Chapter 17: November 25th – New York – Evening

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Chapter 17: November 25th – New York – Evening

          Joseph took a break and caught some sleep in the break room for an hour or two. He didn’t want to leave the precinct because he wanted to be here if anything happened. Joseph’s dreams as usual weren’t pleasant, this one revolved around him failing everyone here. The dream had him in the place that Natalie described, a war torn precinct office with his name at the Detective’s door. The main room looked like a bomb had gone off and the sprinklers above are spraying everywhere. People were screaming, evacuating the station and Joseph just stood there in his office watching everything crumble away. He wasn’t able to beat this guy, despite how foolish and brazen he is, he always seems to slip away. Then he woke up.

Two officers were in the break room chatting about their personal lives, both of them were female. Joseph glanced at them for a few second before getting up from the table where his head has been resting on his arms on. He walked into the main floor of the precinct and Naomi spotted him coming out of the break room.

“You know I can here you snore right? Why don’t you go home?”

“I live in Quebec, I’m far from home.” He answered, his French Canadian voice breaking through again. He walked passed Naomi and headed straight towards Paul O’Healy’s office. After seeing Paul O’Healy with the computer earlier and looking at his daughter, he thought it would be best for him to be alone for a little bit to calm down and pull himself back together. Besides, there were still plenty of things for the forensic nerds to find and clean up before they can get a real good look on the hard drive, something tells him all the answers they’ve wanted can be found there. Joseph knocks on the office door, waiting for Paul O’Healy to come in.

In the office is a forensic geek standing to the right side behind O’Healy, wearing glasses and a white lab coat. While he may be working on the computer, he can be often found looking over dead bodies and doing blood tests. He’s been told several times that the lab coat isn’t actually necessary but the twenty-something fresh outta school geek thinks it’s cool, “just like tv” he would say to everyone who tells him that. Also in the room is Agents Kwok and Mach, both of them standing off to the left of Paul O’Healy. They were all looking at the laptop computer. Paul looked up seeing Joseph in the room.

“Where the fuck have you been?”

“Sleeping, I took a break. Sue me.” Joseph responded. He walked behind O’Healy’s desk to see what the commotion is about. On the laptop monitor is a up close picture of what appears to be a back of a Caucasian Male, three fist size holes have been marked on the back with a red felt pen. The next image in the slideshow is a metallic piece of metal being bolted into the back of the man where one of the holes were, the next the same procedure on the second one, and same with the next one after that. The metallic rod inserted in the back doesn’t look like it could bend and relies on the core idea of flesh suspension, the body modification for suspending’s one’s self with hooks and wires.

“What the hell are we looking at?” Joseph asked the group. Although he had a faint idea what they were looking at. The forensic geek answered him.

“This is one of the image galleries we’ve obtained from the hard drive. It’s a step by step picture tutorial on how he was able modify his body to accept his metallic wings. Currently we’re looking at the insertion of a bolt into his back that would be an anchor for one wing. The wing will have several places so it can fold. In other words he can fold and unfold his wings and hide in plain sight. Also with this image gallery is a word document detailing everything bit by bit. What I’ve come too realized is that he was taught how to do this by a body modification specialist, who? I’m not sure. However with the rest of his MO I don’t think that he’s alive anymore.”

“Rest of his MO? There’s more? Why didn’t you wake me?” Joseph felt insulted that he wasn’t alerted to new information. He looked at Paul O’Healy for an explanation but it was Agent Mach who answered for him.

“You’re brought on as a consultant, not an operative. You’ve done more than your work. It’s time that you let us finish it.” This is clearly a play by the FBI seeking credit for the arrest instead of the NYPD or Joseph Pierre himself. He understood this tactic, he saw Detective Morrow do it to O’Healy a few years ago in the Devil’s Cabal case.

“Mind if I stay then? I would like to know everything.”  He asked, but before Agent Mach can answer the Foresnic Geek chimed in.

“Oh, this is just the iceberg. Along with these videos are several images of people he was stalking… which you’ve already seen when I brought up a partial bit of the hard drive to look at. But there is more, while the videos and images may be incriminating, I’ve found something fascinating in a 12 gig chat log.” The Forensic Geek seemed over joyed about this finding.

