by R. E. Graham
“So, Rian Kennedy is really Carso Rey? He has training in espionage? Interesting. Marth, locate Agent Rey’s home address. I think it is time we have a chat.”
Chapter 9
Cycle: 412 Month: 7 Rotation: 10
Prefecture: Siimon
Planet: Eden
Location: Northside of the Residential District, outside of Lucifer
Varius took a cab from downtown Lucifer to the residential district. He decided it was wiser to walk to Agent Carso’s residence rather than driving right up to the door.
As the Inquisitor navigated the near empty sidewalks of bright neo lights and manmade creations he expertly checked periodically to make sure he wasn’t being followed.
The massive red and black skyscraper that the KoP resided in stood out from the nearby buildings with a sinister emanating glow from the windows and the way the streets lights bounced off of its windows.
Two Keepers of Peace officers stood outside at the entrance of the glass doors. After hours of being on watch they had drifted into conversation and were too busy talking to one another to notice Varius walk right on passed them.
The double glass doors automatically slid open to the visitor’s approach and a rush of cool air burst outside. Inside the foyer Varius instinctively checked the surrounding area for guards but continued to head right for the elevator.
He pressed the “Up” button and stood back. Two more guards on patrol with rifles slung on their backs strolled right on by the Inquisitor as he lowered his head to appear like he was focused on his gauntlet.
As the elevator reached the ground floor a small ding sounded off just before the doors opened. Varius stepped onto the lift and quickly turned his back to the camera situated up into the top corner of the metal box. He flipped up his hoody and the 36th floor button.
The doors quietly slid shut and the elevator silently rose upwards. A calming orchestra melody played through the elevator speakers. Once more the elevator chimed before the doors slid open to the 36th floor. The Inquisitor strolled out into the hallway and headed left towards Carso Rey’s condominium.
Just as he rounded the corner he saw two more-armed KoP guards standing outside Carso’ residence. He jerked himself back into the hall and went back to the elevator. He tapped the up button and let out a small sigh of relief when the doors immediately reopened.
Varius boarded the elevator once more and this time pressed the 37th floor button. Within seconds he stepped off the elevator and went left down the hall. He continued until he came to the unit that would have been directly over Carso’s unit.
The Inquisitor checked both directions of the hall before he stepped up to the door and brought his gauntlet up. “Marth, I need to get inside” Varius said keeping his voice low.
“I will need only a moment to gain access Inquisitor.”
“I hope no one is inside” the Inquisitor thought.
The door panel chirped and the door slid open. He entered the unit cautiously. After the door closed behind him he could hear what sounded like a holomovie being played coming from somewhere inside.
The hall lead inside to a long dining and living room combo. Large glass sliding doors at the end of the living space separated the inside dwelling space from the balcony. Blue furniture decorated the room but what was distracting was the smell of old dirty dishes from the kitchen to his right.
With as much stealth as he could manage, Varius made a straight line for the sliding door and stopped only to look down the small hallway to his left to make sure no one would notice him. Light flashed in the bedroom from the action holomovie but the resident was fast asleep and didn’t notice the Inquisitor sneak through the condo.
Varius pressed the door panel key and the sliding doors opened bringing in the smell of the damp air from outside. In one swift motion he exited the unit and pressed the outside door panel to close the glass door. The balcony was mostly bare except for one lone lawn chair that sat in the corner.
Metal railings lined the extended floor. Varius leaned over the edge to see the identical balcony design below. He carefully lifted his leg over the rail followed by the other.
With even more care he lowered himself to a squat and used his hands to hang from the lip of the balcony. He swung his legs back and forth several times before he leapt down and landed in a crouch on agent Rey’s balcony.
In a flash he moved from the crouch position to trying to hide the majority of his body from outside the view of anyone inside the condo. He tried to peer through the glass but couldn’t really see much. Muffled music could be heard coming from inside, but the lights inside were off and he took that as a good sign that Carso was also slumbering within.
He opened the door and snuck inside. Soft instrumental music played from a sound system to his right that sat atop an entertainment center. Even on the 36th floor light from the city below helped to illuminate the living room. The layout of the unit was identical to the one on the floor above.
As the Inquisitor continued to make his way through the condo he accidentally kicked a brightly colored child’s toy across the room. It made a hollow plastic sound as it rolled across the carpeted floor and hit the wall to his right. He stood absolutely motionless for what felt like an eternity as he waited to hear if Carso would check to see what the noise was.
A long couch sat against the wall to the Inquisitor’s left while various other matching pieces were placed throughout the unit. Placed on top of a nearby black shelf sat a framed picture of Carso Rey and a small girl.
