Part IX: 2016

Part IX: 2016 

Samson 

Well, I sorta have my life together, kinda. I saved up enough to pay off my storage, but because it kept going up every week, it took awhile to catch up, and I’ve gotta eat and bathe. The storage owner was nice enough to let me stay in my unit. I made it into like, a mini apartment. I bought a mini generator, so I have light and a microwave, and a mini fridge. Luckily, that stuff was already in here, since it’s all stuff from my apartment, I just had to buy the one thing, which wasn’t cheap. It runs on a rechargeable battery, so I bring it to work with me when it’s getting low and plug it in the break room, boss knows my situation, so he lets me. Glad to see that some people can be sympathetic. I really hate working on days David is working, he’s such a dick, he reminds me of me when I was his age. He recently graduated, but he hasn’t grown up yet. Speaking of which, I gotta get to work, I hope David isn’t working...and of course he is, d****t. 

“Hey David.” I say. 

“Sup, has been?” David says. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for college soon? It’s almost September.” 

“Well, since I skated through high school, I couldn’t get into the school I wanted.” 

“So go to community college.” 

“No way, man! They don’t have a football team, and I don’t wanna play basketball, tennis, or baseball. I’m strictly football, bro.” 

“Wow, you sound like me.” 

“What?” 

“I said the same thing when I was your age. I didn’t have the half a mil to buy my way in, and my grades weren’t good enough to get in. The dean suggested I go to community college to work on my grades, get a degree, play a different sport, and then maybe he’d consider me getting in.” 

“F**k that, dude. I wouldn’t wanna do all that work, I just wanna go straight into college ball, then maybe the national league will take me.” 

“It’s a pipe dream, dude. I had the same one.” We got customers, they left. “Look, I had no options left after the college rejected me and my dad refused to pay the money. Because I asked him, he said he realized he raised a spoiled brat, so he made me join my friends in the military who willingly signed up. One just wanted to kill, while the other one, a foreigner, was doing it out of patriotic duty. I didn’t wanna be there, so I just took it as something to master instead. And lemme tell you, I fucked up and got too cocky.” I lift my pant leg up and show him the scar on my leg. 

“Woah, how did that happen?” 

“Grenade. I got shot, too, but I’m not taking off my shoe and sock to show you.” I bang on my knee. “Hear that? Prosthetic knee, mine’s gone. See this line here? That’s where my leg separated, I had to crawl to get it before I passed out. They sewed it back together, and now this leg is a half an inch shorter than my other one. Now look where I am, I work here, with some a*****e kid as my supervisor, and I live in a f*****g storage unit!” 

“Well, that’s you, I’m not going to the military, and I’m not going to college.” 

“Well then, welcome to the rest of your life. Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll have Mike’s job one day.” 

“No way man, that’s gay. Mike-” He looks around, Mike is still in his office with the door closed. “-Mike is an old loser, his wife cheats on him and his kids don’t talk to him, and what 60 year old guy is still working at McJizzle’s after 40 years?” 

“Well, if you don’t do anything, with your life, what are you going to do with your life until then?” 

“Until- until- I don’t know, man!” 

“Well, until you do, here’s where you’ll be. Unless you get fired or quit or something.” 

“S**t...” 

“That’s reality, kid.” 

“My parents said the same thing, but I thought they were just nagging me.” 

“Me and Mike are living proof, kid. Get your s**t together as soon as you can.” 

“But what am I supposed to do?” 

“What if you become a cop? Then you can legally boss people around.” 

“Yeah, but cops could die too.” 

“Yeah, but the adrenaline rush feels kinda good sometimes. Only difference between my job and your job, is you shouldn’t shoot unless you have no other choice. The rule is, they shoot first, you can shoot back. That, or if they don’t surrender their weapon. My brother’s a cop, he teaches me things.” 

“Ya know, maybe I will become a pig. They get to do s**t other people can’t legally. I think I’ll give it a shot. Thanks, Samson.” 

“No problem, kid.” 

“Why do you even care?” 

“I don’t want history to repeat itself. I could have made better of myself, but I didn’t wanna. Sure, I served my country, but that’s like, the least I coulda done, you know? I have no skills, which is why I’m here.” 

