Arc 0: Abel Wormwood
Chapter 2: Where It All Began
March 29th, 2024
New York City
Silver Towers Apartment Complex
On the 19th floor of the eastern tower of the Silver Towers, Private Detective Abel Wormwood is looking down at the city as the rain pours down onto the city. He is using a vape pipe that look like it came from the Victorian era as he watches the rain come down onto the city. A city of filth. A city full of opportunity...and crime. He has seen it all back when he was in the force as a 2nd grade detective. Hookers out in the street. Drug deals in the alleyways. Smuggling, murder, gang violence, domestic violence, and the list goes on and on. No matter how much water gets rain down onto the city, the scum never wash away. Even after the pandemic back in 2020, there is still a large amount of crime even after the city started to look prettier with outdoor cafe tables, sidewalk gardens, and certain streets were closed down for more pedestrians. But crime never stops, even during a global pandemic. However, despite the urban decay, the city is very resilient as it has survived much for 400 years back when it was a colony.
He contemplate it as he look at Manhattan from his apartment with a neon sign that advertise, 'Wormood - Private Investigator' in a bright red. Abel did get some complaints but it is one way to advertise his business. But with current inflation and the cost of living in such a city, he needed more than just the payment of being a private detective.
Inside his tiny apartment office, there is an antique desk where either a couch or a second bedroom should be and close to where he is standing. A wooden desk with a working typewriter that he uses to write some of his novels. To the left of this typewriter is some strange black ashtray where there is a vape stick and a vape stick that looks like a cigar on it where he got a good deal on the ashtray. There is also a lamp that look like a green shade desk lamp yet with some modern fixings on it. To the right of the typewriter is an old turn dial phone from the 1920's that is more of a prop than an actual phone with an NYPD coffee mug full of pens and pencils along with a picture of him and his best friend, Richard Eden. The kitchen and living room are in the next room over where he also has some computers set up to monitor stocks and shares across the country. Those computers are the main source of income with some tips he got from his best friend before he became private. Thanks to him and his knack for stocks, he manages to pay rent on his expensive apartment.
Back in the office where the second bedroom is, he decorate his walls with some of his accomplishments. Newspaper articles, his law degree from Harvard, his old police badge, and photos of him with friends and colleagues. He also keep a few newspaper clips about his new life as he also help expose a sinister syndicate in the underbelly of NYC. But for now, he is hired by people that want him to investigate their spouse is having an affair or look for lost pets and items to stay afloat. Not really glamorous, but it help keep his wits sharp. Right now, he's just vaping to pass the time even though he would be playing on his PS5 or something. But you may never know when a client might show up.
Then he heard a knock at his door. Five knocks to be exact.
"Just a second!" he says to the person or persons at the door.
He put his pipe on the ashtray and head on over to the door. Once there, he peeks through the little peek hole and sees two people. One is a stunning dame with flowing black short-hair that shine like obsidian, hazel eyes that look like a forest, a black raincoat that matches her hair that seem to be very expensive along with a black rhinestone purse. Not to mention very high class black heels. Under the raincoat shows a matching black blouse of a well known fashion designer along with a matching long skirt and, to make it more interesting, earrings and necklace made entirely of black pearls. A gorgeous woman in all black that look like she could be a fashion model or an actress with the only color being her red lipstick that match the color of cherries. Everything about her speaks high society and from wealth. She may look beautiful but something on her expression is that of worry. And for her to be all black means something must be wrong with her love life.
Next to her is an elderly gentleman with receding gray hair with some balding on the top of his head with a few freckles at the top. He is wearing a navy blue three-piece suit with an elaborate light blue tie and a pin. He seems old-fashioned and respects the traditions of old. A studious businessman that has gain and seen much from his youth. On his right wrist under the cuff of his suit is an expensive golden watch of the IWC brand and custom made with diamonds on the side of the watch itself. A watch like that would draw lots of attention from high society and robbers alike. Like the woman, he seems distressed about something.
Abel opens the door and greet them with a smile, "Beatrice! Mr. Eden!"
Abel recognizes them and lets them in. He is happy to see some familiar faces.
"Come in, come in!"
"Hello, Abel." Beatrice says with a worried tone in her voice.
Although for Mr. Eden, he is happy to see him.
"Please." Mr. Eden says in a more cheerful tone, "I told you a thousand times, call me Henry. You are a friend of the family after all."
"Sorry." Abel closes the door, "Old habits die hard. Would you like some coffee or-"
"No!" Beatrice says in a loud tone before speaking back normally, "Sorry, Abel. Things... Well..."
Abel's smile drops, "Something happened to Richard, has it?"
Henry Eden also drops his smile, "Sorry, but we are here on official business. We...want to hire you to find Richard."
"Let's head to my office."
The three headed towards Abel's office with Abel sitting on one side as he moves the typewriter to the side as both Henry and Beatrice sit on the other. Abel opens up his drawer to get both a recorder and notepad. He pulls out one of the pens to start writing every word they see just in case.
"Alright." he says in a serious tone, "Please start at the beginning."
Henry clears his throat before he begins.
"Yes. Richard, my son, is suppose to be next in line to the family bank industry. Golden Eden Bank. I was able to get a branch out in Seattle out west towards Washington state despite the state of the world. You know, the pandemic and all. I managed to successfully gain a new building that was on sale in Seattle through the internet. It was an old building around the center of the city that I spent a few dollars on to refurbish it." Henry sounds proud of himself, "I managed to get a few employees to get started working there. People that were looking for new jobs after losing their last ones before they became homeless."
"When did you buy it?"
"It was at the start of February. Around the 2nd or 3rd, I think."
"Go on."
"Ah yes. *clears throat* There was a bit of a problem with the purchase of the building due to a network error. I had some problems here at our main branch about-"
"When he was busy doing business," Beatrice interrupts and goes straight for the point, "father decided to send Richard to Seattle to deal with it and with success I might add."
"I see." Abel continues to write. "And he did called you on a regular basis?"
"Yes. His last call was on the 24th. On that day, he..." Beatrice is about ready to cry, "He..."
"Take your time." Abel says to his friend. "It must've been hard."
"No." she answers despite the tears ruining her mascara, "You must know. I heard on his phone that he was attacked while making a routine call to me while staying at the Warwick. He always been calling me just to let me know he was doing alright. But on that call, I heard him fighting against some ruffians and the line went dead. I tried to call him many times, but I couldn't get an answer. I used the app to locate his phone and called the Seattle police."
"Yet they found nothing."
"Correct." says Henry. "The police searched everywhere for Richard and found nothing. I did hired a private detective in Seattle, but she had disappeared as well."
"I see..." Abel wrote that down and finds it interesting. "And the name of the private detective?"
"Detective Angela Inswood. I don't know what she look like, but she did sound determine to help. I hired her on the 26th when the police came up with nothing. She did report about something strange about the police before she vanished yesterday. I don't know much about it, but it sounded like there is some form of corruption at the local department. But..."
"But?"
"She sounded like there is some form of higher power that has the local law enforcement under their thumb."
"Care to elaborate?"
"I wish I could. The trouble is that I have no idea what she was talking about. But I suspect it may have something to do with the local mobsters or Bratva. That is just my suspicions. My money is more on Pentex trying to interfere, those ravenous dogs."
There was a great disdain in Henry's voice when he mentioned Pentex.
"Those fuckers have always tried to buy my company out for years and even tried hostile takeovers and failed. Miserably I might add!"
"Please lower your voice. I got enough complaints from my neighbors."
"Sorry."
"Okay. Anything else I need to know about? Like the person that is in-charge of the new branch or anything else?"
"Of course. The name of the branch manager in Seattle is, Mike Rotch."
Abel raises one eyebrow at Henry with a questionable look.
"Yes." Henry gives a serious look, "That's his name."
"Riiight..." Abel just write it down and tries not to laugh or question it. "Did Richard came across anyone else while visiting Seattle?"
"Yes." Beatrice answers, "He did visited the Jupiter Bar once in a while and said it was an interesting place. Richard met with some colleagues such as George Quinn, Patrick Baxter, and Lily Browning. Those three have also disappeared, unfortunately. Not much to go on but just to let you know."
"Hmm." Abel is puzzled.
"There has been a number of disappearances in Seattle." Henry interjects. "There has been a large number of disappearances in the country as of late. I'm not much of a conspiracy theorist, but I'm starting to think that-"
"Father, don't!" Beatrice blared. "I refuse to believe such ridiculous notion!"
"Okay." Abel would like to press further, but seeing Beatrice angry stopped him. So he tries to work around, "I'm guessing that there was no ransom demand for Richard's safe return. He's still alive since he's not dead, so there's some hope. The fact there is no ransom and he's not dead means that the kidnappers must want something from him. Something that he only knows."
"It is possible." Beatrice calms down a little.
"And they're keeping them alive for information or to get in something that requires his biometrics. Considering the advancements of technology we have nowadays, the biometrics won't work unless he is alive. My theory is that they want him to cooperate and holding him against his will until he agrees."
"Dear god, man!" Henry is appalled by Abel's deduction.
"But he won't cooperate!" Beatrice is shocked, "He's too stubborn and proud to let a bunch of ruffians coerce him to do such a horrible thing."
"But you're right about the biometrics. We did installed those last year to prevent further thievery of both money and data. Including data of all of my family's businesses, passcodes, and keys to every vault we have here in the USA! Since he's my son, his access codes and biometrics will allow them to do that!"
"And if he refuse to cooperate, they'll hold him hostage!" Beatrice gasp at the possible scenario. She begs him, "Please, Abel! You have to save Richard! You two are best friends, aren't you?!"
"We are." Abel put his pen down with a serious expression on his face. "And I will take the job. You can keep your money. Richard is my best friend and I will not let any of my friends in the hands of those that would take advantage of them."
Beatrice gets up from her chair and hold both Abel's hands.
"Thank you! Thank you, Abel!" she starts crying out of gratitude that Abel will look for Richard.
Henry gets up from his chair and pat Abel's back, "Thank you, my boy."
He seems relieved that he would look for his son. A glimmer of hope for both the father and the wife of Richard Eden.
"I'll book a plane to Seattle. The weather report says that the rain will clear up tonight so I'll have to pack fast."
"Thank you so much!" Beatrice thanks him again.
"Thank you, Abel" Henry is relieved that Abel will take the case, "I hope- We hope you can find him."
Both Beatrice and Henry left with renewed hope that Richard will be found. Abel wave goodbye at them before closing the door. However, before packing, he went back to his office and picks up the picture of him and his friend.
He sighs, "Oh Richard. What kind of trouble did you get into this time?"
On the night when the storm cleared, Abel boards a plane that is bound for Seattle. He said goodbye to Beatrice and Henry before he gets on-board. Abel knows that security in airports have been tight so he had both his snubnosed 38 and desert eagle in pieces so he wouldn't get into trouble. He can't get fully assembled guns through since it is the law, so he had no choice but to disassemble them. Thankfully there was no issue as he boarded the plane just fine. He sits in the second class seats and waits for the plane to take-off before he pulls out his smartphone to listen to his favorite radio station.
For Abel, it's the first time he's been on a plane and to another city (other than Boston). He's always been close to the city ever since he was born. Abel has always been terrified by flying and airplanes since he has seen many newspaper articles, news reports and movies of airplane crashes. This has caused Abel to develop aerophobia and takes a few deep breaths as he leans back and tries to relax as he prepares his smartphone in order to calm his nerves. Despite being aerophobic, he is willing to go great lengths in order to help a friend. He has to find his best friend in the whole world that he knew back when they were in high school, despite the social classes.