“Probably his daughter” Varius said in his head as he quietly snuck towards the hall on his right that lead to the bedroom.
The Inquisitor took the knife he had hidden in his boot and gripped it tightly in his right hand. There were three doors before him. On his left the first door was shut, the one ahead of him was open but the room was dark which meant it was probably a bathroom, while the door to his right was shut he could hear someone snoring inside.
Varius felt confident this was where Carso was likely to be and used his left hand to open the door using the door panel.
The snorer awoke and said, “Huh…who’s there?”
While the room was pitch black, Varius used his gauntlet to shine a light into the room. The beam of white light revealed agent Carso in his pajamas covering his face from the brightness shone directly in his eyes.
“What the!” Carso said as Varius ran up and punched him in the face. The KoP agent’s head smashed into the headrest behind him and he instantly blacked out.
After he slid the knife back into the sheath in his boot, the Inquisitor wasted no time in dragging the incapacitated man out of his bedroom to the dimly lit living room. He didn’t want to risk drawing attention by turning a light on in the unit. Varius dropped the agent hands to the ground and moved a chair that sat against the wall to the center of the room. He lifted Carso into it and walked back to the bedroom. Varius then found some belts in the agent’s closet and used those to secure him to the chair.
He turned up the music several more levels before he went to the front door and checked to see if it was locked. The green light emanating from the door panel signaled that it was still unlocked. Varius knew the two guards were outside as he could hear some sort of muffled chatter from the other side.
The Inquisitor pressed the lock button and hoped that the two KoP agents wouldn’t notice. He breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the two men continue their muffled conversation. He went to the kitchen and searched through the cabinets for a glass. Unlike the neighbor above Carso’s kitchen was spotless.
He retrieved a glass cup from one of the cabinets and filled it with water from the food cooler’s dispenser built into the door.
Carso Rey’s head remained slumped towards the floor. Varius knew his time was short. He tossed the water into the agent’s face which woke him instantly. The agent tried to wipe his face with his arms but found them restricted to the arms of the chair. He fought for a moment then
looked around confused and finally realized the other man standing there.
“Who are…Varius?” he asked in a half daze as his eyes focused in the dim light.
The Inquisitor leaned in close and grabbed a fistful of his captive’s hair. “I am here to get some answers about your involvement with Eva Primus and the Eden’s Forgotten Legion. Who is the Shadow Man?”
“Wha…Shadow Man?”
Varius didn’t hesitate. He punched the agent right in the jaw with a right hook.
Carso’s head bucked backwards violently. The Inquisitor again grabbed a fistful of the other man’s hair and forced his head upright. “I am short on time and need answers quickly.”
“You…you are way over your head Inquisitor. You have no idea what you are getting involved with.”
“Enlighten me!” Varius said before he punched Carso in the stomach.
The agent gasped for air as he attempted to kick out with his tied down feet. “You stupid bastard. They’ll kill you and everyone you love.”
Varius scoffed. “They’ll be a little late for that agent. Tell me what I want to know right now. Who is the Shadow Man? How did you meet? Do you know where he operates from?”
Carso shook his head. “You really don’t understand. I can’t say anything.”
“Okay, that’s fine” the Inquisitor said as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out his last tru-loxan dose and held it up to Carso’s face.
“You can’t be serious Inquisitor. Pl…please don’t use that. I can’t tell you the truth or they’ll kill her.”
Varius shrugged and flicked the cap off. He slammed it into Carso’s neck and pressed.
The agent convulsed as the serum coursed through his body. He suddenly felt very numb and relaxed.
Varius stood up straight and put his hands on his hips. “Now, who is the Shadow Man?”
“I…don’t…I don’t know.” Carso said as he fought to control himself.
“You know that the harder you resist the more it will hurt, right? Okay, well let’s try this then, did you knowingly setup the EFL?”
“Yes…I had orders to in…filtrate the group and work my way up. Then they would…raaaaah…be setup for a plot to attack…the governor”
“Why?”
The agent looked towards the balcony before he continued. “Be…because we needed a reason to enact…martial law on Eden.”
Varius crossed his arms. “Why would you need martial law?”
“The…the governor wouldn’t do what was necessary to maintain order. He’s weak!”
A new song began to play from the speakers with a more upbeat tempo.
“Does the Shadow Man work for the Keepers of Peace?”
Carso continued to look over towards the balcony. He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“So, then you don’t know who he really is?”
“No…”
“Well you are going to have to start giving me better answers than that agent. No more playing around. How did you meet the Shadow Man?”
