SK9(III)

Chapter 19

Chloe woke up to find Brenda performing cunnilingus on her in a cheap motel. They were both still naked from the night before and hungover.

“Mmmm. Good morning Brenda…”

“Hey Chloe…”

“Well, I’ll be Madam Director here in the motel too. You’re such a good girl, Brenda!”

“Holy shit!” Brenda looked at the clock. It read 11:00 am.

“Um, who told you to stop what you were doing?” Chloe demanded. “What are you worried about that for?”“Oh yeah.” Brenda giggled.

At the same time, Helt and Tegan were a coffeeshop about 2 miles down the road from the crimescene. They surveyed the house and the surrounding area and produced no new findings.

“What made you join the Feds?” asked Helt while sipping black coffee.

Tegan was twirling her eggs and bacon with a fork but didn’t eat. “It’s going to sound corny, but I wanted to do something different than the traditional occupations that my family got into. My father’s a rancher, so was my grandfather and his father. My mother’s a nurse, my grandmother helped out on my other grandfather’s ranch, her mother did too. I was also fascinated with investigating crime. Solving a case is obviously rewarding but working on leads is always intriguing. I also get into sick stuff like getting into the mind of a criminal, see what makes them tick. How about you?”

Helt stuffed a piece of toast in his mouth and laughed. “I don’t know. I just wanted to do something exciting. Something that doesn’t get monotonous. Plus, chicks dig the gun and credentials. Only kidding about the last part. Sort of.”

“Well so far, we’ve got two texts left at the scene. Just leafing through these books, what is going through these peoples’ minds? White supremacist with a bit of the occult mixed in, perhaps?”

“You think that we could close this case? No suspects, nothing.”

“No. This begs for investigation, Rikk.”

Mr A walked in and smiled at the agents. Tegan and Helt glanced at him and just nodded. Mr A then turned his back and walked towards the opposite end of the counter from where the agents sat.

“What more can we get from this?” Rikk asked.

“I don’t think that this is the end of it. Neither do you Rikk and you know it.”

“Okay, we’ve got a fictional race war story and another story about a French woman and an Aryan bigwig. So, the white boys have strange tastes in literature. We have a body about 60 feet from the cabin, decapitated, head not recovered, and sucked dry of blood, genitalia missing and missing pathes of skin. Inside the cabin, the old man wastes his wife and two grown sons before taking himself out and the murder weapon is missing. Hmm, what the fuck was I thinking? There’s too many doors left open, but we have no leads.”

Mr A got up from the counter without drinking coffee. “Bamboo 52.” he said quickly and left.

“What the fuck? Follow him!” Rikk yelled.

Rikk and Angelina ran out of the coffeehouse and saw nothing. As if Mr A vaporized.

“Fuck!” said Rikk. “Fuck!”

“What is it?” asked Angelina.

“Can’t you see? they’re fuckin’ playing us! Somebody’s fuckin’ playing us. Here we are saying we have no leads and that weirdo says ‘Bamboo 52′ and fuckin’ disappears. Like something out of a cheesy movie!”

“Well, we’re going to have to play the game and see where it takes us. We have to find out what the fuck Bamboo 52 is.”

Chapter 20

9:30 pm EST the night before:

Skully, Molder and Seti strode down 52nd St in Manhattan with a purpose. Molder immediately made a left into the back alleyway and Seti crossed the street and waited. Skully walked into Bamboo 52. Molina was in the same place at the bar where Kayla first met her. She tried blending in with the crowd while walking towards Molina. Molina spotted Kayla about 10 feet away and jumped over the bar, spilling drinks on patrons. She ran into the back towards the kitchen and Kayla went after her.

Molina ran out the back door and Molder tried to grab her. Molina rolled on the ground and avoided Molder’s arms altogether and proceeded to run out into the street. The evasion tactic caused Molder to stumble but he recovered quickly and gave pursuit as Kayla burst through the back door. Molina was fast but Seti ran across the street and pushed Molina right into a light pole. Molina fell to the ground badly dazed and Seti quickly placed handcuffs on her and pulled her to her feet as Kayla and Rich ran up.

With perfect timing, an NYPD detective that owed Rich a favor and pulled up in an unmarked black Ford Crown Victoria. Kayla opened the rear door and Seti shoved Molina inside. Rich and Kayla ran around to the passenger side of the Crown Vic with Rich jumping in next to Detective Valle while Kayla jumped in the back. Seti jumped in right after he shoved Molina inside.

“Let’s go, Frankie!” Rich shouted.

Tires screeched and Detective Valle sped toward the 59th Street Bridge towards Queens.

“Where the fuck are you pigs taking me?” Molina said weakly.

Kayla reached back, made a fist, and punched Molina in the face. Molina’s head drooped towards Seti. Kayla grabbed her and shook her. “That’s for stabbing me, bitch!” Molina opened her eyes briefly then collapsed on James’ shoulder.

