Raven rubbed his eyes as the computer burned them. It was past midnight and the twins just came in to start their graveyard shift. They pushed for him to go home but he refused, not until he found something on the Wilkson’s. He discovered that the mother, Melinda Wilkson, did indeed die when her son John was 8 and Sam only a few days old. The incident report was spotchy at best but something the kid John gave in his testimony nagged at him.
“…It was like she was choking. She kept screaming at Sam to let her go…”
Raven knew that tied in to how Emily died but how it was connected nearly 16 years apart beside Sam was proving elusive. He was getting nothing from that angle so he got the idea to work the Mr. Bud Wilkson angle. His has a dirt bag record which made him wonder how he ended up in such a nice place and dug deeper. Grew up in NYC, middle income home. Developed a gambling and drug addiction before high school.
He came across a report where Bud Wilkson was listed as a witness. Apparently he straightened his act in college and even got engaged to an Allison McLain. On April 25th, 2194, three years before he married his deceased wife Melinda, Bud and Allison were mugged while walking through the park at 3:38 am. There was an altercation where Bud fought off their attacker but not before he killed Allison. She died in Bud’s arms and he later found out the mugger was a mage. He was never arrested. Bud Wilkson stayed in the cops’ radar as he became associated with protest involving the Puritans.
His involvement with the Puritans became more and more until he was suspected of being one of the leaders for the NY district. Raven was shocked to find out he married his wife within this time and turns out Melinda was suspected of being a Puritan herself. Raven shifted through more articles on the projection and pinched his nose as he eyes burned.
“Go home Black-“
“-we’ll close up shop.”
Raven looked up to see the twins yawning over their coffees staring at him. He sighed as he shut his computer off, “Yeah, thanks guys.”
He quickly left before he could get sucked into his work, knowing if he did he’ll never leave. Then what good would he be to Claire? He bit back a yawn as he walked to his car and quickly sped down the road towards home. He parked in the parking basement of his apartment building and quickly went up the elevator to the 4th floor. His keys jiggled as he tried unlocking the door but the door was stuck and he had to slam his shoulder into the door to get it open. His down stairs neighbor started banging on his floor as his door slammed opened, yelling to keep quiet.
Raven mumbled curses at the shrewd old man living downstairs and stumbled his way into his apartment. The floors creaked, the windows were cracked and the wallpaper was peeling. He slammed the door shut with his foot fumbling on the wall for the light switch. He switched it on but the light bulb flickered off. Raven shuffled over and twisted the bulb and cried out as the light blinded his eyes. He mumbled some more as he made his way into the too small kitchen and was careful not to yank the door off his fridge as he opened it. Pulling out a bottle of beer he slammed the door shut and plopped himself onto his couch before his TV.
He flipped through channels as he sipped his cold beer. Drifting away from the program his eyes shifted around his home, comparing it to the splendor of Claire’s loft. He growled at himself as he shut the TV off and drained his beer. He felt angry with himself as he walked into his bedroom and stripped. Throwing his clothes into the corner he pulled the covers and plopped himself into his bed. He threw his arm over his eyes as he listened to his A/C whirring, turning his hot apartment into a cool oasis.
How could he even compare his place to Claire’s? She’s a mage so of course she has money right? He’s no delusionist, not all mages have it made but they do do very well for themselves. And from what he’s seen of Claire so far she’s more than capable of earning her success. So why should she settle for someone like him, a Black? Raven’s eyes threw open as he sat up, Where the fuck did that come from?! He threw his head into his hands as he yelled at himself, feeling foolish. He didn’t want Claire that way, did he?
He was shaken out of his thoughts as his phone card shrilled somewhere in his pants buried in the pile. Raven sighed in frustration as he threw off the covers and dug out his phone, answering the call with irritation in his voice, “What?!”
Anthony paused as he heard Raven’s frustration, “Good morning to you too.”
Raven sat on his bed running his fingers through his hair, “It’s fuckin’ 3 in the mornin’, no way it’s good. What is it?”
Anthony opted to hurry with the call so Raven can catch his sleep, “I’m just calling to check up on that suspect you brought in. When did you release him? It was never filled out.”
He scratched his scalp as he thought, “Suspect? What suspect? I never brought in a suspect.”
“Uh,” Raven heard Anthony flipping through papers, “yeah. A John Wilkson. Brought in this afternoon.”
“Wilkson? He wasn’t a suspect, he assaulted Claire. We brought him in on those charges.”
Anthony looked the sheet up and down, “No I got him listed here as a suspect. Look just tell me when he was released and I’ll let you go.”
Raven stood as he felt dread in his veins, “Released? He was never released.”
“We just checked on him Black; he’s not in his cell.”
Raven barely had time to yank his pants back on as he raced out the door, “Find him. Find John Wilkson now! He’s a deranged civilian with a possible connection to our murder victim. He may be fixated on Claire. I want him found now!”
