It had only been a few days since I started calling The Tower home, but it was already starting to feel like that. I finally was in a place that I felt like I didn’t have to constantly be watching over my shoulder. Having a few floors of highly trained security guards will give you that piece of mind. 

“Anything new, Bobby?” I stopped at the front desk on my way towards the stairs, not particularly paying attention, letting my eyes wander at the people mulling around the lobby a bit.

”Actually, ahem,” Bobby cleared his throat as he shuffled papers around on his desk, “Ahh, here it is! Somebody left this for you. Strange guy, kept looking over the tops of his glasses that hung halfway off of his nose. Kind of creepy actually. He said to give this to you. Said you’d know what it meant.”

And just like that, the nice and quiet, safe place, was flipped on its head. I knew what it was even before Bobby dropped the small coin in my hand. All of the air was sucked out of the room as I staggered slightly, my hand trembling as I closed it around the coin and steadying myself against the suddenly burning wood of the front desk.

I shouldn’t have been surprised, not in the slightest actually. Years and years ago, I knew that this day would come. It was as inevitable as the washing tides. I guess over the years I pushed it towards the background of my mind. Tried to lock it away with the rest of the nasty, horrible, nightmare inducing things that resided there. Forgotten enough that I could make it through the day to day but not forgotten enough that it ever went away. Always there, scratching and clawing at the walls I managed to build up.

Like a wave rolling in, shifting and moving everything in its path, the wall crumbled.

”Sir. Sir.” Bobby talked my on the shoulder hard, pulling me back into the land of the living, “Everything ok there, Sir? Look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

”No, yea, no, everything’s fine.” I stumbled through my words, “Listen, Bobby, I trust you.” Christ, my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest, “I need you to lock down my floor. No one in or out. Do you understand me? This is important, ok?” I pulled him closer as I grabbed the collar of his shirt, lowering my voice to just above a whisper, “If Elle_E_Ott shows up, I need you to tell her “peaches”, nothing more, nothing less. She’ll understand it. And Bobby,” I pulled him dangerously close, hard, our foreheads nearly bumping together, “If I hear a word about this from anyone, I’ll know it was you. Do you understand me?”

I pushed back roughly against Bobby, sending his shoes sliding a foot or two. I didn’t have the time to worry about what his reply was going to be, there were far more pressing matters. Pushing myself up on my tippy toes, I blindly fumbled around the desk before my fingers wrapped around the handle of the pistol that I knew Bobby kept there. I quickly tucked it into my waist band as I straighten, “Remember, lock down and peaches, Bobby. I’m trusting you here.”

Unfortunately, I knew exactly where I was supposed to be going.

That thought itself made my stomach turn.

Normally, I would have set up a meeting like this in some quiet coffee shop with plenty of innocent bystanders but I got the feeling with this one that I could use a decent sized buzz. Hence why I showed up at Josie’s well before I set the meeting and was four deep before the front door swung open.

I could feel a weight on my shoulders as soon as it did, a heavy haze pushing down on me. It took just about everything in me to not toss some cash on the bar top and run out of there screaming. I knew that wasn’t a possibility, even if I really, really wanted it to be one at the moment. 

I threw back my shot in one swift motion, trying to look as lackadaisical as possible. It probably came off more as paranoid but, at least I was trying.

”Dick.” Ah, Christ, I wished I never had to hear that voice again, “Seems the years have been...unkind to you. To say the least.”

”Yea, yea, blah, blah. What the fuck do you want?” I fought hard to keep the tremble out of my voice, the quake out of my hand.

”Ahh, ahh, ahh, Dick. You’ve got better manners than that. And, let’s be honest, we both know exactly why we are here.”

He wasn’t wrong, as much as it pained me to admit. I reached over the bar, taking Josie’s full scowl as I felt for the neck of a bottle, pulling it back over and filling my glass. “Enough of the theatrics.” I audibly sighed, “Get on with it. What’s the favor?”

”Oh, I remember you being much more fun.” He swiped the bottle from me, taking a large swig from it before wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve, “You’ve always been good at taking things that don’t belong to you. I need to get something back that was stolen from me.”

