Hunter

  Episode 10

  Resistance

  Jeff landed the Transport in a grassy field. The small area was surrounded by trees. That made things even more dark at night. The lights from the busy city a mile away were also hidden.

  He slammed his fist onto a console. It was a controlled slam, as though he still valued what he was smiting. Still, he needed to vent his frustration.

  "Karns is still not here. Two weeks and he still eludes me." He pressed several buttons, checking to see if he could continue the chase. Looking at the main monitor, he saw the estimated time: 56 hours. He had to give up on the frustrating chase for the moment.

  Jeff looked into the back cabin. There were a lot of empty boxes. The supplies from the last world he stepped in - the one that Karns caused the Tower to fall - were thinning. "I guess I have to leave and get more food and water...somehow."

  He got up and pulled out the remote key. While stretching his muscles, he pressed the button to open the back. Jeff hadn't left that seat in days.

  His body now needed to walk. He grabbed the backpack from the other chair and walked out of the Transport. His task was to get more supplies; a task he didn't know how to complete.

  Getting towards the edge of the open park, Jeff could see quite a few people strolling this night. They all walked on a paved trail that ran parallel to the quiet road. Few people had paid any attention to him. As he got closer, he saw why. Most of the people were couples. They were using the warm night as an opportunity to get out.

  A car rolled slowly through the streets. Jeff didn't take notice of it...until it was too late. Several flashes erupted from the car's open windows. Screams came from all around the park.

  Jeff's mood switch from calm to alert, running to where the screams were centered. He held his glasses in an attempted to get a good look of the car. It was moving too quickly and his run made his vision too rough to get much of anything.

  Arriving at the trail, he saw the victim: an elder black man laid on the ground. He was bloody from the gunshot. A woman, likely his wife, kneeled next to him. She was crying hysterically. Jeff used his glasses to confirm the obvious: the victim was dead. "Damn!"

  It was at least an hour since the shooting. Jeff stood with a detective, watching the widow hover over her husband. The coroner had just finished his assessment and had given the woman a moment.

  The detective commented on the sight, "Always the hardest part, seeing them like this."

  Jeff nodded, agreeing while not having much else to add.

  The detective didn't like the silence. He continued talking on a different topic entirely, "Well, since you don't have anywhere to go, I can call a hotel to board you up for a few days. Might be a good change of pace, staying in one place for a while."

  "Yeah, maybe." It was obviously part of Jeff's cover story, that he was a "traveler" chasing Karns. Yet, his travels involved staying in the Transport, constantly between worlds. It was traveling without moving at all.

  A car pulled up just beyond the lights of the police barricade. From it came two people: a black woman and a Caucasian man. It hit the detective, now knowing full well the motive behind the shooting. "Damn. It's an interracial couple."

  It said in a more matter-of-fact like tone, though he was cursing internally because this would be a difficult case. Jeff guessed it was a difference that this world held. He asked the detective, "Why is that important?"

  The couple came up behind the widow. The daughter held up rather well considering that she was right in front of her father's body. They were comforting the mother while insisting that they should leave. It was very apparent that she didn't want to leave.

  "You're definitely not from around here. We've had several shootings just like this. There's more than a few people that don't like the idea of interracial marriages. There isn't a definite group gang, per-say. Otherwise we'd have those people locked up by now."

  "You mean that you haven't arrested anyone?"

  The detective would have shaken his head negative, but he couldn't while in front of the entire family. The son-in-law had finally coaxed the widow to walk to the car. The daughter stayed behind for a short bit, giving her own words of farewell to her father.

  "No. We've identified gun after gun. Traced them to some gang member or another. We arrested them on other charges, but we knew they were never the killer. Don't know if it's one person, an organization or even a stand-alone complex."

  Jeff knew what the detective was talking about, "Copies without an original."

  The detective looked at him, "I'm surprised you know the concept."

  "I was a scientist a long time ago. It's a concept that comes up often. Especially in my field."

  "What field was that?"

  Though Jeff had mixed feelings saying it, he answered it in a neutral tone, "Theoretical physics."

  The daughter touched her father on the forehead, her final gesture. She turned around and walked to the car.

  "Why'd you give that up?"

  Jeff motioned his head toward the body. Without a word, it indicated his motivation for chasing Karns.

  "Oh. My condolences."

  They saw the man had escorted the mother into the car and was helping her into the back seat. The daughter had caught up and got alongside her mother.

  That was the signal for the detective to leave. "We'll try our best. If you want to try to investigate this yourself, go ahead. Can't help you out, though I hope you find these guys."

  Jeff replied, "I hope so as well."

  "Two years ago

  Jeff opened the door. It was a little more difficult while he was holding a small bag of groceries. Most of it was for lunches, sandwiches and microwave meals. He headed right for the kitchen. Jeff decided not to announce that he was home. Actually, he was rather early and didn't expect anyone to be home.

  The home itself was rather new, clear of the many things they had accumulated. They had moved in about a month ago; enough time to settle in but not enough to have a "lived in" feeling to the house.

  He closed the door, then turned to find Kara. She was sad, depressed. Jeff set the bags aside and walked right to her. "What's wrong? I thought you'd be at practice all day?"

  "Dan is moving to Albany. He's quitting..." That meant that she was without a dance partner.

  Jeff tried to comfort her, holding her as much he could. "I know you'll miss states, but you can bounce back. You'll find someone that'll..."

  It didn't help. It had unintentionally made things worse. She pushed him back. "No, you don't get it. I can't dance without him! We were a team! Either one of us would know exactly where the other was at any given moment. But...I didn't see this. How can I find someone if I can't connect with them, know if they'll be there."

  Jeff still tried to comfort her, even if from afar. "Kara, I'm more than willing to do whatever to help you."

  Things turned on him from there. "No, you can't. You have your own work, the thing you can't even tell me. Some project that takes all day, all those friends of yours that you work with. Everyday, you have something to go to. I don't; never have...

  Just go!"

  Jeff tried to argue. He tried to say that he could help her. But her eyes held a cold gaze, an insistence that her mind wouldn't be changed. Holding that rejection to heart, he turned around and silently left the house.

  Present day

  Jeff walked up to the home. It was in an average neighborhood, with kids of varying origins playing in the warm summer morning. For Jeff, it seemed a bit strange. These weren't people that were down-trodden or even overtly harassed, yet last night happened. He never got it, probably never would.

