Chapter Twenty-Six

Rage

"Where are we going?" Lukas panted, following close behind Joshua as he jogged quickly down darkening pathways. They had jogged straight from the school for a good five minutes and Joshua had said practically nothing. A difference from the way they got to the school that jarred Lukas.

"A workshop." Joshua replied, pushing past a man in an overcoat without apology. Lukas shrugged in apology to the man and got to Joshua's side.

"A workshop? Why?"

"That's the place Jake Phillips died. A garage door fell on him in a freak accident. Broke his spinal cord, legs, and fractured many bones including his skull. Dead on impact." Joshua quickly recited.

"So why are we going there?" Lukas rubbed his arms, cold not from the weather but from the description of Jake's death.

"To see about something." Joshua replied and was silent once more.

It was another five minutes before they appeared in front of the workshop with the dice and mosquito logo on the top. Joshua went straight in the door and towards a man sitting at a desk, while Lukas looked around. It was empty, and a section near a garage door was cordoned off with yellow police tape.

"What do you want? Come to gawk at the scene of the murder?" Bill growled, his eyes dark. "What about the murderer? I fired him, if that's who you want to see. Either way, if you don't want anything to do with a car, get the hell out."

"I want to see the scene of the murder." Joshua said simply, walking past Bill. Lukas stopped and watched as Joshua ducked under the tape.

"Hey! You can't do that!" Bill protested. Joshua didn't reply but stopped and peered around the door.

"Tell me what happened." Joshua asked, facing away. "In detail."

"What? Go ask the damn cops."

"I said tell me what happened!" Joshua snapped, turning around and glaring deeply into Bill's eyes. Bill gulped, feeling intimidation he had never felt before. "Now."

"Uh, sure, fine, sure." Bill coughed into his hand. "Well, when the guy was crushed-"

"From the start. What did the man who died do? What did Jake Phillips do before he died?" Joshua demanded.

"Christ, fine." Bill put his hands up in defence. "Fine, fine. The guy came in and talked about some documents with a car. Normal stuff, y'know? Then another kid comes in, we do business, and then a tire blows."

"A tire blows? What was used to blow it up? Do you have it?"

"A pump, no, I threw it out. If you wanna look at it go look in the trash." Bill answered, irritated. "You want me to tell you or not? Anyway, the tire blows, the car comes loose and rolls on down and almost hits the kid. The fellow who died pulled the kid outta the way."

"He pulled him out of the way?" Joshua asked.

"That's what I said."

Chloe, no idea, Becca saved by Riley, Sneakers killed, Riley saved by Becca. The next two were Jeremy and then Jake. So, Jeremy gets saved by Jake, and Jake dies next. Makes sense.

"So, he got saved, then what?"

"Well, the lever somehow got switched, the guy went out to call for an ambulance-"

"Why did he call for an ambulance?"

"Because the kid's foot got crushed, look, who are you? A private eye?"

"I'm someone who will take out your eye if you don't tell me what I want to know!" Joshua growled fiercely, all traces of the joking and cocky boy gone. Lukas couldn't get it in his head what was wrong. Even at gunpoint Joshua had been all smiles, but here, he was completely serious, almost... deadly.

"Fine. Christ..." Bill rubbed his head. "The kid's foot got crushed, the guy went out to call for an ambulance and the whole garage door came down. It's meant to come down slowly, but it was rusted and-"

"Thank you." Joshua replied stiffly, before suddenly climbing up the wall using extended out bricks as handholds. Lukas and Bill could only watch as Joshua climbed like a monkey before reached the door.

Joshua leaned in, noticing the bolts holding the mechanism in place which controlled the door. He leaned forward closer, noticing that they were indeed rusted.

"Damn!" Joshua suddenly dropped, landing on his feet and walking over to Bill, grabbing his collar and pushing him straight against the wall.

"What, what are you-"

"Who came in here! Who came in here and got up there!" Joshua pointed to the top of the garage door.

"No-one, well, we had the mechanic but-"

"What did he look like?"

"I don't know, look, he had a cap and was wearing overalls. He was a man, I know, but... look, do you want money?"

"I don't want anything from you." Joshua replied, letting Bill go. "Come on, Lukas. We're going." Storming out of the workshop, Lukas quickly looked to Bill.

"Uh, sorry... I... sorry." Shrugging, Lukas quickly followed Joshua. Staying close to Joshua was the only solution he knew to getting Dominika back, despite whatever was on Joshua's mind.

XXX

Another five minutes later of jogging, Joshua stopped and kneeled down next to a drain with a grating over the top. A barely visible red stain was seen, having been washed over by the constant rain. Joshua looked at the manhole, before looking over the street to a wall. Walking over, he placed his hand on a grating over a wall-fan, seeing one of the pieces was missing.

The place where Chloe survived.

Joshua looked at the bolts again and his frown only increased.

"This makes sense." He said out loud.

"What does?" Lukas asked, coming to his shoulder.

"Why she didn't die!" Joshua exclaimed, more to himself than anyone else. "She didn't die because it was pure unadulterated luck. Pure damn luck. Not love, not anything like that. She wasn't saved, but she survived. Why? This. This is why." Joshua suddenly slammed his fist against the wall. His eyes were narrowed in complete fury. "Do they think this is a joke...?"

"What's wrong, Joshua, what are you talking about?"

Joshua spun around and grabbed Lukas' shoulders firmly. "Like a serial killer has a copycat..." Joshua grit his teeth. "Jason Stark..."

"The crazy man?" Lukas questioned.

Once again in his own world, Joshua took off again. This time, it wasn't a jog, but a full-on sprint. "Jason f'ing Stark! He was meant to be the visionary, he was meant to be a savior. What is he really? Loosened bolts, cut wires... This isn't right. This can't be right. Was the bridge fake too? It must be, otherwise this would all be real. Chloe would have died. Everything would be in full force right now, but it's not! It's not because everything is a damn lie! These are no accidents. This is murder. Murdering innocent people. Murdering them..." Joshua got even faster, and even the healthy Lukas was having a hard time to keep up with the young man. "Jason Stark! You bastard, I'm coming for you!"

XXX

"Man, you see Stark?" The younger police officer, by the name of Nick, looked to his senior, Wayne.

"If you mean did I see what he did, of course. We dragged him away to the cell." Wayne replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

Wayne and Nick had been partners since Nick first came to the force as a rookie. It had been long enough that they were great friends, despite the occasional tease. They trusted each other with their lives and preferred to work alone rather than with back-up. As close a partnership you'd ever get.

"I mean, what do you reckon?" Nick leaned forward, taking a bite out of an apple, something he had a peculiar preference for. "Drawing those things. His eyes going white. You reckon we need an exorcist."

"Don't be silly, Nicholas." No matter how close as partners they got, Wayne never ever called Nick 'Nick'.

"But you saw what he drew, right? Metal girders, a basket ball, a basket ball hoop... the letters S, K, U, A and L written all over the place. The cell was full of them. Then he just fell unconscious. That guys a psychopath. That guy must've done it. They weren't accidents at all."

"You are thinking too hard. He may have some peculiarities, but he isn't a murderer. You know when a man has killed." Wayne's eyes darkened. "But it is interesting." Wayne placed his coffee cup on the desk. They were both on duty, but in ten minutes they would be off. They were hanging around the station to switch over.

"Come on, thinking too hard is our job!"

"No, that is the detective's job. Our job is to catch the criminals. Let the psychologists and the CSI's and the detective's figure the where, when, why, what and how's."

"You know, what if that Chloe girl's part of it too?"

"Now you're just being silly." Wayne shook his head.

"Silly? Come on! You know that Chloe Marvin, that homeless guy Dylan and Jake Phillips were all part of that bridge collapse! Coincidence? I think not! He obviously has some sort of fixation on the survivors from the bridge he blew up."

"We don't know he blew the bridge up."

"You know the pieces of the bomb were tracked back to his company."

"That isn't evidence. We have no DNA, no finger prints, nothing. Nicholas, please try and think with your head."

"But listen to this. What if he has multiple personalities? Like, the guy who blew up the bridge and is murdering survivors, and the guy who feels guilt. Perhaps the drawings are messages? Like... like... maybe these 'visions' he's claiming about are messages!" Nick was looking extremely excited. "I think I'm onto something Wayne!"

"Then go be a detective. We are police officers. That is not our job." Wayne replied.

"But-" Nick was cut off when the door burst open violently.

Joshua glanced at both the police officers standing around before heading straight for a sign which directed towards the cells.

"Excuse me sir, can I help you?" Wayne asked, straightening up when Joshua walked straight past him.

Without a reply, Joshua stormed down the stone stairs. Reaching the bottom, he grabbed the keys from the wall as if he knew where they were and went to the only cell with an occupant. Sliding the key into the lock, Jason looked up from the bench.

"What? Who are-" Jason started froze when he found himself staring down the barrel of a pistol.

"Stand the hell up!" Joshua demanded, pulling Jason up by the shirt. He slammed the muzzle of the pistol hard enough on Jason's forehead to cause a welt. Joshua pushed Jason violently against the wall and got close to his face. "Tell me what you know."

Jason couldn't respond, but his eyes grew and pleaded as both Nick and Wayne entered the cell area.

"Sir, turn around now."

Jason could see Joshua gritting his teeth, and let out a small yelp as he was spun around. Joshua hooked Jason's neck and placed the gun to his temple.

Immediately Nick and Wayne pulled out their guns pointing them in Joshua's direction. Wayne leant into his radio receiver. "We have a four-one-seven in progress, we have a four-one seven." Wayne looked back into Joshua's eyes.

"You officers don't know what you're dealing with." Joshua growled.

"Sir, if you-"

"You even think of pressing that trigger I will kill this man." Joshua snapped. "Now shut up. You, Stark, answer me." Still looking at the officers, Joshua asked Jason. "I said answer me!"

"Y-Yes." Jason gulped. He was slowly morphing into shock. A situation like this? A hostage situation? And he was the hostage?

"Good. Now then, I know about the bomb on the bridge. I overheard these two officers. I know about the loosened bolts and the cut wire. Who are you working for?"

"I... what?"

"I asked you who are you working for?"

"I don't-"

"Oh, you wanna pretend like that, huh? You think killing innocent people, you or your organization, you think it's funny!" Joshua spat. "Let me tell you that it isn't funny. You are copying Death's design! That... that isn't funny. That is something that is hard to stop, that is something that is really... really hard to stop. And you... you think... you think copying it is... is..." Joshua was panting now, out of extreme anger. Taking a deep breath, Joshua glared down at Jason while keeping an eye on the two officers. "Let... me tell you a little story, Stark. Alex Browning had a vision. His plane crashed, he saved survivors. All of those survivors are dead."

Jason's eyes were squeezed shut. He was scared. He was completely scared.

"Kimberly Corman had a vision. A highway crash. She saved survivors. Guess what? All dead. Wendy Christensen, rollercoaster, saved survivors, all dead! Nick O'Bannon, racing course, oh look, he saved survivors. All dead. Finally, a man named Sam Lawton. He saw a bridge accident. He saw it and... and he saved survivors..."

The officers were surprised as well as very tense as they watched this hostage situation. As Joshua talked, he got more emotional and tears were actually running down his cheeks.

"Sam Lawton saved survivors... including my father. You know what?" Joshua put his lips to Jason's ear. "All... dead... WHAT SORT OF SICK GAME ARE YOU PLAYING?" Joshua roared, squeezing hard enough on Jason's neck to halt breathing. "What gives you the right to play these games? To murder these innocent people? Are you planning on a mass killing? You weren't told to, you weren't informed, you have no right! No right at all!" Despite being so entranced with rage, tears were spilling down Joshua's shirt. "No reason to... to... to do this... why?" Joshua was shaking, whether out of rage, sadness, or a combination of the two was unknown. "Why...? Why would you orchestrate these in Death's design? Are you vying for his attention? Let me tell you now... Death hates people who pretend to be him."

"Sir-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Joshua roared in anger once more, lifting the pistol from Jason's head and pointing it towards Nick.

At that moment, both policemen who were waiting for this chance fired two bullets each. The first overshot, hitting the wall and letting concrete fly in slivers of stone.

Joshua himself managed to fire two bullets. One hit the cell bars, knocking it off course while he turned his hand and shot towards Jason. Jason managed to move his head but the bullet entered the back of his shoulder.

The second of the officer's bullets hit Joshua's hand, the gun flying from his grip as blood splattered over his arm and the floor. The third hit his chest, protected by the bullet-proof vest. The fourth and final, from Wayne's pistol, hit Joshua in the left side of his head, by the eye. His head whipped backwards and he slammed on the concrete floor, motionless.

Wayne took in the situation with a trained eye. Jason was moaning in pain, clutching his shoulder as blood welled in his fingers. Joshua was down; clearly dead. Nick was also down, holding his chest with wide eyes. Before doing anything, Wayne turned away to go towards Nick and spoke quickly and calmly into his radio.

"We have a two-four-five, a four-four-four, and, uh, we have a four-one-nine. A dead body, that's right." Wayne leaned towards Nick. "Nicholas, can you hear me? You can hear me right, partner."

"Yeah... I can hear you..." Nick smiled. "I ain't going anywhere. Can't leave your old butt on your own. I'm gonna pass out, but it hasn't hit anything vital. Make sure I wake up in the hospital, yeah?"

Wayne nodded silently as Nick did what he said and passed out. Standing up, Wayne turned around. "Mr. Stark, can... you..." Wayne eyes widened. Jason was still against the wall, looking pale and facing the wall. However, the thing that surprised Wayne was that Joshua Valentine was gone. A small trail of blood led outwards and back up the stairs. How he had gotten by without Wayne hearing... Especially with those injuries.

Wayne gritted his teeth but had to stand down. He had to make sure that both Jason and Nick were okay. He knew what the culprit looked like. That man would not get away.

A/N: Thanks to Bookreader2010 and Gabe's-Girl-Forever for the reviews!

Joshua, Joshua... hmm... I wonder where he is off to?

Till next time!