The Florencia Lozano Homepage - Fan Fiction
AFFLICTION
BY TROG |
CHAPTER
44 |
CHAPTER 44
Bo Buchanan poured himself a cup of hot coffee...carefully opening packet after packet of sugar and pouring it into the dark liquid...that’s how he like it, dark and sweet. He took a sip and looked out at the quiet squad room through the glass window of his office. He like it this way, quiet...dormant with the morning sluggishness of a new day. Quiet before the deadbeats and weirdos starting parading in.
He had been commissioner for a long time, but he still liked the job. It still fulfilled him...gave him the credibility and respect he craved...the admiration his rich, tyrannical father never gave him. It was his weakness this need to be admired...to be better. As commissioner of police he needed to feel morally superior...it came with the job...and he embraced his self-righteousness , even in his greatest moments of weakness, like when he used his power to strong-arm RJ Gannon, or his secret, dirty little proclivity for whores...but...all in all...he still felt superior to most men.
Todd Manning’s extensive criminal file laid proudly opened on his desk and he smiled to himself, knowing he was jailed downstairs, unable to use his money and his power...under his complete control. Todd Manning had been the one blemish in his illustrious career as commissioner...the proverbial thorn in his side...but now he had him. He had him in his cell...caged and cowering. He smiled to himself as he took another sip of hot, sweet coffee before noticing Antonio Vega running into the squad room and heading toward his office.
Bo opened the door. Antonio looked tired and unshaven, a dark purple bruise marred the side of his face by his left eye. He looked wild and desperate as he approached Bo.
“Bo...it’s Tea! She’s gone....she’s missing!”
“You look like hell, Antonio. What are you talking about?”
“Someone ambushed me, knocked me out in the penthouse parking lot last night...I woke up a few hours later inside my car. I’ve been looking for her all night...everywhere. I used by police ID at the airport to check the flight logs...she and Aaron Blackmoor weren’t on any flight. I checked all the trains, buses even taxi’s....there was nothing. Finally I drove to New York, to Blackmoor’s house, but it was empty...deserted. I’ve been driving all night and there’s no sign of them anywhere.”
Bo stared at Antonio and shrugged his shoulders.
“So what! Maybe Tea took off to be with her husband...did that ever occur to you? It’s not the first time she’s gone off with a man and not left word of where she was going.”
“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU, MAN? TEA IS GONE! SHE’S MISSING! AND AARON BLACKMOOR HAS HER!”
“Stop shouting at me, Antonio...I can hear you very well...but so far you’ve told me nothing of interest to me accept you were mugged. Besides...you know the drill...a person has to be gone 48 hours before we can use valuable police resources to find them.”
“Oh, I see. Because Tea is in love with Todd Manning that makes her worthless to you, right? She’s not valuable enough to waist your precious resources on, is that it? Just some funky Puerto Rican lawyer who’s got a thing for bad boys...not worth your valuable time! But I bet if it was a Buchanan you’d be on the red phone to the President, am I right? Man...I use to admire you....but...not anymore,” said Antonio in disgust.
“Hey, mister...you’re out of line here! I can’t bend police procedure because Tea is a friend of yours and you THINK she’s missing! Maybe, Antonio, Tea just came to her senses. Maybe she realized she’s married to a good, decent man and she went off to make it up to him...did that ever occur to you?”
“NO! NO THAT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME BECAUSE I KNOW TEA! SHE’S AFRAID OF HIM! DAMN IT, BO...LISTEN TO ME! WE’RE WASTING TIME...GOD’S KNOWS WHERE THEY ARE BY NOW!” he shouted desperately.
A young man in a brown uniform, a messenger, walked through the door carrying a package.
“Hey...I’m looking for Commissioner Buchanan...I have a package for him. He needs to sign for it.”
“I’m Commissioner Buchanan.”
The young man had him sign a clipboard and handed him the package.
“Hey, there’s no return address on here,” said Bo to the delivery man.
“I was just asked to deliver it to you at exactly 8 AM...that’s all.” said the young man before heading for the door.
Bo eyed the package and shook it a little, feeling its weight. An officer walked over to him as he continued to inspect the package.
“Sir, do you want me to call the bomb squad in? I don’t think you should be opening suspicious packages without them being checked out.”
“No, Jeff...it’s okay. It’s too light to be an explosive.”
“Well, let me open it for you, sir,” said the officer, pulling out his standard issue pocket knife and slicing across the clear tape. Pulling back the flaps, he peered inside and looked up at the commissioner.
“It looks okay, sir, just a small tape recorder and some papers and stuff...oh, and there‘s a handwritten note on top...it says to Bo Buchanan from Aaron Blackmoor,” he said before handing the package to Bo.
Bo and Antonio exchanged a nervous look.
“Come into my office, Antonio, and close the door.”
Bo set the box down on his desk and picked up the note and the tape recorder. He looked up at Antonio before turning the tape recorder on and they both listened as Aaron Blackmoor’s silky, controlled voice filled the room.
"Good morning, Commissioner Buchanan, this is Aaron Blackmoor speaking. If you are listening to this I can tell you that Tea and I are very far away and because we are safe I can make this confession to you. I killed Ben Davidson...not the unfortunate Todd Manning. I shot him in the head, slightly above his left temple, on the morning of April 4th at 8.17 AM. I was picked up at Llanview airport, having arrived at 7, by a taxi, license #7634 with a driver named Lenny. He dropped me off at Llanfair at 7:22 and was instructed to pick me up in the same spot at 8:20 which he did. I’m sure Lenny will remember me because I tipped him with a one hundred dollar bill. When I arrived outside of their kitchen window, Ben was sharing a lovely breakfast with his wife Vicki as she read the newspaper to him. They were both laughing as she sipped her morning coffee from a lovely white porcelain cup with dainty, yellow roses painted on it...Royal Daltons Heritage pattern, I think. I shot him with my golden Desert Eagle Magnum...the one I planted in Todd’s Manning’s fireplace, in the upper right hand corner inside a black sack. It is an amazing piece of armament made for me by Heckler and Koch in Germany. It is registered to a Steven Alexander of Orange, New Jersey...an alias of mine. You will find a driver’s license, birth certificate and passport for Steven Alexander in this box along with an auburn wig and beard that is a part of his identity as well as a receipt for the weapon which was purchased a year ago...you will find the serial numbers a perfect match. I’m sure that if you run security tapes from Llanview’s airport security you will see myself arriving, disguised as Steven Alexander. I then went into the men’s room and re-emerged as Aaron Blackmoor. I had left the country as Aaron Blackmoor and returned a day later as Klaus Herzog, arriving in New York on April 3rd. I left right after I killed Davidson as Klaus Herzog, back to Tokyo, and returned as Aaron Blackmoor to the USA a week later. The manager of the Jade Regency in Tokyo is a drunkard with very unreliable memory and a man who owes me many favors, his alibi for me was well paid for. I obtained Todd’s prints by dropping a golden bullet in his presence, one that he predictably picked up and gave back to me. Hearing of your inherent hatred and prejudice for this man, commissioner, I had no doubt you would only be too willing to believe in Todd Manning’s guilt. And...I was right. The only crime Todd Manning is guilty of in recent times is in trying to steal my wife...a crime which has been avenged by me. You will never find me...or Tea...don’t even bother trying. Have a good life, commissioner...Tea and I are off to our home. The war is over. I have my queen back...I am victorious.”
The tape ended. Bo fingered the articles in the box, legal documents and a small white box with a human hair wig and beard. He ran his hands through his hair and looked anxiously at Antonio.
“Well, Bo...do you believe Tea now?”
“Look...until I check this all out...I can’t do anything...You now the procedure.”
Antonio headed for the door.
“Fine! You go and follow your precious procedure...I’m going to call Sam Rappaport and get Todd out of jail,” said Antonio, walking out and slamming the door behind him.
*****
The sand sifted softly through his toes as he walked along the long stretch of beach, the clear, blue water just wetting his feet as it drifted languidly toward the shore. As the wind whipped through his hair and loose clothing he felt free and he breathed in deeply, inhaling the warm air that drifted off the ocean.
Suddenly, the sand began to move and shift all around him, moving and sifting around his feet and he saw something pushing upward from below its surface, something trying to rise from its depth. Bars of black, shiny steel poked through the gritty pebbles that rose up, climbing higher and higher until they disappeared into the clouds, forming a cage that encircled him...and entrapped him. Gripping the bars with both hands he struggled, pushing and pulling against them trying to force them open, but...they were unyielding.
A white mist bubbled and rolled off the ocean and in the distance he saw something moving toward him...a white image drifting slowly to him. It looked like a beautiful bird, a swan moving gracefully along the water, its downy feathers rifling in the wind, getting closer...and closer. Todd watched as the vision got nearer, but as his eyes focused on the lovely apparition he realized it was not a bird, but a woman...his woman. Tea.
Her long, white dress billowed in the breeze, trailing behind her like a gossamer sail as she floated on the water. It was of an ancient style, sleeveless and cinched under her breast with long, voluminous folds that fluted around her body. Her hair was long, hanging down to her feet, coiled and plaited in an ornate style with a delicate, gold band across her forehead and her arms were adorned with cuffed gold bracelets that glittered in the sunlight. She was a Goddess walking on the water and Todd was mesmerized as she came nearer.
Finally, reaching the shore, she walked up to the cage that rose from the sand and touched his face.
“I love you...I will always love you,” she said sadly. Then, she turned, walked back toward the water and began drifting away from him.
“TEA...WAIT!’ shouted Todd, but she just kept moving away. “TEA!”
Todd looked up and noticed dark clouds traveling quickly across the sky and the sunlight disappearing as the white mist on the ocean became gray and murky. As he called out he watched her heading toward a shadowy figure that rose out of the ocean in the distance, a tall man dressed in the clothing of a ancient soldier. He wore a plumed helmet and a golden breastplate along with a leather-plaited skirt, and sandals. In his hand was a long, shiny sword dripping with blood and a golden shield was on his arm, his arms and legs bruised and bloody .
