REM

by Valentine, J. D.

  He guided her back to the vinyl chairs, and they both sat close to one another. Anna sniffled next to Danny as he rubbed her shoulder. The woman emerged behind the checkered glass and sat back down. Heavy footsteps echoed down the hall. Danny watched as men in dark suits walked back and forth. Everyone seemed on edge in the station as well, which made Danny feel like something big was happening. A solid wooden door opened, causing Danny to turn his head in its direction. A man and a short-haired woman walked into the waiting room.

  "Mrs. Fortes and Mr. Etter," the tall man asked, looking out at the packed waiting room.

  Anna and Danny both stood at the same time. As they approached, the man held out his hand in which Danny shook it without really thinking twice.

  The woman reached her hand out to Anna who looked at it and shook her head. Danny shook the woman's hand to alleviate the awkwardness.

  "Mr. Etter, if you'd come with me?" The man ushered Danny down the hall.

  Danny looked at Anna then back at the man. "What about—"

  The woman cut Danny off. "Mrs. Fortes will be with me, Mr. Etter. I can assure you that everything is going to be okay. My partner and I just have some questions for you both, but unfortunately, we will have to ask them separately, if that would be okay?"

  Danny looked back at Anna, who nodded her head. "It's okay, Dan. Go ahead."

  The woman stepped forward and ushered Anna into the room they stood closest to leaving Danny to follow the man down the hall. Danny's boots made a slight squeaking noise as the man opened a door on the right. He let Danny walk in before him and shut the door with a dull thud. It was a beige room with a long oak wood conference table. The man walked around on the other side of the table. He took off his coat, exposing a 9mm handgun and a badge that read "Drug Enforcement" on the left side.

  He pointed to a swivel chair opposite him. "Please have a seat, Mr. Etter."

  Danny didn't say anything as he pulled the chair out and did as he was told. The man laid a folder on the table and took a seat opposite of Danny. It was quiet for a moment as the man fumbled through papers.

  Danny gave up, twiddling his thumbs, and decided to speak up. "You wanna tell me what is going on, Special Agent?"

  "Anthony. Just Anthony." The man said without lifting his head. He unbuttoned the sleeves on his shirt and started cuffing his left arm.

  "Okay, Anthony. Can we get a little information on what is going on here? I mean, we are kind of in the dark at the moment."

  "Let's not pretend that what happened at Mrs. Fortes' home was normal, Mr. Etter." Anthony finished folding his sleeves and gently slid a folder in front of Danny.

  "Well, I've seen some shit in my day Anthony, but nothing like this."

  "I would agree with that, Mr. Etter, which is why I've been sent here to talk with you personally."

  Danny leaned back in his chair. "I feel so honored."

  The comment made Anthony smile as he shook his head. "Let's keep the sarcasm to a minimum."

  "Fine." Danny used his favorite bullshit smile as he leaned back in his chair. "So you wanna tell me what the hell is going on?"

  Anthony adjusted his tie then slid the folder over to Danny. "Everything we know, at this moment, is in that folder. All I need from you is some more breadcrumbs."

  Danny's palm rested on the folder, and he slowly opened it. There was a photo of Kevin on the corner. His eyes traced the sheet looking at all the data that was compiled on Kevin. All the letters blurred into a black mass of chaos on the sheet. He was about to set it down when Anthony spoke up.

  "Keep looking," Anthony commanded.

  Danny cocked his head as he flipped to the next page. A young girl of about sixteen was paper-clipped to the sheet. She was pretty for her age. He lifted the sheet revealing more photos that fell from under the paper clip. It showed her dead on a dark carpet. Her chest was torn open in jagged angles. Danny picked up one photo that showed the girl's face, which had been torn apart with part of her nose missing. He flipped to the next page, and it showed another girl who was in a straightjacket. The corners of her mouth were pried off, and she had gashes all over her face. He flipped faster now. The ages varied with some old and others extremely young. The pages turned faster like a flipbook, but the story was the same.

  There were hundreds.

  Finally, Danny gave up and shut the folder.

