Page 31

He stuffed the black welding mask into his bag and left the campus on foot. He asked Garovel for directions and received them, discovering it was no short journey; but in time, he arrived and the reaper met up with him on the street corner in front of the station.

Hector took a seat on a wood-and-stone bench. ‘So, uh... have you learned anything else about him?’

‘He doesn’t get along with his partner or any of his fellow officers here. Everyone seems to think he’s an asshole.’

‘Is he?’

‘Maybe. I’ve only known him since this afternoon.’

‘I guess it doesn’t matter much...’

‘He appears to have a daughter. Unlike him, she’s a brunette and wears glasses. She looks very young, though the photo on his desk could be several years old by now. No information on the mother, yet.’

‘Wow... you’re observant...’

‘You’re easily impressed. It’s not much to go on. Mallory doesn’t seem to have an active case, at the moment. I only saw him doing follow-up paperwork, but I did discover that he’s scheduled to appear in court in a few days.’

‘For what?’

‘Not sure, but there aren’t many things that cops go to court for. If he were being prosecuted for something serious, I doubt he would still be allowed to come to work. Could be they just bumped him off active duty, but I’d guess he’s appearing as an expert witness.’

‘So... someone wants to kill him before he testifies?’

‘Seems likely. But then, killing a cop right before his court date isn’t exactly easy to cover up. If I’m right, then someone’s either very stupid or...’

‘Very influential.’

‘Yeah.’ Garovel looked at Hector and smirked. ‘Heh.’

‘What’re you smiling about?’

‘Y’know, for someone dumb enough to kill himself, you’re smarter than I thought.’

Hector’s face went flat. ‘Fuck you, too, Skeletor.’

Page 30

A few minutes before the final bell, he slipped out of class. He could hear the instructor hollering at him for leaving early but ignored it and made his way down to the basement level. He was hoping he could get into the carpentry room before any of the club members arrived, but he ended up waiting for its last class to empty. He took to the corner, trying to be invisible, which was surprisingly easy with so many students, and when he spotted the welding mask that someone had yet to return to the storage rack, he gathered himself and reached out. He grabbed it, but so did someone else.

“Hey, what the--? Let go--Hector?”

Hector cringed, realizing it was Lance Alexander, treasurer of the carpentry club and one of the people he’d been trying to avoid.

“What are you doing here, Hector? Don’t tell me you want to rejoin the club.”

“No,” he said, pulling the mask away from Lance. “I just... need to borrow this for a while.”

“No one’s allowed to take the equipment out of the classroom.”

“I’ll bring it back.”

“That’s not the problem.” Lance was bigger than Hector, bigger than most people, and no small measure of intimidating, but at that moment, Hector had every reason in the world to not give a damn about what he had to say.

“Report me, then.” He fled without waiting for Lance’s response.

Hector knew Lance wasn’t a bad guy. He knew Lance was just following the rules, and he knew that this would probably earn him detention for a week or two, but he didn’t see a way around it. Perhaps the drama club had masks he could borrow, but he didn’t actually know where the drama club met; and seeing as the school didn’t even have its own auditorium, he figured it wouldn't be an easy place to reach.

Page 29 -- IV.

Chapter Four: ‘Embolden thy steeled heart...’
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Hector shifted at his desk. ‘Uh... okay... So what do I do?’

‘Hmm.’

‘Garovel?’

‘I’m thinking. He looks perfectly healthy, so it’s probably not illness. I can see the aura around him--Officer Mallory, by the way--but the danger doesn’t seem to be immediate. He IS in the middle of a police station, after all. I suspect the exact nature of the threat won’t become apparent until he leaves the building.

‘You want me go to the police station right now?’

‘It looks like his shift doesn’t end for a few hours. You have time. Head down here after school.’

‘Are you sure...? I mean, it’s a man’s life at stake... and I really don’t mind skipping class...’

‘I’ll let you know if the situation changes. In the mean time, you should probably take steps to conceal your identity. If you end up having to take a bullet for this man, it’d be best if he doesn’t see your face when you shrug it off.’

‘O-okay, but... I don’t exactly have a mask or... anything...’

‘Figure it out. Borrow something from a store along the way, if you have to.’

‘I don’t think that’s borrowing...’

‘If you can’t find a mask in time, then. Well. You’re just going to have to risk it. Obviously, concealing your identity is not more important than a person’s life.’

Hector paused a moment, and then quietly sighed. ‘I... think I know where I can borrow one...’

‘Splendid.’

‘It, uh, it might look really weird, though...’

‘Oh. Well. Forget it, then. We can’t have you looking weird.’

‘You don’t have to be mean...’

‘It’s tough love, Hector. Tough love.’