“Maybe I’ll talk to my parents about it, they might not want me to be a cop.” 

“It was just a suggestion, you don’t have to, just do something with your life, man.” 

“Thanks, Samson, I’m sorry for being an a*****e, it’s a hard habit to break. It worked for me in school, and it’s kinda hard to turn off.” 

“I know exactly what you mean. You’d think being in the marines would have snapped me out of it, but I still ended up getting complacent. My arrogance killed my whole squad and made me lose my leg. It’s fine to joke around and be an a*****e, but there’s a lot of times when it’ll just get you in trouble. You know that already, because you don’t talk to Mike that way, so you know. You need to apply that in other areas of your life, otherwise people won’t take you seriously, they’ll think you’re just being an a*****e cause you always are, even if you’re trying to tell them something serious. And if you do end up being a cop, don’t abuse it. For people like you and me, it’s so easy to abuse that kind of power. And just because you can kill, doesn’t necessarily you should. I had a comrade who loved to kill so much, he even killed our own guys and I had to be the one to put him down.” 

“Holy s**t.” 

“The stinger was that he was my oldest friend, and I knew from the moment we landed in Iraq, that if things went south with him, that I’d have to be the one to put him down if he didn’t take me out first.” 

“Well, uh, it’s five minutes past my shift, I should probably go home now.” 

“Alright, have a good one, David. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” 

“For a few hours, yeah.” 

“A’ight, later.” I get back to prepping some food. A few hours later, my shift is over. Finally! I decide to go to the store, pick up some food, some booze, pack of smokes. Yeah, I started drinking again, it’s the only thing that helps me deal with the reality that I’m a burger flipping loser living in a storage container eating garbage food for dinner. While shopping, I run into Sandra Zircon. I didn’t recognize her at first, I’ve met so many people over the years, it’s hard to keep track on who’s who.  

“Samson? Samson Alpha? Is- is that you??” I hear behind me and I turn around. 
“Who-who are you again?” I ask. 
“It’s me, Sandra. Sandra Zircon.” 
“You’ll have to refresh my memory; it’s not as good these days.” 
“We went to school together and temporarily dated.” I think for a little bit, studying her face, taking in her features. Then it clicks in. 
“Ohhh! Ok, ok. Sorry, I ain’t what I used to be, no part of me is anymore.” 
“What the hell happened to you? You don’t look 29, you look almost 40.” 
“War, mostly. Got deployed in Iraq in 2005, came home injured in 2011, which was dumb on my part, it’s a real long story, but thank god for booze. Helps with the pain, too. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. Got back, went off the deep end cause I was denied any help I asked for. I came home to nothing, Sandra. They refused to pay any of my medical bills, despite being wounded in action; I’ve got PTSD as a result of the war. It’s under control, but it wasn’t the first couple years I was back, I’ve only just started getting the help I need. I fought tooth and nail to get any kind of help, denied disability, couldn’t hold a job, and I became a raging alcoholic. It caused the death of someone I love and I did time for it. I’ve been homeless, in jail, and nobody gives a f**k! We fight hard to keep this country free, and what do we get in return? Spit in the face. Like, ‘thanks for nothing, a*****e!’  

