Ch12: Hi. I have an excuse for this taking so long (besides me being lazy). My computer has recently been having problems and I had to completely wipe it clean. So I lost everything I was working on and then I had to reinstall all my operating software and that junk. Now I have finally got Microsoft Word installed so I can continue on. I expect the rest of this story to go smoothly and quickly enough until the end. Anyway…
Master Crane: Awesome- Adjective- very impressive/ beautiful, breathtaking, grand, impressive, magnificent, striking, wonderful, wondrous
Maybe that will help in the future.
CrazyInSye: I'm SO glad you liked it. Like I said, I was nervous but your review reassures me some.
Revriley: I am deeply sorry to lose you patronage, but I suppose it can't be helped. I'll try and 'warn' people about my relationship/pairings in the future. I'm not sure why it's that big of a deal, but whatever.
Also, to anyone who did not understand the significance of there being a character named Josef Mengele II, allow me to explain (because it's kind of important).
Josef Mengele was, among other things, a German SS officer and a physician in the Auschwitz concentration camp during WWII. As if that wasn't bad enough, while he was there he performed thousands of grisly experiments on the inmates of the camp causing a lot of them to die. Because of that and because he also decided which of the new arrivals to the camp would be sent to their deaths immediately and who would be used for forced labor, he earned the sobriquet 'The Angle of Death'. You can see why that's important.
So there. A little history leson for you, but lets get to the story.
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Howard was going mad. There was no other way to describe what was happening to him. He could feel it. So many things were piling on top of him. The fear for his life and the safety and welfare of his wife. The stress of the work he was doing. The worry of what the end result of this whole project would be. He still did not know what Joe was planning to do with the Todesengel once it was finished, but it couldn't be anything good. He still felt sick whenever he thought of that name. It was my gratest folly…and now I'm being forced to make it again. God have mercy on me. He recalled when he had asked Joe for more information about what was happening…
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(Flashback)
"How are things coming down here?" Joe asked in his eerily cheerful tone as he walked down the large, metal staircase into the dungeon/lab area. He saw Hall hunched over a computer and was typing on the keyboard furiously. As he came closer he noticed the breakfast that he had made for the doctor sitting on the same table, completely untouched. "Is there something wrong with my cooking?" he asked in a darker tone. Howard continued to ignore him though. This seemed to irritate Joe. "WELL." he suddenly snapped and forcibly turned the chair Howard was sitting in so they were looking directly at each other. Hall was surprised by the fierce look of anger in his eyes. He could only shake his head. "Just not hungry?" Joe asked in a more neutral tone. Now Hall nodded. "Very well then. I'll just take this back up stairs since your so busy." He said this in his usual, cheerful voice again.
"You…made that yourself? Don't you have servants to do those things?" Howard asked. It seemed only logical that this rich tycoon would have a legion of maids and butlers to attend to his every need…at least that was what Howard expected of someone as wealthy as Joe.
"No actually, I do all the maintenance on my home myself." Joe responded casually. "I could obviously afford such things, but taking care of ones own house is much more rewarding, and it helps to kill time. After all it's not like I have a job to worry about." Then Joe's mood shifted once again to his darker persona. "And I usually find contact with other people painful and unnecessary…I really hate people sometimes." he added the last part in more of a dreamy tone, which only confused and disturbed Howard even more.
What kind of man has such violent changes in mood? Howard could only imagine what a clearly damaged person like Joe would do with the Todesengel. Joe grabbed the food tray and began heading toward the stairs when he heard Hall speak. "Tell me…" he started, "why are you doing all this? What is it you wish to accomplish with this…monstrosity you are forcing me to recreate?" His voice was gruff and hard, filled with hate and disgust still for his captor. He was a little wary at first to bring this up for fear of inciting another mood swing, but he had to at least try and learn something about his plan.
To Howard's relief Joe just chuckled at the question and said, "Now, now Howard. A good poker player waits for the right moment to show his cards. In the mean time, you just keep working alright?"
