNIN'!, said Patch. "One of these addresses has to be the right one!", said Patch. "We won't stop until we find them!" I emerged from what I had deemed , "The Den of Love." I entered the front room of the house to find John sitting with his father. "Tagged her ass good, huh?, asked Able. "Rather good!", I replied. He shook my hand. His son sat shocked. I said as i approached the front door... "I need to get downtown!" I had John toss me the keys to his car. I told him and his dad to keep an eye on Sophie. I had plans on ending this whole thing today. It had to stop. I drove down the city streets. It was weird. I looked at the people walking. Not knowing who was human and who was artificial. It was like riding through a limbo of sorts. Not knowing if you'll even survive to see the next day. Due to the fact that any one of these bastards could turn on you at any minute. Maybe all at once. How many of them are there? How the hell can one man be responsible for them all. I stop for gas and cigarettes. I pump. And I make my way inside. I approach the guy at the counter... "The gas! And a pack of the reds!, I said. "Gotcha!" , said the guy. As I reach in my pocket for my wallet...My cell rings. I answer... "You're looking for me now, aren't you?, said the voice on the other end. "Who the fuck is this?!, I said. "You know goddamned well who it is, you son of a bitch!, the voice said. The voice was warped. This person was using some type of device to mask it. It was no doubt by now, I had the priveledge of speaking to the man himself...THE ENGINEER. "Do you know the trouble you caused, mother fucker? Do you understand the consequences of getting in my way?, he said. "I tell you what, call me when I give a shit, and I'll be sure to let you know, you fuckin' coward!, I replied. "Very brave of you Detective. I want to show you the extent of my power. I can do this from your current location which is at the Smiling Sam gas station, if I'm correct., he said. "You watchin' me asshole?, I asked. "I see all, Detective. I'm the closest thing to God you'll ever know.", he said. "If you want to see the truth for what it is, make your way down to The Rockabee. I have something to share with you. My gift, my legacy, my wisdom!", he said as he hung up. I stood there puzzled. And as I stood there...I look at the guy at the counter. He's standing at the counter with a shit eating grin holding my cigs... "If you want the truth. Get down there!", he said as if the Engineer was speaking through him. I hop in the car and haul ass for the Rockabee. Another apartment. Another shotgun blast. Another dud. There was no one home. "FUUUUUUUUCK!", screamed Cotton! "Shut up you stupid fuckin' hick!", said Patch. "There's one more on the list. Now shut the fuck up and get back in the ride!, Patch yelled. The crew make their way back to the car. Patch makes a call to the Engineer. "One more. And I think we got em!,", Patch said. "I have the good detective right where I want him. You get the girl... and I'll send him right to you. Then you bring them all to me!", said the Engineer. The Rockabee. The valet comes up. He recognizes me from my days of coming there with Marie. Who if I'm not mistaken, should be here with her new guy. I walk in being sure to be cautious because after all, I am still wanted for murder. There she is...sitting with the new guy at the table having breakfast. The phone rings...guess who it is... "Yes you see her there!, says the Engineer. "She's as lovely as the day she left you. An angel. The day you met her, she was working at a department store. You went to purchase some perfume for your mother for Mother's Day. You asked her opinion and she gave it to you. You then asked for a date for that next Friday. She gave you that as well. You asked her for her number right after that. She gave you that. After the date, you asked her for a nice roll in the hay. She did indeed give you that. And months later, you asked for her hand in marriage. She gave you that. I made it so. ALL OF IT!, said the Engineer. "You son of a bitch!", I said. "What the hell are you sayin'?, I asked. "In a second she will knock her fork from her plate to the floor...!", said the Engineer. Marie , at that instant, while talking to the new guy, moved her arm in mid conversation knocking her fork on the floor. Seemingly an accident... "Now her new man, I think I called him, Philip, will reach down and pick it up for her...!, said the Engineer. At that point, the guy she was with leaned down and picked up her fork for her. "You see there is no God in the sky, detective. God is right here. In this town. You are speaking to him right now. I control it all . Need more proof? Sure you do! Because I still see the look of doubt on your face..., said the Engineer. At that moment...all sound stopped. I looked around...and I will admit...I was terrified... It was like...the son of a bitch...STOPPED TIME. What ever he uses to control these fuckin' things...he paused them all...The entire restaurant. Everyone paused. Not one soul moving. Which told me right then and there, I was the only human in the building...that was my cue to haul ass. I never gave the valet the keys. I eyeball the door and the car is still sitting there with a confused looking valet who was also on PAUSE. I slowly start to creep towards the door... "You see detective...when it all comes down, when it's all said and done, I am the God that you fear so much. You are alive, because I ALLOW you to live. This is my world. I can stop them all...or I can do this... At that moment...EVERY head in the room turned to look at me. I knew it... I had eyeballed the two guys standing in my way. Blocking my exit. I drop to the ground , draw the .45's and take out their kneecaps. I get up and run for the door. One of the waiters side swipes me. I elbow him to the face and kick him towards the front door. Basically using him as my way out. I knock the valet out of the way just to find that another had found his way into the passenger seat. So as I opened the car door I was greeted with a fist to the face. He hops out hoping to get off another punch. I grab him and slam him to the ground. I stomp him in the face, heel first. I hop in the car and peel off. I had to get to the Apex. And search the room that Dr. Figgis was staying in. I get there and I haul ass up to the room. I go inside. There is a guy in there with an underage prostitute. "Shit!" They had cleaned it out and re rented it. I ran down to the front desk. There was the old man who ran the place. "You cleaned out room 317. Where's the stuff that was in there?, I said as I grabbed his collar. "Jesus Christ, man!, Don't rough up the POLO!, he said. "It's in the back room in my office, the cops never came to get it like they said., he said. "Well I'm the cop!, NOW GET IT!, I said. I follow him to the back, he was indeed human. I go through the belongings of Dr. Figgis. Hoping to find something that may help me find this cock suckin' Engineer. I find photos. About 12. I look through them and I begin to notice a pattern...a building. The same one in the background. That's the D.A's office. In almost all 12 pictures. Then the last one. A picture of him shaking hands with the D.A. , Sarge, and and a strange man, there's a newspaper clipping with the same picture. I look at the names. The first three I know of course, but the last man was named Dr. Louis Drummond, Dr. Figgis' son-in-law. Sophie's husband. Wrapped in the bottom of this clipping...a key drops. Where does it go? My cell goes off again... "Hello!", I said. "PEEK A BOO....I SEE YOOOOOOOOOOOOU! It was Patch! Come outside, Jerkoff! I got soemthin' for ya!, he said. I grab the belongings and head outside to find Patch...his gang...and Sophie. He's holding a gun to her neck. "You can hang up the phone now, bitch ass!", said Patch. "You wanna save the bitch, get in the car! What the hell else could I do? I was caught. I neve should have left her side. Each time I do, this asshole always turns up. But my mind began to drift off into other directions as I got into the car. One thought in particular...if i make it outta here alive...I gotta get to the D.A. END CHAPTER TEN

BEAUTIFUL DAYS chapter 9

BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER NINE THE PAINFUL BALLAD OF SOPHIE FIGGIS. "I found out the truth ten years ago. My father was a doctor, but of course you know this already. He started having visions. Visions of a life in which he did not recognize but knew to be true in some way. He was awakened. But it all came about on a call my father had at the 1800 building. The apartments that house the elderly. There was a Native American man who was suffering from what appeared to be pneumonia. My father told him what he needed to do and what medicines to take but the man refused. But he did make a promise to my father. He told my dad, if he comes back to see him the next day, he will see a perfectly healthy man sitting where a sick man sat. Those were his words to my dad. Well my father did not like that idea at all, but felt that the old man was not that far gone that he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of one more night. So the man will have something to prove to him , but for my dad, it was like giving him one more night to suffer to make him realize that he needed his help. Well the night passed and the next day my father returned with the medicines. The old man was the picture of health. This sent shock all through the being of the man who was my father. The old man proceeded to tell my dad a story, a story of a man who had a family. That family had been ripped apart by divorce. A man in so much emotional pain. With a daughter he cared for. The mother whacked out on drugs and dying, the father studying medicine and trying to raise a young child on his own. All of these instances were images that my father had. Images of a life that once was. Then his eyes were opened. I don't know what exactly that old man did but my father saw things for what they were. He saw the truth. And he told me of the truth. Then he began to tell others like us. Humans. Eventually it got back to the Engineer, the one who killed us all, then replaced us. As many as he could at least. And erected this city. And placed what little humans left here along with the imposters. Mixing us up to where we would never know that we were amongst artificial beings. My father learned of the truth though investigations and documents. Autopsies. Subtle clues. He saw this all. And with the help of a few other humans, began to track down the flesh and blood beings left here on earth. So in the end, my father paid the ultimate price to expose the truth. Now it's up to me to do what he had not had a chance to. And I see i cannot do that alone. I need you, Detective Reed. You're my only hope." "Well you got me!, I said." Sitting in that