They did this to me and won’t repair their damage. Sure, I signed up for it, but I was a kid! A stupid a*s, ignorant, conceited a*****e of a kid who wanted to prove to himself and everyone around him he was invincible. Nobody’s invincible; I found that out real quick. But seriously, it pisses me off. What do we get when we come back? Medical assistance? Therapy? Only if you have money. Hell no, all we regular johns get is one day out of the year where people halfheartedly thank us and throw us a parade to make themselves feel better and a pat on the back. The rest of the year is a big ‘f**k you.’ Know what they told me? They said my injury wasn’t severe enough to qualify. My f*****g knee was blown apart; I walk with a cane and a limp. They told me to come back when I have a bullet in my spine or a piece of my head missing and then maybe, I’ll be lucky to maybe get some coverage, maybe. I hate my f*****g life, but I don’t have the balls to kill myself like some other guys in my unit.” 
“Wow, I-I’m sorry, I didn’t realize what you’ve been through. You’re not at all like I remember you.” 
“Yeah, I’ve seen some real serious s**t. Do you know what it’s like to see someone you’re used to being around all the time just suddenly die right in front of you?” 
“Yes, actually I have. Twice.” 
“Seriously?” 
“Yeah, two of my ex boyfriends. One shot himself, the other died in a car accident.” 
“I’m sorry to hear that, time might pass, and it seems like it gets easier, and it kind of does, but most of the time it seems like it doesn’t, especially when you feel like if you had done something differently they might still be alive.” 
“I know that feeling all too well.” 
“I’m sorry for the way I treated you back in high school.” 
“Really, it’s ok; you didn’t do nearly as much damage as I thought you did. Sure, I was distrusting of guys who actually wanted to go out with me, but it made me a little more cautious, not like it really helped though, I got stuck with Jack for longer than I should’ve.” 
“No, it’s not alright. I was a complete a*****e to you, to everybody.” 
“Yeah, you thought you were king s**t. Captain of the football team, you were hot, you probably had every girl in school including me-“ 
“Yeah, look where all that got me. I was too focused on my body and not at all on my mind. I was only concerned with how I looked, they let me slide through school so I could focus on football, then I went to try out for the national league, only to be knocked out with the flu during tryouts and missed my chance by a day. A f*****g day! I figured f**k it; I’ll go for the ultimate endurance test: the military. My ego was so huge that I thought it would be a cakewalk. So, I signed up for the marines. 
I was just going to go through boot camp, make some of that sweet weekend money and do whatever they trained me to do; I wasn’t expecting to be thrown out into the front lines. I was thrown immediately into the action; the day after I got there we were attacked. I got woken up to bombs dropping. That was the first of many days I’d see my comrades die. That was the day I knew I fucked up. I knew there was no way I could back out, I’d be a coward, and I’m not a coward. I figured if I was in it for the long haul, I’d put my all into it, and so I did. 
I’m not gonna lie, I was scared, I literally s**t my pants, I thought I was gonna die that night. But war isn’t the time to run away, so I grabbed my balls, reminded myself I was a f*****g man, and went to kill some m***********s. I got maybe two that night. And as brutal as it all was, I have to give credit to the women in my unit, they showed me up more than once, which, I’m sure you remember how I used to be, completely blew my mind. The whole experience changed me completely.” 
“Wow, I had no idea.” 
“And now you do.” 
“I’m so sorry you went through all of that.” 
“How about I make it up to you?” 
“What?” 
“How about I take you out to dinner sometime?” 
“Sorry, not interested.” 
“Not like that, as friends… I could really use some. All of mine are either dead or haven’t talked to me in a decade.” 
“Oh, oh- um, sure. Do you smoke?” 
“A couple packs a day, why?” 
“No, cannabis.” 
“No…” 
“You should, I heard its good for certain people, including veterans with PTSD. New laws say you can get it prescribed. I did, last year for my epilepsy.” 
“I’ll consider it.” 
“How about Saturday? Or Friday night?” 
“Friday night; Saturday we can hang out, maybe at your place.” 
“Sure, that sounds fine. Here’s my number.” 
“Thanks.” 
“For what?” 
“For being a good person to me even though I wasn’t to you.” 
“It’s perfectly okay, it’s how I am, I don’t hold grudges.” 
“Well, that’s good, cause I could really, really use a friend.” 
“Yes, friend. I know how you men think.” 
“Trust me, no offense, but I’m not after you.” 
“Alright, Friday, 7:00” 
“It’s a date.” 
“No, it’s not.” 
“You know what I meant.” Geez, some people just need to let it go, I don’t do fat chicks, never have, don’t plan to. That Friday, we met up at a diner. 

