Originally posted July 2, 2011
A hole the size of a fist opened the exterior wall to look out at the thin strip of green between the closely packed apartment buildings. A similar wound stared at me from that other building. I traced the line between the two, though the shattered couch, the small body lying on the floor beneath a tarp, to where it ended in the wreckage of a fifteen year old, color television set.
Lt. Edward Alejandro shuffled somewhere behind me, talking in a quiet voice to one of the uniformed MC police officers on the scene. He had his notepad out, a spiral bound sheaf of papers crammed full of notes written in ink. Old school, my friend and mentor, Eddie. I stood and walked around the small living room as he confirmed the facts as we understood them. "Tobias Glenn, age twelve. No gang affiliation. Son of Rolanda Glenn. Also, no gang affiliation."
I caught a glimpse of two Xbox controllers on the floor, near the body. They had been playing games together, sharing a day off. She had gone to the neighbors to borrow a cup of sugar. They were going to make cookies together. Peanut butter chip. His favorite.
A bolt of energy from someone he never saw ended any hope Toby might have had for cookies, forever.
"She's employed at Mega-Burger," Eddie continued. He paused for a moment. I heard the small hitch in his voice. More than twenty years on the force and the senseless death of a pre-teen still got to him. Eddie's a good cop. The best cop I've ever met.
"How long?" I asked.
"Less than an hour," he replied. "She called right away. I'm surprised you got here so quickly after I called."
"I was on my way."
"You were on your way?"
"Vee ave our vays, Herr Lieutenant." My "ways" included a small network of employees who pass me information about what happens in the barrio. I probably heard about the death before the cops did. It's a credit to Eddie and MCPD's Superhero Crimes Investigative Unit that they arrived before me. "You going to see where the hole in the wall came from?"
"I was going to, but I figured having El Aquilucho along would get my further than my badge in this neighborhood." I threw him a grin as I looked down to my t-shirt. I had started to wear my emblem around the neighborhood, even when not in costume. The time for a secret identity seemed to have passed. "Let's go take a look, then."
-
"Eddie," I called, stretching my neck to look up between the two four flats, "we should get a couple of more uniforms out here. This is the third building we've checked. The beam went straight through all of them. They're might be more injured."
"Already on it, socio," I heard him yell as I trotted out to the street. His light duster fluttered as he jogged to get a view of the next building, police radio to his ear. He turned, looking up the side of the tenement before pointing at the entrance. I heard sirens in the distance as we both made our way towards the foyer.
I heard a high pitched whine from under Eddie's duster. SCIU deals with all sorts of super-powered threats and equip their officers to address them. His long jacket concealed enough firepower to level the crumbling structure in front of us. It seemed that Lt. Alejandro anticipated trouble.
I checked the door handle. A sturdy lock seemed a luxury the landlord couldn't afford. "This one?"
"Si." Eddie nodded. "Third floor." I bounded through the short hallway and up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time and checking the quick release on the tube slung across my back. Pulling out Kokoro in cramped quarters could cause more problems than the sword would solve, but it felt good to have it handy. I found the right door on the third floor, a 12cm hole punched through the flimsy wood pressboard. The good lieutenant arrived just a few moments later. "Feeling your age, socio?" He grunted a response, before lifting a finger to silence me. It took me a second to recognize the low moaning from behind the portal.
I rolled, looking through the hole in the door, ending in a crouch to its right. "Clear." Eddie lifted his hands summoning just a small portion of his weapon's power to shatter the wood as it stood in its frame. The body on the floor came into view as I leapt into the filthy room, surrounded by decaying furniture. Yellowing newspaper covered the studio apartment's sole window. The smell of blood mixed with urine, vomit, and rotting refuse. The room seemed darker than it should, colder.
I reached out cautiously to touch the neck of the prone figure. It felt warm. The blood pulsed weakly against my touch. I'd need some light to get a better idea of his condition.
A shadow shifted out of the corner of my eye as Eddie shouted a warning. I felt the frigid cut through my shoulder as I maneuvered to avoid the unseen attacker. The thin chain at my neck grew hot. Death magic. Necromancy. DEMON. Didn't that gaggle of questionably dressed stage magicians have a huge group of other superheroes they could pick on?
My numb arm made unsheathing Kokoro uncomfortable and slow, slow enough for the darkness to touch me twice more. Its form shifted and slithered through the room, denying Eddie and me a target. I clipped off a small bit as a tentacle reached out. I heard the obsidian shape offer a sound of surprise. Didn't expect to face a magical sword, did you?
A mystical katana and a necklace for protection against death magic. My ex- girlfriends give great gifts.
"Eddie! Give us a window!"
Twin beams leapt from the doorway to punch a perfect three meter hole in the exterior wall of the apartment. The wall turned to dust, not spilling any debris to the ground below. Lt. Alejandro knows his stuff and he knows how to use it.
The late afternoon sun flooded the room. The shadow retreated and began to form a more human shape. I stepped into the light, hoping to dissuade further attacks. Facial features started to emerge as the figure crouched then jumped at me. I ducked, getting as small as I could against the floor, letting the shadow pass over me and out Eddie's new window.
"Godver!" I cursed as I turned to look out the gaping hole. My attacker had disappeared into the shadows of the alley below. I shifted to look back into the room considering pursuit. Whatever had killed young Tobias Glenn had started here. The clues in this room and that beaten figure on the floor offered my best chance to figure out what happen. With the smoothness of our years of working together and with few word passed between us, Eddie began to secure the scene while I tended the fallen man's injuries.
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