House of Sticks, Part IV
Blue Room Jazz Club
8:45 PM
Blue light emanated from the lamps, covering the Blue Room Jazz Club with a calming glow. Cole took his place at his usual seat. No need to arouse any suspicion by deviating from the norm. He was close to a wall, but from his chair, he could still see the stage. Elsa was singing tonight, so he would need to talk to her during her break. Herschel had gone home, as it had been a long day for the two of them. He looked at the stage, its golden outline contrasting against the dark purple fabric that covered the walls. He saw Elsa, holding the microphone, singing to the audience, making suggestive poses. He didn't pay attention to the lyrics of the song; the sweet angelic sound that came from the singer was the only thing that occupied his mind. Behind her was the band, a motley crew of black musicians, working hard to improve the club's reputation, after several musicians who once worked there either died due to overdose or were killed. He remembered that case from his time in Vice, with Roy. If Roy were here, he'd probably be referring to the men using racial slurs. The thought of that man was ruining the precious few moments of happiness he had nowadays. Working with the bigot certainly soured his time at the Vice desk. He tried to block Roy from his mind, turning his thoughts back to Elsa. It was here, all those months ago, that the two of them first met. She was mourning over Lou's death, it was almost strange how unimportant that detail seemed at the time, compared to now. Well, hindsight is always clear and focused. She was addicted to drugs at the time, and back then, he still felt the shadow of the war over him. They helped each other, each of them relieving a burden of the other. He helped her lose her addiction, and she… she helped him forget. Everything, all the memories, all the responsibilities, he could forget it all when he was with her. However, now they seemed to be coming back, because of her.
"Hello Cole" he heard a voice say.
He turned, expecting to see Roy in his signature red-and-white suit, wearing a taunting smirk. However, when he had turned enough to see the person, he immediately recognized Bekowsky, his old partner.
"May I join you?" the detective said.
Bekowsky was wearing the same brown suit he had worn during their time together on the Traffic desk. He was holding his brown hat by his side, gripping it by the brim.
"Yes, of course Bekowsky" Cole said.
Bekowsky sat down across from him, peering out onto the stage. He sat there, looking at Elsa.
"I suppose the rumours are true then," he said, "about you and her."
Cole sighed.
"Yes." he said, "They are."
"I don't get it, Cole." he said, "You had a beautiful wife, two daughters, and you give it up for her".
Bekowsky grinned.
"Not that I'm insulting you for your decision or anything" he continued.
"It's alright" Cole said, "I understand."
"Then why, just an honest question, from friend to friend" Bekowsky said.
"Stefan, the moment I stepped off that boat, and returned to civilian life, the war followed me home." he said, "Every night for the past two years, I dreamt about Okinawa and Sugarloaf Hill. You weren't there. You didn't see the things I've seen. My wife, my kids, they don't understand."
He turned to look at Elsa.
"But she… she does" he continued, "She's one of the only people I know whose suffered firsthand the horrors of war and conflict."
Bekowsky turned to look at the singer as well.
"She lost both of her parents, I think I remember Roy telling me. Killed by the Nazis?" the detective said.
"Yes, both her and her friend Lou's parents were killed." Cole replied.
"Makes me feel kinda lucky" Bekowsky said, "Not going to war. I was so angry when they wouldn't let me join. Declared unfit to serve. Now, looking at you and all the others, makes me feel so strange. If only my younger self could see you now."
"If only." Cole said, "It seems our entire lives are full of us asking that question".
"How's the private detective business working out for you?" Bekowsky asked.
"Fine," Cole said, "it's going great. Me and Herschel are investigating a case which involves some major players."
"Tantalizing" Bekowsky said, "Hope it works for you".
Cole took a look at his watch. It was almost nine, when Elsa took her break.
"It was nice to see Stefan" Cole said, "But I need to talk to someone. It's about the case."
"Well, Cole" Bekowsky said, standing up, "I'm not the type of guy to keep a man from his job. It was nice seeing you".
"It was seeing you too, Bekowsky" Cole said.
He looked over to Elsa, and made a small wave to get her attention. The singer saw him, and smiled. Cole got out of his seat and walked out through the front door. He tipped his hat to the bouncer on his way out. He turned into the alleyway beside the club and walked to the back of the building. Elsa was waiting for him, leaning against the door in her purple dress, illuminated in the light of the nearby building.
"Cole, what did you find?" she asked as he approached.