Hall saw this as a creative way of dodging the question and didn't like it. But he also knew there was little he could do about it. "What about my wife? Can at least see her?" he pleaded.
"Sadly, no. But I assure you she is…fine." he replied lazily, seemingly without interest. The pause was disconcerting and Joe knew that Hall was surly going to protest and question him further. To preempt this he said, "She is fine for the time being and the sooner you complete your work the better condition she will be in when you get her back." Seeing that this did nothing to calm Hall's fears, but not really caring, Joe decided to end the conversation by quickly walking back up the stairs with the tray. Before exiting, however, he made sure to call over his shoulder, "So you might want to get back to work."
(End flashback)
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Hall shuddered at the memory. That had been six days ago and the fear, worry, and guilt were taking their toll on him, mentally and physically. It didn't help that he had barely eaten or sleep since he had been kidnapped. He felt himself withering away at an alarming rate. He had lost almost fifteen pounds in his short time in captivity and that too began weighing on his mind. He took some comfort in knowing that he had, after almost a week of nonstop working, succeeded in recreating project Todesengel. But that only lead to more problems for Hall. He was disturbed at how swiftly things had moved. He still remembered every detail of the experiment even though he had not thought about it in forty-eight years. He was positively disgusted with himself for it all coming together so easily. He sat in a chair, racked with exhaustion, depression, and utter hopelessness. I don't want to give that man…that monster the Todesengel…I can't…but what choice do I have? He had been agonizing over that question for what seemed like hours (there were no clocks or windows in his area so it was impossible to tell what time it was). Not wanting to continue brooding over his situation anymore, but still unable to sleep, Howard took this time to look around where he was being kept. Something he had been too busy to do until now. He lazily swept his eyes over the lab equipment that he had been working with, saw the bathroom that was there for him to use and other things that did not interest him. Then his eyes caught something strange. Instead of the usual gray background of the stone walls he saw a small glint from something covered by a sheet on a table across the room. Curiosity dictated that he get up and inspect further. Once he reached the sheet he saw it had several holes and tares in it. He removed the sheet carefully to see some type of golden, mechanical device under it. After looking at it for some time he realized it was an antique, rotary style telephone. Well that's nice. It would be even nicer if I could use this thing, he thought as he looked at the large, ornate piece of decoration. But as he looked at the table it was sitting on he saw a cord coming down and going into the wall. There's no way…he thought as he reached out and picked up the receiver. He lifted it to his ear and, to his shock and delight, heard a dial tone. He looked around to make sure he wasn't being watched and dialed 911. I can't believe this! Apparently mister Mengele has never kidnapped anyone before. He asked the operator for the police and waited. When he heard a voice ask him what his emergency was he began to explain as best as he could. "Yes, my name is Dr. Howard Hall and I have been kidnapped by a man named Josef Mengele II and I have been forced to recreate the Todesengel project…No I don't know where I'm being held but I can tell you it is most likely an old…"
"Ahem!" Howard froze in place. He turned around and saw Joe standing behind him with a pistol. The same pistol that he had used to kill so many of Howards colleague. Joe slowly took the phone and hung it up, his eyes never leaving Howard's. None of the usual humor or politeness was on Joe's face now. "I had forgotten about this phone. That is unfortunate…for you." Joe brought his other hand up to cock the gun with a devilish, metallic 'click'.
Hall began to panic, knowing he was caught. He tried to think of viable reason for Joe to keep him alive but was only able to come up with, "You still need me to finish Todesengel." This was a lie of coarse. I just hope he doesn't know that.
Joe pointed over to a computer screen behind him. "I can read doctor." he said angrily.
