Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness Read online

  "I'll go back to Etna Toys tomorrow. Start my search from the beginning and maybe find something I missed. Maybe I'll find some small clue that'll lead me to some answers and to some peace." She stared at the Dry Clouds threatening to rain again and wrapped her arms around herself.

  Far down the alley...

  Hiding in the shadow of a building, Argus stood and watched her with his binoculars. A M4 assault rifle was slung over his shoulder. A dark gray umbrella sheltered his head, and his trench coat kept him warm in the cold wet air.

  "Pandora, why do you go on?" he wondered, gripping the umbrella handle. "I don’t understand your strength. I would have given up long ago, yet you continue searching. How much longer can you go on in this grim existence?"

  A few blocks away...

  In line of sight of her position, the Rogue stood in front of a high rise window. It placed a long range rifle on the window ledge and aimed at her. It questioned, "So Pandora, can you sense me from here?"

  It removed its modified shades. The Rogue had taken it from one of its brethren, disabled the tracking beacon, and made other slight alterations. It figured out how to extract the second tracking beacon in its left ear, so the Rogue was able to continue eluding its creators. It peered through the scope at her as she huddled next to the dumpster, trying to sleep. "Pandora... Pandora..." it sang. "I have found you."

  It saw her staring at a small object in her hands and slowly succumbed to weariness and slept. "You are pathetic." The Rogue placed its finger on the trigger and aimed between her closed eyes. "This is more like a mercy killing. You will not even know what hit you."

  It started to squeeze the trigger, when she opened her eyes, and gazed in its direction. Her action startled it, and the Rogue pulled back from the scope as if caught. "Pandora, can you see me?" It peered back through the scope. "No, I am too far away even for your extraordinary senses. I can not believe I reacted that way. I reacted as if..." The Rogue altered its thought patterns. "Maybe you perceived death was near." It continued to watch her as she stared in its direction.

  She looked with eyes filled with loneliness, despair, and pain. Finally, she closed them again.

  The Rogue grumbled. "Why should I kill something so unique as myself? Why should I listen to my programing? I have disobeyed other directives." It dismantled the rifle and placed the weapon in a case it brought up to the empty room. "Pandora, you once said to me–" The Rogue replicated her voice, "–Maybe your creators are afraid of you, not because you have feelings, but have the potential to disobey your programing." It chuckled and returned to its normal voice. "I am still not as strong as you. That is why I will kill you, Pandora, but not like this."

  It stood, placing its hand on the hilt of the Coffin Handled Bowie. "The moment I kill you will be personal. We will stare into one another’s face as I tenderly slit your throat. I will watch your blood spurt, and it will spray my cheek. You will grab my arm, claw at it, knowing there is nothing you can do to save yourself." The Rogue ran its hand down its own throat to its chest. "Your life essence will pour down your neck, soak your t-shirt, and I will watch you choke and gasp as you cling to this miserable life. I will cradle you in my arms and wait with you. I will stay by your side till you finally yield to the void." Its pale face contrasted the dark room as it envisioned these things in its processor. "I wait for that day with eager anticipation."

  Back beside the dumpster...

  Kat returned to sleep and dreamed. Her lips moved, reciting a phrase under her breath, and she said out loud, "No one can destroy, a love that will not die."

  Chapter Nineteen

  When Dreams Reveal Memories

  11:01 P.M...

  Hellenistic Sector, Residential Vicinage...

  Nexus Apartments...

  In her warm apartment, Kim continued to stare down at the road from the kitchen table. "What am I looking for? Do I honestly believe Katharine will return or is it the Un-Men that I fear?" She laughed, mocking herself. "The Great Phoenix! I'm actually admitting I'm afraid of something."

  The smell of cedar caught her attention. She looked to the chest against the wall in the living room. "What's this?" She walked to it and read the attached letter. "Kimberly, here is your mother’s hope chest. I know she would have wanted you to have it. Signed, father."

