James Locker- The Duality of Fate

by Martin Lundqvist

  - Hmm if I can only remember what his real family name is...

  - Oh, now I remember it's Locker.

  Samantha Robinson:

  - James Locker!? That's the guy who was appointed provisional detective for my team after your father left the police force. He is at the to hospital after being badly poisoned, allegedly by your dad. He is still recovering.

  Rebecca Bell:

  - Oh really? I didn't know what he does for work really; he is quite mysterious.

  Samantha Robinson:

  - Okay, I see, well I have a picture of him on my phone... wait...

  - Is this the guy you have been seeing?

  Rebecca Bell:

  - Yes, that's him!

  - So my dad poisoned him? That's horrible. We should see him at the hospital!

  Samantha Robinson:

  - I don't think that's a good idea. You see the poison has left him a mental wreck.

  - Thomas and his friend Adam went to the psychiatric ward the other day, and he specifically told them that he did not want to meet anyone until his mind was right. I think we better respect that...

  Rebecca Bell:

  - But what should I do then?

  Samantha Robinson:

  - Just go to Great Britain on the tour your dad gave you. The trip leaves on Friday morning and is three weeks long, by the time you get back I am sure James Locker will be feeling better and would love to see you.

  Rebecca Bell:

  - Okay. I would love to be there for him, but I guess you are right. But tell him I miss him if you meet him!

  Samantha Robinson:

  - I sure will have a great trip, honey.

  After Rebecca Bell left, Samantha Robinson felt very confused. Why had James Locker used another family name in his relation with Rebecca Bell? Why had he gone after a lot of women while in Asia if he had a potential girlfriend at home and most interesting of it all why hadn't he told anyone about it? She realised that she did not know James Locker well enough to answer these questions, so she called Thomas Anderson for answers.

  Thomas Anderson:

  - Hi, Sammy. How were things with Rebecca she must be having a hard time with her dad accused of several murders?

  Samantha Robinson:

  - Yeah, she was devastated at first and blamed me for not betraying her father, but she came to her senses and realised I was only doing my job.

  Thomas Anderson:

  - Yeah and you are doing it well.

  Samantha Robinson:

  - I am happy you see things that way.

  Thomas Anderson:

  - No worries! Still up for dinner tonight?

  Samantha Robinson:

  - Yeah, I am. I just found out some bizarre things about James Locker, that I can't get off my mind. Maybe you can help me out and explain since you have known for a while?!

  Thomas Anderson:

  - Yeah almost four years, and been close friends most of the time, so I am the right source for information.

  Samantha Robinson:

  - Well, I just found out that the guy Rebecca has been dating JP, is James Locker, just that he used the name James Pierce instead. They have been seeing each other on and off for three months now. What do you know about this?

  Thomas Anderson:

  - Oh, I have heard James Locker use the name James Pierce sometimes when he gets drunk. Apparently it some ancestor to him. He gets mad when he uses that name, at times crazy in a positive way as in doing unexpected fun things and sometimes in a wrong way as in borderline psychotic.

  - When it comes to why he has kept it a secret, I guess he just feels vulnerable and doesn't want to risk becoming embarrassed in front of his friends if it does not work out. Or maybe he is not sure that she is the one for him?

  Samantha Robinson:

  - But do you think he is good for Rebecca, Adam told me James fucked a lot of women in Asia?

  Thomas Anderson:

  - Well, that is true, but then again you said the last time you had sex with Rebecca was about one month ago, and they were dating back then as well. I guess we should just let them figure out their relationship on their own.

  - As for chemistry wise I think she is a good match for him at least, she reminds me a lot of his ex-girlfriend in looks and personality, the only real difference I can figure is that they are different races, Emily was South East Asian while I would guess Rebecca is Nordic.

  Samantha Robinson:

  - Well, can you at least talk to him? Rebecca means the world to me, and I don't want her to be hurt.

  Thomas Anderson:

  - Sure. I’ll tell him Rebecca is an awesome girl and he should go all in on her.

  - Is there Something else?

  Samantha Robinson:

  - No that’s all for now. See you tonight.

  Thomas Anderson:

  - Yeah, you too.

  8.3 James Locker leaves the mental asylum

  IT WAS A SUNNY DAY the 24th of September 2013 when James Locker declared fully recovered and was able to leave the Blue Mountains Mental ward where he was submitted three earlier. Three weeks was an unusually long recovery time from a Xenoantipsyche overdose but bearing James Locker's history of mental illness in mind his doctors preferred playing things safe. He was met up by Adam Smith and Thomas Anderson.

  Adam Smith:

  - Look who is back from the dead! I am sure you were healthy as a horse after two days and were too busy banging crazy chicks to leave or even have time to hang out with your friends who go all the way out here to see you!

