Dusk had created a colorful, warm, light that surrounded her.  He could feel her as though the light was created by him and he enveloped her.

“Be patent.  Take your time with this one.” He reminded himself.

“She is only “once”.  The flesh is fragile.  Let her linger.”

Scorpius allowed the moment to extend.  He would wait for dusk to turn to night when he would allow himself to envelop her with his entire being.  For now the light worked its magic.

He watched her and loved the moment in it’s entirety.

-MRC

“Not likely.” She said to no one.

“WHAT!?” Ransom appeared out of no where.

“OH SHHhhh. . . ! You scared the hell out of me.  Where were you?” Lynn’s heart nearly stopped.

“Whoa. Sorry Agent.  Didn’t mean to spook you.” Ransom approached from behind a nearby power shed.

Lynn watched him carefully.  At this point in any investigation, and since she spoke to Detective Nelson, anyone could be the rapist/God wannabe.

“You said something about evidence?” Lynn sounded completely calm.

“I did?”

“Yes.  You sounded urgent.”

“Oh right.  Yeah. Sorry.  I thought I found something but it was just an old tennis shoe.  Wrong size for the prints we found.”

“And you forgot to tell me not to come?”

“Oh I wanted you to come anyway.  That’s why I didn’t call back.”

“Okkaaaaay.”

“Don’t worry; it’s important you see something.” Laughed Ransom.

“What? What should I see?” Lynn casually let her hand go to her sidearm.

“It’s over there.”  He nodded to an area behind her.

“Ok.  You lead the way Sheriff.”

-MRC

“No she isn’t on her death bed Hil. No matter what she tells you.  It’s too soon.  Beside she won’t die until it suits her.  And it won’t suit her unless it inflicts the most pain on me.”

She spent the next 45 minutes talking her sister off the cliff’s edge.  She actually felt bad for Hilary.  Their mother was a handful and now, home in bed, dying of stage 4 colon cancer, she was even worse.  Lynn did feel guilty, very guilty, that she wasn’t there to lend a hand.  Not because she wanted to be there for her mother, not at all. But because Hil was trapped.

“I’ll make it up to you Hil.  I promise.”

Of course her older sister had heard that a million times before and wasn’t buying it.  But she finally let Lynn get back to work.

-MRC

“If we fail we are both screwed. You know that right?”

“We can’t fail.  We have to stop this guy.”

“What if we can’t make it stick because we broke a few rules?”

“That’s a bridge we cross when we get to it.  Agreed?”

Lynn smiled.

“Agreed.  But let’s try and limit the damage eh?”

The Detective smiled. 

“Can’t promise anything.”

Lynn suddenly blurted, “CRAP.  Sheriff Johns is expecting me right now.”

“I’ll drive you.  Where are we going?”

“To the hatchery.  The tribal hatchery.”

“OK. You call ahead and I’ll bring the car around.”

Lynn fumbled for her phone.  There were two new messages waiting.

END ACT 2

-MRC

Fahib, a lone rider, points his run-down Honda Trail east, away from the rapidly sinking sun.  The dust that has yet to settle from previous riders shrouds Fahib in an eerie glow from his high set head lamp.  Ahead lays his destination. 

Kandahar, Afghanistan is a dump, a boil on the skin if you will, with nothing going for it.  But every Saturday night Kandahar is a mecca. 

The parking lot is a wash of dust and exhaust.  Fahib is in his element.  He loves a good biker bar.  He would kill two birds with one stone at this sort of place.  Long nights of discussion as well as a good smoke would complete his day.

As he pulls into the parking slip, a woman, in full Berka, as prescribed by the local Taliban, stares at him.  The impertinence of the woman is almost more than he can bear.  He storms over to her with a switch in hand, raised above his hand, ready to strike.  She does not budge but stands ready for the blows.

I the blink of an eye the switch vanishes from his hand.  He turns around to see who would be so bold only to find a Goddess, dressed in sheer gauze and a blinding light standing defiantly before him.

“And what did you plan to do with this switch Mr. Arab man?”

-END

“Why did you show me this?  I am not officially on this case.  Did you just break the chain of evidence?”