As Tea got closer to him he smiled, dropped his shield and sword, and pulled off his helmet revealing a gleaming head of golden hair. Todd watched as his shield, sword and helmet disappeared into the dark, angry waves of green water surrounding them. Aaron Blackmoor reached out and took Tea’s hand and his wounds began to diminish until his skin was flawless and renewed.
“TEA!” shouted Todd from the shore.
Tea turned on hearing the sound of her lover’s voice on land and she began to walk back toward the shore, but Aaron grabbed her arm and whispered something to her. She looked at Todd, her eyes filled with tears, her face twisted with agony and reluctantly turned away again, taking Aaron’s arm. Together they disappeared into a dark void, a black portal that rested on the water’s horizon and then...it too disappeared leaving only the dark, fathomless emptiness of the sea.
“TEA! TEA!” Todd shouted, shaking the steel bars with frustration and rage, but his screams only came back to him, echoing mockingly off the cliffs that jutted up from the water in the distance.
He leaned against the bars, closing his eyes and sighing in frustration when suddenly he heard a soft laughter coming from behind him and turning quickly he realized he was not alone in his cage.
“Don’t cry, boy....she’s not worth it. She’s a whore and a liar...she doesn’t love you...no...she only fucked with your head like all women do. You don’t need her...you don’t need anybody. But don’t worry, son...you’ll never be alone...I’ll always be with you. I’m who you belong to,” said Peter Manning as he slithered toward Todd who shrank into the bars behind him in terror.
“STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! YOU’RE DEAD....YOU’RE DEAD!”
“No boy...I’m alive. I live inside you...that’s why she left you!” he said smiling like a serpent.
Todd turned around and looked out at the water but all he saw was a vast ocean disappearing into the clouds.
“TEA! TEA! DON’T LEAVE ME...don‘t leave me...
“Tea!” said Todd, opening his eyes and sitting up quickly, panting and breathless. He looked around the dingy, concrete walls of his cell, examining the brown blanket that covered him and ran his fingers through his matted hair, gasping and confused. Closing his eyes he suddenly remembered where he was and sitting up he recalled the strange dream that had frightened him into wakefulness.
Getting up and pacing around he felt the stiffness in his muscles, the sharp kink in his neck from sleeping on the hard cot that served as his bed. Reaching down he placed a hand on his belly, feeling the sharp, gnawing pain that burned in its depths...a pain he thought had healed. Something was wrong...he felt it inside him.
He turned toward the door outside his cell, hearing the distant sliding of the heavy steel door down the hall. Bracing himself against the bars he wondered who was visiting him so early in the morning. As a uniformed officer opened the door Todd was surprised to see Antonio, Sam and Bo walking in together.
“You’re suppose to be with Tea, Antonio...why are you here?” asked Todd, ignoring the others.
“Todd...it seems you’re free to go,” said Sam. “Apparently, Aaron Blackmoor confessed to Ben‘s murder...so...the DA’s office is dropping the charges against you. Bo is here to release you.”
Todd smiled but it quickly faded as he looked from one face to another. He looked toward the door...as if he expected someone else there.
“Where’s Tea? Why isn’t she here?”
Antonio looked away as Sam and Bo exchanged an anxious look. Bo walked up to Todd’s cell, pulled out a key and proceeded to unlock it. Todd walked out quickly and rushed up to Antonio, backing him up against the wall.
“Where’s Tea?”
Antonio looked away.
“She’s...missing. She’s gone, man...I don’t know where she is,” he said looking at the wall beside him.
“NO-O-O-O! YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSE TO LEAVE HER ALONE, ANTONIO!” shouted Todd, is fist hitting the wall beside Antonio’s head.
“I KNOW! HE JUMPED ME, MAN...HE KNOCKED ME OUT! BY THE TIME I CAME TOO...SHE WAS GONE...AND SO WAS HE.”
Todd glared at him in disbelief, shaking his head slowly, closing his eyes and clutching his stomach in obvious discomfort.
“Todd...Aaron Blackmoor sent a taped confession, along with irrefutable evidence and details that only the killer could know. But...he’s gone too,” said Sam.
Todd turned around slowly, first he looked at Sam, his eyes vague and unfocused, concentrating on his words, but his gaze slowly turned to Bo who stared back at him then looked away.
“How could you not believe her,” asked Todd walking slowly toward Bo. “She’s never lied to me, to you...to anyone. I can understand you doubting my word...but Tea’s?”
“I thought she was lying to protect you...I guess....I...misjudged her.”
“YOU MISJUDGED HER? IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY TO ME, YOU INCOMPETENT SON-OF-A-BITCH?” yelled Todd, his hot breath in Bo’s face. “If anything happens to her...I...will...destroy you!” said Todd, before turning and walking out the door.
to be continued...
2002 Copyright by Trog
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