Post by The Hannahverser on Apr 16, 2016 23:48:56 GMT
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Incorporate My Business, Syndicate, or Loose Affiliation of Like-Minded Individuals Who All Wear the Same Thing
Or
Getting Away with Murder
Or
I have the Biggest Balls in Evolution Wrestling
Among the inalienable truths one must learn during their time on this lonely, unforgiving planet, the least alienable of these is that life is not fair. Everyone that knows this fact likes to tell the freshly downtrodden that life isn’t “always” fair.
“Always”.
As though to imply that sometimes life can be fair. It could be fair. As though this “life” fellow isn’t all bad, he’s just prone to a bad temperament from time to time. That’s all. Like your lovable asshole uncle, or something.
He’s the jovial sort, "Life"; playful, whimsical, enjoys long walks on the beach, and loves to laugh. To pass the time, cause there's so much of it, “Life” has merely decided to play a few tricks here and there to truly surprise you some of the time with a heartfelt gift that makes you consider the possibility that, life is fair, so you can get your hopes up again, and maybe there is a god, or someone watching out for you, and us, and all of this pain and hardship happens for a reason.
Funny guy, that life.
All of this, of course, is something you’d have an extremely hard time telling to the fiancé of Niles Penderton, Deus’ first victim, as she fires resentful and saliva-encrusted vitriol through the holding cell bars at the near naked woman most recently apprehended in connection with her fiance’s murder: Deus, or Heaven, or whoever she is.
The officer on duty very rapidly and sensibly realized the importance of separating Deus from the other prisoners when it became apparent that some of the individuals already arrested in the guise of Deus made it known they were quite intent on harming Ms. Deus, or Ms. Heaven, or whoever she was, for besmirching their leader’s good name with her feminine likeness, or removing her mask, or a thousand other unforgivable sins known only to the followers of Deus in captivity. Attica.
Niles Penderton’s fiancé, Sharon, wanted Heaven, or Deus, or whoever she was, dead. She spat that fact onto Deus, or Heaven, or whoever. She said so through tears. And raged it through gritted teeth, nearly tearing her own hair out questioning the logic of a ‘pretty girl’, obviously a ‘slut’, who would ‘throw it all away’ to ‘ruin a marriage that would never happen now’. Sharon Lewis, never to be Sharon Penderton, glared at this sorry excuse for a female and hissed ‘did you enjoy it’? ‘did you fuck him’? ‘Was it good’? She never got any answers. And went home a very lonely, sad, disappointed woman.
Life isn’t always fair.
Through the verbal and psychological onslaught Heaven, or Deus, or whoever we want to call her at this point was near catatonic, almost statuesque, staring at a point on the jail wall behind angry Sharon letting her insults and words of fire hit and bounce off, all while in the cell beside her at least 10 Deus’ stalked the cell eyeing her like hungry, looming lions waiting for the right opportunity to finish the disrobing and barbaric acts they’d started when she first arrived.
Life isn’t always fair.
Now, in the interrogation room, garbed most charitably in an oversized sweater and pants, observed through a two-way mirror by Officer Reigns, Lieutenant Reynolds and Captain Tracey while a DSLR camera recorded her every movement, the pretty woman with smudged eyeliner and mascara looked distraught, pained, confused and terrifyingly alone. Pity lurked in the room with the police officers, even the camera would’ve offered a tissue as Heaven, or Deus, (Officer Reigns through his interrogation insisted on calling her that,) sat there staring at herself in the two-sided mirror for what may have been the first time in years.
Lieutenant Reynolds: “This is too weird. You’re saying THAT’S Deus?”
Officer Reigns: “If the shoe fits, Lieutenant.”
Captain Tracey: “But it doesn’t fit. Does it? That’s just some wrestler we caught wearing the outfit.”
Officer Reigns swallowed hard and stared intently at her through the glass. Even unseen, he felt like she was making eye contact with him.
Officer Reigns: “Captain, she knows more than she’s letting on."
Lieutenant Reynolds: “You’re crazy. Look at her. She’s clueless.”
On the monitor behind them, Captain Tracey had removed the camera’s SD card and was watching the interview with “Deus”.
Officer Reigns (on tape): “So why did you kill Niles Penderton?”
Deus/Heaven (on tape): “I didn’t kill him. I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”
She sobs loudly. She’d bury her face in her hands if they weren’t cuffed beneath the table. Lieutenant Reynolds sipped his coffee and watched the replay on the monitor.
