Chapter 3: A Firm Hand By Eyes
"A message? What kind of message are we talking about?" Superintendent Baylor pondered at Bartley over the phone. His tie loosened from the sense of scrutiny and unwavering nervousness.
"Well, sir. Lieutenant Grace is working on it-" Bartley said as he tries to explain, but was interrupted by the loud tone from Superintendent Baylor.
"Well get her to think faster. I'm already getting constant phone calls from the Commissioner and Mayor for progress, dammit! May I not need to remind you that the High Council is personally gleaning on this as well?" Superintendent Baylor whispered the last part to Bartley as he was a bit paranoid as to not mention the High Council's name over the phone line.
Chief Superintendent Baylor was the Chief of the Special Crimes Unit. Serious, crafty, but also a bit of a temper tantrum person whenever he gets ticked off. Bartley has often seen him as a thorn to his work, constantly demanding or wanting to be kept updated on almost everything he did. He understood with minimal certainty why Superintendent Baylor has to make do with Bartley. He wants a clean professional and efficient force under his command, not a single hay uncut by the scythed; as Baylor once said to Bartley. To Bartley, he sees Baylor like a mentor that just wants to get the job done no matter what. Not impress him in a way, but give him result that the unit that he controls is on a leash to his superiors.
Superintendent Baylor sighed, his temper on a cool down over the phone that Bartley could coherently hear. He whetted his dried lip and paused for a moment until he could coherently speak. "So. How is she adjusting to the new reality that you've put her through?"
Bartley paused briefly and looked from the office window to see Samantha working from her desk. "To be fair, sir. Your the one who informed her about that." Bartley replied back to Superintendent Baylor, and heard laughter over the line.
He was stunned, but a bit confused from the response that Bartley heard. He wanted to ask, but he halfway felt that there was a joke or a punchline that was going around the station that he himself wasn't aware of. A few seconds passed with the atmosphere filled with ludicrous laughter over the phone. Bartley sure as hell wasn't enjoying it, but he patiently waited until Superintendent Baylor calmed himself from his cheery moment.
"I feel like there was a punchline of some sort, but are you done?" Bartley asked to Superintendent Baylor as he seemed to have calmed down over the line.
Superintendent Baylor cleared his throat and shook his head to recite what he was going to say prior to his satire. "Ha ha, yes. I am. Oh Captain, I hope sincerely you'll be yourself once more."
"I get that a lot- sir. But, just out of curiosity, how did 'she' take it when you told her?" Bartley once more glanced at Samantha who too looked back at him. A smile was postured to him from her before she turned away and continued on with her work.
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North Dakota was a home to many Americans, many of whom worked on the labor side, but also to those who seek opportunity. Samantha was born there, she called it her home and refuge. Ever since she was young, she always wanted to explore the outside boundaries of the state, go nationwide and seek a purpose. Her parents knew her pride and motivation would take her somewhere, but they would never expect their daughter to be interested in the delicate, complicated criminal justice system.
Samantha knew she wanted to make a difference by making people happy, make them feel safe, and help them in need in dire situations. It was her decision to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, that enabled her potential and motivation to look for a purpose she'd be yearning for a long time.
Many of the people she worked with appreciated her motivation and positivity brought to her work environment, and applaud her for her works on several high profile cases. Samantha found her purpose at the agency, but has had a thought or two about the decisions she made everyday at the workplace. This feeling of doubt carried with her, often disrupting her thinking, and at one point ruined a case that caused a suspect to be released from the court. That mistake was something that nearly costed her career, but would pile onto her doubtfulness further.
It was an Autumn season in Seattle, Washington. The weather was windy and leaves were blown around the place, left and right. The moon was visibly present under the night sky and made the atmosphere quiet, but slowly faded by emergency sirens from a distance, not too far from a residential neighborhood. Many residents and locals came by, some stayed to see what the commotions were about.
Samantha was there, behind an ambulance and cried to herself behind her hand, accompanied by her partner. There was another ambulance that quickly rushed an injured person, a teenager not old as 16 years old, to the hospital. She didn't want to look at them as they were hurdled to the back of the ambulance. Her boss arrived, furious about the situation. Samantha knew better, but she understood the repercussions that she was going to face after this hell whole she went through. Her boss had her suspended, credentials removed, everything stripped from her. Her purpose was in flames, her identity no where to be seen as she was dropped off from her home, and into an abyss of hesitance.
A few weeks passed after that day. Samantha had been ignoring calls, mails, and practically stopped being herself. She was going through a lot of conflicting emotions as she laid at the couch in a quiet atmosphere. She didn't know what to feel or what to do, guilt or not, she lost her will the moment her badge was handed over to her boss.
Samantha heard a doorbell from the front door, an occasional knock or two, but chose to ignore it. The knocks continued and slowly became more and more frequent. Her sense of will slowly regained with each knock hitting the door. Maybe it was the parent of that teenager that she- no. She shook her head didn't want to think about it, but briefly decided to see who it was. She slowly approached the door and took off the locks from it. She slowly opened it and peaked her eyes to reveal someone in a uniform.
"Are you Special Agent Samantha Grace?" The man asked as he took off his cap and placed it under his left arm, in attention but at a polite manner.
Samantha was a bit stunned by the man in front of him. She slowly opened the door a bit wide, but cautiously. "Uh, yeah. Well, I was until I got suspended. Who are you?" She asked with curiousness.
The man smirked at her and said. "I am Chief Superintendent Baylor with the Eden City Police Department. I'm here to discuss about your, uh, 'transfer'."
