Chapter 7 - One Who Knows

         The blast blew a hole in the wall that rocked the surrounding buildings.  Debris rained down on the police presence, and pedestrians below.  Bricks

and metal shattered the windshields of the police cruisers parked on the streets.  Police officials and law enforcement personnel ran for cover trying to

comprehend what just happened.  A black silhouette floated down coming to rest between the Emergency Response Unit vehicle and an ambulance. 

         The ERU team members regained their faculties and picked up their gear.  All of them walked over to the hole in the wall, and looked out.  The breeze

blew dust off of their uniforms making some of them sneeze.  The debris laden street below resembled a construction site that had been ransacked.  Officers

below slowly ventured out from behind their cruisers checking out the blast site above. 

         An officer bent over, and picked up the silhouette.  The silhouette had been torn in half due to the blast.  The officer turned it over and smiled at what

was looking at him.  A picture of Porky Pig was staring back at him.  The suspect’s humor wasn’t original since we know the moniker that most police are

known by.

         That was the least of the issues since the bloody mess that came crashing down lay mangled on the sidewalk.  The officer that bent over to pick up

the silhouette ran over to the mangled heap.  Other officers ran over to inspect the victim.  The bent over officer felt for a pulse around the carotid, but there

was nothing.  The victim was unrecognizable due to the impact. 

“Hey, you two, put the body into the coroner vehicle.”  Said Murtaugh, pointing at the EMT’s.  “I need to take it to my lab. “ 

         The EMT’s slid the body into a body bag and placed the body onto a gurney.  Remnants of brain matter, skull, and blood remained as proof that life

had been there.  Officers stepped cautiously around the scene so not to disturb the area.  Murtaugh wasn’t surprised at the scene in front of him.  He had

seen way too much over his career to be surprised by anything. 

         Murtaugh had gone to one scene where the victim had been mutilated where the imagination couldn’t have reached depths so depraved.  The victim

was a young girl no older than thirteen where she had been cut in half.  Her hands, feet, arms, and legs were dismembered, but they were placed in various

positions on the bed.  The butcher that committed this heinous crime had drawn arrows on paper showing where the body parts should be placed.  He had

drawn a profile of himself on one of the pieces of paper using the victim’s blood. 

         The butcher felt that didn’t really leave a great calling card.  He had disemboweled the little girl placing various organs into her mouth.  He left a 4 x 5

polaroid on the pillow next to the victim showing him kissing her cheek.  He was dressed all in black with his head covered.  The only thing showing was his

lips.  There was one thing in the photo that gave a clue as to who he was. 

         The piercing on his upper lip had a gold block etched with the letters I.M.  The only one with those letters was a hood rat named Irresistably

Magnificent.  He was constantly in and out of the system for petty issues.  The detectives pulled up NCIC finding pictures of that profile and sure enough he

was the only one who came up.  The detectives were about to gather themselves together to bring him in when they received a call. 

         The county detention center was on the other line.  They had arrested I.M. for another b and e and had him in booking.  The detectives made their way

over to the detention center to question him.

When the detectives arrived and confronted him he waived his rights to an attorney due to his inebriated state hyped up on Meth.  He immediately confessed

to the murder of the little girl. 

         He had committed the crime because he was told by a sinister creature in his dreams that he would be powerful.  The creature told him that he would

become famous, and that people would revere him.  He was told that he would receive a large sum of money in the next few days thanking him for depleting 

the “surplus population.”  He looked up at the ceiling, raised his arms, and closed his eyes.  He was mumbling an unintelligible incantation. 
         
         “Murtaugh, Murtaugh, hey are you with us?”  asked Markerson, sitting up with a bandage on her neck. 

         “Yes, I’m here.” Replied Murtaugh.  “I’m sorry.  I got caught up in a reflection of a past case.”

         “That has happened to me.”  Said Markerson, wincing through the pain.  “I tend to think about victims that have gotten lost in the recesses.” 

         Markerson slowly rose to her feet not letting the injury interrupt her work flow.  Jordan got up dusting his clothing off.  They both looked each other
over, and gave each other a hug.  Jordan coughed as dust settled into his lungs.  Murtaugh handed him a bottle of water. 

         “Sergeant Gooding, how are the men?”  asked Captain Ripley looking at the hole in the building. 