The group looks at the Forensic Geek. Joseph saw the Analysis summary on the table which outlines what they’ve found on the hard drive a quick look at the document revealed ten pictures of the crucifiction of Detectives Michael Morrow and Jane Brockbank, twelve pictues of “Naomi King,” seven pictures of Kendra O’Healy – the Granddaughter of Paul O’Healy, 1,320 pictures showing the creation and insertion of the metallic wings, and sixteen pictures of how to castrate a male and female genitalia. There were also 12 gigs of documents, a small portion of these were how-to tutorials for the pictures, but most of them were chat logs with a person named Doctor.

“Is that a lot of data?” Joseph asked, looking at the piece of paper and back at the Forensic scientist. Paul O’Healy is busy flipping through the rest of the sideshow on the metallic wings with Agents Mach and Kwok looking over his shoulder.

            “It’s a lot and from what I’ve gathered and what John Mach has found regarding his past, it is a perfect cocktail of crazy and desperation.” Joseph looked at Mach again, he didn’t like the possibility that he was holding out on information until now, but then again so did Joseph and O’Healy.

“Well what did he find, and what did you find?” Joseph asked, he wasn’t sure if the group heard this yet. They seemed more interested in the actual mountain of evidence they found on the hard drive.

“Agent Mach found a psych report back in high school that said he was bipolar. He didn’t have any friends in school and is the typical geek that school counsellors would look in on as a school shooting suspect. I’m glad to say he made it past high school without shooting anyone up, thanks to this program called Doctor on his computer.” The Forensic Geek said.

“Is it like a game?” Agent Kwok asked. Joseph wondered that too, it’s not uncommon for damaged kids to seek refuge in video games.

“Doctor is like a very advances ELIZA. ELIZA was a program back in the 1970’s that if you type in something the computer would respond. So if you type in how are you? It’ll respond with something like I am great and if you try and be well… sexual with it… it would shut you down. What Doctor is, seems like a homebrew game made just like ELIZA except for the 20^th century. Imagine a program that can scan the internet for your identity and reply back to you in an intelligent matter and get used to the way you are and speak? It has no boundaries on what to talk about, it doesn’t care if all you want to do is talk naughty to it, it’ll look up fetishes on the internet, people’s experiences, and by the way you type to it decide which end you want to be and react to it. It’s astonishing.”

“How does this relate to Thomas?” O’Healy asked from his desk, curious about the discussion now.

“Well he was in high school when he started talking to it. He’s now 23, so he’s had seven solid years with it. I doubt the thing has been tested to have a chat going for that long, saved and achieved. The discussions the AI must’ve had with him may’ve given the doctor an actual persona that relates to him. I haven’t read it all but… it’s astonishing from the first little bit to near the end where the AI seems to be the one telling him what he should do, giving instructions on how to make bombs and scare people.” The Forensic geek answers.

“So you’re saying the AI is self-aware?” Agent Mach asked, this had turned into a science fiction story. This is turning up to be the case Joseph Pierre would usually do.

“Not self-aware exactly, but it can think. You know the saying Cogito ergo sum? I think, therefore I exist? It’s the idea that as long as you can think, you exist. Which computers and this program can do. That’s his connection to the new god he mentioned in his manifesto, the AI is his god and he is a servant. The machine provides, the human serves type of ideal found in the Matrix.” The Forensic geek answered the questions Joseph had, and that was if the guy is sane. Clearly he’s not.

“Hated that series,” Kwok says, everyone looked up to him.

“So in other words, he’s sick then? Mentally sick?” Mach asked. The Forensic geek shrugs.

“I look at hard drives and body parts, I can’t answer that question. He’s done terrible things and he must know that. But other than that, I don’t know what to tell you.”

The room is quiet, Joseph asks another question. “So what is his motive with the girls? He spat on about life/death, angel/devil? What was that about.”

“I don’t know? I know he performed castration because he believes that angels are gender neutral, but maybe he was looking for someone to share this with? I mean despite having his computer he must get lonely too every now and then. I honestly couldn’t say. Would you like to try it?” The Forensic Geek said.

“Uh sure…” Joseph said. The Forensic Geek took the laptop away from Paul O’Healy for a moment, turning it towards Joseph. With a few clicks of the track pad a new Session ID with the doctor popped up.

“Just need to speak to it, and It’ll respond.” The Forensic Geek chimed in.

“Ah ok, well. Hello Doctor, I’m Joseph Pierre. How are you?” His speech on the screen appeared in a dos like background. After he spoke the cursor jumps to another line blinking waiting for a response. The program replied with a Sorry for your loss.

“What?” Joseph said looking at the screen. The Forensic Scientist looks at it and he was also confused.

