ViI. Unveiling

Von Rooyen Mansion, Ozuoba...

Day 2

13:43

"I am not sure." Max sighed, "I cannot deny that this Ring is extraordinary. Like I said, it was the reason I defeated the hooded Man. It kind of made me faster, stronger, and agile. A lot more than I have ever been?"

"It's crazy." He said with a sigh.

"Crazy is probably now the new normal, Max." Cecilia said, "but this is all still a wild theory. There is no guarantee that the Claw-mark case is the same as the events in these journals. And there is no proof that it's connected to the Ring at all, I remember dad said it all happens every few thousand years or something."

"Few thousand years?" James scoffed pacing away from the massive book when he couldn't decipher the language it was written in.

"That is like trying to uncover Dinosaurs' favorite tee shirts or whether or not Hades was a dock."

"What is wrong with you?" Cecilia asked in genuine confusion. "What are you even talking about?"

"I'm saying a few thousand years is a long time," James said.

"He is right," Max said, "how can we be sure that this isn't just fantasies and myths just like you said." Max tried to be rational even though a tiny part of himself already believed the wild theory, but he just can't help but question it. it is out of the norms for him, for anyone.

"I don't know, okay?" Cecilia blurted. Then she snapped her head like a light bulb just clicked on in her head.

"There is one of my father's diaries that he kept closest to himself, we might get some answers if I can just remember the last place I saw it." She said, rummaging through an already disorganized shelf to her right.

"Big deal, he probably had millions of diaries he has written in his lifetime given the size of this place." James said, leafing through a palm-sized leather bound book.

"Given that he held the diary closest to himself, it might contain a summary of his research, probably." Max said.

The trio fell silent as Cecilia continued to search for the diary, increasingly getting frustrated. And all Max did was watch while James leafed through the palm-sized book absentmindedly.

"You son of a gun!" Cecilia yelled after minutes of rummaging and searching for her father's diary with no result.

"That is the book I was looking for." She said, referring to the book James had been reading while she searched.

"Well then search no further, for every adven..."

"Shut up, James." Max cut him off before he could finish his infamous quote.

Cecilia snatched the book from James and leafed through the diary. Turning the pages over and over, searching for what seems like an impossible span of time given the size of the diary.

"I can't make sense of this." She finally said, slamming the book close and producing a cloud of dust. "I can't find anything useful."

"Wait," James collected the book from her, "in here, it says the event includes the undead, demons from hell, Fi... Fiioki, and devil men. Something like the likes of the hooded man from last night, right? And it is all connected to mass murder and ritual. Which later leads to a god or something and then the Lord of the Ring."

"What's your point, James?"

"Are you guys even thinking? We have got like thirty bodies on the Claw-mark case, what other proof is needed?"

"That is called serial killing, not mass murder," Max argued. "Maybe it could be ritual killings, but not mass murder."

"Yes, but what if those victims had actually escaped captivity..." James emphasizes his point.

"...but got killed to leave no witnesses." Cecilia finished for James. "If that is true, then we should be going about this case differently."

She paused,

"But what about the ring, do you really think it's connected? That Max is the Lord of the Ring described in the journals?" She asked no one in particular.

"Of course it's. We already have a painting of the Ring that clearly states the Ring is connected." James said.

"Very well boys, now that we have a theory," Cecilia said, "we just have to gather evidence and rub it in Agent Hassan's nose when we solve this freaking case."

"Do we have to?" James groaned, "the last time we tried this wasn't fun. We didn't even get into any fight with the suspect."

"Don't be a baby James, you've got to help solve the mystery of this Ring." Cecilia said, playfully punching his arm.

"Can't we just do it the fun way?"

"You'd like running around looking for trouble just to see if the Ring gives me superpowers?" Max raised an eyebrow. James smiled mischievously, "we already got into one fight with a man that beat Cecilia like a dummy, what more do you want?"

"He didn't beat me like a dummy, he was just faster." Cecilia said with a small pout.

"Haha!" James laughed. "See? Now this is what I call..."

<<< DING! DONG!! >>>

The trio paused. Waiting to hear the doorbell to ring again.

<<< DONG! DONG!! >>>

"You boys expecting someone?" Cecilia said in confusion.

"No," Max and James said in unison.

Cecilia frowned. She hadn't given any clearance to Mark to allow anyone into the compound, no one should be able to ring the doorbell without getting past the guards first.