office listening to Sophie's story, I decided to get up and survey the land. Meaning I poked my little eyeball into the peep hole on the office door. I cracked it slightly. Sparks is on his cell phone. I heard him say the words..."They're here!" Who the hell was he talking to? And why do I have the strange feeling I'm gonna have to shoot at people here in a bit? I go to the desk and I pick up the phone. I dial Sparks' cell number. He answers... "Who were you just talking to?,"I asked. "Oh just one of my many love slave freaks. They can't live without me.", He said. At that point, I quickly hung up the phone and grabbed Sophie by the arm. "We gotta get the hell outta here!, We aren't safe.", I said. I go over to the office window and try to open it. It's welded shut. I took the fire extinguisher hanging on the wall and slammed it through the glass. At that point Sparks and a few others out at the bar had heard this and headed for the office. I heard the keys jingling in his hands as he tried to unlock the office door. I put Sophie out first then made my way out as Sparks and a few other men came thru the door. I didn't stick around to count the number of goons with him, but either they were all androids or just scared humans who made a pact with the androids in exchange for their own stupid hides. We make our way out into the alley. Lotta those around here. Sophie and I make our way down the alleyway. Running as fast as our legs would take us. At that moment, A car rolls up and cuts us off. Didn't get a look at the driver, but I got a real good look at the .9mm he was pointing. He fired shots and missed us. We head back down the alley were we are greeted by Sparks and his boys coming out of the office window. Our only chance for escape was the fire escape. I put Sophie up first and then I follow. We make our way up the fire escape and into the window it led to. We were in the 1800 building. We made our way down the hall and at the other end, the guys for the car. They pull out their guns, Sparks and his crew are hot on our asses coming in the window behind us. A door flies open. Two hands pull us in. It was the son of the Native American father son team who I had saved earlier. "Come on!", said the younger of the two. We made our way out the fire escape. Down to the next floor. We enter the window and head down to their room at the end of the hall. "Don't you think we need to be gettin' the hell outta the building?", I asked. "No need!, said the younger Native American guy. He and his father ducked down and covered their ears. Puzzled, I joined in on the coverage and demanded Sophie to do the same. Meanwhile, at that instant, upstairs in the room we were dragged into, the mob that was chasing us were still trying to plow their way into the locked door. Until one lucky guy finally kicked the door in, which in turn, pulled a line, which tightened up, which pulled a trigger, to a homemade bomb. Anyone within that area would be turned into instant crispy critter. Which is exactly what happened. The blast went off. Shook the building but only enough damage was done to destroy that room in particular and half of the room next to it which didn't matter seeing as to how that room had been abandoned for months. The room went up in flames with an explosion sending men flying every which way. I looked up and the old man was staring right at me. I looked back at him... "You gave me a gift?", I asked. "I gave you what was already there!" he replied. "What you have is no different from what we all have. All of us who are human. We must find the remaining humans. To save their lives, is top priority now.", said the young man. "So how do we go about doing this?", I asked. "I know!", said Sophie. "The woman is right!", said the old man. "She holds the key to the salvation of us all!" "And how do you know this, old man?, I asked. "Because I have the one thing you wanted to go back to your house to obtain... He reaches for my hand and takes me and only me into the next room. I look on the table in which he was pointing... Son of a bitch... Sophie's medical files from Marsha Jude's. I had been thinking about these files since we left for the opera. How I never got to read them. Now I got nothin' but time on my hands right at this point. He told us we could stay there for the time being. But soon we would have to flee. Enough time for Sophie to get some rest. I let the father son team who learned names were, John and Able, or at least that's what they called themselves with John being the son, make all the arrangements on getting us outta the building and into a safer place. They drive us to a place on the outskirts of the city. An old house. This is no doubt where the younger one has been living. John shows Sophie and I into the bedroom at the other end of the house. The two of you can share this room. My father and I have rooms at the other end. Feel free to ask us for anything. In the meantime, the two of you can get some rest., said John. "A thousand thank you's!, I said to John as he exited the room. Sophie sat on the edge of the bed. I stood by the window looking out. I saw something in the distance. Apparently, whoever wanted to cover up the fact that there were artificial humans walking among us did a number on us alright...DESERTED LAND...no buildings, no trees, just a vast sea of nothing. Dirt! I saw this in the distance past a block of just walls and abandoned buildings. It was apparent that this house we were in was not meant for anyone to be in. At least no one who was to be kept in the dark. "The Engineer did that!", Sophie said as if she could tell exactly what I was thinking. "How can one man do so much damage?", I asked as i sat next to her. "A mad man! The work of a sick genius. A man who traveled the world looking for information. But only for information to destroy it.", she said. "So he went looking for ways to wipe us out? But why? And why are there survivors if he was so successful?", I asked. "That's the point...He wasn't so successful. Had he been as successful as he thought he would be, he would indeed be the last man alive on earth. With maybe a handful of women to procreate. Experimental purposes.", she said. "Yea right! I'm sure that's all!", I said, sarcasticly. "He won't stop until we are all gone now. He has found out how to replace us and now there is no more use for us flesh and blood humans anymore. He will not stop until all flesh is gone, Jake. We are in terrible danger. And now, it is open season on all that is human!", she said. "I won't let that happen!", I said. You just tell me what to do and I'll do it!, I said leaning into her. She looked me in the eyes. Here we go again! This time there was no Sparks calling. No bullets flying. No deranged robots kickin' in doors. It was us and our feelings. "I am safe with you. From the moment we laid eyes on each other I knew it was you I was looking for. I am forever in your debt. But more than that, I can't help what I feel for you now. Someone who put his life on the line for a complete stranger. There's a lot to be said about a person like that.", she said. "Yea, I am pretty fuckin' cool, ain't I?, I said. We leaned in almost on cue, and laid a kiss on each other in the fashion of two people who haven't been kissed properly in a long time would do. Needless to say, I was right about that look she gave me right before that shoot out in the opera house. Over at the jailhouse, an attorney makes his way in past the guards. He's going to see his client. He is being escorted by Officer Brown... "Your client is a real fucking machine!", said Officer Brown with no clue on the irony of that statement. "The injuries he sustained, or we thought he sustained, should have been fatal. enough to keep him in there for a few days and not the few hours he spent there.", said Officer Brown. "Well I don't think we were formally introduced, Officer Brown, I'm Jeff Hopkins, and of course you already know I am an attorney.", Jeff said. "With that in mind, there's nothing I haven't seen already, Officer. Trust me. Tons of strange shit!, said Jeff. They approach the visiting room. You know the kind with the huge plexiglass wall and the phones that you have to use to talk to the prisoners on the other side? Well, Jeff sits down and looks into the face of his client...a man called Patch! How the hell did this happen?" said Jeff. "The answer to that is simple, boss! You're movin" too slow!, said Patch. "You son of a BITCH!" I sent you and your goddamned monkey friends to do ONE FUCKING LITTLE JOB and all i get is a crock of BULLSHIT each time you fuck up!, said Jeff who quickly we learn is the ENGINEER...! BUT... Before you get excited...He is the Engineer...but NOT the Engineer! Let me explain... The Engineer controls these artificial humans or "IMPOSTERS" as Sophie so kindly referred to them. He is the main man in charge of their creation and functions and all, thus giving him the ability to hack into any of them and SPEAK SPEAK THROUGH THEM. Which is of course he's doing now courtesy of our good friend, JEFF HOPKINS, ATTOURNEY AT LAW! O.K. now that that's cleared up...back to our story...or ARGUMENT , I should say! I got a good mind to let you all fucking ROT in this place! Shut you all down and leave you all offline!, said Jeff...I mean...The Engineer...or...whatever! "You know how to do it! You know what we need just as well as I do but you are too afraid to do it!, " said Patch. "No!", said Jeff. "Turn it off!", said Patch. "Turn it off and this will all run a whole lot smoother! You know it like I do! Turn off the pain and that bitch, as well as that meddling Dick are good as dead!, said Patch. "I'm not turning off the pain!", said Jeff. The "pain" they argue endlessly about, is the pain option in Patch's programming. If the pain was shut off, Patch would feel no pain as humans do. You see each of these androids are programmed to think as we think, do as we do, and feel as we feel. But...these options can be taken away. Thus if he turns off the function that allows Patch to feel pain as a human, Patch would feel no pain at all, making him an unstoppable force. "So you just gonna let this guy punk you out time after time then?" asked Patch with full on attitude. "No! But I am going to tell you what I am gonna do!", said Jeff. "I am going to take you all offline if you fuck up next time!", Jeff said. "So now the deal is this... I want that detective! And I want him ALIVE!, Jeff said. "What are you fuckin' HIGH? He's ITCHIN' to blow our asses away!", said Patch. Don't FUCKING question me!, Jeff screamed. "I'm getting you out of here and you will do what the FUCK I tell you to! Understand?, yelled Jeff. "O.K. We'll find him!, said Patch. "You damned sure better!, said Jeff. Two hours. She and I make a hell of a team in the sack as well. That's fuckin' beautiful. As she lays in bed sleepin' it off...I'm at the table with her file. I'm looking in this file and I'm seeing the truth...things are starting to make sense... 