Ten minutes later, they pulled up to a warehouse on an empty street on the Queens side of the bridge. Kayla dragged Molina out on her side. Seti ran around the car to help. Rich was about to get out of the car when Det Valle grabbed his shoulder. “We’re good now, right?”

“Yeah, Frankie. Thanks a million.”

“Take it easy, Rich. Don’t get jammed up.”

“Be safe Frankie.”

The Crown Vic left at a casual speed.

Rich took out a large ring of keys from his jacket. He found the key he was looking for immediately and opened the sidedoor to the warehouse.

They dragged Molina off to the left to an office. Rich again found that key and opened the office.

“What, you got a side job as a night wachman or janitor of this shithole?” Kayla asked.

“No. The Feds pay a generous salary. I’m just cashing in on some favors.” Rich said as they sat Molina down at a chair directly across from a desk.

Rich went to the desk and turned on the desklamp and shined it on Molina’s face.

Molina woke up with a start. She remembered that she got grabbed outside the sushi bar and cuffed. Fuck, I’m not at the precinct though, she thought to herself. She was scared. The light shined in her face and all she could see was shadows.

“Who the fuck are you really, Molina?” said a voice.

“Fuck you!” spat Molina.

Then someone slapped her. The sexy blonde chick that I laid and stabbed, she thought.

“I said, who the fuck are you?!? Don’t make me ask the same question twice.”

“That’s neither here nor there. Imperium Galactica exists within me. I am but a shell.”

This time, James slapped her. Kayla smiled at him.

“Once the nexions are completed, no one of the profane will be beyond reichsstandshaft.”

“Kill her.” said the voice in front of the light.

Kayla grabbed Moina as James began to duct tape her too the chair. When James was done, Kayla had the obsidian blade pressed up against Molina’s cheek. “I want to cut her face up, first.” She pricked Molina’s face and licked the trickle of blood.

Molina’s started to cry, making the cut burn. Then she started to laugh.

“Agios O Baphomet! Hail Shub Niggurat!”

Fuck. This bitch isn’t going to tell us shit, Rich thought. Hmmm, what the fuck to do now?

Just then, they could hear the side door of the warehouse being torn open. As they looked around, a purple mist could be seen in the darkness of the warehouse.

All three drew their guns as Rich shut the lamp off.

Molina stopped laughing.

Chapter 21

“Bamboo 52 is a sushi bar in New York City. I’ve been there before. I don’t know what the hell that has to do with anything. Yet, a lead is a lead regardless. Get down there.” Director Skinner looked across her desk at Helt and Tegan. “You’ll get all the backup you need. You know that. If they’re playing us Rikk, it doesn’t matter. It’s a slow, grinding process. We’ve got the resources and the firepower. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Helt got up. “I understand Madam Director. It just bothers me that we’re going in there not knowing shit.”

“It’s your job to find out. This is where the line between a cop and an agent is clearly seen. The cops are reactive, doing their jobs after something happens. The agent is proactive. Above and beyond, sometimes running to the scene as things are occuring. There’s no clocks to punch here, Rikk.”

“Yes ma’am.” Helt walked out and Tegan followed.

“Are you feeling okay, Rikk?” Tegan asked as they walked out of FBI Headquarters.

“Yeah. I just don’t like the feeling that these people, whoever they are, have the drop on us. To tell you the truth, it’s scary. And I don’t like to say that.”

“We investigate crimes and apprehend criminals. There’s a lot to be scared of out there.”

“But…” Rikk wagged his finger and said grimly, “This is different. We’re dealing with something that seems to be one step ahead of us.” Rikk looked around and lowered his voice. “I have a funny feeling about Skinner. Either she doesn’t feel the magnitude of this or…fuck, I don’t even want to say it.”

“What, what, Rikk? What the hell?”

“I don’t quite trust her.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you? You’re getting paranoid!”

“Maybe. But I don’t feel good about this whole thing at all.”

Helt and Tegan watched the sunset. To Rikk, it didn’t bring beauty or comfort, only a sense of dread that he couldn’t comprehend.

“Oh fuck!” whispered Kayla.

James was on one side of the office door back flat against the wall, gun drawn. Kayla was on the other assuming the same position. Rich was prone with a small portion of his face and his gun peering around the corner of the desk. The purple haze was around them now that illuminated the darkness only slightly. Molina was still in the chair, silent and smiling from ear to ear.

“In here!” Molina screamed. Kayla walked up to the chair and shot Molina in the head at close range and ran back quickly to her position.

The door in the office broke open and hit the back wall behind the desk. Shards of the door scattered everywhere. The purple light was brighter now.

Chapter 22

The FBI, with the assistance of NYPD Emergency Services Unit planned a full convergence on Bamboo 52. They would enter through the front door and back door and had the whole strip blocked off. No vehicles entering 52nd St for six blocks and more importantly, no vehicles exiting.

Rikk knew in his heart that it was bit overkill and that possible civil suits may follow, but he never managed to shake the grim feeling about the case. He managed to obtain a Federal Warrant on the basis that this was a multiple murder investigation.

