The Redpills

By Michael Weyer

Part three: The Security Guard

My name is Keith Hastings.

I've walked the halls of this church a dozen times in the last month. No, I'm not a priest. I'm a security guard. I used to be a cop but…well, something happened. It's an old story, never thought it'd be mine. There was a shooting and…well, I became a security guard.

It's not a bad job, pay's good and the work isn't too bad. I'm basically around to make sure there aren't any break-ins. Yeah, people will break into a church, as surprising as that sounds. Usually local punks causing trouble, sometimes looking for something to rob and sell for drug money.

So it's not the fast track to becoming captain that I wanted but it's a good job overall. I can rest in the day and work nights into early morning. The pay's good and I still got my pension. And I'm still in good shape in case trouble comes.

Now when you work in an old church, you get used to seeing some odd stuff. Shadows and the odd cat coming by, noises popping out of nowhere. I get used to it fast but I admit there are times this place can feel…spooky.

I'm usually good handling it but tonight…tonight, I saw something. Something I can't explain. Something I know I couldn't really have seen. It's what brought me up to the tower, the large staircase.

I still have a police scanner that I use. I tell people it's to listen in case there's some suspect on the loose who might hide out here. Truth is, I keep it so I can stay connected, so I can still feel like a cop. So I was listening when they talked about a guy on the loose, someone involved in a cop shooting in Chinatown and some sort of mess at the library.

It was reported that the suspect might be in the area and I was on alert. I saw something, I'm not sure what. It looked like a man but…It couldn't have been. It just couldn't. A human being can't just walk up a wall. It's just not possible.

I'm in the tower, checking the wall where it happened. I shine my flashlight up the stone surface, looking for something, anything, that can explain what I saw. I hear a sound and I whirl around, my flashlight reaching into the corner. "Who's there? Come on out!"

I see a shadow move and come forward, forming into the shape of a man. I size him up immediately with my cop's eye. Young with slicked back black hair, dressed in some odd big black overcoat and dark glasses. "Stay there!" I say as I fumble for my gun.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, Officer."

I pause at his strong and calm voice. "How…how do you I know I used to be a cop?"

He doesn't speak but just stands there. I move the flashlight closer to his face, trying to sense why he's familiar…

And then it clicks.

It's him. The guy from that office building about five months ago. I was just one of the cops assigned to help out the feds. I don't know why they wanted this guy, they just did. They were weird too, even for feds, suits and sunglasses, always seeming so intense. They were after some guy named Anderson, for what, I don't know.

This guy could run, I'd give him that. He managed to slip out of his cubicle before we could get there and kept going. He made his way outside, even though we were on the 30th floor. He managed to use some scaffold and a window washer elevator and all this other shit to keep sneaking away.

We finally caught up to him in the basement where he was running hard toward the exit. I yelled at him to stop but he wouldn't. I opened fire and I saw it hit him in the shoulder, saw him stumble into the street. He fell down and into a manhole. We sent some guys down to find him but…nothing.

That was what got me kicked off the force. Shooting a guy in the back is not good publicity for the department. Even though we couldn't find a body, there were witness to the shooting. So I broke a deal to quit in return for no charges pressed and took early retirement.

Even though there was no body, I've given up thinking the guy could be alive. After the bullet and the fall, he should be dead. And yet here he is, right in front of me, like the angel of death, staring at me hard.

"Officer," he says. "We need to talk."

I back away, a sudden fear gripping me. "No…no, you're dead…I killed you…"

"No, you didn't." He keeps coming to me. "I'm here because you're in danger. What you saw tonight----"

"Stay away! Just…stay away!" My panic comes through and I turn and run. I race up the stairs trying to stay away from this…thing following me. I hear him chasing after me, calling. "Don't run! If you killed me, how can I be here now?"

I don't answer but keep running as I fumble for my radio. I'm about to pull it out when I hear sirens wailing nearby and breathe relief. I see the guy come up the stairs and I do my best to quiet my racing heart. I hear the sound of heavy footsteps coming by, a formation, I recognize well.

"SWAT's coming, buddy!" I yell out. "They'll deal with you!"

"They're not after me!" he calls out as he approaches the landing I'm standing by. "I'm your only way out of here, Officer!"

There's a rush of footsteps and I see a platoon of SWAT guys coming in, loaded for bear. I move forward and their commander nods to me. "Go upstairs, Officer. We'll deal with this psycho."

Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking first how did these guys come down from above? Second, how could they have shown up so fast? And third, how did they know I used to be a cop?

I should have asked those questions myself but when a guy you think is dead pops out of nowhere and comes after you, you don't really have time to process stuff. So instead, I just listen to a fellow officer (okay, former fellow officer) and take off up the stairs.

As I run, I can hear gunfire wailing, not just the cop weapons but something else, the sounds of some sort of automatic weapons firing wildly. Somehow I know it's Anderson and I can hear him fighting with the cops. Normally, one guy against a pair of full SWAT teams is no contest. But this guy…something tells me he can handle it.

I burst into the top of the tower. It's an old place with some of those huge bells spread around. I'm heaving for breath, trying to make sense of all this. I hear a loud booming sound and the building seems to shake a bit as if an explosion went off. I back away and nearly run into a suited man.

