1:13:26 PM
January 3, 2008
Excerpt from General Sellers' journal:
January 3
After checking myself out, against the doctor's orders, of course, I went back to the all the data and pictures and just everything in general. That was when I began to notice something extremely chilling about all of the killings: I knew every single one of the victims in some way or another, and each killing grew a little more close...
Victim One: Colby West; a former classmate from grade school. Didnt know him that well, but a friend in a sense.
Victim Two: Brent Lee; a very good friend throughout high school and college
Victim Three: Sherman Gillum; what one would call a best friend. From grade school to high school to and throughout college.
Victim Four: Wade Becton; also what one would call a best friend from high school throughout college. More chilling than that, member of military.
How could they be getting so close to me? After all, the women have managed to infiltrate the military base twice. Sure, security has been increased for the protection of all the staff and personel, but that leaves me a bit disturbed. How can someone get a clearence into a place like this where security is already supposed to that of a mininum level prison? You need clearence at the gate, then a key-card to get in, then show your ID at the door. How could they manage to get in so easily?
Cody laid his pen down, allowing his hand to rest for a few moments while he pondered the case a bit longer. The whole security thing had not allowed him an easy night's rest ever since Justin had brought him the case files. That had only been two nights, sure, but those had been two of the most un-easy nights since the night of his... well, best to leave bad memories where they belong, locked down way deep. It had took him well over five years to finally find ease, and there wasn't any point in opening old wounds.
But it was too late, as a flood of memories came back in a monsoon of pain. The flashbacks tried to start, but Cody fought back, thinking of all the happy times they had shared, instead of that one dreadful moment, where he could nothing, and where he had felt so helpless. This was beginning to work, just like it had all the times before when Cody didn't want to take a stroll down Memory Lane.
Cody thought of the times when he would jam with Team Genesis in the cities, doing parkour. Those were the most exhilerating times of his life, taking drops to the concrete below, rolling to lessen the impact, getting over walls up to eighteen feet high, sometimes taller, and even on occasion, going into buildings through sky-lights and windows, just to say they did it.
That was when Cody realized it. The women were female traceurs! That explained how they got in and everything. Black clothes would allow them to slip in through the shadows, and a blanket would allow them to cross the fence easily. Then, the lowest window that would allow them access to an old office was only ten feet high, an easy feat for any established traceur. And the bathroom walls were even lower, and they were in the shadows even more, and closer to his office. So, if they were after him, the bathrooms were the ideal area for the women to get in. After that, they could simply change into business clothes, and a fake ID would cause no one to take a second look, unless they were with lustful eyes.
Cody grabbed his cell phone, and scrolled down to the Director's number, then hit the send button. His call connected to her voice mail before the first ring. "'Riah, this is Cody, obviously. Listen, I need you to do me a big favor. You need to increase security around the perimeters outside instead of inside. I know how the perps have been getting into the buildings."
Cody ended his call, and saw that he had one new text message. He opened it to and read it a loud, "Cody, the wench that shot you was Nikki Hutcherson. She looks nothing she used to and for good reason; half of her body was made out of platic." Cody shrugged; he would have never guessed it was Nikki, but it made good sense that she would want to kill him. After all, they had given her hell in school.
So, that made all the victims and one of the perps connected to his past. This was becoming a tangled web and it was becoming more and more up to Cody to untangle it.
3:45:54 A.M.
It was another restless night in the Sellers home. Cody had left Kat in bed to stand outside on the balcony in his overcoat and Pjs. It was a comical sight in a sense; polar bear and snowflake pajama bottoms with a long john shirt. The heater had covered up his escape to the rigid winds and the overall noise of NYC. He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a Swisher cigar, then clipped off the edge with his pocket-knife. He lit it up, then enjoyed the warmth that came with the large cancer stick.
He smoked his cigar, chewing thoughtfully on the filter. The dreams came again, haunting his memories. Once again, he trained his thoughts on happy times. He walked back inside and laid down softly beside Kat, hoping for a few hours of sleep. Slowly, he began to drift into a dreamless slumber.
6:21:36 A.M.
Cody awoke, feeling even more like crap than he had felt before he went to sleep. It would have probably done him just as good to have stayed awake with a good book and a hot cup of coffe from the all night Starbuck's down the street. But as much as he wanted to stay in the bed and hope for sleep, the smell of fried venison and eggs were just too enticing. He forced himself out of bed, and put on a pair of jeans and a clean T-shirt. He walked into the kitchen and kissed Kat lightly on the lips, and watched a slight blush on her visage appear.
He stared deep into her eyes, and saw true love. Cody realized this was one of the few things that true joy could be found in. Cody couldn't remember the last time he had felt such happiness from just simply looking at a person. Cody wrapped Kat into an embrace and kissed her deeply and passionately. He looked at her and said, "I love you with all my heart," then gave her another kiss.
"Cody, are you really gonna leave the military after this case?" Kat asked, looking up at her knight in shining armor.
Cody looked down at his lover and told her, "Katherine, I want to leave the military, believe me, I would love nothing more than to get old and have children and grandchildren with you, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to get away from here that easily. So, we may have to endure just a few more years of this. But what do you say about eating this wonderful breakfast you prepared? Then, I need to go to the office for a couple of hours." Kat gave him a sour look. "Well, baby, with my back in the condition it's in, it isn't like I would be much good in the bedroom. I'm not even supposed to be walking around or using my left arm for the time being."
Kat cocked an eyebrow at him. "Well, just at least let that heal up right. I just wish you would stay at home and let Justin and Anthony work on the case for a little while. They get paid for it too." She paused long enought to take a bite of her breakfast. "I know this is personal for you and all, but it's sort of personal for them too, in a sense. They tried murdering their best friend and boss. And those women succeeded in getting one of ya'lls best friends." Kat's southern accent was slowly creeping back as she spent more and more time with Cody. "So, maybe you should just stay home and wash the dishes, or maybe watch a movie with me, but please just don't go back to that damn office!"
Kat had a deep foreboding feeling about Cody returning to the office, but she would never say it aloud. Even if she did, it wouldn't do much good, because Cody would more than likely brush it off and head to his desk anyways.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'll help you do the dishes," Cody said jokingly as he gathered up the glasses and plates and rinsed them off. Cody noticed that he had let quite a few bowls and coffee mugs accumulate over the last couple days. Ten minutes later, after all the dishes had been dried and put into their respective locations in the cabinets and drawers, Cody squeezed his love goodbye and headed off out the door into the city.
