CHAPTER 3:-
[PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS ONGOING AT THE RESIDENCE OF LATE DR RICHARD HEMSWORTH...]
On a dark rainy afternoon, Detective silvers stopped by the residence of the now deceased Dr Richard Hemsworth. Stepping out of a taxi and immediately setting up his umbrella. Wearing a long black trench coat, and black beret cap to match. Holding a lighter as he flicks to spark several times, before finally lighting up the the large cigar that had grown accustomed to his mouth, over the course of the few moments he took to light it.
He made a brief calculated draws on the lit cigar and exhaled with a little bit of swag, in turn, sacrificing a lung or two for the sake of maintaining the aesthetics of those types of detectives he used to admire in movies as a kid several years ago.
[*The rain switches from just a mild drizzle to a heavy downpour*]
[*Sighs heavily*]
"Ughh give me a break..."
"I should have just stayed home today, and after all that trouble I went through to look this good, now the rain decides it's today of all days it wants to get to know me better"
[*Starts walking along the pedestrian walkway...*]
"Ohh well... I better wrap this up soon, I could use some hot coffee right about now, or maybe when I get back home...Ahh yes that would be great".
—he says as he feels a slight tingle from within, from just having the thought of it. Several meters away would stand a mid-rise residential building where the said Dr Richard Hemsworth used to live. Along the walkway, as he approached the residential building. A suspicious looking figure was approaching him from a distant. Wearing a black double-breasted long coat, complimented by a black western-style hat, worn at an angle that conceals his face. Tenaciously holding up an umbrella against the harsh disposition of the current weather's condition. As the distance began to close, the mysterious figure appeared to be a man.
The detective on the other hand sensed something wasn't right, so he acted as though, he wasn't suspicious of anything and pressed onwards. In hopes that in a near instant once they cross paths he would take a quick glance at the face of this...mysterious fellow. As the suspicious looking man kept approaching even closer and closer. Then soon after... They crossed paths.
The instant they passed by each other, the detective took a glance at the face of this mysterious person, who seemed to have a really powerful presence about him that could be felt from a distance. The presence of this mysterious man was so eerie and overwhelming that the detective nearly gave into fear. The few passers-by who walked past the mysterious man some moments ago don't seem to be shaken by his presence... Well at least from his point of view. But for some reason the detective felt a strange chill down his spine, like his life was in imminent danger but he played it off like nothing, trying to maintain a level head.
Once in close proximity, in a near instant as they were about passing by each other. The detective took a quick glance at the face of the mysterious man. But to his disappointment, he realized that the hat the mysterious man was wearing, did a great job at concealing his face at least to some degree whilst half the time he kept his gaze to the ground. As soon as they walked past each other, they both suddenly stopped and paused for a moment. As they both were facing opposite directions, their presence diametrically opposed to the other. The bloodlust that exudes the mysterious man was at an insane level enough to make the detective nearly choke.
[*The rain begins to dwindle down...*]
Moments later someone spoke...
"The fire service is on its way".
"Probably there's a fire somewhere...too bad... And it was a fine coat too..."
—the voice came from no other person but the mysterious man. As soon as the detective heard him speak he instinctively pulled out a hand gun tucked away in his coat. As he turns around to face the mysterious man, right as he was about holding him at gun point...
"Tell me, who are....."[*In a state of shock*]
".....you!!?"
The mysterious man had vanished into thin air, no traces, no eerie presence, not even a clue on how he did it. Rather what the passers-by saw was just a crazy man under the rain pulling out a gun from nowhere and pointing it at no one.
"Heyy!!...heyy!!...excuse me!!!, but are you sure you doing alright over there!!!?. You look like you've seen a ghost!!!..."
— a passer-by yells from across the street after noticing a man in a coat pulling a gun out for no apparent reason and just pointing it at nothing.
"Ohh yeah!!!... And what makes you say that!!?" —he yells back at the passer-by. Whilst still having his gun pointed at nothing.
