With a blank expression, Edward's mind races with thoughts. Different paths and different plans all culminating into one key concept: "what the hell am I going to do now?"

  Wham

  In the same instant that he hears a door slam behind him, a cold coarse hand grasps onto his nape.

  "Now," says Tardigrade from behind. "You have 47 seconds to explain to me why you just did that.

  Let it be known though, I am not a man of mercy; begging won't save you."

  Edward glares.

  "(If I plan to teleport him into mid-air, such as when I was flying on the plane on the way here, I can only hope he falls to his death.)" Thinks Edward to himself as the seconds quickly count down. "(Big emphasis on hope though, considering he's no slouch. I don't know how strong or durable he is, but the risk isn't worth it. Not to mention, I'm bottoming out on my soul; who knows how much farther away I can teleport, so I run the risk of accidentally killing myself from escaping. Plus, he might even keep his hand on my neck the very millisecond I try anything, so that doesn't help me either. Well, the only thing I can do is what I do best.)"

  "I did our job in a way that's lot more convincing than him mysteriously dying in his home, or in prison for that matter." Explains Edward. "Do you really think people will believe that he just happened to kill himself in either scenario? Please."

  Edward points to the ledge. "The evidence is right there, full front and center. There's no disputes or proof. When they scan his body for drugs, they won't find anything. And by the time personnel arrive, neither us, nor the body in the stairs will be found."

  "What about the camera feed?" Asks Tardigrade. "25 seconds."

  "I already took care of the cameras yesterday. The whole reason I got myself caught was to plan all of this."

  "And what the hell was your goal? 17 seconds."

  "I wanted to impress you guys."

  "PAHAHAHA!" Cackled Tardigrade. "You're a bad bullshitter, you know that? 11 seconds."

  "I wanted to prove my worth that with me and my ability, I'm more than just a mere hacker. We'd get the money easier since I secured it with a contract. If he lied, he would die and well, he did. I fooled both experienced agents, which I think is impressive enough. Nevertheless I hope you will consider me as a candidate for the CIA-"

  Edward feels his neck tighten. He closes his eyes, and hears his heart bump aloud.

  Bump.

  Bump.

  Bump.

  Edward then feels a hand on his chest, and an arm wrapped around his neck.

  "Come with me," says Tardigrade with a sly grin. "We're going for a drink."

  Edward, trying not to stain his pants brown, says with a stiff face "Alright. But, what are we going to do with the bodyguard? Plus Police are already on their way to investigate the scenes."

  Tardigrade sighs and says "wait here." Within five seconds, Tardigrade blurs down the stairs, picks up the 6'5" corpse, and climbs back up to meet Edward. "Can you teleport back down?" Asks Tardigrade.

  "I don't want to risk it. My levels are low." Explains Edward.

  "Ah- so I had you dead to rights either way, eh?" Teases Tardigrade.

  Edward stares as he lowers his chin. Another name is added to the list.

  "Come on," says Tardigrade, holding the large corpse as if it were a briefcase. "Hop on my back. And hold tight."

  As Edward latches on to Tardigrades' back, the senior agent would squat down and then with a single leap, jump over a couple of buildings that were only half the height of the tower.

  "Jumping up that high is a bitch, but in terms of horizontal distance, I'm pretty good. Be glad I was more of a long distance jumper in my youth."

  "WH-WH-WHY SHOULD I BE GLAD?" Asks Edward, shivering from the sheer wind speed.

  "Because if I was into high jump, Bullwinkle would still be alive."

  Edward keeps quiet.

  After they deescalate down to a comfortably small building, Tardigrade peers over the edge and finds a dumpster. He scans for any witnesses; there's no one. He dumps the corpse in there and dusts his hands off. He plops down casually. Edward on the other hand makes sure to jump from the roof to the AC unit, down the dumpster, and down to the ground.

  Tardigrade snickers.

  "What?" Asks Edward, annoyed.

  "I didn't say anything."

  "Well... what now?"

  "We walk of course. Vincent is waiting for us."

  "...But judging from our location, Vincent is a good couple of miles away."

  "Yeah. So let's get to it."

  Edward groans.

  .

  .

  .

  Meanwhile, at the bottom of the tower, Vincent stares at the tarped over, splattered remains of Travis. He lights up a cigarette. He sees women cry and mothers cover their children's eyes while the children try to sate their curiosity. Despite being used to the field, Vincent couldn't help but feel a little bad about the whole situation. With a sigh, he walks back to the cafe and sits patiently. What happened already happened, and there's no point in complaining about it. It's just a matter of who gets yelled, what will happen to himself, and most importantly, how they're going to kill Edward; the latter of which relieved him the most.

  After 10 minutes, Vincent gets a call from Tardigrade in which the entire situation is explained. Vincent's eyebrows twitch knowing that Edward is still alive yet, for now, this is the plan. There's always a plan after all.

  .

  .

  .

  After 40 minutes, Edward and Tardigrade eventually arrive at the cafe. Edward looks gassed out while Tardigrade seems pretty chipper.