  She glanced at the spare bedroom where she had locked away her mother's belongings. "So, do I do this now? Do I go through more of mom's things? I barely got through them the last time without falling apart." Kim pulled on her left earlobe. "Will she ever return? It’s been twenty years." She turned her gaze back to the cedar chest. "I won’t sleep if I don’t at least open it."

  Kim retrieved the brass key her father had given her and opened the chest, finding a photo album, nicknacks, a wedding dress, and other things. She took the album back to the table and flipped through it. Pictures of her mother, father, and herself as a child filled the pages. One picture caught her eye. Theresa sat in a high back chair with her hands cupped, holding a silver item. Her mother’s blonde hair was pulled back in a bun as usual, and she beamed with joy. Kim smoothed her hand over her mother’s face. "I was eighteen the last time I saw you. Why did you leave us? What did I do wrong?"

  There were some letters in black ink scribbled on the photo in her mother's hand writing. Kim recognized the archaic form of writing called short hand. Her mother taught it to her when she was young, and like a game, they used it to pass messages. "Glimpse with scrutiny. Gaze with light." She bit her lip. "What does that mean? And when did mom ever use riddles?"

  She scanned the photo again and took a closer look at the object her mother held. Kim retrieved a magnifying glass from her desk. The silver object was a music box with a star on its lid. "What does this mean? Is it a coincidence that my mom has the same one as Katharine?" Kim sat back in the chair. "Maybe I’ll see things clearer after a good night’s rest."

  She took the two cups and saucers, the bowl, and the plate into the kitchen and then headed to her bedroom. Kim placed the PPK on the night stand, slid into the comfortable bed, and rested her head on the feather pillow. "Maybe I’ll wake to find all of this mess with Katharine was only a dream." She turned on her side. "A very bad dream."

  Kim slowly drifted to sleep. At first it was peaceful. The sweet haunting tune of Unfinished Melody played in her mind. She walked through one of the windowless halls of the Sphinx Corporation, heading toward her mother’s office. Her mother was Project Manager of Research and Development of the Third Branch Office. Excitement and joy filled Kim's heart for some thrilling word she received. She strolled by a mirror and glanced into it. Her blonde hair was pulled back in two braids, and she carried an envelope. Kim realized this was no mere dream, but a memory. It was the day she received the acceptance letter from Sphinx University, and she had gone to tell her mother about the great news. She had forgotten all about that day.

  Half way down the hall, she heard three shots and women screaming. Kim froze, terrified. Her heart pounded and she tossed and turned in bed. In the dream, the crack under her mother's door glowed bright and smoke rolled from it. She rushed toward the office, grabbed the hot knob, and it scorched her hand. Kim threw open the door, and a blistering air rushed over her. Flames consumed half the office, and the body of a woman lay in the fiery inferno.

  "NO!" Kim screamed, started to go in, but someone grabbed her from behind, and dragged her back. "NO!" she screamed again, struggling to free herself. "Mom!" She reached her arms toward the body till something pricked her neck, and the hallway went black.

  Kim sat up in bed, screaming, "No! Mom!" Silence followed the shriek as she franticly searched the bedroom, finding no smoke or fire only darkness. She sobbed in her hands, unable to control the fear and anguish the dream induced. It had been years since she cried like that. Some time passed as she wept. Kim wiped away her tears and sweat that speckled her brow. Still shaky from the traumatizing nightmare, she went to the bathroom and splashed water on her face. She st
ared at herself in the mirror.

  "Was the fire a memory?" Her body ached for the emotions that had been invoked as a realization sunk in. "If it was..." A horrifying thought crossed her mind and she gasped. "Oh my Zeus! My mom didn’t leave us. She died. She died in a fire." Kim remembered the shots she heard. "No, she didn't die. My mom was murdered! Hades! Someone took her away from me!"

  Kim turned, leaning her back on the sink. "Did I block this from my memory?" She looked at the star burn on her right palm. "The door knob is where I received this, so it can’t be a nightmare." She walked back to the bed and lay on it. "Why did my father tell me she left us? Why didn’t he tell me the truth?" Kim gripped the blankets with her fists. "Why did he lie to me?"

  Chapter Twenty

  Assassins Guild

  11:37 P.M...

