by J W Kiefer
After all, he mused, art like this should not be hidden but be open and available for everyone to enjoy.
From atop the nearby gothic cathedral of Riverside Church, a giant warrior watched the scene unfold. He shifted and the royal purple cloak that shrouded him, revealing shining golden armor and a jeweled crown upon his head. Power radiated from him and streams of golden light poured into the night air, illuminating the rooftop.
The warrior scowled as he watched the horrific scene. Humans, he thought. It never ceases to amaze me the horrors they are capable of.
As if the man below him heard his words, he canted his head in the direction of the massive church. He grinned at the watching warrior, his eyes wild and enraptured. The man did not speak a word but stared upward, his eyes fixated on the roof of the church.
The warrior’s eyes flashed with anger and the glow around grew in such intensity that he appeared to be a miniature star resting atop the church.
“Moloch!” he bellowed.
The man below dipped his head in affirmation and chuckled, the grin never leaving his face. Red glowing eyes glared up at the angel and the ethereal shadow of a large demon erupted around the man. He opened his arms out wide and bared his teeth. “Come now, Sanctuary,” the man roared in a powerful deep guttural voice. “Have you forgotten what day it is? Well, I have not. It is a pity, though. You are too late, just as you were then.”
Sanctuary surged from the rooftop like a comet, a streak of fire in his wake. He was upon the man in the blink of an eye, and he grabbed him with one arm and hurled him into a nearby tree with such force that the tree cracked and bowed. Every bone in the man’s body shattered. Coughing and wheezing, he gasped for air, spitting up blood as he did.
His eyes burned with hate as he fixed them on the angel. “Now now, Sanctuary, you know that killing this vessel will not stop me. I see your rage bests you even now, just as it did then. Tell me, warrior, did the man who killed the Amiable Child scream as you gutted him?”
The warrior grabbed the possessed man by the throat and slowly lifted him up into the air. He glared defiantly into the eyes of the crippled killer, looking through them to the horror inside. With a small flex of his hand, the warrior crushed his neck, and with a flick of his wrist, hurled him back across the small road. The body landed crumpled and broken at the feet of the hanging child.
The man chuckled a soft breathy laugh that reverberated in the air. The chuckle did not dissipate but grew until it became a deep, throaty, bellowing laugh. A smoky silhouette rose out of the killer’s corpse, materializing into a massive, black Minotaur. Even though the demon was nothing more than a shadow of itself in this realm, Moloch the Defiler projected the power and menace of a demon lord.
“What would your precious God of love think about what you have just done?” the demon asked. “After all, even wretches such as this man are His children, are they not? I will never understand how He could love such weak and pathetic beings. All I had to do was push this man but a little in order to manipulate him into performing the most unspeakable things. The smallest nudge awakened what was already inside of him.”
Moloch smiled and cocked his head as he relished in the memories of what he’d inspired the man to do. “I do miss the old days when whole nations would bow down to me and offer up their children as sacrifices in my honor. Now I must skulk around in the shadows, murdering children in secret. Of course, I do grow fat on the screams of all of the children murdered in the womb in the name of convenience and selfishness.”
The angelic warrior growled, “Enough of your prattling already! The humans will be out soon, and I have other matters to attend to. Begone now, in the name of the Lord of Hosts, and murder no more children here.”
The demon hunched down in defiance and appeared as if he is going to pounce upon the waiting warrior. Before he could strike, the warrior spoke the hidden name of the Lord and the demon writhed with agony. Chains of pure light rose from the ground and wrapped themselves around the demon, scorching his skin painfully. He howled in anger and raged against the chains that ripped into his incorporeal form. Before the demon dissipated, however, he made one last a parting shot.
“You were more right than you knew when you said that you have much to attend to, angel. The Shogun is dead and Injustice rises... chaos is upon you.” The voice faded into the wind, leaving the warrior alone with the two dead bodies.
“No,” He breathed. “I must find the sword before he does. If Moloch knows about the passing of the Shogun, then so do others. How could I have been so blind?”
As he stood contemplating, the sun began to rise, and the citizens of New York began to awaken from their nightly slumber. He heard someone scream as the body of the dead boy was discovered. He regretted that there was no time to remove the boy from his horrible perch, but time was of the essence. He must locate the sword and help it find a new bearer to minimize the havoc that the forces of darkness were no doubt already performing. Without Tzedakah to keep him in check, the Musketeer would run rampant, after first killing the fledgling bearer before he had time to bond with the blade.
More and more people flocked to the grisly scene. A young woman in a pink jogging suit noticed him standing nearby and pointed him out to the growing throng of people. Someone shouted for him to stop where he was, and he realized that it was time to leave. With a flash of blinding light, he disappeared as police car sirens wailed in the distance.
Twenty-Three
It was around midday when Dana and Jared finally arrived at 26 Federal Plaza. Just as Johansson told them to do, they pulled around to the back of the building where the gate for employee parking was. A guard signaled for them to stop as they approached and motioned for Dana to roll down her window.
The guard, a tall African American man dressed in a blue and black uniform, bent down to look into the car. He examined the two of them thoroughly before speaking.
