NO MEMORY
Amelia turned to the soft humming of her fan. Keeping her eyes closed, she slowly stirred to the buzzing noise. Even though it was in the middle of winter, she had become accustomed to sleeping with white noise. Letting out a soft moan, her eyes cracked open reveling nothing but darkness. Her apartment was completely empty, with only a few stray personal belongings strewn about the furniture that came with the cheapest place she could find on the market.
With some effort she slipped out of her bed and wandered to the window on the opposite side. Her fingers grazed the frozen glass. The heat of her breath’s warmed a minuscule part but was swiftly reclaimed by mother nature. Snow continued to fall in the area she lived. As of recent it had begun to slow, giving a chance for the people in her community to breathe. A smile crept upon her lips as she stepped away, walking on the groaning wooden floor.
0200, Why did I wake so early?
Her pale skin was illuminated by the screen of her cell phone. She saw notifications from all of her in use applications. Basic social media and emails from all the investments she had bought into in the last five years. Her eyes arched at a recent bank transaction, but she thought nothing of it. Her brother had been slowly flowing money towards her in hopes of reconnecting with her. She loved him, but the damage her family did to her was too much to get tangled in such a mess again.
Sitting on the edge of her bed, she grasped the water bottle she had from indoctrination and gulped it down at a rapid pace. Her parched throat returned to a more comfortable condition, and she smoothed out her frazzled hair. Why am I here again? The question perplexed her. It was something that she had repeatedly asked herself upon being assigned to the office in Idaho. Her duties as a Federal Magus Enforcer were something still new to the world. For any other man they would be astounded by the prospect of having such a rare duty and cherishing the responsibilities at the spearhead of the new world revolution. For Amelia her spot in this world was only guaranteed by a reem of papers. There was nothing more to this life, nothing that I could ever want. Was it that her view on reality was warped? Perhaps. If she needed to question her own existence already, it would be best to put all worries aside and just continue living.
She was used to that much.
Peering from the shrouded heavens, moonlight shone upon her apartment. Soon enough the light would fade, giving way to the sun once more. Life and death. Duality of man. Raising her hand to the edge of the light—not in it—she released a burst of magical energy. Purple, blue hues encapsulated her room. Like kryptonite she was the end to everything magic. Closing her hand and returning it to her side, she could only wonder…
Lecca-Maradel? That was the queen’s name? Amelia had never met her; she had never seen her. Under authorization from POTUS and Secretary of State, they had released a very limited list of federal employees that had magical abilities. She was one of the fifteen chosen—she was the only one that was revealed to be Anti-Magus. Ironically enough, the queen could have only bothered to have sent a personal letter to her. It was nothing more than political appeal. All she could remember doing was tossing it into the trash later that day.
…
Could it have been different?
It was an invite. A possible way for the queen to—
“Shit.”
Swiping her phone with haste she looked at the latest notification. It was unexpected conference call between Chief Wall and Alex. Her finger hovered over the green button waiting to be dragged across the screen. What do they want? She asked herself.
“Good morning.”
“I’m surprised you’re up. We expected you to be sleeping.” Chief wall responded.
“Obviously I’m not…”
The two men chuckled to Amelia’s answer. Despite the early reveille Amelia, she didn’t immediately find the urge to hang up on either caller. In fact, she was enjoying this sudden talk, even so early in the morning.
“Of course. Enjoying the snow?”
“I may say I love winter, but being stuck inside isn’t the best thing. I’ll admit that.”
Bringing her face away from the phone, she said something uncaptured by the device.
“Alright, I’ve got something for you and Alex.”
“What’s going on? This call isn’t something normal.”
“We know, Amelia.” Alex calmly said.
“So?”
“I need you two to check out the origin of everything. Where this shitshow started. It’s imperative that the evidence that was collected wasn’t compromised or left behind. If the FBI is trying to put pressure on us, we need to know why.”
“Back to the beginning, eh?” Alex almost chuckled, “Amelia are you on board? What do you think?”
“I—um. I was just—”
It was an apt question, one that didn’t initially make sense to her. Investigators were usually the only ones granted authorization to return to a crime scene and treat it as such. A question like this was normally something to be left to a lawyer or judge, but surprisingly she and Alex had received authorization, not from Chief Wall, but the Ohio State Affairs representative.