"Unless your mom decides to come home, I don't think any of us are in danger." James replied, taking note of the anxiety that came with the question.

Cecilia looked at James with a frown; "what is wrong with you?"

Like on Cue, the bell rang again and the three started towards it. Following Cecilia up the stairs to exit the basement, down the hallway, and towards the door. Cecilia turned on the door cam;

"Who is this girl?" She asked, looking at the live feed of the door cam. Standing anxiously at the door is a rough looking girl in a short flare gown and knee high boots with big curly afro hair.

"How did she..?"

"James," Max said with a sigh, cutting Cecilia off.

"James!" Cecilia groaned.

"What?"

"Who is she? What did you do?" Cecilia almost yelled

"Nothing, I don't even know the gal." James said with a nervous laugh, "she looks cute but seriously she is not my type, come on."

Cecilia frowned, not believing him one bit. She pushed the intercom;

"Who is this?" She asked harshly.

"It's me, my name is Morenike." The girl said and James let out a small chuckle at the pitch of the anxious voice and also to hide his relief.

"You... You saved my life last night."

The trio stood quiet for a second, just looking at the girl on the monitor.

"What do we do?" James asked.

"She might have answers for us." Max said.

Cecilia sighed. She opened the door, standing in a not-so-friendly / not-so-hostile manner with the slightest frown on her face and her allies immediately followed her lead.

After a few moments of tense silence, Cecilia decided to ask the first question;

"How did you get past my guards?"

***

13:56

Morenike had thought hard before making the decision. Although she is sure none of her saviors are paranormals or supernatural beings, for them to defeat Benjamin, it's got to be worth it.

'They might be hunters.'

"Erm ...hi, my name is Morenike. I...I need your help." Morenike said.

No response, all three friends just stood there glaring at her. The lady seemed the most hostile so she focused her attention on the guys flanking her, especially the red haired guy.

She tried introducing herself again and then asked for sanctuary. Not until after a long explanation on how she scaled the fifteen feet tall fence to avoid the security guards and a minute of silence did the lady finally ushered her in.

Morenike tried stepping into the house in response to the invitation, but an invisible barrier blocked her way. It was as though there was a glass door at the doorway.

She tries to push whatever might have blocked her entry, but there isn't anything in the way. Then she looked down and what she saw confirmed her suspicion about the trio being a hunting party and lessened her doubt on the decision to put herself at their mercy.

'They must be hunters. There is no other explanation, they have to be hunters.' Morenike thought to herself as she looked at the substance on the floor across the doorway; Mountain ash.

To the ordinary eyes it's just another blackened ash, dirt, or just some decaying stuff. But it is in fact a powerful concoction of silver, wolfsbane, and other terrestrial materials. One would think it was ordinary, but it is the most powerful warding charm.

"What are you?" The lady's voice brought Morenike back to her senses as she folded her arms across her chest with a hostile frown on her face.

"Yeah, what are you?" The other guy said.

Morenike isn't really sure what to say to the question; whether to cut to the chase and tell them exactly what she is before asking them for help or try to evade the obvious. Ironically though, their questioning her humanity means they must know what is going on in the supernatural.

"I...," She swallowed, not sure how they would react if she revealed herself.

Would they trust her? What if they are one of the fabled hateful hunters that kill on sight? Would they risk their necks to help her?

The doubt ate at her;

"I am...I...I need your help, please let me in and I will tell you everything I know."

"Not a chance," The lady said in a hostile tone, "we saw your wounds heal before our eyes last night, and now you can't enter the building even after being invited. If you need our help you will best start giving answers now."

Morenike knew it would always come to this, on the norms she would shy away and hide her identity and her curse like she always wanted to, but with an excommunication order on her, it's only a matter of time before Ben, or anyone feeling like a hero, gets to her.

"I need you to know I am not a bad person," She paused, unintentionally giving room for a dramatic effect.

Her head fell as doubt ate at her. Despite this, she turned.

Eyes gleaming a dull golden yellow, rough patches of facial hair slowly sprouts, her ears grew two inches longer, and her canines grew into fangs. All as though in slow motion;

"I am a werewolf."

***

NDP HQ, forensic lab...

Day 2

13:29

"Detective Silas George, in my lab, I must have won a lottery." Dr Mercy said as soon as Silas strolled into her lab.

