Back to top Chapter 2

The apiphany was immediate and universal between the both of them. Either of them could tell the other was thinking the same thing.

“Could it really be? Is it that time already?” Kipper was starting to look pale now. He already knew the answer.

“Yes,” Holster was saying, “our old nemesis is back.”

They both turned to look out the window toward the crime scene, staring. It seemed obvious now. The escaped mental patient, former celebrated scientist, had some how survived the former encounter with Hoslter and Kipper and was back doing what he did best.

As a scientist he had been the head of his field. A brilliant doctor working with stem cells and genetic minipulation. It was all too much Holster to know or care about. What he did know is something had gone terribly wrong at some point. There had been an explosion, a spill and a once good doctor had gone to into hiding.

Holster and Kipper had been hired to find and bring the doctor in by the company the doctor worked for. The cirumstances had prevented exactly that from happening but after a fall from a great distance the two of them had been sure he hadn’t survived.

“Well I guess we should go out and talk to Officer Kissenger again. If he hasn’t already realized it I think he’ll want to hear this.” Hoslter suggested.

They both knew what was coming. It was unavoidable but there was no way getting around it.

* * *

Officer Kissenger Hershiger was the first to arrive on the scene. There was a general sense of anarchy still around the area but he knew what had to be done. He started ordering a group of officers to corner off the scene with tape and keep any media as far back as possible. After a little more thought he ordered a tarp thrown over the whole thing.

Officer Kissenger didn’t know how it had happened but when a giant piece of sky scraper falls and hits a paint truck, causing it to create such an obvious pattern on the street around it even he knew there must be something going on he didn’t understand. As a way to distract attention, he thought, he had the officers throw a yellow tarp over the cement piece from the sky scraper sticking out of the truck.

The scene was starting to calm down when a real blast from the past had shown up. It was almost like they were on queue for something. He refused to explain anything, just hoping his reaction would distract them from the street. Holster had said they would find out eventually and Officer Kissenger knew this was probably true. As the two of them walked back toward the old deli/diner for lunch he couldn’t help but have a bad feeling.

He knew he didn’t have much time. It was already five o’clock and media would be showing up soon for the 6 o’clock news. He called over a group of officers to discuss what was happening.

“What exactly is going going on Hershiger?” one of them was asking.
“The tarp makes no sense,” another one was saying.

He tried to explain the set of circumstances made no sense and something else was going on and that he didn’t understand how the paint had made the design it did but got only blank stares in return.

He was about to divulge more when Holster and Kipper interrupted.

“Officer Kissenger! We figured it out. We know what’s going on. It’s…” Holster was interrupted by Officer Kissenger.

“Hold it you two,” he voice was more serious than usual, “wait over there and deal with you in a moment.” he said, gesturing towards a squad car.

Holster and Kipper only looked at each other and started walking toward the car. Officer Kissenger turned back and kept talking to his officers. Holster and Kipper, upon arriving at the squad car, jumped up on the hood, putting their feet on the bumper. They both knew this would annoy Officer Kissenger but didn’t really care.

As Holster waited for Officer Kissenger his mind started to wander. From where he was sitting he could see the whole crime scene. It was in a rather large, usually busy intersection of this city. On all sides were sky scapers seemingly reaching up forever toward the sky. He imagined had their been any trees the colors of the leaves would be changing color about now. He started to think that is what he was like now: a leaf changing color with the season. He was getting old and he knew it. Most people would say he still had a lot of years left, that was true, he still felt like he was getting on in years.

He had never married and now wondered if that had been a mistake. Still it wasn’t like he hadn’t had the opportunity to- -

“Holster!” Kipper was inturrupting his thoughts, “what the hell is that?” obvious tension in his voice.

Holster looked up and didn’t see what Holster was referring to at first. Then, slowly in the waining light of the sun, he it. A shape that looked like a large bird or possibly a hang glider appeared. It was large and appeared to getting closer and closer. It was at this point Officer Kissenger interrupteded them.

“Ok, you two, what was so important?” he asked.

Holster looked at him, “Officer Kissenger, didn’t you see the…,” he started to point up but didn’t see anything. What had he just seen.