"Elsa, I think Lou's death was an accident, just how they said it was." Cole said.
"So then," she said, "Why are we here? It must be more than a simple accident if you wanted to talk."
"Well, not necessarily" he said, smiling and rubbing the back of his head.
Elsa glared at him for that remark. He probably shouldn't have said that.
"Okay, you're right" he said, "I checked out the house where Lou died. The lumber they're using… it's from a movie studio. It's cheap wood that's only fit for use on movie sets, not houses. They are cutting corners everywhere."
"Oh dear" she muttered.
"That's not the end of it." he said, "The foreman even tried to kill me."
He opened his notebook and showed her his sketches, of the lumber, and of the houses it used in. She leaned in to get a better look.
"You see, with low quality wood like this, it's no wonder it couldn't support Lou's weight." He said, "That's why they're trying to get you to take the settlement, they don't want anybody investigating these houses, or else they're practices may come to light".
"So, what are you planning to do? Go to the police?" Elsa said.
"I don't think I can." Cole said, "Elsa… at the movie studio, I found… a tape. It was an ad for homes built by a group called the Suburban Redevelopment Fund. They are the ones behind this, and you know what, they are some powerful people. It isn't just Monroe you see, it's so much bigger. The chief of police is a member, as is the vice president of California Fire and Life. Your doctor, Harlan Fontaine is even a member."
She backed away, raising her hands to her forehead.
"What… that's… I can't believe it" she said, the confusion coming out of her voice.
She composed herself.
"I think I will try to meet with my doctor, for the sake of both of us." she said.
It only took an instant for Cole to realize what she was implying.
"Elsa, don't. Fontaine, all of them, they are dangerous people." he said, "Going to them, confront them… you can't do it. They were willing to have one of their workers try to kill me, I don't want to think about what they'll do to you if they think you're a danger to them."
She paused, thinking about his plea.
"All right." she said, "I understand."
"I know you do." Cole said.
"My break is almost done." she said, "What will you do next?"
"There's a second house of Elysian Fields I learned about, I'm going to check it out." he said.
"Just be careful" she said.
"I will" he said.
She was turning to head back into the building when Cole spoke up again.
"Elsa, be careful too." he said, "If you're going home and you don't feel safe, call Herschel for a ride, he knows just how ruthless these people are."
"I will miene Liebe" she said, waltzing right back into the club.
He smiled, then walked to his car. He had been debating that afternoon whether or not he should visit the second house. It could be dangerous, and it would probably be better to go with Herschel the next day. However, there could be evidence in there, evidence which would "disappear" in the night as his enemies tried to cover their tracks. He eventually decided to check it out. When he finally reached his vehicle, he took out his keys. As he leaned down to unlock the door, he noticed a drop appear of the front windshield. He stood up and reached over, touching the droplet with his fingers. It was only water. The night had darkened the skies over Los Angeles, however he couldn't see any stars. The light of city blocked out the pinpricks of light that littered the night sky. There were probably clouds above him as well, though he couldn't tell as the lack of stars gave him nothing to compare that night's sky with. It would probably rain. He went back to the front door and opened it. He got into the car and drove off to the Elysian development.
Elysian Fields Site
9:06 PM
Cole reached the site. There was nothing but a closed gate with a sign with the words "NO ENTRY" in capital letters. He quickly exited his car, heading out into the rain. It was only a light drizzle, so he didn't mind it much. He quickly walked to the gate, and tried opening it, grabbing the cold iron with his fingers. Locked. He couldn't get in. He got back into his car, and peered out the front windshield. He watched all the raindrops roll down the clear glass as he pondered what to do next. Suddenly, he saw a flicker of light out in the corner of his eye. He looked in his rearview mirror, and saw that it was coming from the upper window of a house behind him. He opened his car door, and stepped out into the cool rain again. He ran across the street as fast as he could, keeping his eyes trained on the flashing light which lit up the top floor of the house. He walked through the open doorframe, the house not yet ready for use. He took his flashlight from his jacket and turned it on. In front of him was skeleton of wall, the timber exposed. He turned to the left and walked further into the house. The walls were in various states of completion. Some of them were covered in plywood, some were just the bare bones, planks attached together to form a rectangle with several other pieces of wood supporting the inside. Others were completed, painted with coat of the whitest, most generic paint possible. Cole could still smell the wet paint, along with the fresh wood. He continued through the house, eventually reaching a kitchen. He walked over to the sink and examined it. Inquisitively, he turned one of the faucets. To his surprise, it came right off the enamel sink.