1. The first stages. According to these files, Sophie was a school teacher at a local elementary school when she went home early one day complaining of a migraine that would not go away. She checked herself into a hospital, the same one her father worked at. She then disappeared in the night. Estimated time of departure, between 2 and 3 A.M. She phoned her father around 3:15 complaining of having visions. A dark haired woman who kept saying the words..."I'm leaving!" And a figure who resembled her father begging the woman to stay. When the woman walks out of the door...the dream ends. A dream that had started the night before the hospital visit. 2. Sophie's breakdown. Returning to work after 2 days medical leave, Sophie returns to her teaching job. She's playing with the kids at recess on the playground. She drops to the ground screaming. She says that there are visions of frantic activity. People running. Pandemonium. She goes on to say in the vision she feels someone grab her from behind and runs away with her. She says she feels as if she was around 7 or 8 years old during this vision. The same age as the kids in her class. Before her father can make it up to the school...her husband admits her into Marsha Jude's. HUSBAND? 3. The Evaluation After running a series of tests on her the doctors officially come to the conclusion that Sophie Figgis is an official nutjob. I'm reading one evaluation: PATIENT# 567-0 SOPHIA ARLENE FIGGIS TIME: 3:45 P.M. DATE: JANUARY 16, 2006 Dr. in charge of evaluation... Dr. CLIFFORD COOPER III Dr. Cooper: So Sophie tell me what you saw in last night's dream? Sophia: Destruction. Pain. Dr. Cooper: The destruction of who? Or what? Who's pain? Sophia: Yours, mine, EVERYONE'S Dr. Cooper: Tell me why we hurt so much, Sophie? After about 20 seconds of silence... Sophia: ENGINEER! The patient proceeded to hop on top of my lap and bite my nose almost completely off my face before the nurses came in to put her under. The patient then began to scream that she must get out of Marsha Jude's. Screaming, "They are here!" and they knew she was here as well. End of evaluation. Dr. Clifford Cooper III. 4. The escape. After two months into her admittance into Marsha Jude's, Dr. Figgis, Sophie's father, had been fighting the entire time to get her out...but to no avail. They even went as far as to drop visitation of all kinds after her third week there. The Dr. demanded that he be her new evaluating doctor. He was denied four times. She has been through 8 different ones so far. All of whom she violently attacks during evaluations. Dr. Figgis argued that he was the only one she would feel comfortable with talking to. He was finally given permission to evaluate Sophie on a regular basis. Sophie was calmed down. And after two more months of evaluation, Dr. Figgis had given Sophie a clean bill of health, which was immediately shut down by the residents of Marsha Jude's and his superiors. Two weeks after her release was denied, Sophie disappeared. Nurses on duty that day: Two. Jane Clarkson and Olivia Samson. There was a one hour period where it says in this statement where Olivia went missing for about an hour. Around the time Sophie escaped. She was not fired but investigated. Turns out that she had no dealings with Sophie's escape. But the document I will read next...is the shocker! 5.The Conspiracy This document is unofficial because it is handwritten on yellow notebook paper by parties who do not identify themselves. The paper states that during one of Sophie's evaluations, Dr. Figgis admitted to having visions lately as well. Two of which PERFECTLY fit the description of visions that Sophie had told the other doctors that had evaluated her. These visions intensified in Dr. Figgis after his treatment of an old Native American man for pneumonia. Two days prior, a young Native American male had come to visit Sophie at Marsha Jude's but never made it back to see her, but instead, spoke for about 20 minutes with Olivia Samson. Upon his departure, workers noticed two passengers in his car, one described as an older Native American male, the other, strongly resembled who workers said to be, "A man who looked a lot like Dr. Figgis."One of these workers confirmed that the third party was indeed Dr. Figgis. A week later Sophie disappeared and had been gone ever since. After reading all this, it made hella sense to me now. Sophie had the visions first. Her father was only trying to protect her. Especially when he started having them as well. And he had treated Able for pneumonia. And if they had been as generous to the Doc like they had been to us, they told him the truth and opened his eyes to something, as well as Sophie. They had shown them the truth. And they were all on a quest to save human kind. Which eventually led them to me. The 1800 building. The door that once housed an elderly man we know as Able. The sounds included the clicking of semi automatic weapons. The result...a front door quickly reduced to swiss cheese. The gunmen...Patch and his crew. They go through the place to discover that it is empty. "Shit! They got away from us AGAIN!", screamed Cotton. "Not so fast!", said Patch. The garbage can that sat beside the desk. Full of burned documents. One sole piece, half burned and housing three addresses on it. One of which, happened to be the exact location of the hideout. "I spy with my little eye..!", said Patch. "WE GOT EM!" END CHAPTER NINE

BEAUTIFUL DAYS chapter 8

BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER EIGHT O.K. last we left...I was diving off of a freakin' stage at a opera house. For some odd reason...I was taken back to something Sophie said earlier today... Remember this...? You wanna go to the opera?, I asked Yes., she answered. Sure you do! O.K. right after that "Yes!"... Now how fuckin' weird is this?, I asked. What do you mean?, she asked. Well we almost just got our asses shot off! You been through a lot and so have I. And here I am askin' about some stupid ass opera., I said She looked at me with those eyes. Tears rolled. The look she gave me was that of someone who had been through way to much in their years on this earth. She said to me... You are my only hope now. The only friend I have left. I need you. I need your help. If nothing else. I need your help to expose the truth. And save what's left of human kind. At that moment our eyes locked. I was lost in hers. The both of us caught in the moment..all I could say to her was... You got it! That lost moment in each other's eyes. We get closer. She leans forward. I lean forward. Our lips getting closer together. In what was our finest moment, our most passionate encounter... THE FUCKIN' PHONE RINGS. IT'S SPARKS... "Where the hell you been, man?, he says. Tryin' to stay in one piece!, I said. "Well did you ever find that chick? You fuck her yet?", he asked in usual nosey Sparks fashion. "Well I think you kinda ruined that thought for right now., I said. "Oops!", he replied. "Well you owe me a favor then!" I said. "I need you to do some shopping for me! I can't go get these items myself. Kinda keepin' a low pro if you know what I mean. I need you to swing by and get some cash from me and go pick up these items. It's really important and I need it done before a certain time., I said. "Whoa now I'm playing delivery boy?", Sparks asked. Now knowing Sparks like I know him. He never questioned my methods. Why start now...? "It's important, NOW MOVE YOUR ASS!", I said as I hung up. I walked back over to Sophie... Look I want you to look your best tonight. And every other night for that matter., I said to her. I know your clothes and all are history, so I'm gonna send Sparks shopping for you some clothes. Even a nice dress for tonight. How good are you at doing your own hair?, I asked. I do alright., She replied. Good because I would send you to the salon but you don't wanna risk gettin' your head whacked off by some android stylist. , I said. O.K., she said as she gave me a slight grin. "I miss my father.", she said as the tears weld up in her eyes. All I could do was hold her in my arms. And let her know things would be alright. At that moment she said to me... "What a mess!" And as I find myself back in the here and now, as I see the barrels of Patch's guns aimed at me...that last statement she made...MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY! BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER 8 ...WHEN THE FAT LADY SINGS... What a night for a opera! One thing Patch and I both learned at this particular point in time...diving and shooting only works in the fuckin' movies. By the time either of us hit the ground we realized...nobody hit jack shit. I'm ducking in the front row. And I hear Patch squirming to reload in the back row. As he reaches in his coat pockets for new clips, he yells out to me... You ready to die, cop? You and that bitch will leave outta here in a fuckin' body bag! "Really? I was gonna ask you for a ride home!!", I said. I hear the rest of his gang dive off the balcony and on to the floor. They are running right to me in the front row. By the time they get there...I'm gone! "Where's that s'ombitch?, Cotton said. I had crawled my way under the seats and back to the middle row. I pop up with both guns drawn. A bullet for Cotton. And one Page. I shoot. They drop. What I didn't count on... The gunman! He never hopped down with the rest of the gang. He gets me in the side. I drop! Never send a boy to do a gunman's job!, said the gunman. Fuck you!, yells Page. Nursing his leg wound. Patch hops up and runs over to the row where I got hit in. The gunman comes down to join him and the other's, one shot in the leg the other in the arm, both hobble over to join in the investigation. They come over and once again...I'm gone. By this time, I'm up in the balcony. Bulletproof vests are a thing of beauty. I go for the gunman. I owe him one. If it weren't for this vest, I'd be dead. I got the beams on the back of each kneecap. I blast those fuckers clean off. He screams. The others aim up at the balcony and open fire. He's still screaming. I dive for safety once again. Seeking refuge between the seats. "Get the fuck up there!", yelled Patch. They head back up to the balcony. They get up there. I hear Patch say... "Tear this shit to pieces!" Page and Cotton draw two semi automatic rifles of a real sci-fi calibur. I mean some serious George Lucas type shit. They begin to spray the seats. Every row. My ass was done for. No where for me to run or crawl to even if I tried. I got debris flyin' at me. I cover my head. "Sophie!" Is what I thought to myself. For some strange reason. I hear drums. It's all in the mind I thought. Bullets fly. I see the seats in front of me become