”Is that all?” I scoffed, “Seems like you’ve got plenty of petty thugs to handle something like that. Of all the time and all the things, this is what you’re calling your favor in for? Whatever this is,” I waved my hand slightly, “Is a bit bigger than some stolen items. What aren’t you telling me?”

”Does it matter?”

”You’re damn right it does! You’re going to feed me to the wolves and I’m going in blind.”

”Ahh, the perks of calling in a favor. Need I remind you of how I ended up with that coin in the first place? Oh, no, no, no, Dick. You don’t need to question. You don’t need to know. All you need to do is keep your end of the bargain. If you don’t like that, maybe you shouldn’t have set up a favor to begin with.”

Well, he had me dead to rights there. This wasn’t something that I could say no to or walk away from. It was as much as set in concrete at this point. All I could do was see it through.

”Fine.” I eventually relented, the voice in my head that was screaming, “Noooo!”, was turned down a few notches, “What was taken?”

“A life-“

”Ahh, fuck! Of course!” I cut him off harshly as I laughed out loud, “Nothings ever fucking easy with you, is it? I’m not your goddamned executioner! Fu-“

”You are whatever I tell you to be!” He cut me off. I suppose turnabout is fair play.

”Alright, alright.” I closed my eyes, rubbing at the bridge of my nose roughly. Desperately trying to think a way out of this whole mess, “Just- just please give me a good reason. I don’t even care if you lie to me, just- just make it convincing. Please, you owe me that much.”

He scoffed, turning his nose up at me much like he always did, “First and foremost, I don’t give a fuck about your new delicate sensibilities. That’s for you to work out and I couldn’t give a damn and I don’t owe you a good damn thing. What did we always say? If you want a grave, dig your own.”

The chill ran up my spine. He seemed colder than I remembered. Then again, I could be looking at him through the soft light of years past.

”And...” he continued before trailing off to toss back a double of whiskey, “Elizabeth is gone.”

I caught the underside of the bar with my fingertips, keeping myself upright as my legs wobbled when his words slammed me in the chest, sucking the air out of them. I tried to speak but my words caught in my throat. It didn’t matter how many years had passed, it still felt like yesterday. I finally was able to steady myself by leaning forward against the bar, taking nearly all the weight off of my legs, “When, uh, what?” I closed my eyes briefly, drawing in a deep breath before swigging straight from the bottle, “What happened?”

Jimmy climbed atop the bar stool, keeping his gaze locked straight ahead at the bottles that lined the back, “After- after everything that happened. She spiraled man. Hard. She was lost and...” Jimmy reached over swiping a bottle for himself as well, popping the cork and drew back a long pull, “She fell in with an ugly crew. Starting using. I- I-“ 

I pushed back against the bar as Jimmy jumped up, grabbed the bottle by the neck and threw it as hard as he could, sending it exploding against the far wall. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I positioned myself with my out stretched palm pressing against Jimmy’s chest and my body to the rest of the room. My eyes immediately took to Josie who had much quicker than I thought she’d be able to, swung the shotgun from underneath the bar, pointed firmly into Jimmy’s back, “Easy, easy, guys. Every body just relax now. This, this ones on me Josie.” I kept my left hand firmly pressing Jimmy back against the bar as I held up my right palm before stuffing it in my pocket, pulling out a stack of crumbled bills between my fingers, “His little sister passed away. Just...just give him a break. You know I’m good for it.”

Josie stared me down for a long tense moment, her eyes feeling like they were boring holes through mine. For what seemed like an eternity she debated with her self before letting out a grumble and stuffed the gun back underneath the bar. I braced myself for some type of back lash but Josie surprised me still. Reaching up on her tippy toes, she grabbed the most expensive bottle of scotch from the top shelf, twisting off the wrapping before she was even back down. She slipped two glasses between her fingers before placing them all down softly atop the bar. With a somber look, she made eye contact with Jimmy as she filed the first glass nearly all the way up, “We’re all sorry for your loss.”

