Edward

Edward ran up the stairs to the apartment where he last met Forseti. Upon reaching its door, he started banging heavily and rapidly on it. A voice from within called for him to stop, yet Edward didn’t cease until the door was finally opened. The white-masked Forseti stood on the doorstep, and before he could even speak a single syllable, Edward charged at him, shoving him until Forseti lost his balance and fell on his back.

"You promised nothing would happen to her!" Edward screamed at him, wrapping his hands around his neck. "You said I could trust you!" he kept going. Forseti tried to speak, yet his words choked at his throat. He was only able to make inaudible mumbles. Edward's grip tightened, yet at that moment a mighty force pushed him away from Forseti, sending him into the nearby wall.

As Edward rubbed his beaten head, he looked and recognized the large, muscular masked Justicar he knew only as Mars. He saw the one he knew as Themis standing next to him. Mars, the great brute, helped Forseti up to his feet and closed the apartment door. "Forseti, you motherfucker," Edward got up to his feet as well. "You promised… you promised—"

"I know!" Forseti yelled. "You think I planned for this to happen?!" he sounded upset. "This was never part of my plan. I wasn't lying when I said that I would never harm an innocent citizen."

"How did this happen?"

"No one anticipated that fucker would kidnap Soleina at the set. By the time we got there, it was already too late."

"Oh, my god," Edward buried his face in his hands. "That poor woman…" Edward sat down on the living room sofa. "Jonah Dillard lost his mind as soon as he heard. He called for every available cop to go searching for her. I wasn’t there, but I've heard that he lost it when he saw what happened to his wife."

"Edward, I'm… I'm sorry. I take the blame on this." No… it's wrong for me to blame him. I can see Forseti has good intentions, even if he IS a Justicar. He's right, no one expected for the killer to disguise himself as a Channel 2 employee. And still… this turnout is so horrible.

"It doesn’t matter who's to blame," Edward said. "What matters is that we need to catch that son of a bitch right fucking now."

"Did you sample the blood drops from the warehouse?"

"We did. It was lucky you made him take off his mask. Otherwise, the Elastics' material would soak up his blood."

"And? Did you get anything out of it?"

"We did. His name is Caedes Rendell. He was a doctor who used to own a private clinic. To start his business, he loaned money from Lady Dread. Eventually, he failed to afford to pay them back, so they kidnapped his wife and son. Both of them were never found and are presumed to be dead."

"Oh, God…" Themis seemed sick. "So that's why he's targeting Lady Dread."

"Yeah, I guess so," Edward said. "Anyway, Caedes went off the grid after their kidnapping. There were no official records of him since then."

"He's trying to hurt Lady Dread's friends in high places by killing their loved ones to get back at her for killing his own loved ones," Forseti said.

"Seems like it. Jonah Dillard had put out an arrest warrant for Caedes and placed every cop on the hunt for him. We're keeping his identity secret from the media for now."

Forseti sat down next to Edward, sighing. "We're dealing with a dangerous individual. He's smart, but he's also demented."

"Demented?" Edward asked.

"Oh, you should've seen him." Forseti carried on describing the Tri-Surgeon, mentioning the weird makeup he had on and his frequent twitchiness. "He also said some very strange things. At some point he was speaking to person in his head, yelling at him and acting as if there was actually someone else in the room." Edward seemed just as perplexed as Edrimer was when it happened. "He mentioned a 'Father Blood,' saying that he gave him orders and that we were disrupting them."

"Father Blood?" Edward paused to think. "Do you think someone is bidding him to do all these killings?"

"I don’t know," Forseti shrugged. "He also mumbled an odd sentence. From ash and fire the strong will rise."

While Edward didn’t recognize the sentence, Mars turned to look at Forseti once he heard it. "I know that saying," he said. "It's a saying that the Serath often use. It's almost like their dictum."

"The Serath?" Edward wondered. "You mean those weird anarchists who are causing mayhem across Europe and the United States?"

"Yeah. They believe the current world leaders and governments are too corrupt and uncaring to be ruling. They seek to spread anarchy in countries in hopes to take down their government and let the people who prove themselves most fitting among the chaos to rule instead."

"That sounds… farfetched." Edward was doubtful.

"Think what you want, they've proven to be a genuine threat after succeeding once in the Middle East. One of the reasons why the Middle East is so war-infested right now is because last year the number of Serathons in one of the countries there became staggering, and with so many followers they were able to start riots that brought that entire country down to ruins. The old leader was executed and instead they appointed one they deemed to have proven himself worthy to rule during the riots."

"Fuck…" Edward seemed shocked. He had heard of the Serath before but simply wasn’t very keen on everything that was currently going on in the Middle East. Fanatics who believe that anarchy is the solution to our corrupt leaders… god, if they've reached Alataria, I fear of what might await us. "So what does this mean? Are we dealing with a Serathon? I didn’t even know they've reached Alataria," Edward asked.