shredded wood. They are getting closer. The row right before me that I'm using as a shield is quickly about to become dust...as I wait for this to happen... I hear...CLICK CLICK CLICK... I hear drums. I'm out!, said Cotton. Sucks for you!, I said popping up out of the seats. Dead locked on his chest...BLAM! I blast him. Sending him flying right off the balcony down to the seats below right next to a still screaming and injured , Toby the gunman. Page ducks behind Patch who quickly opens fire. I shoot back. I dive backwards shooting right at Patch. I hit him twice. One side hit and a hit in the thigh. He drops down. I land...and I drop my guns. They both go tumbling down the balcony stairs. I run for them. Patch shoots. I take one to the arm. I fall down the balcony stairs. I look up..Patch is gone. I hear his footsteps...then... I hear drums... His steps get closer. He walked to the top row. I'm at the bottom. On the ground at the bottom of the steps. I stand up clutching my arm. He's got his gun aimed right at me... I hear drums...and chanting now...I have visions...of the old Indian guy. He's chanting in his little room where I saved his life. Why am I seeing and hearing this...? Then, it all makes sense... "You're a corpse, cop!", said Patch. The only way I can get to my guns which are right at the railing of the balcony and get a shot off is to take that 20 foot dive off the edge and pray I get off enough shots that actually hit him before i fall to my death. I sort of hear a voice in my mind that said... "Do it!" There is a structure of stacked wood. Some abstract piece of art which hangs between the balcony and the floor. I would fall through that if I jumped. It's my only chance. So I look at Patch right in his beady eye, and I say... "Go for it!" He fired but I moved to fast for him to hit me. I grab my guns and as I take the dive. I open fire. Aiming right for Patch. I get off three shots...all to the chest of Patch. He drops and rolls down the steps. I go crashing into the structure. The abstract piece of art hanging between the balcony and floor. A twenty foot drop. I go crashing through these wooden slats. I feel every one. I get to about the ten foot mark and I stop falling. I didn't hit the next slat with enough impact to break it. So here I am. Ten feet from the ground. Covered completely in broken wood. Page comes out of hiding. He's secure in his being the only one moving. He looks around as if he had survived the shoot out. Patch coughs up blood. Page hears it and runs over to him. He picks him up. Holding him as he approaches the railing to look down at me. He says as he chokes on blood. That son of a bitch, "cough", "couch". Got me in the chest! Well he's gone now!, said Page. Nobody survives that fall! No sooner he says that...an infrared beam pokes it's way out of the wreckage. The end of it, lays right on the forehead of Patch. Up out of the debris I rise up with my gun deadlocked on Patch's forehead. Patch and Page are both stunned. Looking me in my eyes. They are stunned. I hear those drums crystal clear now. I understand what they mean. And in that instant, I pull my trigger. I get Patch right between the eyes. The bullet travels through his skull and hits Page, still holding Patch up, right in his forehead. The two fall over the railing and to the floor below. As I stand there...I feel reborn. As if i died one death and resurrected myself. I discovered what that Indian gave me...the tools I needed to fight those who do not die. The gap between human and machine. Man and God. I was their match. As I bask in my revelation, there is still one moving. Toby, on the floor below with a gun. He's ready to fire when I turn around and realize here's down there ready to shoot. BAM! A shot...but not from his gun...or mine. Toby's hit in the back. I look to the stage to see where the shot came from... Sophie. I told you to stay put!, I said. You should never keep a lady waiting that long!, she said. Touche'!, I replied. Sirens. The cops busting in the opera house. Any other time they would be my colleagues, but not tonight. I am now on the other side of the law. I jump down to the floor and tell Sophie to run stage right and meet me out the exit door. We both make our way out to the alley beside the opera house where we find my good friend, the D.A. On the ground. Holding his shot wife. He is in mourning over her. She's been shot. And she has bled to death. Holy shit!, I said out loud. I grab Sophie and I quickly run over to him. On the ground. Holding his dead wife. Shit, Kells!, I said calling him by the nickname I gave him years ago. She's gone!, he said to me with tears streaming down his face. What do I tell my children?, he said crying. What do I tell them? How do I go home and face them knowing that I have to be the one to deliver the message that their mother is gone?!, he said. Turns out, on the way out...Patch got a shot off. It hit her. Whether the shot was intentional or not...she still was hit from his bullet. There was no question about the D.A. at all now. I saw that he was indeed human in so many ways. And so was his wife. And his family. Who will with no doubt act as humans do. Once they hear the news. You get that son of a bitch!, he said to me. YOU FIND HIM!, he yelled. I got him, Kells!, I said. But I don't know for how long!, I told him. What the hell do you mean?, he asked. At that moment, a police car rolls up. Approaching the alleyway. I see it turn the corner. I grab Sophie and I take off. I can't go back to my home now. They are there. I know they are. I go to the one place I figure I'd be safe. I head for the Blue Mackerel. I get there and there's Sparks. He looks as if he had been expecting me all night. He motions for me to get over to his spot at the bar... Why didn't you tell me you were wanted for murder?, said Sparks. I just found out the hard way!, I said to him. Look, Sophie and I need a place to lay low. How's about we duck into the office long enough to come up with a next move., I said. Sure here's the key. Go lock yourself in and I'll be back in a second to check on you and get an update., said Sparks. I take Sophie and I unlock the door. We head in and as I walked in i notice two cops walking in the front door. I look over at Sparks. He gives me the wink. I duck in the office. They approach the bar... Anything I can get you officers?, said, Sparks. Information only., said the first cop. You seen a man. A detective. Black guy, about 5' 9". Trench coat. Tuxedo. More than likely smoking a cigarette., said the second cop. Nope can't say I have. Especially, with the exception of the detective, that description you gave named almost half the guys here., said Sparks. Well we'll have a look around then. Thanks for your cooperation., said the first cop. Anytime!, said Sparks. The cops search around the bar. I witness this through the peep hole in the office door. They search the bathrooms and all. Until they get to the office door. Which is locked. What's in here?, asked the second cop. The office, said Sparks. Nothin' to see in there really., he adds. Then you won't mind if we look around in here, would ya?, cop number one added. My boss has the key. he's the only one with one. , Sparks said. Well i don't hear any activity in the room, so I'll let you slide on the office for now, said cop 1. But we will be watching you, said cop 2. That's illegal!, Sparks said jokingly. They leave. I breathe a sigh of relief. I alert Sophie, who is still shaken, of the cops departure. I knew I would have to comfort her again. But before i do, I rummage through the desk drawers. I tear the room apart almost...until i found...cigarettes. Hadn't had one in hours and my zippo was history. Sparks is back tending the bar. His cell goes off. He answers. Not being able to hear what the other person said, I hear Sparks go... They're here! END CHAPTER 8

BEAUTIFUL DAYS chapter 7

BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER SEVEN NARRATION: And now it's time to check in on america's favorite T.V. family, The JONES' in... FATHER KNOWS JACK! (Audience applause) (Opening scene THE LIVING ROOM) Jack: (running inside) Hi mom! What's for dinner tonight? Ms. Jones: Well Jack, we are eating out tonight. Then going to the opera as soon as your father gets home. Jack: Opera? You mean the extra long show with the fat lady singing in a viking hat? (Audience laughs) Ms.Jones: Well there's much more to the opera than you see on T.V. and movies, Jack. It's about culture. Jack: Culture? You mean those birds with the crooked necks? (Audience laughs) Ms. Jones: No Jack, Culture is the development of intellect and morals through some form of education. In this case, the oprea will educate us all in someway shape or form. Giving us all something we need. exit Ms. Jones (Father enters the house) Father: Did somebody say...WEED? (Audience applause) Jack: Dad! (Runs and hugs him) Father: Hey son! How's it hangin'? (Audience laughs) Jack: Not too good, dad! Father: Oh my god!, (whispers) It's not herpes, is it? You're only 10. (Audience laughs) Jack: No, dad! We have to go to the stupid opera tonight! Father: WHAT? Son of a bitch! I knew i should have worked later! (Audience laughs) Jack: Mom says we have to do it because of culture. (Father sits Jack on his lap.) Father: Come son, let me school you on the true meaning culture. Jack looks puzzled. Father: Well son, culture is a word women toss around at you just so they can go to some pussy ass opera. {Audience laughs) Jack: wow dad! You're really smart! But what about the opera? Father: Well one things for certain, you won't be seeing your old man at some bitch ass opera. (Audience laughs) Jack: So how will u get of it? Father: I think i feel a slight case of the flu coming on. (Audience laughs) Ms. Jones enters from the kitchen Ms. Jones: Hello dear, I thought I heard your voice out here. Jack: Mommy! Mommy! Daddy's sick! Father: (in a sickly voice): I think it's the FLUUUUUU! "cough" "cough" Ms. Jones: Oh no, dear! That's terrible! Looks like no opera for us tonight! I'll go make you some soup. Ms. Jones enters the kitchen Father and Jake look at each other and gives one another the wink. (Audience laughs) NARRATOR Tune in next week for another episode of... FATHER KNOWS JACK!!!!!! (Audience applause) BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER SEVEN A NIGHT AT THE OPERA We must hurry! Words spoken to Sophie by Olivia. They make thier way, hooded , through the crowd. They march on faster. As fast as thier legs could carry them. The two duck into a small cafe. They head for the women's restroom. They are soaking wet! And they are tired. I have to call him!, said Sophie. I have to let him know I'm ok. Here!, said Olivia. Olivia had reached into her coat and handed Sophie her cell phone. This is a scene that's very familiar for both of them. You see, the