“Again, what do you think of this?” Alex said as department head Zimmerman entered the room. “Ma’am, come on over, Chief Wall just briefed us on the DESTROYER operation.”
“Really?” The old woman was genuinely surprised as she sat beside him, “I didn’t imagine that Wall would pull you both for this.”
“Zimmerman, we can’t pull anyone else to handle this. At least those not under watch,” Wall mentioned gaining curious looks from both Alex and Amelia. “This information—classified in nature—can hold the keys we need to at least solve the case… not to mention the tampering.” Wall’s prospective of the matter was protecting the office, and the entire organization. Any conclusion he could draw only had that one purpose.
Alex took a light breath. He reevaluated what they were being asked.
“DESTROYER, Amelia,” Zimmerman directed, waving at her. “If there is interference with the investigation, you’re the only one that can stop any magus attacks.”
“Ma’am, I would be willing to bet that anything alternative to what we are doing would have more effect. The FBI is the main target, they’re stalling us,” Amelia said, maintaining a steady and thoughtful expression. It was important to remain skeptical. Of all the opportunities to find out what happened to Silverstone, why his daughter was skittish to an interview… She needed to be sure.
“You’re not wrong, but resistance is something we’ll handle. Not you,” Zimmerman stated. “If they want to take over; it’ll be misinformation that’ll come out of all of this.” A sigh escaped her lips. The thought did occur to the department head to utilize Amelia in this upcoming battle against the sister agency.
“We’ll continue giving you insight into what’s happening. Provide you with operational—actionable intel.”
“And what of the Navy?”
“The Master Chief will remain in contact.” Wall chuckled, “That’s my job, dealing with him.”
Zimmerman nodded, “Amelia, Alex, there’s going to be a lot of variables with this one—many that we can’t track, and even more than we can expect. We trust you with this, but in the slightest sign of danger you immediately call for help. There’s too much riding on this to lose assets such as you both.”
Wall added. “People are out there, our people. In addition to the Navy’s cooperation, we’re looking at the few personal scattered around dealing with more than they can chew. Our Marshall office is on a two-pronged strike. Answers will come from the FBI, the cartels, the criminals. York should know.”
“Commissioner, York, chief?” Alex asked.
Amelia raised an eyebrow, “The city commissioner?”
“You know him?” Zimmerman questioned.
“My mom worked with him back in the day before she passed. Apparently, he was the one responsible for the crackdown on narcotics that were flooding from adjacent states. Makes him a decent guy in my book.
“If you’re suggestion that we borrow his already thin resources…” Zimmerman paused. “He’s already providing enough as it is. But if we are to request full support, then a meeting with him, and the city mayor will be in order. If that’s going to happen, you’ll be sitting in on it, Amelia.”
Amelia blinked. “That’s not possible, ma’am.”
“Well, it is now. Chief said you can handle it, so I’ll approve it.” Her eyes trailed to the man. “Either way these people cannot know of DESTROYER’s existence. That senior-level communique and it’s owned by SCOTUS. If we have to, we’ll approach the president, but that’s something the director will handle personally. Do what you have to for now, the blanks will be filled in when it is time.”
“Right,” Amelia replied.
Wall glanced at his watch. “Our time here is up. I’ll expect a report on my desk hopefully by the end of the week. Amelia, Alex, be safe.” Safe isn’t exactly what we do… The anti-magus thought. It as a wishful departure from the chief, though she doubted he would be around to see the end of this. His term in the office was coming to an end, and he already had a comfortable promotion lined up for him as an advisor to the Deputy Director of the Marshall service. Though Wall was a man of virtue—they meant little—the pit of Washington D.C. would either end his career at the highest level, or it would shrivel him down to a fall man, meant to take the blame of some chairman either on Capitol Hill or within the agency itself.
Any type of movement within the office would disrupt operations. Everyone, even those not in the room knew it…Yet it was obvious that Chief Wall was intending to limit damage—intelligence or physical—he knew what needed to happen for at least the Silverstone case to continue. If that’s true, what does that mean for me? Amelia remained silent. Her thoughts captured her full attention, making her unsure what was to follow.
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“…Amelia—hey! Got your ears on?”
"Huh? What?"
