[M] Chapter 2: The Criminal (1/1)

In another part of the city, far from the two speeding cars, a man with a slight limp strolled down a lavishly decorated hallway, whistling an old tune. He was neither tall nor short with a slender stature and dressed in a black suit. He had an unremarkable face apart from a thin deep scar crisscrossing from his left eyebrow to the right side of his mouth. He headed into a large study filled with a huge collection of books, paintings, and artifacts from around the world. As he stepped in, a screen flickered on. “Hello master”, a robotic voice said, “what would you like to do today?” Checking on my pet” the man said in a raspy tone. “Master, that one keeps making noise”. “Then it must learn obedience” the man said. He moved a book and the large painting behind the huge oak desk split in half, revealing a hidden passageway. The man stepped through and headed to a trapdoor in the middle of the room. He lit a candle and descended a ladder singing London Bridge. As he got to the bottom of the ladder, his voice changed to the high-pitched voice of a child. He continued to sing as he leisurely walked down a cold dark hallway and stood into front of a poorly lite metal cell. And how are you today Mother, he said as he talked to the occupant within. The flickering candlelight revealed a thin, slender teenager with long black hair wearing an old black lace gown sitting on a broken metal cot. Her pale face was dusty and tearstained. “I’m not your mother. Let me go please? She pleaded; her voice almost gone. She tried to stand up but failed as her foot was chained to the bed. The man smirked and a different voice entered the room. This one was sharp and cold like ice. “But you are our mother. Our mother has long black hair and wore a black lace gown and you have long black hair and a black gown on. Why can’t you just admit it already?” “No, you have the wrong person, please let me go”, the teenager begged. The man’s face convulsed, and the childish voice was back. “We want to play a game Mother and if you play with us, we’ll give you a reward”. The girl stopped crying and asked what game?” “It’s simple really” the voice said. “We want to play a game called hide and seek”. If I play, will my reward be my freedom? The girl asked with hope in her voice. “If you play, we shall see”. The girl nodded and felt her chain get looser. As the door creaked open, the girl saw her chance and ran for her life. She was almost at the foot of the ladder when she felt a tug at the chain on her leg and lost her balance, falling to the floor. “Please” she begged as she was dragged back down the hall to the cell.  The little boy’s voice became louder as she pleaded as she was dragged down the hall.  “We said hide and seek not racing today. Time for your punishment”. “No please I beg you not that” the girl shouted, terrified. The man smiled and said in a normal voice as he swung the hammer down, “then you shouldn’t have run.“What a mess”, the man said as he stepped away from the teen, who immediately slide away, sobbing and holding onto her arm as a shower of blood rained down from the tangled mess that was once her hand. Her sobs filled the room as the man indifferently kicked her and said in the sharp cold voice “Sora, have a maid take care of that thing. I’m not done playing yet”. “Yes sir”, the robotic voice chimed as the man walked back down the hallway and went back up the ladder. The man’s voice changed back to the raspy tone as he said “I think I’m in a mood for a chardonnay tonight. Have the chef prepared a steak dinner. “Yes, sir”. The man smirked and his expression changed from satisfied to bored. “Oh, and Sora, Yes sir. Find me a new pet. This one needs to go soon”. “Yes sir”, the robotic voice said. The man’s eyes gleaned with a strange light as he said in a wispy murmur “Yes, I think it’s time for a new pet. This one has served its purpose”.