two had taken this route before! When Olivia helped Sophie escape from Marsha Jude's the first time. I'll be gettin to that shortly. Right now, I'm in the middle of a shootout! Son of a BITCH!, I yell as I dive across the lobby couch. I'm soaring through the air with two nurses clinging to my shoulders. I get up and sling one off. An aid grabs my arm. I pistol whip him in the face and blasted the second nurse with the other gun in the throat. I spy another group of aids heading towards me. I slid across the floor, guns blazed, aiming for their knees. They drop to the ground and at that same instance Cotton runs over, grabs me by the throat, then launches me across the room. I slam into the door and I go flying through the hallway. As I slide on my back...I open fire with both guns. Nurses are rushing in. I take them out. How the hell did he lauch me one handed across a fuckin room like that? Then I'm reminded...they're fuckin' machines. Shooting them only slows them down. Puts them out but only temporary. It's as if someone is controling them, a puppet master. AN ENGINEER! The aids and nurses are all taken out. It appears that they drop as if they are human when they are shot. And it takes a while for where ever they recieve thier signal from to resurrect. My estimated time is between fifteen to thirty minutes before a new signal is establised. I'm outta bullets, just in time for the Cotton and Page confrontation. "Thought you had it goin' for ya, didn't ya? Fuckin' cop!, says Page. "Now we gonna stomp your ass all over this hallway!", says Cotton, that country fuck! "Well that's nice to know!", I said. Smartass me, you know the routine. My hand creeps slowy into my inner coat poket. I keep a flask in there. Filled with Everclear for two occasions. My morning coffee additive. And when robot fucks come harrassing me. My other hand, into my zippo pocket. "But you know it's times like this, when all I can do... is have a drink!" , I said pulling the flask outta my coat. "Wanna sip?" I fling a large amount of Everclear in Page's face. I light the zippo and fling it towards him. Instant crispy critter! Cotton once again grabs me and flings me back down the hall. Apparently his favorite move. As I sail out of the doorway I grab the top of the doorway. As I swing back, I bring my knees to my chest. Cotton's running straight for me. As I rock back towards him, I shove both feet into his chest. He goes flying back down the hall into Page. Now they both burn. I head down the other hallway where they keep the patients. I'm looking franticly. No Sophie. I haul ass outta there back to the car and I peel off. One thought raced through my mind...I gotta find Sophie. I reach into my coat for my cell. Five missed calls. All from an unidentified number. I call it back. I get an answer around the third ring... Hello? It's Sophie. Sophie where the hell are ya?, I asked. The Turtle Shell Cafe. Woman's restroom., she replied. Olivia with you?, I asked. Ok, you two stay put, I'm on my way!, I said. Then, a familiar voice comes from the backseat... No you fuckin' won't! Patch! Shit! He swings around and decks me in the face as I'm driving. We sail off the road into the back of a parked car, sailing into the air, then crashing sideways into another car. Patch emerges first. He races over to the middle of the street. He stands in front of a car and causes it to slam on breaks! He opens the driver door... You wanna live to see tomorrow? Get outta this fuckin' car!, he says to the driver as he snatches her out. I crawl outta the wreakage of what used to be my car. I see him screech off. I do the same routine. I stand in front of a car. Causing them to slam on breaks. I show my badge... Look lady, I'm a detective! I need this vehicle., I said. She quickly replied with... Fuuuuuuuck that! She then peeled off. I had to get my hands on a vehicle. I look. I found one...A GOOD ONE. Patch is racing down the road. Running red lights. Barrelling through traffic. He's headed straight for Sophie and Olivia. He gets to the cafe. He kicks in the door. The customers are startled. He heads to the back for the ladies restroom. Three stahls. He tried the first...empty. He tried the second...emtpy. The Third...The door is closed. And locked. He pulls his gun. Open's fire through the door. Four shots. Kicks it open...empty. What the fuck?!, he yelled. At that moment I crash into the women's restroom from the outside in the 18 wheeler I got off the truck driver. I run his ass down and crash into the lobby area where the customers are eating. They panic and haul ass outta there. So much for the Turtleshell Cafe. I crash out of the front, dragging Patch about a block before finally running over him and taking off down the street. My passengers? Sophie and Olivia. I had called and given them the head's up on Patch being on his way. I had them go out the back way and meet me in the alley on the side of the cafe. Soon as we think we are safe. A car rams right into the side of us. Page and Cotton are the passengers. Still smoking from the Everclear bath. The driver, Toby the gunman. With a loaded .44 hanging out the window in the hand that's not steering. Apparently he never misses. And if his aim was to hit Olivia in the side with a bullet, his aim was dead on. He fired a bullet through the passenger side door. Right where Olivia had been sitting. I swerve into traffic trying to lead us away from gunfire. He can't get a clear shot. As I weave the huge trailer in and out of traffic. He finally gets a dead lock on and before he can get a shot off...I make a sharp turn. Right in front of him. He crashes into the side of the semi. The car is totalled. I grab Sophie... Come on!, I said as I grabbed her arm. No!, she said. Olivia! I look over at Olivia. She was staring beyond. She was too far gone to be helped. She was dead. I grab Sophie.. There's no time, Sophie! She's gone! Let's move., As I drag her off. We haul ass on foot. I hail a cab. And Sophie and i head for my apartment. We arrive there. I turn on the lights. I tell Sophie to stay behind me as I check the place to make sure it's safe. Everything is fine. Sophie plops down on my living room couch. She's ballin her eyes out. I go to comfort her. I sit beside her and I hold her... Im sorry! It's all i could say. Look I know everybody's dyin' around you. I know it's hard...but, I gotta tell you one thing... I believe you!, I said. She looked at me as if those were the words she's been waiting for someone to say to her for ages. Almost the equivelent of a "I Love You." She hugged me tightly. I sat there on the sofa and held her. The phone rang. I didn't answer. The machine picks up..it's the DA. He leaves a message... Hey buddy, hope to see you and whatever date you're draggin out with you to the opera tonight. Hope to see you there. 7pm. I forgot all about it. As I sat and held Sohpie. I look down at her pretty brown eyes. And I say... You wanna go to the opera? Yes., she replied LATER... The DA is kissing his children goodbye as he gets into the limo with his wife. The babysitter goes into the house with the kids after they watch thier parents pull off. He hits me on my cell. I answer. He asks if I was on my way. I proceed to tell him EVERYTHING. Even down to the bit of shopping I had Sparks to do for Sophie. She had no clothes or any belongings. I sprung for this nice dress. It looked gorgeous on her. Right before he called me , before we got dressed to the nines. Sparks agreed to do the shopping. I had given him a list of items. Didn't want to risk being out too much with her in public. Taking her to this opera is scary enough. But I want her close to me at all times. So if i take a chance, I figure I'd do it there. But the thing that scares me the most. I don't know who to trust now. Sparks acted strange when I asked him to do the shopping. And the DA, well..., is the DA. He was always a fuckin' weirdo. Our cab rolls up. I get out first. Then I help Sophie out of the car. She's fuckin gorgeous. I mean a real goddamn knockout. But she still had that troubled look on her face. She wasn't happy. But scared. I understood. I wasn't happy either. But my main reason for even chancing this opera is because if there was anybody I know to be human, it's the DA. About 24 hours ago I would have said the same about Sarge. But the DA and Sparks are the only ones I got left I can somewhat trust. If anything pops off tonight. I 'll see where loyalties lie. We take our seats next to the DA and his wife... And who's the pretty lady?, he asked Her name's Sophie., I said. Look, I need to talk to you., I said to the DA. There's a world of shit crashin down around us. I need your help., I said. Well you know anything you need, I'm all for., said the DA. There's a situation. A conspiracy of sorts. And it's gonna sound funny trying to explain it...but here goes... And before I can even get it out, two officers step up to us... "Jake Reed you're under arrest for the murder of Sergeant Lawrence Shaw!", said the first officer. What?, I replied. This is outrageous!, said the DA. You better know what you're doing or I'll personally see that you both lose your fuckin' badges. ,said the DA. At that moment...A shotgun blast... The first officer is hit in the chest. He goes flying on stage as the perfomers come out to begin the show. They run backstage where they came from after seeing the officer land on thier marks. The blast came from Patch and his crew. I just saw this bastard run down in the street. And the others. Still scarred from the fray earlier. Begin to tear shit apart. The audience scatters. The DA puts his wife down low and begins to escort her out. I grab Sophie and i do the same... You ain't gettin outta here ALIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!,screamed Patch. I get her backstage. I open the trap door commonly used in shows at this theater. I said to her... I don't wanna leave ya again, babe. But it's this or get shot., I said. Jake please don't leave me again!, she said. Got no choice, babe. Ain't like I can just take you on a shootout now can I? , I said. Even though I'm not in this trap door with you, that don't mean I'm lettin' you go. She flashed a smile. Then she leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. Not a normal kiss. But one of those, "You make it outta this alive, I'm gonna give you some pussy!" kisses. So of course. That's all the motivation I need. I lock her in. I make my way center stage. The audience has cleared. The only one's left...Patch and his gang standing, ready to rumble, in the upper balcony section.... This shit ends now!, I said. Homey...You ain't kiddin'!, said Patch. As he dives off the balcony, guns drawn. I dive off the stage same fashion. This time, somebody wasn't makin' it out alive... END CHAPTER 7
BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER SIX TEN YEARS AGO... "World reknowned opera singer Melody Rivers was found dead in her apartment this morning in Paris, France. Known around the planet as, "the lady with the golden voice", apparently passed away on the way to the local hospital in an apparent suicide. The world still in shock, the question still remains fresh on the lips of her fans and the rest of the public at large, what would make her do such a thing? BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER SIX THE UNTIMELY DEATH OF MELODY RIVERS "TAXI!" That's my friend the good DA of our city hailing a cab after our lunch session. A horrible one at that. Possibly the worst lunch I ever had at this place which had made it's way to my "A" list up until today. I feel like shit though because of the fact that I had been sitting there relatively quiet for the past 45 minutes. Letting him do all the talking which I only heard maybe half of since my mind had wondered off into the well being of Sophie. He finally flags himself a cab. As he turned toward me, he handed me an envelope. Unmarked. "What's this?", I asked. Tickets, he said. "For what?", I asked. "The Opera. Some culture for ya!!", he said cheerfully. "I thought me bein' black was all the culture i needed.", I said in my heavily favored smat ass fashion. "Ahhh my friend, but there's more to life, than black, white, plaid. Great melodies, have no color, Jake. Heavenly voices, with stories to tell. That transcend time and space. Human existence. It's about passion, Jake., It's about the art., said the DA. "You gotta be so fuckin' dramatic about it?" , I said. "Hey there's two tickets in here.", I said to him as he stepped in his cab. "I know, bring a date.", he said. "Who?", I yelled as his cab was pulling away. " I'm sure you won't have a problem finding a date. Just make sure they love Melody Rivers.", he yelled out the cab window. "Hey, that chick's dead!", I yell back. I read the tickets and it clearly said Melody Rivers tribute. So they got a bunch of opera singin assholes from around the world to pay tribute to her by recreating some of her famous performances. I don't see how. Melody Rivers had a unique voice before she offed herself. They say she killed herself due to a broken heart. Me, I blame the heroin. I make my way back to the station. A sea of people wondering the whereabouts of the Sarge. Me included. I overhear some of the officers saying that they started searching around his place and he wasn't there. Apparently his daughter who's away at college, called the police, rather concered because she had missed her late night and early morning phone calls from him. A ritual that has gone on strong everyday since her freshman year. A ritual that was also said by her dad, If you don't get these calls...something's wrong. Which is what prompted the call to the police. As I head to the back, they are questioning his landlord. Who looks up at that exact time and happens to see...me. "That's him, that's the guy!", she said aloud. "Ok, what the hell did I do now?", I asked. Turns out, the old braod suffers from altzheimers. She remembers faces, then forgets names. Then, she remembers names, and forgets faces. This day I was the guy who you see his face, but just can't place the name. I drop in on Sarge occasionally and the whole department knows that. Hell I'm there with a few of the other officers every Tuesday whippin' his ass at poker. So it was no thing to find me at his place at any given time. Just so happens I brought in the one chick that offed him. Makes me feel like shit even more. The one night this chick decides to remember face, was the one night i wish never took place. "Oh that's Detective Reed, Ms Cavanagh." , said the questioning officer. "Oh yea, I heard of you, I think!, she said loudly. "You at Sarge's house last night, Jake?". asked the officer. "Yea, I said. But not long. Why? Somethin' happen?", I played dumb. "Yea his missing." , said the officer. "Wow.", I said. I deserve a fuckin oscar for this performance. "I'll swing by and see if I see anything.", I said. Anybody go by there?, I asked Nope not yet., Said the officer. You have the privilage of being the first., he said. Exactly what i was counting on. Marsh Jude's A red car rolls up out front. Two cowboy booted feet make their way to the ground from the driver's side. Those feet carry a bearded man with dark glasses to the front desk of the hospital. He looks at the aid at the front desk and says to him... "Sophie Figgis!" The aid flashes a look as if to know exactly what he's there for. The aid replies... "Right this way!" The bearded man follows the aid down the hall. At the end of that hall, a room. Room 511. Sophie's room. The key slowly enters the lock. The lock tumbles. The door opens. And Sophie...is.. "GONE?!", said the aid. The bearded man is furious. He grabs the aid by the collar. Swings him around. Slams him to the wall as he santches off the dark glasses and fake beard. It's Patch. "What the hell do you mean , GONE?", he yelled at the aid. "She was just here a swear too.. And before he could get out GOD, Patch puts six into the aid's chest. In rage. A block away. Two hooded figures make their way thru a crowd. The walk rapidly. The rain falls faster. They move quicker. The figure in the front pulls the one directly behind. The front figure, the nurse Olivia. The figure she's pulling...Sophie. I make it to the basement of Sarge's complex. I wondered how can a woman of Sophie's stature take a man like Sarge, a known fat ass, kill him. and carry him all the way down to the fernis to burn unoticed. The beauty about being a detective...the answer is simple... I examine starting at the entrance... 1. a button... the button was in the shape of a flower. The red suit Sophie wore had flower cuff links. This button was hanging from her coat and fell as she apparently ran for safety. The button had been ripped off her sleeve as if someone grabbed her arm. It was apparent that she had been running from something. 2. the bang marks on the wall... The door was forced open. As if someone rammed thier way in. The lock was still on the door yet the door was wide open. He had indeed been chasing her for some reason. 3. The scuffs on the stairs.. Scuffs as if some one had been running down the stairway. But some were one on top of the other and one set stops. It is apparent that Sophie got here first. The larger set stops. The smaller set goes on. They go around to the bottom of the stairs into the dark corner. No light in that area. Sophie ran in and hid in the darkness. Sarge ran down afterwards. There's a window of time between his and her's arrival here in the basement. 4. The shovel.. The scoop portion...banged to hell. Sophie armed herself with this. Waited for him to arrive down there. And apparently whacked the shit outta him with it. The other in..broken off. A trace of blood. She stabbed him with it. In a place that would obviously kill a man. He dropped dead from the looks of it about three feet away from the fernis. No blood though. On the floor at least. No sign of it only on the end of the shovel. My thoughts was that maybe she cleaned it up. But even when you clean blood off such a surface as the basement floor was made from...it leaves a discoloration. Which now brings me to... 5. The fernis... It's fuckin' hot. I approach. If there is a body in here, first off it would have left a distinct smell. Burning flesh. There was indeed an odor. But more like you would smell at a welding factory. I open it up. I take a pick axe from the side where the tools sit. I stick it in thinking maybe i'll hit some- thing. I did. Swishing the metal end around in the fire. I stop to take off my coat and hat. It's so fuckin hot. I stick the seering hot pick axe back in. It's as if something almost latched on to it. I yank it out... A skull... A METAL skull. I crawl back...I'm shocked. There laying steaming on the floor in front of me was the skull of the man i had known for years as my superior officer. The metal skull of someone I thought to be as human as I. Melted flesh or flesh like material stuck to one side of the skull. I see this...I quickly say out loud... "SOPHIE!" I haul ass over to Marsh Jude's. From how it looks. I'm too late. I walk in. Guns drawn. The place was turned into BUCKTOWN! Somebody shot up the whole fuckin buildin'. Aids dead. Nurses. Paitients. I walk over to the pothead aid that assisted me in finding the records. I lean over. I touch his neck. No pulse. I examine his teeth. His mouth. Hands. He's human. Behind me. Unbeknownst to me at the time, mind you, One of the corpses sat up. Then another. Then one more. Who enters the room...? None other than Cotton. Then Page. I'm not crazy. I saw these assholes die. The only thing left now is the inevitable. I'm gonna have to shoot my way outta here. Then the most ironic thing took place...the music playing in the lobby. I noticed the song selection Son of a Bitch...They're playing Melody Rivers! END CHAPTER SIX
BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER FIVE I remember that morning like yesterday. I was up early. Making breakfast. Doing the normal good husband type thing, ya know? I know i haven't been the model husband since i got the detective promotion six years before. I had been pulling my Harry Whodini impressions more often. Not being around. Always at the office. Never home. That morning I was there for a change. I heard her come downstairs and place herself at our kitchen table. My back was towards her. I had just placed the scrambled eggs on her plate just how she likes them. I head for the table, I greeted her with breakfast, she greeted me with paperwork, along with these words... "Jake, I want a divorce!" BEAUTIFUL DAYS] CHAPTER FIVE STUPID CUPID BLUES Where the hell could they be...? I found myself wandering the streets. Each spot I come to, is a blank. No sign of either of them. I come to the corner across from The Rockabee. We used to eat breakfast there, Marie and I. My ex wife. Well she's there now...but the guy she's with obviously ain't me. He's a younger guy, not that I'm and old man or anything, but, certainly younger than her or I. He walks up and open's the taxi door for her. Then engages in a conversation with the driver. As this takes place, she looks up and she notices...me. Our eyes dead locked. For ten seconds, I had her undivded attention again for the first time in a long time. Ten seconds later...it was gone again. Ink ain't even dry on the divorce yet and she's out doin it up. Then she was gone. And at that moment, it wasn't so much I had just realized, but more so...accepted the fact...she was gone. A random office building. Downtown. In this huge office, there's a desk. Behind the desk a figure is seated. In a huge leather chair facing the big window overlooking the city. Back facing the man sitting in the chair