She had been digging too deep in her mind. Spacing out wasn’t typical of her. In fact, it was quite abnormal.
“It’s just us here. You look lost like a buffoon.” She knit her brows to what Alex had said. Amelia grew frustrated at the deputy.
It backfired. He grew a wide grin.
“Apologies for saving your ass in my head.”
“I doubt it.”
“It was political, yeah, you’d make a terrible senator.”
“…Never had any plans. I’d think being president is more my thing.”
“Yeah, you go ahead and dream. You’d get us caught in another world war before anyone could stop you. Probably nukes are involved.”
“Hey now!” Amelia smirked. “C’mon Lia, there are things you know I wouldn’t do. Nukes aren’t even a consideration!”
Yeah—Yeah.
Snapping to her feet so suddenly, Amelia brushed her golden hair behind her ears before looking at Alex with a rare, but kind smile. The man was slightly enamored, but he regained control as he brushed his scratchy five o’clock shadow and stood up towering over her.
"Hey, want to grab some brunch before we head over?"
She laughed.
“You’re always hungry!”
###
Deputy Marshall Alexander White scowled at the isolated building surrounded by lush farm fields.
“Nothing has changed…”
The golden-haired agent accompanying him shuddered at her last memory of this place.
“I don’t want to be here anymore.”
Here they stood, in a place untouched by the winter. This place was stuck in time. No snow, harsh winds, or rain dared to cross these lands. They both could still see the blood, sweat, tears, and cries of all present. They would’ve never known that this place would’ve become a graveyard for both innocent and guilty alike. Still, who was to determine such truth? The answers were here.
With time and the thanks of the surviving members of the Marshall strike force, a clear picture of the events that led to the warrant were clear. The truth was that it was just a normal man, one that became a victim of the growing cartel activity within the region. To take matters into his own hands eventually found him in the sights of the government agency. Even if they were the true upholders of the constitution, this was seared into the records of all those involved.
Free me—no—kill me! I beg you!
Even she survived. It appears that everything present, she had someone looking over her. Watching her.
Lifting her hand just beside her head, Amelia felt her body tense as an overwhelming passing of voices broke through her brain. Her hand tremored as it remained suspended. To the crunch of Alex’s footsteps, tears clouded her eyes and all she could see was his distorted figure moving ahead at a snail’s space stopping every five steps to reminisce or inspect a point of interest.
Finally.
The word struck her like a cord as she struggled to keep her eyes open.
Someone can finally hear us.
As a single tear traced her cheek, she let out an uneasy breath.
“…Lia.”
She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“You’re emitting psych particles.”
Amelia steadied her breath. Her left hand wiped away the few tears she had shed, and she managed to calm herself, letting the burning energy in her body—something she hadn’t noticed up to this point—disappear.
Alex seemed wary of her condition, yet he only said, “We should probably go.”
“Maybe,” Amelia said. “But what is there for us even to collect? We’re not investigators.” Putting what had happened to the side, she didn’t know what to expect from coming here again. Though having orders here from Zimmerman and Chief Wall, they never told her and Alex what to look for.
“Yeah,” Alex said. “We can look along the parts where my guys were. Then we can circle around the perimeter.”
“That’s a long walk,” Amelia sighed. Alex agreed.
Once more they were at the road leading to the entrance. A halfway point between either side of the property. To complete the suggestion, they would have to skirt around the rocky terrain scattered around the field, avoiding a small, flooded area that dared to stand against the freezing cold. Side-by-side, they followed the empty road, moving all the way to the property. Sharp eyes looked for abnormal. Though there weren’t any dead bodies and scattered spent bullets, this place looked preserved in the winter air. It was peaceful—a unnerving phrase.
Force determined everything—the necessary change.
Her world slowed. Painted over by a blood red hue. With her next step the men that died stood before her, and instantly collapsed to the ground. Their bodies exploding into billion of droplets of crimson rain.
As the final drop touched the ground, it all reversed the same gunning for the ever-expansive heaven beyond earth. She could still see the explosions, tamed by their corpses being pelted by bullets—the reason why they turned into nothingness.
For just a blink, a bullet ripped clean through her chest, passing her heart.
Truth.
A single bolt of adrenaline released a thin line of psych particles. Her eyes glazed over purple. Then returned to deep blue.
Lies.
