Chapter 12: Little Rabbit
They had his wrists cuffed and attached to the table. He tried to tell them over and over again that he didn't do it, they knew he didn't do it because they knew him. They had worked with him for god sake. They just needed someone to blame and he knew that; it was easier to give their bosses something to explain what happened instead of thinking some burned man came in and killed everyone.
Luke had been sat in the interrogation room for close to two hours, the ticking of the clock was beginning to become unbearable but soon enough the entrance unlocked, and Captain Reeds stepped in. The old man walked behind Luke and sat in the seat opposite him, "Did you do it?" the Captain asked.
Luke sighed, "You know I didn't."
"It's a mixed bag," The Captain spoke, "but I don't think you did."
"So why am I here?" Luke questioned as he raised his wrists a little to show his annoyance of the cuffs.
"I got agencies up my ass about what happened. Apparently, they have all been working together and using Francis' knowledge of the ins-and-outs of local gangs to arrest them," The Captain explained, "So you can see why they're so fucked off about their source having his brains blown out. They want someone to blame."
"So they're putting me up on the chopping block?" The Detective worried. Captain Reeds paused for a moment before slowly nodding.
"What about the blood!" Luke blurted out, "Did you analyse the blood? Is it who I said it was?"
The old man shook his head in disbelief, "Singh… Sam's dead. He was buried six feet underground. I know the world has become a strange place, but people just don't come back from that kind of thing."
Luke was kidding himself if he thought the Captain would believe him, hell, he didn't believe Nora when she said she thought it was Sam. "How did things get this complicated?" Luke whispered to himself.
The Captain stood up from his chair and gave the Detective a pitiful look, "I'll do what I can for you Singh. I've called your Uncle and he's doing the same thing, but there is only so much we can do."
The old man walked out of the room and tears began to flow down from Luke's eyes. The Detective sat their contemplating what would happen until not even ten minutes after the Captain had left the door opened once more only this time a small but slender woman dressed in a suit with a serious expression on her face entered. She didn't look at Luke until she placed herself in the same seat that Captain Reeds was in and dropped a huge folder of paper onto the desk. Luke raised his eyes from looking down at his lap and met his eyes with hers, "and you are?" he asked her.
"My name's not important," she answered, "just know that I work for one of the agencies that you have royally pissed off."
Luke laughed in disbelief, "of course you are."
The woman leaned towards the folder and began to scan through it, "Your old partner was called Samuel Brown, yes?" she asked. Luke nodded.
"Good." She stated.
The Detective raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "So you've done your homework? I take it you analysed the blood, right?" he questioned. The woman's eyes moved from the file she was reading and met with Luke's, "Yes, I've done my 'homework', and if you were wondering it was indeed your old partner who attacked you," she revealed.
The shock was visible on Luke's face, but it quickly subsided when he released a pathetic laugh, "Oh man," he chuckled, "what even is my life?"
"I take it that you knew about this?" The woman asked.
"I didn't. Not until my recent encounter with him," Luke replied.
The woman closed the folder and leaned forward to grab Luke's full attention. "I'm going to be honest with you Detective Singh, there is a whole lot of shit that you have no idea about which is clear to both you and me. I'm the head of a place called Argus and we've been looking for your dead partner for a while now. So, I have an ultimatum for you…" the woman started.
"Help you or get locked up?" Luke interrupted.
"Yes" the woman replied casually. "Samuel has shown himself to you twice and we suspect he'll get into contact with you again. So, you're going to take this-" the woman ordered as she pulled out a small rectangular device with a button placed on top of it, it looked as simple as it sounds. "-and when you encounter him again you will push the button on this tracker so that we can mobilize a task-force to your location and capture him. Any questions?" she asked as she handed Luke the device.
The Detective examined the tracker in his hands before looking back to the woman with curiosity, "Am I going to get any answers at all about why you're hunting for my old best friend or are you just dragging me along for the ride?"
The woman stood up from her chair and took hold of the heavy folder on the desk, "Not until you prove yourself trustworthy, even then you'll get the bare minimum. I'm sure you know of it is," she joked which surprised the Detective before walking towards the exit and leaving.
Within the next hour Luke was released from the room as well as the precinct and was left to his own devices, he was sure the lady who visited had something to do with it. He was being used and he knew it, but he also knew that there was nothing to be done, but hey, at least the government is finally taking his case seriously… even if he's just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to everything that is going on. Luke stepped outside of the precinct he was held at and took in a deep breath of the cold Keystone air before he pulled out his phone and called his uncle, telling him everything that happened and that some agency has decided to put him to use. Needless to say that David was furious at both Luke and the situation he had put himself in and ordered Luke to get the next available train back to Central City, but Luke still had one more thing to do. After he managed to end the phone call, he hailed the nearest cab that could take him to where he wanted to go.
Luke felt nervous when he stood outside the brown and battered door and with a quick succession of knocks that they knew him by the door opened within a few short moments with the chain lock still in place. The green eyes of the lady who answered the door grew wide and she quickly shut the door and then reopened it after loosening the lock. Luke was met with a huge embrace which he returned with just as much confidence.