  James Locker:

  - Sorry to disappoint you Adam but if you ever get submitted here you won’t get laid with any women, as the male and female wards are separated.

  - Although as I have said many times, any woman who wants to have sex with you must be crazy. So you know more insane people than I do, even though I spent the last three weeks' in a mental hospital!

  Thomas Anderson:

  - Ha-ha, the old James is back. God, I have missed our trinity chemistry.

  James Locker:

  - Yeah so have I, you are indeed better than the demons from hell that kept me company for the first week in there.

  Adam Smith:

  - I am honoured to hear that.

  - Should we drive you home?

  James Locker:

  - Nope, let's enjoy the nature, after having seen it for three weeks while being locked up, I reckon it's time to enjoy it now that I am free. Besides, it's better for you if we have some wilderness fun here as well.

  Adam Smith:

  - Sure let’s go.

  For a couple of hours, they walked around in the mountainous paths of the Blue Mountains. The smell of vaporised eucalyptus was lying thick over the mountains this day which gave them their characteristic fragrance and bluish fog. After a couple of hours of bushwalking, the sun was starting to set, and they decided to drive back home. Before dropping of James Locker, Thomas Anderson remembered his promise to Samantha Robinson to talk to James Locker about his relationship with Rebecca Bell.

  Thomas Anderson:

  - Hey, James, I hope you are not blaming Rebecca for what happened to you because it's not her fault...

  James Locker:

  - Rebecca?

  Thomas Anderson:

  - Yeah I mean she can't help that Michael broke into your house and poisoned you, it would be mean if you held her responsible.

  James Locker:

  - Oh yeah, Michael Fuller's daughter. Yes, of course, I don't hold her responsible, why would she think I do?

  Thomas Anderson:

  - Great.

  - And Rebecca wants you to know that she is sorry that she did not visit you at the hospital, she felt terrible about it, but Samantha told her that you did not want visitors at the time and she felt obliged to respect your wish after what happened.

  James Locker:

  - Oh, that's sweet of her, no I am not angry about that, I did not want anyone to see me in that conditi
on.

  Thomas Anderson:

  - And finally Rebecca is sorry that she could not meet up with you today, but she did not know when you would leave the hospital and she did not want to miss out on the British Isles tour. But she misses you and is longing to see you as soon as she gets back if you still want to meet her.

  James Locker:

  - Um okay...

  - Yeah, sure I can meet her if that is important to her...

  - I am getting quite tired now, but thank you for today it was great hanging out with you two guys again.

  After leaving the car, James Locker went into his place; made some tea and watched some television. It had been a beautiful day, and it felt great to finally be out of the mental institution again so he could get on with life but what the fuck had Thomas Anderson been talking about in the end? Why all this talk about Rebecca Bell, Michael Fuller's daughter? Had he even met that woman? From the way, Thomas Anderson spoke about her sending her regards and all it seemed like they were very close but James Locker could not even recall that they had ever met. Apparently, they must have crossed paths at some stage, and apparently, he had a made a great impression on her, but it was still all in all very strange.

  After thinking about it for a while, he decided that it was a mystery that would probably be solved once Rebecca Bell got home. If she wanted to meet up and discuss what had happened, she would probably be a lot better at explaining things than Thomas Anderson just was. Feeling very tired all of a sudden James Locker decided to go for an early night's sleep.

  8.4 Darkness unfolds

  JAMES LOCKER FELT LIKE he was falling and then felt hitting the ground and waking up. He reflected that the concept of dying in a dream and waking up was one of the themes of the blockbuster “Inception” that he had seen in the cinema a few years earlier. James felt more awake than he had felt for a very long time. He watched his nightstand clock. With eerie red light, it showed 3.00AM. Déjà vu, he always woke up precisely at 3.00AM. It was not 3ish. It was always 3.00AM sharp. What significance did this exact hour have to him? He could hear noises from the basement, but how could that be? The door to the cellar had been locked all year, and he had not been down since. Yes, when was the last time he went down there?

  James Locker felt petrified all of a sudden. What if Michael Fuller was not the killer? He recalled someone being in the room with him the day he got poisoned. That blurry mysterious someone left only moments before a squad of police officers and paramedics entered his house and took him to the hospital. James Locker got a hunch that this man indeed was the killer, and now this mystery man was in his home, coming after him. He knew the logical choice would be to run but he could not, his curiosity was too intense, he had to know who it was. All of a sudden James Locker realised that it was the same feeling that drove Michael Fuller down the abyss. Michael Fuller never had any logical reason to visit all the murder victims, but his desire within to never give up and keep looking for the answers had been his downfall. Would James Locker fall into the same trap or would he flee and run away? But the mysterious killer had come to his house this night for a reason, and James Locker felt compelled to find out what that reason was. It was evidently not to kill him as the killer would have had several chances to do so already.

