Officer Jeff
The echo remained inside of Jeff’s ears for a few seconds, ringing sharply inside of his head as any other sound was drowned out by the pressure of it. He looked at his own arm, then the pressed down index finger on the trigger. All the tension that had built up over the last few minutes had vanished in an instant.
Eric was lying on the ground, a small puddle of blood shaping underneath him as he held his right knee with both hands. His face was tensed up and swollen in anger. He grunted out, his eyes staring up at Jeff. Jeff guided his weapon back into its holster with slow hands.
He then just turned around while ignoring the screams and shouts behind him. Eric screamed things in uncontrollable anger, but it was as if all of it was filtered out of Jeff’s brain immediately. The words went right through him. The only thing he could think about was Eric’s familiarity with ‘her’.
And as Eric’s screams finally ceased, Jeff opened the door once again. He stopped.
“No God crumbles upon the power of a mere bullet.”
And he closed the door behind him.
---
Jeff was leaning against a wall in his office, which was dimly lit by a single computer screen and a desk lamp. He was smoking to relieve stress, the night outside of the window dark and icy. The stars outside were clearly visible, but his gaze was focused on the picture which had been standing on his office desk earlier. He had taken it out of the frame, examined it closely. The picture showed a family.
There was him... much younger than he was now and way before he had started smoking. His eyes depicted an amount of joy he didn’t manage to recreate for over a decade now. The picture also showed his two daughters, both around 5 years old back at the time.
They would be around 20 now, he thought.
There was one more person in the picture. The face of the person wasn’t visible though, a small round hole where the head of the woman had once been. Jeff had burned it away with a lighter years ago, but he very well remembered every little detail of her stupid face.
The way that Sinner talked... It sounded so similar to the way she had talked back then.
He sighed.
“I will never forget you. My two angels…”
He put one finger on the part of the picture his daughters were on.
“The future will be a bright one. A future where people like your mother never get the chance to do such terrible things. Eric Hoffner will be the case that sets everything in motion. And then, someday...”
A single tear hit the picture.
“…a-and then you will finally be able to rest in peace.”
Jeff suppressed his emotions, peeked towards his desk. Multiple empty bottles were decorating it, his work related stuff thrown off and spread across the floor like an abstract painting. A single bottle still had something left inside of it. Orange liquid reflected the light of the moon. He should feel fulfilled right now, but it felt like he was now even emptier than before.
Jeff stumbled back to his desk, put the picture back in the frame with as much care as possible.
He then lit a cigarette...
...and poured himself yet another drink.
---
Jeff wiped a small line of dust off his desk, his work related stuff laying neatly arranged and sorted on top of it. The windows were open and the air in his office was fresh. Multiple binders laid in front of him, one of them already opened up. On the side without windows, a TV screen rested on the wall.
It knocked on the door. Jeff pressed a button on the side of his desk, and three teenagers stepped inside. Two males and one female. Jeff looked up and down from the opened binder in front of him, compared pictures with reality.
“Good morning, officer,” Jim said. Jeff just nodded, still comparing. It seemed that Jim had changed in appearance quite a lot. His hair was combed, and he looked less skinny. Around his neck was a silver necklace, partly hidden since he was wearing it under his shirt.
They sure look like they have grown in the last three years, he thought. No wonder, they had to mature faster than children should have to. I hope these three were able to enjoy their childhood at least a little bit.
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“Please take a seat,” he said, gestured towards three chairs which he had put in the middle of the room. They were facing the TV. They sat down.
“Thanks again for coming over that fast. I know it must be hard for you, but I promise the hardest part is over now. After we are finished here, we will finally be able to apply the proper punishment to Mr. Hoffner. Your data has been a great help in the last three years by the way.”
“We just want this to be finally over. Hen deserves to rest in peace,” Anna said, appeared to be moving around searching for a comfortable position in the chair. Her hair was long and open. She was wearing a necklace as well. It appeared to be fitting to the one Jim was wearing.
Jeff felt one corner of his mouth go up a millimeter.
“Alright. Let me just get the office stuff out of the way so we can begin. I need to ask some questions as well as read some info. You most likely know the most already. It is purely for legal reasons. Is that alright?”