After a slow pause, Jimmy lifted the glass, careful not to spill anything. Turning, he faced the room, lifting the glass into the air, “To Elizabeth, sleep well, little sis.”

A resounding, “Here! Here!” Broke out before Jimmy turned back towards the bar, unable to hide the sadness in his eyes, “I didn’t see her getting hooked. I mean, she hid it so well. And- and then one day, she-she was gone. Lifeless body in an alley way.”

I couldn’t help it anymore, I snapped, grabbing Jimmy by the collar as hard as my grip could hold, I threw him to the ground, kneeling down beside him as I landed one lunch squarely on his large forehead. “You let her die in an alley?!”

”I didn’t let her do anything.” Jimmy grabbed my thumb, twisting his hips as he did and before I knew it, my cheek was pressed up against the floor of Josie’s. “We both know she did whatever she wanted. I need you to find him. The one that hooked her. Destroyed her. Please. You owe her that.”

“I’m- I’m sorry Jimmy.” I struggled to get the words out as he held his full weight in between my shoulder blades, “I’m sorry that she’s gone.”

I got the feeling that he didn’t want to, but Jimmy finally relented, offering me a helping hand up that I promptly refused. I still had a little bit of pride to cling to at this point. “What do you already know?” I sighed, not wanting any part of this but knowing fully that I was entrenched now. “Where?”

Jimmy scoffed as he turned back towards the bar, “Heh, where else?”

Ahh, fuck, of course, “Philly, huh? The hits that keep on coming. Still wanted around those parts I see. Hence why you need me.”

”Aren’t you the observant one.” He deadpanned before tossing back another shot, “You think this isn’t something I’d take care of myself if I could?”

Well, he wasn’t wrong there. Jimmy wasn’t the type to have others take care of his clean ups. That’s probably why he hadn’t called in the favor until now. “I’ll see what I can do. You got to give me a few days though. This- this may take a few favors. Where are you going to be if I need to get in touch?”

”Around.”

”Around? Really? That’s what you’re going to give me to work with?”

”Ill be around. I’ll find you when I need to. Not a moment sooner.” Jimmy quickly brought the bottle to his lips, draining the rest of it in a few loud gulps. He straightened up, giving Josie a thankful glance before leaving a hefty tip for her. Pushing past me, he headed towards the door, “Dont fuck this up, Dick.”

Well, I thought to myself as I turned back to the nearly empty bottle in front of me, that could have gone better. It’s amazing how quickly everything that I thought was locked away, comes rushing back to the foreground.

Truthfully, I should have walked away right then and there. I should have left to find Elle_E_Ott and start our life together. I shouldn’t have let myself get dragged back into this whole mess.

Unfortunately, what I should do and what I’m going to do are two completely different things.

Even after all these years, I couldn’t walk away from Jimmy now. He called in the favor, simple as that. But it was far more than just a favor. There was emotions involved now. Emotions that I thought dead and buried long ago. No matter how badly I wanted to, I couldn’t cut bait and run. Jimmy was right. After everything, after the way everything happened, I owed him that much. I owed Elizabeth just as much.

As much as I liked to fight against it, this was personal for me as well. It brought me back to my younger days, which I tried to avoid as a general rule of thumb. I couldn’t let a dark, dingy alleyway be the end of her story. She always deserved better than that.

It most likely wasn’t going to be easy either. I had made a few connections in Philly but I wasn’t sure how strong those bonds were. It was going to take some leg work. Hell, Jimmy didn’t even give me a name to go on. He never made things easy.

For the briefest of moments, I thought of asking Elle_E_Ott for help but quickly pushed that out of my mind. We had barely been married and survived Slade, we both needed the break from things that could potentially kill us. No, I was going to take this one on myself. It was the only thing that actually felt right about this whole fucked up situation. 

I finished the rest of the bottle slowly. Letting years of memories replay in my mind over and over as I did. I figured I wouldn’t be doing anything plotting and planning tonight, not in the condition I was in anyways. So, really no reason to rush things. 