He barked orders as he raced down the stairs barefoot, no time to wait for the elevator. He jumped into his car throwing his phone into his pocket as he stepped on the gas. Sirens blaring, he raced and waved around the late night traffic speeding to the office. Tires squealed as Raven spun into their parking lot. The smoke of burning rubber was still heavy in the air as Raven ran into the building.
“Where is he?!”
Anthony and Andrew turned from their computers to see Raven panting at the door way, shirtless and shoeless with his pants undone. He walked up to their desk waiting for an answer.
“We haven’t found him yet-“
“Why the hell not?! This man is dangerous!”
Anthony glared at him as he yelled as his twin, “We know this Black but we don’t know how long this man has been missing!”
Raven turned burning eyes to him, “How the hell did he escape?”
They had no idea and Raven ordered Anthony to dig into John’s life as Andrew kept looking for him. Raven ran down the stairs to the basement skidding to a stop in front of John’s cell. He studied the cell and found so signs of foul play. He ripped out his phone and dialed a number.
It rang for what seemed like hours until finally a groggy voice heavy with sleep answered, “H-Hello?”
“Tess!” Raven barked into the phones causing poor Tessa to jump in her bed, “I need you to come to the office now! John Wilkson’s escaped and I need you to find out how.”
Tessa sat up in bed as she ran a hand through her bed hair, “Wh-What? Now?”
“Tessa this man could be after Claire!”
At that Tessa snapped out of bed. She didn’t even bother hanging up the phone as she threw on some clothes and ported to Raven. He didn’t even blink as light flashed behind him and he turned to see Tessa shivering in the early morning air looking like a mess.
Raven stepped aside and waved to the cell, “Here, this is where he was. How did he escape?”
Tessa stepped forward and placed a chilled hand on the cold bars, “My magic doesn’t really work that way but I can run some tests.”
“Just do what you can and find me something.”
She barely paid attention she raised her arms, her hands glowing white. Raven bounded up the stairs leaving her to her work as he came up to the twins, “What did we find?”
“Not only are these guys married to the Puritans but they’re an experiment.”
Raven grabbed the file Anthony handed him, “What do you mean?”
“We found a birth certificate for Sam Wilkson filled out by the mother, but get this, he has a different father.”
Raven shrugged his shoulders, “So she had an affair. What does this have to do with now?”
Anthony pointed to the file, “The father listed is a registered Necromancer. My guy inside the Guild says that the father was known to have worked with the Puritans.”
Raven raised an eyebrow, “A Necromancer was working with the Puritans?”
“Yeah, turns out the Puritans would do something like sleeper agents. They would hire mages under their control to impregnate unsuspecting woman. They would leave the woman before the kid is born and let time run its course. Letting the kid mage grow up in a mundane world until their magic explodes, giving the Puritans the excuse they need saying magic is more harmful than good.”
Raven read the file up and down, “And the Wilkson’s were a part of this sleeper thing but Sam’s magic turned out to be too great. His magic ran haywire and accidently killed his mother. How does John play in this? Have we found him yet?”
Andrew hung up the phone and turned to Raven, “Just got a tip. Someone matching John’s description was spotted in downtown off 34th.”
Raven’s blood ran cold, “That’s near Claire’s place. Keep digging!”
He ran out the door barking orders as he raced to his car. He heard the sounds of the early morning traffic and knew he’ll never get there in time. He quickly spun on his heels and ran towards the port instead. The glass tube hummed as he stepped in and the holo fairy gasped as she saw the nearly naked man inside her port.
“Ca-Can I help you?”
Raven quickly gave Claire’s address and was ported before he could breathe. He ran out the port and up the stairs, through the building, racing up the stairs to Claire’s loft. He was breathless by the time he reached Claire’s door and banged on it, nearly knocking it down.
“Claire?! Claire can you hear me?! Wake up and open the door!”
He banged for five more minutes and was nearly breaking down the door when it opened. He ran inside with his gun drawn, spinning around scanning the room. There was no one, not even Claire as he turned to the door and saw Crystal on the door knob with a frantic look in her eyes.
“Where is she? Where’s Claire?”
Crystal shook her head, “I don’t know. She was gone when you woke me.”
“Could she have left without waking you? Do you know where she is?”
Crystal shook her head, gleaming in the shinning moonlight through the glass wall, “No, never. She always tells me when she’s leaving.”
“Can you find out where she is?!” Crystal shook a sad head and Raven yelled in frustration. He felt his phone buzzing and yanked it out, “What?!”
Anthony was somber as he spoke, “John’s a Rune Specialist Black. He knows all the anti-magic spells.”
Raven felt the blood drain from his face as the room spun. Anthony was nothing but a squeaking mouse as his ears began to ring. Then what the hell happened with Claire?
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