"I don’t know if they did, but it sounds like Caedes is a Serathon," Mars said.

"Well, Serathon or not, he's not any of your concern anymore," Edward said. "Thanks to your help, we now know who our killer is and we have the means to track him down. I think our ways separate here."

"No, they don't," Forseti declared, decisively. "You still need us if you want Caedes in custody," Edward looked perplexed. He crossed his arms, ready to listen. "Themis and I were met with two men of Lady Dread when we were getting out of that warehouse. They were coming for Caedes. They knew he was in that warehouse."

Edward's face turned upset. "You mean—"

"Someone in APD tipped Lady Dread off."

Edward looked away, ashamed. "Fuck…" he whispered to himself. "So even if we manage to locate Caedes, Lady Dread will probably be waiting right around the corner."

"And if Lady Dread arrives at Caedes's location, statistically speaking, there's a good chance that whichever cops will be there won't care about giving him away to them, so long as the money flows in their direction. We might be the only ones able to fend off Lady Dread and bring Caedes to proper justice in court."

"Fantastic," Edward said with a grunt. "Fine, but either way, it's only a matter of time now," Edward said. "Almost every cop in Alataria is currently looking for Caedes Rendell. He's going to get caught sooner or later."

"Right. Well, let me know when that happens."

"Sure," Edward said with a smirk, leaving soon afterward.

Edward drove back home, his mind riddled with anxious thoughts. Would capturing the Tri-Surgeon really be worth what had happened to Dillard's wife? Ever since he received the case, he told himself that he was willing to do whatever it took to protect the citizens of this country from the foul killer, yet never on the expense of an innocent person. A part of his subconscious kept showing him a mental picture of almost every other cop on the force, effectively telling him that he was no better, if not worst then them. Seeing that picture in his head made Edward feel sick to the stomach, just from the notion that he was as rotten and dirty as them. Just as they blindly go against the values of justice they swore to protect for their own desires, Edward felt the same about himself. He wanted to catch this killer at all costs, and in so he agreed to put an innocent civilian in danger, which stood against everything that he believed in.

As he opened the door to his apartment, barely able to think straight with all the thoughts that had run through his head by the time he got there, he hung his coat and dropped his keys on the kitchen counter.

An eerie, lonely silence wrapped the apartment. All the lights were off, yet Edward chose not to turn any of them on. For a moment, he preferred the darkness. As he sat down in his living room, Edward actually relished on the small pieces of silence that drained his mind empty, in an effort to calm down. He wished the blackness around him could somehow rid him of all his troubles, that it could save him from his own frustration, that he could find peace and quiet in it, a place of solace and comfort. It was a nice thought to have, but there could be none of that in Alataria.

As Edward looked around his living room, he noticed that several things lay on the floor. As he drew closer, he saw the television's remote control and his morning newspaper resting on the floor. As he dug around his memory, he suddenly realized that he remembered them being on the living room table when he left for work that morning.

Before the paranoia and troubling thoughts could plague him again, it was already too late, as he felt a mighty hit in the back of his head. Falling to the floor, beside the living room table, Edwards head spun and rang. His vision became blurry and strength was suddenly a hard thing to gather. With every effort he could make, he turned around on his back and faced his assailant.

There he stood, right above Edward. His sight was still too fuzzy to make out any details, but he could still spot the camouflage-colored Elastics the man wore. Code sanguinary had finally come to have their vengeance. As Edward started to crawl back, away from the soldier, his vision sharpened, and he was able to notice the pistol in the man's right hand. A silencer was attached to the barrel. The intruder raised his gun at Edward, without a shred of hesitation appearing on him. An assassination in my own apartment? Is this how I'm going to die? He thought. Curse Charles Blackburn. Curse Code Sanguinary. Curse Jonah Dillard. What would Derlick say right now if he were here? The thought of his departed friend made a spark of defiance light in his heart. He would say 'screw Code Sanguinary!' He would say I should get up and fight! Blackburn may kill me in the end, but before that happens, I'm going to make sure I don't go out like a coward!