"Eden City?" Samantha murmured to herself not knowing any places in the U.S with that name. She looked at him with uncertainty and replied. "I'm sorry? Transfer?"
"A lifetime. Somewhere you can get away with what you're going through." Superintendent Baylor said as he waved his hand around.
Samantha didn't know what to say about the guy, though she was unaware any transfer. She gave it a thought for a moment, but would realize she hadn't been looking through her emails in a while. She sighed and opened the door fully for him, ignoring her doubts that doomed her from the start. "I'm really sorry, but, I didn't get a memo that I was being transferred."
The man's left eyebrow raised and his head tilted a bit at Samantha. "We tried calling you, but you seemed to be occupied with other matters."
"Yeah. It would seem." Samantha chuckled nervously. "You wanna come in?"
Superintendent Baylor nodded at Samantha. He walked inside and made his way to the living room, which next to the door. His eyes were everywhere, analyzing the interior as he walked. He looked at a few interior decorations and admired it from a distance.
"My wife wanted a home like this, but she is currently working for Lucifer." Superintendent Baylor said as he chuckled to himself with Samantha looking at him with skepticism.
"I- I see. What is this transfer exactly?" Samantha asked, wanting to know where she was going to be taken.
"Eden City. Somewhere in Illinois. You won't be working for the bureau, but for the ECPD."
Samantha continued to be skeptical about the transfer, but Superintendent Baylor's face was clear about how she felt about it. He unbuttoned his top as he sat down on the couch, his face towards Samantha who was standing with her body in tension.
"You'll be policing the streets and solving cases on who certain cases with anomalies." Superintendent Baylor said as he paused and placed his cap down beside him. "Basically, demons and shit. You're arresting, or shooting if that ever comes in a situation, those who try to ignore the sacred laws that the city has to enforce."
Samantha couldn't believe what she was hearing from him. She felt confused yet a slight bit of frustration. Either this man was someone sent from her workplace as some sort of sick joke, or this man was serious on a whole ordeal.
The man tilted and looked at Samantha. He sighed and interpreted her constant stare and silence as if she was in incredulity, or not taking it serious. "I'm going to assume that you think I am joking about this, but I kid you not- it is true. Angels an demons are real, they live in our world, and we ensure they behave accordingly at the highest authority."
Superintendent Baylor said as he stood up, his buttons back to where they were, and snatched his cap as he walked towards the door. Samantha watched as he walked, still in an an incredulous manner. Superintendent Baylor stopped midway, his head turned to her as he opened his mouth to say something.
"The details of which will be sent over to your personal email." He turned once more to the door, but stopped. and briefly froze, turning once more at Samantha. "May I just say, Agent Grace; welcome to endless wonder."
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"What a story, sir." Bartley commented as he waved at Samantha to come in, whom was waiting outside of his door.
"Yes, quite. Is there anything else you need to inform me before I get swallowed by the gallows?" Superintendent Baylor asked.
Samantha held up and pointed at a folder in front of him. Bartley, unsure of its meaning, ends the call with Superintendent Baylor without any further word or farewell. Samantha passed a copy of the folder across to Bartley as he places aside the office phone in front of him. Bartley flickered to each photo contained in the folder, and analyzed it with precision.
"Context Lieutenant?" Bartley asked.
"Okay, so. I've gone through it about twenty or so times. And I noticed that each one of these had a particular graffiti." Samantha pointed at a graffiti symbol that each one was contained with.
The symbols appeared to be eldritch, most likely religion in origin that she researched and reviewed at her desk. Each symbol was presented close to the body, some plastered onto the back of their neck. Their poses were unusual in the photographs. Two out of the seven bodies appeared faced down on the ground while they grasped onto their chest, suggesting that they had an heart attack. Howbeit, all of the victims appeared to have die from internal bleeding, the cause of which was unknown.
Bartley looked closely at the images, but didn't share his acquiescence to Samantha as he looked at her. "I don't quite get how this is a message, Lieutenant. We've gone through the symbols and it has gotten us no where."
Samantha shook her head at Bartley as she passed a book the size of an envelope to him. It contained the same exact symbol as it did on the photographs. His eyes widen in intrigued, he opens it and flickers through the pages. He noticed that the book appeared to be a Germanic folklore poem. After a few pages, he noticed one of the poems contained an image that shared the same position in one of the photographs.
Bartley held the book up and looked at Samantha. "Where did you get this?" He asked curiously.
"Oh. It's a book that I had since I was young. I don't exactly remember much about it, but I carry it around just for- well, hope I guess." Samantha replied not knowing much of her memory as a kid with that book. She only knew that her uncle gave it to her as a memory from him before his sudden disappearance many years ago.
Something came up in Bartley's mind as he glanced at the book from front to cover, and at Samantha with no word to divulge. The timing. He thought to himself the coincidences for someone like Samantha to join his department, and suddenly give him the answers he'd been searching for. It appeared someone had lend him the key. After all, coincidences of such practically were non existent in the city. Things happened for a reason, and Bartley warranted the need to investigate this further without attracting any attention.
"Right." Bartley said in a sarcastic tone, briefly paused with no words to add.
Bartley flickered through the pages to find more similarities to the photos, and found almost all of the answers in the book he held. He stood up from his chair and grabbed his coat, he began walking out of office and Samantha followed suit. Samantha quickly came to her desk to grab her jacket as they both exited out of the office.
"Sir, if you don't mind me asking- where are we going?" Samantha asked as she placed the jacket around her with Bartley momentarily quiet as they walked.
Within a minute he replied. "Somewhere. Someone who I think would incline to answer some of my questions."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone