Edited by: Kuro and Lille
Shoutout to the person who completed the last half of the ko-fi goal! You know who you are certain somebody xD I almost choked on my damn water when I saw the notification that the ko-fi goal was completed. Wilding out here. Well, I hope you enjoy your two bonus chapters. Everyone please thank this certain somebody for coughing up some cash for these updates! See you all next Sunday :D
There weren't many records of the orphanage that Myles lived in. He started living there 30 years ago, so there was a lack of technology use at that time. It wasn't until 15 years ago when normal people started to use computers to document everything.
Back then, if people wanted to get rid of information, all they had to do was burn it or shred it.
"There's nothing about the kids there?" Agent Freddy looked at Agent Ark annoyed.
"Nothing, Sir. It's like someone personally went in and deleted all the information knowing that someone would be looking for it." Agent Ark scratched his head in frustration. It was the first time there was someone who was able to leave him in a stump.
“I think it would be best to check the town hall in person, they may have physical records of the orphanage and the children.”
"Do everything you can to retrieve it whether it is online or in-person! We need to compile a list of everyone who worked at that orphanage and had lived there 30 years ago. See what you can do."
"Yes, sir, I will do my best!"
Agent Ark nodded before getting to work. Typing could be heard in the background before the video chat closed.
"Mia, Donnie, go talk to the medical examiner in this city that dealt with the bodies of the victims. Get a fully comprehensive and detailed report about each victim and how they died. We will compare their mode of death with the victims from the other cities. Yui, Travis, I want you to speak to the victim's families in this city and get information on the victims. Maybe there's something in common for how this person picks their victims. Whoever's done first will go to the town hall and look at their records on the victims' residency. We can't forget about those."
"Yes, Sir!" They all shouted.
Agent Freddy stayed behind to get more information from Detective Myles. He needed to know everything, from his personal life to his work life. It didn't matter if it was from a year ago or 25 years ago, he needed to know everything. Maybe there was something else he could find in the pile of memories.
After Grey finished eating, he walked out of the interrogation room to freshen up and use the bathroom. He saw the agents quickly walking out of the room like they were rushing to get things done.
'System, how are things on your end?' Grey asked as he leisurely walked to the locker room.
[For now, I was able to get rid of the virus that the Villain System was trying to implement in this world. I need to do more work on covering our tracks, but as of now, you should be able to see the young boy's face in your memories. There is a problem though. The world is withholding information, so there’s nothing we can do about that.]
'Thanks for the hard work, System. Is there anything I can help you with?'
[It's no problem at all, Grey. This is something I must do for both of us, so focus on your missions for now. When you come back to the System space, there's something I will have you do.]
'Understood.'
Grey washed his hands and face before going back to the interrogation room. Agent Freddy was sitting inside with a sandwich in his hands. He was quietly eating it with a cup of water nearby. It was strange to see someone eating so softly and so... deadpan.
"Agent Freddy, sorry for being late."
"It's fine, I'm eating so don't worry about it. Sit down and get comfortable. We are going to be here for a while."
After Agent Freddy finished eating, the two talked about Myles' life, seeing if there were other suspects. But no one else stood out like that young boy, who Grey "finally" remembered.
Unfortunately, 25% of the population of this country looked like that. It was going to be really hard to narrow things down, especially for someone who was proficient in getting rid of information.
****
There was a man sitting in a black and insignificant-looking car. It was so typical, that it blended in with the surroundings. No one seemed to find it suspicious that it was following a young man in his 20s. His name was Kiran.
Kiran had just left his college campus and was heading back to his apartment to get changed before going to work.
He had a very strict schedule that he followed. On MWF (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), at 8 AM, he would wake up, make breakfast, and pack up his bag for the day, before heading off to his class that started at 9:30 AM. After his class, he would study for his next class in the library before going to get lunch. After studying and getting lunch, he would go to his class which started at 1:00 PM. After that, he would go home, get dressed for work and eat some food before heading off to work at 4:00 PM. His job would finish at 11 PM.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, his schedule was a bit different where he had work in the morning and two classes in the afternoon. Either way, his day was packed, but it stayed consistent throughout the semester.