Eventually, the liquor was gone and I rapped three knuckles atop the bar, drawing Josie’s attention, “I’m sorry about this-“ I waved my hand awkwardly towards the room, “this mess. I’ll- I’ll pay for the damage.”

After staring me down for a moment, Josie spoke in her gruff voice, “I’ll put it on your tab. Get out of here. Go home. Get as much sleep as you can get. You look like you’ve been run over by a train.”

”Ahh, well,” I looked down at my disheveled self, creasing out a couple of the wrinkles with my hands, “You aren’t wrong there. I’ll see you around, Josie. Thanks again.”

I took a couple awkward, stumbling steps before righting my sense of balance. I drew in a slow deep breath as I pushed out into the cool New York air. Hesitating for a second or two, I lit a smoke from my pocket, deciding to skip hailing a cab and began walking instead. Some fresh air might do me some good right about now. God knows I need to get my head as clear as possible as soon as possible.

By the time I managed to get home to The Tower, I was far more exhausted than when I started the walk. My mind was on overdrive, running over every possibility over and over again. I still wanted to say fuck it and walk away.

The world is different now than when I first asked for the favor. It’s a whole different beast completely. Not only that, but I’ve changed. I’m not the same gung-ho, run into the fire type that I used to be. With age came wisdom and it’s helped keep me alive for this long. If I stayed on the path I was on back then, there wasn’t a chance I’d live to see any days like this. 

Peering around the place, I let out a somewhat frustrated sigh as I realized Elle_E_Ott wasn’t around. Apparently that whole lockdown thing went against her standards or something. It’d be nice to see her but part of me was relieved that she was away from this. She had enough to handle with the move to the Midwest, she didn’t need to be worrying about whatever mess I was getting myself tangled up in now.

I tried to push everything out and clear my mind, collapsing down on the couch as I kicked my shoes off before spinning on the radio. I laid my head back, letting out a sigh as soft jazz filled the air. I needed anything to slow my brain at this point. It was as if information was coming at me too quickly and I couldn’t understand it fast enough. Like gasping for air underwater. 

After a few minutes that felt like a few hours, of not being able to settle down, I frustratingly ran a hand through my hair, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees as I did. “Think, dammit, think.” I muttered to myself.

I had a puzzle in front of me but I was missing piece to it. It didn’t matter how long I racked my mind for, if I didn’t have all the information, there was no way I’d be able to see the whole picture. At this point, I didn’t even have a name to run up a flag pole or two. If I was going to find anything useful, it certainly wasn’t going to be here in New York, I was going to have to head into Philly. Truthfully, I tried to do as little of that as possible after that whole fire at the Answering Service fiasco. I suppose I didn’t really have much choice this time around though.

It didn’t take me much longer to realize I wasn’t going to do much of anything around here. I was too wired to sleep and too in the dark to figure anything out, the only sensible thing to do was hop on a train heading south. Pushing myself up and off the couch with a grunt of exertion, I quickly packed a small bag. Nothing much, a couple change of clothes, an extra gun, a blade or three. Tossing the bag onto the bed, I knelt down, reaching a hand underneath the bed frame until I pulled out some stacks of crisp bills. Cash certainly wasn’t going to hurt things.

I stopped off in the kitchen before heading out. I topped off the flask before grabbing a pen and ripping a piece of paper off of the pad and scribbling a few words, “I’ve got business in Philly Elle_E_Ott, I’ll give you a ring when I’m all settled in. Stay safe Mrs. Grayson. I love you.” I signed my name before tossing the pen onto the counter and locking the door on my way out.

I tried my best to sneak some sleep in but, between my mind racing and the constant click clack of the tracks made that nearly impossible. The train car was empty for the most part with the exception of a family with a very tired small child who’s been snuggled up sound asleep in his mother’s lap for the duration of the trip. 

I felt the pang in my chest almost before I realized it. Jason and Emma would have been nearly ten now, already well into forming who they were going to be as people. Trying to figure out how to find meaning and understanding in a world ruled by chaos. Sharpening their personalities. 

Turning away, I let my eyes fall to the passing land outside of the window, doing my best to clear my mind. Unfortunately, that wasn’t working all that well in this particular moment. 