Carso began to shake. He tried to resist his body from betraying him, but he couldn’t win. The agent tried to clench his teeth as he spoke. “I…I was put in contact…with him by the other inquisitor.”
Varius’ body tensed up. “Which inquisitor? Who was it?!”
Rey fought to keep the truth in his mouth, but his lips released the secret. “Alex…ander Titus.”
“Titus!”
The agent leaned back in the chair and breathed heavily. “You have to release me Inquisitor. He has her.”
“Who has who?”
“The Shadow Man, he has her!” Carso shouted loudly.
Outside the door one of the guards thought he heard a strange noise and leaned in close to the door to listen. He pushed the open button for the door but it didn’t move. The agent pressed it two more times. He looked back to the other guard who’s body language also looked concerned.
The guard at the door banged on the door twice. “Agent Rey, is everything alright?”
Inside Varius looked to the door then back to Carso. “Time’s running out which means I start making you hurt a whole lot more. Where did you meet with the Shadow Man?”
Outside the guard banged on the door several more times. “Go get someone to open this door” the armored agent said to the other. His compatriot nodded and ran off to the elevator.
“I…I can’t tell you that…”
Varius was out of time and out of patience. He slammed his right fist into Rey’s face. “Where did you meet him?!”
“I can’t tell you! Please don’t make me. My baby girl…he’ll ki..ill her.”
“I’m going to kill you right here and now if you don’t tell me! You are already guilty of conspiring with others to cause chaos and disorder here on Eden. You orchestrated an arms deal with a group of citizens and I have no doubt you have broken even more laws.”
Carso attempted to thrash in the chair but was too tightly bound. He happened to notice the handle of the Inquisitor’s knife sticking out from beneath his pant leg.
“Carso, tell me, where did you meet with the Shadow Man? I need a location.”
The agent resisted but gave in as the tru-loxan numbed his mind even further. His veins however began to feel like they were on fire. “I…it was at the warehouse.”
“The same warehouse that the weapons deal went down?”
“Ye…yes.”
Varius ran his hand through his short cut hair. “I need something else Carso. That warehouse was burned down. You need to give me another lead.”
“I…I can’t tell you anything else” Rey said before he began to convulse more. He attempted to stand as the pain in his body increased exponentially but fell backwards. The chair tipped over and he slammed very hard to the ground on his right side.
“Ugh…” the Inquisitor said as he knelt down to help the agent up. He didn’t notice that the arm of the chair became weak from the fall. Carso however did notice and used every bit of strength he could muster to rip the arm free of the frame of the chair.
He reached down and yanked the knife free from Varius’ boot. The Inquisitor raised his hands to protect himself and wasn’t ready to stop the agent as he brought the blade up to his own neck and sliced it right through his carotid artery. Blood gushed from the wound and sprayed Varius across his face and chest.
The Inquisitor stood stunned for several heart beats before his training kicked back in and he placed both hands on the wound to apply pressure.
Within seconds of heavy blood loss Rey slipped into shock and dropped the knife to the ground. Just then the front door of the unit slid open and the two KoP agents that had been waiting outside rushed in with guns up. The front agent used the flashlight on his rifle to see Varius and the dying man across the living room. “Put your hands up and step away!”
“If I do, he will die” the Inquisitor barked back.
“Put your hands up now or I will shoot!” the agent shouted.
Varius put his hands in the air and stepped back as Rey bled to death. Blood streaked down the Inquisitor’s hands and dripped to the carpeted floor.
Both agents stood still, guns aimed at the Inquisitor’s head. The front man kept his right arm up holding the rifle while he used his left hand to reach up to his shoulder and activate his radio.
“Command, this is agent Fisk. Agent Rey has been attacked by Inquisitor Varius. We have him apprehended but we need a medical team to the condo immediately. I repeat, we need a medical team immediately.”
“Roger that agent. Medical team is en route” answered a calm female voice over the radio.
The other agent took a step forward and extended his rifle further. “Turn around and place your hands behind your back Inquisitor.”
Varius sighed and shook his head.
“This isn’t going as planned…” he said to himself as he clenched his jaw tightly. “…not at all.”
BOOK 3 of The Inquisitor Chronicles COMING Septe
mber 1st!
This release will be exclusive on Amazon so stay tuned…
Note from the author: R. E. Graham
I want to take a quick moment to thank you for taking the time to read this short book. For years I have wanted to explore the Revelations universe but was unsure of how to go about it. In 2017 I figured that if I didn’t just go for it, then I never would. I don’t want to find myself on my deathbed and feel regret for never going for my dream. But I cannot create this universe without thanking those who support it and to also extend a welcome to you if you are new to the stories of Revelations.
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