“How can I help you today?” the man asked with a smile. His eyes, however, did not project the same friendliness.
Dana and Jared both lifted their badges so the officer could see them. “We are detectives from Binghamton. Agent Johansson said that you would be expecting us.”
The agent examined the badges, then asked to see their IDs. They both handed them to the officer, and he examined them with the same intense scrutiny he had examined their badges.
“Wait here,” he said curtly as he turned and walked back to the small guard shack where another officer waited. Before long he returned with their IDs and two badges. He handed the items to Dana, who in turn removed Jared’s ID and one badge and handed them over to him.
“You can park to the right. That’s the visitor’s area. My partner already notified Agent Johansson of your arrival, and he will meet you both at the north entrance over there.” He pointed to a large set of double doors directly across the parking lot. He smiled then and this time it was genuine.
“Thank you very much,” Dana said returning his smile.
“You’re very welcome, ma’am, and have a nice day.”
Dana rolled up the window and pulled the car through the gate. It did not take them long to find a suitable parking space not far from the entrance the officer had pointed out.
Dana unbuckled her seatbelt and started to get out of the car when Jared suddenly grabbed her arm. “Do you think they have any real-life aliens in there?”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Jared? Why would they keep perfectly good aliens here? I bet if they’re anywhere, they’re at Langley.” She shot him a mischievous smile. “Of course, this is the city, and given the people that live here, nothing would surprise me.”
They shared a laugh as they exited the car and headed across the parking lot. “Did you ever think when we were kids that we would be here at FBI headquarters in New York City?”
“Not on my most imaginative day. Of course, when I was a kid, all I dreamed about was...” She broke off and never finished her sentence, em
barrassed at what she’d almost said.
Jared smiled but did not press her. He knew full well what she was about to say. The sudden change in their relationship was all too new and he did not want to say anything that might jeopardize it.
They both walked in relative silence across the parking lot and were surprised as the door suddenly swung open. Johansson smiled and waved for them to enter.
“How was your trip in?” he asked as he ushered them into a small waiting room. A large desk with a security officer was all that adorned the rather unremarkable room. “I hope you didn’t get stuck on that damn bridge. I know this is supposedly the ‘greatest’ city on the face of the earth. I swear, the longer I stay in this damnable city, the more I miss Boston.”
Jared and Dana shared a look. “It was... an amazing trip in,” Jared said. “No problems at all.”
Dana never took her eyes off Jared, and Johansson saw the twinkle there. “Well. Anything you two want to share?”
“Nope,” Dana replied, forcing her gaze away from Jared. “Did you find anything out about our John Doe?”
Johansson gave her a look that said he knew there was more to the story to hear, but he’d let it slide. “Well, I wish I did. But we got nada.”
“Nothing at all?” Jared asked.
“Nope. As far as I can tell, this guy is an honest-to-God ghost. My first guess was that he was a spook or something, but my buddy at the CIA said he didn’t recognize him. He could be lying of course, but I doubt it.”
Jared grimaced. “Well, that sucks. At least we still have the locket.”
“Absolutely. I will get it into the hands of the geek squad immediately so they can examine it,” Johansson said, reaching out his hand.
Jared put his hand into his pocket to retrieve the locket and hesitated.
“You didn’t forget it in the car, did you?” Dana asked, noticing his hesitation.
“No, sorry, I’ve got it in my other pocket.”
No one noticed the slight blue glow in his eyes as he pulled the locket out of his other pocket and handed it to Johansson, who took it gratefully. Unbeknownst to everyone, even Jared, the locket he had handed to Johansson was a fake that the sentient sword had created. The real locket rested safely around Jared’s neck, right where it wanted to be.
Leaning against the wall, Johansson said, “Thank you very much. I could give you a tour if you want. Not the shitty tour we give to the public, but the kind of tour you can only get from an agent. Whaddaya say? At least you will get your money’s worth for coming all this way.”
Jared brightened at the thought and he turned to look at Dana. She was staring at him with a goofy look on her face, blushing slightly.
“You interested, partner? Want to take a tour of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory?” he asked.
She bit her lower lip and crossed her arms in thought. “Well... I have a better idea. Not that a personal tour of FBI headquarters New York wouldn’t be fascinating, but we hardly ever get any time off, and I’d love to just walk around the city and be a tourist for a day.”
Johansson feigned being hurt and clutched his chest. “You wound me to the core, my lady.”
They all shared a laugh.
“Eh, you’re not missing much,” Johansson said. “The tour is nothing special, anyway. Now, if we were at Langley, then I could show you all the really cool shit. Shit that would blow your mind and give you nightmares for weeks.”
He ushered them back to the door. “Now you two country bumpkins from upstate run along and enjoy your day off in the big city. Try not to get into too much trouble.”
He held the door open for them and they walked back outside. “Actually, I take that back. Trouble can be fun. If you want to know the best places for it, I can help you out with that.”
“You know you’re welcome to join us if you would like,” Dana said.
Jared nodded his agreement even though the look on his face said otherwise. “If you are not too busy, that is.”