With a tired sigh, I stretched my arms high above my head letting out a grunt of exertion before fishing through my vest pocket for a smoke. I began to flick my lighter alive before glancing back towards the family. After a moment of debate with myself, I stood slowly, keeping the cigarette dangling between my lips as I moved towards the door between cars. Pausing for a moment, I drew an inhale as I lit the smoke, opening the door and stepping into the rush of air between the two cars. It wasn’t as loud as I thought it’d be and it was actually nice to sneak a bit of fresh air in. 

I gave a glance down at my watch, there wasn’t much longer to the trip, which was setting my nerves a little on edge. I still had no idea where to go or who to talk to but I could only deal with that when the time came. I owed Elizabeth, even if I’d rather do just about anything else right now.

I’d find a way. I didn’t really have any other choice, really. There were still a few faces I could trust in town, or at least former residents that still held connections. It was a starting point, and that was all I needed right now. I could piece the rest together one way or another. 

I drew in one last draw from my smoke before flicking it into the wind and exhaling. Grabbing the railing, I leaned forward with my head in the wind for a moment as I closed my eyes before pulling the door open to head back into the car. I was two or three steps in before I looked up, the pistol trained firmly at the center of my chest.

I let my shoulders slump as I hung my head, roughly rubbing at the bridge of my nose between two fingertips. Of all the things that could happen, this was right up near the top of the list of things I did not want to deal with.

I didn’t even bother trying to hide the weariness in my voice, “I really, really, don’t have the time or the energy for this.” I straightened up, shaking the cobwebs out of my mind slightly. The patriarch of the tiny family stood before me on shaky footing, the mother and child sobbing quietly curled up in a ball together. It was clear that he was in way over his head. With the way his hand was trembling and how jumpy he was, there was a higher chance that he’d accidentally shoot me, “Let’s just take a deep breath here. You don’t want-“

”Shut up! Shut up!” He barked out at me cutting me off, his voice cracking as he did, “Dont tell me what to do!”

”Ok, ok.” I conceded, turning my palms to face him slightly, trying to come off as disarming as possible, “What are you looking for? Cash? Take however much Ive got on me. You didn’t have to stick me up for that.” I motioned sympathetically towards the mother shielding her child, “Besides, looks like you could use it more than I could.”

The father took half a lunge towards me, snarling out as he did, “This isn’t about fucking money!”

”Ok. Alright. I get that.” I tried to keep my voice as even as possible. This guy was clearly going through something and even the tiniest thing may set him off and I’d end up with a bullet hole. Which was something I was kind of trying to avoid. “Just tell me what you want and we can figure this out. There’s no reason anyone has to get hurt.”

”They- They told me I have to!” He snapped back, waving the gun a little more erratically now.

I held my breath as I watched the car door behind him open, the tell tale clinking of the bar cart being pushed seemed to fill the entire space. The father flinched, getting caught off guard by the unplanned visitor, turning his head to see what the intrusion was.

Pushing off my back foot, I sprung forward, grabbing his wrist with my right hand, pulling down hard as I swung my left with as much force as I could muster. The crack was sickening as I felt the shockwave snake up my arm into my shoulder. He fell limp against one of the seats, his heels clacking together as he landed. 

I took a moment to compose myself, locking eyes with the attendant with the car for a moment before they very carefully backed up, shutting the train’s car door as they did. I didn’t mean to knock him senseless but I guess there was a little more rage flowing through me than I initially thought. He certainly couldn’t answer any questions I had, not in this state anyways.

Muttering something underneath my breath, I fished through my bag before pulling out a bottle of water. I hated to waste it like this but I wasn’t in the mood for patience at the moment. Grabbing him by the collar, I hauled him up to a somewhat sitting state. I pulled the cork out with my teeth before dumping some of it over his head, shaking him as I did, “That’s it. Wakey, wakey. Ya still with us now? Come on, come on.”