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Bamboo 52 was closed for business at 10pm on a Friday night. The sign outside read “Temporarily Closed.” The closing occured only fifteen minutes after Molina was snatched off the streets by “vigilantes of the profane,” as described by the few in the crowd inside the sushi bar.

The first ESU teams to go in through both doors simultaneously were met by hails of gunfire. Rikk and Angelina were standing with Captain Davis about seventy-five feet from Bamboo 52 behind an ESU van. “Officer down! Officer down! 10-13! 10-13!” was heard on Cpt Davis’ radio. “Holy shit! What the fuck did we get the fuck ourselves into?” Cpt Davis yelled to the agents. He was talking to no one as Tegan and Helt ran towards the sushi bar.

Kayla and Seti began to fire towards the door. Rich assumed a semi-kneeling position behind the desk and also began to fire at the door. The purple haze was gone. In the dark, gunfire was returned. “What the fuck?” yelled Rich.

“Let’s get out there!” Kayla yelled back.

The three then ran out the office door and into the wide open area of the warehouse while dropping to the floor and firing their weapons. The purple haze returned.

Chapter 23

As Helt and Tegan ran inside Bamboo 52, a purple haze converged on them. “Get down!” Tegan screamed. “It might be gas!”

Helt assumed a prone position and yelled back, “It’s that same purple shit back in the woods in Cali! Fuckin shoot at that shit!”

Helt and Molder stood almost fifteen feet away from each other. Upon seeing each other’s profiles within the purple haze and on opposite sides of the battle, they fired upon each other. Helt was a fourth of a second faster. Molder clutched his chest and collapsed on the floor.

“Fuck!” Kayla screamed as she shot Rikk five times in the torso area. Rikk went down. Tegan was a little faster than the usual quick-drawing Sergeant Seti and James went down. Tegan faced Kayla, who stopped firing when she saw in the haze that Rikk was wearing an FBI windbreaker.

“FBI! Throw the fuckin’ gun down!” Tegan yelled at Kayla.

Kayla complied. She put her hands up with bewilderment. “I’m Special Agent Skully. FBI.”

Tegan lowered her weapon and replied with shock and fear. “What? Skully? Um, what the fuck are you doing? You just fired upon and killed 3 NYPD ESU officers and 2 FBI police officers. I’m taking you in.”

Kayla looked around. “How the fuck did we end up in Bamboo 52?”

Tegan looked at Kayla with disgust as she approached her and trained her weapon once again on Kayla. “Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

Kayla complied and was crying out of confusion and out of grief. “We were in fuckin’ Queens! How the fuck did we end up in Manhattan at Bamboo 52? What the fuck is going on here?”

At that moment the purple haze subsided and disappeared. More uniformed cops entered Bamboo 52 and surveyed the fallen.

Tegan walked out with a cuffed Kayla, who was disoriented by this time.

4am, Washington DC:

Director Skinner took the agency helicopter to Manhattan as soon as she received the phone call at home about the shootout at Bamboo 52. She cursed aloud on the chopper, and was then overcome with grief as she thought of the deceased agents Helt and Molder. What the fuck went on, how did her agents get into shooting? And with each other?

Chapter 24

Director Skinner, in the back of an unmarked agency car manned by two FBI police officers, was busily typing on her laptop computer. She was sending a secured agency message to Special Agent Laura Scott, the agency’s top forensics expert, telling her to catch the next chopper to New York and more specifically, the crime scene. How the fuck can this be a crime scene and it’s all law enforcement personnel involved. Her first task would be to speak to Captain Davis at the Midtown North Precinct, the command that covered the confines of the crime scene. Her next task would be even more grim than the first. To speak with ex-Special Agent Skully, who was now confined in a Federal Corrections Facility in Fort Dix, New Jersey. Ex because she and her accomplices shot and killed five uniformed police officers and a fellow FBI Special Agent. Then, off to see Agent Tegan, who was admitted to New York University Hospital for a gunshot wound to the right shoulder. Sergeant Seti had been just as quick as Tegan, but not as accurate.

Skinner cursed to herself quietly as she caught sight of a large contingent of reporters and photographers in the parking lot of the precinct. Captain James Davis was at a podium nodding his head. Good, Chloe thought. He’s not telling the vultures shit. Not that any of us know shit right now anyway.

“Madam Director, we’re going to have to through the front if you don’t mind.” the cop driving said.

Skinner smiled at the cop. “We’ll do whatever you think is best, Officer.”

“Roger that, ma’am.”

Skinner was about to leave the vehicle as they got to the front when the cop in the passenger seat said, “Madam Director, would you like me to accompany you? NYPD is going to be hostile territory for us. Considering, well, you know ma’am.”

“Well, we lost officers in that operation as well. I appreciate the gesture, though. I need to get this over with so that we can move forward and find out what happened tonight. I’ll be right out, hopefully in one piece.”

“Yes ma’am. Holler if you need us.”