Lieutenant Reynolds: “See? It’s like the other Deus wannabes we let go. She doesn’t have a clue.”
Officer Reigns (on tape): “All right. Assuming I believe you. Why were you wearing that outfit, and wrestling in a match booked for ‘Deus’?”
Deus/Heaven (on tape): “I told you. They fired me! I just thought I could get back at them for it! So I put the costume on and wanted to prove I was worth more than their lousy contract, okay?! I didn’t know anything about the murders.”
Lieutenant Reynolds: “Poor thing is frightened. There’s no way that’s your killer, Reigns. Like Cap said: it’s just a wrestler who wanted a second chance.”
Officer Reigns: “Would you mind not letting your dick do your talking for you, Lieutenant? It’s an act. She’s putting on a performance. And she’s good at it. She’s looking right at me through the glass, for Christ’s sake!”
Captain Tracey: “I’m not convinced, Reigns. We’ve been at her now for almost 2 days and it’s the same damn story. We’ve processed her, ran her I.D. and fingerprints through every major criminal database. That woman’s never so much as jaywalked and you think she’s a murderer? A bit manic maybe. Likes to play dressup, sure. Not a murderer. This can’t keep going like this.”
Deus/Heaven (on tape): *through intense tears* "I told you all I know. I didn’t kill anyone. I made a mistake. I was angry. I shouldn’t have done what I did.”
Lieutenant Reynolds: “Come on, Reigns. Have a heart. The real Deus is still out there. I’m betting this wrestling thing is just one extension of this little “Deus cult” thing they got going on. We’re wasting her time and ours.”
Officer Reigns gritted his teeth and watched through the double-sided glass.
Officer Reigns: “She did it. I can feel it. That’s Deus. Staring right at me.”
Captain Tracey: “You’ve seen how many Deus characters we’ve already arrested, Reigns. Why are you settling on the one who made her presence publically known on a popular wrestling program? You’ve seen the cells ever since this mess started. We’re picking up wackos in Deus gear left and right. They can’t ALL be Deus, can they? Why they’re dressing like that, how this started, we don’t have a single clue. How many have come and gone because we can’t pin anything on ‘um, huh? We have no fingerprints. We have no eyewitnesses save for cryptic promotional videos for that wrestling company that may, or may not, have been made by our girl here.”
The Captain was as serious as he could get. Reigns gritted his jaw and watched her.
Captain Tracey: “Her lawyer showed up. Tons of credentials. Says I can keep her for another 2 days maybe. Best we have is she wrestled in someone else’s match. Or, maybe, she’s been contracted under a false name, but that’s not our jurisdiction. That’s for the Evolution Wrestling company to sort out. Regardless, lawyer’s saying without habeas corpus we can’t hold her much longer.”
Officer Reigns narrowed his eyes at her, sensing if not entirely wishing she could tell he was fully cognizant of her. But she stared, with pitiful raccoon eyes from the smudged eye makeup, looking like a sight for sore eyes.
Deus/Heaven (on tape): “Look. I’m good at wrestling. Great at it. You saw me! But they wouldn’t let me wrestle as ‘Heaven’. So I had to join as someone else. I just chose the Deus name cause it made sense! I swear! I was gonna try to switch things over… show them how indispensable I am without the mask on. Then they fired me. That’s a lot of money to lose, Officer. Yeah, I was pulling double duty… I would have done anything for the pay cheque, you know? I had to think of my family. I have parents back home. They’re counting on me. Don’t you have a family, Officer Reigns?”
Captain Tracey: “Tsk. I feel bad for the kid.”
Lieutenant Reynolds: “She’s just chasing her dream, Reigns. Probably could have done it without the getup. Show that body around a ring and she’d do fine--”
Officer Reigns: “Aw, shut up, Reynolds. This is nonsense. We checked her bank account. She’s got no money. Where the hell is she getting the money to pay for some hotshot lawyer from the big city?”
Lieutenant Reynolds: “She said it herself. She’s been pulling double duty to make ends meat. No crime in that.”
The captain shook his head with a shrug. It didn’t matter. Officer Reigns saw the smirk forming on her stained lips.
Officer Reigns: “Right FUCKING there! Admission of guilt! The bitch is GRINNING at me.”
Lieutenant Reynolds and Captain Tracey spun around in unison to look.
Lieutenant Reynolds: “What are you talking about? Poor thing’s crying.”