The Detective looked grave.

“I am out of options Agent.  I want these rapes to stop and I am willing to do just about anything at this point.  Even if I lose my job, if it prevents a single rape, it will be worth it.”

“But what happens to me is just collateral damage then I take it?”

“What would you have done in my place?”

“I guarantee I would have done EXACTLY the same thing.”  Lynn gave him a reassuring smile.

“I wouldn’t be so sure Lynn.  This could get messy before we are done.  You will be on the same hook I am if this goes south.”  Eric dried his hands on his pants.

“You did say that you spoke to my supervisor at Quantico right?”

“I did.”

“I don’t think this is an accident then.  Our working on this together.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember when I told you that sex crimes were my specialty?”

“Yes.”

“It’s deeper than that.  I specialize in sex abuse of minors.  I understand the victim-ology of these crimes.  It has made me wonder why I was sent here to investigate fish.  It seemed like a waste of time. But, now I wonder. . .”

-MRC

Old Hank isn’t impressed. “Pff. Stall tactic.”

“Easy Hank.” Eric knows the situation is still volatile.

“Fine, you want me to play nice with the kiddies.” Lilith seems resigned to her fate now.

“Ok, so what’s your plan?”

“I will focus my attention where it can be of better use.  If you have a problem with that, find me.  If you can.”

With that, Lilith evaporated.

“Well, THAT could mean anything.” Says Old Hank.

“Jeez.  Yeah.  That’s what worries me, old friend.  Wanna get a drink?”

“Ooh. At Mr. Grey’s?  Absolutely.”

-MRC

“Disturbing? That’s your analysis?  What part disturbs you more?  The fact that someone knows about this little signature tidbit or that no one knows about this and yet, here it is, in the bag?  Impossible.  There is nothing comforting about this detective.  Either you have a copy cat rapist or a ghost.  Neither is good.”

“It gets better.” The detective stood up and paced a little.

“Oh I can’t wait.”

“The Medford rapist escalated.  His fourth and final victim was murdered.”

“And how many cases do you have here?”

“Three.”

“Crap.  So if all of this is to be believed, and I have no reason to doubt it, then our copy cat plans to kill the next victim.”

-MRC

“Meh.  It’s a living.” She smiles a nasty, toothy, smile.

Eric isn’t worried.  He owns the upper hand and she knows it.

“Listen, what you have been doing has disrupted a lot of lives unnecessarily just to prevent you from being bored.  I think that is a waste of talent.  You are an Eternal.  Sending you back would only be a temporary fix for me.  So we, you and I, need to come up with a better solution.  Yes?”

“Talent?  You consider me to be talented? “  

She fights to contain her rage. 

“Men of earth are a waste of space as far as I am concerned.  All they do is war on each other and degrade their women.  I am a purge for this blight called man.  Present company accepted, of course”

“There is no use arguing the merits of men and women with you.  I know that. But I can’t let you continue in this way.  Either find a more mutually beneficial mission or I send you back and we continue this dance forever.”

“Forever is a long time for humans.  You are part human, I am an Eternal.  How could you possibly continue this fight with me?”

“My father is a very powerful man, Lilith.  He will assign another to replace me when that day comes.  This could get old for you.”

“Oh, so it is me you are thinking of, not your precious breed.” She snarls.

“I couldn’t care less about you lily. It’s your choice.  I’m just being nice.”

-MRC

“So, what you are telling me is that we have a copy cat?”

“What I am telling you agent is that we have a serial rapist who uses the same MO and leaves the same signature as the Medford rapist who died a year ago.”

“Sooo. . .a copy cat.” She repeated.

“It could look that way, except for the fact that the signature, this calling card, was never made public.”

The detective let that tidbit set in.

“Ok, there was a leak in the Medford police department.  The info got out.”  Lynn said with certainty.

“That was the thought at the time except that the chain of evidence was never broken. No one could have known about it outside the department and they all passed polygraph tests AND our current rapist could not have seen a copy of that business card.  Ever.”

Lynn suppressed a laugh.

“Oooooooh.  An X File.  Scary.”

-MRC