I am alive! Don't worry about that, shitty week all in all, and super busy this weekend, barely been home with the amount of shit i had to do. Anyway here is the chap.
Word Count 2080
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England, Lydd
Two Russel Family grunts were coming back from their mission. Which was just some supplies to bring back to the base. You don't run a base with hundreds of people without having adequate supplies. Food, drinks, medicinal supplies, basic toiletries and those were just the non magical ones.
"Man I can't believe Mr. Wright got killed" one of the grunts couldn't help but mutter. They all have heard the rumors. The target was an eleven year old boy. But an entire platoon was killed. Not a trace of them remained. One High Class, Five Mid Class and Thirty Low Class, gone, like they were never there.
What kind of freak did the boss provoke?
"Reginald died because probably underestimated his opponent. Otherwise how the blazes would he lose to a child. And stop calling him Mister, he is dead."
...
"Greg?" the grunt looked towards his partner since he didn't reply, only to find him on the ground with a bloody hole in his neck.
The next moment a knife pierced his heart. He didn't even have time to make a sound before he lifelessly fell on the ground he joined his partner. The next moment the air distorted as a figure appeared.
It was the mage Harry had beaten to the ground and recruited. Black Kaiser looked at his handywork and then at the ring that was on his finger.
'Almost perfect invisibility, killing has never been easier. How ironic that I would be hunting down the same people that sent me to kill the brat in the first place. Its even better because the kid gives a good price for each member of the Russel Family I kill, and this is after the generous amount he gave me for some French Wizards. So i get to adapt my fighting style to the ring and get paid. Two birds with one stone.'
Kaiser stripped the two grunts out of anything that they had of value before he burned the corpses to ash.
'On to the next one, the time to steal as much money as possible from the boss' Kaiser disappeared into thin air. But he himself hadn't noticed. He was now referring to Harry as 'boss'. He was completely unaware that the ring was slowly but surely changing him. Bit by bit, at a snail's pace, but it was happening. His mind and soul, his very being was being rewritten. He was like a fly trapped in a spider's web.
Doesn't matter how much money he makes, all of that will eventually return back to Harry.
~Sacramento, California
Patrick Jane was casually strolling around, the city. He was getting lunch for the team. He felt a bit bad for cheating the other members, especially the naive Van Pelt who always falls for his tricks. Just a little bit guilty, a tiny tiny bit. You don't get to be a con man if you suddenly grew conscious.
He had been in that line of work since he was a kid. He was born in the Carny life. The circuses and carnivals. Since a child his father taught him the tricks, and he had great talent for cold reading. Its the art of making high-probability guesses and observations about a person, what clothes they wear, how the act, personally traits. You make educated guesses based on proven patterns in people. And that's how you become a Psychic.
As he grew he got better and better. He gained rich clients, appeared in tv shows and was very famous and wanted by rich desperate people who had lost someone and wanted some closer. And like the con man he was he capitalized on it, making absurd amounts of money.
Until the fated day, because of his arrogance and ego, he tried to make a 'psychic read' on the serial killer known as Red John. He just said some facts that most serial killers share and taunted him calling him an 'ugly tormented little man'.
And Red John punished him for that. Once Jane was done with his show and returned home the next day, what awaited him was a nightmare. His wife and daughter, butchered like animals. He suffered a mental breakdown because of that. But after one year in the psych ward, he was released and had one goal in mind kill the man who killed his family
Since then he has been working as a Consultant for the CBI (California Bureau of Investigation). Hoping to catch a lead on Red John as he mostly kills in California.
"Sir your order will be done soon" the waitress broke Jane out of his thoughts.
"Ah, yes thank you" Jane replied politely.
This has been happening often after he watched the video sent by Red John. The video was of Lorelei, a one night stand, someone who he hoped to use to get to Red John. She had died months ago and given him an important clue. He had narrowed down the list of Red John to only seven suspects. Yet in a video filmed months ago Red John predicted his thoughts and deductions perfectly. That left him extremely rattled.
"Patrick Jane?"
Jane heard a voice next to him. A tall man with black hair, with a white shirt and a black suit.
"Yes? Who is asking"
"Someone who knows who Red John is. Lorelei Martins gave you a clue right? Pity it didn't pan out"
Now that got Jane's attention. His face hardened, emotions were pushed back, all that was left was an analytical gaze as he tried to gather as much information as possible about this man
"Who are you" Jane said calmly.
"John Constantine. And I hold the solution to your problems"
Jane was about to say something when the waitress interrupted him
"Sir who are you talking to?" the waitress addressed Patrick who was suddenly very confused. Was he hallucinating?
Constantine chuckled and waved his hand. The waitresses eye's glazed and then she returned back to her job. It was a very strange sight from Jane's perspective
"They can't see me unless I want to be seen. Now lets continue Mr. Jane" Constantine points to a nearby table. Though wary Jane decided to follow him. This man seems to have credible information. As for how he did what he did, perhaps hypnotism.