Kiran was planning on being a surgeon, so he was working hard towards that dream, even coming out at the top of his class.
The man in the black car already had Kiran's schedule memorized. He even knew the man's life story.
At first, he was picking his victims at random, but when he saw Kiran who looked a little like Myles, he couldn't help but follow him. He didn't know if he wanted to kill Kiran, but he couldn't help but blame the young man for being similar to Myles.
Kiran had lost both his parents due to a car accident while he was in high school. Ever since then, he had been working hard on his own after leaving his Aunt's place. He was just as hardworking as Myles, how cute.
As he was staring at Kiran who had just gotten into his car to leave for work, he got a phone call.
He picked it up and annoyingly replied, "Speak."
"Apologies, CEO, but you have a meeting scheduled for 2 PM. I am here to remind you just in case."
The man tsked before starting up his car. Kiran could wait for another day. "Understood. I will be at the company in 20 minutes. Arrange all of the materials for the upcoming meeting. Tell Joe to bring food and coffee to my office."
"Yes, Sir!"
He inherited the company from his adoptive parents, who had recently passed. It really prevented him from doing all that he wanted to do. So annoying.
He was already in a suit so he didn't stop by his house to get changed. He went straight to the company and continued his double life like it was nobody's business.
Kiran. Myles. Kiran. Myles.
You promised to be with me forever.
.
.
.
.
.
In the basement, a young woman was chained to a bed. She had been kidnapped earlier that week, but to her, it felt like years since she had been in that dark room.
There was only a small stream of light coming in from the gap under the door.
Her name was Brittany and she was a paralegal at a local law firm. Even though she was smart, she wasn't smart enough to get into law school, so she always thought that the only thing she had going for herself was her looks.
Using her looks, she climbed her way into a lawyer's bed. She knew the man had a wife and some kids, but her livelihood was on the line! So what if he was a lawyer with a wife? As long as she got his money, she felt her grievances would be quenched.
That was until she met that man's wife for the first time. It was a coincidental meeting, but she ran into her and her kids at the law firm. When Brittany told the wife that she was her husband's paralegal, the wife gushed about how her husband was and how proud she was.
All of this made her feel guilty, and she couldn't even look that man in the eyes after that.
She wanted to disappear from the law firm and somehow her "wish" had come true. She was kidnapped.
Brittany mumbled to herself as she lifelessly stared at the door, "Be careful what you wish for..." She had been chanting this ever since she was chained in the room.
Every day, three trays of food would be slipped into her room. Because the food was given to her at a set schedule, she could document how many days had passed by. It has been 6 days and she hasn't seen a soul.
Brittany didn't even see the man who kidnapped her. She just remembered drinking at a bar, chatting up some rich guy, and the next thing she knew, she woke up in this room. Her only saving grace was that she was able to go to the toilet that was near the bed without the chains yanking backward.
As she laid there, she finally heard someone at the door. The lights turned on for the first time in 6 days, so it hurt her eyes for a bit.
When she looked up, ready to say something, she saw a man with a mask on his face. He didn't say anything to her but just brought a long table inside. It almost looked like an autopsy stretcher. It was metal and had straps on it. At the top of the stretcher, there was a compartment that could be pulled out to hold tools on it. There was a container underneath the stretcher, used to catch fluids. A tube hung nearby, looking like the ones used when giving IVs. It looked unbearably clean and she could smell the bleach that was used to clean it.
She shivered, wanting to cry and scream but she found she couldn't utter a single word. Only soft whimpers came from those lips as she looked in horror at the man who was sharpening his scalpels.
"Scalpels need to be very sharp to cut through the skin and muscle. Have you ever seen someone take a scalpel to adipose tissue? The sound that it makes as it touches it is quite nice, like a soft sizzle. And it looks as though it disintegrates when you do so. Quite interesting in my opinion."