There was a glaze over his eyes and blood leaked out of the corners of his mouth, a few cracked teeth littered the floor beside him. He looked like he was running somewhere in his mind, by my guess, somewhere far, far away from the here and now, “They- kill me...” he managed to mutter, his jaw already swollen and filling in with black and blues as is dangled nearly useless, “They’ll kill me.”

”Well, what the fuck do you think I’m going to do to you?” I shook him roughly before letting go in a fit of frustration. It couldn’t be simple coincidence that I’m stuck up on a train to Philly when I’m just starting to search for answers. I wasn’t sure what came over me but, I reached down, grabbing his discarded weapon from the ground, “Ok, fine. Have it your way.” I fired a single round through the window above his family’s head, eliciting a terrible shriek from the mother, “Next one goes in your son’s head. One after that in your wife’s. What are you doing here?”

”No! Don’t!” He gasped, weakly grabbing at my pant leg with near useless fingers, “The- the church.” He managed to sputter out through pained, forced breaths, “I- I- I don’t know the names. They- they said they- they would kill every- everyone.”

”Where are they?”

”i- I don’t know.” His breathing was becoming more labored now, “They found- found me. Told- said I had to.”

I drew in a slow, deep breath. My heartbeat had slowed to more acceptable levels now and my head was beginning to clear from the initial adrenaline dump. It wasn’t much to go on but it was something, or at least a piece of something that I could try and pursue. I had been clutching for straws earlier, at least now I had a name. Even if it was some weird, shadowy one.

I thought about it for a moment longer, relaxing my shoulders slightly as I let out a sigh, “I want you to give them a message. This church, or whatever the hell it is.”

Without as much as a second thought I raised the gun, firing a single shot as I did. 

My chest heaved as I panted a bit, the child’s cries filling the space as I slowly lowered my arm, the pistol still smoking in my hand. At the very least, it seemed like I was headed in some direction. It may not have been the right one but it was more than I had to go on five minutes ago.

I let out a frustrated sigh as I moved towards my seat once more. Whatever mess Jimmy had dragged me into was going to be a pain in the ass, I could already tell that. If I already had ill prepared hitmen drawing on me already, the road was only going to get longer and darker. I popped the slide out then the bullet in the chamber before tossing the weapon back on the floor, reaching underneath my seat with my other hand, I slid out my bag. Rummaging through it for a moment, I pulled out a stack of bills tied together with a small piece of twine.

Debating my actions for a moment, I tossed the bills into the man’s lap as he couldn’t seem to break away his stare from the bullet hole in the seat beside his head. When I spoke, my words took a little bit to reach him as he turned his head slowly, “Take the money and get the fuck out of dodge. Get off at the next stop and then go somewhere. Anywhere that isn’t New York or Philadelphia.” I warned.

Now that there threat had passed, the adrenaline dump began to wash out of my system. Laying my head back against the seat cushion, I shut my eyes for a moment. The pieces were still far to jumbled to do much with other than spin around in my mind but at least I was collecting more.

I still wasn’t sure where to go when I hit Philly. I couldn’t even be sure that the guy with the broken jaw was speaking any truth. He was beaten and broken, it was just as plausible that he’s in shock and speaking nonsense. I shook that thought out of my head after a brief moment. There was something behind the fear in his eyes. It wasn’t because of me or the gun trained on his family, it was something else, something deeper, something tangible. I couldn’t exactly place it but I felt it somewhere in my gut that I was treading in the right direction. It wasn’t anything that had failed me before and at this point, it was really all that I had to go on at the moment. Sure beat clutching at straws and guess work, I shrugged to myself.

The problem of who to contact was still hanging over my head though. I hadn’t really spent much time in Philly, not enough to really know where all the hidden places were. Unfortunately, most if not all of my connections had already made the move out the Detroit way. Perfect timing, I scoffed underneath my breath.

I tried to doze off but I was too wired now. Too many things running through my head at the moment. I gave a side glance over at the mother and kid still huddled together, pulling a smoke from my pocket, I flicked my lighter alive and drew a deep inhale.