Once the plane takes off at 8 at night, it is okay for him to listen to his radio station. The station is 289.78, Ixion, and it is a family radio station. The radio host is named, 'Red Star' with his new co-host from Sweden name, Balor. The radio station was originally private but due to financial difficulty, they had to accept more local sponsorships in NYC. Balor is new to the radio as he starts to advertise hobby shops with the first one Abel heard is from Canada called, Juicy Plum's Hobby. Much to Red Star's frustration. The new one he is currently listening to is one about a more US based hobby shop with a new branch opening in NYC known as, Regal Warrior Games. From this new sponsorship, Balor states that they will be accepting calls about how people found their spouses, talk about their family, and the various hobbies that the people and their kids have taken interest in. They even do tabletop rpg podcasts on the weekends, but all the swear words are forbidden. The games include Warlock: The Pretension, Pixie: The Delusion, and many others by Black Dog Game Factory. As the add ends, the station plays Bat Country by Avenged Sevenfold.
After 6 hours and 30 minutes, he has finally arrived at Seattle at 2:30 am after the flight attendant told him to turn-off his smartphone. He managed to get off the plane and exited the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with no difficulty yet still feeling tired due to the late hour. He pulls on his brown travelcase with wheels that has a green duffle bag and a smaller leather bag on top. It is late at night still and the trains don't run until 5 in the morning. He heads on over to the street and see a strange taxi car parked with the driver wearing a strange long-sleeved shirt that is dark yet having some lighter color patterns on it while his skin looks pale that he look like he hasn't been in the sun for a really long time and having graying hair combed back. What is the most strangest thing is that this cab driver red lens sunglasses in the middle of the night. Abel finds it strange as he walks up towards the cab.
"Where to?" the cab driver ask.
His voice sounded strange and deep. Despite his appearance, he sounds like he is ancient with some sort of hidden power to him. When he spoke, Abel could've sworn he saw fangs just a moment. But Abel is too tired as he speaks to the driver.
"To the Warwick Hotel."
The cab driver smiles, "Hop in." and opens the trunk.
Abel load his luggage into the trunk and gets in the back of the cab. He notices that the driver's name is, Michael Selene. However, he noted that the picture doesn't match with the person driving as the cab takes off.
"What brings you to Seattle?" the driver asks.
"Looking for a friend that has gone missing." Abel replies.
"Quite the long way to find a friend. But fair warning, there have been a lot of disappearances. Some people did come back but started acting strange when they did return."
While en route, Abel notices a few missing posters under the street lamps and barely can see more on some of the walls of the building.
The driver continues, "Many of them are locals but the majority of them are from out of town."
The cab stops at a red light.
Abel hands him a picture of Richard, "Have you seen this man?"
The driver looks at the picture of Richard and thinks about it.
"No." he replies, "Haven't seen him." he gives the picture back.
"That's a shame."
As a detective, Abel knows when someone is lying to them by the sound of the person's voice. From the tone, the driver was telling the truth.
"A word of warning. If you're not careful, you might end-up being one of the disappeared yourself."
"I'm from New York City." Abel smug and acts all cocky, "And a former police officer and even went to Boston. I'm no stranger to the dangers of a city."
The driver chuckles in amusement, "Then you are in for a world of hurt. These aren't your typical east coast, hard brawlin, Yorker town. This is the west coast where things have far more grit and hardness than what you've dealt with back in York. Things here are way more serious than you think."
Abel glances out the window again and sees a homeless man in black beating up a man in punk attire. He also see two hookers under one street lamp and notices one of them smiling at him with fangs. Abel rub his eyes and thinking that he might be more tired than he thought from the jet lag. But he also notice a strange man with a shotgun going in an alleyway with four others that are armed. For a moment he thought he saw a flash of light with a shadow of a humanoid wolf-like creature.