“Do you jokers know anything, or not?” Officer Kissenger asked.

“I…oh. Yes, we uhh think the doctor could possibly…could uh, he..uh..Kipper, didn’t you see that in the sky a moment ago?”

Kipper, still looking up, as if almost mesmerized by something seemed to snap out his state. He looked at Holster and Officer Kissenger, staring at him expectantly.

“Yeah, I though I saw..something.” He finally replied.

“Yes, Officer Kissenger, we think our old nemesis the doctor is back. He survived somehow.” Holster said.

“That’s not likely, and you know it Holster. What would make you think something like that?” Larry said almost mockingly.

“Well the pattern of the spilled paint, the cement from a sky scraper that just happened to hit the truck to create the pattern at that particular time. Just that. Seems obvious.” Holster was trying to mock back now.

“Ah, the pattern. I knew there was something about it. But that can’t be all. What aren’t you telling me?”

“I got a call to my private line. This morning. The caller said something was going to happen that only me and Kipper were really prepared to deal with. We’ve been trying to gather information since. We were going to visit one of my sources when we came across your roped off crime scene.” Holster was divulging more than he had intended but that it was worth the risk.

“A phone call, interesting.” Larry looked like he had more questions but instead said he had to go.

Holster and Kipper, assuming they could leave the side of squad car now, left to try and find information.

The further searching that day was largely unsuccessful. One source, a weird little man with an apartment near some train tracks, almost seem to know something about the caller but he acted so skittish it was hard to tell if he was hiding something or general just squirely.

At this Holster and Kipper decided to head further downtown. The city was large and had a lot of hidden corners and sources of information you wouldn’t guess to look at for. Since traffic was so bad Holster and Kipper took a taxi to the subway station.

The subway was a filthy, terrible source of transportation. If either of them had any choice it would have been avoided above all else. Being the only really effective way to get down town they took it anyway. As the two of them were depositing the tokens into the turn styles several hooligan looking guys ran past them, jumping the turns styles. Kipper only stared as they ran past.

Once down on the platform waiting for the train the crowd seemed unusually thin for this time of night. Usually more young people would be waiting for a train to visit a night club or some where similar. Something about that observation bother Holster and Kipper but neither of them said anything.

After ten minutes of waiting the subway finally pulled into that station. It was seven o’clock now. Holster and Kipper borded the subway.

As the crowd gradually came in to the car with Holster and Kipper, a number of young men with long trench coats climbed on board as well. All the guys were about the same height, same build and wearing identical trech coats. Holster and Kipper both had a bad feeling about this.

Finaly the train started to pull out of the station with a lurch. As the train moved a long Kipper’s mind started to wander. He had never told Holster that he had known Kipper’s Dad twenty years ago. Or that Kipper had grown up hearing about Holster’s adventures about this and that. He wasn’t sure why he had never told him. Still, there were now rather effective partners on solid footing by anybody’s standards.

He remembered he had gone through the special training school. Marksmanship, hand to hadn combat, and similar. The day after graduation he had run over to Holster’s office and sat in his chair, waiting for him to come in. He had never expected to accepted fully. Especially at such a young age. And now, ten years later, he seemed perfectly matching with Holster.

Suddenly there was some comotion at the other end of the train, some gasps then a woman’s scream. Befor Holster and Kipper could even think to respond there was a giant lurch from the subway, throwing everyone forward then back again, acompanied by the lights flickering and finally going out. Within seconds the emergency lightly flickered on and a looped record of a friendly female voice came on to assure everyone the breakdown was temporary. The crowd didn’t seem to buying that as the whole crowd seemed to be freaking out at once. Holster was about to speak up and to try and say something calming when there was a loud bang from some where to his right.

One of the men he had noticed in the trench coat was now holding what looked like a shotgun in his hands.

“Everybody shut up and this will all be over in a moment!” he was yelling.

All the men in the trench coats had positioned them selves strategically among the crowd and at different parts of the train, each seperated by some many feet of distance.