  Both men sat in silence for a moment as Danny stared at the closed folder.

  "You see, Mr. Etter. I'm beginning to think that we have a problem here. A big fucking problem."

  Anthony stood up and picked up the folder. He began to pace back and forth.

  "We think it's a narcotic that is causing all this. I mean we've seen these symptoms before, but never so prevalent. You remember that Miami incident a few years back?"

  Danny shifted his seat. "Yeah, I mean some guy lost it right?"

  "Oh, lost it would be putting it lightly. Rudy Eugene basically ate a man’s face off. He was shot five times before he was stopped. One of the men in this folder, Mr. Etter took eight rounds of buckshot from a 12 gauge before he finally went down."

  "Jesus Christ." Danny shook his head. "I remember them saying the guy was tripping on bath salts."

  "Well, take it from me, the government knows exactly what this is."

  "If that’s so, then what else are you covering up then?" Danny said sternly.

  Anthony laughed as he sat up. "Well, we know Kevin falls into this category. Meaning he was either a user or a dealer of some sort."

  It felt like all the air was pulled from Danny’s lungs. "Say what now?"

  "Probably got too curious and took some of his own product. It happens, but I need to know where this all started."

  "Kevin never did any drugs. He was a good kid, troubled, but a good kid. There is no way he could be a dealer."

  "I'm not trying to degrade who Kevin was. All I’m telling you are the facts."

  Danny put his hand up. "What do you mean was Anthony?"

  The man rubbed his face. "Kevin Fortes passed about two hours ago. In this very precinct."

  Danny heard wailing down the hallway. He went to stand, but Anthony walked in front of the door.

  "Now, Mr. Etter, we need answers, and we need them now."

  "Like hell! What the fuck happened to him?"

  Anthony sighed as he walked over to the table. He sat down and opened a laptop. The screen lit up his dull eyes as he clicked on the pad and then moved the laptop in front of Danny. The video showed Kevin in an interrogation room. He was stabbing his arm with a pen. Occasionally, he would dab his finger in his blood and write on the wall.

  "What?" Danny said to himself.

  The video showed officers running in. Kevin kicked one of them, sending them flying back and another tackled Kevin to the ground. Suddenly Kevin grabbed the man's arm and snapped it. Then the boy ripped the weapon from his grasp and shot the officer in the head. Kevin then looked at the video camera and smiled. He put the barrel of the gun under his chin and fired. The video ended, leaving Danny wide-mouthed.

  "Dan, we can’t have this going around," Anthony said, closing the laptop.

  Danny's face was expressionless when he answered. "I don't have anything for you and by the sound of it you have all of the answers anyway."

  Anthony bit his lip and grabbed another folder. "Do you know what Kevin was writing?"

  "I don't know. I saw something in his room. What does it matter?"

  "Matters a great deal." Anthony pulled some photos out on the table.

  The word "sleep" was written in blood on the wall dozens of times.

  Danny fumbled with the photos and tossed them to the side. "Anna mentioned that Kevin wasn’t sleeping much, but what does this mean? Why would something like this happen to such an innocent kid? This is all crazy."

  "I agree. The DEA thinks there is a drug that has been made in small quantities. Since the Mexican border has shut down hard, we have been getting a massive influx of narc
otics from China. We believe whatever made Kevin flip came from there, and it's getting imported in mass quantities."

  Danny shook his head in disgust. "This just doesn’t make any sense."

  "There are things you have no idea even exist, Mr. Etter. If people knew something like this was so close to their everyday lives, there would be chaos. We are the first and last defense against chaos."

  "And you guys have no idea where this came from," Danny said sternly.

  "I can assure you that we are winning, Mr. Etter, but what I want to know is where Kevin was when he got this. I need breadcrumbs to stop this."

  "Like I said, I am in the dark," Danny replied.

  CHAPTER TEN

  ANNA JUST CLUNG to the side of the panel of the car, watching the lights as they passed by. Danny kept one hand on the wheel as he kept running his hand through his hair.

  "When did they say you could view the body?" Danny asked.

