/***************************************************************************/ / / / Implements of Rapture / / ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / Chapter I - Terms Of Sorrow / / / / Copyright 1994 By Brian Burke/Arturius Pendragon [VOR Lit] / / Email: (eliphas@clark.net or arturius@arcanum.com) / / / / * The Following is based on material found in *Kult* (Swedish Edition / / Copyright 1991 Target Games, American Edition Copyright 1993 / / Metrolpolis, Ltd. * / /***************************************************************************/ The crimson Ford Taurus pulled slowly into the driveway of the small two-story townhouse and gave a final desperate groan as tiny wisps of smoke escaped from under the hood and flew defiantly towards space. Kyle Raisworth cursed the infernal machine as he threw open the rusting door and stormed up the driveway. The heavy rhythm of his boots striking asphalt were carried away by thick curtains of wind and leaves that bit viciously at his unprotected arms. His hands were almost completely numb by the time he reached the doorway and slipped the keys into the deadbolt. There was a re-assuring grind as the deadbolt slipped into the unlocked position and the door swung gently open. Kyle quickly thwarted the slim tendrils of autumn air that to follow him in. He smiled for a moment as he slammed the door, cutting off their wailing. Fingers toyed with the oval lever fastened to the door as the deadbolt seated itself back into its cozy metal cage. The air was thick with dust and unpaid bills. Kyle worked his boots off and collapsed onto the nearby couch. A stifling cloud of dust rose from the couch and embraced him, sending him to the floor in a fit of sneezing and coughing. The room around him vanished beneath a blanket of water as his eyes reacted to the dust. He stumbled towards the kitchen and forced the faucet to the cold position and cupped his hand expectantly under its mouth. He stared in disbelief at the faucet for a moment and then slammed the ball of his foot into the flimsy wooden cabinet. The cabinet doors buckled under the assault sending shards of wood across the floor. Kyle's hand shot for the nearby phone and attacked the keypad. Ring. Ring. "Hello?" "Yeah Laura this is Kyle." He attempted to keep his voice level as his eyes swept across the kitchen taking note of where the fingers of wood were lying. "Kyle! Oh my god it's so good to hear your voice. Mr. Raisworth said you weren't going to be back for quite some time." "Yeah, well I decided it was time I stopped feeling sorry for myself and get something done. What the hell happened to my house. Jason said he was going to have someone take care of the house while I was gone. I come back and it's like a fucking Mausoleum. Whats going on?" "Oh...nobody got in contact with you..." Laura's voice shuddered slightly. "Of course not I didn't tell anybody where I was going not even Jason. Tell me what's going on!" Kyle demanded, his anger carrying through the line and causing Laura's phone to squeal in protest. "I think maybe it would be better if someone els.." "GODDAMNIT Laura well you please stop bullshitting and just tell me." "I don't know how..Mr. Raiswo ..Jason.. was in D.C. for a sales convention and .." Laura's speech became slurred and laced with sobs as she attempted to continue "..they found him gutted in an alley two days later.." Kyle stared at the dust coated floor for a moment as if trying to pierce it and decipher some distant puzzle nestled underneath. "Kyle..we all know he had troubles..with his wife..but she really loved him..they had two kids you know one's grown up but the others still a kid...goddamnit why'd she have to.." Laura's voice suddenly swung from grief to rage as the sound of her fist hitting a nearby wall made it's to Kyle. "Do What?" Kyle demanded. Laura erupted into another fit of sobbing and continued pounding the wall. "DO WHAT LAURA?" "...why'd she have to kill her self..why..why..the kids ..it's just not right.." "Christ..." For all his celebrated eloquence Kyle found it hard to mutter any other word. "Christ.." he continued, as if it were a mantra. "Christ..not..a.." Kyle absently placed the phone back in its cradle and attempted to steady himself against a nearby wall. A wave of nausea swept over him as his legs lost their ability to hold up his weight. Kyle emptied his stomach onto the floor and wept uncontrollably as the months of barriers he had erected came tumbling down around him, landing in his own vomit and tears. His fists smashed into the floor, causing rivulets of vomit to latch onto his face and smear themselves across the front of his shirt. He struggled to pull himself up but succeeded only in slipping on the slick floor and falling back towards the ground, his head striking the floor with a wet thud. He stared motionless at the ceiling, his eyes fixated on the speckled pattern that radiated from the center of the room and spiralled outward towards the living room, only to be stopped by a thin lair of brownish-grey paint. His eyelids fluttered for a moment and then shut as reality ceased to be and nausea joined exhaustion for a slow waltz on his skull. **** Daylight pounded on Kyle Raisworth's eyelids and demanded entrance into his optic nerve. He slowly opened his eyes and greeted dawn with an extended finger. "Fuck you morning." he remarked bitterly as he brushed away flakes of dry vomit and staggered towards the living room. The suffocating cloud of inactivity from the night before had