With flames of prowess burning in his heart, Edward rushed at the assassin and tackled him before he could even pull the trigger on him. The assassin fell on his back but quickly tried pointing his gun at Edward. Before he could shoot, Edward grabbed the man's hands and tussled to shift his aim away. The two men struggled each other, as each one tried getting the gun to point at the other. Edward ground his teeth as he put all his strength together, but soon he realized that the trained soldier was much more capable than him, as the gun slowly turned back to aim at Edward. Knowing that, Edward sent his knee to ram into the soldier's groin, making him shriek with pain and lose grip on his gun. Edward took hold of the weapon, but the assassin recovered much faster than he anticipated, and without seeing it coming, Edward felt a strong kick pushing him away into the living room table and making the gun fly from his hand a foot away. He's much more dangerous than he seems. It's like he's able to numb the pain almost instantaneously so he's never at a disadvantage. The masked soldier crawled for his gun, but Edward quickly grabbed his leg and pulled him away from it. Edward sent a fast punch to the man's face, yet again he quickly recovered and responded by two punches of his own. Grabbing his throbbing face, Edward rose to his feet and grabbed a vase from the cupboard nearby. He raised it high and then smashed it on the assassin's head, shattering it into pieces all around him. This time, the assassin seemed to take much longer to recover, yet Edward refused to even give him the opportunity to do that. Curse Charles Blackburn. Curse Code Sanguinary. Curse Jonah Dillard. He mumbled in his mind over and over as he walked to grab the electric iron from his ironing board. As soon as he turned around to head back to the soldier, he felt a fierce punch in his stomach and fell to his knees, dropping the iron on the floor beside him. Another swift blow came rushing to his face and made him fall on his back. The man crouched above Edward and started strangling him. Edward tried fighting back, yet he was powerless against the soldier's sturdy grip. Curse Charles Blackburn. Curse Code Sanguinary. Curse Jonah Dillard. He looked aside and spotted the iron almost within a hand's reach from him. He reached out but could barely make it to the iron. An odd fuzziness started shrouding his mind, as oxygen was slowly being denied of him. He made another reach for the iron, yet again he could make it. Is this how I'm going to die? An image of his father came to his mind. Dad… you were right… everything you said was right… He made one more reach for the iron. This country is rotten, and there is no justice wherever you turn… his fingers scratched the steel body of the iron. But where you failed… finally, he managed to grab it. I intend to succeed. Edward rammed the iron into the assassin's head, knocking him unconscious.

Edward gathered his breath and got back up on his feet. He went for the gun and grabbed it, pointing it at the unconscious soldier. Should I kill him? Should I have him arrested? If I kill him, it will send a very clear message to Blackburn, but it wouldn’t be justice if he wouldn’t be arrested. Before he could figure out the answer, he heard a muffled voice coming from the assassin. At first, he thought it came from the man himself, yet he then realized that it was coming from a radio communications device that was tucked in his pocket. He picked it up and listened closer to the voice.

"Kyler? Kyler, is it done?" the voice said. " Kyler, respond!" Edward recognized the voice clearly. The last time he heard it was in a courthouse, claiming that he was not guilty. It was the man that was feared by many, but not by Edward. The Deserter General, Charles Blackburn.

"It's good to hear from you, Blackburn," Edward spoke into the radio device. "I'm glad we finally have the chance to talk."

Blackburn paused for a moment before talking back. "Is my soldier dead?" he asked, eventually.

"Not yet. I have a gun pointed at him, but whether he dies or not, that depends on you."

"And why is that?"

"Because I want us to strike a deal." Edward sounded confident.

"A deal?"

"Yes. You see, we have a common enemy, and I for one don’t plan on taking out your soldiers for the rest of my life."

"You're talking about Jonah Dillard, aren’t you?" Blackburn sneered. "You want to go against your Chief of Police?"

"It may come as a surprise to you, but I have as much hatred for Dillard as you do. I never even really understood why you never went against him. You took out the judge, attorney and lead investigator that tried to take you down, and you even tried to do the same to me, but I never saw you attempting to kill Dillard."

Blackburn paused again before responding. "What do you think would happen if I kill Dillard?" he asked. "I could do it if I'd wanted to, but that will most likely cause an outrage all over the news and media. Killing a judge or a lawyer or a simple cop wouldn’t have the same effect, not when you're talking about the Chief of Police, a person so powerful that he takes most of his orders from the President of Alataria. Code Sanguinary has no protection coming from APD as it is, and as soon as I kill Dillard, his successor would simply take his seat and deal with the outrage of his murder by going full scale against my organization. Now, I'll be the first to admit that Code Sanguinary had seen better days, so the last thing we need is a massive force of APD cops attacking us." What he says makes sense. I guess he might be just as wise and clever as people say he is. "So if that deal of yours has anything to do with killing Jonah Dillard, I'm going to have to decline it."

"Alright then, let me offer you a different kind of deal. I'll give you something you want more than my dead body, and in return, you lay off of me."

"And what about my soldier, Kyler?"

"I'll carry his unconscious body to the end of my block, where your men can pick him up from. But I'll be keeping his gun, of course."

"Fine. Let's hear your offer."

"I will give you the location of an apartment that’s being used by several Justicars." Blackburn hates the Justicars. The very reason why he was ever trialed was for executing a Justicar after trying to extract information out of him. "I'll let you know when they'll be in it so you can send you men to wipe them out. You may also use whatever information you may find in that apartment regarding the Justicars."

Blackburn only thought about it for a few seconds. "Very well, I'll give you a number where you can reach one of my men to let us know," he finally said. "We have a deal."