Bureau of Collections || ONC2021

File Not Found

He tried to run, no match for 221 as reached him before he could take a step. He gripped his arm and wrenched him backwards, knocking the feet out from under the him and pinning him easily as he pressed his gun-like reaper to his head.

"Hold still" 221 growled as he pulled the trigger. Blue light pulsing through the unfortunate, stunning him, the charge also sending vital data to 404 to analyse about who the heck this guy was.

"Strange. File not found - that can't be right."

221 was afraid that might be the case. "Should I scan again?" he offered.

"No. The reading is never wrong. 221-this isn't supposed to happen. There is no protocol for this."

"Yeah, I know." he sighed.

"What do we do?"

"We improvise."

He rose from the subdued soul, striding down the dark hallway and locating his corpse quickly.

"But we can't collect without a valid identity."

"Yep he's been severed alright." he announced as he found the body crumpled in a heap by the entryway to the kitchen. He knelt down, inspecting it. Body still warm,  heart still beating.

"How is that possible?"

"Not sure, but I can guess. I think whatever murdered those women did something to this guy before his scheduled time, would you agree?"

"It's not our place to question 221. What do we do, we don't have the capability or tools to reinstate a soul. Only death and her upoer management has that authority and they won't for one as normal as this."

"I have an idea." He reached out and turned the body over so it was laying flat on its back, taking out a small ornate brass torch from his inner coat pocket and pointing it at the pale slackened face before flicking it on.

A white burning light emitted from it, a soft searing filling the air though no skin burned. 221 counted down from fifteen before turning it off, delicately wrapping the heated end of the device in a handkerchief and placing it back in his pocket.

"What was that?" 404 asked, caution in her voice.

"Trick of an old trade. Never you mind."

"That better not be what I think it is? Those are contraband 221."

221 ignored her. He'd hoped she wouldn't recognise the device as it was not exactly part of the standard collector's toolkit. "We can't take him back and I'm not leaving him like that. You and I will keep track of him until we figure out what to do with this escalation. I need to sort this out now before emergency services arrive and think he's brain dead and harvest his organs."

404 audibly sighed in frustration, "Alright, I'll let that slide for now, but I will be frank when we escalate this whole incident. Now get it done and get out, 221."

Yeah yeah, he thought bitterly as he rose but not before lifting the guys left wrist and taking off his wristwatch, admiring it as he weighed it in his hands. Full of memory. It would make a good anchor.

He returned to the soul, noticing he was showing signs of recovery. Casually, 221 raised his reaper and stunned him again. Better he was unconscious and woke up in a hospital bed rather than have to deal with detectives all night recounting an out-of-body experience and an unexplainable murder. A hospital was beneficial to them also, a contained place where they could monitor him easily.

Getting Death's attention was going to take time and if his suspicions were correct and the murderer had done this, then he may have interrupted whatever it was he was doing to this human, which meant there was potential he would be back. Another chance he could use to detain and intercept, and have another chance to fix this.

Gently he lowered the watch to the soul, indiscernible words muttered as he spoke the sacred script to bind the soul to the item. Like sand slipping down a dune, the soul lost its form, absorbed into the tangible device before 221 stood once more and returned to the body.

"Police just arrived. Looks like someone tripped the alarm in the building." 404 warned.

221 gazed out across the dark office, seeing the flicker of blue and red outside reflecting off the swaying trees. Time to move. He picked up his pace, quickly slipping the watch back on the human before racing over to a nearby desk and quickly scribbling a note on a piece of paper, then running back, taking out the human's wallet.

"Police! If you are in the building, make yourself known," a male voice echoed out from the main entrance. Quickly 221 flicked open the tattered leather folio, quickly taking a mental note of the name and address on the licence before placing the note inside and tossing it to the ground. It would have to do for now.

"Go. Now. Turn around, on your right." 404 instructed, and he did not hesitate. He was in no mood to requisition a new body if he was witnessed. He kind of liked this one, as clunky as it was. He ran, racing down the hallway and through the door, vanishing from the earthly plane in an instant as two officers appeared around the corner.