Heavy Rain: Origami Lament

Next chapter of my crossover story, enjoy.

Reviews

Boris Yeltsin: Thanks, yeah, well, he's still too anxious to accept it, for obvious reasons.
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Now onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Heavy Rain, Until Dawn or their characters.

Virtual Blues

SAM POV

I sighed heavily as I slumped against a piano, sitting on the stool. Still in that position, I moved my hands slowly and carefully over the keys, gradually building up to playing the piano. Slowly straightening up, I began to play it properly. I was seated in a large, empty bar lounge, playing on the piano. Of course it was virtual, as I was actually in an environment created by ARI. I was indeed wearing the glasses and glove.

"Your drink, madam."

I nodded, looking up at the smartly dressed, dark-haired barman, another representation from ARI. "Thanks." I muttered.

The barman quirked an eyebrow. "You look preoccupied, if you don't mind my saying so. Problems with the investigation?"

I continued to play the piano as I answered. "Blake is convinced that Mike is the killer."

"Not you?" the barman queried with a raised eyebrow. "I thought there was some evidence to that effect."

"That's true, but it just doesn't make sense to me." I remarked. "His psychological profile doesn't fit, neither does the geolocalization. I can't see this father drowning eight victims before kidnapping his own kid. I know Mike well, and he'd never act that way."

I stopped playing the piano and sighed. "Mike is not the Origami Killer. I'd stake my life on it."

"Then who is?" the barman asked. "And are you sure that your personal connection to Mr. Monroe isn't...clouding your judgment?"

"No. Just the opposite, in fact. It's given me a new drive to solve the case and find the real killer, to prove Mike's innocence. I just have no idea who it could be." I replied.

There was a pause at that.

Finally, the barman made a suggestion. "Maybe you should review the evidence in your possession."

I smiled. "That's just what I was thinking of doing."

Nodding, the barman started to walk away, but stopped and turned back to me.

"Oh, one last thing, ma'am." he warned "You should be careful not to overindulge in you-know-what. It can be dangerous. Very dangerous."

"I'm trying to keep a handle on it, but that's difficult. It gets more and more difficult..." I admitted.

"It'll end up killing you if you're not careful. That would be most unfortunate, ma'am." he said seriously.

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving me alone. I quickly changed the surroundings to once again look over the evidence. Seated at the desk, I prepared to begin.

'Not much time left. Gotta find something fast if I want to save Mike's son.' I thought frantically.

I'd read that Mike had already lost one son and I knew how much that would've crushed him. I wouldn't let him lose another son, not if I could help it!

'A clue, anything! I'm sure it's staring me in the face...'

It was then that I noticed a new clue. A request that I had put in had finally come through.

"The video recording from near the park on the afternoon Shaun Munroe disappeared." I muttered. "I doubt there's anything on it, but you never know."

So I analyzed it and was surprised when I realized something.

"A Chevrolet model corresponding to the tire prints passed at 16:02, heading for the park. It went in the opposite direction at 16:37. That could fit the time that Shaun disappeared. Could it be the killer's car?"

Unfortunately, I hadn't been able to catch the killer's face, but the license plate would still be useful. So I quickly analyzed it. The result I got wasn't what I expected.

"The car was stolen." I realized, so I checked more details. "Let's see...a certain Jackson Neville was suspected of stealing it, but the charges were dropped. Not enough evidence."

I analyzed the ID card, to learn more about this man.

"Jackson Neville, aka Mad Jack. Involved in several cases of buying and selling stolen vehicles. Considered to be very dangerous. This guy might have provided the killer with the car. It's a pretty slim lead, but it's all I have right now." I noted, while a little concerned about his background.

With a sigh, I decided that I wasn't going to find anything else, so I shut down ARI and removed the glove and glasses. That was when it happened again.

My head began spinning and everything got blurry. I was getting the withdrawal symptoms again. My hotel room kept changing to the forest environment from ARI and back again as I stood up from my chair.

I heard the barman's words again. "Oh, one last thing, ma'am. You should be careful not to overindulge in you-know-what. It can be dangerous. Very dangerous."

'Shit...it's...it's coming. Triptocaine... The tube is on the bedside table. All I need is to take some, and the pain will go away.' I thought, before reminding myself, 'I should resist. This is going to kill me... I know that I can resist, I just need to stay in control and do something until it goes away.'

I couldn't take any further risks, I had to get myself into a situation where I could calm down without the vial being in plain view. Seeing no other choice, I staggered to the bathroom, trying to keep my breathing steady, freezing every time my vision changed from the room to the forest environment. Finally, I made it to the shower and, without even undressing, I turned it on and climbed in, sitting under the water and trying my hardest to let the cold water calm me down as slowly, things started returning to normal.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.