He came into work the next day despite it being his day off, last night’s events seeming like a dream. John was leaving when Roger was arriving, but Roger managed to get away with not coming in contact with him.
“Roger, what are you doing at work? Take your day off!”
Roger winced when he forgot about avoiding the secretary, Mrs. Lawrence.
“Good morning to you too Stacey. And don’t worry, I’ll only be here for a bit and I’m off.”
“Roger Jason Smith, I’ve heard that line too many times to believe you. You are going to march out of those doors and I will not see you until tomorrow, understand?”
Heads turned at the tone of her voice. Most of the workers at the station knew that when Stacey used someone’s full name, no one was going to have a good day if they got in the way of her wrath, so everyone walked just a bit faster to avoid getting nagged at.
“I promise that I’m only checking something fast and then I’m off. I swear.” He put his right hand over his heart and raised his left palm toward her. Stacey wasn’t going down that simply though.
“You are getting too old to be pulling these stunts. I have never met another fifty-year-old who is as stubborn as you! Do you even eat? You work from nine in the morning until midnight and don’t take days off. I can’t imagine what a sorry state your kitchen’s in! And your shirt is untucked! Your mother would be so disappointed! You even missed a spot shaving!”
“Two hours, I promise.” He quickly walked away before Stacey could retort. He could hear her chastising another officer about their untidy appearance while he escaped.
On a mission, he went to the case filing cabinet and found the file he was looking for and sat at his desk. “Edgar Hamilton” the tag read. If this so-called ‘Red’ was telling the truth, then there should be some sort of link between this person and his family’s death. He was incredibly skeptical considering last night’s incursion felt more like a crazed hallucination rather than reality, but the hope that this name would bring him closer bringing the people who killed the loves of his life to pay for their crimes was too good to pass up. He opened the file and started reading, but a sudden commotion seemed to strike up in the office. Officers were running around grabbing their equipment left and right as radios went off.
“Explosion on Rivard and Atwater. twenty-one armed and dangerous. Approach with extreme caution.”
Roger dropped the file and grabbed his badge and gun. Edgar was going to have to wait a bit longer. He got into a police vehicle with the nearest officer he could find and gunned the engine.
“Glad you chose me to be your partner for the day, sir.”
Roger turned to the officer in the passenger seat. He groaned internally--he had chosen the newest recruit, a doe-eyed boy straight out of the academy who clearly hadn’t seen any action.
“I’ve followed your work, sir. You brought down the Mendez brothers and the Jackson gang. Impressive work, sir.”
“Listen…” Roger started.
“Patricks. Henry Patricks ”
“Listen Patricks, I don’t remember what they teach you at the academy, but this is a real-life situation, alright? One rule; don’t get shot. Don’t start getting trigger happy either. The last thing we need is an officer killing suspects just because they can. A gun doesn’t make you invincible either. Anyone can shoot a gun, but not many can use it for a purpose. You know what a gun’s sole purpose is?”
“To...shoot?” The officer said hesitantly.
“Yes, but our purpose is to protect the public. Can you do that son?”
The officer nodded, remaining silent for the rest of the ride.
When they got to the site, there was already a group of bystanders trying to get a better look at the explosion and the firefight. Reporters pushed against the police officers guarding the scene.
“Help them keep the reporters out,” Roger told the young officer.
Patricks looked disappointed but immediately jumped into action, pushing back a reporter that was about to break through the caution tape. Roger was glad the young boy was so eager to please--it made his life much easier since he had one less variable to worry about. He walked up to the Lieutenant who was barking out orders.
“What’s the situation?” Roger asked.
“Three wounded on their side, but it’s making them feisty. Two officers down with minor wounds here. Luckily no one was injured in the explosion. Still trying to figure out what triggered it. Isn’t today your day off?”
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Roger ignored that last bit.
“Do we have eyes inside?”
“Not yet. Trying to get a team together to figure out their arsenal.They’ve been shooting at us for ten minutes and not running out of bullets. We suspect they were running a weapons smuggling ring with this building as their headquarters. Hate to say this, but that explosion really did us a solid. Didn’t even know they existed until now.”
All of a sudden a dozen shots rang out from inside the smoking building and everyone dropped to the ground.
“That’s been happening too.” The Lieutenant said as he rose to his feet. “Can’t explain it, but every time that happens we have one less gunman to worry about. My guess is an internal quarrel and they’re shooting themselves, or we have a ghost officer inside taking everyone out. I’m holding back on sending anyone in until I this pattern stops. If they shoot each other rather than shooting at us, I won’t complain.”
“Well, I guess that makes a bit of sense, but why is it happening?”