"Well lets make sure we can't be overheard" he snapped his fingers and all the sound around them disappeared. Constantine had removed the sound from the restaurant around them. Neither of them could hear the workers yelling or the customers muttering among themselves or the sounds of the utensils being used.
Jane clenched his fist out of shock 'Well definitely not hypnotism. What the hell is this?'
"Well Mr. Jane. Are you ready to hear my proposition now?"
Jane just nodded rigidly " Of course, after all its a topic that is very important to me. But first can you tell me how you did this? Some new technology? Are you from a secret division in the government?"
"Magic"
Jane frowned "Magic? Please be serious, we are not children"
Constantine snapped his fingers once again. This time, he freezes the entire restaurant. Jane looked in shock as the people in the restaurant froze in place, He mechanically turned his head towards the man who was casually sitting across him
"No i did not stop time, I just froze their minds and their bodies simply followed. Magic is very real and very dangerous. Its how I discovered Red John's identity. But very few people among the civilian population are aware of it or the Supernatural side of this world."
Jane's mind was processing this insane information as best as he could. After all you can't just say 'magic is real.. cool' and just shrug it off. And there was a whole Supernatural side, what if they had done something to him in the past. But then he remembered his goal, his reason for living. Killing Red John. Anything other than that didn't matter.
"I believe that you know who Red John is, but I also know you are not doing all of this for free. What do you want?"
Constantine smiled at that and pulled out a contract which he slid towards Jane "What I want from you is simple, a copy all of your experiences, tricks and knowledge about cons and cold reading."
Jane did a takeback and leaned back into his chair "So you want my memories?" he asked slowly, it was a weird and very personal topic
Constantine shook his head "Not exactly, I want everything related to those moments, I don't care about your love life. How should i put this, specific memories, experiences like when you pick pocket someone or do a read. That is a very valuable skill, even when dealing with demons and devils"
All useful in negotiation and political meetings. Not that Harry had plans on using it himself, he was going to transfer the knowledge onto others and his children. Let them deal with the troublesome stuff.
'Demons and Devils. Of course...' Jane was starting to get numb from all the shock "Wait if they are real, what about angels and God"
"Angels are real and so are Gods, but the Christian Big G kicked the bucket" John blankly replied, but he had a smirk on his face like he was enjoying the situation
'So now God is dead. Huh Nietzsche was right, it sorta makes sense. I'm getting side tracked'
"I would suggest you don't mention this to anybody else, 'when you gaze into the abyss the abyss gazes back'. I'm afraid its much more literal on my side. Nietzsche actually got that one right. Now that you know you need to be a lot more careful not to let anything slip, just continue with your life like you haven't heard anything.
But lets get back on topic. Do you accept the deal?"
"My experiences for the name of the man who killed my family. I don't even have to think about it" Jane signed the contract and it transformed into a white orb that just floated there.
"Red John is Sheriff Thomas McAllister." Constantine said calmly as he watched the orb, as soon as he spoke those words out the orb launched into his head. Constantine closed his eyes and immediately used the Harry Link to distribute the information so he doesn't get a headache. After a few moments they processed the info and there was a lot.
'Damn who knew this thing was so technical, I actually think this will even help me with fighting. I can screw with people like Joseph Joestar. Oh I'm so doing that, especially since Jojo Manga exists in this Universe. I wish I could see the reaction of my enemies who survive when they realized they were duped by a comic book trick'
Jane's eyes narrowed "Thomas McAllister" one of his eight suspects. "I believe our deal is finished, now if you will excuse me I have to go and kill someone"
Constantine nodded "Our deal is finished, but I will be accompanying you. Thomas McAllister still has his uses even after he is dead"
"What could possibly interest you?" Jane said with a curious voice. This man was a mystery, he was powerful, he deals with demons and devils. What use could a little Sheriff have or even his identity as a serial killer.
"Red John throughout his life has created an Association. A network comprised of corrupted, police officers, firemen, doctors, nurses, lawyers, prosecutors, judges. Federal, State and Local government agencies within the California area. Its not too much to say that he has California in the palm of his hand. They call themselves the Blake Association."
Jane's eyes widened "Tiger, Tiger"
Constantine nodded "That's their code word. A way to identify themselves. I want it. I will bleed it dry of its usefulness before all of its members are either in jail or dead, if they are lucky to even get that"
Well that certainly made Jane feel better. He had no idea if this man would use them for good or bad intentions. But at the end he didn't care. All he wants is his revenge, it's just a bonus that everybody who might have helped Red John will go down with him.
"Well lets be on our way then" Jane stood up, today is the day when all of it will be over. And his family can rest is peace.
~ A/N
Harry is still childish about a few things he does to amuse himself. I always found it weird when reincarnated characters are acting completely their old age. They are in a body of a child, the brain is still developing.
I like this approach better. Smart, crazy Harry, but has his childish moments, he will grow and mature as he should. Character Development folks xD