  A woman opened it: the daughter, Teresa Sheldon.

  He introduced himself, "I'm Jeffrey Hunter."

  She recognized him, "You were with the detective last night."

  "Yeah. I'm separately investigating the murder."

  She opened the screen door and waved him in. He followed her inside.
The two went into the living room. There was the man from last night right on the couch, just ending his bowl of cereal. Setting it down, he got up to greet Jeff.

  She waved her hand, "Bobby, this is Jeffrey Hunter."

  The two shook hands. He said, "I saw you last night. Thanks for your help."

  Jeff admitted, "Wish I could do more."

  She took her turn to introduce herself, "I'm Teresa, by the way." She also offered a hand for Jeff to shake.

  After the handshake, Jeff had to ask, "How long have you two been together?"

  "A year. We're actually going to get married."

  "Well, congratulations." It was another bittersweet thing for Jeff. After many years of being alone, he would always appreciate what others found. Yet, there was Kara...

  "Thanks. I'll get mom. She's still in a bit of shock, hasn't fully comprehended what's happened. I think might help you, since she's numb right now."

  Jeff reassured, "I'll try not to be long."

  She walked away and towards the back of the house. Jeff turned to Bobby in the mean time, "How long have you been engaged?"

  "A few months..." he got the jist of the question, "Wait, you think this is related?"

  "As I understand, it might be."

  Bobby sighed, falling to the couch. "We have gotten some threats. I thought it was just some punk kids; the ones who threaten but never do anything more."

  "What kind of threats?"

  "Most just harassing, call us names and such. A few were violent, but none were death threats. That's why I didn't take them seriously."

  "Problem is, I doubt these people gave you any warning at all."

  Bobby didn't like the suggestion, "It still doesn't help."

  Teresa appeared, holding her mother and softly leading her to the living room. "Mom, this is Jeffrey Hunter. He wants to help."

  The older woman, Beth, looked at him. She then looked back down as the daughter led her to the chair that faced the television. The elderly woman had barely acknowledged him, so he wasn't sure if she would answer any questions.

  Jeff leaned towards her, trying to be as kind in his questioning as possible. "Mam, I'm an investigator. I want to ask you a few questions about last night."

  "You were there; you saw everything." It was drab tone, but very blunt.

  He had to push forward, "Why were you two there?"

  "We always walk there."

  "At the same time."

  "Every night."

  That showed that if someone could have planned the shooting. So Jeff had to ask some of the more obvious questions. "Have you seen anything unusual in the past few days?"

  "Nope."

  "Do you know anyone that would do something like this?"

  "I wouldn't associate myself with idiots."

  That response interested Jeff. "What makes you call them "idiots"?"

  "Give me one minute with them and you'll find out." It was just as blunt as it was defiant. But there was a hint of something else, of something that she omitted but not to hide. He guessed she didn't want to say it in case she was wrong.

  But she may have been right: the killing was to deter the couple. He had to know if that was what she was thinking. "Did you get any threats to yourself or your husband?"

  "No, just heard about them. 'Thought I had avoided those idiots."

  Yup, that confirmed it. She had said it the same way as the very ones that killed her husband. Unfortunately it didn't give much for Jeff to work with.

  "Thank you for your time." Jeff quietly left the family. He could tell that they all wanted him to succeed, and he hoped he would.

  Without the help of the police on this one, Jeff decided to walk into the local department of transportation. He had followed an enforcement representative to a back room. That was where many monitors supervised the local highways. There were a few other streets monitored, which this morning held heavy amounts of traffic.

  The representative explained, "Normally we wouldn't show anything like this to the public, just due to privacy concerns. And legal ones, since technically these haven't been prosecuted yet."

  Jeff presumed, "And this is an exemption."

  The rep sat down at a computer, typing in a search for the very picture that Jeff had requested.

  "Of sorts. You've more than proven that there was a crime. Unless they're complete idiots, which I've seen more than a few, they won't reveal themselves by paying a traffic ticket."

  The rep found a picture of the car. It had the muzzle flashes of the gunfire, showing it had captured the crime in progress. The car clearly showed three guns were being fired, two in the rear.

  "And...that'll work too." The rep referred to proof of a crime happening. "Something like this would have been sent to the police, though it takes a day or two for us to find it."

  Jeff asked, "So no one else has seen this?"

  He shook his head. "Nope. Otherwise it would have been flagged."

  Jeff found this curious, as it meant the police had yet to ask about this.

  The DOT Rep used a photo-shop-like tool to select an area around the license plate. It zoomed in, making things a little more fuzzy and pixelated. The computer scanned the image, making several swoops that made things a little clearer. Though it was still a bit fuzzy, anyone could read the license.

  Then a panel showed up on the side. The rep entered the license plate number into it. "This will take a moment."

  A moment indeed, as the information show up just as he had said it. It showed a name and an address.

  Jeff looked at the address, "Do you know where that is?"

  "I'll print out some directions in the back. Should I send this to the police or to you?"

  "Yeah, go ahead. I'm just going straight to this address."

  "Alright." He got up to go to the back room, leaving Jeff to stare at the picture.

  Jeff checked the paper to make sure that this house was the address. The number on the house was clear, though the bottom digit was only a shadow. It was out of character with the rest of the well-kept property.

  The car was not there. There was a parking space clearly outlined for it, but no car. Jeff leaned down. He found several small tire marks that showed that it would normally be right there.

  Approaching the main entrance, he rang the door. He heard some footsteps that came from somewhere in the house. But they were getting quieter, as though the person was walking away. It was too calm to be someone running.

  Using his glasses, he found the lone person walking down the main hallway and away from him. Then he stopped. The marker just stood there, despite Jeff ringing the door a second time.

  Curious as to what he was doing, he switched modes. He couldn't see the man all that well in this mode, but he could zoom in and see in an x-ray view. Where the man was near a large gun rack. There were several long barrels lying on it. Switching back, Jeff saw the man approaching. Danger was approaching. Stepping aside the door, he summoned the stun-pistol.

  The caution was warranted. A boom sounded as a shotgun blasted a hole through the door. Jeff dove to the new hole, trying to shoot through it. The man dodged and stepped back to another room. Jeff dove back then reached to see if he could open the door. It was locked. He had to locate another entrance, one the gunman would not expect.

  He quickly searched the house. There was only one other option: the exact opposite side of the hall. That wasn't much of an option.

