Recap:
"Why yes I think he is a little mad! But where's the fun in sanity? Come on Tony, come and get me." Tony gulped but winked at the terrified woman and continued walking to the tree. Once he reached the sweet smelling wood, Tony took a deep breath and jumped around the tree.
"Boo!" Tony's little exclamation was mixed with a scream at who was standing before him.
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Before the teen stood a man- no not a man, but a thing. It had long arms with huge hands and claws the nearly scraped the floor, his shoulders were covered in matted black and white feathers, and he appeared to be close to six and a half feet tall. The evil looking thing was wearing what seemed to be a clown outfit but held none of the normal nightmarish colors or qualities. He looked as if all his color had been washed away and had left only this monochrome being who was laughing madly. As the raspy chuckles scraped the air like nails on a chalkboard, Tony's eyes moved up and studied the pale white face surrounded by twisted black locks of hair. Past the striped cone nose, past the black dry lips, past the heavy shadows hiding this man's eyes, Tony could see something more than madness and blood lust. Something he couldn't quite place.
Tony took a deep breath and smiled. If there was anything he learned when he was scared, it was to not look scared. Tony shot out his hand with his chest puffed out and jabbed the long arm. The man froze at the touch.
"Tag!" Tony declared proudly. "Anyway, I'm Tony but you seem to already know that and I'm not entirely sure of your name." Of course he actually knew the man's name but he needed to distract him as the woman started to sneak away whilst reaching for her phone. The striped clown was frozen for a moment longer until a wide grin spread his face and he spread his arms wide and bent in a half bow.
"I'm the one and only Laughing Jack!" A sinister smile curled his lips. "Miss Reeves I beg you not leave us." Tony felt his heart plummet as Jack's head turned to the terrified lady.
"Y-you don't t-tell me w-what t-to d-do." She stuttered out.
"Oh," Jack sneered. "but do you really want to disobey me?" he leaned forward against the tree and Tony caught sight of something. Heavy amounts of blood was running down the clowns leg as well as the back of his head and even as he watched, Tony could see the man swaying slightly.
Miss Reeves shivered in fright and Tony suddenly felt anger swell in him.
"Hey back off her Jack! She has done nothing to bother you so leave her alone!" It was Tony's turn to sneer. "I see you are rather hurt, how much you wanna bet the Miss and I could easily run outa here." Jack's eyes shifted to Tony's and Tony saw a flash of what looked like interest go through the clown's grey eyes.
"What do you want? You both invaded my privacy, it's only fair I get to have my fun." A grin curled those burned lips. "How 'bout a welcome party?" Tony and Miss Reeves shivered at the final word and Tony took a slight step back.
"no, that's not needed. But," Tony hesitated. "I do have a few questions."
"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies."
"Oh you sure about that?" Tony grinned. "First question! Uh… Why are your arms so long?" Confusion but also amusement flashed on Jack's face.
"Of all the things you ask, that's what you ask."
"You should talk to Jason. He said the same thing when he first met me!" Miss Reeves looked confused but Jack looked mischievous.
"I've already met him thank you very much. Now," Jack glanced around as the sound of a car approaching filled the air. "I must take my leave. It hasn't been a pleasure!" And suddenly Jack was gone, up the tree and climbing across easily with his long arms.
But Tony remained where he was. The look Jack had given him before climbing into the tree struck him. He hadn't seen what he thought would be present in a killer's eyes but saw something like longing and curiosity. It was confusing beyond belief.
"Um… You alright?" Tony looked over to the worried woman and sighed. Was he alright? On his first mission he already had what he thought was a near death encounter. What would the rest be like?
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Tony was silent as John and the girl once again were driving only this time they were going back to base. The drivers were also silent and didn't ask any questions as they had seen his expression as he climbed into the car. Tony was still thinking about his little adventure and what he had learned.
Well, he had learned not to smash walls that's for sure. But he also learned that all these people working for HCP weren't crazy for believing in these killers. Tony had MET one and who knew how many more were out there.
"John?" Tony started slowly.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering, do any of the CP actually take mercy on victims or people who just happen to walk in on them?" Tony was really only curious about the emotions in Jack's eyes but felt this was the safest thing to ask. John got a thoughtful look and glanced at the lady next to him.
"Tiff have you ever heard of the CP taking mercy?" Tiff also got a thoughtful look then shook her head.
"Those people are crazy Tony. Crazy, mad, insane killers. They probably have never even heard of the word. What brought up the question?" The teen hesitated.
"Uh well I… Got a blood sample from I think Laughing Jack then I uh… met him." The car grew deathly silent. Only the engine filled the silence that started to suffocate Tony.
"You met Laughing Jack? On your first mission? How's that even possible?" John said after a few minutes.
"Yeah, I don't think he intended that to happen though. His leg and head were both bleeding real bad and he was probably more focused on getting fixed up then hurting us…" Tony knew he was leaving out a few details but what they didn't know wouldn't kill them! Right?
"Wow… we will have to tell the Boss about this John." the young man nodded and glanced at Tony through the rear view mirror and saw his distressed expression.
"Anything else Tony?" Tony quickly shook his head and then looked down in his lap.
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A few hours later after taking a quick nap and grabbing some food, Tony found himself sitting at a large table with sixteen other people including the Boss who was sitting two places to his right. Jason sat directly on his right with a woman named Sadie between him and the Boss and John sat on Tony's left with Dylan next to him. All around him, the other men and woman were discussing their most recent mission.
"I couldn't find any evidence of Masky being at the sight." an Asian man said to the table.
"Perhaps he cleaned up after himself?" a blonde woman offered but the Asian man shook his head.
"Nah, I don't think he was ever there. I did however find evidence of a new CP."