“So, is any part of your knee still real?” Sandra asks. 
“Nope, I’m missing from the bottom of my thigh, my knee, and the top of my calf were blown to smithereens. It’s all metal and plastic.” I bang on my leg. “You never feel quite so mortal than the moment you’re lying there bleeding, crawling to your severed limb and waiting for help to arrive. Good thing they got to me when they did or I’d be missing it completely right now.” 
“So what happened?” 
“It’s all my fault. Got my bunkmate, my favorite comrade, and my supervisor killed all at once that day.” I recounted the story of my last day of combat and how it was my fault I fired the rocket at a house in the distance. “Arrogance at its finest. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about my actions for the first couple of days, but it wasn’t until a week passed until I finally let my guard down. One night, I left the tent to take a piss. So I go out, and I walk out until I find a place to whiz, when suddenly behind me, my tent gets destroyed, and everyone is instantly dead. My supervisor, my comrades, everybody in it. The rest of my unit immediately sprang into action and blew away most of them at once, losing a few more people. I jumped in there, I was full of hate, vengeance, and guilt. I took out 10 of them before I got shot. Got it right in the foot. As I’m using one leg to kneel while cradling my foot, I got hit in the leg with a grenade. Blew off the chunk of leg at the knee, propelling me in one direction away from my leg, I managed to crawl to it before I fell unconscious. Next thing I remember was waking up in a veteran’s hospital two weeks later after coming out of a medically induced coma with a cast and searing pain in my leg.  

They said I was lucky to have survived at all with all of the blood I’d lost. I hated myself, wondering ‘why me?’ I felt like I didn’t deserve to still be alive, I fucked over my unit and got them killed all because I was being a cocky a*****e.” 

“Holy s**t, Samson, that sounds like Hell.” 

“It really was, I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Both of my best friends are dead because of that stupid war. Johan got shot and Leo cut his throat, and I had to take down Leo.” 

“That’s crazy.” 

“Yeah, and it actually happened.” After dinner, she gave me her address and the next day I stopped by her house. 

“Hi, come on in. So, what’s up?” 

“Eh, just got off of work.” 

“Oh? Where do you work?” 

“McJizzles.” 

“Oh...well, it’s something.” 

“But I could have been so much more. I wanted to be, but life just gave me the middle finger.” 

“Life gives us all middle fingers. Look how I lost my last two boyfriends, what are the chances?” 

“I guess you’ve got a point there. I’ve been trying to amend my old ways ever since I came home. I visit the Veteran’s hospital every Sunday, I even took in a homeless vet when I first got here, and he ended up blowing his brains out with my gun.” 

“Holy s**t! Don’t give up though, I’m sure it still counted for something.” 

“I still don’t see how, it’s still my fault he died. It’s my fault a lot of people died.” I couldn’t help but get emotional. “My unit, Scott, Kat, Greg, Leo, all dead because of me.” 

“You’re going to have to help me, who’s Scott and Greg, and didn’t Leo die in the war? How was that your fault? Was he there when your unit got bombed?” 

“No, Scott was the homeless vet I took in, Greg was the old vet who welcomed me at the hospital on my first day after I woke up. And Leo... I killed Leo.” 

“What?” 

“He was out of control, killing our own guys right in the open, so I capped him, I had to.” 

“Oh my god, he was your best friend! I remember you guys would ditch school a lot!” 

“He became addicted to killing and couldn’t control it anymore.” 

“That’s so fucked up.” 

“Yeah, and I have to live with it.” 

“I’m sorry, Samson. I wish I knew what to do to help you.” 

“Nah, I’m ok, I go to therapy, it’s covered by my job’s insurance. Plus, I’ve almost got enough for a security deposit for a real apartment, so I’d like to think I’m doing ok.” 

“Well, that’s good I guess.” 

“I spent some time in jail with Sydd.” 

“What? No way!” 

“Yeah, me and him buried the hatchet.” 

“So you’re friends?” 

“No, we’re just no longer enemies, I’ve grown out of that. Plus, he’s trying to improve his life, and I get that. So, why not? We’re supposed to be adults now, right?” 

“Wow, sounds like you really changed.” 

“Good, that’s what I’m going for. Alright, I gotta go, it was nice talking to you. I leave the house, and head to the store for more booze and smokes. That’s when I saw the hottest chick come out of the driver’s seat of a sports car... and that’s when it hit me. I ran over to her. “Christy?” I ask, bewildered. 

“No, I’m not signing autographs, and no I don’t want you hobos washing my windshield for me.” She tells me. I couldn’t help but laugh.  

“Oh, you’re still a princess, aren’t you, Chris?” She takes her sunglasses off and looks at me. 

“Who are- princess? SAMMY?” 

“Yeah, it’s me. And I’m not a hobo. Not entirely, I have a job.” 