I can't help but yell as I see him, startled by his appearance. "God, you almost gave me a heart attack!" I yell.

"My apologies," he says but doesn't sound apologetic at all. He's dressed just like those feds from months back, the same suit, glasses, everything. I wonder if they clone these guys somewhere. He looks me over before speaking. "I take it you saw Mr. Anderson?"

I nod. "Yeah…how can…how can he be here?"

"It is of no consequence," he states. "What is important is that you will be able to deal with him when he arrives." He steps forward, fixing me with a gaze I can feel behind his glasses. "This man is a killer, Officer Hastings. He has killed several of your fellow officers. He deserves no mercy."

Now on the one hand, I feel his words. I do still consider myself a cop and when one or more of us go down, we all feel it and want some payback. However, as a cop, I also have some instincts and right now, they're telling me that something is wrong about this, way wrong.

Before I can ask more questions, there's the sound of footsteps and Anderson shows up. He sees us together and stops. "You see, Officer?" the fed asks. "He's no ghost, no specter back from the grave. He's just another common criminal. So do your duty."

I lick my lips as my gun comes up and I move in the professional stance. "Ok…don't move! Put your hands on your head!"

"I'm not here to hurt you," Anderson says. "Your life is in danger."

"I said put your hands on your head! And get on your knees!"

"This man is lying, Officer. You don't know what he is."

"He is refusing to comply, Officer Hastings," the fed says in a calm voice laced with some menace. "Do your duty and shoot him."

"Officer…" Anderson is looking right at me. "Don't do this. You know it's not right. You know this guy is trouble."

"I said-----"

He moves faster than I can follow, pushing me aside and knocking my gun away. The fed moves in but Anderson kicks him back hard. The guy comes back though by grabbing Anderson and the next thing I know, he's nailing Anderson with what looks like ten blows at once that sends him down. Anderson kicks up and nails the fed. The guy staggers back and Anderson leaps up, his legs kicking out like a bicycle and sending the fed smashing near me.

I'm just frozen in place, stunned by what I'm seeing. Anderson looks at the fed, then at me and takes a breath. "If you want to live, you'd better come with me."

Before I can reply, a feel something cold and hard against my temple. "So, Mr. Anderson," the fed says as he stands right next to me, his gun pressed into my head. "Your reputation is well-founded."

"Whoa…what the hell are you doing!" I yell.

He ignores me as a sneer comes to his lips. "Well, if I cannot destroy you, then I suppose I must deny you your prize."

I glance at him, then at Anderson and I realize he was right. I don't know what about but this guy, whoever he is, is not here to help me.

Before I can speak, before I can realize the fed's finger is tightening on the trigger, Anderson is on him. The gun goes flying away and Anderson grabs the fed's arm and punches him twice. Then he leaps up and his leg swings out and dammit, I can feel the impact as his foot strikes the fed in the chest and he goes flying back. He hits the glass window nearby and smashes through it, not even crying out as he goes flying out of the tower.

There's footsteps and I whirl to see two SWAT guys come in, rifles set. One moves around to a small alcove while the other aims the rifle at us. He suddenly jerks and seems to cry out in pain and his body…shifts. I don't know how to describe it, it's like something is coming out from under his skin and suddenly…

I can't believe I'm saying this…

The fed is there, his gun out and aimed at Anderson and already firing. Anderson just flips around in the air, seeming to float a bit as the bullets fly past him. He's still in mid-air as his foot smacks the fed in the face and knocks him back.

I'm frozen in shock by the sight until a bullet whizzes past my ear. I move on instinct, ducking down and watching as the SWAT guy fires his rifle at me. He's moved into a small alcove under one of the bells, still firing the rifle and I know he's not willing to listen to anything I have to say.

I duck and cover, moving behind a scaffold for protection as the bullets whiz past me. I duck out enough to fire off a couple of rounds and then move back as the return burst comes at me. I try to peek out again and I see Anderson blast the fed with a double punch that sends the guy rolling along the floor and under the alcove.

I don't even see Anderson draw the gun or aim. His pistol is in his hands and firing right at the bell hanging over the alcove. I see a small spark as the rope is cut and then there's a huge-ass smashing sound as the bell crashes into the alcove and on top of the fed and the SWAT guy.

I cough at the wave of dust sent up by the crash, waving my hand before my face. I step out and look at the debris then at Anderson. He's looking to me and I see the concern in his face. "Are you ok?"

I weakly nod. "Yeah." I look around the place and then face him again. "What the hell is going on?"

He's pulled out a cell phone and is speaking into it. "Where's the nearest hard line?" He listens and nods. "Okay, meet you there." He snaps the phone shut and looks to me. "If you want to know why they were after you, come with me. I might as well tell you that doing so is going to mean a big change to you. To how you look at the world." His eyebrow rises over his glasses. "But…It also means a chance for you to do what you used to do."

"What?" I ask in surprise. "Be a cop?"

"Not exactly," he says as he heads back to the stairs. "But you can serve and protect people, I can guarantee that."

I pause before following him. I don't know why I trust him so much. Those instincts are kicking in again, I suppose. As I follow a guy I thought was dead, I can't help but think that this setting is completely appropriate for taking a new path in life.

Next: Skull's Lament