Johansson gave him a wink. “Naw, this old fart has too much work to do. Besides, who will catch the bad guys while you two gallivant around Manhattan? Go and have fun. We can catch up later.”
Jared nodded his thanks to Johansson and turned to follow Dana who was already a few steps ahead of him. Johansson smiled knowingly back and winked again before turning to head back inside the large building. He stopped just before the door closed on him and pushed it back open a few inches. “Hey, you two, I will keep you posted if any new developments happen to pop up.”
Dana turned and waved to Johansson in acknowledgment, as the two officers reached the small car. “Thanks again for all your help.”
“Yeah and for not being the usual FBI douche bag,” Jared interjected with a laugh.
Johansson waved off the insult and chuckled as he allowed the door to close behind him. The smile on his face, however, disappeared as soon as the door closed. He pulled out his phone as he watched them walk away and pushed the call icon.
“We have the locket,” he said to the person on the other end. “No, I am pretty sure that I was able to dissuade them from any further interest in it. Either way, we will cross that bridge if we come to it. For now, I will continue to keep them at bay and hopefully looking in the wrong direction.”
He closed his fist around the tiny locket and breathed deeply in and out through his nose. In spite of himself, he liked the two detectives and wished he could tell them more; but the less they knew, the safer they would be. This locket was dangerous, and the sooner it was locked away where no one could ever get to it, the better.
Dana was already in the driver’s seat with the car running when Jared finally got in and buckled his seat belt. He turned and gazed at her, admiring her profile and the way her bangs fell across her face, and smiled appreciatively. She noticed him looking at her out of the corner of her eye.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing. I just can’t stop thinking about how long it took me to finally see you.”
Her blush deepened and she turned away, brushing her rebellious bangs out of her eyes. She was quiet, then softly said, “I waited a long time.”
“I know,” he said apologetically. “But at least the waiting is over.”
“So, Mr. Better-Late-Than-Never, where do we go from here?”
“Wherever we want,” he replied with a smile.
“Okay, so where do we want to go?”
“Well, I always wanted to see Manhattan. I know that’s pretty cliché and touristy, but I think it would be fun. Plus, if I remember correctly, Steve said he had a show tonight somewhere on the island. Maybe we could go.”
She thought about it, then brightened. “Yeah. That sounds absolutely wonderful, as long as you promise to make your brother behave himself. You know how he can be.”
“Well, the best I can do is to promise that I will try. Plus, I’m not sure I want to behave myself tonight.”
She blushed again as they pulled out of the small parking lot and into the waiting traffic of New York City. “You’d better watch yourself or I will break something important.”
He laughed. “I have no doubt you would.”
Twenty-Four
In New York City, there are many dark alleys that a person may hide in or, if one is so inclined, commit any heinous act one can contrive. In one such nondescript alleyway, a writhing cloud of darkness appeared. Like a miniature black hole, it seemed to absorb and destroy the light it encountered.
A slight wind blew around it, stirring up the contents of the small alleyway. With a burst of dark energy, a lone figure stepped out from the darkness. As soon as the figure emerged, the portal dissipated and collapsed in on itself.
The Musketeer removed his large-brimmed hat and brushed away a few particles of dirt. Replacing the hat, he slid his hand along the brim with a flourish.
He closed his nightmare black eyes. His breathing slowed as he reached out with his senses. He did not have to search long. “There yo
u are, mon ami,” he said.
Before the Musketeer opened his eyes, however, he sensed another presence approaching his location. A large man—no, two men—quickly drew near. His smile broadened into a wicked grin. “Lady Fortune favors me today.”
The two men entered the alleyway just as he turned around to face them. Upon seeing the dark figure, the two men slowed their pace and fanned out, attempting to block the opening to the street. The larger of the two men pulled out a knife.
“Well, well, what do have here, Pedro? Looks like one of those Comic-Con geeks has wandered too far from his nerd herd.”
The other thug, a slightly smaller man wearing a red, white, and blue bandana with a star on it, laughed mirthlessly at the joke while tapping his shoulder with a large Louisville slugger. “Looks like it, Dante,” he replied.
Before the two men could make a move, the Musketeer guffawed. “Oh, idiots, this is so—how do you say?—so wonderfully cliché.”
“What did you say?” the massive man asked, his smile turning cold.
“Oh, and stupide as well, mon ami. How delightful this is. Here I thought I was going to have to wander around this ugly city for hours before you finally found me.”
Pedro scratched his head and scowled. “What he talkin’ about, Dante?”
Dante, his eyes now menacing slits, clenched his knife. “Seems this honkey thinks he really is some sort of knight.”
“Honkey? What is this honkey you speak of? And I am no knight. How dare you insult me so, monsieur!” He spat on the ground at the man’s feet. “I am one of Cardinal Richelieu’s finest. A knight indeed! I spit on such idiocy.”
“Whatever you are, I think it’s time I teach you some respe—” Dante attempted to say before his sentence was cut off. A look of profound bewilderment crossed his face and he stood transfixed, staring straight ahead, his eyes unfocused.
“Dante?” Pedro asked in surprise. “Are you...” His words caught in his throat. As he reached out to shake his partner, both his arms tumbled to the ground.