"Any name?" The Boss immediately cut in. He nodded.
"It seems the Rake was having a late night stroll down Dawson Street and into one of the homes." The table was silent for a moment before Jason spoke.
"Do you think the Rake is working with Slender?"
"I don't see why he would," a black haired man stated. "from our research, the Rake is out of control. He's mad and I don't think Slender would risk losing him." the table fell silent once more and Tony began to hope the meeting might be over. But of course, John had to open his fanged mouth.
"Tony ran into Laughing Jack Boss." he said with a hint of anger. Everyone looked to the teen in shock and interest. Tony only smirked and puffed out his chest even though internally he wished he could crawl under the table and die.
"Tony? Could you tell us how that happened?" The Boss asked in his low monotone voice. Tony shrunk a little under that dead stare but still spoke with proud confidence.
"Well, a lady named Miss Reeves and I were investigating the lovely scene of the crime and we heard a noise in the next house over! We ran over there and found a window open and heard twigs snapping outside as someone limped off! We ran after him and I tagged Laughing Jack!" Tony laughed a little at the looks everyone was giving him.
"You tagged Laughing Jack?" a man said finally.
"Yep! It was a fun game of Tag but sadly his ride came to pick him up before we could play again." Tony made a pouty face and a chuckle suddenly could be heard. Everyone looked at the Boss who seemed highly amused.
"Well, it's good that you had fun Mr. Seroily but I ask you to not interact with any of the CP just yet." Tony felt suspicion flood his brain as he took in the motionless face of the Boss. Something about his just wasn't right and he felt that order wasn't for safety reasons but… something else. 'Tony nodded when he realized he had been silent for just a little too long and the meeting proceded.
A few more questions were shot at Tony about LJ but other than that he was silent. Dylan and John were also silent but only because Dylan was making silly faces behind the man next to him and John was busy drinking some red juice from a tin water bottle. For some reason the red stuff was staining John's teeth and lips and it made him look even more like a vampire. Tony was so distracted coming up with different ways that John could be a vampire, that he didn't notice everyone get up and start heading to their rooms. The teen sat for a moment in silence then quickly got up and skipped to his room.
When he entered the space, his eyes found the garlic that was still all over his floor.
"Huh, maybe vampires are only allergic to certain types of garlic?" He shrugged and walked over to the window above the computer which, for some reason, was open. Outside it was completely dark and only the street lights provided Tony light. He thought he saw a moving figure in the trees but was distracted by an envelope that suddenly flew up into his face.
"Gah!" Tony spluttered as he smacked the demented letter to the garlic covered floor. After rubbing his face a moment, Tony went to retrieve the letter and found it was addressed to him! With a glance towards the open still open window, Tony slowly opened the letter and began to read.
DeEr ToNY,
Im noT reeLy suRe wHy Im RitiNG yoU buT I geS Im juST cUrioUS. Its mE, LaUghiNG JaCK. SorY buT Im noT vERy GOod aT RitiNG oR SpeLLinG buT U wiLL haVE to DeEl wiTh iT. I JuST HaD a QUesToN, wHY aRE yoU sO StuPId?
JaCK
It took nearly thirty minutes for Tony to decipher the child-like writing and by the end of it, Tony had a splitting headache. It made Jack's question about Tony's stupidity seem almost hypocritical seeing as Tony definitely knew how to write and how to spell. Tony stared at the name. Jack, Laughing Jack had written to him. Suddenly the teen remembered the figure he had seen in the trees and he quickly sprinted back to the window. Sure enough in the shadows of the trees, Tony could see a shifting figure that, if Tony squinted, he could see very long arms. A smile curled Tony's lips and he quickly wrote a response.
Jack,
Boy do you have bad handwriting! Not to mention you really bad spelling! You'll be pleased to hear that you are the cause of my current splitting headache. Anyway, I don't like to think of myself as stupid but stupid brave! It makes me seem more of a… well idiot. I guess I have a huge ego or something I can't be sure.
That reminds me, YOU have a huge ego! Or maybe just a little too much confidence, once again I can't be sure. But seriously, you threatened Miss Reeves and I while you were mentally moaning in agony about your leg! I don't think you were worried about your head seeing as you are rather crazy but still. WAY to confidant bro! Hold on why are you outside the base? Does that mean Slender Man also knows where our base is? Oooo is he planning an invasion! That would be so exciting! Hold on, if you can barely write, does that mean you can barely read? Don't tell me I wrote all this for nothing!
Tony
After ceiling his perfect letter in an envelope, Tony climbed onto his desk and threw the letter out the window. He was shocked to see a creepy looking dog dash out from the trees where Jack seemed to be and snatch the letter then bring it back into the shadows. Tony blinked confusedly at where the dog had been then shook his head. Who knew the CP had a dog!
Tony waited for something to happen outside and he wasn't disappointed. Instead of a letter (which Tony really hoped he would get one back) the front doors of the base opened and the Boss walked out. As Tony watched, he saw the Boss turn to the trees for a moment before turning once again to the black car parked there. As the tall man climbed in, Tony tried to get a look at his dead face but was distracted by the sudden ringing in his ears. It didn't help his head in the slightest. With a moan, Tony turned from the window and trudged to his bed. He guessed that if LJ was planning on responding, it would take a while so Tony easily fell fell asleep (or passed out) on his comfortable bed, with thoughts of the Boss slipping from his mind as if they had never been there.
A/N
Well that was chapter 4 my readers! Just so you know, I don't own any of these characters. The only ones that are mine are the HCP people (Boss, Jason, John, Tony, Dylan, etc.) and a few future characters. None of the CP are mine and they will be acting a little (or a lot, not sure yet) out of character so don't be mean about it. Thank you!
