STALKING (2)

To say that tension was high in the Brooklyn 87th Precinct that day would have been the understatement of the century. Everybody inside and outside the bust was pissing their pants. Anybody could have said that it was to be expected, but this was different from most other drug busts. Kane Kilgore, or "Snake", was the top dog on the block. He'd been a thorn in Brooklyn's side for over five years, and ever since then, he'd made a name for himself. His gang, the Pit Vipers, had nearly taken control of Brooklyn's southern half, and they'd even set up a few "dens" in Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. These areas weren't as problematic, but this did cause a problem with the other major players that occupied them. Territories are a precious resource for drug dealers, and when two parties start moving in on each other's turf, things get ugly quick. There had already been three firefights this week, and those were just the ones the police knew about, and that didn't take into consideration other conflicts going on around the state.

New York was facing another storm of drug dealers, similar to what happened in 1989. Every cop in New York had heard about that, and the way things were shaping up, it looked like it was about to happen again. At least with Snake gone, provided everything worked out, it would be one less problem on New York's back.

Lucy had looked through Snake's file numerous times during her investigation, so much so she practically had the whole damn thing memorized like the verse of a song. Age 35, height 6.5, weight 163lbs, muscular build, hair color bald, eye color brown, occupation, used to work as an engineer at his brother's garage before he was found in possession of five kilograms of cocaine, for which he was promptly fired, after which he burned the establishment down leading to the deaths of three employees and Kilgore's brother, Jake. Wanted for possession and distribution of heroin, five counts of breaking and entering, seven counts of grand theft, three counts of assault, and thirteen KNOWN cases of murder.

"How are you feeling, Lucy?" Amy Eguchi said, pulling Lucy from her train of thought as they made their way to the chief's office.

"W-What?" Lucy stuttered.

"You've had that pissed-off look on your face all day," Amy responded, "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong with me, Amy," Lucy said, "I'm just focused on tonight that's all."

"You sure do seem focused," Amy said with a little sarcasm. Normally that kind of response was a sign that she knew Lucy was lying. Truth be told Lucy was anxious about the bust, but something else was bothering her too.

"I woke up early this morning."

"That's it?"

"I had another nightmare," Lucy said with a sigh.

"The same one you had before?" Amy asked with noticeable concern.

"Yes," Lucy answered carelessly. Lucy had told Amy all about the nightmare, it'd been going on since May, and although Lucy preferred to shrug it off every time Amy mentioned it, she hadn't been able to shake off Amy's concern.

"You've been having that nightmare for what, two or three months now?" Amy continued.

"It's nothing, Amy. Really."

"Are you sure you're feeling up to tonight, Lucy? I can tell the chief you're not all right," Amy offered.

"No!" Lucy snapped a little at the thought. "No... Sorry, Amy. We've been after this creep for two years, and now we've finally got him by the balls. We've worked too hard for this, and I'm not giving up tonight for anything." Lucy answered.

"Yeah, this really isn't something worth fucking around with, is it?" agreed Amy

"I'll feel better once tonight is over."

"Are you sure, onesan?" Amy asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Positive, imouto," Lucy replied.

The two had been partners for almost ten years now, and in that time, Amy had learned about her partner's past. After Lucy's parents passed away, her grandparents had taken her back to Japan, where they had been cold, neglectful, and abusive to her. Nobody had given Lucy any endearment, not even her own grandparents. They had served in World War II, and because of their high standards of honor, they had felt dishonored by their country's shameful defeat. As a result, they'd focused their bitterness on Lucy. Lucy had no one else to turn to, nobody came to offer help, so she had borne her grandparents' abuse alone. As time passed Lucy had become cold and reclusive around everyone. When she was finally old enough, she gathered what little she had and returned to America. Unfortunately, things weren't that much better when she returned.

But Amy was different, she had taken pity on Lucy and showed her honest affection. Lucy, despite being the reclusive ice queen that she was when they first met, opened up to her new partner. From there their relationship grew, so much so that they didn't even see each other as just friends or partners, but as sisters. Referring to one another as onesan (older sister) and imouto (younger sister) showed how much they cared for one another. So whenever one of them wasn't doing all right, the other was always there for them, that's what sisters do for each other.

Lucy gave her partner a soft smile as she said, "Come on. Let's not keep the chief waiting."

"What ya need us for, Chief," Lucy said nonchalantly as the two entered Chief Anderson's office. They didn't notice the second figure standing next to the chief until they were already inside.

"Special Agent Walker, this is Detective Lieutenant Lucy Ishakawa, and her partner Amy Eguchi," Anderson stood up from his chair to introduce them, "Lucy, Amy, Special Agent Michael Walker, D.E.A."

"Good to meet you both," the agent said as he looked up at Lucy. Lucy was unnaturally tall for a Japanese woman. She was about 6ft in height easily dwarfing most of the other officers in the precinct.

"Good to meet you." Amy returned the greeting. There was a short pause as Amy planted herself on the spare seat in the chief's office.

"Special Agent Walker is here to help us with our reptile problem. He and his team are going to be taking over the operation this evening." Anderson explained.

"It's got that bad, has it?" Lucy asked.

"Yes. As a matter of fact, we're working all over New York. The Jamaicans, Colombians, Serviteurs, we're after all of them, especially Kane Kilgore. And thanks to you two ladies, we'll get him." Walker said.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, why are the feds so interested in our drug problem? I know it's bad, but is it bad enough to warrant your interest?" Amy questioned.

"We're not just after the gangs, we're after their suppliers. They're the ones we really want." Walker answered.

"The plot thickens, doesn't it? ' Lucy said softly, grabbing Walker's attention. The two locked eyes. There was something off about the federal agent. Lucy couldn't put her finger on what it was, but it reminded her of the feeling uneasy feeling she'd had that morning.

"Special Agent Walker and his men will be in charge tonight. I expect you both to give him your full cooperation. Whatever he tells you to do, you do it. No questions asked." Anderson told them authoritatively.

"Yes, sir." They responded.

"That's all I need." Chief Anderson told them before dismissing them.

The two decided to spend some time at the Starbucks across the street. They had nothing better to do until later that evening when they'd need every ounce of strength they had.

Lucy took a table outside as Amy went in to order their coffee. She was still thinking about Walker. She couldn't figure out why he made her so uncomfortable. After a couple of moments though, she let her mind wander and quickly forgot about it... right before she felt "it" again.

She wasn't sure of herself at first. It's probably nothing. Lucy thought as she cautiously scanned her surroundings just to be sure. Suddenly, for a fraction of a second, she thought she saw something move on top of the precinct. It was difficult to see, but... its body was almost completely invisible, the light coming off it bending and warping like cool air shimmering off the scorching asphalt pavement. The man who wasn't there... Lucy had called it. But ever since she'd first seen "it" she'd given the creature a different name...

"Nightmare," Lucy whispered.

"I'm back," Amy called out suddenly, causing Lucy to jump.

"What's the matter?" Amy asked.

"Nothing, I-I just zoned out and you startled me," Lucy responded without letting on that something was wrong. She carefully darted her eyes toward the top of the police department. It wasn't there anymore. Lucy scanned the other buildings to see if whatever it was had moved. She couldn't see it anywhere.

"What are you looking at?" Amy asked again with concern.

"Oh, nothing Amy. I thought I saw something, that's all," she replied, managing to mostly pacify her sister's concerns.

"You sure are acting strange," Amy commented as she traded glances between the coffee and Lucy.

"I promise, Amy. This will all be over by the morning." Lucy reminded Amy.

It was almost obvious she was lying, but Amy trusted her. She loved her like a sister, and even though she was skeptical she tried to be patient with her. She didn't notice that Lucy had gone back to looking at the rooftops.

I know you're out there you bastard. Lucy thought before taking a sip of her coffee. She knew this wasn't it. She'd felt this feeling before, and she knew it would come again, only this time the nightmare wouldn't just be observing...

/ (Later that evening)

Nancy McReay was walking home from the office that evening. She didn't have a car or a license to drive it with, and she'd missed the train. She could have called a taxi, but she was too paranoid to consider it. So, she walked home. It wasn't the smartest idea, what with all the gangs, but Nancy believed she lived in a good neighborhood, and this gave her a chance to vent her frustrations.