  "Did you already pay?" Asks Tardigrade.

  "Yup." Says Vincent, glaring at Edward. "Why's he still alive?"

  "He impressed me. He's only alive because I allow it." Explains Tardigrade.

  "Ah." Says Vincent, getting up from his chair. Upon standing up, both Tardigrade and Edward realize Vincent is missing his shoes. "I see. What's the plan?" Asks Vincent, walking up to Edward.

  "We're going out for drinks." Says Tardigrade.

  "Ah I see." Says Vincent, finally going face to face with Edward.

  Despite Edward's rather calm demeanor, Vincent couldn't help but see the smallest corner of his mouth tilt up into a smug smirk.

  SMACK

  Vincent slaps the smirk off Edward's face. "You owe me $4,000."

  Hornswoggled, Edward stares at Vincent before responding. "Fuck you."

  SMACK.

  Vincent infuses his hand with ki, slapping Edward once more.

  Pissed, Edward retaliates by attempting to slap Vincent once again.

  Only to have his hand be caught, parried, and slapped once again.

  Tardigrade whips out another cigarette. "You boys can have your fun, and I won't intervene. But once I finish this cigarette, we're leaving."

  As Tardigrade took his sweet time, Edward and Vincent, out in the open sidewalk of down town New York, rough up and wrestle each other in broad day light. People stare at the scene, but know better than to get involved in the scene. Because of the scene at the tower, most police are too occupied investigating Bullwinkle's death to worry about two men fighting each other.

  After eight minutes, Tardigrade happily flicks his cigarette butt into the street. "Alright boys, we ready?"

  Vincent, with a scratch on his right cheek readjusts his torn and stretched suit. He mutters to himself: "4,000....5,000 for the suit...200 for the haircut and..." Right as he finishes his count, his glasses break. "Those were $900 prescription glasses you son of a bitch."

  Edward, hunched and kneeling over, looks up with his swollen face. His lips are busted, both of his eyes are bruised black and purple, his cheek is malformed, and judging from his position, his stomach most likely endured a minor hematoma.

  "Showve if uhf yerh ath." Responds Edward.

  Despite trying to say "shove it up your ass," Edward only slurs out a string of saliva, blood, and words that are as mangled as his face. Vincent, in hearing this, shrugs at the response, and is content with the state that Edward is in.

  "But first," states Vincent. "Let's quickly go for some clothes."

  .

  .

  .

  After an hour of shopping, and another hour arguing with the manager at the Versace store that despite staying true to the "no shoes no service" part of the store, Vincent "negotiated" with the manager and finally got an entirely new set of clothes. Of course, Edward charges it with his card, only for all of his cards to be declined. Tardigrade takes over, and explains to Edward that it would be applied to his new "CIA bank account."

  "I thought everything in the trip was being paid by the CIA?" Asks Edward.

  "Yes, for the food, gas, and motel. This, is all coming from your own pocket."

  "How much would I have left over?" Asked Edward.

  "$1.43"

  Afterwards, the three of them venture onwards to the bar. It's a pub styled like an Irish tavern. The smell of lagers and wood fill the entire venue. Preppy college kids and blue collar 40 year olds done with work fill the seats. All of the wooden tables have been glossed over from decades of patrons marking the tables with their knives. This makes all the tables have a slightly sticky feeling were one to touch it with their bare hands.

  The three of them finally sit down in front of the bartender; a jaded man in his late 20s. Vincent, with a change of clothes feels a lot more content. Tardigrade sits in the middle, cool as a cucumber. And Edward sits calmly, now with a less swollen face, yet the bruises are still apparent.

  "And just to be sure," starts Edward, "this one's coming from the organization's pocket, right?"

  "Yes." Assures Tardigrade.

  "What can I get for you guys." Starts the bartender.

  "I'll take your plum brandy if you have some, thank you." Starts Vincent.

  "Woodford Reserve Whiskey, on the rocks please." Says Tardigrade.

  "I'll have A Rolling Rock, a Dos Equis, Angry Orchard, and a uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh a shot of Angel's Envy please."

  The bartender raises his eyebrow at Edward. Though it's typical to only serve one drink at a time, seeing the bruises on Edward's face, the bartender let's this one slide.

  The men get their drinks.

  Vincent slowly sips on his brandy. "Hm. Yes." Counts the agent as he smells the plum brandy. "It has notes of plum as well as that fermented rich smell." He takes a sip, making a bit of a sour expression, yet smiles. "It's quite bitter, but in the best way possible. Not the softest thing ever but, its certainly a delicacy. Would you like to try some?" Asks Vincent towards Tardigrade.

  Tardigrade nods and takes a sip. He too, makes a similar face. "It's not bad! Do you want a sip of this?"

  "Of course." Says Vincent. Vincent takes a sip and smiles. "Damn. That stuffs intense. You can really taste the oak of the barrel. Glad I'm not taking a shot of it."

  Tardigrade turns to Edward. "How about you Edward, how's your sele-"

  Within the couple of minutes that they've been drinking, Edward had already finished the bottle of Rolling Rock. "..." Edward pauses, and looks at the other two agents, before responding with a delayed "...what?"