The passer-by seeming a little infuriated by the man's response when obviously they both could tell he had his gun pointed at nothing.
"..... That's because you just pulled out your gun for no apparent reason and just points it at nothing!!!. Take a look around, there's no one there!!!."
"I swear...if you're one of those lunatics with a gun messing up the streets again am calling the police!!, got it!!?". —the passer-by yelled.
The detective seemed a little pissed, so he replied in the most level-headed way he could think of....
"Or maybe if you shaved off most of those eyelashes you ladies are so fond about, then maybe!!!... Just maybe!!!....you could have seen the man who was just standing right here a second ago!!!....geez!!!." [*Points at the place the mysterious man stood a moment ago...*]
—the detective yells back out of frustration.
"My...you seem to have quite a mouth on you. Especially for someone whose eyes went out of commission just a moment ago"
—she fired back as well; being slightly pissed at his earlier remarks. The detective tried coming up with a comeback...
" Well... You!!!..... Wait a sec!!!...what am I even doing..." [*tucks in his hand gun back in his coat*]
[*takes a deep sigh*]
"I think we got off on the wrong foot. So please... The names Silvers...so what's yours!!?"
—He asked in an attempt to clear up the little misunderstanding.
" Silvers huh?...Pfttt... The names Skye." —she answers nonchalantly.
" Skye huh?... That's a pretty cool name. Now listen, am sure it's just a little misunderstanding we're having. I for one, I admit, it was stupid of me to pull my gun out in public like that for no apparent reason. Am sure you went out of your way to bring me back to my senses in hopes I'd ask you out on a date. But unfortunately am married, hope you'd forgive me."
—said the detective, knowing fully well what he said, puts her in an uncomfortable situation. Along with a smile that says 'that's what you get for not minding your business'. As he slowly turns around and walk away.
Initially she was nodding in agreement to what he said in the first three sentences not until she heard the last few sentences and she was so flustered, trying so hard to hide the fact she involuntarily blushed to his earlier remarks. the fact that he even he said it out loud in public for everyone to hear simply caught her off guard.
"W... wait...whatttt!!!!?, I didn't... I'm not...it's just... I...ughhhh, just don't let me catch you pulling out a gun along this parts or you'll regret it, got it?!!
"Got it" —he says, as he lifts an arm to wave goodbye whilst walking away and not minding her in the slightest.
"That insufferable little..." —she curses as she clenched her fist.
"...what is happening today, first I encounter a mysterious man who just vanishes on me and no one seemed to noticed and now everyone thinks am crazy. And what's up with that crazy lady, trying so hard to hit on me. I know I look quite irresistible and all but that was just way too much...ha talk about desperate"
—says the detective as he became infatuated with himself. Somewhat feeling self-confident that she, as a matter of fact, was trying to hit on him because of his good looks and not because he had his guns out in public for no reason. Then a voice from behind rocked his eardrums all of a sudden, immediately he made that statement...
"I was not hitting on you... You psych ward escapee!!!!" — said Skye, as she gave a comical verbal outburst.
"Wait!!!... She heard what I said!!? All the way from over there!!?.... How's that even possible, I barely said a word out loud, sheesh!!!...crazy people these days!!!"
"I don't know why....and I know we just met.....but something tells me we'll meet again..... Skye"
—the detective says to himself as he spoke under his breath this time around to avoid the crazy lady from catching wind of what he says as he kept on walking towards the residential building where he's meant to carry out his private investigation.
[...AT THE LUNARSHAW RESIDENTIAL BUILDING...]
.... And finally the detective had arrived at the residential building. A beautiful mid -rise structure that stands alone, something in-between semi high end luxury and your average modern residential building.
[Inner monologue]— "...i guess I made it here then .... I was told Dr Richard used to live on the second floor. I better hurry and find the clues am looking for, he must to have left some kind of clue behind before he passed!"
".....with today's weather and that mysterious man and the crazy lady. I really doubt my day could get any worse!!!"
"Well... I better head inside then...."