Hall looked and saw the console was showing the message 'Organism Synthesis Complete' in flashing letters. Oh my…
BANG
(A/N: I'm sure you can figure out what just happened)
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Meanwhile Speck was sitting in his office awaiting the arrival of his appointment. Soon Eli walked into the room, right on time for his meeting with Speck. Punctual, that's a good quality to have in this line of work, Speck thought as he motioned for Eli to sit. "Hello sergeant. I'm glad you could see me because I have something important to discuss with you." He paused to see Eli was sitting very rigid in his chair, silent and at attention. "You can relax sergeant. Your not in trouble." He saw Eli relax a little and figured that a little would be the best he would get. "As I'm sure you've heard I have been promoted to an entirely new rank…"
"Yes sir. Congratulations sir." Eli quickly said.
Speck couldn't help but smirk a little at this. He looked at the man in front of him more closely. Spotless uniform devoid of any imperfection or error, a strict and firm obedience to the rules…mostly, more than a decade of fieldwork, great leadership skills and a good head on his shoulders too. Yup, this is the right man for sure, he thought. "Right…thanks. Since I was promoted out of my former position that means that the seat of commissioner is open…and I want you to fill it." Speck anticipated that Eli would need a few second for that to fully register so he waited until the inevitable questions came.
"But…but sir…there are many other people who are ahead of me in rank…" Eli said. He was absolutely shocked by this. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine this opportunity being presented to him.
"And not many of them are ahead of you in skill." Speck countered. "I have thoroughly looked through the files of every cop in this district and I can safely say that you are the best man for the job in my mind." Seeing that Eli was going to protest again Speck quickly cut him off by saying, "Now before you say anything else I'll have you know that the paper work is already being processed, but that could take a week or so to finish so you can take that time to think it over. And that's all I ask. Just think about it OK?"
Eli was breathless for a moment but was able finally able to force out an "…OK. Is that it then?"
Speck smirked again in triumph as he said, "Yes that should be ev…" He was cut off however when another officer opened his office door.
The officer looked nervous about something as he spoke. "Sir! You know that case that we're all supposed to be looking out for? Well we just got a 911 call that said a Dr. Howard Hall has been kidnapped and is being held by somebody called Josef Mengele II."
"Really?" Speck had to ask, as he was a little surprised that the case that he had made his top priority and had been working on for almost a week had just solved it's self. Now the only thing left to do is rescue the hostage and take this Mengele guy into custody, Speck thought confidently."Alright good. Was there any other useful information in the call like a location or a motive?"
"Uh…no location but…but I think the doctor said something about being forced to work on some project called…what was it…Todesengel I think."
"Hmm…OK I want you to…" Speck began to give the necessary orders, but then had a better idea. "Actually I need to make some calls so…do you think you could handle this…commissioner?" he asked Eli with a wink.
Eli quickly stood, saluted briskly and gave a hearty "Yes SIR!" and walked out of the room while giving orders to the other officer.
Good man. Damn good man, Speck thought proudly. Now to make that call. I'm sure Flagg is going to want to hear about this. He picked up his phone and dialed the number on a card Flagg had given him. "Hello…Flagg? You answer your own phone? Never mind, there's been a break in that case I've been working on."
"Really? What would that be?"
"Well we know pretty much everything we need to know actually. We have the name of the criminal and now that we have that we can track down his location…which we're doing right now. I just thought you'd want to know that. And also, the doctor said he was being forced to complete some project called Todesengel. Does that mean anything to you?"
"…Unfortunately that means a lot to me. Speck since I assume your going to use your whole precinct on this. I can tell you that it won't be enough. I want you to call in the Loonitics in for support."
"...But…but Flagg…sir I don't think…"
"Listen to me Speck! This is way over your head now and we can't afford to take any chances on this! So do as I told you and do it NOW!" CLICK
Speck hung up the phone and sighed in defeat as he picked it up again to call on his worst nightmare's for help…again. Why me? he thought miserably.
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Only a few more chapters to go I think. The last part is kind of weird but I just wanted to get this out there before the end of the month…why? I'm not sure...Anyway R&R OK.