on the other side of the desk. Clouds of smoke pours from the other side of the huge leather seat from the man's cigar. The man sitting behind him...none other than our old buddy, Patch... "So what happened out there?" ,asked the faceless man. "I got shot, that's what.", Patch responded. "I can see that, poor kid.", the faceless man says with a bit of sarcasim. "Where is your squad?", the man asked. "Dead as Dillinger!", Patch answered. "Figured as much. Those guys never did seem to me to be the sharpest knives in the set. Speaking of sharp knives... Nice work on the good doctor. At least you set out half of what I sent you to do. Now where's the girl?", the man asked. "She got away!", Patch replied. "Is that a fact?", the man said calmly. "And why's that?", he asked. "Well maybe it might have something to do with the fact, THAT I GOT FUCKIN' SHOT. AND NO ONE SEEMS TO GIVE A SHIT!", Patch yelled in anger. "I see!", the faceless man said, calmy once again. He slowly turns to Patch in the chair. Face still unseen. He speaks to him... "I know you're not playin with a full deck, Patch. knew it from day one. Believe it or not, shit, that's what I like about you, but, I must say, DON'T YOU EVER, IN YOUR LIFE, YELL AT ME LIKE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKIN MIND AGAIN! I DON'T GIVE A SHIT IF YOU GET SHOT OR NOT! I GIVE YOU A JOB TO DO... YOU DO IT! Now get out there,Patch, and find that bitch. And don't come back until she's dead.", the man said. "Me being shot, kind of makes it hard.", said Patch. The man turns slowly back around with his back to Patch once again. He says in a slow voice... "Leave that to me!" It's about 9 A.M. now. Still no sign of the Sarge or Sophie. I decide to make a pit stop by my house to check my messages. Nothing but bill collectors, until...the final one... "Detective Reed, call me 555-8743. It's Sophie's voice. I quickly call the number back, after the fifth ring, she answers, "Detective Reed?, she asked. "Where the hell are you?", I asked. "I'm in the alley way behind Sewell's. Meet me there.", she said. "Wait a minute...what the hell's goin on god dam... click! She hung up. I grab my shit and head for Sewell's. I show up, but since I'm no stranger to having women play me for the fuckin' herb, I show up on the roof of Sewell's. So I can see everything. Just to make sure there's no funny business. No ambush type shit. I see her. She's alone. And no one near by. I pull out my cell, and I call. She races to the pay phone she called me from... Detective Reed?,. she asked. Yea. , I said. Where are you?", she asked. Look up. I said. I killed him!,she said. What? I killed him., she repeated. He tried to kill me...he was one of them., she said. Sophie, I'm comin' down!", I said. I make my way down to her. She's ballin her eyes out by this point...I walk to her and she runs to me... I killed him. I had to, Detective Reed. He was one of them and he tried to kill me., she said franticly. Calm down, Sophie. Where the hell is he?, I asked. I took him to the fernis down in basment of his complex. I burned him., she said. After you killed him?, I asked. Yes!, she replied. She grabbed me and began to cry like a new born baby. I held her like she was such. I tried to comfort her. Then i said... Come with me, I'll take you somewhere safe. Somewhere you can get some rest. I put her in the car. I drive her to Marsha Jude's. A mental health facility. She quickly went ape shit...I had to restrian her... "NO! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE! NO, I CAN'T BE HERE!!! I finally get around to the front of the building and I call for the aids to help me. The rush out to assist me in getting her inside. One of them quickly said... Holy shit, that's Sophie Figgis! "You know her?, I asked. Yea, she's been here before!, He replied. I fuckin' knew it...NUTCASE. Then an older nurse approaches me. Very concerned about the girl. She said.. You can't leave her here. Why the hell not. She's nuts and apparently my responsibility., I said. She's not safe here, said the nurse. What the hell you talkin about? I asked. She never says anything. Just gives me a look. I knew that this was the only safe place I could leave her. Tell you what. What's your name? Olivia. , the nurse responded. Well since you are so concerned about her, I'm gonna leave you in charge of keeping an eye on her in here. I will be back for her. Your hear?, I said. She cannot be here. , Olivia said. Well guess what, she's gonna be here dammit. And you're gonna watch her like I fuckin said., I said before i walked away. I looked at her kicking and screaming. Her once beautiful eyes...now crazed. She's fighting. She really doesn't want to be here. My heart is broken. Almost like i wanted to cry. I pull one of the aids to the side and ask him... Listen, do you have access to files on patients? Well I do, but not for your to look through. Can't play that game here. I'd get fired., said the aid. Wow! , I said So what's the policy on marijuana smoking on the job? That's also against the rules to right?, I asked. What?, the aid played dumbly. Well seeing as to how...what's your name...?, I asked. Henry., he replied. Well, Henry! Last I checked, they never legalized marijuana. And seeing how you smell like a fresh field of it, and you're on the clock at a mental hospital, well, being fired is the least of your worries, I would be thinking about the jail time as well. So if you want to avoid both...please, pretty please, with cherries on top... GET ME THOSE FUCKIN' FILES! Didn't take much more convincing than that. I head down to the records room with the shaken aid. He got my those files. I take off. As I leave... I look at Sopie one last time. She is being tended to by Olivia. I felt better knowing she was in her care for some reason. I make my way out. It is then that i realize...it's 1:15. I'm late for lunch with the D.A. I arrive at Bailey's. He's there. And as usual, not upset. Calm. I knew you'd be late., he said. I took the liberty of ordering for you. I know what you like., said the DA. Thanks. , I replied. You seemed a bit flushed, Jake! What's wrong? Rough night., I said. Ahhh we all have those at times, Jake., said the DA. The waitress brings out our appetizers and drinks. For some reason I lose my appetite. The DA is mumbling on about something. I phase him out a bit. I can't hear him anymore. I feel a big disturbing not in my gut. All i could think about, was Sophie. The office building downtown. The faceless man picks up the phone and hits the redail. The person on the reciving end is Patch... Marsha Jude's!, said the man when Patch answered. She'll never know what hit her! Said Patch. END CHAPTER FIVE
BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER FOUR You look towards heaven for the meaning of life. But the meaning of life is here for all of us. Not in books of God and scripture, but on the faces of us all. Call me crazy for saying so, but man is god. To look in the face of God is to look into my eyes. And the eyes of those around us. Any man, woman, or child is a fool to think otherwise. With these hands I can create a universe. And with these same hands, I can destroy it. Truly the powers of a God. Who would argue such a thing. From the eyes of God...I give you VISION. With that vision you see...that these are truly beautiful days we are living in. -The Engineer. BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER FOUR THE GIRL, THE D.A., AND THE ENGINEER...? ST. JOAN'S HOSPITAL. Tonight, it houses a rather unruly patient... "Somebody take off these fuckin' cuffs!!!! It's our old buddy, Patch. And tonight, Patch isn't too thrilled with having his wrists handcuffed to a hospital bed. As well as having his room gaurded by armed officers 24/7. I'll have my meeting with Patch momentarily, as for now...there's a psycho of another kind following me down the street... I'm not crazy, Detective! Why is she still here? Chick is gorgeous...but fuckin' crazy! "You're not crazy? You just tried to convince me that the world is overpopulated with fuckin' robots. And you're not crazy? I'm a little drunk lady but not that fuckin' drunk!, I tell her. "Why do you think my father is dead, Detective?", she says. "A 9 inch bowie knife to the chest has a tendency to do that to a man!" I said. She drops her head down as if i just stabbed her with that same knife. Great! Now I feel like shit. Listen I'm sorry for sayin that, but the robot story...sell it to Speilberg. Ain't buyin it. "I wouldn't have come all this way, risk my life and my father's if it weren't true. We are the few humans left and if we don't act now...we will all die at the hands of The Engineer!", she said. Engineer? Who the hell is that?, I ask. He's the one responsible for the robots. Androids, I should say. And now that my father and I know the truth, they want us all dead. Even you., she said. Look lady, I don't like listening to fairy tales. Sci fi ain't my thing. So what im gonna do is what im paid to do. And that is protect you, but... the robot shit... GOTTA STOP! Now it's a matter of finding a safe place for her to crash at least for the night. I figure the best place is my place. Mainly because I figure that the last place she would want to see is the Apex. Or any motel for that matter. But then again, the chick is fuckin' whacked out talkin about robots and shit and I'm not sure I want her knowing where I stay. So I go see Sarge. I had an idea... "What the hell you mean can she stay here tonight?, Sarge yells. Just for tonight, or at least until i go to question, Patch., I said. Hell no, Reed. You wake me up outta my bed this late for this shit? Are you fuckin' crazy?,He asked. No but I think she is. That's why I don't want her at my place., I said. So you bring the bitch here? You bring a crazy chick here and expect me to babysit? No I am bringing the girl you told me to make it a point to find and question here for safe keeping. Now since all I got outta her is a crazy ass robot story, my only hope is that bastard laid up in the hospital.,I said. "You got one hour!", Said Sarge. I make my way back out into Sarge's living room where I had asked her to sit while I talked to him in his bedroom. I approach the couch she's sitting on. She'd been weeping again. Poor girl. Not only has she lost her father, she's fucked up in the head on top of all that. Her pops was probably the only fuckin brains she had. Now he's gone. God damn she's fuckin gorgeous. I would never admit, but my heart was breakin for her... "Look Sarge is gonna keep ya company until I come back for you ok? You'll be safe here.", I said. Are you sure?, she asked. Yea. You got a weapon?. I asked. Yes. , she responded. Good. Hang on to it. And do me a favor... What's that?, she asked. As I headed out the door, I stated my request... Don't kill Sarge with it! I close the door, and head to