  Jeff exchanged the stun-pistol for a small battering ram. Trying to stay outside the doorway, he swung it as hard as he could. It got the gunman's attention. Another boom sounded. The door didn't budge, but the new hole was closer to the doorknob.

  Jeff traded the stun-pistol back out. Diving in front of the door, he repetitively fired into the first hole. He had to keep it up to pin down the gunman. Using his free hand, he reached in and twisted the knob open. Pulling back, he cut his arm. It wasn't bad but enough for quite a bit of blood to spill. Giving only a slight grunt, Jeff internal
ized the pain. The situation forced him to live with it.

  That gave a slight pause for the gunman. He ran away and toward a set of stairs. With the door open, Jeff gave chase down the hall. He turned to see the gunman at the basement staircase. The shotgun fired. Jeff dodging behind the corner to avoid the large chunk of metal. Returning fire, Jeff raise up and shot with both stun-pistols. The gunman fell forward and out of view.

  The battle was over. The glasses registered the man very much alive. Jeff traveled down the stairs for further investigation.

  Just above the gunman was a thick, metal door. It looked like a panic room of sorts. Jeff calmly walked down the stairs, careful to avoid the sleeping man. Peeking into the room, he found that it was more than a panic room: it was full of various plants.

  "I guess he had something to pass the time with."

  Towards the back was some chemistry sets. There wasn't any indication that this was an extensive drug operation. But then there was a computer.

  Jeff walked inside towards the computer. He found the humid air a bit too much. The computer was on, with an e-mail program right on the screen. Jeff clicked on the out-going mail. There was plenty of addresses, but that wasn't the most important piece of information. A few entries down, he saw when he sent them.

  "He was right here last night. And thus, not our guy."

  Jeff had gone through the last of the computer records. He found a few hints but nothing of real note. Getting up, he turned around to wander back out the room. That's when he heard someone announce, "This is the police!"

  Jeff walked up the stairs, making sure not to show any threatening attitude. Luckily he recognized the voice. "I'm here, Detective."

  The detective had his gun ready when he heard the reply. Moving towards the voice, he saw Jeff standing at the top of the stairs. The detective lowered his weapon. He looked back at the blasted door. "Dang, what happened?"

  Jeff explained tersely, "Rang the bell, and this guy got a shotgun and fired."

  The detective openly thought, "You're a lucky guy."

  "Yeah." It was good luck, but not in the same ways that Jeff would have hoped for.

  Turning towards business, Jeff said to the police officer, "He wasn't involved; found that much on his computer. Although he has a few different things going on down the stairs."

  "Considering, that isn't unexpected." The detective was about to take Jeff's point and go down the stairs. He was at the top, right along side Jeff when he noticed the suspect lying on the stairs. "Is he?"

  "Nope, just knocked out. It'll be another hour before he wakes up, so you have time to look around."

  "How can you be sure of that? Are you also a medical doctor?"

  Jeff replied, "No. Just trust me on that."

  Then the other officer yelled out to the two. "Sir, I got it right here."

  Jeff and the detective walked out of the room and to the main hallway. Toward the back, the lieutenant had looked into the open cabinet that contained the gun rack. Using a handkerchief, he held a pistol. "I think this is it."

  The detective sighed, "Dang, just like the others. I didn't think they'd work so quickly."

  Jeff said, "I'm guessing you mean the gun."

  "Yeah. It's always the same. The gun was always found on someone else. We have the charges to put them away for quite a long time, but most wouldn't talk no matter what kind of deal we made. The few who have always led to someone else who wouldn't talk. I just had hoped this case would be different if we moved fast enough."

  Jeff thought about this, coming up with an idea, "Do you have a list of who has held these guns?"

  "I have a chart. I'll send it to you; doubt you can do much with it, but I'll send it anyway. Never know."

  Jeff said to the detective, "One never knows. Send it down to my hotel room. I already got a list of names from this guy's e-mails, so hopefully I can find something."

  The detective replied, "I hope so as well."

  Two years ago

  Jeff paced around his hotel room. There was no other option, not after Kara kicked him out. He was tackling this problem like every other one: being alone and in constant thought.

  His phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he looked at who was calling. Flipping it open, "Hello, Brian."

  "Jeff, I have these tickets to a Bon Jovi concert, but my date got work at the last minute. So I was wondering if you and Kara would like to go in our stead?"

  Jeff hadn't told him yet, "Well, that would be difficult."

  Brian put on a concerned tone to his voice, "I know that tone. Heard it hundreds of times from other people, but I think this is the first time from you. Doesn't help that Kara was the first in, what..."

  Cutting him short, Jeff said, "Get to the point."

  "You and Kara had a fight. And judging from the lack of an echo, you're in a hotel room."

  Jeff tilted his head, "For someone who knows so much about relationships, I'd think you'd be married by now."

  "Luck of the draw. Some can take years of constant dating while others find theirs in high school. Of course, I thought you and Kara were a match.

  "So anyway, what was it?"

  Jeff said, almost detached from the problem, "Well, she lost her dance partner."

  Brian knew, "And let me guess: you offered to help."

  "Wouldn't that be the natural thing to do?"

  "Not necessarily. I've met too many women to say anything hundred-percent, of only because every one of them are different. But in this case, you're offering to help in a time where she needs comfort."

  "But what's so wrong with offering help?"

  Brian responded, "Well, it could have been how much you can do. Let's face it, you're not a good dancer. How are you supposed to help find another partner?"

  Jeff tried to justify the idea, "I could still look up credentials and such."

  "Still, that probably won't be enough, especially now. I hope you remember what she said. Any apology will have to include something addressing that."

  "Yeah, I've been thinking about that all night," Jeff admitted, "Are you good to take lead tomorrow if I'm not there."

  "Sure. Take your time."

  Jeff pressed the end-call button. Setting it down on a nearby desk, he began wandering around again.

  Present day

  Jeff walked into his hotel room. There was a large folder that laid right inside the door. The room itself was rather similar than the one he visited the two years prior. Then again, even in his cross-world travels most hotel rooms were rather similar. They were all sparse and had a place for everything that someone staying more than a few days would need.

  Setting the backpack down, he wandered to the nearby desk. He placed the folder on the desk before turning his attention to his shirt. Smelling it, he found something new. "That wasn't there last night."

  He thought about quickly going out to either get it cleaned or get some new clothes. After all, he's been wearing these since the first world he was in.