Why was her world consumed by death? This place held nothing. Except the fallen. She felt the weight of their lives, extinguished by one another—she was still, a gun placed against the back of her head.
You are our savior, aren’t you?
No, I’m not. I never saved you.
Her voice was weak. It ricocheted in her mind—point to point.
Violet, the one that will bring humanity to greatness.
No—
We died for you.
Vertigo took her. She only avoided hitting the ground as Alex caught her.
Opening her mouth, saliva dripped out before a wave of stomach acid and her breakfast was splattered onto the ground, and the man’s boots. “Amelia!” She couldn’t shake the nausea within her as the deputy fought to keep her off the ground.
Pushing away Alex, her body slumped into the frozen dirt, blood leaked from the edge of her mouth, a consequence from her accidently piercing her tongue with her teeth. “—Voices. Hear them, screaming.” She fought to form words as Alex watched her cautiously, a phone was raised in front of him as if he were to dial emergency services.
“What do you mean? Amelia, talk to me!”
Mustering enough strength to spit out a pool of blood and saliva, Amelia forced herself from the ground, clutching her ghostly-pale skin. “They’re dead, and I can hear them!” She cried. What was she supposed to do? Nothing made sense.
“They?” Alex narrowed his eyes. She was still releasing psych particles.
It was impossible—she couldn’t have been meaning his men…
“All of them, even the suspect.”
“Chief Wall,” Alex placed his phone back into his coat. “He had to have known.”
Looking down at her dirt covered hands, Amelia seemed unsure of what the deputy was suggesting. There was no way that Wall had any insight into what would happen here. “About my magic?”
Glancing down, the gentle purple mist that fell to the Earth attempted to conceal the stomach acid, processed food, and blood that had long dried on the frozen ground. A part of that, a part of her, had already stained his left boot. It was ugly, smelled horrid, and wasn’t pleasant to deal with.
Her suffering—this act—it couldn’t have been orchestrated. It was the only logical conclusion to this. Even if he wanted to suspect anyone, he didn’t know where to look. How to look. What to believe.
Glass broke.
It took less than a second for Alex to look where it came from and stand tall, a steady hand moving near his side. “Hey?” He ignored the woman beside him as he scanned the horizon.
“Windows don’t just break, someone’s here.”
“Couldn’t it be the cold?” She couldn’t think straight.
“No.”
Turning and reaching out his right hand, Alex helped Amelia from the ground, she rested in his grip for five seconds before releasing and caressing her shoulders.
From the edge of her right eye, the final psych partial disintegrated and vanished into the cold.
“Fuck,” Alex withdrew the handgun on his hip. A standard 9mm pistol common amongst the Marshalls. “We need to secure the building.” With his pistol at the lead, he and Amelia trailed behind, the latter shadowing his footsteps, opting to remain behind his broad, and tall frame.
One last time she was at the entrance to the building. Her azure eyes looked upon the exterior. She didn’t notice it then, but the building was immaculately kept in top-tier condition. The owner was just an everyday working man. He was nothing special, just a construction worker who got caught up in the wrong business. To why he got involved with the cartels, the gangs—one could only speculate it could’ve been involved within the work he did—no one could predict it, know it.
Element of surprise was not on their side. It was easily assumed that their arrival in the office’s truck drew enough attention to make a perpetrator become reckless in their mission. “Dispatch, 1032, need immediate backup at property 5515—possible suspect tampering within the restricted area.” Alex spoke into his radio as he continued to move with haste to the rear entrance of the house. Only he could hear the response through an earpiece connected to the radio. Looking over his shoulder, his body tensed as he stacked on the left side of the doorway, the same side as the door hinges.
Alex reached for the door handle, but he stopped, “I’m going to announce our presence.”
“What?” Amelia was confused.
“We need legality; besides, body cam is on.”
Falling into silence, the deputy scanned the second floor of the house. He couldn’t see anything beyond the foggy windows, but it was clear that power was running through the entire building. Nothing could be heard with exception of the soft hum of the machinery in the house.
Facing the edge of the door, Alex slammed his boots three times into the bottom. “United States Marshalls! Is anyone home!”
Someone tripped on the second floor. A masculine voice emerged from the far side of the building.