She raised from the microscope she was using and put her hands on her waist; she couldn't help smiling adorably. it's all she could do to not worship the man's majesty.

"I suppose I still mean something to you?"

"Of course you do," Silas said as he made his way around her table and tried to hug her. She pushed him back playfully;

"How are you doing?" Silas asked with a smile.

"Funny you should ask, don't you think you owe me an apology?" She said going back to her work and feigning annoyance

"Uh?" The confusion is evident in his tone as well as his expression.

Silas searched his memory to find what he was missing but he couldn't. Mercy looked up at him, a quick irritated expression flash on her face.

"Lunch?" She offered.

"Shit!"

She smiled; she just couldn't help it.

"I absolutely forgot I am so sorry. Max and the kids got into a crime scene in Orashi and I can't leave them to Chief Hassan. He hates them, you know?"

"Mm!" Dr. Mercy went back to her microscope .

"I...uh I did get a lead right here though." Silas produced a plastic evidence bag containing a chunk of hair. "But Chief Hassan knows nothing of it."

"An illegal lead?"

"No," Silas made a face.

"So...Max and his friends gave this to you didn't they?"

"Come on, I'm a good detective you know?" Silas said, with a chuckle. "It's more like an inappropriate lead." He said recalling his conversation with Max and his merry crew.

It did seem like a good lead at the time but thinking back, he can't help but get the feeling that it might turn out to be another dead end.

"Start talking!" He had commanded immediately they entered his car; "Who was that girl."

"Like you said uncle, we will do the talking, no questions please." Cecilia had said almost cutting Silas off.

"Fine."

"Okay," Max started, "we entered the forest in hope of finding something the police missed." He said leaving out the weird and potential paranormal part of the story.

"So we started from the outskirt inward, we lost track of time,"

"And we went deeper than expected." James added making the story sound as real as it's.

"Skip to the point, I don't have the patience for your staging and plotting." Silas said, not taking his eyes off the road as he navigated a turn and floored the throttle.

"We searched wider than the police did obviously and we found something."

"What?" Silas said, his excitement was obvious in his voice.

"One question at a time, you asked who the girl was," Max paused dramatically, staging his story, "after finding the 'something' we went a little deeper."

"We saw a girl..."Cecil cut in.

"...being chased by a man..." James chimed in.

"...and we went after them." Max continued. "We caught up with them and found the man in a position that screams killer."

"Are you guys crazy? You mean the claw-killer?"

"Probably," Max said. James and Cecilia left the story to him.

"Of course we can't be sure but he does seem...not-normal." Max finished, only telling half the truth.

"Not-normal?"

"Err! Uncle? Questions at the end please." Cecilia said allowing Max all the space and time he needs for his story.

"He seemed kind of hairy." He paused, "well, we got to the scene and he ran off," Max continued.

"And you let him?"

"Come on uncle, you can't expect us young kids to go after a serial killer now, do you?." James said sarcastically, making Silas snigger.

Even James almost burst into laughter. More than once the three had gotten themselves into a life-threatening fight with criminals and thugs over trivial matters like looking at a girl wrongly or grabbing someone else's drink in a bar. All in the name of justice, but everyone knows they are just itchy troublemakers.

"Just allow the story flow, Uncle." James said.

"Continue." Silas sighed.

"Well you see Dad, the girl is...err!" Max paused thinking of the right word to use. "She is what you might call a transgressor."

"She is wanted?"

"Not exactly," James chipped in, not knowing exactly where Max is heading, but he knows for sure Max won't paint her as a criminal, "she is a...well technically she is wanted, but she isn't a criminal."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because...we know...her?" Max said with an uncertain smile.

"...from a distance." Cecilia quickly added, making sure Silas doesn't think they are telling a tall tale.

If anything, Cecilia wasn't sure she would recognize the girl again.

"Whatever, so what is this lead exactly?"

"This." Cecilia produced a chunk of charcoal black hair wrapped in a handkerchief.

"We found it on a tree."

"It could be anyone's." Silas said trying to suppress how stupid he feels given he and his men couldn't find something these kids could find.

'I should have looked properly.'

"Well the suspect is very hairy, there is a possibility." Max had said with a confident tone.

...

"Sounds like fun, is it for our suspect?" Dr Mercy said, bringing him back to the forensic lab.

"Possibly, and I will really like it to stay between us," He paused when Dr Mercy made a face, "I just want to show that annoying prick who is boss."