Deus’ head lowered slightly, her shoulders tremored and shook with grief. The sound of sobs and guilt echoed in the interrogation room.
Officer Reigns: “She’s LAUGHING. Don’t fall for this bullshit. Newsflash: This bitch is more than just some wrestler.”
Captain Tracey: “Reigns. Come on. Don’t pull the crazy cop routine. Look at her.”
Deus looked exhausted, slowly rocking in her chair. A mild anxiety attack from the looks of it.
Officer Reigns: “The camera. Review the footage on the SD card. You’ll see it. She’s smiling right at me. Bitch knows exactly what we’re talking about in here and that she’s about to walk.”
Lieutenant Reynolds: “We’re done taping, Reigns. SD Card’s full, remember?”
Captain Tracey: “Reigns I can’t, in good conscience, hold this woman indefinitely. Not with her lawyer hanging around wagging human rights threats at me.”
Officer Claude Reigns cringed as an attending officer led Heaven, or Deus, out of the interrogation room in her shackles. She eyed the two-way mirror as she passed.
Reigns stewed over it for another few hours wanting to see if she’d crack, drop the act and confess when the possibility of her freedom seemed impossible.
That’s when word came in of two new bodies.
It was a tip that helped find them in a warehouse outside of town.
Burned and charred.
Likely while they were still alive.
The officer who’d found them was green enough to throw up at the sight. They’d been found side by side, each with Deus masks covering their unrecognizable faces and a crisp, clear block-written note that read: “They Didn’t Play Nice With Others.”
Reigns’ teeth were almost ground down to nothing with all the clenching he was doing since the discovery. Two new murders all while his key suspect was safely locked behind bars. Two fresh kills easily linked to “Deus”. But this was Deus... wasn’t it?
Captain Tracey: “I can’t hold her, Claude.”
Officer Reigns clenched and unclenched his fists in front of his face trying to hide the amount of unrest he was feeling.
Officer Reigns: “She could’ve networked with someone, could’ve called—“
Captain Tracey: “Reigns, she hasn’t made a single phone call. Evolution Wrestling hasn’t so much as made an inquiry about her. She’s abandoned. Only person she’s talked to has been her lawyer. The other ‘Deus’s’ we’re holding don’t like her much either. Who’s she going to network with? Every time we put her near them they call foul on her. Guess Deus can’t be a woman or some shit. One of them got hold of her in the cell, Reigns. Luckily the guard got there in time, but was some… not so nice things happening before we could break it up. We’re hurting an innocent woman, Reigns.”
Officer Reigns leaned back in his chair thinking through his options.
Officer Reigns: “If we let her go, we better have her on surveillance. Wire tap. I want to be at her next match. Something.”
Captain Tracey: “Who’s to say the person killing these people has ANYTHING to do with wrestling, Reigns? We’ve picked these Deus wackos up all over town. It’s completely random. Homeless, people waiting at bus stops. We can’t harass some wrestling company on a hunch. Besides, that’s a private company, I can only do so much, and their tolerance with us is wearing thin as it is. Her Lawyer’s getting feistier the longer we hold her. Moreso now with these new victims.”
Officer Reigns: “Any positive I.D. yet?”
Captain Tracey: “Nothing. Look. You’ve been burning the candle at both ends. Go home to your wife and kid, huh? The case’ll still be here when you get back.”
Officer Reigns didn’t like it, and he said so. In the end it was enforced that’d he’d go home. He had to walk through processing, putting on his civilian jacket, he passed by Heaven as he left, trying his best to avoid looking at her, or punching her out right then and there.
Deus/Heaven: “Detective.”
He rolled his eyes and stopped to see her being out-processed and set free.
Deus/Heaven: “I’m really sorry. I hope you catch him. This guy you’re after.”
Officer Reigns had that sense that it’s best to just not say anything. Instead he gave her a half smile, half sympathetic because she did look like he’d put her through hell, but half accusatory. Reigns could feel it in his gut what a mistake this was.
Deus/Heaven: “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope we don’t ever have to talk again. Take care of your family, Claude.”
Officer Reigns let it drift in one ear and out the other as she was escorted away.
He lingered in for a quick visit to the desk sergeant, a friend, for a few laughs. The classic shooting of the shit, some last minute coffee chatter to calm the nerves, and make some later-in-the-day plans. It was important to keep work at work, and home at home. And the desk sergeant was a good debrief from shop on his way out. And then he made his way out into the officer’s parking lot to his vehicle. But he stopped at his car before unlocking the door.