Suddnely the doors to the train opened. The subway was stopped in the middle of a tunnel miles from the nearest station and the passengers were now being filed out. All the other men in trench coats were now also holding some form fire arm. Only the first one was speaking. Were they part of some kind of cult? What was going on.

Once the crowd was off the subway car the subway suddenly lurched back into motion and started off into the distance. Several in the crowd just stared at it as it left, bewildered.

Another sound then grabbed their attention from behind them. One trench coat wearing man was opening what looked like an access pathway probably used for maintenance. The opening was nearly seven feet in heigh and the door was oddly round shaped.

The first man in the trench coat spoke again, “Everbody into the tunnel! As long as you do what we say no will be hurt.

Holster and Kipper exchanged glances. Amazingly none of this group had recognized either one of them. With the glance they both knew what to do next. Gradually they drifted back toward the back of the crowd until the two of them would be the last to enter the panel.

Then, before any trench wearing guy could respond, Holster and Kipper jumped back, pulled out their pistols and fired several perfectly aimed shots, taking out two of the trench coat wearing guys. Holster and Kipper both had fired two shots and all four shots and hit their targets in the head, killing them instantly.

At this the startled crowd started to panic and run forward into the access tunnel, nearly trampling several elderly citizens. In the ensuing anarchy Holster and Kipper took off running down the subway tunnel, away from the captives.

* * *

The escape from captivity was less than twenty four hours ago. Now, stairing a bank with those same men in trench coats and what were once subway passengers inside, that seemed like such a long time ago. Looking back it had all started with the crime scene. The paint, the cement piece, and even the name of the sky scraper unbeknownst to him at the time.

The paint that had spilled in a highly coincidental kind of way on the ground had some how shaped a symbol of an ancient order of a secret cult like society. This group, at least according to legend, had learned some special method of manipulation events to out a certain way. Holster had studied this cult as a teenager and was strangely fascinated by it. They believed they could, through changing one subtle thing in one place purposefully cause a change reaction that eventually lead to the outcome they wanted. Most people didn’t seem believe this.

Some how this situation was fitting into this very set of circumstances. But what was the cult’s plan? Holster took a quick peek at his watch. It was four thirty in the after noon. Sixteen hours ago. It had started to unwind sixteen hours ago.

* * *

Several more cult members came back out of the access tunnel. A few fired some shots in Holster and Kipper’s direction but were entirely off. Holster and Kipper kept running, adrenalin already high. The two of them didn’t stop for more than twenty minutes, cover well over two miles. As they started to slow down the gravity of the situation started to close in on them.

At nearly the same time the two of them stopped and fell to their knees as they breathed so heavily. Remembering their training they tried to take deep breaths through their nose and exhale through their mouth.

After several minutes they wre starting to feel better. Both of them knew they would be sore tomorrow when the adreniline had finished wearing off but they could worry about that later.

“What…what was that all about?” Kipper was asking.

“I think…I think it was the cult. Some how they’re manipulating events. We were meant to get away.” Holster said.

Kipper was about to respond when a female voice intervened.

“I guess you were meant to meet then.” The female voice startled Holster and Kipper.

Holster and Kipper looked up in the direction of the voice. There, standing in front of them, was the most strikingly strange yet beautiful woman either of them had ever seen. She could have been anywhere from her early twenties to late thirties in age, probably six feet tall and a rather slender body any guys could only dream of seeing much less standing with several feet of. She had dark hair and the kind of perfect face you almost have to look away from as if it was the sun or cleavage. She was dressed entirely in skin tight leather. On either hip was a rather creative created, to put it mildly, handgun.

“Who…who are you?” Holster managed to get out eventually.

“That’s not important, Holster. All you need to know is that you must come with me. Now!” the mystery woman explained.

“Wait, why. And where exactly did you have in mind. Those hostages probably don’t have much time after all.” Holster was trying to hold his ground even though he knew he would probably do whatever she told him to do without thinking about it.

At this she reach behind her back and brought out a small device circular in shape. She quickly pushed several buttons and spoke in strange dialect. There was then a bright flash and a flood of sounds and light. In the subway tunnel all three figures who were standing in place just a moment earlier blinked out of existance.  ¶ 11:19 AM