"It's a good thing I'm not thirsty" he muttered to himself.
He placed the faucet in the middle of the sink and left the kitchen. The house was eerily quiet, no sounds but that of the slightly muffled rain. He went to the stairs and clambered up to the second floor. He turned to the left, and walked into the room with the flashing light. He peered out the hole in the wall, which would eventually be filled with a window, and looked at his car across the street. He left the room, and headed to a second room down the hallway. He walked near the edge of the room, and examined another hole for a window. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him.
"You lose something, Mac?" a man voice called out.
He turned to face the man, pointing his flashlight at them, and saw that he wasn't alone. There were two others behind him, and the three of them were wearing suits. The one talking to him was in green, with a brown fedora on his head.
"I thought these private eye types were all wise guys with smart mouths" another one of the men said.
The second man was wearing a brown suit jacket with black pants. He had a gray hat with a black ribbon, and a yellow tie. He waltzed into the room, with the third man following him in.
"Looks like the snappy repartee has dried up" the third man said.
He had a blue suit with a gray fedora, like the second man's, but the third man's didn't have the ribbon.
"What do you want?" Cole asked them.
The man in green walked into the room. Now, Cole could clearly see that he was brandishing a gun.
"What's your hurry, Mac? You got some place to go?" he said.
The man walked right up to him.
"Have you ever pulled this routine without your gun?" Cole asked, "Because really, you aren't that threatening".
"Oh, lookee here" the man said, turning his allies behind him, "We have a comedian".
The man turned back to Cole.
"Anyway, you're coming with-"
Cole shot his hand forward, grabbing the man's gun and using his other fist to hit his opponent in the jaw. The man let go of the gun. Cole turned and threw the weapon out the window. He turned back to the man massaging his jaw. The man with the yellow tie spoke with a grin on his face.
"Now that's more like it" he said.
Cole proceeded to deliver another punch to the man in green's jaw. He threw his weight behind his attack, and the force knocked the man to the ground. He turned to the man in blue, raising his fists to block. The man threw a punch. Cole effortlessly dodged the attack, and delivered a few blows to the man's abdomen. Suddenly, he felt hands grab his arm. The man in the yellow tie was helping his friend. Cole tried struggling against his opponent, but the man in blue quickly knocked him down with a punch. As he looked up, his saw all three men standing over him. Then a piercing pain shot out of his side as they kicked him, and then again, and again until the private detective was hurt and dazed. He heard the man in green talking, to him, he guessed, but he wasn't sure.
"You were warned, golden boy" he said, looking straight at Cole, "You should learn to take a hint".
The man looked away, and turned to his friends.
"Get him downstairs and into the trunk" he said.
He walked out of Cole's sight. The two other men stood there, looking at him. Suddenly, one of them raised their foot, and slammed it down onto the detective's face.
He woke up in a cramped space with a terrible headache.
"Uggh" Cole said, with no idea where he was.
Suddenly, he heard the sounds of doors opening, and feet on wooden steps. He raised his hand to his temple, and felt some small cuts across his forehead. He looked around, then finally realized where he was.
"I'm in a car trunk" he muttered in a disgruntled fashion.
He started feeling about the trunk, trying to find a way out.
The three men walked into the Elysian construction office. The man in green was holding the door open for his colleagues. When all three were inside, he walked over to the desk and grabbed the phone. He called a specific number, his boss' number, and boy, his boss would be pleased when he found out the news. The other men listened into the conversation, as the one in blue lit up a smoke.
"Sure, he turned up all right" the man in green said to the person on the other end, "He probably thinks he can kill one of our guys and be ignored."
He listened to his boss' reply, then chuckled.
"And boy" he said, "Boy, is he wishing he didn't".
He listened, while the man in blue lit a cigarette for his colleague in the yellow tie.
"He's in the trunk. He's going nowhere." he said, "The boys and me introduced ourselves".
He started laughing some more as his friend in blue grabbed some shot glasses for the three of them.
"What do you want done with him, Mr. Monroe?" he said as he grabbed the glass handed to him.
He grinned when he heard his boss' reply.
"Yeah, I know a good place" he said, "We'll pick up a shovel and pick on the way".
He downed his glass of alcohol, and wiped his lips.