“Ooh, what amazing thing are you doing these days? Knowing you, you’re playing college ball, right? I hadn’t heard your name on any of the sports channels.” 

“Wanna go for dinner? We have a lot to catch up on.” 

“I don’t know, you look kinda dirty.” 

“How about if I shave my face? It always takes five years off.” 

“Fine, but only cause it’s you.” Later that night, the two of us caught up on what was going on in each other’s lives. Hers was a lot better than mine, I felt like all I did was complain the whole night. But, she said it was good to see me again, and that felt kinda good, nice to know she still cares about me. 

Luxor 

Oswald and I have been approved for a week of international travel to find out more about our missing ship. We however have a case to close before we go. This one is interesting because it involves a former cop. It disgusts me, as an officer of the law, I hold myself and the others on the force to a higher standard of morality. Possible suicide, possible homicide, however I am going to guess suicide. There was no sign of forced entry, and no bloody footprints in the house. How she slit her throat and managed to stab herself in the heart is odd, which is why homicide could be a factor. The bottle of alcohol suggests it could be either. Then, I noticed the note, suicide. As I read the note, I notice former Narcotics officer, and my old very temporary partner is mentioned. Perhaps he told her to kill herself? If so, I will charge him with involuntary manslaughter. She would not have killed herself unless some interaction with him caused her to, and the note strongly implies that he suggested it to her, whether making an attempt at dark humor, or with malice. Either way, I will want to charge him. I do not play favoritism within the department. As I have said, I hold officers to a higher standard of morality.  

Charlotte Dixon, age 26, time of death estimated between midnight and three a.m. Victim is already cold, blood has coagulated. Neighbor called it in, heard loud crashing, then silence. Door was unlocked, and she let herself in. Found the victim, did not see anyone else in the vicinity, again, suggesting suicide. Crime scene was preserved until our arrival. 

“I noticed she mentions Xero. She says she took his advice, I wonder what that means.” I say. 
“Think he told her to kill herself?” Oswald asks. 
“Possibly. I wonder what he said.” 
“How do you even know who she’s talking about?” 
“He worked with me briefly.” 
“Call the boss.” I take out my phone and call. 
“Hey cap, it is Alpha. Just curious, would Xero happen to know our victim? Well, he was mentioned in the note; at least we are sure it is him. Uh huh, ok, are you going to call him, or should I? Ok, we are going to investigate a little further until he gets here.” I hang up the phone. “Break?” 
“Break.” We took a small break and went into the kitchen. Oswald starts making himself something to eat. “Oswald, why are you eating her food?” 

“It’s gonna get thrown out anyway, and besides, I’m hungry. Who’s gonna eat it, her?” 

“Good point.” I say as I make myself a sandwich. We eat, and begin mulling over the case.  

“Alright, lay it on me, what’s your theory?” 

“I believe he was attempting dark humor, and encouraged her suicide because of her habit of cutting herself. Did you not notice her arms?” 

“Yeah, those scars looked pretty deep.” 

“I intend to charge him.” 

“With what? It’s clearly a suicide.” 

“An encouraged suicide. It is possible she would not have died this morning had he not encouraged her to do it. She was intoxicated, it is possible he was too.” 

“You really think that’s gonna fly in court?” 

“I will request a decade.” 

“A decade? That seems like a lot for a drunk fight.” 

“I hold us to a higher standard of morality Oswald. If we cannot follow the law, we have no right to enforce the law.” 

“But he’s not a cop anymore.” 

“It does not matter, what matters is that he used to be. He was actually quite adequate at his job. I did not work with him long, but he did not seem like the type of person to want somebody dead.” 

“Well, it’s like you said, you didn’t know him very long.” 

“Too true, my friend.” Ok, let us wait for Xero. Has the body left yet?”  

“No, coroner just got here.” 

“I would like Xero to see the body, I would like to gauge his reaction to see whether malice was involved.” Leon Xero approaches 15 minutes later, escorted by a uniform. He approaches me. 