         “All the men are fine.”  Said Gooding adjusting his earpiece.  “That was childs play.  Is that all they got?” 

         “This has the calling card of what a terrorist would do.”  Said Captain Riley bending down picking up a plastic, coated wire.  “Josie, bring me a bag so I can put this wire into evidence. “ 

         Josie, a forensic evidence tech grabbed a Ziploc bag placing the wire into it.  She labeled the item with the date, time, and location.  She placed the bag into a locked box sitting in the interior of the ERU vehicle. 

         “I’m surprised we made it out of this disaster.”  Said Gooding.  “There is a lot of damage that I don’t know what could be collected as evidence.” 

         “Well, the FBI is here ready to get their hands into the mess.”  Said Ripley rubbing his tie clip.  “They will get up there to sift through the debris when you guys clear the building.” 

         A siren alerted as the ambulance pulled away transporting the dead victim to the coroners lab.  The ambulance made its way through the maze of official vehicles dotting the streets.  The ambulance finally made its way out of the area disappearing around the corner. 

         “Captain Ripley, we are about to gather ourselves together to come on down. “  said Gooding stepping back from the hole.  “Alright men, let’s move on out.  Ramirez and Karding, you’ll have to help Stompley to the elevator.” 

         Stompley sat resting against the wall holding his foot at a weird angle.  His foot was hanging backwards connected by two tendons.  He had received the worst of the blast since he was one of the second guys in sight of the blast area.  A piece of shrapnel blew back into his direction almost severing his foot.  Ramirez and Karding helped him to his feet. 

         “Oh, son of a gun, that kills.”  Yelled Stompley, pounding his tactical vest.  “How did we get caught off guard.” 

         “This suspect is one step ahead of us.”  Said Gooding taking Stompley’s weapon.  “He is an explosives expert, and very aware of his surroundings.” 

         Ramirez and Karding situated themselves on each side of Stompley.  Stompley slid his arms around their shoulders as they guided him towards the elevator.  Stompley was a little taller than both of them, but they were able to move him along quite well.  Ramirez and Karding were very well built so it was not awkward.  The rest of the team followed them to the elevator keeping a wary eye of what was around them. 

         Seargant Gooding stepped into the elevator holding the door open.  Ramirez and Karding helped Stompley into the elevator as the rest of the team stepped in.  Gooding pressed the Level 1 button, looked at his team, and sighed.  He put his head back against the elevator wall thankful that his team came out alive.  Being alive after a situation like the one they just experienced was reward in itself. 

         “We’ll get you taken care of Stompley.”  Said Gooding fist pumping Stompley’s fist. 

         The elevator made its way down each floor making a dinging noise.  Floor twenty-one whizzed by, twenty and nineteen dinged.  The elevator made a harsh screeching noise as it slid towards the eighteenth floor.  The elevator slammed to a grinding halt.  The lights shut down blanketing the team in cave blackness. 

         “Well, this is just great.”  Said Ramirez shifting his weight to support Stompley. 

         “Haven’t we been through enough.” Said Karding adjusting his vest.  “I’ve got my wife at home making me dinner.”

         “Our job is never done.”  Said Gooding popping on his flashlight.  “This might be something to do with our suspect.” 

          Gooding shone his light on the button panel pressing the seventeenth floor.  The elevator didn’t make any movement.  He pressed the sixteenth floor hoping for anything.  The elevator lurched, grinding slowly to the sixteenth floor.  The elevator didn’t stop at the sixteenth floor because it stopped halfway between the floors. 

         “What the heck is the deal?”  asked Rosen,  the newbie on the team.  “I don’t have time to play games with this fool.”

         “Relax Rosen.”  Said Gooding giving him a nod.  “There’s always something going on in our line of work.          

         “Nothing is going to happen to us.”  Said Ramirez looking at Stompley. 

         “I hope not.”  Said Rosen shaking his head.  “I’ve got the last season of Alf to watch.” 

         The elevator started to move again with a big lurch but it started to blow through the floors.  The elevator was moving with the speed of a sprinter.  The team grabbed the walls waiting for the impact.  The fifth floor dinged as the elevator crunched the cables.  The elevator came to a vibrating rest. 

         “This is ridiculous.”  Said Gooding.  “This elevator isn’t having glitches.  Its being operated by someone.” 