  In the center of Noir and several miles underground...

  Thanatos stared at a hundred foot monitor, compiling and storing information. The man had spiked blond hair with red dyed tips and a small tuft of hair under his lower lip. Metal music played loudly, filling the chamber with grinding guitar and booming bass. Surgical steel pierced his left eye brow, his nose, and both of his ears. He wore black leather pants, black combat boots, and no shirt. Both of his nipples were pierced.

  He sat in a white recliner chair with an attached swivel keyboard. The large sphere room housed hundreds of cables and wires that ran from the ceiling to a large machine. Thanatos authorized and regulated Life Closings.

  Five hundred years ago, the Assassins Guild was forged, legalizing the killing profession. Every Closer registered their alias, so no two were alike. Their alias would be retired for twenty years after their death. Closers only accepted work approved through the Assassins Guild. After the appearance of the Dry Clouds, the Guild split into two factions. The Dark Half formed the Assassins Union and the Light Side formed the Assassins League. Thanatos organized the Assassins Union and the one known as Voice organized the Assassins League. Thanatos and Voice were known as Regulators.

  Thanatos, at times of boredom, hacked into Voice’s network and took peeks at certain Closers he developed an interest in over the years. This day was another one of those occasions.

  "Wired!" he exclaimed. "An old report from the Phoenix." He looked over the document with interest. "Whoa! This is a first. So your Moscow Closing did not go so well." He ran his hand through his long spiked hair. "That is a shame. A mark on an other wise spotless record." He opened another file. "Here is an e-mail between the Phoenix and Voice." He chuckled. "So Voice, you think I would only waste the Phoenix’s talents. And here I thought you were the one wasting them." He leaned forward, resting on his elbows, and examined the Phoenix’s latest report. "The Topa Closing went well, but it looks like you had your first encounter with the Un-Men. I wonder..." He stroked the blond tuft of hair. "Will these bio-mecha assassins eventually make human Closers obsolete? Or is there something in man’s spirit, in human ingenuity, that cannot be replicated?" He leaned back into his chair. "I would like to know, but only time will tell."

  Thanatos left Voice’s network and returned to his own. With uncanny speed, he approved or denied Life Closings from Corporations or individuals and filed Closing successes, failures, and cancelations. He did each one in less than a minute. He paused from the influx of data and cracked his knuckles. Thanatos rubbed his face then returned to the requests and filings.

  He read an interesting one out loud, "The Valhalla Corporation has requested a Life Closing. It is based on a Life Closer Clause for one of their contracts. Let me see." He tilted his head side to side as he went over the document. "So, the target violated their contract. Hmm... There is enough evidence here to convict if they went to court. So I will approve this Life Closing for one Vic the Vulture." Thanatos bowed his head, mocking reverence. "May he rest in peace."

  He continued working. Time had no meaning in his world, only the information. A data stream caught his eye. "What do we have here?" He opened a new document. "So, two Closers from the League request permission to work the Dark Half. Hmm... They are the Raven and the Wolf. They are strictly Light Side hit men. What Closing could have brought them here? What is so important Voice, you would send two of your own instead of contracting out to one of my Closers?" He opened the attached forms and scanned through them. "I see. Valhalla requested the Raven and the Wolf to conduct the Closing for Vic the Vulture. Hmm... There is another request."

  In disbelief, Thanatos read it over three times. "These two will be conducting a second hit. This is unexpected. A Life Closing Clause for a member of the Assassins League. Oh my. Closing a Closer. So, who are they after? Oh... Very interesting. And I did not see this coming." He shook his head, and his wild hair bounced with his movement. "It will not be an easy Closing, but one of mythic proportion." Thanatos leaned back, closing his eyes. "I will have to keep an eye on this one and root for the underdog."

  Chapter Twenty-one

  The Chairman

  October 16...

  Saturday...

  10:01 A.M...

  Hellenistic Sector, Business Vicinage...

  Determined to find answers, Kim drove to the Sphinx Corporation Third Branch Office. She went up to her father’s floor and impatiently sat in the waiting room. She wore a black pant suit with a white shirt. Kim rapped her finger on the couch’s arm, going over what she would say to her father. Her thoughts were interrupted.