“What’s going on here?” Leon asks. 
“Ah, Leon.” I walk up to him. “Possible manslaughter, a slash mark to the throat, and impaled through the chest.” 
“Why did you need me down here? And why am I a suspect?” 
“Because of the victim.” I uncover the sheet, and there lying on the gurney, is Charlotte with a slash mark across three quarters of her neck, and a large knife through her heart. 
“What in the hell?” 
“Yeah, apparently she was discovered by her neighbor who woke up to banging, glass shattering, and then a thud. She went over and knocked, but didn’t hear an answer. The door was unlocked, so she let herself in, and saw a light on upstairs and when she checked on her, she was facedown, impaled on the knife and the room a disaster.” 
“So how does that make me a suspect?” 
“Because of this.” I hand Leon the note.  
He takes it, opens it up, reads it, and starts to freak out. “I swear, I don’t remember anything from last night. All I remember was drinking a lot and accidentally meeting up with her and she was really drunk too.” 
“Do you remember anything else?” 
“No, but I don’t see how I’m a suspect if this is a suicide note, unless...” He rescans the note. “’If Leon is reading this, then I just want to say that I took your advice, am I good for you now? Better off dead?’” 
“It does not look good for you, Leon. What did you say to her?” 
“I-I’m not sure.” 
“You have got to remember something.” 
“I remember a lot of yelling.” 
“Good, that is a start.” 
“I don’t know, I’m having a hard time remembering.” 
“Not a good start, you are going to do hard time if you do not remember.” 
“What?” 
“She specifically says she took your advice which strongly suggests you told her to kill herself.” 
“What? No…” 
“Unless you have anything that proves otherwise.” 
“I-I don’t know.” 
“Well, then I guess we will have to take you into custody.” 
“No…I…” He sighs and looks down at Charlotte one last time. “Her life was ended by the one thing she was trying to protect.” 

“Elaborate.” 

“Her heart.” 

“Ah, a metaphor, I understand now.” We get back to the station, and I fill out the paperwork and get Xero charged. I approach the captain’s office and knock. He calls me to come in. I enter and sit down across from him at his desk. “I will be charging Leon Xero with involuntary manslaughter as he instigated the suicide. I recommend ten years.” 

“I don’t know about ten, but if he serves some time will you be happy?” 

“It is merely a negotiation tactic. I wanted to instill fear into him and at the same time, while I know he will not get ten years, it can be negotiated down, but I will not go lower than 5.” 

“I’ll see what I can do. Good luck this week, I hope you catch that b*****d kidnapper.” 

“I have a few theories.” 

“I knew you were the right guy for this case.” I take my leave, and meet up with Oswald in the den. 

“Wanna knock off early today? We gotta get up pretty early to catch our flight.” 

“I concur, it is a long ride to Great Britain.” We leave work, and head to our respective dwellings. Luckily, I was able to get a new domicile thanks to the insurance, and the money I had already saved. I am still angry at Samson for burning down my old apartment, I do not want to see him indefinitely. I get my rest, and Oswald picks me up and we head to the airport. After many hours, we end up in Great Britain and head to the port, asking around about the Heavenly Cruise. After many hours of searching, someone finally told us they had indeed shown up and only the pastor and ticket takers exited the boat while many people entered it. They then indicated the boat went south. We went to our rented room and discussed our progress. I take out the map. “So from here, he either stopped for fuel in South America or Africa.” 

“I’d guess South America, more Catholics, Christians, although because of missionaries, Africa is getting up there too, in numbers. I don’t know, which area would benefit more from the cruise?” 

“I concur with the South America theory, however, I believe he may have gone to Portugal or Spain to top off his fuel before heading... I am going to guess Brazil, it is the next closest country.” 

“Alright, sounds good, let’s order some food, and conk out, we’ve had a long day.” 

“I agree.” The next day, we took a bus to Spain. Luckily, due to my half Puerto Rican descent, I was able to learn and retain the Spanish language. Eventually, they told us that the Cruise passed, but did not stop. That leaves Portugal. Because I had learned all associated languages that are similar: Portuguese, Italian, Latin, and French. I also know some Asian languages due to my childhood obsession with Asian animation. I wanted to know specifically what they were saying. Anyway, they did stop in Portugal and continued south. We took the next plane to Brazil. The coast of Brazil was large, it took us a couple of days to ask around, but finally, someone recollected that the Cruise picked up more passengers and headed even further south. It must have been a very long trip for nobody to get off, I would imagine it should have gotten overly cramped. We head to Argentina, and it was not until we got the farthest down the country that they told us they had topped off their tank and continued south. We go into our room and mark the route on the map. The only thing left was the South Pole. The only way we could get there is by boat. That would take another few days. I call the captain, and he approves. 

