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| - A man drops on the floor, his face inflicted with black lesions coming from his neck. On his suit chest are tiny holes. He takes a few breathes, coughs up blood, and then he stays still. ???: ‘Tis a shame, doctor. But you were an enemy to the Triad, and thus you are an enemy of me. Virus gives a small cackle in his approval of the scene. He is dressed in more dragged clothes. His lab coat has a rip for the right arm, and he wears gear to keep his body up and running with bacteria so he functions properly. Virus smacks down a calendar from the table and steps on it when he leaves the room. The calendar shows a red marking stating “tomorrow - meeting with mayor.” Virus walks his way to a dark van. He steps inside. He is alone, but has two escorts in the front seats, completely separate from him. Escort 1: The mission was successful, I presume? Virus: All he needed to do was get some enhanced anthrax spores to hit him. Worked like a charm. The stab into the chest isn’t what killed him, and that’s all they need to know. The van drives off. Virus lies back in his seat, comfortable. ~~ The next day the man’s body is discovered to have been the Health Commissioner. Who appears on the scene is a strange man with a scar on his face in the shape of a division symbol over his right eye: Jacob Hemsworth. He removes his hat, puts on medical gloves, sterilized clothes and a mask. He carefully inspects the body. Hemsworth: Three stab wounds into the body. Appears to have dark lesions on his neck and coughed up blood. Possibly anthrax or some type of infectious bacteria. Seems like it killed him prematurely and and such a rapid pace. The Commissioner of Police steps into the room with protective gear as well. Commissioner: How long has he been dead? Hemsworth: A few hours, I’d say. He died at night. Seems like he died from the virus itself, though. These stab wounds… They look like someone injected needles into him. Could someone have… Commissioner: How could someone get their hands on that much anthrax to begin with? Hemsworth: There was a break in days ago at the Salem Center for Disease Control. This could have been the suspect of that. I have a feeling he didn’t want this health commissioner meeting with the mayor today. Commissioner: Oh great. Shall I warn the mayor? Hemsworth: Probably, yes. The rest of my men will take this body and analyze it. Give it a proper autopsy. Right now I theorize an injection took place on the man and killed him slowly with a modified version of anthrax. The culprit had to have ties with someone who could have dealt with microbiological specimen. Commissioner, good luck to your men on finding him. Hemsworth leaves the scene, putting his hat back on and discarding the sterilized suit. ~~ Virus sits in his comfy chair as his overseer looks at him with their big eyes. Overseer: Virus, your work was sloppy. I’ll put it there nicely and straight to the point. Virus: It’s hard not to leave a trace when you kill a man with a virus. At least I left not prints whatsoever. They’ll take some time tracking. Meanwhile I want to test these anthrax specimen some more. I’m not quite done yet with them. Overseer: Yes, of course. Your next target should be that detective, Hemsworth. He’s skilled, not incompetent like the rest of those detectives on the force. Virus: I don’t feel like killing him will be undetectable. You said he was competent? You obviously don’t understand how detectives who are competent work, then. Maybe you should read a bit of Doyle’s works. Overseer: I’ve read plenty of books, O’Reale. Every day I read. I know what I’m doing. Now go back to your testing. I’m through with you for today. Virus looks up at the Overseer as it leaves the room. Who this person is, he doesn’t know, but he smiles at the thought that perhaps he might one day. ~~ Stephanie comes downstairs, prepared for work. James is reading the news off of his tablet as he waits for opening time. Stephanie sits down and decides she needs to talk with James. Stephanie: Last night you told me you tracked my phone. James: I’m well aware of it, Stephanie. You want to ask me how I knew, don’t you? The phone was off, wasn’t it? Stephanie: Yes, well- James: Of course I didn’t track your phone. That’s preposterous. Stephanie: So you lied? James: Needed something quick to tide over for the night. Now do you want the truth or not? Stephanie’s brows lower and her eyes squint out of disapproval. Her mouth is open and lightly shakes her head. Stephanie: So you just shrug off your lie? What was that about last night where you wanted me to be “honest?” James: Well, you could use a little more honesty in your life, Stephanie. Alright, I’ll tell you. Stephanie shrugs, hands following the wave of the shrug by raising into the air. Stephanie: Could have done that a little EARLIER. James: The truth is, Stephanie, I am great friends with Dwarn. I knew him in college, until I decided to change my degree, of course. He told me about you once I grew afraid of where you went. Stephanie: Dwarn? You mean he broke his promise? James: Must have. He isn’t an honest abe either, you know. No one really is. Stephanie: This had BETTER not be another lie. James: Why would it be? Stephanie gives a loud “UGH” out of her frustration with James. She sits on the counter. She wants to reach for the phone, but she doesn’t touch it. She notices a ring left on the counter. It has the shame jewel shape as her necklace. She tucks it into her pocket for later. Now is time for work. ~~ Hemsworth walks down near the waterfront next to the Willamette River. He sits on a bench and relaxes as he watches the mighty Willamette River make its journey northward. He receives a phone call from the Police Department. Hemsworth: I presume you have your suspect. Caller: We’ve narrowed down to the man who might have stolen the anthrax. It was the same man. Some men broke in a few days ago into the Center for Disease Control. Three men, two carrying guns and crowbars and one carrying a briefcase. Seems to have known the place well. Hemsworth: Hmmm… Three men, hats. Wearing black, right? Caller: And some blue. Hemsworth: I know this gang. The Triad. They must be responsible. We’re going into some untouchable territory here. Caller: I know. Hemsworth: Bye. Caller: Bye. Hemsworth shoves his phone into his pocket and takes out his gun. ~~ Hemsworth runs as fast as he can. He knows he’s being tracked. He goes into a bar and takes off his jacket and hat. The bar manager sees his gun and raises his brows. Manager: Sir, you can’t have that in here. I’ll need to ask you to leave. Hemsworth spots another hatted man. He gestures his head to the man. Hemsworth: May want that guy to leave too. The man stands up. The manager escorts Hemsworth out. The hatted man follows behind him. Hemsworth runs and the other men chase after him. Hemsworth takes out his taser and uses it against the man. He gets shocked and stumbles to the ground. Hemsworth breathes out of relief, but he knows he’s not done yet. The sun is setting when Hemsworth is hit by a heavy object and is dragged away. If only the gangsters had not done this near Barmms Industrial Jewelry, they would not have been heard. ~~ Emerald stalks the triad gangsters to their base going off of the enhanced hearing she has. She creates a thin crystal to fit into the lock in order to turn it, and heads inside the base. She slowly heads down the steps of the stairs as she peaks to see Hemsworth beaten on the floor. He looks worn out. The two triad members in the base take out a bat and begin to smack it onto his body. He yells in pain. Suddenly Emerald projects a crystal and hits the bat out of their hands. She jumps over the railing and rams into one of the men, knocking him off of his feet. The other man swings his arm but misses. Emerald punches the man and sends him stumbling back and falling belly-up. The other triad member pulls out a semi-automatic. Emerald sees it and turns all of her skin into crystal. He fires, but the bullets reflect off of her body. “TWANG!” both of them go. She round-house kicks the guy, and his head hits the concrete floor, giving him a concussion. Hemsworth breathes slowly as he tries to get up. He sees the woman clad in purple and green. Hemsworth: You… What did you- Emerald puts her hand over his mouth. Emerald: Shhhh. It’s alright. I got them all down. Hemsworth: Miss, you’re forgetting one. Emerald: What? Hemsworth: The triad. They always work in groups of three. There has to be another one here somewhere. Emerald hears footsteps walking her way. Virus: Yes, he is right. The triad prefers to keep the “three” thing going. Virus loads his syringe gauntlet with a mysterious vial. The syringes load with a clear chemical. Hemsworth: So. You’re the perpetrator who killed the commissioner. Virus: It doesn’t take a detective to figure that out, Sherlock. Emerald clenches her fists and takes a boxing stance. She hops around ready for a fight. Emerald: I’ve been waiting to fight something physical for a while now. Virus: Ah yes. YOU were the one who took out Megan. What a shame, too. This will be an astonishing moment. I can get vengeance for my friend. Virus takes a swipe at Emerald, but he misses and she punches him in the gut. “OOf…” Emerald hits him in the face and he stumbles back onto a table. He breathes heavily. But then, he twists a knob on his gauntlet, and the tubes begin to pump into him. He receives more energy, becoming more jittery. Emerald takes another swipe, but he moves impossibly fast. He smacks her in the spine, knocking her to the floor. She quickly gets back up. Virus swings his syringe claws at Emerald but she dodges. The battle is a fast-paced one. Eventually, however, Emerald’s foot slips, and she gets stabbed in the gut with Virus’s syringes. Virus’s mouth widens into a grin. His eyes open. Emerald feels the micro-organisms pump into her system. She suddenly begins to get sick at a rapid pace. Virus takes out the syringes. Virus: I figured yellow fever was the way to go. What do you think? It’s a little twist. A “dead” disease to take your life. How eventful. Emerald drops to the ground. Virus laughs and looks for Hemsworth, but he seems to have disappeared. Virus leaves the scene, seeing Emerald shiver and begin to feel the pain of the yellow fever kick in. She cries in agony. All alone, she removes her mask. Her face becomes sickly. She groans. The stomach pain begins to kick in. She begins to feel woozy. Her eyes start closing, almost on defeat. Her head lowers and she begins to doze off. Not before one final thought, however. NEXT ISSUE: Will Stephanie survive?
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