Skinner smiled at them and turned to walk into the precinct. An NYPD cop standing outside was about to open the door for her, but when he saw who she was, he let the door go, smirked and turned his back. His partner, standing beside him, walked away.

“I’m not going to ask you open the door for me, officer. You’re a cop, not a doorman. But if you don’t turn around and address me with the proper courtesy, I’ll have your gun and shield and mount it on my mantle at FBI Headquarters. I’m aware that you lost people, I lost people too. Don’t fuckin’ play with me.”

Upon seeing Director Skinner having words with the city cop, The two FBI officers got out of the vehicle. Chloe put her hand up as if to say “It’s okay.” The city cop saw the two FBI cops and turned around to address Director Skinner. “Good evening, ma’am,” he said and opened the door.

The Chief of Police, Miguel Olivera, was standing by the Desk Sergeant’s podium. Upon seeing Skinner, he straightened up and said, “Madam Director. It is unfortunate that we could not meet under different circumstances.” He extended his hand in greeting.

A political man indeed, Skinner thought. Chloe took his hand. “Chloe, Chief. And you are?”

Chief Olivera smiled slightly. “Miguel.”

“Miguel. What we have here is a tragic situation. I would like us to work together to get to the bottom of this.”

“Of course.” the Chief said. “I’ll let Cpt Davis know that you’re here.”

“Thanks Miguel.” Chloe was about to sit on the nearby bench when Chief Olivera stopped her.

“No, don’t sit there ma’am. That’s the ‘perp chair!’ I’ll let you into Cpt Davis’ office.

“Thanks, Miguel.”

Cops in the precinct were nervously trying to look even busier than normal, even though they were as they saw the Chief walking with the FBI Director.

Skinner sat in the chair that was directly in front of Captain Davis’ desk. I wonder how many cops he chewed out while they sat in this chair? Better this chair than the crackhead chair. As soon as she though ‘crackhead,’ she began to weep quietly.

Five minutes later, Captain Davis walked in. “Hello Madam Director. We’ve got a mess on our hands.”

“Hello Captain Davis. Right you are.”

“Do you want to head to the crime scene now? Forensics just left there and I’ve got some uniforms posted.”

“Yes, let’s go. Would you like to ride in my vehicle?”

“I’ve got one ma’am and a uniform too. I never go withou them.”

“I’ll follow you then.”

They got to Bamboo 52 in five minutes. The cop standing at the front saluted and raised the yellow crime scene tape. The lights were on and the sushi bar was in shambles. There were tape outlines of the dead on the floor, spent shell casings that were marked by different colored flags so as to determine which round originated from which firearm. Broken tables, chairs, plates, and glass was everywhere. Blood still stained the walls and floors.

Davis and Skinner surveyed the area together, not out of camraderie, but of common mistrust that the FBI and NYPD famously held for one another.

“The two agents and the Sheriff fired at the front door from here.” Davis said pointing at the center of the room. Why they weren’t behind cover is beyond me. They began to fire upon the ESU and FBI officers entering through the front door and into the bar area.”

“Didn’t cops enter through the rear door as well?” Skinner asked.

“Strange thing, though. When they attempted to enter through the the kitchen door behind the agents and the sheriff, they couldn’t get the door open. It then took an additional minute and a half and by the time the unit bringing up the rear enetered, the agent in question was already handcuffed.”

Skinner walked pensively towards the rear of the sushi bar and into the door that led into the kitchen. “This door swings both ways. There’s no signs of soldering or welding, only burn marks from where you guys used a blow torch to remove the hinges. Who the fuck put this door back up?”

Davis shuddered at Skinner’s harsh, yet inquisitive tone. “The owner had someone come in about a half hour after the incident.

“What the fuck for? Are you guys fuckin’ slow? I want to talk to the dumb ass who authorized it. You had a fuckin’ civilian walk right up to the crime scene?!? Why don’t you guys call motherfuckin’ Bob Villa to fix the whole fuckin’ sushi bar?”

“It’s ESU policy to have repaired whatever they destroy.”

“Why so soon after the shooting?” Skinner was losing her temper. “Cops died here! Yours and mine! And you fuckin’ idiots are worried about a fuckin’ door? Who authorized this shit?”

“Sergeant Catherine Cedeno, Emergency Service Unit.”

“Stupid bitch!”

Davis was slack-jawed. “Ma’am!”

“Cops died here, Captain Davis. I want to talk to this Sgt Cedeno yesterday.”

Cpt Davis was already dialing his cell phone.

“Tell the dumb ass bitch that I want to see her in your office in one hour, no more! My guys and me are getting fuckin’ breakfast.”

Chief Olivera and Director Skinner stormed into Cpt Davis’ office three hours later. Cpt Davis and Sgt Cedeno stood up nervously. Upon seeing the Chief of Police, Captain Davis looked to the floor and wrinled his face as if someone had kicked him in the testicles. Sergeant Catherine Cedeno was a pretty young Latina cop, yet she had eyes that seemed shifty and untrustworthy, as if she stepped on people to get her rank. She looked disheveled after being made to wait two hours to get the ass chewing of her life.

Skinner stepped right up to her and removed her glasses as if she was going to fight Cedeno. “This your first gun battle, dumb ass?”

“No ma’am. As an ESU Sergeant, I’ve been involved in several.” Cedeno said shakily.

“Then what the fuck made you spaz out and let a fuckin’ no-name civilian walk right through a fuckin’ crime scene? If you didn’t have those stripes, I’d say that you were a rookie. Fuck, even a fuckin’ rookie is thinking too much and wouldn’t make such an asinine mistake as that. Why don’t you just call and get the fuckin’ whole building renovated?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Cedeno sounded as if she wanted to cry. Chief Olivera was trying hard to suppress a laugh.

I want to know who the fuckin’ owner is and who the fuck this ass-clown was who fixed that fuckin’ door and tampered with our evidence. Can you do that Cedeno or is that too much for even you?”

“I’ll handle it, ma’am.”

“Yeah fuckin’ handle it. Do you have anything that you want to say to your cop, Chief Olivera?”

“Nothing that I wouldn’t have told her myself.” said the Chief grimly.

Skinner never took her eyes off of Cedeno. Cedeno nervously said, “I’ll get you that info ASAP, ma’am.”

“Do it faster than that. What the fuck are you still standing here looking stupid for? I’m fuckin’ through and so are your bosses. Get the fuck out of my site!”

Cedeno almost ran out of the office and bumped into the office door before opening it and letting herself out.

“Hard to find good help nowadays, huh?” Skinner asked Olivera.

“Fuck yeah. Nobody wants to start off at the cheap salary we get.”

Cpt Davis was also enraged at Cedeno, but now pitied her and the downward spiral her career will take when the smoke clears and Skinner was through with her.

Skinner of course did not have any say in NYPD business, but it was a huge blow to have the FBI Director chew out one of the ESU Sergeants in the precinct commander’s office. Cedeno would find herself working traffic detail for the next two years even though she was an ESU Sergeant. She would also be facing a demotion and transfer from the elite ESU to a less than glamorous foot post in the South Bronx.

Chapter 26

ADX Florence, Florence Colorado – Maximum Federal Correctional Facility:

Skinner was on the agency helicopter again via Fort Dix, New Jersey when she received a call reporting that Skully had been transferred to ADX Florence. She quickly had the chopper refueled in Dix and re-routed to Florence.

Only two hours after ripping Sergeant Cedeno a new asshole, Skinner was walking through the intimidating gates of ADX Florence, the same facility that Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma bomber, had been executed in June 2001. The reality that Kayla would be facing the death penalty for the murder of five uniformed cops and an FBI agent was like a cold slap of reality. Not only did she mourn Special Agent Helt and Special Agent Molder’s deaths, she would soon possibly be mourning Kayla’s as well.

At the main door of the facility, Skinner was met by Warden Melvin Roberts, nicknamed “Mega Toes” and “Bigfoot” because of his size 15 shoe. We found him Rich, Chloe thought to herself. Roberts seemed to have the same shifty eyes that Sergeant Cedeno did. As if he liked to look at the closed caption TV of female prisoners’ cells and masturbate. Skinner immediately felt like scrubbing her hands after shaking hands with Roberts. After the brief meeting, Skinner was accompanied by a Bureau of Prisons officer, an imposing hulk of a man, as expected. The hulk peered through a slot on Kayla’s cell door to make sure she was away from the door.

“Skully! You have a visitor! Step away from the door.”

Skully was doing pushups and stepped to the wall on the extreme opposite of the cell door. She was still extremely attractive in her orange prison jumpsuit and no makeup. Chloe was angry at herself for being stimulated for a second.

Skinner walked in and waited for the officer to close the door. She then ran over to Kayla and hugged her. Then she broke the hug and slapped her.

Warden Roberts looked intently at the monitor in his office showing Skully’s cell. He then smiled, rubbed his crotch and unbuckled his belt.

“What the fuck happened last night, Skully? Why the fuck were you, Molder and Seti firing on cops and Helt and Tegan?”

“I have no fuckin’ idea. I’ll tell you everything I know.” She took Skinner’s hand and they both walked toward Kayla’s bunk and sat down.

Skully recanted all the information that she obtained from Mr A, SK9 Satanism and the strange purple haze. Skinner also shared all the information that Helt and Tegan gave her.

“According to all the SK9 edicts that purple haze is a nexion. A gate to the Acausal Darkness. Somebody or something set us up to get into that shootout with each other. It’s because we were getting close to finding out. The key to this is SK9. No arrests either. Just fuckin’ waste them.”

“I can’t believe that I’m hearing about the paranormal from you.” Skinner said.

“Then you know that shit is beyond fuckin’ reason. Just keep in mind what those other agents told you Chloe. And we don’t even know each other. Tell me something. Did Rich make it? How about James?”

“Sorry Kayla. They’re gone.”

Tears stung Kayla’s cheeks as she screamed, “Get these motherfuckers, Chloe! I don’t give a fuck! You’ve got to get them! Especially that motherfucker Mr A!”

“This case is mine now. Fuck protocol.”

They hugged once again and Chloe walked towards the door and knocked on it. The Hulk then peered in and opened the door.

Roberts looked away from the monitor in disgust. Skinner didn’t stay long enough for him to finish pleasuring himself. He put his pants on and buckled his belt. He walked out of his office and prepared to see Director Skinner off.

Fifteen minutes, with the Hulk in tow, Skinner prepared to exit the facility.

“It was good to meet you Madam Director.” Roberts extended his hand.

“Fuck off. I’ll be back when Skully gets released.” Skinner walked out as the Hulk suppressed a snicker.

Mr A walked by the two NYPD cops stationed outside of Agent Tegan’s hospital room. He made no eye contact, but the two cops watched him suspiciously. Mr A walked to the elevator bank. One of the cops knocked on the door and walked into Tegan’s room while other cop watched as Mr A boarded the elevator.

“She’s gone!” said the cop running out of Tegan’s room.

They both ran to the elevator bank. One shoved his arms into the elevator before the doors closed. They tackled a surprised Mr A after he pressed the “Close Door” button.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Mr A demanded as he was being cuffed.

“Where’s Agent Tegan, you fuck?”

Skinner was headed back to New York in the helicopter. She knew that it would’ve made more sense to have visited Tegan at NYU Hospital in Manhattan before heading out to Colorado, but she wanted to know what happened from Kayla’s perspective. She had a strong feeling that Kayla was telling the truth, but strong feelings about innocence did not spare anyone from the death penalty. Where the fuck do I start with this Mr A? Chloe would have to get Kayla’s computer and run a trace. The satellite phone rang.

“Skinner!” Chloe yelled into the phone over the propellers.

“Madam Director, it’s Special Agent Scott. I found something at the coroner’s!”

“What you got, Laura?”

“I went to the sushi bar and everything was pretty much cut-and-dry. Then I attended the formal autopsy and I acquired and categorized all the spent rounds. There was an extra round that was lodged in the base of Special Agent Helt’s skull. As if he was shot execution-style. The round that was discharged didn’t belong to any of the weapons fired by Skully, Molder or the sheriff. The round belonged to Agent Tegan’s gun.”

Skinner dropped the phone on the floor of the helicopter.

Detective Frank Valle, Special Agent Molder’s NYPD connection, walked into the Interview Room and eyed Mr A seated at the table, who was smiling at him. Valle returned the smile.

“Cigarette?” Valle offered.

“Thank you.” Mr A said.

“Smoke this asshole!” Valle reached over the table, grabbed Mr A and punched him repeatedly in the face.

Captain Davis and Detective Tim O’Brien, watching the interview from behind the one way glass wall in the other room, ran into the Interview Room.

They practically peeled Valle off of Mr A. Mr A was laying on the floor bleeding and unconscious.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Valle?” Davis demanded.

Valle pulled free and managed a stomp on Mr A’s chest and sidestepped Davis and O’Brien as they tried to restrain him again.

Valle ran over to the door, punched it and yelled, “He might not have killed Richie, but the motherfucker has shit to do with it! They’re fuckin’ playing with us! I don’t fuckin’ play! You hear me faggot? I don’t fuckin’ play!”

He then sat on the floor and sobbed.

O’Brien grabbed Valle by the shoulders. C’mon Frankie. Get it together. Let’s get a bagel.”

Valle rose to his feet and walked out with O’Brien. Cpt Davis looked at a bleeding and still unconscious Mr A and snickered. He then walked into the Observation Room and ejected the videocassette from the monitor.

“Listen Frankie.” O’Brien said. “You can’t go off on a tangent like that. Fuckin’ boss man was watching. Keep it up and you’ll end up with time on the streets. Why do you give a fuck about that fed anyway?”

“That fed was my old partner at the 110th before going over to the feds. That motherfucker pulled my ass out of the fire a few times. Like I did for you and that problem that you got with hookers.” Valle smiled.

“Okay, I get it. Cap is all right. He knows that you wouldn’t fuck with anybody for nothing. You won’t get jammed up, but still, be careful. Those fed cops picked up that guy in the hospital on a hunch, nothing but. Don’t read too much into it.”

“I read the whole fuckin’ thing, even the feds’ shit. That asshole led the two agents into a shootout with Rich and his people. That fucker isn’t leaving the stationhouse for shit for at least another fuckin’ night. Not until the Director sees him.”

“That sexy boss lady with the glasses? I wish she came to see me.” O’Brien smiled.

“She’s way out of your league. Besides, it’s all business now until these fuckers get fried.”

“So, Frankie. Tell me: How’d you get access to the FBI’s files?”

“Need to know basis. And you don’t need to know.”

As soon as Chloe retrieved the phone from the chopper floor, she found that Laura got disconnected. Now, she had another reason to see Angelina in the hospital.

The phone rang again. “Skinner.”

“Ma’am, we got Mr A here at the house.” It was Captain Davis.

“James! Keep him there!”

“I was going to. Agent Tegan’s gone missing too.”

“Fuck! when?”

“Twenty minutes ago.”

“I’ll be at the house in about an hour.”

“See you then.” Davis hung up.

“You didn’t tell them anything, did you Cathy?”

“No.” Cathy stammered. She looked across the desk at the fresh-faced young woman staring at her with piercing brown eyes.

“Good.” said Tegan. “The Master will be pleased.”

“Have I completed my ordeals? Am I now a Sister?”

Tegan looked at Cathy angrily. “If you have to ask, then you aren’t!”

Cathy put her head down with embarassment.

“There is one thing that you might be good for.” Tegan smiled.

“Yes?” Cathy felt reassured.

“Yes. Come with me.”

Outside of Tegan’s large study, the Temple Guardian grabbed Cathy from behind.

“What…what are you doing?”

Tegan slapped her. “You have no loyalty. You have a weak spine! We of 352 are one of the many Sinister Tribes who revel in Sinister Darkness and to Presence the Dark. You have no place but for this.”

The large Guardian ripped Cathy’s uniform pants and threw her duty belt on the ground. He then mounted Cathy and began to enter her with his large member.

“Nooo!” Cathy screamed.

Chloe stared at Mr A. Then she reached across the table and slapped him. He whimpered in pain.

“Im…tired…of all you…cops…hitting…me.” Mr A stammered. “I’ll tell…you anything…you want to know.”

Chloe slapped him again for good measure. “I want to start from the beginning. What the fuck happened in that cabin outside of Eureka City?”

“Old George. George Waller was dying. He is a 352 Brother and the Founder of SK9. Better known as 352.”

“Yeah. An Order of Nine Angles Nexus. I got that far. Go on asshole.” Chloe raised her arm again.

“No, no! He performed the Rite of Hohes Opfer because he wanted his wife and sons to be with him in the Cosmos.”

“Who the fuck was the other vic with the missing skin?”

“He was a traitor. He wanted to leave 352 because he was scared. He found that the Darkness was real and he couldn’t psychologically handle it. George and his family opfered him first. Then they peeled off all his tattoos that referred to 352, SK9 or the Order.”

“Who the fuck are you?”

Mr A laughed. “My daughter has infiltrated the greatest law enforcement agency in the land. I am Anthony Tegan.”

Chloe restrained herself from hitting him again. Her next strike would be to kill him.”

“Why did you target the FBI?”

“Our Sinister Intent is to sow the seeds of disruption and Chaos. The Purple Haze is the Nexion at its lowest strength. Once it reaches full stregth…” The elder Tegan laughed maniacally.

Chloe reached across the table and punched in the face so hard that her hand hurt. She jumped over the table and knelt over Tegan.

“Homo…Galactica.” Tegan smiled. “My Angelina…” Tegan passed out.

Chapter 27

Kayla had one hour a day of general population. She was actually given the option to reject general pop since she was a ex-FBI agent, but she opted for it just to see other people for an hour, to escape the isolation.

An attractive Latina prisoner with a white bandana eyed her. She then smiled and approached Kayla. Kayla was apprehensive at first because a white bandana was considered 352, but 352 was such an anomaly at this point. No membership numbers, no arrests, no nothing. Just that Eureka City incident.

“Got a cigarette, beautiful lady?” the Latina asked.

“Sure.” Kayla reached into her shirt pocket. As she looked down, the last thing that she saw was the makeshift shank going in and out of her chest with blinding speed. The Latina then whispered hoarsely into Kayla’s ear, “352.”

The latina walked away as Kayla collapsed on the ground, The Latina then passed the shank to a passerby who walked a few steps and passed it to another, who in turn, passed it to another.

Kayla looked straight into the sky. Kayla thought of all the people that she ever loved and who reciprocated that love. She thought of Molder and Seti and Chloe. Kayla tried to smile. She knew that Chloe had things all worked out. Kayla took her last breath.

Anthony felt like he was drowning…and being scalded at the same time. Skinner had doused him with a cup of coffee.

Detective Valle then grabbed Tegan and threw him back in the chair. “Stay awhile. Our chat’s not over yet.”

“I already know that the current location of your Temple is in Forest Park in Queens. Write down the coordinates and the next meeting time here. If they’re incorrect, I’ll kill you.” Skinner slid a piece of paper and pen in front of Anthony.

Valle opened his mouth in shock and then smiled. This fed’s all right. And so fuckin’ hot, he thought.

Anthony hesitated and then wrote on the paper.

Chloe snatched the paper from him. “That’s in three hours. Hey Valle, you got some guys in place?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Now, Anthony, how the fuck did Sergeant Seti end up in Malta?”

“The Nexion in Malta is Stilla Ta Demm. I don’t control the Presencing of the Dark. My Sisters, Brothers and I only help to ensure of its occurence.”

“How the fuck did you know to send my agents to Bamboo 52?”

“The Darkness that makes itself known to me. Then it stops. That’s how the cops grabbed me at NYU Hospital.”

“How’d Angelina escape?”

“The Dark workings enabled her. The purple haze, the Gates, of course.”

“The cops didn’t report no fuckin’ purple haze.” Valle added.

“It most likely converged on her when she was in the bathroom.”

A uniform knocked on the door. Valle said a brief word to him and left. The uniform took Anthony and went out the back door. Chloe followed. The cop then dispatched Anthony into the backseat of a familiar Ford Crown Victoria.

Skinner and Valle rented a storage locker in College Point Queens with a “borrowed” credit card from the evidence locker. Inside the unit, they left the hancuffs on Anthony and duct-taped his feet.

Chloe knelt over to Anthony and said, “Don’t try to struggle or make any noise. Once this door closes, you’ve got about 3 hours of air. If you want all 3 hours, try not to exert yourself. If all goes well at the Temple, then we’ll come back for you. If we die, then you die. Got it?”

“Okay.” Anthony said weakly.

Chloe then duct-taped his mouth. She then nodded towards Valle and they left and locked the storage unit.

“How’d you know about how much oxygen he had? Some high speed FBI gadget, ma’am?” Valle asked.

Chloe smiled. “I saw it in a movie once.”

Twenty minutes later, they met with Detectives O’Brien, Newman and Martinez in the parking lot near the band shell in Forest Park.

Chloe addressed her compatriots. “I appreciate your help. This is strictly off the record and under the radar. There’s going to be no medals in this for any of us. Just payback for those fallen cops and agents. Everybody’s got the coordinates and I’ll take the point. Once we get to the Temple, we’ll disperse and then go as planned. Save the Temple Mistress for me. In the trunk, just grab whichever toy you want to play with.”

Chloe opened the trunk and presented more borrowed items from evidence. Newman grabbed the sawed off shotgun, O’Brien took the M16A2 and Matinez grabbed the uzi machine gun. Chloe had an M1 while Valle grabbed another uzi and a .45. Then she closed the trunk and the five descended into the wooded area.”

Ten minutes later, they spotted a group of fifteen people in black hooded robes gathered in a clearing and seemed to be listening to a woman dressed in a scarlet robe. The Temple Guardian stood nearby, also with a black robe on.

“Remember, the lady in red’s all mine. Everybody else gets heavy metal. Take your positions, count to five and shoot these pieces of shit.”

The four others dispersed behind the covering of the trees. Five seconds later, the woods brought death.

It was all simultaneous. The five stepped out of the trees firing in what appeared to be a straight line. All purposely avoiding the Mistress, who was too shocked to even react at this point. Could it be that she never expected anyone else to use Sinister Strategy?

Black robes were falling everywhere. The Temple Guardian pulled out a .38 from beneath his robe but was not quick enough. The one called Martinez cut him down with the uzi. Bodies of the congregation were strewn everywhere.

Tegan stood and looked in shock and awe at the five who had just massacred her Brothers and Sisters. In the darkness, she made out Skinner, who seemed to be walking toward her in slow motion. Tegan put her hands up. When Skinner was close enough to get a clear shot, she deliberately shot Tegan in the right leg.

“Put your fuckin’ hands down. Don’t worry, I’m not taking you in.”

Chapter 28

An hour later, Skinner and Valle arrived at the storage facility with the wounded cuffed and bound in duct tape Tegan in tow. Chloe opened the storage unit turned on the light. She went over to the elder Tegan and ripped the duct tape from his mouth. Tegan opened his eyes and moaned weakly in pain.

Then, Chloe’s phone rang.

“Skinner.” It was Warden Roberts.

“Yeah. Okay.” Chloe began to cry. Valle went inside the storage unit.

“What’s wrong?”

“Some fuckin’ con just shanked Kayla. Let’s waste them.

“I’m sorry. Yeah, yeah.” He dragged the younger Tegan into the storage unit. Anthony looked at her.

“I love you, my Angelina.”

Angelina wept as she looked at her father. Chloe ripped the tape off her mouth.

Valle positioned them on their stomachs.

“No, no!” cried Angelina.

“Ready?” asked Skinner.

“Ready.” answered Valle.

Skinner shot the elder Tegan in the base of the skull while Valle shot his daughter also in the base of her skull. Then they switched places and shot again.

They stepped out of the storage unit and locked it. Chloe wiped the keys clean on her shirt and threw them into the shrubs nearby. Valle put his arm around her and they walked to the car.

Mnajdra:

The Stilla Ta Demm Nexion were gathered and watched in awe the purple haze that seemed to engulf them. Suddenly, the haze was gone and the congregation looked around confused. Then all felt a sense of loss. Some openly wept.

The Temple Master removed his hood. Colonel Frata wiped the stinging tears from his cheeks.