“Why would he be in the south pole?” 

“Good question. Perhaps that is because of a lack of official law.” 

“How are we going to get there?” 

“Hopefully we can pay someone to take us.” The next day, after asking around, we secured a ride. We made sure to purchase the proper garments before we left. It took a few days, but we finally reach the coast of Antarctica and find nothing. I tell the captain to circle the coast, and after another day, we find a ship frozen in the ice. It is indeed the Heavenly Cruise. The captain docks as close as he can, and we manage to board the boat, which was docked and open. When we enter, all is dark, and nobody can be seen. 

“So, how do we do this?” Oswald asks. 

“We search from the bottom to the top.” We find our way to the lower deck, where we come across the engine and power supplies. I notice that everything is switched in the ‘off’ position. We flip all the breakers we can find, but nothing happens. 

“Maybe it needs time to warm up, after all, who knows how long it’s been off?” 

“Perhaps you are right. Ok, next level.” The ship was smaller than I had expected. The amount of guest quarters was insufficient to hold everyone that was picked up on board. We entered what was marked a spa, and it was full of cages of frozen, naked women. 

“Do we call the feds?” 

“Not until we are finished. Let us continue. The lights turned on, just as Oswald had predicted. We reach the other end, and enter the kitchen, which more resembled a butcher shop. There were several walk in freezers full of meat in various kinds of cuts, and severely frostbitten. “I suspect we are looking for a cannibal.” 

“That explains the severe lack of people, and the loads of meat.” 

“Indeed, we have one more deck to search, let us commence.” We climb up to the top to a very fancy room that I expect must belong to the pastor. We find several video tapes, categorized by who is on them: Child Baptisms, Apostles’ Last Supper, Fruitful and Multiply. “Which shall we watch first?” 

“I’m afraid to find out, just pick one.” I choose the Baptism tape, and insert it. It is the pastor preaching about the love of Jesus, it appears he is teaching them that they will get their chance to meet Jesus right now. He demonstrates, and instructs them to put the noose on, and to kick the stool. All of the children hang themselves simultaneously, and Oswald almost faints, watching. He slides his head out easily, as if he didn’t just hang himself. An illusion. “Oh wow, this guy is sick, what’s the Last Supper?” I put in one of the tapes labeled Last Supper and insert it. 

The tables are full of men and women, eating what appear to be steaks. He is preaching about how they will regain their youthful spirit after they eat, and how they’ll become innocent again in the eyes of God. Suddenly, all of the males collapse. Most likely poisoned, and he tells the women that they are all now his concubines in the name of Jesus. The women seem to have no problem with this, as they seem to worship this man. “So, we know he killed off the children and the men, leaving just the women. Let’s see what’s on the third set.” I insert a Fruitful and Multiply tape, and it is the most disturbing, most violent pornography that probably has existed anywhere. Naked women getting shot with a nailgun, women’s privates stapled shut, women being whipped so hard, it digs deep cuts. In the process of fornication, he kills a woman by shooting her in the head, and continues as if nothing had happened. I shut it off, Oswald was puking, and I myself felt unsettled. I mark our coordinates on the map. We go down a deck, and out of the ship. We board our other ship, and make our way back to Argentina, not saying a word, as I feel we have been traumatized. We finally reach Argentina and make our way to the U.S Embassy. We show our identification and we are let in. We ask for the ambassador and are led to him. 

“What can I do for you fellows?” He asks. 

“We are officers Middleton and Alpha, and we have just located the missing Heavenly Cruise ship.” I tell him. 

“What? I don’t believe you! Where?” I take out our map and show him the coordinates. “The South Pole? Really? We assumed he’d wanna retire somewhere warm with all that money he made, have you found him?” 

“No, but we found enough evidence to put him away for several lifetimes. Please alert the proper authorities to search and seize everything on that boat.” 

“How bad is it?” 

“Genocidal and cannibalistic.” 

“Wow, I didn’t realize how much of a sicko he was, he always seemed so charming on tv.” 