  She kept her eyes out the window. "They didn't." Her voice was flat, almost lifeless.

  "I talked to Maria on the phone. She is planning on coming back tomorrow."

  Danny made a left on a suburban street. A car behind him turned off as well.

  Anna looked over at Danny. "You tell her to stay as far away from this hell hole."

  Danny swallowed as he turned onto the main street. "How about you go up there with her? I'll drive you to the airport and everything."

  "Please, just let me be alone for a little."

  "Anna----"

  "Dan!" It was quiet as Anna sniffled harder this time. "I said I want to be alone."

  The car fell silent as Danny turned onto Anna's street. The headlights showed dozens of flowers and gifts left at the front door. An old sedan suddenly turned on and drove away gracefully on the opposite side of the street. Danny tried to look at the driver, but it was too dark as it sped by.

  Relax, Dan.

  He pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. They sat there for some time before Anna finally stepped out of the car. She seemed to look past all of the gifts and flowers and just stared at the front door.

  Anna shook her head. "Thank you for being there for us."

  "Of course, Anna," Danny said. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. If you could tell Maria---"

  "I'll tell Maria to stay up north, but Dan, you need to do me a favor."

  "Of course, anything."

  "You find out what happened to my boy."

  "Anna it---"

  Anna finally broke down next to Danny. "I just need to know who did this to him."

  "Okay. Alright."

  Tears ran down Anna's face as she took a deep breath. "When you are all done, go get your family and don't ever let them out of sight."

  The door opened, and Anna stepped out, shutting the door behind her. She walked right into the front door and shut it, not looking back once.

  ***

  Eric sat across from Danny shaking his head. "Dead?" He asked in amazement.

  Danny sipped an iced tea. "Yeah. I saw the video and everything."

  "What the fuck, man?" Eric stood up and grabbed the remote muting the television. "Some kid posted a video of Kevin getting tased last night. That shit went viral."

  "Oh great, so everyone knows?"

  "Dan, it's the millennial era. Everyone knows about everything. I mean shit, they know Chad has crabs."

  Danny looked over at the black-haired man with a thin beard who sat on the couch.

  Chad held up a bong like it was a chalice. "Shit stays with you for life." He took a hit from the bong and released a stream of smoke.

  "You know I'm a cop, right?" Danny said.

  "It's medicinal," Chad said as he set it on the ground.

  Eric looked over at Chad. "Hey, fuckstick."

  Chad's red eyes honed in on Eric. "What?"

  "I told you to smoke that shit outside."

  Chad put his arms out. "Look man, I pay the rent."

  Eric stood up. "You pay a portion of the rent and I own the fucking condo, so put it out or I take you out. Savvy?"

  Quickly Chad stood up, grabbing his bong. "Alright, alright. It’s going outside." He set it on the patio and walked back to the couch.

  "What did you do again in the Corps?" Danny said.

  Chad took a swig of beer. "I was a cook."

  Eric was about to say something, but the doorbell rang.

  "Who the hell is that?" Eric said.

  Chad stood up. "That gentlemen, would be Franchesca."

  "Oh god," Eric said, burying his hand in his face.

  Danny looked at Eric in confusion. "Who is Franchesca?"

  "Oh, you’ll see," Eric laughed.

  The door creaked open and a loud nasally voice erupted into the room.

  "Baby," Chad said softly.

  Danny could hear two sets of feet walk up the stairs. A girl with tattoos on both arms emerged. The left side of her head was shaved, but the rest of her hair was long with bits of it braided. Danny couldn’t help but notice she was lacking a bra under her white t-shirt.

  "Dan," Chad said proudly. "This is my beauty, Franchesca."

  The woman smiled doing a slight curtsy. Eric chuckled to himself.

  Franchesca looked down at him. "You don’t have to be a prick."

  Eric put his hand up casually. "How much is he paying you this time?"

  Danny cleared his throat. "I’m gonna get some water. Franchesca, it’s a pleasure," he said cordially.

  "See, Eric? That’s how you treat a lady," Franchesca said as Danny walked into the kitchen.

  "You are no lady," Eric said laughing.