"Right. Trying to overtake the Chief Superintendent of police who also happens to have a deep-pocket IGP daddy, really smart." Dr. Mercy said, collecting the plastic bag, turning it every which way, "isn't that supposed to be unethical or something?"

"Please, there is nothing unethical about kicking that entitled buffoon in the rear and putting him in his place."

"At least show some mercy." She said with a laugh.

"You are the one bearing Mercy, I don't have to show him mercy." Silas paused to let out air he didn't realize he was holding, "besides, you can't tell me you don't want to punch Chief Hassan in the face every time he opens his big mouth."

"That is true." She laughed. "I wonder why no one dared try hitting him."

"No one wants to lose their job and spend the rest of their life in jail, don't you know he is a Mama's boy?" The pair laughed at that, "but seriously, it's a secret, eh?"

"Alright." Mercy smiled, "good job by the way."

"What?"

"On changing the subject." She smirked.

"Uh." Silas shrank. "I...er..."

"You know you should at least call when you stand a girl up, or try to offer some peace offering."

Silas couldn't feel more guilty, he made the lunch plan and he forgot about it entirely, thanks to Max. He isn't even sure what to say to make her feel less like a clingy girlfriend because this wasn't his first, or even fourth time standing her up.

"Are we even dating? I feel like I am forcing myself on you." She sighed.

"I have absolutely no excuse to give you Mercy, but you should know I don't think of you as clingy, you are the most beautiful thing that has happened to me in a while. I will make it up to you, what about your dinner?"

"If you don't stand me up again, I suppose we can talk about giving you a second chance." She said, trying not to smile.

"I will get to work on your 'inappropriate lead'." She said, taking the evidence to analyze it. "See you tonight?"

"Absolutely.”

***

Akanu Ibiam Airport, Enugu.

Day __

--:--

Wrapped in a black ankle-length coat with a red scarf covering her blood-red hair and most of her face; she is unrecognizable to anyone, just the way she wants it.

Two custom officers entered her private Jet to check her clarification and examine the Jet's cargo. But a white business card turned their indifference to shock.

"W-welcome back to Nigeria, Ms Wills.." The senior officer said with little composure and quickly cleared the Jet without checking to confirm who boarded or what the cargo was.

A minute later, Kate exited the jet and headed straight into a wine Hilux truck that had been waiting for her even before the pilot taxied the jet into the hangar.

Once in, she pushed the start button and drove out of the airport as fast as she was permitted to. She didn't relax until the Airport structures were out of view. She didn't relax until she was sure she was the only one driving through Airport Road.

But even all that didn't give her as much peace as the picture of her son, bubbling on her dashboard courtesy of the vibrations of the vehicle.

"I am coming, son." She said, kissing her finger and resting it on the picture. "I'm coming."

Kate could still remember the night she bore her son. Every mother does, but hers was different. It was crude and savage, something she never imagined herself doing since the day her father died and left her in charge of the company.

If only she wasn't the only child, if only her mother hadn't died at childbirth, if only her father wasn't so in love that he refused to remarry. Kate wouldn't be sneaking into Nigeria wrapped in a coat and scarf under the cover of night. She wouldn't have given up her son to a man she barely knew. And she definitely wouldn't have had to marry a politically ambitious tyrant just to cover up her homosexuality. Only for her to figure out she wasn't exactly homosexual.

<<< HONK!! >>>

Kate's heart jumped. She instinctively slammed her leg on the brakes and jerked the truck to her right in fright, subconsciously expecting a curse to be shot at her. She had been so deep reminiscing about her past that she hadn't noticed the tanker rig until it honked at her.

"Oh my!" She sighed in relief as the rig zoomed by, leaving her alone on the freeway again. "Fucking tankers."

She put the truck back on motion and quickly gained bullet-like speed. This time though, all she could think is meeting her son for the first time in twenty years and escaping the country before his father notices.

"It's the right thing to do," Kate said to herself, willing herself not to be scared now.

She looked at the picture again and smiled; "his father would kill him if he finds out what I know. Acting now is the right thing to do."

And as if on cue, something slammed into the side of her vehicle so hard that it sent the truck skidding and tailspinning several meters until it toppled out of the freeway. Tumbling head over heels off-road without a hope of settling soon.

The last thing she could think before her world goes blank;

"He found me.”