Sparkles of light danced on the inside of my eyelids and I opened them to a world that was tilting and swimming. My hands were strapped together at the wrists and forearms and I was held in place with a heavy nylon x-shaped seat belt. Shivers sat on both sides of me and seemed to be having conversations with their in-helmet radios. The silence was complete, too complete and it worried me. The APC rocked mildly and bounced me against the straps.
I opened my mouth to yawn and pop my ears, but found that my jaw was swollen. How many times did they hit me? After a few tries, my ears popped and I looked around. I had several loose teeth, my left eye was swollen slightly, and I was sore all over. My guess is that they used me as a piñata.
"Where are we going?" I asked. I repeated the question twice before the Shiver across from me gave me a stare. A moment later he half stood, punched me in face, then casually sat back down. My head bounced off the padding behind me and the world spun for a moment. He rattled me pretty good, but you get used to getting beaten on in Kick Murder. I managed to press my hands to my mouth and stopped the bleeding. Alright, I wouldn't ask any more questions.
I sat there for what must have been several hours before the vehicle came to a stop. Several of the Shivers stood around me one aimed a browbeater into my face as they unstrapped me from the wall carriage. A moment later, there was the hum of hydraulics and the rear ramp began to lower. I watched the growing light, anxious to see where they were going to take me. The ramp lowered further and my blood froze when I saw what was waiting.
Long dark coats. Polished black armor. Heavy masks that look like skulls.
Darkfinders.
My mind raced to find a reason why Cloak would want me but came up empty. I didn't think I knew anything they could care about and had pretty much walked the line since I left Meny. It was possible that they wanted information on someone in the squad, but I wouldn't have expected this treatment. No they definitely wanted ME and I had absolutely no idea why. I was a dead man.
My heart pounded in my ears as the Shivers walked me down the ramp to the waiting figures. They handed me over without a word then retreated into the APC. I had never seen a Darkfinder up close, but they were everything I expected. The air was cold and stagnate around them and they seem to be made of pure shadow and nightmare. Ok, I was letting my imagination run away with me and needed to rein it in. They gripped my arms with hands like steel vices and led me into the pitch-black shadows of a building.
I was guided along corridors and into an elevator, entirely in the dark. Eventually, I was pressed into a chair and the light came on, stabbing at my eyes. The restraints were gone from my hands and it scared me that I didn't remember them being cut off.
There was a click and an image appeared on the wall in front of me. It was my Meny graduation/ID picture and my record scrolled down beside it and looped. Everything that was ever known about me seemed to run downward along that wall. The only sound in the room besides my breathing was the ventilation system. What did they want?
"Good day Operative Cole, Alex T." a voice said from behind me.
I mustered my courage, but my mouth and throat were parched and betrayed me.
"I-I've had better," I croaked. The voice seemed to be moving, but I couldn't tell how far away it was or if it was a man or woman.
A short pause.
"Do you know why you're here?"
"No."
Another pause and the voice was closer now. I never heard the person move.
"Think carefully, Operative Cole."
I was terrified, and had to focus. What could I tell them that they'd be interested in hearing?
"I-I don't know. W-what do you want from me?"
Another pause.
"Just to talk. To get to know you. Mr. Slayer's Chosen want to know your soul." I was thoroughly puzzled and became even more scared.
"I don't understand."
"Given time, you will understand and all will be made clear."
I wasn't about to speak and this person had officially scared the hell out of me. The image on the wall changed to show someone else. It looked like the scrolling record was different now also, but I wasn't paying as much attention to it now.
"Bayer, Michael P. Graduated Meny June 900 SD, KMS Specialty."
Something intangible tingled in the cobwebs at the back of my mind. Something from my past…
"Briefly attached to one or two no-named squads. Flat, unremarkable career."
Mike Bayer, KMS. I repeated the name again and then it hit me in a flood. Michael Peter Bayer was the full name. He was my roommate for my second semester at Meny and someone that didn't quite make the cut. I didn't think he had made it out of Meny.
"I remember him. He was one of my roommates at Meny." What did he have to do with anything?
"That's correct. And?" the voice asked.
"…and, and." My mind screamed at me "and WHAT?" I didn't know where this was going. "We didn't get along very well and I got a roommate change. I didn't think that-"
"You didn't think that he'd graduate and made that opinion public on a few occasions. He did graduate eventually, but in the lowest 12% of his class. Have you had any contact with him since Meny?"
I remembered the bastard now. We really didn't get along, largely because he was at Meny to party and I was there to earn the points to get to OC and become one of the best. We mixed like water and oil, and one day someone lit a match. There was a minor altercation and I kicked the hell out of him. The next day we both requested a housing change and that was it. I hadn't thought about that in a long time. Why would I want anything to do with him now?
"No, not at all. I couldn't stand him and didn't hang out with him. I haven't seen him since."
"Of course you haven't, and no one else has either." At that, the speaker came around in front of me. It was an older man dressed in a gray formal uniform without the heavy overcoat. I had never seen a Darkfinder without a mask before and wondered if this is what they looked like. His skin was pallid and stretched tightly over the bones of his face, making it look like a mask. I had seen corpses in better health.
"Operative Cole, the reason you are here is that you are being given the prestigious honor of accepting a Grey BPN to apprehend this person. Operative Bayer has gone over and joined Darknight as an assassin and Interceptor. We want him brought to justice, dead or alive."
"Why didn't you just contact our financier or talk to Casper? She's the squad leader." My fear was gone by this point, but I was getting apprehensive. Why didn't they simply issue a wide termination warrant for him or bag him themselves? There's always a catch.
"We have no interest in speaking with such an unstable individual. Besides you are the one who knew him. Of the five people who have had lengthy exposure to Operative Bayer, only one demonstrated the ability to locate him and unfortunately was terminated. I trust you will be more successful."
I didn't have a choice. So I had been assaulted and arrested simply to inform me that I've won the Cloak whipping boy sweepstakes? Talk about overkill. I wondered why Cloak Division didn't have any phones or fax machines.
"What about compensation?"
"To be discussed at a later time." The deal continues to sweeten. Working for free for Cloak on an open-ended contract was not my idea of a good career move. "What about my squad?"
"You may bring them into this if you feel that they will be a benefit."
"To do that, I'll have to talk payment. We can't work for free." I was not working for the boys in black without getting something in return, and a pat on the back wasn't enough. I decided to work this angle, but he had a different view.
"That's incorrect Operative Cole. Where Mr. Slayer's concerns are paramount, his gratitude is sufficient for loyal operatives such as yourself."
Bastard. He managed to toss in a threat with a "screw-off we aren't paying you jack" statement. So much for negotiations.
"I'll be happy to do as you ask. I owe Mr. Slayer everything."
He seemed pleased by my answer and handed me a dossier with the Grey BPN attached to it.
"Then we have a deal, Operative Cole. We will be in contact with you to check your progress." He said with a smile and vanished into the shadows.
The last time I saw a smile like that was on a rat when it had its prey run to ground. Pretty similar if you ask me. I was escorted out of the building to the street where my equipment was returned and I went to look for a cab.
I couldn't wait to see how Casper would blame this one on me too. It looked like the whole week was going to be a "kick Cole's ass" kind of week for the Waster.
I hate this job.
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