  After a short bit, he decided otherwise, "I'll go out later. This is more important than new clothes anyway." Then again, most things Jeff did was more important than new clothes.

  He took a folded poster out of the delivered folder. Laying it out on the desk, it showed the complex web of suspects. Each had a link labeled with the weapon used. In the middle, a question mark that showed a possible single suspect. The number of people involved made that seem unlikely.

  "This may take a while," he said to himself.

  Going to his backpack, he summoned a laptop. It got placed next to the chart. It didn't take long for it to boot up. During that time Jeff took out a thumb-drive and plugged into the laptop.

  He opened a file, showing the complete set of e-mails that was on the gunman's computer. Rather than show the subjects, he made it so it showed the names of the writers as well as those receiving sent e-mails. Jeff had to compare each name to see if it was on the chart. He started on the inner-most set of names, then ro
tated outward.

  It took him a long while. Hours had passed. The work was very redundant, forcing him to take short breaks. Then he found something. It was one name, labeled towards the center. That name was one part away from the final contact on that line. The next line down showed that there was a suspect that was linked twice before, so Jeff guessed that was the case here.

  The name was also highlighted in red. Looking down, the legend showed that those names denoted those that were successfully prosecuted. "I guess I have someone to visit."

  Taking the backpack from the bed, he left the room for his investigation.

  He didn't have his backpack on him. It was deemed a possible problem at the metal detector. Jeff would be able to get it back after this visit.

  A jail guard led a man into the meeting room. Staying at the door, the guard kept watch over the proceedings. The prison-garbed man, nick-named Caster, immediately sat down at the table. This was a formality for him.

  He gave a good look at Jeff, curious as to why this guy was there. "Who the heck are you?"

  Jeff remained standing. The two mutually sized up their opponent. "Jeffrey Hunter, an investigator of sorts."

  "Of sorts? Either way, I'm guessing you want to ask me some questions. Good luck."

  Jeff remained equally astute, "I figured. Gun dealers won't rat out their buyers."

  "Smart man. Too bad you're not smart enough not to waste your time."

  Jeff replied, "How about your time?"

  Caster put his arms out as much as the shackles would allow. "I got time to waste. So I'll humor you, but not much more."

  "Alright. How about Fred Underly," Jeff stated to him.

  Caster shook his head, feigning ignorance. "Don't know the guy."

  Jeff knew all too well that he lied; had the evidence to prove it. "Two things: He's already caught. Hid his computer but nothing directly on it. However, I have him sending you a request for your "services." Second thing is that he's not the guy I'm after."

  "You want my supplier." He had said it confidently. This was for show, he had gone through this process all too often.

  "Very much."

  Caster gave a shrug, "Don't know him. On the other hand, this Underly guy apparently wanted his own gun back. I was able to find it among other dealers."

  "His own gun? You mean he lost it?"

  "Strange for such a scared cat like himself. But yeah, someone stole it and he couldn't exactly go to the police to get it back. And you found out exactly why he wanted it back on short notice."

  "So where'd you get it?"

  Caster remained coy, "As I said, another dealer. Won't give a name. I will only say that he got the usual way."

  "And that means?"

  "Man, you must be really new to this "investigator" role. That means that the gun was stolen, and placed right at a doorstep. No one talks to anyone. No cameras, no recorders whatsoever. The money is placed in a separate place, so only those that know the system get paid."

  Jeff used that along with an idea he got from the chart, "OK. Would some of these "suppliers" go to multiple dealers?"

  "Hmm...maybe. Takes time to figure the system. Let's face it, most are lazy and trust only one guy. It's possible. I can't really say due to said system."

  Jeff nodded. He had a theory to check. "Thanks for humoring me."

  The convict commented, "Hey, I've had fun. Heck, you could've asked any copper, including this guy back here."

  Jeff shook off the attempted insult and knocked on the door. It opened, letting him leave with the prisoner sitting at the table.

  The home was empty. The new feature was the police tape that surrounded it. A car flashed outside, showing there was someone to watch over the crime scene.

  Inside, Jeff looked over to the very room that he gave chase in not a few hours ago. That room and its basement had been the main focus of their investigation. The only other place that seemed to have been touched had been the gun cabinet. It was empty, several labels placed for archival purposes.

  Neither one was the target for Jeff at that moment. Instead, it was something that the police had skipped over thus far. He went straight down the main hall and right to the back door. It was a sliding door, the outside noticeably covered with dust.

  Jeff summoned a small kit from his backpack. Setting it on a nearby table, he opened and took out a latex glove. Then he removed a small spray bottle. "Glad Farnsworth gave me this. Just hope there's more somewhere in the other supplies."

  Turning to the door, he sprayed the edge. There were plenty of fingerprints. Jeff scanned them with his glasses. Then he opened the door just enough for him to see the side. Spraying that revealed more fingerprints.

  With that done, Jeff looked around for any other points of entry. Across the back, to the kitchen, was a cracked window.

  Walking to it, Jeff sprayed all sides of that window. It was small. Definitely not the best place for someone to climb through. It was also rather high off the ground outside. But it was a possible entrance and Jeff couldn't ignore it. There were less fingerprints, though it showed that the window experienced some activity.

  Jeff returned to the back door. He placed the spray bottle back into the kit and closed it. Lifting it up, he placed it behind him for the backpack to store. The gloves were then removed, but nowhere to go. The garbage bin was taken as though it might have evidence. Jeff shrugged and shoved the used gloves into his pocket for later disposal.

  Jeff then summoned a PDA from his backpack. He began tapping instructions with his finger. "Time to see if this really works."

  With one final command, the PDA stated, "Linking with Scan-glasses." No progress was given. There was only a small dot moving across the screen. It took a long moment. Jeff was half-afraid that it wouldn't work.

  Then it said, "Complete."

  He breathed a sigh of relief. Lowering the PDA, Jeff walked out the door and right to the police car.

  The officer inside the vehicle had taken immediate notice. He didn't move from the driver's seat. The stoic man just stared as Jeff walked towards him.

  Jeff asked the officer, "I have some fingerprints in here that I would like to search."

  The officer nodded. He reached out for the PDA, "I can do that. Just warning you, this will be considered unofficial evidence for trial and if anyone comes up that hasn't been convicted, I can't show it to you."