settled in for a nap and didn't bother to rouse itself as Kyle made his way out of the house, leaving the door wide open. It was just cold enough to make Kyle extremely uncomfortable as he slid into the Taurus. "Start or die. That simple." he informed the car as he twisted the key in the ignition. The car's engine snapped to attention and the car rolled gently out of the driveway. Kyle fumbled with the heater for a moment and sighed when it didn't kick in. Memories pushed at the membrane of his sanity, attempting to tear through the shady veil of denial he had erected to protect himself. His brain was on fire, his mouth was sour with vomit and his eyes stung from tears and dust. A vacancy sign caught his attention and something in the back of his mind told him that a shower and some breakfast would do him some good. The car rumbled onto the gravel parking lot and sat obediently as Kyle pulled a suitcase out of the trunk. He made his way through the dizzying labrynth of station wagons and rented luxury cars towards the main office. He pushed his way past a pair of newlyweds draped over each other in front of the doorway and approached the front desk. He withdrew his wallet and motioned for the elderly lady at the desk. "I need a room for the night please.." he croaked as he removed a thin piece of plastic from his wallet and tossed it to her. "Yes .. sir" she responded between coughs as she recoiled from the cloud of stench following Kyle. "Thanks.." he responded dryly as he took a pair of keys and his credit card from her outstretched hands. The woman fired off a sequence of directions and informed him that there would be a non-refundable security deposit of $20.00. Kyle nodded and signed the register as instructed. He hurried out to the car and retrieved the rest of his belongings and hurried across the gravel, his feet half-numb from the cold and gravel that bit into his feet. "Idiot.." he remarked to himself as he gazed down at the tattered socks that clung uselessly to his feet. He tossed one suitcase after another onto the sky blue carpeting of the single suite and hurried into the shower soon after. He fiddled with the faucet in the shower until it was somewhat comfortable and stepped in. The warm cascade of water worked relentlessly to chip away the filth that coated his body. His mouth opened to receive the sweet liquid and his throat contracted violently as he swallowed mouthful after mouthful of water. The scent of the blue bar of soap seated in a porcelain groove next to him was sickeningly sweet. He reached reluctantly over and began to scrub himself vigorously. His fingers clutched the soap in a stranglehold as he continued scrubbing himself. Voices beckoned to him from the other side, begging him to join them. What do I have here? Pain? Nobody. Christ, why? Please let me wake up, So soft...all my fault..never should have left her..why Jason?...not yet...can't end it now... Kyle looked down at his fists, his nails uprooted channels of blood which mingled with the soap oozing from between his fingers and fell in obscene lumps to the shower floor. He slowly worked his fingers apart and allowed the shower to wash away the blood and soap from his palm. He reached for the shampoo and rubbed it into his hair, ignoring the searing pain of the shampoo entering the small wounds on his palm. His head fell backwards and his eyes closed tight as his fingers continued to probe his scalp. The greenish suds completely obscured his dirty blonde hair and crept slowly down his back. Kyle depressed the knobs of the shower and grabbed a towel from the nearby rack. He eyed his reflection and noted that he was in desperate need of a shave. He padded over towards one of the leather suitcases and produced a robe and small toiletry kit. He unzipped the small bag and laid out his razor and travel size shaving cream. He picked up the shaving cream bottle and casually thumbed off the cap. His fingers depressed the knob that would expel the whip-cream like substance but instead was rewarded with a slight rush of air typical of something that was almost empty. He shook, smashed, and cursed at the can, managing to coax out barely enough of it to cover his face. He held the razor under the lukewarm water and ran the barbarous instrument across his face until his face was smooth and even. He flung the razor into a nearby trash can and dug through his bag. After applying a bit of Old Spice he pulled out the remaining contents of the bag. His teeth ached with cleanliness by the time he had deposited his toothbrush back into the bag and took a swig of Listerene. He quickly threw on one of the suits he had brought along with him and picked a pair of shoes that looked moderately comfortable and hurried back out to his car. He roared out of the hotel parking lot and onto the highway. The battered Taurus thundered down the asphalt with renewed vigor, racing past sports car and station wagon alike. Kyle pointed the car's nose towards the city and locked his foot onto the accelerator. **** The unadorned sterility of the Erringdale Plaza had never bother Kyle before, but as he pulled into the parking deck it became yet another reminder of the cold impersonality of the steel cage around him. He made his way into the lobby and past the building's information desk. He stepped into a seemingly empty elevator and enjoyed the slight shift of balance as the elevator rocketed upwards. A small ding foreshadowed the comforting hum of the elevators doors sliding away from each other. Kyle