         The emergency phone rang.  Gooding looked at the phone with concern.  The team took a minute to grasp the situation.  Gooding  continued to look at the phone giving time for a few more rings.  He grabbed the phone putting it to his ear. 

         “Yes, who is this?”  asked Gooding looking at his team. 

         “Put me on speaker phone.” Said the caller breathing hard in Gooding’s ear. 

         Gooding hit the speaker button on the panel, and placed the phone back onto its cradle.  He took out his notebook ready to write down any interesting details.  Ramirez looked up scanning the ceiling with his flashlight.  There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary.  Everything seemed to be normal.

         “The elevator is in my control.”  Said the caller clearing his throat.  “I gather you have figured that out by now.” 

         “What do you want?”  asked Rosen shouting out his irritation.  “I don’t have time for your games.” 

         Sergeant Gooding waved his hand while looking at Rosen.  Gooding shook his hand at Rosen letting him know to take a step back. 

         “I have a feeling your officers are getting frustrated.”  Said the caller tapping his phone.  “What do I want?”   

         Ramirez pulled out his cell phone, and pressed his contact list searching for Captain Ripley’s number.  He texted that the team was in the elevator talking to someone on the phone who said they were in charge.  Ramirez hit the send button.  Gooding gave a thumbs up to Ramirez for being a step ahead.  Ramirez took a peek at his phone, but no message yet. 

         “Is there anything we can do for you?” asked Gooding  looking at his Breitling Chronometer.  “We don’t really want to be in this elevator all day waiting for you to decide on our fates.” 

         “I like how you are understanding the position that you are in, Sergeant.”  Said the caller clicking his teeth. 

         “What position do you think my team and I are in?”  asked Gooding tilting his head towards the phone.  “We are an Emergency Response Unit, we deal with situations all the time. “ 

         “I bet you weren’t expecting to spend your time in the elevator.”  Said the caller playing with the zipper on his facial mask. 

         Ramirez’s phone vibrated with the Captain’s reply text.  It read “Do you know who it is?”  Ramirez sent a reply text which said “Nothing at this time. See if there is a way to tap into the elevator phone.” 

         “I can get someone on that right away.”  The Captain texted back. 

         “I’ll be waiting for your text.”  Texted Ramirez snapping his phone shut. 

         “What did the Captain say about the phone tapping?”  asked Gooding scanning Ramirez’s face. 

         “He said he would get someone on it right away.”  Replied Ramirez with a written note. 

         The elevator lurched again as it started to move to the next floor.  The team looked at each other not sure whether it was going to be their final ride.  The elevator dinged on the fourth floor but the door didn’t open up.  A ceiling tile fell out and hit Gooding  on the left shoulder knocking his radio askew.  He
readjusted his radio. 

         “Hey, you know what Mr. caller you can add assault to your list of charges.”  Said Gooding giving a nod towards the elevator phone.  “A ceiling tile just fell out and hit me.” 

         “Oh, my bad.”  Said the caller sneezing into the phone.  “I’ll be doing a lot more than that.” 

         “Let me give you a heads up.”  Said Gooding tapping the metal around the phone.  “You won’t be able to control us for too long.” 

         “I’ve been able to keep you and your team as a captive audience.”  Said the caller placing a drink down on the table. 

         Ramirez and Karding assisted Stompley as he slid down to the floor to rest.  Stompley grunted as he sat down on the floor crunching his leg slightly.  He slid his legs out to ease the pain pulsing through.  Stompley laid his head back against the wall, and closed his eyes.  A small tear appeared in his left eye. 

         “I agree you have had our attention for a while, but it will be over shortly.”  Said Gooding looking at Stompley. 

         “Yes, your time is counting down.”  Said the caller sipping from his drink.  “I look forward to my next item on my list.” 

         “How big is your list?”  asked Gooding looking at his Chronometer.  “I need to have a list, like a bucket list.” 

         “I have a two page list.”  Said the caller leaning against the desk.  “This is my bucket list.”

         “Make sure you have that list on you when I arrest you.” Said Gooding getting close to the speaker phone.  “I want to frame it for my desk.” 

         “This is not a game.”  Yelled the caller throwing his glass across the room.  “You think this is a joke?” 

         Ramirez held up his hand as he pulled his vibrating phone out of his pocket.  The Captain texted back.  The text said the caller was coming from inside the building. 

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