They nodded.
“Okay.” Jeff rearranged a stack of paper, which was already neatly positioned on his desk. He put it in front of him, started reading: “This conversation, as well as the viewing afterwards, will be recorded for legal reasons. Are you okay with that?”
“Yes,” they said.
“After the legal content is out of the way, I will show you the recording of the final attempt made by Eric Hoffner trying to beat ‘Sinner’s Game’. ‘Sinner’s Game’ is a simulation by the C.U.A used to reveal the true intentions of the criminal as well as show their real behaviour. The Sinner is confronted with memories from people close to the victims to find out if he shows any sign of regret and if he can change or not. In this special case, you three were the closest remaining people since the whole family was murdered, therefore we asked you if it would be okay if we would use your memories instead. You said yes. Your three consciousnesses were then copied and used to create memories as close as possible to the real Reich family as well as simulated copies of you we used inside of the game, which were set up to interact with the Sinner. After living a short amount of time in Hendrick’s perspective, the Sinner was then confronted with challenges. Every time the Sinner failed, the game restarted, so he needed to reveal his true self in order to get let out of the simulation again. The simulation succeeded in finding out who Eric Hoffner really was. These informations were then used as a definitive prove to form a sentence against him. You are going to see an edited version of his successful attempt, the one where he beat the game. Every important confession is included in there, as well as more than enough examples of his flawed behaviour patterns. Afterwards you will be able to hear the sentence which has been prepared by the C.U.A. and will be able to decide if you accept it or want it adjusted. After your opinion has been officially stated, the process is finished and actions can be taken. Did you understand all of that? Any questions?”
There was silence for a moment. All three of them nodded in agreement.
“Also, one more thing.” Jeff picked up the remote for the TV. “Some of the events happening in this tape might be very unsettling and brutal. You have the right to decide if you want the censored version or not.”
Jack, who had remained mostly silent until now, turned on the chair to face Jeff, said, “I want to see the whole thing. I don’t want to miss any detail to make the right decisions later.” The voice of the dark skinned-male was calm, yet Jeff spotted an unsettling stiffness in his movements.
Jeff knew very well how hard it was to stay calm in a situation like this.
“I agree,” Jim said. “Hendrick had to endure so much. He deserves us not averting our eyes out of fear.”
Anna nodded.
Jeff sighed.
“Very well.”
He pressed a button on the remote, and the TV flashed from darkness to light.
Like a night-sky sprinkled with stars,
black and white pixels clashed with each other as the TV searched for the signal.
The tape started playing.
On the screen, Hendrick jolted awake from a nightmare.
---
Jeff swung open the cell door with a loud creak. The heavy iron only moved with applied force, but the mere thought of talking to Eric again filled Jeff with more than enough force to open all the doors in the entire prison at once if necessary. He stepped inside. Eric was leaning against a wall close to the metal bars, his clothes partly painted red from dry blood.
They made eye contact.
Eric smiled. Jeff didn’t.
“I missed you,” Eric said. “You know, after all the pain that I had to endure to become what I am now, this little shot wound your anger issues caused is nothing.”
“Your sentence is through. All the necessary preparations have been made. I’ve come to get you out of here.”
“Oh?”
“Your lucky… or unlucky, depending on how you see it. The sentence you would have originally gotten got changed off from a death sentence to life long in prison.”
Eric pushed himself off the wall, had troubles with walking. He moved closer to the bars, grabbed one with each hand. “Just another proof of my inevitability.”
“There is one condition that was added, though.”
“Huh?”
“You will see that once you arrive at your new cell…” Jeff pulled a key out of his uniform, unlocked the door of the cell.
“It seems that you really can’t kill me.” Eric managed an honest, bright smile. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to suffer for much longer.”
Jeff gripped the key more tightly, put it back away, and opened the door.
“There is one more thing that has to be done before we can bring you away.” He gestured towards the door and it opened as two more guards stepped inside of the room, awaiting Jeff’s orders.
“Hm?” Eric rolled his shoulders. “You want to try killing me again, or what?”
Jeff shook his head no.
“The founder wants to see you.”
Eric’s smile vanished.
“He has something important to tell you.”
---