The Crimson Stain Chapter Three
A/N I'd like to thank my reviewers. :D
"Urgh..." Gumshoe opened his eyes slowly, trying to ignore the pounding pain in his head. Where was he? What was going on. He frowned, trying to remember.
"Who I am isn't important... What's important is who's with me..."
Gumshoe's eyes widened as the memories rushed back to him. "You won't get away with this, pal!" He missed what else the man said, but he could make out the name Miles Edgeworth being spoken.
Gumshoe glared at the man as he snapped his cell phone closed. He flexed his arm muscles, trying to snap the bonds that tied him to a stiff wooden chair. They were tied back in an uncomfortable position behind the back of the chair. Each of his legs were bound to the front leg of the chair.
"Comfortable, Detective?" his kidnapper asked.
"What do you want with me?" He asked, ignoring the question. His eyes scanned the dimly lit room he was in. The walls were pretty much bare, and the floor was concrete that look damp. As he released his breath, he noticed a foggy vapor hanging in the air. Shivering, he realized that the man had taken his coat, along with the gun he carried.
"That is not your concern, Detective."
Gumshoe scowled. "Yes it is! Let me go!"
The man just blinked and gazed at him for a few moments. "It's not you that we want to hurt, Detective..."
The detective's eyes narrowed. "Then who..." Something clicked in his mind. "Mr. Edgeworth!"
"Heh... Maybe you're not as bad a detective as I thought," he commented. "You are correct. I'm going to get to Miles Edgeworth through you."
"Hehe... It's not going to work, pal. I'm a Detective. They're going to be all over the place looking for me..."
"If the rest of the police force is like you, I don't think I have much to worry about... But enough about me... why don't you tell me about Miles Edgeworth?"
Gumshoe didn't reply, instead scanning the room again, looking for something that could help him escape. He frowned, not seeing anything helpful.
"Oh, don't worry, Detective. I've made sure to take anything that might be useful to you..."
"Whatever you're planning isn't going to work," Gumshoe gave a half-smile. "Not with Mr. Edgeworth on the case!"
"We'll see, Detective... We'll see..."
"Damn it, Gumshoe," Miles hissed in frustration. "Why didn't you tell anyone where you were going?" He was currently watching detectives scrounge through Gumshoe's desk, trying to find a clue of where he had been before disappearing. So far all that had been found was probably a year's supply of empty instant noodle packages... Making his way over to the desk, he pushed aside some of the packages. He spotted a case file and picked it up. "Shivaldi... I think this is what we're looking for..." He flipped the folder opened and thumbed through the contents. He instantly recognized Gumshoe's childish scrawl.
The detectives all turned toward him, waiting for him to glean something from the case file. "Victim background... Autopsy report..." He paused as he spotted something written on the back of the autopsy report. It was definitely Gumshoe's handwriting. "Two o'clock..." He glanced at the clock. It was eleven now... "9470 Shell Street. Dar Bah... Dar Bah? What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's the name of a bar," one of the detectives replied. "We have to go there a lot because that's a place where things often get violent..."
"I see..." Miles scowled. How could Gumshoe have gone to a place like that without back-up? Was he an idiot? No, he decided. It was just Gumshoe being Gumshoe... "Come on, we need to get people over there right away." He turned and strode out of the precinct, towards his red sports car.
A detective caught up to him. "Er... You might not want to bring a car like that to where we're going, sir..."
He blinked. "Right..."
"You can ride with me sir..."
They spent the ride in silence, Miles not being in the mood for small talk. The only sound that could be heard was the wailing of the sirens. He had insisted on using them, being too impatient to sit through the traffic. Besides, he reasoned. This was an emergency... A detective could be in danger...
Miles stared out the window, watching the buildings blur by. He kept his face impassive and made sure to stay composed at all times. It was unprofessional to act otherwise. He just needed to treat this like any other case...
The detective pulled to a stop in front of Dar Bah. Opening the door, Miles got out and glanced around the area dispassionately. It run down and there was a man in rundown clothing sleeping next to the door. Glancing at the man, he opened the door to the bar before he and the detective entered.
The crowd in the bar all turned to look at them, but Miles payed them no mind. Instead his attention was focused on a large crimson stain on the floor.
Gumshoe stared up at the ceiling. He had no idea how long he had been there, but it must have been at least for a few hours... His kidnapper had left awhile ago, and now he was left alone. A sigh escaped his lips causing a white fog to hang over his head for a few moments before dissipating. "It's freezing in here..."
"Actually, it's forty degrees. Well above freezing..."
Gumshoe would have jumped had he not been tied down. "Wh-who's there?"
A man that had stitches running down his face stepped into Gumshoe's view.
"You! You're that bartender!" he exclaimed.
"That is correct... However, you may call me de Killer."
Gumshoe's eyes widened. "The assassin!" He swallowed, feeling fear trickle down his spine. "Someone hired you to kill me?"
The assassin shook his head. "No... If I was hired to kill you, you would already be dead..."
He sighed in relief, but then frowned in confusion. "Wait... Then what are you doing here?"
"Fulfilling my client's request. You see, I've already done my assassination... The other part of the request was to make sure the police don't find you..."
"Why?"
De Killer shrugged. "It's not my job to ask, my good detective... But let me warn you that my client would rather see you dead than have you escape, understand?"
Gumshoe swallowed. "Yeah... I understand..."