Rolling his eyes, Alex knew that this mission was to take the suspect alive. It wasn’t the greatest idea—it was good—but he couldn’t risk putting a bullet through the man, not hen he could’ve compromised the entire crime scene.
Alive, not dead, was tonight’s mission but it seemed like a pretty good idea for him and the rest of the team, too, Jack thought, as he made his way through the cavernous shell of the integrated steel mill. The cold night fog looming over the port outside stopped at the doorway, the air inside tinged with the acrid smells of rust, ozone, and burnt coal. Without a second thought, he pursued. Not checking to see if Amelia was keeping pace.
A quick bout of sweat formed under his shirt and vest. Though it was winter, the sudden bout of movement plus the transition to a hot interior made him feel the prickle of the moisture. Amelia wasn’t any different. She had removed her personal SIG pistol and followed in his footsteps.
Their sweep of the first floor was swift. Every thirty seconds Alex made a call out into the open, hoping to get the suspect to surrender and reveal their location. Without any response he went silent and the two arrived at the central staircase. Two steps at a time, they both ascended. Every other step pressed into the worn wood making it groan—it was a death shoot if they were to be attacked.
At the peak they entered a single isolated hallway on the second floor. Drywall covered either side, perfectly parallel to each other, and at the end was a solidary window that displayed the far-off snowstorm that encapsulated the rest of Idaho. On either side of the hall laid five rooms total. From a basic understanding this building was a three-bedroom two bath house. It was paramount that they kept moving at a swift pace, and not get gummed up trying to scan a tiny room.
“Doors are closed,” Alex whispered.
“Left,” Amelia said as she moved to the door closest to her.
Stepping just in front of the door. She glanced over her shoulder and nodded at Alex. With a gentle turn of the doorknob, she pushed it open gaining full view of the room. From where she stood, she instantly set her sights on a medium sized window overlooking the front yard. Scanning left, she saw that this room was made to be one of the three bedrooms. Scattered paintings adorned the mute gray walls. A wood frame bed rested under them; a nightstand sat beside it. Daring to peek any further, her head rounded the edge of the door. And there, the suspect stood tall.
He was a Caucasian man with some distinctive Korean features. A rounded face, muscular, broad build, sharpened gaze, and jet-black hair. The suspect’s gaze shifted to the door. His hazel eyes locked with Amelia’s. What? Before she could react, the man’s Glock snapped from his jean’s waistline. Ducking her head, falling forward onto the ground, Amelia just narrowly missed five bullets being launched above her head. Wood splinters fell on her body as the man threw himself over her body, slamming Alex into the wall and bursting down the hall towards the window.
“Amelia!” Alex shouted.
“Get after him!”
“Sit tight, I’ll call for backup,” More bullets were released down the hall, skimming past both Marshalls.
TWACK!
With a burst of speed, Alex caught the suspect reloading his firearm. The glass window splintered from the sudden force of both their bodies being thrust against it, making it budge out of the frame letting the cold air inside the building.
Amelia walked out into the hall just in time to hear the shattering glass of the window. Being dragged against the frame, Alex fought against the suspect as he tried to force the barrel of his Glock into his chest. As both of their hands fought to gain control of the weapon, the suspect forced the trigger back four times as the gun was aimed adjacent to their bodies. Th ringing of the gun and the spawl emanated from the impacting rounds made both men flinch, and it gave Alex just enough of an opening to grip his right hand on the slide.
As his hand was slowly cooked by the heat of the barrel, he forced the slide back, locking it into position and prevent another bullet from cycling. The suspect released the gun.
Everything was going in the deputy’s advantage…
Then the suspect withdrew a compact Glock of the same caliber with his left hand.
“Shit!”
Felling a resounding shock in his chest, Alex was thrown backwards onto the ground as the suspect kicked him back with his left leg. Managing to lean forward from outside the frame, the man aimed his pistol squarely down the hallway, the blocky night sights aligned cleanly with the human figure at the other end.
Amelia’s head exploded in pain. A .40 Hollow Point passed through her head. Blood spurted from the wound as her heart race increased. With no exit wound, the lead bullet remained lodged in her brain as she slowly slumped against the wall splattering blood and brain matter all over the gray color.
At last, her body gave out strength and collapsed, her chest folded upwards on the wall, while her legs split apart and spread outwards on the floor.