He speaks to the cab driver as he continues to look out the window, "I think you might be right."
The cab finally arrives at the hotel as it pulls over to the front door.
"Thanks for the ride. How much?"
"That'll be $27.20, sir."
Abel pays up, "Geez. Guess no one is safe from inflation."
"No kidding." the driver takes the money.
"But cheaper than a cab drive back home."
Abel retrieved his luggage from the trunk and heads on inside the hotel. He heads up to the front desk and sees the clerk who looks really pale. Not as pale as the cab driver, but pale nonetheless as he just stands there without moving.
"Excuse me?" he says to the clerk.
The clerk look at him and gives this really, really creepy smile.
"Hello!" he says with a cheerful demeanor. "Welcome to the Warwick!"
"Yes, uh. I'm checking in. I made reservations not too long ago. Abel Wormwood."
"Let me see here." the clerk looks at the book, "Ah! Here you are. Room 1408. Here's your keycard."
"Thank you." he takes the keycard. "By the way, I'm looking for a Richard Eden, whose been staying at this hotel for a while."
He pulls out Richard's picture for the clerk to have a look at.
"Have you seen him?"
The clerk takes a closer look while weirdly leaning forward onto it. Abel has seen some strange things back in New York City but this was a different kind of strange.
The clerk straighten himself out, "Never seen him."
This raises some suspicions.
"How long have you've been working at this hotel?"
"I've only started two days ago."
This time he has detected a lie. The clerk may seem a bit of a weirdo, but something about him is a little...off.
"Can you check the records for which room he was staying at?"
"Sorry, that's classified and many of our books have been confiscated by the police."
There was no lie that time. Abel just look at the strange smiling clerk and saw a small twitch under his left eye. He tries to figure out what is going on with this strange man. On drugs? Psychotic? Or is he being held against his will or being threaten? If he were on drugs there should've been some clear signs of something. If he was taking weed, the clerk would've been more lax and stoned. Crack possibly? Going through withdraw? No. His pupils wouldn't be dilating.
Abel leaves a card, "Here's my card. I'll speak with your manager in the morning."
Abel heads up to his room via elevator. When the elevator door closes, the clerk takes the card, reads it, and his smile drops. This time he has a more serious and stern look on his face. He picks up the phone and press a few numbers to make a call. After a few rings, someone picked up on the other end.
He speaks in a harsh tone, "We got another fucking detective."
Abel peek his head out from the elevator to make sure he isn't going to get ambushed. Once the coast looks clear, he exits out yet still cautious. Something about that clerk felt off. Not just because the way he was acting. He felt something really strange about the way he was looking at him and the fact he lied. He reached his room and unlocks it. He throws his leather bag into the room to see if anyone is going to jump out before he turns the lights on. He peek the corner of the bathroom door and checks the tub. So far all things seem good.
Abel puts a 'Do Not Disturb' sign outside his room door and lock it with all the locks just to be safe. He empty out his luggage for the gun parts after shutting the window curtains. He assembled his two guns with his desert eagle going into the drawer while the 38 is going under his bed. True the desert eagle is more powerful but best to use a police issued weapon as a first line of defense. He undid a necklace he made from the bullets and only has three for his 38 and a full clip for his desert eagle. He load up both guns before changing into his blue pajamas and get some sleep.
However, he is trying to but the things he saw made him question about his home town, New York City. Does his city have something strange like the shit he has seen? Probably didn't noticed when he was on the force. Didn't noticed when he became a private detective. He started questioning some of the cases he went through with the biggest being the Homeless Massacre of 2018. The suspect died, but something about how the people were murdered didn't make sense. Despite that, he tries to fall asleep. Off to dream land to prepare for his investigation in the morning.
AN: Hey everyone. Hope you enjoyed this new chapter of this new story so far. Leave a review on what you think of it so far. Later! And be careful of what goes bump in the night.