  "Mr. Griffin is finishing up his meeting now," the secretary said. "He’ll be ready to meet with you shortly."

  "Thank you, Cathy." Kim glanced at a man sitting across from her in the waiting room. He wore glasses and a navy blue business suit and paid no attention to her as he read the Noir Daily News. She glanced at the coffee table at an issue of the Conglomerate World Magazine with the headline Topa Murdered! Corporate Life Closing or Drug Hit?

  "It’s a shame," the man said from behind the newspaper.

  Kim peered up startled. She had been deep in thought. "What?"

  "I’m talking about Topa. It’s a shame Closers exist." The man flipped a page, keeping his gaze on the print. "I mean what kid grows up saying, I want to be an assassin?"

  "Ms. Griffin, Mr. Griffin will see you now," Cathy said.

  "Okay."

  Kim stood, eyed the man, and thought, "Odd he would say something like that to me." She walked down the hall to her father’s office, glancing once more at the waiting room. "Who is he anyway?"

  Another man walked into the waiting room also wearing a navy blue business suit. "All right part timer, break time’s over. Zax, I want you to make sure levels twenty-four through twenty-nine are secure."

  "Right. I’m on it." Zax stood, removed his glasses, and placed them in his breast pocket. It had a Sphinx Corporation Security badge clipped to it. He handed the second man the newspaper and walked down the hall toward the elevators. Once he was out of earshot, Zax removed a cell and dialed a number. "Please connect me with R.G." He waited a few seconds. "Delivery Man here. Ms. Griffin has come to see her father as you predicted." He paused, listening. "Understood. I'll continue to monitor the situation."

  Down the hall, Kim opened the door to the Chairman’s office and stepped in as her father stood, welcoming her.

  "Good to see you again, Kimberly. Have a seat please." He motioned to a chair, then once she sat, returned to his seat. "So I have the pleasure of seeing you twice in one month."

  "Do you see pleasure on my face?" Kim snapped as she gripped her black purse tightly.

  "No. You do seem upset." He questioned, "What’s wrong?"

  "What’s wrong? What’s wrong?!" She stood, smacked her palms on his desk, and her purse fell to the floor. "Why did you lie to me?!"

  He started to ask what he lied about, but she interrupted.

  "Why did you tell me mom left us? Abandoned us?" Anger mixed with hurt filled her expression.

  Dismay swept over his. "What do you know?"

  Tears rolled down her face. "She died. Mom di
ed!"

  The Chairman stood as anger rose in his voice, and he demanded, "Who told you?"

  "Told me? No one. No one told me! I remembered." Kim tapped her chest. "Hades! I was there!" She slumped to the chair as horrific memories weighed heavy on her. She stared at her knees. "I can still hear the fire roaring and smell, smell cooking flesh."

  "So you did see." He leaned back in his chair sorry for her. "I don’t know what to tell you. I..."

  "Tell me?" Kim looked up. "Answer my question! Why did you lie?"

  He glanced at a phone sitting on his desk and turned back to her. "It was so long ago." His gaze became distant as he recalled that day. "My secretary found you lying outside my office unconscious. When you finally came to, you were traumatized, couldn’t even speak. I had no idea if you had seen what happened in your mother’s office, but I guessed as much and never pressed the issue. Later you didn’t remember, and I thought it best the incident remained buried."

  "So you thought it was better I believed mom ran away and abandoned us instead of the truth?! Instead of telling me she died?!"

  He regretted that decision. "Yes."

  She leaned over and picked up her purse from the floor. "What happened?" She set it beside herself. "Where's mom buried?"

  "I only know the latter of the two. The body is buried in Hades Cemetery. I always feared one day you would find the tombstone and discover she was lay to rest there."

  She wiped her eyes. "Who murdered her?"

  "Murdered?" He handed her his handkerchief.

  Kim took it. "Yes, I remember gun shots and screams." She wiped her eyes again and blew her nose.

  "The matter is still being investigated."