“My goal is to protect all these nosy people around this goddamn building. Your job is to assemble a team to raid the building on my signal.”
Roger called out to ten officers he had worked with before to join him. Another dozen set of shots rang out, but the Lieutenant still gave them no signal to go ahead. Glass exploded overhead as one of the rooms on the upper floor of the building gave way to a grenade. They were given the signal and raided the building.
Adrenaline pumping, the officers slowly made their way into the building. The building was constructed much like a warehouse; a massive open area with only pillars supporting the ceiling. The rest of the first story was littered with partially cracked open crates, their contents spilling out. Rifles, pistols, and a few grenades were littered across the floor. One officer called out to the rest to follow. To Roger’s surprise, an assailant was bound and gagged on the floor. He undid the gag.
“Please, I’ll tell you everything, just don’t let the demon get me!”
“Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“The explosion, and then the demon came after us. I was only following orders and got caught up with this. I’ll tell you everything as long as you protect me from the demon!”
“What demon are you talking about?”
“The short man with the red eyes. He’s a demon. So fast, just took us all out. There are twenty-five of us. None of us got away. Upstairs got weapons, but I heard the demon take them all out. They’re all gone. All gone.”
Roger told one of the officers to get the guy out of there and to send another team in to help them sweep the area for bodies. They found eight more on the first floor, tied up just like the first one, all pleading for mercy. Red was behind this one hundred percent, no doubt about it. A sudden thought hit Roger and he ran to the nearest tied up offender and ripped off their gag.
“Who is your leader?”
The member whimpered in fear and Roger was afraid they were going to soil themselves right then and there.
“Who is your leader!”
“Edgar! He’s our leader! It was all him, I didn’t do anything!”
Roger put the gag back on the assailant. Without backup, he charged up the stairs, knowing full well that Red had already taken care of everyone. On the second floor, he found seven more people bound up. On the third floor, he found eight more bound on the ground and a single man tied up to a chair. The man’s face was bloody and beaten to a pulp and his breathing was ragged. Taped to the chest of the man was a manila folder. Roger pulled it off and looked through it. Inside was a written confession of ownership to the building and all its contents as well as a list of all persons associated with his business. Inside, he also found an article about the rising crime in the city of Detroit, and a handwritten note saying Now it’s your turn. Rosa Parks Blvd, Riverwalk. Tomorrow, 7:15 am. Bring two hot water bottles and a towel.
Well, Red certainly held up their end of the bargain so he was going to hold up his. He didn’t expect Red to do this much, but he was grateful. His process of investigation would have taken much longer than literally bombing the shit out of Edgar and beating up his goons. As extreme as Red was, his respect for the masked demon rose. He just hoped the court would uphold the signed confession.
He walked down the flights of stairs and told the officers it was safe to go further into the building. Roger handed the Lieutenant the folder, already having tucked away the note addressed to him in his pocket. And true to his word to Stacey, he went grocery shopping and cooked himself a hearty meal. He wasn’t entirely sure how Edgar Hamilton played into the murder of his family, but he had no doubt he would find out soon enough. Roger slept like a baby for the first time in ten years that night, dreaming of what he would do when he found the head of the snake.
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Rogers was second guessing agreeing to this deal. It was seven in the morning and the sun still wasn’t up, meaning that he was freezing his balls off in the cold. He had remembered to put chains on his tires which made driving easier, but traffic was incredibly light considering he was up before the ass-crack of dawn. He was currently sitting on the still-warm hood of his car to stay warm, but that was quickly losing its heat. The interior of his car was beckoning him, but he wanted to be sure he didn’t miss the package Red wanted him to pick up. Rogers had no idea why the hot water bottles and a towel, but if Red expected him to take a dip in the winter Detroit River, they had another thing coming. He had agreed to hold on to a package, not swim for it. He glanced at his watch for the fiftieth time. 7:13. Two more minutes and he’ll do his part.
The sun peaked over the city across the river, casting deep blue shadows over the water. If anything, he at least appreciated watching the sunrise. He wasn’t a morning person, but his wife had often forced him out of bed to watch the sunrise. A pang of sadness hit him when he remembered Lisa’s face. And little Tyler wanting to constantly be picked up even though he was getting too big. Shaking his head clear of the thoughts, he looked at his watch again. 7:15. Looking around, he saw no sight of Red.
Cursing under his breath, he slid off the hood of his car and opened his car door in the hopes of sitting inside and warming up since the engine had cooled. He took one last look at the river for keepsake when he noticed something out of the ordinary. Was that?
Jumping into action he grabbed the towel from the passenger seat and rushed toward the river’s edge, hoping he wasn’t too late.