  James Locker was contemplating his options: He could either leave the building, calling the police or he could grab his gun and confront the eluding shadow of death that had been haunting him for the last couple of months. If he called the police the killer would know, he would hear it, and he would most likely manage to escape once again. But if he confronted the man he could finally get the answers. The answers to everything he had been asking himself throughout the years. James Locker decided to take his gun and go down and confront his menace once and for all.

  James Locker was sneaking down the staircase. For every step he took the weird noise from below grew louder and more impactful. With a few more steps to go James froze from fear. His mind wanted to go on, but his body just refused to follow. Through bringing together all his strength, he managed to go the last few steps and entered the basement. At first, he saw nothing strange, but then he flicked the light switch. He looked up and saw the mirror. In the reflection, he saw him.

  James Locker:

  - You! I saw you before when I was a poisoned a few weeks ago.

  James Pierce:

  - Fool! I have always been with you. And you have seen me a lot of times although you denied it.

  - Tell me James, how you usually feel when you watch your reflection?

  James Locker:

  - I... I feel very uncomfortable... I have never been able to put my finger on why...

  James Pierce:

  - Well, I can tell you, James. When you see your reflection you see me, but you deny it, and the denying of your true nature is like a splinter in your mind driving you sleepless and insane!

  James Locker:

  - But who are you? And why are you doing this?

  James Pierce:

  - The why am I here question... The question that drove you here but as you will soon be aware the least relevant question.

  James Locker:

  - ...

  James Pierce:

  - Okay, I will make it easy for you fool; you are going to die anyway so you might as well know the truth! I will tell you who I am, why I did all of this, and how I did it!

  James Pierce:

  - My name is James Pierce, and I am you. But a better you, a stronger you, a version of you that deserves to live while you deserve to die!

  - I have been your guardian all your life.

  - Do you remember all those episodes throughout your life where you remember one thing but all of your friends were remembering an entirely different story?

  James Locker:

  - Yes, I must admit I have had a lot of those episodes in my life...

  - What about them?

  James Pierce:

  - Well, all those were when I was in control. For your mind to deny my existence, your subconscious made up a lot of memories that never took place. Like in Asia you thought you were dating the same woman all the time right?

  James Locker:

  - Yes... Was I not?

  James Pierce:

  - No, you were not. Your friends' description about dozens of women were more on the money. A quite impressive feat by me if I am allowed to say it myself...

  James Locker:

  - But I don't understand... Why would I block memories of having sex with various women on my holiday, I have never been morally against promiscuous behaviour?

  James Pierce:

  - Well... because you almost killed those women and I had to intervene for nothing wrong to happen... But for that to make any sense at all, let’s reverse the tape to Christmas time last year. Do you remember anything peculiar happening

  James Locker:

  - Well, I proposed to Emily, and she said yes, it was the happiest time of my life.

  James Pierce:

  - Yes and the most joyous time of my life as well, you see as your protector. I finally felt relieved of the pressure and let my guard down...

  - Do you remember what happened on the 2nd of January this year?

  James Locker:

  - Well, that day is very blurry. But I remember having a great fight with Emily, she left with my money, and I never saw her again...

  James Pierce:

  - Yes wasn't this a highly unexpected chain of events? From happy and getting married one week to big fight and never seeing each other one week later?

  James Locker:

  - Of course, it was. Why do you think I have been obsessing over it for the last nine months?

  James Pierce:

  - Great! Do you want to see the same reflection you saw in this mirror the 2nd of January 2013 03.00AM?

  James Locker:

  - Yes!

  All of a sudden the reflection changed in front of James Locker's eyes. His eyes looked crazier as i
f he was in an insane rage. Worst of all he could see the corpse of Emily Luong in the corner. After a few seconds, the reflection changed back to the present again.

  James Pierce:

  - Was the truth what you had hoped you would find?

  James Locker:

  - Did I kill Emily? Why would I do that? I loved her more than anything else in the world

  James Pierce:

  - Well, that's what I thought as well. And I hope that you finally loving someone out of the bottom of your heart would eventually beat the darkness you have within yourself. I call him the beast...

  James Locker:

  - What? I don't follow you at all?

  James Pierce:

  - Well, it's hard for me to tell what happened, after all, I let go for a week, and it was like a long dreamless sleep. But somehow you unleashed the darkness within you and killed Emily in this very basement the 2nd of January at 3.00AM.

  - But this is what I have managed to puzzle together of the event.

  - Emily was working as a receptionist at Antonio DiMaestro's business at the time. One day you must have found a costly necklace given to her by him.

  - From this event, your jealousy grew uncontrollably, and it turned out killing her.

  James Locker:

  - I... I am not a very jealous person...

  James Pierce: