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Chapter 2: A Case And Some Coffee

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Last updated: 2021-08-02

POV: Carter aka Dauntless

 

Taylor took another sip of her coffee, while giving me an expectant look, like a student showing a teacher rough draft. I hesitantly picked up the manila folder placed on the table between us. I had a foreboding feeling that the contents of the folder would only get me intertwined in another mess. 

 

Taylor had dark hair, which contrasted her pale features. Her heart shaped face complimented her pixie cut. She had a gymnast build, and was wearing her street clothes. We were both sitting in an alcove of a coffee shop.

 

I began skimming through the folder. The contents of the folder lay at odds with the soft atmosphere of the coffee shop.

 

“So, what exactly am I looking at?”, I asked in a monotone voice. I already know what I was looking at. The loose collection of missing person reports and crime photos instilled a familiar detached stillness in my mind. I could feel the air of laughter die between us, as I was once again reminded of the depths of human depravity.

 

“11 missing in total. This was over a span of 3 months. The only thing they all had in common was the fact that they were tier 2-3 powered.”, she said with chagrin.

 

“What makes you think they’re all connected? People go missing all the time. Consequences can happen, it’s possible to see false positives especially in the business. Half of these could be explained by them running aways.”, I said hoping that my intuition would be wrong.

 

“I took that into consideration, but I became suspicious after seeing that image.”, she said while pointing to one of the photos with a pink page marker attached to it.

 

Scanning the background I noticed the writing on the wall, the literal writing in blood on the wall. A chill traveled up his spine spreading to the rest of his body, leaving goose bumps in its wake. Taking a drink of my warm coffee to combat my suddenly dry mouth. The warm liquid did nothing to thaw the coldness in his core. 

 

“Proselyte’s mark. I can see why you called me. This indeed is… troubling.”, I said. This was bad news. Proselyte wasn’t really a villain but more of a force of nature. He was suspected to have died after Carter’s father Dauntless defeated him.

 

Proselyte has the power to control weak willed individuals. Those under his control would slowly devolve into foaming at the mouth fanatics. Proselyte was delusional and envisioned his actions as the behest of some unholy beings will. 

 

“There are 3 of their little marks in there. All of the same nonsense and half crazed writing, in blood of course.”, she said with disgust. 

 

“Why haven’t you mentioned this before? You could have sent it in one of your texts.”, I said with concern.

 

“It was only an accident that I noticed the first one. I wanted to be sure so I waited a few days before telling you. That way I didn’t worry you over nothing.”, she said, laying out her concerns before me. Switching to an annoyed tone she said, “You do know, you’re the worst at responding to texts. Even if I did, I wouldn’t even know if you’ve read it fully.”.

 

“Umm… sorry again about that. Who else knows about this?”, I said with a bit of chagrin. It was true after all. Though, I had been deliberately not responding to her.

 

“Just you, so fair. There’s something that feels off about this whole thing. Those pictures and inscriptions should have been investigated fully. Another thing that worries me is just how are they finding their victims? Do they have access to official records or are they just surveying people? Do they have informants in the police? Besides, I don’t want to fall into the same pitfalls as last time.”, she said, listing off her worries in a rush.

 

“That makes sense, and thanks for bringing me in on this. I am also wondering why he is operating now? If he had faked his death, does he have the same goals?”, I said, vocalizing my concerns.

 

“I am not too sure. That’s one of the reasons I asked for you to come here today. Though given the disappearances and his mark makes me suspect that he is following his same rituals.”, she pondered out loud.

 

Just thinking about Proselyte's twisted rituals reminded me of a cellar with the acrid smell of blood. 

 

“Listen I know you're starting anew and everything, but I am really stretched thin on this.” she started timidly, breaking him from those grim memories. It was weird seeing her this serious, she hadn’t even called me childish names.

 

She continued asking, “Normally I would ask one of our former teammates, but they’re all busy with their own problems. Besides I figured you’d want to give them a little payback and I know you wouldn’t want anyone else to go through what we did”.  

 

She was right, the thought of letting anyone suffer that fate sickened me to my core. Wasn’t helping people the reason I had become a hero? But I had promised Cali I had given up the hero business for her. This left me in a moral bind of following the wishes of my love or doing what I knew was right. 

Maybe I was being an idiot. This isn’t a binary decision after all. Cali knew about my past, besides giving advice on the matter wouldn’t break his promise to her. Breaking my word really wasn’t something that I relished. Trust was key in any partnership, especially marriage, he didn’t want to make the same mistakes his parents did. Cali was only his fiancee but I still didn’t want to break my word.

I knew and understood why Cali didn’t want me out in the field, but that didn’t mean that I enjoyed it. It was an ultimatum that she wouldn’t budge on. He wasn’t invincible and she just wanted to be able to grow old with him. Bartending wasn’t something he had a passion for.

 

“I really want to, but I left this behind for a reason. Cali would worry about me and I promised her I would leave this dangerous life behind me. But I can always give you advice if you need it.”, I said with a sinking feeling in my stomach.

 

“I am sorry, I wouldn’t have asked unless I really needed your help”, she said with disappointment in her eyes.

 

It was like a swift punch to my gut. I felt ashamed to even consider turning away a comrade in need. Let alone someone that I viewed as a younger sister. And even the thought of those maniacs getting their hands on one more innocent soul disgusted me. I felt like I was betraying Taylor and my morals. There had to be some way of keeping my promise and helping out a friend in need.

 

“Ok, I will see what I can do, and I will probably be limited in my ability to help.”, I said, offering it as a compromise.

 

A grateful smile crossed her face. Feeling awkward, I decided to change the topic.

 

“Did you keep the same training routine?”, I asked. The mood turned to a more casual one, as we fell back into our usual routine.

 

“Yeah, I do, although it does feel weird training alone. Maybe you could help me sometime, it would help to have a third party test my strength. You know, just confirm that I haven’t gotten weaker. Besides, it's been too long since I beat you in Smash heroes”, she said playfully.

 

I gave a little laugh, “Don’t worry you’re plenty strong. I have the bruises to prove it. I am the one that should be worried, I am out of practice. Drunks aren’t really a challenge.”, he said with a smirk. He had missed the training sessions he had done with his team. Taylor had a unique style of fighting. It often felt like she was all around you bouncing, weaving, and diving.

 

“Aww poor baby, are you trying to say I am more woman than you can handle? Why didn’t you say something?”, she boasted with a smirk.

 

“Who’s to say I wasn’t holding my punches?”, I said in a sarcastic tone. Knowing full well that my punches wouldn’t hurt her.

 

“Aren’t you full of yourself today.”, she said with a small laugh.

 

She was enjoying our banter as much as I was. That's the thing about Taylor, under her cute girly facade lies a very sarcastic soul. Our wit seems to line up in some type of harmonic fashion. It had always been this way since the academy, we were always trying to one up the other. In the end, each other's competitive spirit let us push each other to greater heights.

 

“Have you looked into joining any other teams? They might be able to help us track down Proselyte.”, I asked. I would be surprised if she had, but I just wanted to check.

 

“Not really, you know how shy I get around others. You were always the charismatic one remember.”, she said with some embarrassment. It’s true, it was a few months before she was comfortable enough to talk to our other teammates. But calling me charismatic was an exaggeration.

 

“Both The Overlord, Proselyte, and other super villains, never fight fair or alone.”, I said.

 

“Of course because as a C class hero, I am high on their hit list.” she said, rolling her eyes. ” Besides, that’s why I have you. Though promise me you’ll at least try to carry your weight.”, she said with a smirk.

 

“I don’t know, you seem pretty dangerous to me. Don’t worry about me, you know I could carry you and a bus.”, I said with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Hurting your ego, when I kick your ass in Smash Heroes doesn’t count as dangerous.”, she said, teasing me and my sub-pare Smash heroes skills. It was true she was better than me at Smash heroes. It seems weird to say but video games were good for decompressing after a day's training and a bit of reaction time testing. 

 

“Yeah and you’ve still never beaten me in a game of chess. That’s why I was the captain, you can’t strategies worth shit.”, I said, laying down my trump card. She didn’t like strategy games and often got bored of them. I had studied my dad’s and grandfather’s battles as a kid. On the team I was the one to come up with the plans.

 

“Whatever, I have actually been practicing”, she said with a pout.

 

“I am sure you have”, I said in a teasing tone. Looking down at my watch I sighed.

“I need to go to work, give me some time to come up with a plan. I will connect you later and see how much time I can spare”, I said, knowing that I would need to talk to Cali about this soon.

 

“That’s perfect. I have to say, it's good to be working with you again. It really has been too long.”, she said with a smile.

 

“Ok, see you around”, I replied.

 

Gathering the documents into my bag I left the coffee shop heading off to work.

 

POV: Cali aka Pryo

Looking through an online wedding catalog, I pondered various options for color and textures of ribbons. 

I sighed while weighing the benefit and cost of the decorations.

A knock came from my door, I looked up to see Jance standing there. Jance was Roy’s secretary, one of the department heads.

Putting on a welcoming smile, I gestured for Jance to come in. Jance was in her 50’s and had graying hair. She always had a mother hen like attitude and would dribble on about her grand-kids to no end. Jance was overly helpful. It was ok at first, when I transferred into this position, but I was getting sick of her presence.

 

“Jance, what can I help you with.”, I said in a hesitant tone.

 

“Oh I just wanted you know that it’s Roy’s birthday and we have cake on the 4th floor break 

Room”, she said cheerfully.

 

“Thanks for letting me know, but I am on a bit of a diet right now”, I said patiently. I had been trying to lose a few pounds before the wedding. She looked over to my monitor and cooed in delight.

 

“Are you looking at wedding decorations? Oh aren’t those just so adorable.”, she said with a tone of glee.

 

"Yeah, I've been planning a lot of my wedding on my lunch breaks", I said pointedly. 

 

Oblivious, she began talking again, "That seems like a handful. You know, you should’ve of seen my Cindy’s wedding, we had all the bridesmaids...", The bitch began to rant about some of her crotch goblins. 

I nodded with politeness, looking at the clock to see that I only had 5 minutes left of my break. If I didn't decide on the ribbons now I would have to do more work at home. I began fantasizing about the bitches broken body on the sidewalk below after I'd thrown her out the window. I had to suppress a smile from the thought. 

"...but here's what Roger did with the..." she babbled. I wonder if anyone would notice or care if she went missing. But Roy was an important tool to have. He was as tough as bricks and a reliable department head. 

Looking over at the clock again it was 10 minutes past my lunch break.

 

“Well, I will have to remember that. But thanks so much for telling me about Roy’s birthday, tell Roy I say happy birthday to him. Thanks for all your advice on the wedding, anything helps.”, I said in an overly grateful tone.

 

“No problem dear, you have a good one.”, she left with a smile on her face.

 

Sighing I closed the wedding website, returning to the task before, I relaunched various spreadsheets and began the momentous task of handling vaste amounts of financial data.

 

My mind wondered as I gave my work little conscious thought. It was only tedious work. Not for the first time today, I thought about Carter. My skin tingled remembering where he touched me this morning. This had become a daily routine, like clockwork every hour my mind wandered back to his embrace. 

 

It was worse when we first started seeing each other I couldn’t get 15 minutes into a task before falling into fantasy of us fucking, snuggling, or just us whispering sweet nothings. There was something about him that got stuck in my mind, and wouldn’t let go. I had been with other guys, but it felt like I was merely going through the motions. 

 

Carter, was selfless, stupid, and kindhearted; it’s a common heroic combination. It was also everything that I hated in an person. Carter wasn’t an average person to me.

Her phone buzzed, checking it was from an anonymous message. She felt a headache beginning to form. Her aunt needed her.

 

POV:Carter aka Dauntless

The rest of Carter’s work day had been a long one. He worked at a bar, it was just something to help them save up for the wedding and keep Carter sane. 

After meeting with Taylor he had a feeling of unease. He took the long way home, deciding that walking through the park would settle his nerves. It didn’t help when someone shouted behind me. 

 

“Clark, Clark”

 

Ignoring his urge to survey his surroundings he kept up his pace with the other park goers enjoying their Friday evening. It wasn’t until a hand touched his shoulder that he looked behind him.

 

A young woman with an angry then confused expression stood behind him holding what appeared to be a cracked phone in a white knuckled grasp.

 

“Oh sorry I thought you were someone else”, she said with a mixture of chagrin and of worry in her voice.

 

“Oh don’t worry about it, it happens to everyone.“, I said awkwardly. She looked distressed.

 

“It’s just that I got in a fight with my boyfriend, and he ran off and wouldn’t answer his calls. So I tracked down his phone and found it broken on the sidewalk. Now I can’t find him.”, she rambled in a bit of a panic.

 

Remembering those case files of missing people, I became concerned about this recent development. She also seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown.

 

“Oh sorry to hear that, I am sure he's alright. If you don’t mind me asking, what does he look like? There’s a chance I could’ve seen him.”, I said in a calm authoritative voice. It was one that I used when dealing with people in an emergency.

 

She fumbled around on her phone and brought up a picture of her and him.

 

Oh, oh know him. It had been a few years since we last messaged each other and even longer since they last met in person. The whole thing had left him with a bitter feeling at the time. 

 

“Yeah, I know Clark.”, I said hesitantly.

 

“You wouldn’t happen to know where he is?”, she said with a gleam of hope shining through her eyes.

 

“Sorry, I am a little embarrassed to say that we had a bit of a falling out a while ago. I didn’t even know he lived in Diamond City.”, I stated.

 

“Oh I am sorry to hear about that. Sorry, huh what’s your name”, she asked.

 

“It’s Carter”, I said.

 

“Nice to meet you Carter, my name is Isabell. I don’t remember Clark ever mentioning you.”, she said with a bit of awkwardness.

 

“How many hours have passed since he went missing?”, I said changing the subject.

 

“It couldn’t have been an hour or more”, she said after thinking for a second.

 

“Oh, well you can submit a missing person report but it won’t go into effect until 48 hours have passed. But I am sure he's fine.”, I said, trying to reassure her.

 

“Yeah, I don’t know I feel like I am going a little crazy, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something else going on”, she said. I could tell that she was hiding something, but I didn’t want to pry.

 

“Don’t worry about it. I am glad to see that he has someone that cares so much for him.”, I said, trying to coax the conversation past whatever that’s about.

 

“Yeah I know he’d do the same for me”, she said with an unreadable expression on her face.

 

“Let me know when you do find him. He can be stubborn sometimes but I am sure you guys can get through your relationship troubles”, I said trying to console her.

 

“I don’t know anymore...“, she said, holding back a sob.

 

Sighing to myself, I really didn’t have the energy to tackle whatever drama they have. Making a few excuses I extracted myself from this conversation with this strange woman and gave her my phone number. It was probably time I reached out to Clark again.

 

When I opened the door to my and Cali’s shared apartment, I wasn’t expecting Cali to be dressed in maid outfit.

 

POV:Taylor aka Ricochet

Exhausted I slumped onto my bed, I reached over to the nightstand and picked up an old crinkled hoodie. Curling up into a ball around the hoodie, I tried coaxing the same feeling I had felt in the coffee shop two days ago. I tried smelling the hoodie, but it had long lost it’s owner’s scent.

 

Pulling out my phone, I navigated to the messaging app for the umpteenth time this month. No new messages. I sighed, flipping on to my back to stare at the ceiling. I could try to sleep, but I know that at the least it would take a few hours. Covering my face with the crumpled hoodie and I tried to remember the last time I had a full night's rest. It had been something like 4 months. 

 

Maybe I would feel tired if I masturbated, but that sometimes worked. Peeling back the hoodie, I navigated my way to the picture album. There were hundreds of photos that I had taken over the years, but I flipped to my favorite one.

It was of Carter leaning over a counter and with a smirk on his face and an intensive look in his eyes. I closed my eyes and imagined him walking around the counter to hold me in his arms. 

He kissed my forehead and whispered “I love you Taylor”, he always imitated an aura of comfort and safety for me. In his arms I felt secure and safe, my need to always look over my shoulder went away in those moments. 

It hadn’t always been that way, but had slowly grown and before I knew it I was hopelessly in love. But it had been too late at that point. He raised one hand to caress my check and give me a smoldering kiss and the other pulled my waist closer to his until we were pressed against each other. 

In my fantasy I raised one hand and played with the hair on the back of his neck and my other rested on his firm pecs. I began to slowly move my hands down to my crotch. Using my fingers I slowly rubbed up and down my lips, teasing my clit in the process. I slowly began massaging around and moving my fingers deeper into my pussy. I moaned as I slowly inserted one finger and them patiently two. Not for the first time I imagined him deflowering me.

 

My phone started to ring. Breaking out of the fantasy I hurriedly searched my sheets for it. I looked at the id, and I was elated that it was Carter. I accepted the call and quickly put the phone up to my ear.

 

“Hey! How’s it going beetle brain?”, I said breathlessly reflexively calling him names.

 

“Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to startle you, is this a good time to talk?”, he said with a tinge of concern in his voice.

 

“Yeah, what’s up?”, I replied.

 

“I wasn’t sure before, but I am in. When do you want to meet?”, he said hurriedly.