She stayed silent as he talked.
"There are 3 layers to the skin, the epidermis, the dermis, and the hypodermis or the subcutaneous tissue. The hypodermis is where you will find the adipose tissue and connective tissue."
All of these words sounded foreign to Brittany. She was a paralegal, not a doctor! How would she know what any of these words meant?!
"You were a paralegal, weren't you?" He suddenly changed the subject.
Did he read her mind?! "How... How did you know that?" She finally had the courage to say something. She was confused though, she had never met this man in her entire life!
"I know everything about you, Brittany. You lived in this city your whole life, and even went to college at V University, but you weren't able to get into law school. You grew up in a single-parent household after your parents divorced when you were young, and you have a younger brother who became a lawyer despite your failures. You are a paralegal at the Jones and Miller Lawfirm. Incidentally, you were having an affair with Mr. Miller, were you not? For you to get a Partnered Lawyer, I have to commend your efforts or his blindness."
"T-that-!"
Her grievances were spoken out loud even though she hadn't said anything! He even knew her sore spot and how she felt about her brother. How did this man know all these things when she hadn't told even a single person about how she felt?
"You knew that he had a wife and kids, but you still seduced him into your bed. How did it feel to meet his wife? Were you nervous and anxious? Did you feel guilty?"
"Mr. Miller climbing into my bed is all of his own accord! He was a married man but he still decided to have an affair with me despite having a wife at home. That's not my fault."
"It's not your fault then why do you feel guilty?"
The anger she felt immediately disappeared and she was left with a chill that seeped into her bones.
"I-"
"Was she nicer and prettier than you had expected? If she was a bitch would you have felt better about yourself, saving Mr. Miller from a self-entitled whore? But seeing how gentle she was and how she happily trusted her husband, did that make you feel sinful? Dirty even? She seemed so pure standing next to you, you felt as though you would taint her if you breathed in the same air as her?"
Brittany felt her rationality leave her as she hysterically laughed. "So what if I had an affair with her husband? Are you punishing me for fucking him when he should be the one being punished instead? He was the one being unfaithful to his wife! He was the one who was tempted and committed adultery. I didn't threaten him nor did I force him to. Why are you pinning all the blame on me?"
"Don't worry. He won't go unpunished, but neither will you."
"Why? What did I do to deserve this?! Is it because you are in love with Mr. Miller's wife? Is that why you are punishing us?"
Hearing the bullshit spewing from her mouth made him chuckle.
"I don't know that woman, so I could care less." He finally turned to face her. His mask covered his eyes and nose, only leaving his mouth. He showed a perfect set of white teeth as he smiled.
"You are nothing more than a pawn going to be disposed of, but not right now. I still need you here for something, so get comfortable."
Brittany felt a shiver run down her spine as she tried to back up on the bed, but she quickly hit the wall. She wanted to somehow blend herself into the wall so she could slip right through and escape, but that was impossible.
The sounds of her screams were muffled, but the man didn't falter.
No one could hear her scream. The day went by as usual; day going into night, and the sunset while the moon rose. It was a pity that no one could hear her pleas for help.
kuro_kama: Time for some biology lessons.
I was so into the chapter that I almost forgot to edit.
Lille: Even still Miss Brittany, you knew he had a wife, and yet you still welcomed him into your bed. Yes, he chose to cheat on his wife, but you still chose to welcome this cheater despite knowing the truth. So that really doesn’t give you an out. *rolls eyes* I really do not like cheaters tsk tsk.
Grandpa Marky: Important thing to note is adipose tissue is just fat tissue. I used my experience from Anatomy and Physiology lab classes to write about what fat tissue sounds and looks like when you put a scalpel to it. Honestly, it was my favorite part of dissecting mammals… Honestly, the sound is phenomenal, weirdly enough. Lucky I’m not a serial killer or something right? My therapist is shocked I’m not one or have urges lol… Anyway, the next bonus chapter will be up in a bit. See you all there.