the hospital. As I approach the hospital...I begin thinking about what exactly happened with that Indian back at the 1800 building. Why do i feel so open...and I see Sophie's eyes in my mind more often. I drift off into the thought of her eyes again...mesmorized. Intoxicated. Not off the 12 Jack and Cokes, but the thought of her. But my daydream is quickly interrupted... I hear a crash...it's the window on the 8th floor of the hospital...Patch's room. It's Officer Brown. One of the officers picked for guard duty tonight on Patch's room. Well he's kinda off duty now...due to the fact that he's hurddling to his death. He smashes into an ambulance after that 8 story drop. I draw my twin girls and I haul ass into the lobby...but...it's strange...the doctors...the nurses...the receptionist. Calm as hindu cows. No patients at all in the ER. They all look up at the same time...they notice me. As if all on que...they draw guns. I dive for safety behind the couches the patients would have been sitting had there been patients. I crawl over behind the vending machines. The two doctors walk over to the machines and begin to open fire at them. They stop. It's quiet... Am I dead? That's what they are wondering. They walk over to inspect... To thier suprise I had shimmied my way into the ventilation shaft behind the machines. I drop down out of the shaft opening in the ceiling firing as I drop down. I plug both doctors and they drop. I land on the receptionist. She droped her gun and she goes for it but I plug her before she gets to it. Now there's the matter of the Three armed nurses on the other side of this desk. I hear them running towards it. They are going to jump over it and fire on me as soon as they hit the ground. I put my feet on the back of the receptionist's desk. I hear the nurses' feet hit the top of the desk. I push off with my feet and as I slide from underneath I open fire. Hitting the nurses before they even hit the ground. They drop to the ground. Lifeless. As I get up and head towards the stairs, an ambulance crashes through the lobby. Headed straight for me. I dive outta the way. I don't get a look at the driver. But the asshole in the back looking out at me waving goodbye...was that son of a bitch Patch... He got away. I high tail it back to Sarge's. I get to the end of his hall in his apartment building. I notice his door is ajar. I draw. I ease my way to the door. I enter. There's no sign of a struggle. Nor is there any sign of Sophie...or Sarge. I check the entire apartment. No luck. As I realize I'm alone in the apartment...my cell rings. On the other end...District Attorney Steve Kelley. I had befriended the DA about two years ago when I was recognized by the city for saving his daughter from a hostage situation in a local grocery store. I answered the call. His voice on the other end... "Jake. Sorry to call so late. Just got back from vacation. was wondering if you wanted to catch lunch tommorrow around 1!",he said. "I'll take your delayed reaction as a yes!", he said. "Bailey's. 1o'clock tomorrow. Be there on time.See you there." He hangs up. I never even said a word. It's probably best, seeing as to the only word I could really muster up at that point was... SHIT! END CHAPTER FOUR
BEAUTIFUL DAYS CHAPTER THREE BROWN EYED WALTZ When she looked at me. With those eyes. All i remember was how beautiful they were. I was in a daze for mere seconds. I was lost in them. Human nature's a bitch. It stirrs up emotions. Makes us weak at times. Her face. It had the most frightened look on it when she gave me that quick glance. Almost as if she was calling for help through those gorgeous eyes of hers. I saw the face in my mind again, but instead of hearing a beautiful voice crying for help...all i hear is this... "GOD DAMMIT, REED!" That's enough to snap me back into reality. I'm still at the crime scene. Dead bodies, bingo chips everywhere, the whole nine fuckin' yards. Oh by the way, that God dammit, Reed!, comment comes courtesy of our very own Seargeant Shaw. You know those scenes in the cop movies where the renegade cop goes out and does something really against all odds and then has to get his ass chewed off by a superior officer? You're about to see one of those scenes now... "What the hell's goin' on here, Reed? Why is it I can't even on a break for five minutes and take a shit without hearing how u turned some bingo game into fuckin' BUCKTOWN?" I love Seargent Shaw. He's like fiber, he keeps me regular. But tonight is one of those strange ones, so instead of giving the usual smart ass answer that raises his blood pressure even more, I take the road less traveled... "Well don't get me started on how my break was cut short, but that's where it all went down. See the piece of shit over there bleeding on the stairway? Well he set it off. Well did you question him? asks the Sergent. "Well with all the gunplay and bingo chips, don't think i got around to that part, sarge." i said. "Well here's and idea, instead of standing around here like some prized dog dick, why don't you go over and get some answers from him?!" says the sarge. "Sure thing, pal!", i add in my usual smartass manner. Sarge hates having to actually be at the scene. But i figure oh well, neither do I but u don't hear me bitchin'. So at this point i say to myself maybe i should go and finally question this asshole as to why i had to chase him down. I step over to the stairway where an officer is tending to his wounds as they wait on medical assistance for him. I send them away... "Okay, cyclops. What's your fuckin' deal?" "I ain't said shit to them cops, what makes you think i'm gonna talk to you?, he says. "Well it don't matter to me either way. You talk, you don't talk. You're still goin to the fuckin slammer! "Look cop, I'm fuckin' bleedin' to death. You shot me three fuckin' times. Now I ain't sayin' jack shit. I need goddamned medical attention, fuck face!", yells, Patch. "Cool, good luck finding it!", I say as i walk off. I walk over to the middle of the street where Sarge is standing... "What you get outta him?, Sarge asked. " 'bout as much as I got outta him all night!, I reply. "Well I got a lead on One Eyed Suzie over there, turns out he may be linked to three murders that took place earlier tonight at the Apex.", the Sarge informed. "Well this must have been right before he started chasin the chick.", i added. "Chick? What chick?", asks Sarge. "Well the cyclops over there crashed into my dinner tonight chasin' some chick in a trenchcoat. Real sexy eyes. She took off., I said. "She took off? What the hell you mean she took off?", Sarge yells. "Usually that's how it works when u got a one eyed fuck chasin' ya with a pistol drawn. You get the fuck outta dodge.", I said. "I'm not in the mood for your smart ass comments, Reed! Tonight you make it your life's mission to go out there and find that fuckin' girl. Scan the ends of the earth, sell your soul to Satan, I don't give a rat's ass how you do it! Just do it!", yells Sarge. "I got six dead bodies here and I know you're responsible for at least half of them. This chick and that one eyed peice of shit over there is all we got left. Now get outta my face and get to work!" Sarge yells. "You know, you can really use a hug Sarge! Or some really decent pussy. I got some chicks I can call for ya!", I said in my normal smart ass manner. "Reed, get the fuck outta here, now!" Don't have to tell me twice... I hit the bricks with a game plan. Figure I'd wait until Mr. cyclops got nice and comfortable at the hospital then go fuck with him until he tells me what I wanna hear. But i figure in the mean time I search for this chick...what better place to start, than one with what i need right now...ALCOHOL! THE BLUE MACKEREL Jazz bar. But I don't come here for the jazz. I take my normal seat at the end of the bar. Sparks the bartender, he's on duty tonight. My right hand man. One of my most trusted informants. I figure i work on his info as i work on this Jack Daniels... Sparks hit me off with another Jack and Coke willya?, I request. Another one?, asks Sparks. Jesus, Jake you haven't even been here an hour and already your tab is almost breaking the 100 dollar mark. "Rough night!", I replied. "So what's on your mind, space cowboy? Work stuff, Sparks asked. "Exactly. Have you seen a chick around here? Real sexy brown eyes?, I ask Sparks. "God damn, Jake! You just named half the chicks in this bar.", said Sparks. "I'm serious, Sparks. Brown eyes. Drop dead gorgeous. It's real important I find her. She may be in trouble. Well there was this one chick, come in here two nights ago. said Sparks. Fits your description you gave. She was in here lookin for some doctor., says Sparks. "You gotta be shittin' me. A doctor died tonight at the Apex!", I said with excitement. "Small fuckin world, Jake. She's staying at the Apex. She left her contact info with me in case I came across this doctor guy. They must really have been into some serious shit.", said Sparks. "Where's the info?", I asked. "Right here, she wrote it on this matchbook." Sparks reaches under the bar by the lemons for the tequila shots and the dirty bar towels. And pulls out a matchbox. Inside, there is a phone number scribbled in red pen. There is a room number for the Apex Motel. Room 612. And a name... "Sophie?" "Yep, that's your girl.", said Sparks. "Ok now im cuttin you off!", Sparks said. "How you gonna cut me off? I'm not drivin'!, I added. "Cause I can't stand here and watch you do it to yourself again tonight! Makes my liver hurt watchin' you.", Sparks joked. "You wait till you gotta be cut off, Big shot!", I said. I drop him his tip, grab my hat and coat. Then make my exit. Still pissed at the two bullet holes in the back of it. Around this time it's been three hours since we left the crime scene. I head to my office to call the phone number on the book of matches. The station's quiet. And dark. That is until i hear a voice... Detective Reed...? I look up and I put the phone back on the reciever...it's her... My name is Sophie...and I need your help! "No shit!, I was just about to call you." I said. "What was with one eyed Jack chasin' you through that noodle stand? "Those men killed my father.", she said. "Why's that?", I asked. "Because of what we know...because of the truth.", she responded. "Truth? What truth?" "Detective Reed? I need you to be open minded about what I will tell you. It's not easy to take in." "Go for it!", I said. "What if i told you that the entire city, the entire world as you know it, with the exception of you , myself, and a few others, were not human at all... but robots?", she asked. And i answered that question as honest as i could... "That would be the point where I would say to you, Ms. Sophie...You're fuckin' nuts. And get the hell outta my office! END CHAPTER THREE
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