  Jeff handed the PDA, indicating that he agreed with the terms. The officer stared at the PDA. He rotated it several directions. The officer couldn't find a port to hook into.

  "Oh, you'll need this," Jeff reached around back, trying to hide his summoning of the connection cord. One end of the cord was designed to connect to the PDA. The other was spread out to several possible ports to connect with.

  The officer took it and immediately connected the PDA. He turned the computer in the middle so Jeff couldn't see. With a simple click, the computer began it's process. It didn't take long for a hit to come.

  The officer said, "Looks like most of the fingerprints were from the home owner. But there was one from a "Derek Richards." Convicted for possessing several weapons without a license. I'll upload an address to your...thing."

  "Thanks. I'll be heading there as soon as I can."

  The officer asked, "Where'd you find this, just so we can do our own fingerprinting to make it more official."

  "They were at the back window. I heard that someone came in and stole one of this guy's guns."

  The officer nodded. It was a reasonable idea that may to something. He gave back the PDA with the cord still connected. "I'll just warn you to call for some police backup. You were lucky here, just don't chance anything."

  "I won't." Jeff said it very seriously. However, he intended to do this alone.

  Jeff walked down the rather sparse neighborhood. There were few houses. Most were old farmlands that had long been annexed or abandoned. It taken Jeff a long while to get to the outskirts of the city.

  He sa
w the home. A new car adorned it, though the rest of the property was low profile. Just as Jeff stepped onto the driveway, a sheathed window flicked open. Quickly looking around, Jeff saw a few stakes poking out of the ground. They were obviously part of the security system.

  But it was the person who hid behind the curtains that concerned Jeff. Using his glasses, he saw that his suspect, Richards, was the only person in the house.

  The home was small. There were no obvious hiding places that the scan-glasses could locate. Jeff still didn't take any chances.

  He summoned the stun-pistol as he approached the door. Jeff knocked on the door. It was an attempt to say that he wanted to talk. He heard Richards walk down the stairs and to the door. It remained closed, though Jeff could see that the man was armed and ready at the other side. "What do you want?"

  "I just want to ask a few questions."

  The man replied, "Oh...no. I'm not answering anything. And don't think of even trying to barge in."

  Jeff knew the threat was credible. He had to make a counter-threat to get him to talk. "Alright. But I'll warn you I may come back with some cops in tow."

  The man on the other side thought for a minute, then decided, "Come in then."

  The door clicked and cracked open. It was too suspicious; though Jeff had the upper-hand. He saw Richards had moved back with his arms up as though aiming his gun.

  Jeff raised his own pistol, readying for the battle. He slammed the door open then aimed at Richards. The light bolt hit a lamp, causing it to flicker and wobble. Richards panicked. The suspect retreated further back while firing aimlessly. Jeff had to dive back outside despite the poor aim.

  Richards backed over the couch, falling almost accidentally. In mid-fall, he turned, changing his intentions to make that his cover. He knelt there while watching the front door.

  Jeff saw this and had to change tactics. He looked down the main hall. This one stopped a short distance before a sharp turn into the living room. He found that entire area was open with only a wooden table and a bookshelf towards the other wall. With no other entrance, Jeff had to go the hard way.

  Summoning the second stun-pistol, Jeff dived in with suppressing fire. Richards tried to change his angle from over the couch to the side. Jeff easily traced his movements. Lying on his side, the suspect raised his arm over the couch and fired aimlessly towards Jeff.

  The investigator saw this and dove to the front of the couch. Now both lie on each side of the couch at a stand-off.

  Richards yelled out from the other side, "Who the heck are you?!"

  "Just a traveler who picked up a few things along the way."

  Jeff looked around the room, trying to formulate a plan. The lamp that Jeff hit was still was on the small table. After returning one of his stun-pistols into the backpack, Jeff extended his arm out. He launched the grappling beam onto the lamp. He then pulled hard on it.

  It flew over his head and the couch, crashing on the wall. Richards looked up to see the pieces fall. That was enough of a distraction for Jeff to roll over on the other side of the couch and fire. Richards head collapsed onto the ground, eyes closed to the world.

  Jeff knelt there to let the adrenaline blow over. He had won that fight and now had to wait for Richards to wake up. "I guess you'll be ready to answer my questions in a little bit."

  Richards was waking up with a bright light right on him. Jeff had got a lamp and kept flashing it in the captive's face. He was sitting up against the nearby wall, the couch not far from where he sat.

  He could see Jeff beyond the lamp's light. The investigator hovered over several pistols and a rifle. "Yeah, I've gone around and found all of these."

  Jeff walked a bit to the side of the light to make him more visible. "The police will be here in about an hour. In the meantime, I figured I can ask my own questions."

  Richards presumed, "Like where I got those guns?"

  "Actually, I already know that. You stole all of these, likely from people who had good reason not to report the theft.

  "What I need to know is where were you last night?"

  "Last night..." he thought about it, on why that would be important, "The park shootings! You think I did that!"

  "That's it. Your fingerprints were found at the home of the person who owned the gun."

  Richards almost cursed himself for the mistake. He mumbled to himself, "That was three weeks ago."

  Jeff heard it all too well. But he chose not to pursue that line. Instead, he wanted to know if this was the guy or not. So he pressed, "Where were you?"

  Richards admitted, "I was downtown waiting for the guy that did the shooting."

  Jeff stared at him. He didn't like what he heard, and wasn't entirely sure if he told the whole truth. Richards saw this, "Hey, I didn't do it, so I get a deal for testifying, right?"

  Jeff replied, "I'm not a cop, so I can't guarantee that."

  "Oh..." Richards hoped that didn't give away his only card.

  "But if you give me a name, I might give a good word."

  Richards answered, "I can't give a name. You should know that we don't work like that."

  Jeff responded to that, "Then you might not have anything."

  The captive panicked, "OK, OK...This one guy wasn't like the others."

  "The others? So there was more than one."

  "Yeah. They all learned about each other and how things work from some chat room. This guy swore that this couldn't be traced since he wasn't actually trying to kill anyone."

  That motive sounded strange, "He was trying to scare them?"

  "I guess so. Some relative or another was...well, you know."

  It was almost like a natural reflex to avoid something. Jeff wanted to know if that was Richard's own feelings or something else. "You don't even want to say "marriage," do you?"

  "You can't around these people. They'll rant about inequality, that people lower themselves in doing this. Takes hours before they'll shut up."

