The scene before me is something I was sworn that I would never see again. It is the scene of a nightmare. I have seen it many times before the uprising: Oklahoma City when I was a young lad about ready to graduate, New York when I had just started out working for the CIA and Boston…….the most recent bombing until now.
He has really stoked the fires now. This Firestarter, whoever he is, has no earthly idea who he is really dealing with. We are the most powerful group in the world and he just destroyed almost 40 percent of our most important asset. Without that money we wouldn’t be here and now it really is gone. Not spent like it should be but destroyed, reduced to a pile of ash. It sickens me. Doesn’t he know we could have used this money to help the people?
“Sir!”
My thoughts were interrupted when a young officer walked over. He tipped his hat and said quickly, “Seer Michelson. We found something. Out of the money that was in that vault, there was evidence that the Firestarter might have taken some of it.”
“How much?” I asked patiently.
“We can’t be sure. A lot of it is completely gone due to the fire. But we put it around $10,000.”
“Christ…” I said under my breath. I thought hard on what to do now but my mind drew a blank.
“Can we trace it?” I asked desperately.
“I don’t know sir. Unless someone suddenly uses $10,000 very soon there is no way to trace it. Did the Eye not see anything?”
“No it didn’t.” I said angrily, “The bastard used a device to blur out the cameras to the point where we couldn’t see shit and then he cut off the connection. We were blind and ripe for the taking.”
“Oh…..well…..the Hand should be here soon. Maybe they can help sniff him out.”
Oh God not the Hand…..more like the Crowbar…..those dumb, big fools only care about scaring people and killing to get what they want. Still they might be of some help in getting information. I just pray to anyone who they grab a hold of.
“Very well,” I said finally, “Notify me when they arrive and you might want to tell the Sniffers as well. What about the Voice?”
“The Chancellor is taking care of them.”
That surprised me, the Chancellor never got involved. Maybe he had had enough of this goon like I had. Being the head of the Eye isn’t easier. We monitor all surveillance alongside the Sound. Sight and hearing together trying to be the perfect instrument of spying on the people. Only we aren’t exactly doing a very good job of it.
I turn back to the still burning wreckage of the bank and think on what has happened and what might happen in the days to come. What I do know is that once the Hand gets here it’s all them. Anyone even walking outside around the time of the explosion might as well start making a coffin or at least bury themselves to escape them.
If I ever meet this Firestarter I will found out one way or another why he’s doing this and what he’s fighting towards…..hopefully it won’t get me in a grave of my own.
I take one last look at the piece of paper he left behind in an envelope……a picture of a gas mask…..an evil gas mask….
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The door opened to reveal my apartment. Nothing had changed; all was as I had left it. I immediately shut the door and dropped the bag of cash on the floor and made a beeline to the bedroom. As I entered I could barely make out the sleeping form of Fluttershy in the light of the moon coming through the window. She was still breathing calmly and sleeping peacefully. I let out a breath of relief now that I knew she was okay.
I walked over to the chair I slept in not a few days ago when she first got here. Actually, it had been almost a week since she got here. I sat there and watched over her, her masked guardian, ready to kill anyone who threatened her. I began to think, on her, on me, and on the world she came from. Did she have friends or family? Did they know that she was no longer on their world? Did they worry and fear for her?
I started wondering if there was a way to contact them. Maybe tell them she was alright and I was protecting her. Then another thought entered my mind: why was I protecting her? Why did I care so much?
The answer eluded me....
I sat there in thought to the point where it was a whole minute before I realized someone was talking to me, "Mate ya alright?"
"Huh? Oh....hey Angus. Yea I'm fine, just thinking." I said to the disembodied voice from my broken mind.
"Whotcha thinkin about?" He asked.
I knew that Angus was worried about me, they all were, and he wanted to help.
".............her...." I said in a voice that even they had trouble hearing but Angus heard it nonetheless.
"Aye..." he said, "She is quite tha mystery. But she is a very kind soul."
"Yea....but I'm afraid that this world might break her. She doesn't belong here."
"That she doesn't. But she's got you. There isn't ah evil soul in tha world tha can touch her now."
"Angus...." I said slowly, "If there isn't an evil soul in the world that can touch her..........then why can I?"
Angus did not answer; he was stumped by my words. My soul was beyond evil, I killed and burned and tortured. The only souls more evil than mine were the ones in the Capital.
I stood and walked over to the bed. I looked down at her and wondered... is it fate that I should be her protector and was she in fact here as my salvation? I had no idea but I knew that in the next few weeks things would start unfolding and I was afraid of what might be unveiled.
I reached out and ran a gloved hand over her hair. She sighed and an eye opened a little but quickly shut back down and she fell into a very relaxed sleep. I continued to stroke her hair and stare down at her.
"Um Jacob?" Guard was speaking, "You do know you're still wearing your mask right?"
"I don't care." I said back, though I knew he was right. This mask was getting annoying to wear.
I pulled down the hood and slowly undid the seal in the back. It came undone with a small hiss. I froze to make sure it didn't disturb Fluttershy. She never moved. I pulled the mask off of my head and once it was off I held it in both of my hands. My hair was flattened and I had dark imprints from the eyepieces and around my mouth.
I looked down at the mask and then at Fluttershy one last time. Before I walked, out a question escaped my lips, "What are you?"
I didn't know where it had come from. But I pushed it away and went back to the living room. I opened the secret door and got out of my armor. Soon I was just down to my pants. I walked back into the apartment, sealed the door to the secret room, and flopped on to the couch my body screaming to sleep.
As I fell into the realm of the sleeper, a voice once again sounded from my head....
"You look like a clown."
I just flipped off the air and then I was gone.