"Kelly is going to be ecstatic that you're here!" Harriet said excitedly into Luke's ear as she hugged him. The Detective pulled himself from the hug and smiled at the pale blonde woman, "She'll be back from school soon, right?" Luke asked curiously.
The woman smiled and stepped to the side of the doorway so that Luke could enter, "In about ten minutes, which means we have enough time for what you're here for," she replied with a smirk as she shut the door behind him. Luke chuckled, "Oh? And what makes you think I'm here for something?"
Harriet stepped forward and headed towards the couch, "don't be an ass Luke, I've barely heard from you since you left. Something's happened for you to be here. So, as your dear friend, what's going on?" Harriet asked as she took his hand and guided him towards the couch.
Once the two sat down Harriet gave Luke a look that told him that she was expecting him to tell her everything that he has going on. She has that effect on him, the two of them had been there for each other ever since that night of horror and the days that came after that. "Okay, you got me" Luke relented with a sigh. "That case of mine has completely exploded and I have been pulled into some crazy shit. There is a lot that I can't talk about regarding it but it's really getting to me H. I don't really know what to do…" he revealed.
The blonde woman gave him a heartfelt smile and took hold of his hand, "Just do your best Luke, that's all you can ever do, and it's worked out for you so far."
Luke smiled at his friend and then slowly removed his hand from hers, "You have way too much faith in me," he replied. Harriet nudged him with her arm and gave him a sincere look, "How could I not? You saved me and my daughter's life."
The Detective clasped his hands together and looked at the wall ahead of him. He wasn't there to tell the widow that her husband was alive, he knew he should because she had a right to know but after experiencing what he was capable of and seeing what he has turned into… she was better off remembering Sam as the man she thought he was.
"Luke… what is it?" Harriet mumbled as she felt the stress radiating from the Detective who simply shook his head and brushed off the question, "Nothing, it's fine."
A sound of a key entering the lock of the front door alerted the two of them and Harriet quickly shuffled an inch or two away from Luke. The door swung open and an adorable six-year-old girl bolted into the room with a cheer but stopped a meter away from the couch when she noticed who was sat next to her mother. The girl hovered her left hand onto the opposite bandaged forearm in a nervous tick of hers before she smiled ear-to-ear and bounced onto the Detective, "Uncle Luke!" she squealed in excitement.
"Hey there little rabbit," he grinned as he wrapped his arms around the girl, sat up from the couch and span her around in his arms until he got dizzy and placed her back on the ground. "How was school today?" he asked as he ruffled her light brown hair. Kelly pouted for a moment, "It was 'kay I guess, but Jack keeps pulling my hair!" she huffed in annoyance.
Luke kneeled down to her height, "Jack? Whose Jack?" he said along with the squinting of his eyes as if he was questioning a suspect.
"That would be her boyfriend," a deep voice spoke from the doorway. A bald man with a ginger beard entered the apartment and placed Kelly's schoolbag next to the door as well as some groceries onto the kitchen's island. "How come you're here? Didn't you move to Central?" the man casually asked Luke.
The Detective's attention switched from Kelly to the man, "I had to visit the old precinct for work Grant, so I thought I'd stop by to see how you're all doing," he replied before looking back at the still pouting Kelly. "What did we say about boyfriends?" Luke asked her.
"Don't date the assholes!" She happily replied. Luke cringed as he felt the stare of death coming from Harriet. "Nonono," Luke quickly stammered, "we don't say that word!"
"Why not?" Kelly asked, "so should I date the assholes?" the six-year-old questioned in confusion. Luke stood up from the ground and patted Kelly's head before smiling at the annoyed Harriet who was also attempting to hide her laughter. "I think this is a conversation she should be having in like seven years' time," he chuckled.
"But uncle! I'm confused!" Kelly whined.
Luke spent the next two hours with Kelly, Harriet, and Grant as they all caught up about what was going on in their respective lives. Harriet had recently started going back to medical school to finish her training, while her boyfriend Grant was supporting her with the money he earns from his restaurant. It never failed to make Luke happy to see that Harriet and Kelly were living the best lives that they could despite what they experienced in the past. When it was time to go, he hugged the two of them goodbye and made his way back to the train station.
He sat on one of the empty benches and pulled out his phone to look at how long he would be waiting for his train to arrive to discover it was only a few minutes until it would, but he was sure it would be delayed like usual. Luke checked his messages to see just one from Nora that read, "I hope your day wasn't too excessive! Sorry I slept like a log and didn't get to kiss you goodbye like usual, so next time I owe you another one! See you tonight dork, love you x"
Luke was thankful that his uncle hadn't told her about is altercation today, he knew exactly how she'd react and it's not that he didn't want to be on the receiving end of it, it's just that he didn't want her to worry. Although, he was sure that she would notice the scar on his forehead from the kick he received as well as the blocked nose he has due to remnants of dried blood… and the change of clothes he was given by the KCPD which was a grey hoodie and sweatpants. He knew he had to get changed before he saw her. All-in-all Nora's reaction would just be a delayed one. Luke tapped onto his phone a reply telling her that everything was okay and then closed the messaging app as a man took a seat next to him.
"How'd you get so lucky to find someone that pretty?" the man asked as Luke's background picture on his phone was shown before he locked it. It was a selfie that Nora had taken on his phone, she took the picture of herself wearing a blue hoodie of his that Luke still hadn't got back from her, but then again she did look adorable in it as it was a bit too big for someone of her height so he wasn't that keen for her to return it. "You know how it goes, boy-meets-girl by stumbling into each other and knocking paper out of the others hands at work," Luke replied.
The man chuckled, "You planned that, didn't you?"
"You know me," Luke laughed along before turning to see Sam sat next to him with a hood up and a scarf bundled up around his neck that covered the lower part of his face, "she was too cute I just had too."
"Kelly… Harriet," Sam mumbled, "how are they?"
"They're okay. They're happy," Luke replied to his old friend, "Harriet has been dating this guy called Grant and he's real nice, y'know? He genuinely cares about her and Kelly."
"Are you sure he treats her right?" Sam asked again for reassurance, "and Kelly, is she enjoying school?"
Luke turned his gaze away from Sam who hadn't once even looked at him, "Harriet's happy and Kelly is going about her school life the same as every other kid. She even managed to bring a bandaged arm into fashion with the girls in her class, you should have seen how proud she was about that. You don't need to worry."
Sam released a small chuckle, "I have you to thank for all of that."
"You've been watching them, haven't you?" Luke asked with pity, but Sam didn't give an answer, he didn't need to. The two of them sat silence for a moment before Luke spoke up started a tirade "What are you even doing Sam? What the hell is with this crusade of yours? Do you have any idea how many people you have hurt?" he asked as simply as he could to not draw attention from any passers-by but also with enough venom that Sam would acknowledge the question.
"I'm killing them Luke. Every single bastard who is associated with the men who ruined my life." Sam answered.
"What about their family's? You moron," Luke insulted, "can't you see that you're hurting even more people than needed just to fuel a vendetta. You didn't have to go this route. Harriet and Kelly would have stuck by you if you just revealed that you were alive!" He hissed. The Detective knew that he had gotten underneath Sam's skin as the burned man's right leg was beginning to rapidly bounce as if he was trying to find a way to calm himself down.
"Maybe…" Sam croaked a lowly whisper, "…but I can't change the road I'm going down now. You know what my plan was, and it all went wrong. I tried to backstab a bunch of people and now look at me, I'm… this…" he rumbled.
Luke gave his friend a sideways glance and asked the question he needed to know the answer too, "How?"
"Long story." Sam replied hoping to not have to explain it, but he relented when he felt his friend's eyes dig into him from afar. "Fine," he spoke, "The 'Advanced Research Group United Support' reached out to me. They learned I was dirty and that I wanted a way out from the situation I was in, so they gave me one. All I had to do was set up a meeting with the Lockers' leaders to insert some false information, which I did, and something you know about. The thing is, I was trying to play both of them thinking I could get ahead which is why I made the deal with the Lockers for you to become their new mole which I tried to back out of, but Argus wouldn't let me. They needed them to think all was fine and that I hadn't snitched…" Sam revealed.
"So where did it all go wrong?" Luke interrupted.
"The thing is, I don't know. Francis' finger slipped at the trigger and he shot me. There was no rhyme or reason to it at the time. Either he was ordered too or it was an accident, but I think he might just be a fuckin' idiot. Or, was at least," Sam joked to himself with a smirk, Luke just grimaced at his friends change of character.
"How did you survive?" The Detective then asked.
"Argus," Sam quickly answered. "When you got my family out of there they came rushing in and saved me. Fuck knows why. When I healed to this state, they gave me Deckard Francis' name and told me happy hunting," he revealed, "Maybe it's just their way of dealing with problems, to get someone else to do their dirty work so at this point I'm expecting them to send someone after me real soon."
Luke's thumb was rubbing along the button to the tracker during the entirety of this conversation, he was waiting to get the answers he wanted before he had his friend captured but after hearing everything that Sam was telling him… he moved his hand out from his pocket away from the signaller. His friend was being used and he hoped that he could help.
The arrival of Luke's train was announced through the speakers located throughout the station and the Detective knew that all the questions he wanted to ask would have to wait for another time… if there was one at all.
"Sam," Luke softly spoke, "Just stop killing innocents. I wanted to see this case through, I wanted to bring justice for my dead friend and I wanted to stop people from getting hurt. I realize now that you're not the Sam that I knew, but If you were ever truly my best friend, my partner, you'll alter the road you're on."
The train loudly entered the station and slowed to a halt in front of the two men. Sam stood up from the bench and avoided meeting his old friend's gaze, "I'll think about it," he replied before walking off into the crowd.
Luke didn't believe a single word of that reply, but he couldn't quite bring himself to press the button on that tracker. He didn't trust A.R.G.U.S and he didn't trust Sam but he still had some hope left for the Sam he knew which was something he hadn't experienced since the night he was supposed to run away with is family.
A/N: Next chapter should be out either Wednesday or Friday! :D
To R-dog: Don't worry my dude, this isn't one of those stories! Nora and Luke remember their education in school