That little bit that she had said trickled back into his mind.
Officer Reigns: “How the hell’d she know my name was Claude?”
He frowned and looked back at the police building.
Officer Reigns: “No. It was on my name tag.”
...Right?
He got into his car. Just put it out of your mind, Claude. Get home. Haven’t seen Terri or Robbie for what felt like weeks. Robbie had football tonight, didn’t he? High School finals or something like that, he’d been too distracted with the Deus case. God it’s been too long. Could use some home time.
The key in the ignition, get out onto the road. Drive the thoughts away.
But they kept ringing in his ears.
Officer Reigns: “I never told her about my family.”
Because you don’t do that.
You leave home at home, and work at work.
So how’d she know about that?
It was just small talk.
She was just being friendly.
...Right?
It rattled around in his head until the cell phone rang. He pulled over to answer it.
Captain Tracey: “Claude, I—wouldn’t go home if I were you. We just got a positive I.D. on the bodies. You better pull over, buddy. I don’t know how else to break it to you.”
Claude Reigns felt his face go white as the words hit him and bounced off. He sat stunned.
Captain Tracey: “I am so, so, sorry, Claude. Just got the dental records. It’s Robbie and Terri.”
Everything fell away but the sound of cars whizzing past him to something hopeful and happy on the highway. And Claude Reigns cried and rocked in his car seat, and quietly decided that life is never fair.
Epilogue
The first thing Mr. Arkin, a hotshot lawyer out of Phoenix, had shown her in their initial meeting in the police station before her interrogation was the Deus mask image carved and hidden on his palm with the number 23 scarred for effect into the forehead. He grimaced at her. It must’ve hurt. But he didn’t need to say anything else.
Outside the building, once she’d made it to the street, a car pulled up. A sedan. She didn’t need to wait long. Just as he'd told her. The door opened from the inside and she got in.
Mr. Arkin: “Of course, everyone in the organization understands that you’re not the REAL Deus."
She looked at him sidelong,with a ‘the hell you say?’ sort of look. He felt uncomfortable and nervously back-pedaled.
Mr. Arkin: “But, naturally, you ARE the voice of Deus… correct…?”
Deus: “Uhhhh….yeahhhh… That’s it. Like a Herald or something. Silver Surfer and all that shit.”
She smirked to herself.
Mr. Arkin: “Of course, of course. And you’ve spoken to Deus recently? The others are becoming rather desperate to hear from him.”
Deus: “Uhhhh…. Yeaahhhh… he said you could just call me Deus for the time being. You know, to cut down on the confusion. And to just listen to me for the time being.”
Mr. Arkin: “He said that?”
Deus: “Would I lie?”
Mr. Arkin: “I suppose not. You'd have to answer to Deus if you did.”
Deus: “Exactly. So the first thing Deus told me to do was get some makeup.”
Mr. Arkin: “Right. Any particular brand of cosmetic you’d prefer?”
Deus: “I said MAKEUP. I need my fucking face.”
She looked into the side mirror with a frown at her reflection as Mr. Arkin silently apologized and reached into the backseat quickly and nervously and fished out the familiar silver metallic mask and handed it to her.
Mr. Arkin: “There you are… sir?”
She sighed as she looked down into the inside of it. The glint of her own reflection stirred back at her, causing pause, noticing just how badly her makeup had actually ran. She placed the metal mask over her face and felt at ease suddenly. Fixing it to her face. The voice modulator kicked in. And the deep voice felt like it’d shake the car.
Deus: “Ahhhhh. Better. And it's just Deus. Where do the wannabes meet?”
Mr. Arkin drove calmly. He’d discovered Deus by accident. Something within him stirred, hitting all sorts of agreeable points in his psyche when he heard that voice. When he’d met some of the others by accident, everyone agreed how useful it was to have a lawyer with his bureaucratic skills.
Mr. Arkin: “There isn’t one specific meeting space, sir. Given the nature of our little group, it was determined wisest to meet in rotating spaces whose location would be spread only by word of mouth."
Deus: “Okay. So take me to the next spot.”
Mr. Arkin: “Absolutely, sir… or do you prefer Ma’am? I can take you there right now, I’m sure everyone would love to have a word from Deus.”
A pause. Strange to sit there beside the actual Deus who stared for a moment into the rear-view mirror as if appraising the reflection the mask had.
Deus: “I think first things first… we’re going to have to stop and get some cosmetics.”