stepped from the elevator and onto the floor reserved by Raisworth Security Systems Inc. The semi-silver RSSI logo mounted onto Laura's desk greeted him as he made his way towards the row of offices seated farther back. Laura rose slowly from her desk and cautiously approached Kyle. "I'm glad you came back, I'm sorry. I could have handled things better last night but.." "It's ok Laura, I understand. It wasn't really a big secret you know.." Kyle interrupted. "What do you mea....thanks Kyle." Laura responded absently. "Aj's been trying to keep things going here but he just doesn't have the knack for business that you or his father had...I know it's so soon after you've returned but he really needs your help." Laura said, suddenly shifting the conversation. "Aj's running the business? Where is he?" "He's in his...his fathers..office." Kyle nodded in thanks and turned to make his way towards the office. He stopped and turned to face Laura and placed a hand lightly on her shoulders. "I know he meant a lot to you Laura and I'm sorry, but we both have to try to get on with our lives.." "How?" she said as she pulled a handkerchief from her jacket pocket. "I don't understand how! How are we supposed to go on, he put his whole life into this place" she screamed, her hand swinging in a dizzying arc, taking in the whole of the office. "Stop feeling so damned sorry for yourself! I made the same mistake after Elizabeth died. I ran away. Tried to "find myself". I found nothing but what I had been trying so desperately to get away from. A tired and broken man, running from tomorrow backwards into yesterday!" Kyle took a deep breath and continued his verbal assault "What about the kids? Who's going to look after them? AJ is all grown up but he was close to his father. And what about Greg? He's a kid for christ's sake, who's going to look after him? What are we supposed to tell him about his parents? I'm his uncle but I could never be as good a father to him as Jason could have." Laura withered visibly under his anger and stepped back towards the desk and slumped into her chair. She hid her face in her hands and wept to herself, whispering "I don't know, I just don't know.." Kyle turned away from her, disgusted at himself for attacking her. His lips parted to produce an apology but shut abruptly as he made his way up the aisle towards what had been his brothers office. Employees who had known him for years eyed him with pity as they continued their work, careful not to catch his eyes. Kyle finally reached the heavy oak door and could make out screaming on the other side. He slowly pushed the door aside and slipped in. AJ failed to notice his uncle enter the room and continued screaming into the phone. In desperation he flung it down and let his head fall to his desk. He kept his head down for a few brief moments and then raised it to eye his Uncle quizzically. The younger man's face had changed drastically since the last time Kyle had seen him. Large bags hung from his eyes, his hair looked as if it hadn't been combed in days and a tattered red tie hung from a sweat stained dress shirt. "Uncle Kyle?" AJ asked as his eyes probed the man in front of him. "Uncle Kyle?" he repeated to himself. "Uncle Kyle!" he sprung from his seat and raced around his desk. His huge arms scooped Kyle up and smothered him in an almost fatal bear hug. "Your back..after Dad and Mom ...this place almost fell apart. Laura was able to keep away most of the customers and re-schedule. She's a good lady you know." AJ stated. "I know." Kyle said as he pushed back yet another wave of guilt. "It's so good to have you ba.." AJ froze for a moment as if reconsidering and then lashed out viciously with a right hook that sent Kyle sprawling to the floor. "You fucking asshole, WE NEEDED YOU! And you left us here, I know you loved Elizabeth but that didn't give you the right to run away from everything! You could have helped Mom through it..you could have helped...I know it...," AJ's raised fists fell limp to his sides and then extend to help his Uncle up "I'm sorry it's just that..." "No, your right I had no right to run out on everyone like that. Sorry isn't going to cut it and there's no reason that you should forgive me, but you have to let me help." Kyle pleaded. "Let you help? You bet your ass your going to help, we're drowning in bills and all our creditors want a piece of us." "I plan on it, but I have to know first, what happened? Laura explained a little last night to me, but that didn't help much." Aj made his way towards his chair and plopped down. Kyle rubbed at his jaw in a vain attempt to banish the throbbing pain. He took a seat opposite AJ as he began to tell him what little he knew. "A while after you left things really began to fall apart. Dad decided it would be a good idea for him to try and drum up some business down at a sales convention in DC so he caught a plane out there and made rounds at the convention. It was about three days into the convention, it lasted about 7, when we tried ringing him at his room. We didn't think anything about it, figured he went out for a drink or something. We kept trying to ring him but no one picked up and the hotel manager said he hadn't been seen in a few days." AJ paused to take a deep breath, and swallowed hard, fighting the tears that threatened to destroy his calm demeanor. "Then a day later someone from DC homicide called us and wanted us to come down and identify a body. So, so..we left Greg with granddad and took the earliest plane." AJ didn't bother to restrain his sorrow as he continued. "It was him, you wouldn't believe what they had done to him, all cut up, it was hard to tell it was him, but it was. Oh god, poor mom couldn't take it. She broke down right there in the morgue. I took her back to the hotel room, she said she wanted to sleep..I didn't understand until I got back from the station what she had meant..she had shoved a whole bottle of sleeping pills down her throat..." AJ wiped the tears from his eyes and closed them, the sight of his mothers lifeless body sprawled on the bed forever burned into his mind. Kyle hadn't felt the salty liquid enter his mouth but tasted it now as if it were napalm. His throat burned with rage and grief. "But I don't understand who did this? Why?" "I don't know, cops in DC said it was some sicko cult that had been operating in the area, closed the case pretty quick to. I hired a few men of my own but they've come up with nothing." AJ stopped and pulled a small metal box from the desk drawer and handed it to his uncle. "Dad left this for you in his will along with half of the company, he left the other half to mom but it went to me since..." "What's in it?" Kyle questioned. "I don't know...with everything going on I forgot about it." AJ glanced at his watch. "Shit I'm scheduled for a meeting in fifteen minutes, I'm sorry I have to leave. I'm glad your back." AJ tried to force a weak smile but gave up and exited the office. Kyle fumbled with the latch as he headed towards his office. The keys slid easily into the lock and swung open into a well kept office, devoid of dust and dirt. He shut the door behind him and dropped the box onto his desk. The desk glittered as the filtered sunlight hit it. Kyle sat down in the old leather chair with almost practiced motions and managed to pry the small metal box open. A small letter and a key occupied the tiny space inside. The key slid down the letter and clanged against the metal bottom of the box as Kyle removed the paper. The handwriting was definitely Jason's, written in that characteristic block style in which Jason conducted all correspondence. There was something wrong with the lettering, it was uneven, almost erratic in some parts, which suggested to Kyle that either Jason had been extremely nervous while he wrote the letter, or in a moving vehicle, possibly both. Kyle commanded his eyes to focus on the letter and began pouring over the contents. "Dear Kyle, I could never tell AJ this and things between Mary and I are worse than ever, I love her and all but I can't stand to be around her anymore. She's changed so much since we've married. I know she know's about Laura and I, she keeps dropping snide little comments. Hopefully, you won't have to read this and I can keep it tucked safely away, and if I'm lucky burn it in awhile. Things are just to fucking strange right now so I hope I make since when I try to explain things. It began a few weeks after you left. I was doing a little consultation for the NYPD again and was called over to some up-scale town house development where they'd found a couple of newlyweds murdered. It wasn't that far away so I headed over and pulled up about ten minutes after I got the call from detective Powell. He led me through the house to the different windows, skylights and such but I couldn't find a point of entry. I swear it was like the bastard had just beamed in, murdered the kids and beamed out. He said he wanted me to take a look at the murder scene and lend a hand. He had obviously been another victim of the Raisworth myths (those were the days eh?). I was prepared for a bloodbath, perhaps worse than what I'd seen while I'd been with the force. I learned later that the neighbor who had heard the screams next door had gone into an almost catatonic state after just HEARING about what happened. It wasn't just the scene itself, it's what it did to me. I stepped into the bedroom and almost emptied a weeks worth of lunch onto the carpet. I swear if someone hadn't told me that those quivering piles of flesh had been human I would have never been able to tell. It was like every nightmare I'd ever had, something ripped from the deepest bowels of my fear, laid out before me like some homicidal buffet. The walls had probably been white, maybe pink, didn't matter anyway because it was a deep shade of crimson now. Blood drenched the walls, if you ripped the walls down you would probably find it seeping over to the next house. It was so shiny, almost enough to blind you, I swear the blood was alive, the way it moved down the walls, sucking up the paint as it tried desperately to merge with the blood covering the carpet. In the middle of the carpet were four arms, arranged in a circle, each one interlocking the next, the bloody stumps oozing more blood onto the hungry carpet. Inside the circle were the eyes, arranged like a fucking square, Staring at me like it was my fault! The rest of the body parts were scattered about the room like the discarded toys of a child. I could feel the blood sucking at my shoes as I stared at the circle. Detective Powell motioned towards the bathroom and I followed like a zombie. I couldn't escape the eyes, I know they were following me, call me crazy if you will I know they were. The bathroom itself hadn't been touched. It wasn't until I saw the mirror that I knew the killer had visited the bathroom. I glanced at the mirror, the carnage in the other room faded into the background of the image and the cryptic lettering on the mirror pushed it's way to the forefront of my brain. A simple message was scrawled across the width of the mirror. REALITY IS A LIE. Something clicked in the back of my mind, terror seized what shred of sanity I had left and dangled it in front of my eyes. I could see them! I could see them! They gazed at me in the bedroom's reflection, chains hung from the ceiling now, I don't think their was a floor, there could have been but I never thought to look down. Thank god for that. They didn't care that I saw them, flames licked their peeling flesh. The wall behind them collapsed and exposed an almost endless expanse of burning fields. I could feel the heat now, blown in by a fetid wind that carried with it the stench of rotting flesh and the hollow screams of the dead. I blinked, still there. I turned towards Detective Powell who gave me the oddest look. DON'T YOU SEE IT! I screamed at him, but my screams fell dead in mid air. Literally. I screamed for a bit more and collapsed. Obviously I lived through it. I've been having dreams, weird dreams, people keep telling me that it's time for me to see the truth. The weirdest thing that's happened to me since then occurred when I was headed into the office. Some wino stumbled over to me and said "Malkuth welcomes you." and handed me a gnarled book. I can't read a bit of it. I thinks it's in Latin, I put it away in a safe deposit box, the key for the box is enclosed. I don't think I'm coming back Kyle. The key should be enclosed with this letter. If you have any brains at all you'll have the strength to burn the damn thing. I'm not sure I want, I'm not sure I CAN go on living after all of this. Take care of Mary and the kids please. Tell them all I love them, same goes for you and Laura. Love, Jason." Kyle eyed the letter suspiciously and placed it back into it's steel cradle. He found it increasingly hard to keep his eyes off of the letter as he removed the key from the box and shoved it into his jacket pocket. His fingers stroked the newly polished desk in indecision as he fought to keep his eyes from falling onto the letter. "Fuck, what the hell do i have to lose.." he resolved as he grabbed the letter and bolted out of the office. "I'll be back in a bit....and book me a flight for Washington...I'll be leaving in a few days.." he shot out at Laura as he vanished into the elevator and descended towards the ground floor. Kyle was out of the elevator doors a split second after they opened and headed out towards the weathered bank across the street. He darted across the narrow street and into the bank, a stream of obscenities and half-hearted threats following him in from angry motorists. He snatched the first bank representative he could find and within ten minutes was pouring through the age ravaged pages of the book as the elevator whooshed him back to his office. Laura and several other employee's glared at him as he dashed down the aisle, book in hand, and inhaling more air than any of them thought possible. Kyle double checked to make sure his door was locked and sat down with the book. His fingers toyed with the binding, which at the time of the books initial creation had been quite splendid. Now it barely held the yellowed pages together as he thumbed through the books. The pages were crammed full of cryptic text and an array of sinister diagrams, charts, and tables. His eyes strained to decipher even a fragment of the text. He gave up rather quickly and allowed a sigh to escape his lips as he reclined backwards. "What's his name...nick..no that's not it..Ivan..Ivan..Ivan sterling...finally the old grey matter kicks in!" Kyle exclaimed as he sifted through his memories, fishing for the name of an old friend who had done some work for him while he was a member of the force. "Laura, get me Ivan Sterling's number...he runs a shop somewhere in town." he commanded as his fingers slammed down the intercom. "Uhh...sure, Sterling right?" Laura asked. "Yep that's it Ivan Sterling.." Kyle paced nervously as he waited for word from his secretary. "Mr. Raisworth? I have Mr. Sterling on line one, should I patch him through?" interrupted Laura. "Yes yes..." Kyle said as he grabbed the phone. "Ivan?" "Yeah Kyle, how the hell are you! I'm sorry to here about everything but what is it you want me for?" "Listen, If I brought something to you would you mind taking a look at it?" "Not a problem, just drop by the shop with it ok?" "Is now ok?" "Sure things are a little slow around here, drop on by." "Thanks cya in a few..." Kyle responded as he headed out the door. ***** Kyle found himself standing before the rickety shell of a townhouse, which by the faded lettering on the window was masquerading as a bookstore. The gnarled iron fence added to the aura of mystery that surrounded his old friend's shop. Kyle stared at the door for a brief moment, half-expecting a hunched back crone to slid back the bolt and warn him from entering. Instead we was presented with a warm smile and an outstretched hand as Ivan pried the door open and beckoned Kyle in. Kyle took note of the abundance of cheap charms which hung around Ivan's neck and chuckled to himself as he followed him up to the study. "I thought you would have given up all of this voodoo mumbo-jumbo crap by now Ivan, don't see that there is much money to make in it." Kyle remarked as he plopped into what turned out to be a very comfortable recliner. "Actually, you would be surprised how much those snooty old bitches uptown are willing to pay for a palm reading or a "personal psychic advisor". It's a rather lucrative field if you know how to play your cards." Ivan's face lit up as he ran his fingers through the thinning tendrils of his jet black hair. "It's all image you know. I could afford a place uptown but the customers like it when you tell them that you have forsaken all material wealth in search of enlightenment. Then they hand over a few hundred bucks and tell me how much the admire me! You wouldn't believe how stupid some people are Kyle, how do you think crap like that Psychic Friends Network stays on the air? People will pay out the ass to hear some good news for a change. But I'm sure you didn't come here to listen to me rant about that did you? Now what is it I can do for you? I take it that it has to do something with that rather large book you've been clutching ever so desperately." "Do you think you could take a look at it and try to make some sense out of it?" "Sure thing, anything for an old friend." Ivan said as he accepted the book and flipped through the yellowed pages. "Looks rather old, where did you pick this up?" "I'd rather not.." "Ok ok, you don't have to tell me." Ivan continued leafing through the books contents, occasionally letting out a sigh of frustration. "Mind if I keep this overnight? The books not in such good condition, It would probably be better if I scanned the pages into the computer and toyed with them there." "Yeah sure, just give me a ring when you have something. ok?" "Deal, I'll probably be up all night with this thing so don't be offended if I snap your head off about how much you don't appreciate me." Ivan's face was a portrait of sarcasm as he walked his guest back downstairs. "I really appreciate this Ivan...It's nice to know I still have some friends when I need them." Kyle placed a tattered business card into Ivan's hand and made his way back to the street. "Just remember that...hey I could use an alarm system for this place you know.." Ivan yelled. "Consider it done! See ya tomorrow." Kyle said as he stepped into his car and pulled away from the house. Kyle tapped the radio on and fiddled with the knob until the car hummed with what he guessed to be jazz. He drummed his fingers nervously as he carved a path through the jungle of traffic lights back to the office building. His parking spot welcome the care as it slid back into place and it's driver casually strode away towards the elevator. His fingers instinctively hit the button that would take him back to his office as leaned back against the mirrored wall and rested for a brief moment. His few precious moments of peace scurried away as the elevator yawned open and spewed him back into the reception area. "Sir, I have you booked on a noon flight to DC two days from now, non-smoking first class." "Thanks a mil' Laura." Kyle flashed a quick smile, trying to make amends for the scene earlier and continued towards his office. "umm...Sir there's a Detective Kelly waiting for you in your office.." "Did he say what he wanted?" Kyle questioned. "SHE said she wanted to ask you a few questions about Jason." Laura responded. "Ok thanks again Laura." Kyle hurried to his office and stumbled through the doorway. He paused for a moment as his eyes raked across the detective seated opposite his desk. His mind caught up a second after he realized that he was staring and commanded his arm to extend itself in greeting. "Kyle Raisworth. What is it I can do for you detective?" Kyle introduced himself and seated himself behind the desk where he felt safer. "Mr. Raisworth you left town a few weeks following the death of your wife, why is that? From what I have been able to gather you strike me as a very able man, it really doesn't fit your character to leave your family in such a state, even given that you appear to have loved your wife very much." Detective Kelly's eyes locked onto him and refused to let go. "Appear? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" "Exactly what I said. Appear. I do not know you personally Mr. Raisworth, all I know about you comes from family and friends and you have to admit they are bound to be a bit biased towards your side? Wouldn't you say?" "What the hell is this all about?" "You had a sizable life insurance policies on both your brother and your wife, did you not?" Detective Kelly continued badgering Kyle as her pencil raced across a tiny note pad she held in her left hand. "Yeah of course, and they both had large policies on me. So what? We wanted to make sure everything would be taken care of if something were to happen to us. Detective I'm starting to resent this line of questioning." "Starting? Your more patient than I've been told Mr. Raisworth." "Listen goddamit I left town because I couldn't deal with it ok? I'm only human, I couldn't take it all at once! I loved my wife, there hasn't been a minute when I haven't played a million "what if's" through my mind. What if I had gone instead of her? Would I have notice there was something wrong? What if I had taken the car in after that last accident? I left town because nothing I did could get rid the emptiness. Did you know we married right out of high school? Didn't know that did you? Our tenth anniversary was in a week, had a nice ring all paid for, was going to take her on a cruise and everything. Had a party planned, her mom was even going to come down for it! Then she steps into the car to pick up some milk, FUCKING MILK! And the brakes fail! She died over a goddamned carton of milk! The woman I spent the best years of my life with, and you expect me to just go on like she was a fucking pet who was hit by a car!" Kyle's fists cleared the desk of everything as the made erratic shapes in the air before him. Detective Kelly refused to back down as she withered visibly under his rebuttal. "Mr. Raisworth, you said you had been in an accident a few days prior to the accident but didn't have your car examined, why!" "It wasn't anything major, some asshole rear-ended me on the way to work, only a few scratches, I figured it wasn't anything big. Have I answered enough of your questions Detective?" Kyle's voice was still laced with anger as he drew out the last word, as if it were a designation of something less than human. "Your receptionist tells me your headed out to Washington? That's a remarkable coincidence isn't it?" "No, as a matter of fact it ISN'T. Since DC homicide did such a wonderful job with the investigation into Jason's murder I find myself having to go down there." "Really?" "Yeah, generally when someone has some semblance of a soul and someone in their family is found gutted in an alley they usually want to find out why. Think you can grasp the concept Detective Kelly?" "Mr. Raisworth, we'll be in touch." Detective Kelly shot Kyle a smile that whitened his knuckles and almost caused him to lash out at the scarlet maned detective. The door slammed behind the detective with an air of finality. Kyle sighed and collapsed back into his chair. "Laura, no one bothers me for the rest of the night, I'm going to be doing some work in my office. Go ahead and take off early." "Yes sir, anything else?" "Yeah send a crew out early to that address I had you check on early, the guys a friend of mine. Have them give him the works." "Will do Mr. Raisworth." Kyle smiled to himself and drifted into a deep sleep, his hands still gripping the desk in a death lock. **** The Nightmares would have bothered Kyle if he hadn't been used to them. Sometimes they used to keep him up all night, fearing the moment when his body would betray him and collapse in exhaustion. Kyle blinked and wiped away the thin film of crust which had settled in around his eyes. He eyed the suitcase at his side with suspicion and thumbed the intercom. "Laura, how did this suitcase get here?" "I brought it up from your car sir. I figured you would want a changed of clothes when you woke up. A Mr. Sterling called, said to drop by as soon as possible. Also thanked you for the "setup"." "What would I do without you Laura?" Kyle asked jokingly. "Probably scare all of the customers off Sir." she shot back as Kyle dug through the suitcase and produced a suit similar to the one he was already wearing. He squirmed out his old clothes and into the new ones in almost record time. He was out of the door and in his car in what he thought qualified for an Olympic record. Kyle hammered through afternoon traffic and pulled in front of Ivan's small shop to find his friend waiting for him. He hurried up the stairs and followed him inside, back to the study where the two had spoken earlier. "So what's up with the book?" Kyle questioned in an excited childlike tone. Ivan motioned Kyle over towards his computer and flicked the monitor on. His fingers danced across the keyboard as he loaded the first page of the book onto the screen. "Kyle, before we start you'll have to be totally honest with me. Where did you get this book?" "Why does it matter? It's just a book" "That's exactly why. It IS a book, but not your run of the mill DoubleDay, Kyle. There are things in this book which I've been hearing rumors about ever since I took up studying this kind of thing. There are things in this book people would literally DIE to get their hands on. Where you found this book is just as important as it's contents." "I'm not sure I understand but if you have to know, Jason left it to me." "Jason? What the hell would he want with something like this?" "He didn't want the damn thing, in fact he wanted me to burn it." "It may have been better for all of us if you had." "What? Are you starting to freak on me to? It's a book for Christ's sake." Ivan thought to himself for a moment then walked slowly towards an opened window. He stared out for a moment and then turned slowly back towards Kyle. "Look, I've spent my whole life selling Ouija boards, tarot cards, and memorizing pages of charts and symbols. I haven't found a single inkling of power or enlightenment. Nothing. Now, you give me this book, which could possibly give me what I'm looking for and I'm afraid to even look at it. To answer your question, no it is not a book, it is power. Pure and simple, power over things you and I could only HOPE to fathom." "Don't start spewing that metaphysical bullshit around me Ivan, you know I don't buy this crap." "Exactly Kyle! All of this ", Ivan motioned around the room, his movements taking in the stacks of books and trinkets, "barely qualifies as building blocks when it comes to the material in this book." "Ivan, I know your an expert on this kind of thing, but some wino handing Kyle an old book and carrying on about 'Malkuth this and Malkuth that' barely qualifies it as the herald of the apocalypse. "Malkuth?" "Yeah. Why you know 'em?" "Kinda, Malkuth isn't a person. Malkuth is the last Sephira on the Tree of Life.." "Oh yeah, I think my mom used to have one of those in the backyard when I was little..is it like a money tree?" "Funny Kyle, listen I think it's time you told me everything you know about what happened to your brother." Kyle motioned for Ivan to sit back