Chapter 7 - Flashes of Demise

"Yes." Kai narrowed his eyes. "That's me."

The man's powerful stare made Jay's nerves skyrocket more than before, if that was even possible. Where the heck had Cole run off to?

"I have some questions for you," Jay said, trying to sound as professional as possible; something he wasn't very successful at, as his voice had begun to lean into a higher pitch that usual. "Regarding, regarding the case, I mean death, of Cole Brookstone."

Kai scowled, his mocking smirk as evident as ever. "I thought the NPD had given up on the case."

"Well, I'm in charge of it now."

"So it's still a lost cause then," Kai replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd rather head home than talk to a guy pretending to be a cop."

I'll be rid of you faster than I thought.

Wow. Impressive detective work. He's a kid. And you can't get anything?

Right now you're just a wannabe cop in my eyes

The voices circled laps around Jay's head, and now, Kai's own voice was added to the mix. He felt the nerves inside him shatter with fury, and his hands began to shake. "Look. I'm trying to solve a case nobody seems to care about. I am a cop. Sure, say whatever you want, but I've bet I've done more to find out what happened to Cole than you have. At least I'm not the one pretending to be a friend."

Kai stepped back, his eyes wide with surprise. Jay stepped forward, adrenaline pumping, ignoring every warning his inner voice tried to shout. "Now, you will answer my questions, and you will help me solve this case. Understood!?"

By now, many people had stopped to stare, and plenty of them had their phones pointing towards Jay and Kai. The cop stepped back, blushing furiously now that the anger had left him. He hoped none of this would reach the chief.

To his surprise, Kai didn't shout back. He didn't try to swing at him, or fight back. Instead, the man gave a soft chuckle. "Wow. You have some issues man."

Jay bit his lip, refusing to make a fool of himself any more than he already had.

"So. . . you're really serious, then? About. . . finding Cole's murderer?" In an instant, Kai's voice had grown serious, his eyes heavy with something Jay couldn't pinpoint.

"Of course. I need your help. You're the only clue I have left."

"Well, I'll tell you all I can." Kai said, then snapped his head around to the few people still gawking at them. "Hey show's over, alright? Shoo!"

After muttering a few unsavory words under their breath, the people merged back into the crowd. Shaking his head, Kai turned back towards Jay. "We can go to my place. My sister knows Cole too. She might have something helpful."

Jay nodded, a bit uncertain. If he left without Cole, the ghost would have no way to find him. They couldn't leave. Not yet. So instead of heading for the passenger seat, he simply nodded his head. "Yes. That sounds like a good idea."

"It is," Kai said. "So. . . get in?"

"I. . . will. I'm just. . . wow. In awe of these buildings. They are pretty tall, aren't they?"

Kai frowned, looking behind him at the towering, gloomy buildings. "Yes. It's Ninjago City. Of course they're tall."

"Never been to the city before. I grew up in a place that was not a city."

"What a coincidence, so did I." Kai rolled his eyes, wondering if the cop before him was really anything more than a looney. "Did you still want to talk about Cole or. . .?"

In that instead, Cole shimmered back into existence, only a few inches away from Kai. "Jay! I had a vision! There's something else! Something called the fang-. . . You found Kai!"

"Yes, seems like I did find you, Kai," Jay said, nodding his head, heading towards the passenger seat, ignoring the glare the spikey haired man was giving him. "And now, we're heading to your house, to interview you and your sister."

"Yeah. . ." Kai said, softly, squinting his eyes. A part of him began to question whether it was anything but insane to bring this man with him.

"Gotcha," Cole winked, sliding into the backseat. "I suppose I'll try to be quiet. He already looks like he's about to drive you to an asylum."

Jay and Kai clicked their seatbelts into place, and the man began to drive through the city's streets. In Jay's mind, it all reminded him of a mirror maze, with twists and turns that all looked very much the same.

"So, why are you doing this?" Kai broke the silence. "Why you? I don't think Cole ever mentioned being friends with a cop."

"Oh, I didn't know him while he was alive," Jay said, "But, I. . . It seems unfair, you know? He was just a kid."

"Excuse you." Cole scowled. "I'm pretty sure I count as a man."

"And then, the NPD drops everything just because it gets a little hard, or there are other priorities or. . . I don't know. Whatever it was, it didn't seem right to leave the case as it was," Jay continued, glad to ignore Cole's comment.

"Yeah. I was pretty mad about it. My best friend had ceased to exist, and nobody seemed to care. Same things at work. Same sunrise. Same traffic. The world kept spinning, never giving him a second thought." Kai's grip tightened around the wheel. He shook his head. Fighting to erase the shaky emotion in his voice. "You know, my sister's going to kill me when she sees you."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The rhythmic tapping of her nails against the table gave Nya a brief, flimsy feeling of peace and control. Her fingers were steady, movements emerging from her desires and nothing else. She controlled the spaces of silence, and the hollow sounds.

Tap. Tap. Tap

It was all about control now, wasn't it? Control and order. Everything in place. Everything moving together, like steady clockwork. It was the only way she could keep her mind together.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Except, not everything was in place today. Nya glanced at the clock, nerves bubbling up in her stomach. Kai was late. He had not called her, and his car wasn't where it should have been five minutes ago. Different scenarios filled her mind, each as likely as the last.

She could see Kai, hiding beneath his desk, as masked criminals armed to the core strolled about his job. Of course, her brother would try to be the hero. Of course, he would jump in their path, demanding a reason as to why they were there. She could see him now, stepping out into the open, the usual smirk on his lips.

The criminals wouldn't like that. Nya could feel their anger. Bullets would fly. Her brother gone, life slipping further and further away from him as the seconds ticked by. And Nya? She would spiral into darkness, alone forever.

Tap tap. Tap tap. Tap tap.

There was still a bit of rhythm in the sound, but her hands had become shaky. Control was slipping away.

She could see her brother's car, upside down, flames sprouting from the engine. He'd gone too fast, and this time he hadn't been able to control his vehicle. Kai had never been the most careful. No. It was all about adrenaline. And why wouldn't he want to defy his little sister's regimen of control, by speeding up far past what he should have?

Ambulances. Firefighters. Cops. All too late. The flames would have consumed the car. Her brother, in pain, in a place where Nya could do nothing to help. He would slip away from consciousness, leaving behind an empty shell.

And Nya. Alone.

Tap tap. Tap. Tap. . . Tap.

No rhythm. No control. Nothing but fear, just like that night. Seeing Cole's body, the idea of death shoving a blade deep inside her sanity. That could have just as easily been her brother. The thought of losing him rattled her, filled her with a strong desire to keep everything in place, keep him safe, keep him close.

She couldn't bear to lose anyone else. Kai had always told her she was strong. But Nya knew it was all a façade, a defense mechanism to cloak her broken mind.

Nya heard the clanking of keys, and the mechanism of the door begin to twist open. Her brother called out to her, and she shuddered with relief. "You're late, you know?"

"Yes, I know, I know." Kai answered back. When he stepped into the living room, a stranger stood behind him. Rather skinny, with wild auburn hair and freckles spread across his cheeks. His blue eyes clicked with hers, and a light blush spread throughout out his face. Seconds after, she finally noticed the man's uniform. And she realized her brother had been speaking. ". . . questions for us."

"Sorry," Nya stood, "What did you say his name was?"

Kai opened his mouth, but the man stepped forward, cutting him off and holding out his hand. "Jay. Jay Walker, Miss. . . ?"

"I'm Nya." She shook his hand. Her grip was stronger than his. "Questions about what?"

Kai bit his lip. "About. . . Cole."

Nya felt her legs weaken, but she kept her posture straight, erasing all and any emotion that might have flashed through her eyes. "I thought the NPD had given up on the case."

"Ha, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that. . ." Jay chuckled, then rubbed the back of his head. "I probably wouldn't have many. Three. But, anyway, do you think, do you think that would be okay? I'm just trying to find as many leads and clues as I can."

Nya nodded. Of course she would agree to help. Cole had always been kind. Even if the memories regarding his death made her shudder, she owed him that much.

"Just. . . sit anywhere. Did you want anything to drink?"

Jay took a sip from the cup of apple juice, ignoring Cole's snickers beside him. "Apple juice. How grown up of you."

"It's good,okay?" He hissed.

"Right," Kai said, shaking his head. "Anyway. . . yes. I did pick up Cole from his father's house. He was mumbling something or other about the earthquakes, I don't recall much. He seemed to think there was something else behind it."

"Yes," Jay nodded. "His father mentioned that. I saw some of his notes."

"Nonsense, right?" Kai shook his head. "Cole was. . . he was always trying to see something else. Something more. Don't get me wrong though, he was very smart. All the paper would publish were his random articles. . ."

A flash of something passed through Kai's eyes, and Cole scowled. "Well someone was jealous."

"Either way," Kai continued. "I wasn't the last person he saw. Or at least I don't think I was. He asked me to drop him off at a weird antiques store, near his apartment. It was pretty late. I told him I'd go along, but he refused. So. . . I left. And later that day. . ."

Jay nodded, filling in the blanks in his own mind. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to be told your best friend had been murdered. Heck. He couldn't imagine having a best friend. "That store is probably worth checking out."

"Maybe you can get something out of the owner," Kai said. "The first thing I did after I learned about what happened, was go straight there, demanding answers. All I got was smug riddles and a very, very thick accent. If that guy knows anything, it won't be easy getting it out of him."

"Lucky for us," Cole smirked, "We can scare it out of him."

"And . . ." Jay's mind began to race, trying to find more questions. "This probably sounds funny but. . . do you know if Cole had any enemies?"

Nya laughed, a soft, sound that made Jay's heard skip a beat. He willed his mind to focus. "Did Cole have any enemies? He was a journalist. Him and my brother were all over everyone's business. I'm sure they made more than a handful of enemies."

"Anything. . . more specific, maybe?"

"There was this one guy. I remember Cole caused a bunch of his stores to shut down, because he was cheating people out of their money." Kai's eyes seemed unfocused, as he tried to recall the memory. "We never actually found out who he was though. Once he realized Cole was onto him, he just. . .vanished. He forced his workers to call him the 'Overlord', so I'm sure this guy has quite the ego. He wouldn't have taken such an attack on his little empire lightly."

"Of course you would know, Mr. Inflated Ego." Nya teased, and her brother made an annoyed face in her direction. "There was also that one street hustler you guys put in jail for a couple of months. Donnie. . . Donin. . ."

"Ronin," Kai answered. "And he's all bark, no bite. I doubt he had anything to do with it."

"Ronin, ego man calling himself Overlord, and the antique store," Jay repeated, taking one last gulp of his juice. "That's far better than what I started with."

"Glad we could help," Nya said.

Jay stood, and the two siblings followed suit, guiding him back towards the door. As Jay stepped out into the street, Kai placed a hand on his shoulder. "Better be careful out there."

The cop shivered, and turned to respond, but the door shut inches away from his face. Cole laughed. "Well then. Was it just me, or did that sound a teensy bit like a threat?"

"I think we've got a bigger problem," Jay said, chuckling softly. "Just how are we going to get back home?"