Things had been slow in the office, and her boss, Mr Cranton, had been on her ass all day about the broken fax machine. Like there was a damn thing she could do about it. She hadn't even touched the damn thing, but somehow it was all her fault.

"Stupid bastard," she mumbled to herself angrily, "Everything's always my fault... shove that stupid clipboard of his up his fat ass."

She had her hands wrapped around the paperwork that Mr Cranton had given to her as an added "assignment" after she'd called him a "worthless stuck-up asswipe". She hadn't been able to finish it at the office and Mr Cranton had forcefully insisted it was to be done the next day. Nancy couldn't even enjoy some time to herself once she got home, and there was a new premier of Green Acres coming on tonight. She had been looking forward to that.

As she thought about the time she'd lose working on this assignment, and a possible way to get back at Mr Cranton without him knowing about it, Nancy accidentally tripped over a loose piece of the sidewalk. The paperwork flew out of her hands and all over the ground. As Nancy got back to her feet and saw the scattered paperwork all over the place, she let out an enraged scream.

"Can this day get any fucking worse?" she bellowed as she went to retrieve the papers.

While she was picking up her paperwork, she heard something... like clicking... growling... Nancy looked up and down the street, there was nobody else. The suburban street was like a ghost town. Nancy sighed impatiently and forgot about it. Then she heard it again. She looked up and down again. Nothing was there. Then she heard something else. Laughing. The voice sent a chill down Nancy's spine.

"Who's there?" Nancy questioned. No response came. "Is anybody there?" She asked again. The laughing came back again. It sounded like it was coming from the alleyway behind her. Nancy thought it was one of the gangs, the Serviteurs or the Jamaicans. "H-Hello," Nancy said as she turned around, facing the dark alley behind her. The laughter sounded like it was getting closer and closer. Every impulse running through Nancy's body told her to run, but she was too scared to, so she just stood there, waiting...

Finally, it just stopped. Nancy was shivering. She waited there for a few more moments, but nothing more happened. She managed to calm herself down and picked up the last of her paperwork.

As she was about to continue, the laughter returned. It was above her. She turned and saw a figure standing on the roof of the building above her. It was humanoid in appearance, it was huge, about seven or eight feet tall. The features of its body warped and twisted as it moved, while at the same time it seemed like she could see straight through it. It was looking at her, she knew it was.

Without a second thought, Nancy ran, dropping the paperwork in the process. As she ran, she could see the figure following her, jumping from rooftop to rooftop as it gave chase. The invisible humanoid moved much faster, and more gracefully than she could. Nancy screamed as she ran, but her cries for help went unanswered. As she sprinted, she tripped on her high-heeled shoes. She turned around to see the figure booking it towards her. She could hear it laughing as it came.

"Shit!" Nancy cursed as she removed her shoes and ran.

Nancy didn't stop to look back, she just kept running. She was out of breath, her sides were aching, and her legs felt worn and weak. She was never a very physically active woman, but despite how tired she felt, nothing was going to stop her from getting as far away as she could from that monster.

Finally, the laughter was getting fainter, and the thundering sounds of the creature's feet were no longer audible. Nancy dove into an alleyway and hid behind the dumpsters and disgusting-smelling garbage. She stood there and waited. She didn't hear or see anything. After what felt like hours had passed by Nancy thought the thing had gone.

"Fuck me," Nancy laughed nervously as she came out of the filthy alley.

Suddenly, a black-clawed hand grabbed her face. Overwhelming pain shot up from her back and Nancy heard something crack, her legs went limp, and something warm and wet was running down her lower back. She could see the creature; it had a mask on its face... it had a smile on it...

The creature ran its claws deeper into her back. Nancy tasted copper as something wet erupted from her mouth. The pain was beginning to subside. There was a certain weightlessness to it...

"... Can this day get any fucking worse ..." Nancy's voice echoed eerily back to her

Suddenly she felt the creature pull back, but before she realized what had happened, everything went black...