  "So do you feel the same way?"

  Richards thought about this. "Just call me abstaining from the debate. Wasn't my intent, but hey, a living is a living."

  "Yeah." Jeff raised his stun-pistol and fired. It was partly out of some anger. More importantly, he had to leave now. He couldn't wait for the police to get there.

  Especially with the information that he got.

  Bobby heard the knock at the door. He opened it to see Jeff standing there. The investigator held a very serious look to his face. That was contrasting to the rather sad expression on Bobby’s face.

  He waved Jeff in, already knowing that he wanted to ask questions. The fiance traveled to the small kitchen area and dove into the refrigerator. "Want anything to drink."

  Jeff stood around the chairs that surrounded the large television. "No, I'm fine."

  Bobby took out a can for himself. He traversed back into the living room and his chair.

  "There's a few things I'd like to ask," he said to the fiance.

  "I know. Not sure if I can answer them right now." He rubbed his forehead, showing frustration in his untold situation. "You're married, right?"

  Jeff was curious on how he knew that. With a single motion of his eyes, Bobby indicated that Jeff still wore his wedding ring.

  He had to sit down, across from Bobby. "Yeah, I was."

  "Well, did you have a problem that you couldn't solve, couldn't do a thing about?"

  Jeff nodded. He in fact did. "Yeah."

  Bobby admitted, "I don't know. Teresa is trying to keep it together for her mom. But I hear her at night. She couldn't even have me with her last night. Now tonight..."

  Jeff felt sorry for this man, but he had worse news to give him. "Well, the question I have won't help things. Did anyone in your family disagree with your relationship?"

  Bobby felt more distress. He knew exactly who Jeff was talking about. "My cousin Herald. When my parents died in a car accident three years ago, he was the one there to help. He said he'd take care of me if I h
ad any problems. But this..."

  "I was told that he only wanted to scare them. The killing might have been an accident."

  Bobby snapped, "An accident!"

  He noticed that his own anger wasn't just about his cousin, though it was because of it. "Sorry. He warned me about dating Teresa. But I never thought he would do anything like this."

  Jeff replied, "Who would? Still, I need to know where he lives."

  Bobby remained quiet. It was as though he wanted to confront his cousin himself. Jeff had to convince him otherwise. "I know you want to face him yourself. But considering he may be armed, I need to do this."

  The fiance asked, "If your wife was hurt, wouldn't you want to at least punch that guy in the face?"

  Jeff nodded. "I do. My wife was killed almost six months ago. That's why I've been traveling, to get the guy that killed her - and not only her. But that's also the reason why I've been doing this, helping people like you and your fiance.

  "Teresa isn't dead. She's still there and you can do something."

  It was too apparent what Jeff meant: be defiant. To confront the nay-sayers, his cousin included, by doing the one thing they didn't want.

  Bobby nodded in agreement. "Alright. He has an apartment in the Paulow area, on Fairview Avenue. Here." Bobby took a notepad and wrote down the address.

  He passed it to Jeff, who waved it as he said, "Thanks."

  Jeff got up and walked out of the apartment. Bobby sat there for a second, then followed suit.

  Jeff walked along the tall buildings. There wasn't anything unusual until he got close to the entrance. At the moment he was more concerned that he found the right location.

  A car pulled right out of the parking garage. Jeff tried to get a good look at the driver, making sure that it wasn't his man. His angle was obscured and the cabin dark. All Jeff could do was hope that it wasn't him.

  Then he noticed the open garage door. That gave him an idea.

  Jeff dove under the closing door to the garage. Looking around, he saw the labels for the elevators. He traveled across while looking around. He didn't want to miss any important item, no matter how minute. The entire floor was filled with cars. It was a rather large garage. A sign at the elevators showed that this wasn't available only to the tenants.

  The elevator opened immediately. Jeff walked in and pressed the button for the bottom floor. The wait was short, though anticipation made it seem a bit longer.

  The door opened to a far less occupied level to the garage. It sprawled with empty space after empty space. Jeff walked down, looking at each car as he pass by. Then he found it, just as he suspected. Towards the other side of the garage was the very car that was at the drive-by.

  "No better place to hide a car, unless someone knows you had it."

  Approaching the car, he looked inside. The front seats were empty. The back had a twisting pile of metal rods. They looked uniform, as though it was part of one device. But one couldn't tell what it was for.

  Jeff summoned a flashlight and aimed it into the car. At the floor, there was something that he couldn't quite tell what it was. Zooming in with his glasses, he saw exactly what it was.

  A gun was connected to a remote firing device.

  "He was alone alright."

  Jeff turned to go back to the elevators. The doors were still open, inviting him inside. He pressed the button to go into the apartment proper.

  The apartment building was rather bland, but Jeff supposed that the hallway wasn't the highlight of the place. He walked down to the room that the fiance gave him.

  Knocking on the door, he found it was open. Before entering, Jeff checked to see if and where Herald was. He saw the life sign not too far from the hall. Entering, Jeff was careful in his approach.

  A click came underfoot. Jeff looked down to see a wire was tripped, still pulled with his foot. Following the thin wire to the wall, Jeff had to use his glasses to see what was the device was. It was about chest-high and held a long barrel. The firing mechanism was cocked. Jeff guessed it would fire if he either went any farther or backward.

  Carefully lowering himself below the line of fire, Jeff pulled his foot back. It got halfway before it fired with a loud boom.

  There was a small hole on the wall the gun was mounted but not on the other side. It was less a trap than an alarm.

  Jeff checked to see where Herald was. The suspect was now further out and moving. Jeff leaped over the wire and gave chase. He found that the far room had an open window.

  Jeff ran to follow to through the window. Looking down, he saw that Herald was climbing down the fire escape. Looking up, he tried to see if there was a thing to latch onto with his grappling beam. There wasn't anything above. "Dang."

  Climbing out of the window, Jeff landed onto the metal grate and chased Herald along the same route. The suspect noticed this and sped up his pace. He reached the next floor and pulled out a gun.

  As Jeff got to that floor, bullets flew up from the lower ladder. It was apparent that the man wanted to delay Jeff. He was still dangerous, so Jeff had to summon his stun-pistol. With the suspect at the bottom of the ladder, the two had limited options.

  Jeff reached over the railing and fired. He couldn't quite get a sight on Herald, but it was enough to dislodge him from that position. Herald ran down the street then turned at the first opportunity.

