Chapter 5: For the wages of sin is death

We were at the Division Three headquarters located in the top floors of a now abandoned marketplace building in the Old City. Most of its rooms were available for cheap rent, and Precipice had acquired the three topmost floors. As I let out an exceptionally loud sigh, I could feel Elise poking at my side with her elbow.

“Ouch,” I yelped, more so out of shock than pain.

“Sighing is a really bad habit,” she said, as we continued walking on our way to the meeting room where we had been summoned to report all our findings, thus far.

“Yeah yeah, whatever, mom”

“Please do not disgrace me so… I’d rather be dead than have you as my progeny”

“Urghh I hate this!”

“I hate you,” she said, looking at me with a sly smile on her face. When she saw that the expression on my face did not change to laughter, she patted me on the back. “Stop getting so fidgety, dude. This isn’t you-like”

“You know what else isn’t me-like? Liahan Beiker working a desk job. You think I don’t understand their agenda to try and get me transferred to join one of the Intelligence divisions?”

“If I had a brain like yours, I would’ve taken it. Like- are you kidding me? I get to be behind the scenes, in the safety of four walls, and under protection from a whole squad of bodyguards? Hell yeah I’m choosing that over having to fight monsters on the front lines!”

“You don’t get it, do you… I like doing that. I like being on the front lines. They’re taking that away from me”

“See, this is exactly why I hate men. Absolute savages. What’s so fun about killing and dying?”

“Hah, surprisingly not the first time I’ve heard that,” I laughed.

“Of course, because Jamie is a sensible person. Think about her, how worried she must be of your safety all the time. She deserves better, doesn’t she?”

“You don’t know her, Elle. My partner trusts me and my abilities a whole lot more than that. Worry? Don’t make me laugh, there’s not a single worrying bone in the body of that bitch”

We took a corner around the corridor that led us to the Meeting Room 221, located on the second highest floor of the building.

“This is the door,” I said, straining my neck a little to read the small number plate on the doorframe, from a distance.

“Yeah it is,” replied Elise.

I adjusted my suit a little, making sure my necktie was adjusted properly. I glanced over to see that Elise had changed into more uniform appropriate attire before this meeting, having swapped out her miniskirt with plain black trousers, and she’d done every button up on her coat to look as formal as she could.

“What time you got?” I inquired.

“6:22 in the p.m.,” she replied.

“No, it ain’t quite time yet. Come on, let’s hang back,” I told her, as we walked away from the door for another couple minutes and some, before we entered. Professionalism.

As we stood in the small lobby adjacent to the meeting room from the exterior, she turned to me as she continued from our previous conversation, “Look, just ‘cause she don’t mind you doing this risky business, doesn’t mean that she ain’t worrying about you. It’s no excuse for you to be out there disregarding her wishes and feelings, just because she don’t say nothing to you. That shit ain’t right. If my partner treated me like that, they better never show they face around me again, because I’d kill the motherfucker, you know what I’m saying?” Elise said to me, pointing a finger at me as she continued yapping, almost like she was lecturing a little child.

“I ain’t saying that’s right, and I don’t do that either,” I told her in a tired voice, “I take good care of both myself and her, and you should know that Elle. And look, you also have to bear in mind that I have likes and dislikes too, as a person. And Jamie respects those of mine, as I do hers. You should’ve fucking known me better, come on now. I have a basic sense of morality, man. You know I don’t play around when it comes to this shit, y’know what I’m saying?”

“That’s an interesting point…” she said, before turning around slowly, as she started to walk back towards the meeting room. “Come on, let’s get into character.”

We stood in front of the mostly opaque door made of frosted glass, as I knocked on it lightly. After a few seconds of waiting, a junior officer opened the door for us. We walked past him into the room, and I saw Timothy Kyd, the Division Three Captain, seated in cubicle B.

“Hey Kyd, how you all doing?” I asked, as we set foot in his office area. I looked over his shoulder to steal a glance at the wall clock which pointed to 6:25 p.m. Right on time, I thought.

“That’s Captain Kyd, for you,” he said with an annoyed look on his face.

“Where’s Captain Marl at, Timmy?” Elise chimed in, her eyes searching all over the place for Krysten.

“It’s Captain Kyd.” He said, he paused for a few seconds, before he answered her question, “She’ll be here in a few minutes. How about you two begin by telling me about everything you have learnt so far?”

“Well… Where do I even begin...” I thought out loud, as I gestured for Elise to pull up the analysis reports she’d had brought over with her from Division Twelve.

She let out a sigh, as she dug through the folder and selected a certain document that she handed over to Kyd, and she began, “Well… so here’s what we got…”

—

I sat there, curled up inside the comfort of my blanket on the bed, just like I had been for the past thirty or so hours, with the only exception being when I had to go use the bathroom, and then I’d resume my position from before. I was unable to put my mind on anything.

All that played in my head was the strange presence that I felt outside the cafe, the strange jargon the PRECIPICE agents kept throwing about, and the image of Mr. Liahan almost gliding through the air right before my eyes.

Was I losing my mind again…? It was like this that time too, when the car crash happened… And that time when the steel beam fell on her head from afar… And when my brother fell ill… And when that car ran the child over… Every time that I’d go through an experience of that kind, it would be followed by nightmares… Nightmares where I’d dream of huge monstrous creatures preying on them… On me…

It was during this turmoil of mine that I was approached by the kind doctor. I was weeping at Maria’s grave inconsolably, days after her passing, when I felt a hand on my shoulder, a comforting presence. I looked up to see the gentle smile of Dr. Faust.

That’s right, of course! Everything's going to be alright if I just take the medication he’s prescribed to me…

Mr. Liahan’s words came flooding back in my head, “No more taking any meds from that man”

Just what is going on…. Why is it that the only person I could trust in the world is also under suspicion…? Why does the only hope of living a life of normalcy that I have left, seem to slowly fade away from my sight…?

Should I… Should I tell editorial about this…?

Wouldn’t that be for the best?

I mean… What else can I even do right now…?

I remembered the words of Faust, “You’re still alive for a reason. What that reason is, that’s for you and those around you to figure out. There’s a lot of things in this world that go beyond reason or logic, you’re one of those things, William. You’re necessary…”

I’m necessary… I have a purpose… There is a reason why I’m still alive…

So… Shouldn’t I take it upon myself to ensure that the silenced truth finally reaches the people? Isn’t that my duty as a journalist?

But then I remembered what Mr. Liahan had said, “He knows that it’s for his own good to keep mum. Isn’t that right, Liam dear?”

Just… Just, what do I do? What the hell do I do…?

It was while I was having this mental breakdown that I heard a sharp ring on the doorbell. I slowly got up from the bed as I approached the door. I answered, and opened it, only to find nobody there. I looked both left and right, and there was not a soul. Thinking of it as just some prank pulled by some neighbourhood brat, I was about to slam it back shut, when my eyes caught sight of the little note lying on the ground. I bent forward as I picked it up in my hands, and I read the neatly typed contents on the slip of paper.

The note simply read, “For the wages of sin is death.”

—

I looked at the beautiful orange hue that stretched out against the sky in front of us. The rooftop view of the metropolis skylines during sunset is unmatched. Liahan and I were currently standing on the roof of the Division Twelve head office located right in the heart of the Crater City Metropolis. It had been a few days since our rendezvous at the Floaters, and the situation had changed substantially in the meantime. I flicked my lighter to kindle the cigarette’s flames, as I took a drag, my eyes fixated still on the lovely sunset.

“So, it would seem like the situation’s changed a lot since what we’d first anticipated, yeah?” Liahan said lazily, as he pulled out a cig from my pocket, put it to his lips, before leaning forward to me, grabbing the back of my neck lightly as he touched the tip of his cig against mine, holding it in place for a few seconds before drawing back once his lit up as well.

“Hm, that’s what it seems to be, indeed…” I said, exhaling a puff of smoke.

“I don’t like this…” Liahan said.

“You’ve been unusually whiny, as of late,” I remarked.

“Yes, because I do not like this.”

“I heard you the first time. Loud and clear.”

“... Want to hit up a bar?”

“... Like, right now…?”

“Yeah…” said Liahan quietly. I hesitated for a moment, thinking about trying to dissuade him, but then I heard him say, “Please James… I need to take my mind off this…”

I’ve known him for long enough to know that there was definitely something that was bothering him. And in situations like this, letting him do as he wants, is usually the best idea.

“I’ve told you to not call me that,” I said, slightly annoyed at the nickname he used for me.

“Oh come on now,” he cooed.

“Fine, let’s just go,” I ended up relenting to this manchild’s antics, as always.

“Yippie! I love you so much Jacob~!! Mwah”

“Eugh, get off me already–”

“Nooooo~”

“God, I hate you.”

“Mhm, love you too~”

> To be continued

Author's Note:
There's actually this really old marketplace building located in my city that was supposedly built in the 80s and really popular in the 90s, but is barely around anymore. Most of its top floors have been put out for hire, so that was actually my inspiration for the Division Three HQ location.

Maybe I should add more details about the world and locations, in the chapters? Please let me know ^^