  Oh, boy.

  He could hear a couple curse words being exchanged, but it fell silent after Danny took a sip from his glass. He looked out at the street and noticed an older sedan was parked. It was hard to tell if anyone was in it, but it looked familiar.

  "Hey, Dan!" Eric called out.

  Danny walked back into the living room where only Eric remained. He took a sip of water before walking over to the couch where he sat down. "What’s up?"

  "Can you believe that shit?"

  "She seemed...uh...friendly."

  Eric laughed now as he turned on the television. "Oh, she is friendly alright. As long as Chad keeps paying her."

  Danny took a sip of water. "You know I’m a cop, right?"

  "Yeah, I know."

  The TV showed a recap of the increased rate of murders in Orange County and Los Angeles.

  Danny set his glass on the table. "Seems like this place is falling apart at the seams."

  "I blame the liberals," Eric said as he sat down on the couch. "I mean, L.A. looks like a goddamn third world country because of those bastards."

  "Yeah, well so does parts of Louisiana."

  "Don't get smart with me, you old bastard. You know as well as I do that the reason why this shit is on our front step is because of those "free handout" asswipes."

  Danny picked at a bag of chips as he watched the football game. "We can easily blame both sides for what's going on, but I'm under the impression that maybe the world is just going to shit quick, fast, and in a hurry." Danny threw a chip in his mouth and chewed.

  "Regardless, the problem is coming here, which just blows my mind. I mean, this is Orange County. This is the sacred land of fake smiles and even faker tits. This is just downright tragic."

  "Yeah well, people don't realize how close hell is from their doorsteps."

  Eric sat back, pondering. "I guess so."

  Danny laughed as he tossed another chip into his mouth. "Look, I need your help with something."

  "Nope. I've done enough shit to regret for a lifetime and by the tone in your voice I know it’s something I’ll regret."

  "I'm not asking you to kick down doors here. Just talk to some people. If your generation can take down Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby, I'm sure you can find me a couple leads about what Kevin was up to."

  "Just leads?"

  Danny finished c
hewing. "That’s it."

  Eric sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "Alright, alright. What the hell do you know already, though?"

  "Well, that DEA character said they think it was the same thing that caused that Miami incident where that guy lost it."

  Eric's face seemed flabbergasted. "Lost it would be putting it lightly, man. That guy ate some homeless dude's face off. I mean, there is losing your shit, and then there is downright crazy. It couldn't have been that bad with Kevin?"

  "Eric the kid stabbed himself with a pen and a man," Danny said expressionless.

  "Holy shit," Eric said in disgust.

  A light tapping came from the wall. Danny and Eric looked at each other. The tapping grew louder now. A low moaning came from down the hall.

  "How do you put up with this?" Danny said softly.

  Eric smiled as he kept his eyes on the TV. "It doesn’t last long."

  Suddenly, the moaning died down and the thumping ceased.

  "Told ya," Eric said, smirking.

  The door opened and Chad walked out in a robe. He was breathing heavily with his forehead glazed with sweat. "Boys, Chad is feeling good."

  I’m sure you are, Chad.

  Danny leaned forward in his seat. "Maybe work on the cardio a little more."

  The comment seemed to go right over his head as he took a drink. "Yeah, I’m a little out of shape, but I still got it."

  Danny laughed. "That you do Chad, my boy."

  "Holy shit," Eric said sitting up in the chair.

  Danny looked at the screen. "What?"

  "It’s that video of Kevin!"

  "Franchesca get out here baby," Chad yelled.

  The thumping of feet came from the hallway as Franchesca donned a robe. Eric unmuted the sound. The video started with a couple people whispering in the background. A crash erupted making the camera zoom in on the side of a house. A pale boy jumped from a second story window. The sound of an almost animal-like scream made the person filming jump.

  "Oh my God," Franchesca said with a whiny voice.

  People started screaming and two officers came into view with tasers raised at a pale boy who moved like a trapped animal.

  "Dan, you were there?" Eric said, looking at him.

  Everyone looked at Danny who was glued to the screen.