  The quickest option for Jeff was to jump down along the ladder. Latching the grappling beam to the platform above, Jeff jumped and let the beam slow his decent.

  As he landed, he shut the beam off and ran after Herald. Jeff turned down the same dark alley. His scan-glasses kept track of where the enemy was. He saw the dark figure turning again. Nearing the turn, Jeff saw Herald was getting farther and farther away much more rapidly. Rounding about, he saw why. The villain had ran right into a bus that was rolling out into the distance.

  Jeff stood in the very room that Herald was in an hour before. Several officers were investigating the room, as well as the car in the garage.

  From the hallway came the Detective. He was tired, a bit from this case and a bit from the long hours. He looked right at Jeff and said, "You have to go where danger is, don't you?"

  Jeff half-jokingly responded, "Isn't that just as much your job?"

  In equal manner, the detective said, "At least our paperwork is shorter. The car in the garage is just as you said. The second gun was his own. The thing was, it was loaded with blanks."

  It was a curious thing. That factor would fit if he was truly scaring people. On the other hand, he still fired real bullets with the stolen gun. Jeff asked, "Then why was the other gun loaded?"

  "My guess, he was trying to frame our other guy. But the story of him just trying to scare them may have been only half-true."

  "How so?"

  "I got word from our tech guy of some of stuff from the chat room records. Hard to tell if he really cared about the marriage or if he was just playing along. Either way, our guess is that if he felt that if he hurt someone, all the better. But it wasn't a factor in his plan."

  Jeff replied to that implication, "Still shows he's a danger."

  The detective agreed, "Especially seeing that he tried to make sure no one came in here unexpectedly. On that note, you really have to tell me how you avoided these things."

  "I'll just say that's a trade secret." Jeff's phone began to ring. Picking it out of his pocket, it showed a series of numbers. "Glad I finally got this to work."

  He opened it and took the phone call, "This is Jeffrey Hunter."

  It was Bobby, "Hunter, I just heard from Herald. He started giving quite a speech, saying that he was close to deaths door and such. What happened over there?"

  "There was a bit of a firefight. He ran and got onto a bus. We don't know where he is right now."

  "I was on my way to Teresa's when he called me. I've heard him in panicked situations. This was his worst."

  Jeff couldn't help but say, "Great. Do you know where he would g
o?"

  "I have no idea."

  "Well, thanks for the warning." Jeff hung up the phone and put it back into his pocket. He then informed the Detective, "He's going to be a bigger problem than we thought."

  Ten minutes later, the detective got off his own phone. He received a tip. "Alright, we found out where he dropped off. It was in the Lakebelt neighborhood."

  Jeff nodded even though the statement wasn't expressly for him. It was for all the officers around him that weren't inspecting the scene. He offered, "I'll tag along if you..."

  "Uh...no. I know you've done good work thus far, but this is a case where it'll be better if we follow up on this. Anyway, I'd rather have you go down to the vic.'s home and comfort them. I'd certainly wouldn't be comfortable if this guy is on the run."

  Jeff sighed. He still wanted to be in the action, especially with all the abilities he had. "Alright. I hope you find him."

  Two years ago

  Jeff stood outside his own door. He rang the doorbell and hoped. Despite the lack of light, even coming from the house, nerves showed on his face.

  The door opened. It was Kara. She certainly didn't have a good day and Jeff being there either would either help or hurt it even more.

  "Kara, please come with me."

  She wasn't in the mood for surprises. "What is it, Jeff? I don't want to drive twenty minutes for some picnic or other cliche thing."

  Jeff reassured, "It isn't. Can you trust me on that?"

  She almost thought she regret it. Then she decided to hold a hand out for him. He grabbed onto it, holding back both nerves and anticipation.

  The trip didn't take all that long. Jeff drove to a familiar part of town. It was actually close to where they had first met. Kara was openly showing her skepticism throughout the trip. They got out of the car. She was about to speak, but Jeff signaled for her to wait.

  He led her to a nondescript building. The only feature was a large open window showing an empty room. They entered the open door; one that Jeff had left it so. Kara looked around. She found this place not special at all.

  "OK, what is it?"

  Jeff presented the place, saying, "It's yours."

  "It's mine?" It was a question of much confusion. She didn't know where this was going.

  "Yours, as in your dance studio. You can host dance competitions, teach, practice..."

  That spawned something within her, "Wait, did you say I could teach?"

  He was completely honest when he said, "Yeah, I think you can teach. You're great with people...at least much better than me."

  That comment she had to laugh at.

  Jeff continued, "The point is, you don't need anyone to succeed. You're a great dancer by yourself. All you need to do is figure out how to express that."

  This was a good gift. She hugged him. As they embraced, they began to move. They swayed as though there was silent music. Kara quietly whispered, "Thank you."

  Present day

  Several police vehicles arrived along the silent street. The Detective got out of his car. They had arrived at the fairly old, though still vibrant, neighborhood. Some restaurants were open on one side of the street while homes were fully lit on the other.

  The Detective gave the signal for everyone to round up around him. Once they did, he gave his orders. "I want you guys to check out any homeowners, see if they saw anything. I'll check the restaurant here. If you see him, call the radio. Though he may not intend harm, he's still armed and dangerous."

  The other officers nodded in acknowledgment and spread out to do their duty.

  The Detective crossed the street and calmly sauntered into the restaurant. It was small, but the owners attempted to make it look as fancy as possible within their limited budget.

  There was a waitress ready at the glass door. She saw the badge and immediately thought there was a problem. "What can I do for you, officer?"

  "Detective, actually. But have you seen this person around here?"

  He took out a picture that was taken from the apartment. It was the best profile he could get on short notice.

  Luckily, she did recognize him. "Yeah, he came off a bus about an hour ago. I only looked up because I thought he would come right in. Instead, he turned and waited at the bus stop."

  The Detective pointed back behind him, double-checking her statement, "He went to this bus stop?"

  "Yup. Waited about ten minutes before catching the next bus."

  "Thanks." He quietly left the restaurant.

  He went straight to the sign, the lone marker for the bus stop. There was a map of each of the three routes. In there, he found the problem. "Damn! He's going after the vic.!"

  There was the familiar knock at the door. Teresa climbed down the stairs and opened the door. On the other side was Jeff. "Mind if I come in?"

  "Sure, we're all upstairs." She waved him in and led him up the stairs. Turning towards the bedroom, he saw that the mother and fiance was sitting on the bed. There was a television that had on the late night news. Beth sat up on the bed, showing that conversations were still abound.

  When Jeff entered, those conversations ended. It grew quiet. An almost awkward silence. He said, "Sorry for the intrusion."

  The elder politely said, "It's no problem. We all just wanted to know what was going on."

  Jeff had to deliver the sad news, "Last I heard, Herald Salsten was still on the loose, though he seems to be on the other side of town."

  Teresa guessed, "That sounds like he isn't after us."

  "Well, I hope that's the case. Can't confirm it. Then again, I can't even confirm the exact motive."

  Beth wanted more, "And what does that mean?"

  Jeff had to hold firm, hoping that this would turn towards the more innocent conclusion. "I'd rather not say."

  Bobby spoke up, "Still, I never expected him to do such a thing."

  "Few do. We suspect that in his mind, one way or another he was looking out for you."

  Beth showed her disapproval, "Hmph! Some cousin!"

  The lights flick off. The rest of the house fell into a silence rarely heard. Bobby picked up the cordless phone, "It's out."

  Jeff held his hand up to the three, displaying his combat readiness. "Wait here. I'll check things out."

  He walked out of the room and made sure he's out of view. From his backpack he brings out his stun-pistol. Now ready, he scanned with his glasses to locate his enemy.

  It was straight down in the garage. Jeff walked down the stairs, trying to be silent in his approach. He didn't want to give up the advantage.

  Rotating around the circuit of rooms, he found the garage door. The intruder was now hovering just in one location. Jeff couldn't tell exactly why. It might have been a trap, or something else. Jeff knew he had to move first.

  He slowly and carefully opened the door. No gun fire yet.

  The garage was the darkest room, though the crack in the garage door emitted enough light to navigate. Jeff turned to see where the intruder was: behind a large pile of boxes. This garage was more a storage room than for parking cars.

  He had to move slowly to get a view. There was a short set of wooden stairs at the doorway. An old set of stairs that seemed to creak, but jumping down may give him away even more. Jeff slowly shifted his weight onto each step. The first went fine, then second equally so. He grew impatient and over confidant, making the next transition faster.

  That gave him away. A loud creak came from the board below. The intruder heard him, quickly turning around from the boxes and seeing Jeff. The two fired almost reactively once seeing one-another. Jeff dove down, forcing his own shot to miss.

  But it confirmed his suspicion: Herald was the intruder.

  Jeff got up to run around to take his own cover. There was another pile of boxes nearby that served him...

  Or not. A bullet flew straight through in front of him. Herald had misjudged the shot, thinking Jeff would go farther than he did.

  Getting up, Jeff fired at Herald.
He missed as the intruder dodged behind his own cover. Herald evaluated his situation, notably due the bolts of light coming towards his head. His first act was to return fire, forcing Jeff further back into the garage.

  Then he bolted towards the open door, leaping over the short staircase. Jeff had no time react before he was gone. Giving chase, he followed the intruder. He swerved back around and through house. He heard the stomp up the stairs. Following up the stairs, he turned the corner to see a more dire situation.

  Teresa was struggling against Herald. She couldn't do much with a gun to her head. The gun would switch between her and the other residents. Turning half-way towards Jeff, he looked at him. "I wouldn't come any closer!"

  Jeff still held his weapon firm. He couldn't be sure of the effects of hitting either him or her. If he missed and hit her, that might cause worse problems. So Jeff had to talk things out. "You don't have to do this, Herald. I know you didn't intend to kill Casey."

  He shook his head, denying the relatively favorable claim, "You think I cared about that bastard?!"

  Beth was en-angered, "Watch that...!"

  Herald cut off Beth's protests, "Remember the situation, grandma!"

  He waved his gun for a short time at Beth, threatening her instead of Teresa. Jeff tensed. He realizing that could be the key to everyone surviving the night.

  "You didn't care if he died or not. No, you cared about your cousin."

  "The young fool doesn't know what he's getting into! I figured, if it wasn't me, it would be someone else. Those people would kill him - I knew it when I talked to them."

  Jeff feigned assurance, "You warned him, hinted that this was a bad idea."

  "I know what you're doing, trying to gain favor with me. Make this look like I can give up with no consequences. That's not going to work."

  "Then what? You're going to jail one way or another."

  Herald remained confidant, "I still win. She's the one, the temptress that will make my life a living hell."

  That was a slip that everyone noticed. Jeff pointed it out, "Your life?"

  Herald then noticed that he indeed said "my life." He nodded, changing his story - the truth of why he did it. "Yeah, my life! I knew these people long before this bastard cousin of mine met this witch."

  "You would have been ridiculed. Or worse."

  He nodded, showing that Jeff's deduction was correct. "Worse was more like it. I had to do it, for myself and his sakes."

  Beth had to speak up, consequences be damned. "You have to be an idiot of among idiots! Claiming to help but only bring pain. I hope you..."

  Herald turned away from Jeff with his back far more exposed to him. The gun swung towards Beth, almost as if he was going to fire. "Shut up you..."

  Bobby took this chance to grab onto Herald's arm. He was careful to keep the gun beyond him while putting pressure onto the villain.

  With his grip loosened, that gave Teresa the chance to put an elbow into Herald's face. That stunned the man.

  As she dove away, Jeff fired. With Bobby's grip remaining firm, the villain went limp onto the floor. Letting go, he saw that Herald had been defeated.

  Teresa went straight to her fiance's side. She looked down at the man who killed her father, thinking him dead. "Is he..."

  Jeff answered, "No. Just out for a few hours."

  He looked up at the family, as they did him. Bobby said to Jeff, "Thank you. You saved us all."

  "I just saved him," he responded, pointing to the unconscious villain, "You did the rest." He especially referred to Beth, who had been stuck in the bed throughout the incident. Even from there, she had the most courage of them all.

  Jeff stood next to the Detective The two watched as Herald was being carted off in a stretcher; still unconscious. The engaged couple stood at their doorstep. Another officer was going through one last interview with them. Things were much different than the last time he stood next to the detective.

  "What do you think will happen to them now?" the detective asked, "They know the danger that they face."

  Jeff reassured, "They'll do fine. Every couple has to face their difficulty."

  The detective said, "One hell of a difficulty."

  "It is. And that's why I doubt they'll lose each other."