“I don’t know. Ask what it means?” The conversation Joseph and the Forensic Scientist have is typed out onto the DOS screen. The computer then replies. It means I’m sorry for Joseph’s and everyone’s recent loss.

Paul O’Healy is getting agitated watching this program speak and respond. He slams the notebook shut before the computer or Joseph and anyone else can respond to it. He then begins yelling at people to get out.

“Everyone get out except for Joseph.” Everyone followed O’Healy’s orders. The Forensic geek and the FBI agents left. Joseph walked around the desk and takes a seat at the chair in front of the desk, the first time he got to sit down with a meeting with O’Healy.


              “I want him dead, I don’t give a flying fuck if he’s mentally retarded.” O’Healy bluntly said, without caution to who may be listening outside the door. He spoke loudly and with authority, he was angry.

“I understand that.” Joseph said.

“Do you? Cause if the FBI find him first, not only do they get credit but the fucker just ends up in jail. I want him dead Joseph, that’s what you’re here for.” O’Healy says. Joseph nodded in agreement.

“I said I will, I just need to lure him in, and I’m working on that. It’ll be done, sooner than you think probably.” Joseph added, O’Healy smiled at that.

“I fucking hope so.”

“I’m going back out, stopping at the hotel first though. I want to pick up some new clothes and maybe a shower to wake me up. Then I’ll be back in action, no sign of him eh?” Joseph asked, Paul O’Healy shook his head.

“It’s like he’s a fucking ghost. Where the fuck is he?”

Joseph knew New York is a big place and it’s very easy to hide in especially if you’re white and look like a good quarter of the population. Everyone is looking for someone with wings, not dressed normally and hiding in plain sight. Even now when Joseph is looking around the busy streets on the way to his hotel he can’t seem to find anyone who could be Thomas. Joseph gets distracted by his phone, it starts ringing with an unknown number.

“Hello?” Joseph asks. The voices on the other end were female and they were laughing. It was more of a butt dial than anything. Joseph is confused, trying to listen to their conversation but isn’t able to make any words out. After a few more seconds he hung up his cellphone and attempted to call back, but wasn’t able to. Strange he thought. Joseph put the phone back into his voice mail and headed to Glitz Hotel the place Paul O’Healy’s been putting him in for the past week and a half for his room and board. Joseph needed to get back to his place to recharge, it’s like an itch on the back of his head telling him to go home.

Joseph entered the lobby of The Glitz, it was a weird hotel and it wasn’t chained. Joseph didn’t understand why he was put up in here, but O’Healy knows a bunch of people and maybe he isn’t really paying that much to put him up here. Either way Joseph didn’t mind. The hotel had 30 floors, most of them get filled up by customers every night because of the location of the hotel. There were a half dozen elevators going up and down, Joseph took one to the 29^th floor, where his room is.

Getting out of the elevator he looked straight down the hallway and knew something was wrong. The itch for him to go home in the back of his head is gone, and he can kind of see his door is ajar because he is unable to see the handle from where he was. He walked several feet passing rooms as he walked by. The door is opened and there doesn’t seem to be a sign of forced entry. Joseph pulls out his phone and called O’Healy.

“Hey boss, my room got broken into.” Joseph commented. Joseph pulls out his gun, raising it as he creeps inside his apartment.

“Want me to send backup?” O’Healy asked. This was a reasonable question to the situation but Joseph declined.

“Just stay on the line, just in case something happens then come.” He said. Joseph purposely spoke loudly so the person in his hotel knew he was coming. The hotel is laid out as a simple room. There is a small hallway that leads into the main room where the bed and television is. In the hallway there is a small bathroom and across from it a small closet, it wasn’t fancy. Joseph left the door open as he walks through his place, holding the phone with his head and shoulder. The first place he checked is the bathroom, he opened it and saw no one. He walked out of the bathroom and into the main room, he bent down looking underneath the bed and saw no one hiding under there.

Ding The elevator door went and Joseph jumped. The sound scared him but it was only people getting off. Joseph put the phone down onto his bed, it was on speakerphone.  “Something is missing” Joseph said to O’Healy on the other line.

“What’s gone?” O’Healy asked.

            “Shit, it’s gone. The evidence!” The small briefcase he had that contained video of Paul O’Healy on the security camera during his granddaughter’s deaf is gone. Joseph turns around towards the door planning to close it. He sees Thomas at the doorway pointing a shotgun at him, and he heard the loud blast before he felt anything.