“You have no idea, sir.” I told him. “We have seen a lot of gruesome things in our line of work, but nothing compares to what is on those tapes.” 

“That bad, huh? Well, now all we gotta do is find the son of a b***h.” 

“How do you propose to do that?” 

“Well, if he was here, he would have been caught by now, maybe he’s stationed at the South Pole.” We both groan. “Nah, don’t worry, we got a chopper, it’s faster, but because of the winds, I might not be able to land.” He takes us to a pilot who instructs us on helicopter safety. We follow our previous route, and I notice a small village a little north of the boat that I had not noticed before. He is able to land the helicopter and we make our way to the village. We observe everyone, who greatly resemble the Inuit of Alaska, but none of them were our suspect, so we showed a picture to people, and someone finally recognizes him. He tells us that the pastor had been supplying the village with meat, clothing, and Bibles for around a decade and a half. They pointed out his domicile and explained that he had passed five years ago. The villagers held a tribute ceremony during his funeral as a thanks for all he did for them. 

“Do we tell them?” Oswald asks me. 

“We tell whoever is leader of the village.” I tell him. I ask who the leader is, and we are led to him. I disclose the information to him, and he was shocked, but he said it explained certain medical conditions the villagers had. He says he is unsure whether or not to tell the people, and I tell him it is up to him. We leave the leader, and reboard the helicopter. The helicopter takes us back to the embassy, where we see the ambassador again. 

“Did you find him?” The ambassador asks. 

“He is deceased, we found a small village where he resided. He supplied the villagers with meat and clothing, and they were grateful.” 

“That sick son of a b***h.” 

“I agree. I surmise he was using the South Pole as a giant freezer.” 

“What kind of twisted mind would think to do that?” 

“At least he can no longer hurt anyone again.” 

“Yeah, but I really wish we could’ve prosecuted him. Good job, guys, I’ll comp your flight back home, you deserve to be recognized for this achievement.” 

“Thank you sir, but we were just doing our job.” 

“I think you went way beyond the call of duty on this one. Have a safe trip home.” We get to the airport, and we fall asleep on the plane back home. I had trouble sleeping, as I kept waking up, the images I saw were in my dreams, it was very disturbing. After the plane lands, we call a taxi and get dropped off at our respective houses. I slept better in my own bed, and reported to work the next morning. The captain immediately greets me. 

“I knew if anyone could solve this case, it’d be you, Alpha.” He tells me. 

“Sir, you assigned me to a case, and I followed through with it like I always do.” 

“Yeah, but this one was an ice cold case on a national level, and you solved it. I wouldn’t be surprised if you ended up in the FBI or CIA with your skills. In fact, they might try to recruit you from under my nose.” He laughs. Take the next two weeks off, paid vacation, you guys deserve it. Start today, go, go on ahead.” 

“But sir, do you not need us for other cases?” 

“In this city, there’ll always be a case, they’re not going anywhere. Do something fun, maybe take your on again off again girlfriend somewhere nice.” 

“But sir-” 

“Don’t make me make it an order, sarge. You deserve it, now go.” 

“Thank you, sir.” 

“No, thank YOU. You are the best decision I’ve ever made, and if you don’t get snatched up before I retire, I’m recommending you for my seat.” 

“Sir, I just did my job.” 

“Hell yeah, you did, Alpha. Hell yeah, you did.” I decide to take the captain’s advice, and I give Emily a call. We go somewhere to eat. 

“So, you solved a giant case, huh?” Emily asks. 

“Yes, it is exhilarating, how do you know about it?” 

“The police grapevine. Someone told Stanley and Stanley told me, congratulations.” 

“I did not realize word had traveled that fast.” 

“Are you kidding? This is a huge deal!” 

“How is Stanley?” 

“He’s doing ok, a little bored, but he sounded so excited over the phone when he told me what you did, he said he was jealous he still wasn’t your partner, because he’d like to have been part of the discovery.” 

“He was spared, trust me. What I saw on those video tapes will give me nightmares, and I do not experience nightmares. The tapes were beyond sickening, and I only watched a few minutes of each.” 

“What kind of things were on them?” 

“Better to not discuss what I discovered while we are eating dinner.” 

“That bad?” 

“Indeed, that bad.”