A cool spring breeze brushed against me as I stepped from the train, causing me to pull my jacket a little tighter to my body. The ride in was far more exhausting than I wished it was but I was starting to get the sinking suspicion that most of whatever adventure this was, was going to be more of the same. Having a gun pointed at your chest is a hell of a way to start things off.

I paused for a moment atop the platform, taking a second or two to let my eyes adjust to the partially sunny sky. It felt like days since I was last able to feel sunshine on my face. I needed it now.

I reached for a smoke before deciding against it, instead, pulling the flask from my hip pocket. I needed somewhere to set up first and foremost. Preferably some place out of the way and quiet. Quiet was my friend right now. I didn’t know how it happened but someone was already tipped off that I’m heading this way. It’s only a matter of time before the catch word of what happened on the train. Stands to reason that the high traffic areas, the hot spots, will all be watched. I wasn’t ready to draw attention to myself, not yet anyways. It was fine if they knew I was in the city as long as they didn’t know where.

Tucking my flask back into my pocket, I pulled my cap down low, obscuring my face as best I could. I didn’t know the reach that this Church or whatever it was had, so I decided to stay away from any public modes of transportation. Instead mingling in with the crowded sidewalks. All I wanted to do right now was blend in, makes myself look like any other Philadelphian.

I couldn’t actually remember a time that I actually walked the city. When I was here, it was usually for business or running back and forth from the Answering Service. I never left myself with enough time to explore the intricacies and history of the place.

I wasn’t sure how long I had been wandering for but the wind had died down considerably and the slight cloud cover had given way to clear blue skies. The streets seemed to be humming along nicely when I stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn’t believe that I didn’t think of it before, especially considering that I was just there.

There was a chapel in the William H. Gray train station. It may have been a long shot but it would make sense that whatever this mess was would be close to some type of mass transportation. Something right on the tracks would make any shipping and receiving that much easier and wouldn’t draw any attention.

Sparking a smoke, I doubled back, picking up my pace slightly. Not enough to draw any unwanted attention but enough that I’d get there a little quicker.

I always felt a bit uneasy around churches, even a place as quaint as the chapel here at the station. My lack of any formal religion might have had a bit to do with that though. It wasn’t anything that I could really place, more just an odd feeling hanging around me.

I dropped my cigarette to the sidewalk, stubbing it out with my heel, taking one more deep breath before heading inside. This was a bit of a shot in the dark but I needed to start somewhere. This place seemed as good a place as any.

I hoped the uneasy feeling my stomach would subside once I made it inside but no such luck unfortunately. The place was empty, nothing but a few burning candles in remembrance of someone’s loved ones off to the side and a dimly lit crucifix looming large above the pulpit. It reminded me of pretty much every other chapel or church I had been in before. The strange feeling of being watched at all the moments. It all made the hairs in the back of my neck stand up.

I was startled by the sound of crashing boxes and a very clear, “God fucking dammit!” 

Following the groan to a small back storage room, a tiny thing of a man laid flat on his back, his bottom half pinned down by what looked like heavy cardboard boxes. He seemed more embarrassed than anything as he saw me in the doorway, his pale cheeks turning an off color red. He stared at me for a moment before barking up in the same take them lords name in vain voice as before, “Well ya just gonna fucking stand there or ya gonna help me up?!”

”Oh, right, right, sorry.” Stepping into the room, I scooped my arms underneath his armpits, hauling him back and upwards until he was standing with his back to me.

”Yea, yea, thanks and all. Hand me that goddamn crutch would ya?”

He motioned towards the small wooden crutch resting against the frame of the door. I hadn’t been able to tell because of the boxes but his right leg was missing just above the knee. 

“Have to dig out the fucking good silverware.” He scoffed as he balanced before me, leaning down to pick up some of the loose knives and forks that had fallen, “Like any body gives a shit anyways. Not like they used to anyways. Goddamn heathens.”

I took a small step back, not wanting to be in too close of a proximity just in case he did really go off, “Do you-uh-do you work here?” With that mouth I was thinking a janitor at the most.

”Oh, yea, yea, yea, sorry about that. Distracted and all.” He spun on his heel quickly offering his hand, Father Steven Veil, pleasure. Welcome to my little slice of absolute fucking paradise.”