"It's up in the hills behind Griffith Park" he said, "We'll deal with that German bitch next."
He put down the phone and walked out of the office, heading to the car.
Cole heard the car start moving. He increased his efforts to get out of the trunk. He pushed against the door with all his might. Suddenly, the car turned and he was pushed to the side of the trunk. Finally, the door flew open and he rolled out of the trunk. He hit the pavement hard, but his fall was softened as he rolled onto the cold, wet ground like a log. He heard a screech as the car he fell from braked hard. He pushed himself up, hands wet with the cold rainwater, and looked to the side. One of the men was getting out of the car. The man started running towards him.
"Elsa" Cole muttered.
He ran, ignoring the pain from his wounds. He heard gunshots ring out behind him. He had to get into a vehicle. He ran into the street, away from the car. Suddenly, a car stopped in the street, and its driver got out. The man headed to the newspaper stand on the side of the street. Cole glanced through the car window, and saw the keys were still in the ignition. That would work. Cole got in the car and sped off.
"Sorry" he yelled to the car's owner.
He raced through the street, the car's wheels splashing in the water that covered the road. He heard gunshots behind him, and looked into his rear-view mirror. There were a couple cars following him, their passengers leaning out to take shots at his vehicle. He formed a plan in his head, and slowed down for a bit. One of the cars behind him sped up, until it was beside him on his right. One of the goons in the car raised his pistol. Cole quickly yanked the wheel, turning it to the right, and instinctively ducked as his car smashed into the other. He turned the wheel back, and slammed on the gas pedal. He heard another crash behind him. As he looked back through his mirror, he saw that the car had crashed into a building. It wouldn't be bothering him anymore tonight. He turned right, knowing by memory the way to Elsa's apartment. He had to make sure she was safe. Suddenly, he felt his car jolt. He looked back and saw that another one of his pursuers was tailgating him. He let his car drift to the left into the oncoming lane as he prepared for another bump. The other car hit his bumper again, probably causing it to fall off. Suddenly, the glare of headlights lit up his windshield, the little raindrops glowing bright white. An oncoming car! He turned the wheel, sending his car careening back into the proper lane. He heard a scream and a crash. His tailgater has smashed into the oncoming car. He looked back, seeing the one car left. He instinctively ducked as he heard the shots. He looked up to see a bullet hole in his windshield where his head had been. That instinct has saved him several time in the war, and it seemed it kept helping him even now. The car was accelerating, closing the distance between Cole and his pursuers. Cole slammed on the brakes and braced himself for the impact. His pursuer's car slammed right into the back of his vehicle, shaking and bending the metal frame. He looked behind him and saw the three men in their suits, sprawled out in their seats, maybe dead, maybe alive, Cole couldn't tell.
"That seems to be the last of them" he said to himself.
He tapped the gas and started heading back to Elsa's place. He sped through the wet streets. Just because he stopped all the people chasing him, it didn't mean that there weren't other men sent out to kill Elsa. He slammed on the brakes as he reached the apartment. He opened the car door, and raced past the fountain into the building. He ran up the stairs inside, steps wet from people coming in due to the rain, until he was on Elsa's floor. He ran to her door and frantically started knocking.
"Elsa. Elsa. Are you in there?" he yelled, "It's me, Cole. Let me in."
Cole let out a sigh of relief as he heard the knob turn. As Elsa opened the door, dressed in her white nightgown, he saw Herschel sitting in the chair facing him on the back wall of the living room.
"Cole, I… I followed your advice" she said.
He walked into the apartment, panting hard from his ordeal.
"You're bloody. What on earth happened to you?" Elsa said.
"It's good to know you're safe" he said, between breaths, "I thought you were…"
He collapsed, falling unconscious on the floor.
A/N: Sorry for the wait. This chapter took a while because of my work on the other fanfiction I'm writing and the fact that I didn't really know what to do with this chapter originally. I wanted to add something to it to make it different from the game, and I had several ideas which just didn't feel right. It wasn't until I got the idea for Cole to meet with Bekowsky that felt this chapter was complete. Well, now we're done with House of Sticks, and now we will be moving on to A Polite Invitation. See you all there.
Oh, and thank you to all the people who have followed or reviewed this story. It's great to see that people are interested in it. If you like the story, write a review, I appreciate the feedback. Also, if you think this story can be made better, write a review as well with your idea. I want to make the story the best it can be and I appreciate the constructive criticism.