[....INSIDE THE APARTMENT OF THE SECOND FLOOR...]
[*Closes the door behind him*]
[*Starts to take a look around*]
[*Heads to the bedroom*]
"It looks more like an office than an actual bedroom... Just look this mess...we have sheets of paper and a whole bunch of weird textbooks on archeology littered all the way from the living room to the bedroom, there's even spilled ink all over the damn room. You know what I take it back... This looks nothing like an office"
"How am I suppose to work in these kinds of conditions!!!?...huh Dr Richard!!! Am working my ass off over here trying to bring your muderers to justice and this is the thanks I get!!!? Unbelievable, 'renowned archeologist my ass'. You couldn't even have the decen—"
[*Accidentally steps on some fungus infested leftover takeout noodles*]
"Faaaaaaaaaaaaaauck!!!!, .....and I just got this pair of shoes"
"Everything about this place just irritates me, hope I finish up in time befo—...."
[*Something caught his attention*]
"Hold on is that...."
[*Picks up one of the sheets of paper*]
"... Latin!!!?
"These are hand written!!!"
[*Pick up more sheets of paper from the floor*]
"What kind of research was Dr Richard Involved in, that would make him translate most of his work in Latin rather than a spoken language that everyone understands. It doesn't make any sense. Sure he can always choose to translate his work to Latin but why go through all that trouble, unless..."
[*Shuffles the sheets of paper in hand as he continues*]
".... He was trying to hide something.... Back then the news report claimed he was meant to deliver a parcel containing ancient papyrus or manuscript that was discover by him to the National Museum. But in order to do that, he was tasked with deciphering and translating those ancient text which took several months....."
"....Maybe that explains the state of his living room and bedroom.... But still.... That's no excuse!!!!..."
"....But something's not adding up here, if he was tasked with deciphering and translating those ancient text, wouldn't it make sense to translate it into a language the public would understand!!!? So why use Latin and even still the Latin on here...."
[*Observes one of the sheets of paper closely*]
"..... Is written in such a cryptic way that even if it's been translated into a language the public understands, it would still be like a bunch of gibberish on paper. So that means only Dr Richard would be able to read it and understand it."
[*Starts to think deeply*]
"But still I get the feeling he wasn't working alone, there is a third party in all of this. First he translates those ancient text to Latin but writes it in a cryptic way, then gets killed in an alley and the manuscripts stolen. All that happened after he had already translated those manuscripts. Like I said before someone had prior knowledge of the parcel the Dr was meant to deliver to the National Museum..."
....or perhaps... The chief of police and the news media were lying. Dr Richard Hemsworth was a world renowned archeologist and scholar. Many of his archaeological escapades and findings till this day always made the headlines even before embarking to any archeological sites there would be news about it and would be made public. But this.... This is different, for a manuscripts so priceless there's is not even a single published information regarding it. The public got to know about it only after the death of Dr Richard....."
"....Come to think of it Dr Richard never made any public statements in regards to a parcel or some ancient manuscripts....unless.... He was in on it too, I knew it, he was trying to keep it a secret whilst working with several others behind the scenes to decipher those manuscripts. That explains the cryptic Latin translations. It wasn't meant for just him but several others whom he's been working with him behind the scenes!!!!."
"Now that has been established, should I assume his death was simply a betrayal of trust??....And if so, what would they stand gain besides the extra money they would get from selling those manuscripts at the black market!!!!!?"
"Damn I have so many questions... Maybe... If I took some of these sheets of paper back with me and try deciphering it, then maybe I might stumble on something that could give me glimpse of that parcel's contents. Am pretty certain the things written on these sheets of paper has everything to do with the parcel or .....it might just be gibberish."
[Sighs]
[*Sees a desk stacked with paperwork and many several books spread across it*]
".....I think that's Dr Richard's personal work desk... What's with all that paperwork!!?... Must have had his hands full. I'd have to hand it to him, he certainly was no slacker like me"
[*Heads to the desk to investigate further...*]
"Hmm..... Looks like a record of most of his previous works..."