Just as he finished his introduction the light blew out above out heads. The father began muttering under his breath before I clearly caught, “I swear to fucking Christ would ya do something already?”

”Ahh well, fuck it, I’ll deal with it later.” He pushed me back out of the small room with his crutch, “What can I do for you? There’s not another sermon for another three hours. Not like anybody shows up anyways.” He scoffed, “You looking for a confessional? To be honest, might not be the best place. I’ve probably racked up more sins than most.”

”No, I-uh.” I stuttered, caught off guard by his bluntness.

”Well come on, out with it. Haven’t got all fucking day.” He tapped at his wrist watch impatiently.

”Have you ever heard of The Church?”

The diminutive priest’s demeanor changed abruptly. He shifted his stance uncomfortably, tiny beads of sweat appearing on his brow. He clenched his fists tightly as his cheeks began to turn a light shade of red. There was something behind his eyes, fear maybe but that didn’t seem to fit, it was more rage like. “Get the fuck outta here! Right the fuck now!”

”Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy there.” I took a big step backwards, turning my palms up at my sides, “I’m just looking for some answers, that’s all.”

He didn’t leave me much time to react before he swung his cane hard at throat level. I stumbled backwards awkwardly, feeling the breeze go by as his blow just missed.

”I’m not looking for trouble-“ I made a plea before he cut me off again.

”I’ll fucking kill you.” He lunged forward, dropping the cane completely and clutching at my throat with extended claws. The distance that I put between us was just enough to give me a slight advantage. I twisted my hips as I grabbed at his forearm, pulling his momentum to my left, sending him crashing down hard onto his back with a thud that drew out a prolonged moan. I pushed both my hands on his shoulders, pinning him there.

”What the fuck is going on?!” I barked, my own anger boiling towards the tipping point, “Whatever in the fuck this is, it stops right fucking now! I swear to god if you try anything, I’ll break that fat little nose of yours!”

”Just-just get the fuck off of me!” He grumbled underneath his breath as he wiggled out of my grasp, propping his back against the wall. He glared at me for a moment as he rubbed at the back of his head with tired fingers, finally relenting with a sigh, “Well, I suppose if you’re asking questions, than you really don’t know.”

”I don’t know a goddamn thing.” I chuckled lightly as I sunk to the floor beside him, “I’m just trying to figure out why they tried to put a bullet in the back of my head, Father.”

I watched as the father struggled to push himself up to his feet, mostly because he sternly waved me off when I offered to help. I got the feeling that he wasn’t the type to ask for help even if he needed it. He shuffled off towards the back of the pulpit, “Sorry about that laddie, Ya can never fuckin’ tell these days. Those grubby scumbags have their dirty little fingers in every dirty little pie.” He reached underneath the cloth draped over the table pulling out a half empty bottle of red wine and two soap stained glasses. He motioned to the chairs that sat towards the back corner as he filled the glasses, “Take a seat, there may be a lot to go over.”

At this point, I mostly wanted to get up and leave but, one quick flash of a memory with Elizabeth and I knew that that wasn’t any option. With a grunt of exertion, I pushed myself up to my feet. “I kind of stumbled into...into whatever the hell this is.” I moved over to my seat a little more gingerly than I would have liked but I made it none the less.

”Here.” Father Veil handed my glass over as I awkwardly passed, “Let me guess, woman involved. Some type of death. Usually not in a place that one would want to die. Am I getting warm here?”

”Nail on the head.” I sighed, “Overdose in a dark alleyway. No witnesses, no leads.”

The father paused for a moment, taking an impressively large gulp of his wine, “No leads, huh? How’d you end up here then?”

”Suppose you can say blind luck.” I chuckled lightly, forced enough to break the awkwardness, “Her brother put me on the trail, he’d...” I trailed off for a moment, a pang of regret hitting me quickly, “Hed know better than I would. Said she got mixed up in something or other.”

”Oh yeah, she was mixed up in something alright. And I can certainly fuckin guarantee that it wasn’t anything good.”