Side Story #1 - Colt - Page 17

<<Page 16 || Side Story Table of Contents || Page 18>>

That was a little surprising, Colt thought. It wasn't like destruction was physically exhausting to use, so why was he feeling so tired so early in the day?

Granted, he'd never really used it this much or concentrated this hard while doing so.

Perhaps there was more to this "simple" power of his than he'd realized.

After making lunch, Colt decided to package it up and head to the park again to make another picnic out of it. The kids deserved a bit of reward, he felt, after being stuck in that playpen for so long. Plus, a part of him wanted to see if Janet Beaumont would show up at the park again.

And to his surprise, she actually did.

Apparently, two days after the death of her uncle Rex was enough time for her to be walking her dog, Brick, in the park again.

Eh. Colt supposed it wasn't all that suspicious, really. People coped with death in different ways, he knew. The normalcy of dog walking might've been exactly what she needed, right now.

She noticed him there with the twins and gave him a small wave, which he returned.

He would've liked to ask her some questions about Rex's death, of course, but what pretext would he have for doing so? He'd only met her one time before.

He would've especially liked to ask her why she had lied to him about being related to Rex. Unless, somehow, she hadn't, and Bohwanox was simply mistaken about her being Rex's niece.

Bah.

What a messy investigation. If only he could just go up to her, flash a badge, and get her talking.

Thomas tried to scuttle off to go pet Janet's dog, but Colt held him fast, and they watched as a family as the pair ambled slowly across the park.

It wasn't quite as crowded today as it had been before. From this shaded spot by the main pond, Colt had a pretty good view of the whole area, like sitting at the bottom of a giant bowl. The edges of the park sloped gently upward, and he could see a variety of people standing all along the rim, especially near the parking lot. That vantage point was probably even better than his.

A good location for scouting, if he had been so inclined.

And that thought gave him pause when he noticed that two of the people currently standing in that spot were large men in dark coats, hats, and sunglasses.

At this distance, judging from the subtle movements of their heads, they were looking for something--or someone, more likely. Areas where the general public gathered were typically good places to search if you didn't have much to go on. Like just a face, for example.

Part of him, insanely, wondered if they might actually be here for him. There was no way in hell that could be the case, but still, the thought wouldn't leave his head.

Until, that was, they settled on Janet Beaumont, who was nearing the edge of the park.

The man on the left tapped the other on the arm, and their collective body language changed. They'd found their target, apparently.

They could've been cops who were trying to be discreet, Colt supposed. It seemed evident now that Janet had a few secrets of her own. She could've been mixed up in something that required a delicate touch on the police department's part. Hell, depending on the specifics of Sniderian law, those two men could've even been assigned to protect Janet without her knowledge. Colt hadn't read the legal code quite that deeply yet.

But what if that wasn't what this was?

What if they were a couple of thugs looking to squeeze her for information? Or worse?

Colt growled under his breath. Much as he might've liked to, he couldn't ignore what he'd just seen. He gathered the twins up and started back to his car.

By the time he reached it, Janet was already pulling out of the parking lot, and the two guys were getting into their car as well. A generic blue sedan. Surprise, surprise.

It had been some time since he'd had to follow someone in a car, but he remembered the basics. Not too close. Not too far. Bohwanox would've been a huge help here, and Colt tried reaching out to him, but unsurprisingly, the reaper wasn't responding.

Luckily, he had the layout of this tiny town memorized. It wasn't difficult to take a different turn and then catch back up with them on another street.

At length, they reached their apparent destination. Janet's house, seemingly. The car with the two guys in it was far enough away that Colt couldn't even make them out with the naked eye.

But he had binoculars for that.

Yep. There they were. Just sitting in front of her house in the middle of the day. Their car didn't even have tinted windows.

Not the brightest bulbs in the box, were they?

In a way, that made them more dangerous, though. Smart criminals were more difficult to catch, sure, but they generally avoided creating mayhem. Dumb criminals, though?

Unless these motherfuckers really were cops, of course. He was almost hoping that they weren't, at this point. On a professional level, it would just make him feel secondhand embarrassment.

He waited. He watched.

He sure had been doing a lot of that lately.

After about twenty minutes or so, the two guys seemed to be growing impatient. They looked like they were arguing about something. Colt had to wonder if they were about to get out of the car and go try to break down Janet's door, but they didn't do that. They kept waiting. And waiting.

And waiting.

Until it was getting close to dinner time, unfortunately. The kids would be getting hungry, and Colt wanted to feed them again. He'd already had to change their diapers during this little stakeout, and there was no obvious place to dump the trash, so he'd put them in a plastic bag, tied a double knot, and shoved it in the glove box.

He could still smell it a little.

When the other car finally pulled away from Janet's house, Colt almost wanted to go thank them.

He kept following, though. They ended up stopping at a local bar. Perhaps they were hungry, too.

Well, there was a diner across the street. That would have to do. He caught sight of a small trash can outside its door and didn't hesitate to fill it.

He entered the diner and took a spot by the window in order to keep an eye out.

As he and the twins were eating, he decided to try Bohwanox another time.

Surprisingly enough, the reaper answered. 'What is it?' he said with the echo of privacy.

'Might have a lead on Janet,' said Colt. 'Could use your help.'

'Hmm. How urgent?'

'Couple of guys are following her. Don't know why, exactly. Could technically still be harmless, but I doubt it.'

'Ah, so you want me to eavesdrop on them? See what their intentions are?'

'Pretty much, yeah.'

'Alright, tell me where you are.'

He relayed the information to the reaper, and about fifteen minutes later, Bohwanox arrived. The reaper floated across the street to go listen in on their conversation.

Colt was about halfway done with his meal, but the twins both still had a ways to go. With any luck, they would have plenty of time to finish eating.

'Okay, so these guys are talking about baseball,' said Bohwanox. 'You're sure they're dangerous, right?'

'No, I'm not sure at all. That's why I asked you for help.'

'Mm. Well. Color me disappointed.'

'Just keep listening.'

'Yeah, yeah.'

There was more waiting. And more complaining from Bohwanox.

After a while, however, the reaper's tone suddenly changed.

'Oh? Seems like they ARE planning something tonight.'

'Planning what?'

'Shh-shh, I'm listening.'

And again, Colt had to wait.

'...Okay, they're being vague, but I think I've got the gist,' said Boh. 'They're looking for something, and they think that Janet might know where it is.'

'Hmm.'

'Seems like they're trying to impress their boss. No word yet on who that is, but just off the top of my head, there are a couple candidates from Lagoroc who come to mind.'

Colt closed his eyes. In the back of his mind, he'd figured it would be something like this, but hearing it all now felt like his worst fears being realized.

Organized crime.

The absolute last thing he wanted to do was get mixed up in that shit again. The risk to his kids was simply too great. There was no sense in involving himself in other people's affairs if it was going to pose that kind of danger.

Bohwanox was silent for a long while, and so was Colt.

The sun was beginning to set.

'...We don't have to intervene here,' the reaper said. 'We're neutral.'

'Yeah,' was all Colt said.

'But I still intend to continue observing,' said Boh. 'It sounds like Janet is going to be interrogated, so they probably don't intend to kill her.'

That was no guarantee at all, Colt knew. Once they got what they wanted from her, she'd just be a loose end. And if they didn't bother to wear masks, then she would have seen their faces at that point. They'd have no reason to keep her alive then.

He didn't tell that to Bohwanox, though. Hell, maybe the reaper already knew and was just trying to make excuses for their inaction.

Colt didn't need any other excuses, though. The only ones needed were the two sitting in front of him.

Maybe they wouldn't appreciate that sentiment when they were older. Maybe they would even hate him for it if they ever found out about it.

But how would they? And even if they did, well... at least they'd still be alive.

Colt finished his meal in silence, and then he watched the twins finish theirs.

Then he paid for the meal, gathered the kids up again, and returned to his car.

Where he sat.

In the driver seat.

With his hands on the wheel.

And just stared through the windshield.

He didn't start the car. He didn't move at all. He just sat there. Waiting. Thinking.

It was dark out when he noticed the two men in his rearview mirror, finally leaving the bar.

'I have a proposal,' said Bohwanox. 'But I need to ask you something first. Something rather... horrible.'

Colt saw the reaper still following them. 'What?'

'Do you think... that it would be possible for you to simply... make these two men... disappear? Completely, I mean?'

Colt was watching them get into their car. 'Excuse me?'

'Can you do it, Colt?' Boh didn't sound like he was joking, but Colt could still hardly believe what he was hearing.

'Are you really asking me to kill them?'

'...Yes. And no. Just killing them would be too sloppy. For the safety of your children, you would need to make them vanish entirely. You would need to make it so that no one could possibly ever find out what happened to them.'

Colt's face hardened as he absorbed the reaper's words. 'And you'd be okay with that? You don't even know who they are.'

'Oh, but I do,' said Bohwanox. 'You didn't hear the end of their conversation just now, Colt. I did.'

He was almost reluctant to ask. '...What did they say?'

'I don't even want to repeat it.'

'Boh. If it made you angry enough to want them wiped off the face of Eleg, then I'm gonna need you to repeat it to me.'

The reaper sighed. 'They are planning to lie in wait, until Janet's little brother comes home. And then they are planning to first, kill their dog. Then, take Janet and the brother captive. Interrogate them. Then, they said... that they are going to rape her, while forcing him to watch. After which, they intend to slit his throat and make her watch him die. And then, well, they didn't actually mention this bit, but presumably, they will then kill her as well.'

Colt did not have the words to respond with.

<<Page 16 || Side Story Table of Contents || Page 18>>

These Side Story pages are released each week on Sunday at 6 pm EST.
However, they are released four weeks earlier over on Patreon, along with many extra pages of the main story.
Thanks for reading, everyone.