[*Finds an obscure looking keyhole somewhere on the desk*]
"...That looks important....."
[*Searches around for a key somewhere....*]
"Now!!!...where would someone like Dr Richard most likely keep his keys. Let's see here... Am sure someone of his caliber would hide it in a place no one would ever suspe—"
[Key drops from one of the books on the desk after he shakes it a few times in his first try]
[His face ridden with absolute disappointment...]
"Why am I not surprised....'renowned archeologist my ass', you know what!? it's my fault, I was expecting wayyy to much from him. At least on the bright side I didn't have to search this entire place for a key."
"Now let's see what's inside...."
[*Unlocks a hidden compartment within the desk*]
"It's..... It's a journal!!!?... Wait... I think it's.... Dr Richard's journal, wow I think I just hit the jackpot!!!! ....This could be a potential lead!!....I wonder if..."
[*Quickly skimps throw the pages...*]
[A few moments later...]
"What is this!!!?...." —he asked [His face ridden with shock and confusion]
"B...b....but....This.... How is this even possible!!!?
—he asked in sheer shock, as he read through the contents of the last page of the journal.
[THE CONTENTS OF THE LAST PAGE READS...]
["If you're reading the contents of this journal then that means am long dead in an alley somewhere. Am sure a certain detective would be cracking his brains trying to make some sense of everything. Am also quite sure he'd be cursing me for the untidy state of my living room haha forgive me. I choose when and where I die, and my death shall become a catalyst to a cause... A cause greater than humanity. One that births the resurrection of a force that challenges the heavens.... The instruments of the godfather.
Nations shall fall... For he commands it, the mortal one exalted by gods, for he has tether ed to this reality his strings of fate. And in the grand scheme of things we are all puppets dancing to the tune of the puppet master and all is in accordance to....THE ORDER OF EXODUS. My death has initiated the first chapter, am sure you must have noticed the tattoos on my left arm..... Detective Silvers..."]
[*He took a couple steps back... Trying to make sense of what he just read*]
"This can't be possible!!... This journal was written many months ago, way before he died!! So how could he have predicted everything down to the letter even my name and we have never even met!!?.... What is happening!?"
[At the lower right corner of the last page of the journal it says ' Caput Primum" referencing the tattoo on the left wrist of the deceased Dr Richard]
.... Finally just as the detective was about to rounding up his investigations by taking along with him Dr Richard's diary and the remaining sheets of paper containing the Latin translations (cryptic), back home for further investigations. He noticed a bit of message still left on the last page of the diary that he hasn't read... And so he reads...
[*Squints his eyes as he reads...*]
["Ohh and one more thing.... The fire service is on its way.... probably there's a fire somewhere... Too bad..... and it was a fine coat too!!"]
—immediately he read that message from the diary his entire body grew cold and stiff with shock and fear. He immediately had a flashback of a recent encounter with a mysterious man not too long ago, who said the exact same thing to him right before he vanished into thin air.
He felt it to be a warning rather than just a message and that's when everything clicked. He realized that not so long ago he's been hearing a strange sound coming from the living room, a ticking sound. Then all of a sudden he dropped everything he planned on taking with him and without a moments hesitation and mental preparation he instinctively dashed through the window of the second floor of the residential building. And immediately an explosion rocked the entire second floor killing a few residents and injuring others. The detective on the other hand fell all the way from the second floor and landed on his back right onto solid ground. The force of the explosive tore through his favourite detective coat but overall he wasn't so severely injured although several ribs were fractured after the fall. Not less than five minutes the fire service had arrived battling the fire and several ambulance came in to take the victims of the fire incident. As for the detective....
" I thought this day couldn't get any worse.... Well I take it back. It got a whole lot worse.... Maybe I should have just stayed home!!!"
—said the detective as he was experiencing a whole new level of pain, most especially because his favourite detective outfit got ruined. He was carried along into the ambulance heading to the nearest hospital for treatment.