down. Kyle told him everything he knew, the letter, the book, the detective who had come to see him, and of his impending trip to Washington, D.C. to see what else he could uncover. "Kyle, you have to take me along with you to D.C. your going--" "Absolutely NOT. You've already done enough, and I appreciate it but I'm not going to put you in any danger.." "Not to be blunt, but you've already put me in danger by giving me this book. Listen, don't be so damned stubborn, what if you do find something? If it has anything to do with this book do you REALLY think your going to be able to understand it?" "Shit, I hate it when your right. You may have to wait though my plane leaves tomorrow and I don't think I'll be able to get a hold of another ticket." "Don't sweat it, I'll pull in a few favors and nab myself a ticket. What time?" "Noon tomorrow, meet me at the airport around 11:00 tomorrow morning . I have some things that need to be done before we leave, ok?" "Sure thing, see you then." Kyle and Ivan descended the stairs and exchanged temporary goodbyes. Kyle ran a to-do list through his head as he headed back towards his office. "Sell the house, don't think I can stay there anymore. Have a talk with AJ about some things that need to be taken care of. Get a new apartment, get in touch with the PI's AJ hired down in Washington..." The list continued to cycle through his mind as he pulled back into plaza's parking lot. Laura informed his that she had set up hotel reservations for him as well as a rental care. He shot her a I-would-collapse- of-exhaustion-if-you-didn't-do-all-my-dirty-work smiles and scurried into his office. The remainder of the day was spent on the telephone making business arrangements and soothing disgruntled clients. He churned out a few quick memo's and finally made his way back to his hotel room around 1 in the morning. **** Kyle and Ivan made their way towards first-class early and settled down as Ivan pulled a small laptop from his briefcase. Ivan spent the first few minutes tapping the keys and cursing at the small machine. By the time the plane had taken off he was giving Kyle a crash course on metaphysics and occult philosophy. By the time the plane landed Kyle was sufficiently more confused than he had been at the beginning of the flight. As they departed Kyle pleaded with Ivan to end his torment and hurried ahead of him as they flagged down a taxi to take them to their hotel. Kyle was relieved by the cabby's apparent interest in astral projection and Enochian calls as the cab rumbled towards their hotel. Kyle handed over a generous tip to the cabby as they stepped from the car. To his delight several men appeared to retrieve his bags from the cab. "Remind me to give Laura a nice Christmas bonus." Kyle said. "No shit.." Ivan remarked as he stared at the massive building in front of him. Kyle found his wallet almost completely empty by the time he had finished dishing out a tip for the bellhop. A call from Ivan's suite next door interrupted Kyle's unpacking. "Damn this place is nice, must be costing you a fortune." Ivan cackled into the phone. "Yeah yeah, just don't get TO carried away with room service. " "Who me? Never.." "Sure Ivan, by the way I've got the numbers of those private detectives AJ hired down here. Want to give them a try tomorrow?" "Sure why not. For now lets say we go grab a drink or to." "Sounds good to me, come on over I'm almost done unpacking." "Ok be right over." Ivan hurried over and the two chattered while Kyle finished stowing his clothing away. "Ok finished. Ready?" questioned Kyle. "Sure lets go." "By the way Ivan where's the book?" "I have it locked up nice and safe back home. I scanned it into the computer and made a few copies before I left. I have one here ", Ivan said as he patted the laptop, "and another backup in my room." "Good, we need to have a talk about the book later. In ENGLISH." "I tried to explain it to you, but you wouldn't listen." "Listen? Listen to what? You weren't making any sense, it's just not my thing I guess." "Anyhow, yes I will try to explain it to you in layman's terms later, but right now I'm in desperate need of a dri--" An almost inaudible rap on the door interrupted their conversation. Kyle gave Ivan a puzzled look and walked towards the door. "You expecting somebody Ivan?" "Not that I know of.." Kyle grasped the knob and pulled the door aside. Kyle estimated that it had been quite some time since the man standing before him had taken a shower. A tattered coat clung to his drooping shoulders, barely covering a sweater that in it's prime had most likely been a light blue. There was something wrapped around his head, probably the remains of a hat or scarf. A pair of gloves, cut off at he knuckles, flexed as the man's fingers danced with nervous energy. "Kyle Raisworth?" the man questioned, his voice raspy and course. "Yeah, what is it that you want?" The mans mouth parted, revealing two rows of yellowed teeth, each twisted at awkward angles. His tongue probed the inside of his mouth as he searched for the message he was to deliver. "Good I'm glad I found you. Jason Raisworth sends his regards, and a warning" the man handed Kyle as piece of gnarled parchment and limped back towards the elevator. Leaving Kyle at the doorway staring at the parchment, and praying to god against all logic that the letter in his hand was in fact from his brother. Finis - Chapter 1 Arturius Pendragon [VOR Lit] copyright 1994 SAUCE00Implements of Rapture Chapter 1 Arturius Pendragon CiA 19941207ºP