  "Nothing." Simply responds Tardigrade.

  With little effort, their plan was naturally working.

  .

  .

  .

  After 40 minutes, Vincent had finally finished his brandy. Edward on the other hand had already taken 3 shots, a jaeger-bomb, and seltzer. After fiddling with his phone, Tardigrade slips his phone into his inner suit pocket. By this time, Tardigrade had only taken 2 drinks; including the initial Woodford Reserve.

  "Gotta take a leak," announces Vincent. "Be right back." As he leaves, Vincent readjusts his ear piece once he's entered the bathroom.

  "So," starts Tardigrade, leaning over to Edward. "What were you planning to do with the money?"

  "Harmmmm hurr hurr heheh.." Responds Edward. "You're... you're accusing me of something, aint'cha?" Slurs Edward.

  "I wouldn't say accuse. It's just what I inferred. Besides, Vincent's already left, and I already saved your life, you might as well give me the details, no?"

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Edward chuckles and points at Tardigrade. Tardigrade gives a soft chuckle.

  "You...you..." Continues to slur Edward.

  Edward's chuckles evolve into laughter. Tardigrade's chuckle dies out. The laughter morphs into a loud cackle, as Edward hollers and falls out of his seat, still pointing at Tardigrade. The bartender stares at Tardigrade, as if implying to pick his friend up. Tardigrade picks up Edward.

  "Come on kid, you've had enough to drink." Says Tardigrade.

  "You..." Finally lets up Edward. "You're just like the otherssss..."

  "What do you mean by that?"

  Edward slumps on the bar table, where he closes his eyes for a brief moment.

  "Edward." Calls out Tardigrade, pinching Edward in the arm.

  "Ouch hey- ok ok I see you... you want an answer... umm...ok... but you're just going to tell the CIA."

  Tardigrade chuckles. "I haven't told them what happened yet. And if I did, trust me, you'd be dead by now. So tell me, what was the money for, huh?"

  Edward makes a sly grin. "I'll tell you... if you buy... a drink."

  Tardigrade smiles. "Of course. Anything you like."

  "A shot of Everclear."

  Tardigrade scoffs. "It's your funeral kid." The senior agent turns to the bartender. "One shot of Everclear please."

  "He's had enough." Says the bartender.

  Tardigrade insists one more time. "One shot of Evercle-"

  "Oh don't worry sir," says Edward. "This is for him."

  Tardigrade turns to Edward.

  Edward smiles. "I said to buy a drink. I never said it's for me."

  Tardigrade smiles. The bartender pours a shot of Everclear. Tardigrade grabs the shot glass.

  And sets it down.

  "You only said to buy it. You never mentioned that I would drink it."

  Edward laughs. "Ho ho! So you're playing my game now huh? Not bad old man."

  "So. What's the reason."

  Edward smiles. "I wasn't finished. You also have to buy me... a Lamborghini."

  "Done."

  Edward is slightly taken aback at the old man's insistence. "Alright. But for my last request, I need you to make... a contract."

  Tardigrade leans in. "Spit."

  It was at this moment that Edward remembered the contract Jinsei told him about when Solomon, Chad, and Jinsei had their initial scuffles with Vincent, Jules, and the other four members.

  "Any form or command pertaining to: withholding information, lying, deception, act of betrayal, or harm against each other's parties will punish the deceiver by death. This goes for the leaders of the groups, as well as those following under them."

  Edward then announces. "You must promise me... that you won't tell anyone, especially within your organization about what I'm telling you. Especially not Vincent."

  Tardigrade stares at Edward. Both of them analyzing each other. "Then," starts the old man, "you must also answer honestly about the situation."

  Edward tilts his head then presents his pinky. "Pinky promise."

  Tardigrade accepts. "Pinky promise."

  Edward leans in closely to Tardigrade.

  "I'm meeting someone very soon."

  Tardigrade smiles. "Oh? Who might it be?"

  "Someone reeeaalllyy cute." Says Edward with a smile.

  Confused, Tardigrade only says "go on."

  "We're gonna go on a date... and well, I'm sure you've had your fair share of experiences, right?"

  Tardigrade briefly thinks of all the women in his past and sighs. "Right."

  "Well... you obviously don't want the person you're dating think you're some broke little bitch, right?"

  Tardigrade morphs his calm demeanor into one of annoyance. "So you're telling me... you did all that, just for a woman?"

  Edward giggles and squirms. "Well, I never said it was a woman."

  Tardigrade stands up with a face of disbelief. "The fuck's the matter with you?" Annoyed, Tardigrade walks over to the bathroom.

  A skinny boy with shaggy, cloudlike bangs that covered his face bumps past Tardigrade. "Excuse me," simply says the senior agent.

  Edward mockingly waves goodbye to Tardigrade. He puts his head down on the table.

  And smiles.

  Despite the contract made by Jinsei, when Jinsei spoke to Washington, he made sure to only refer to "those following [the leaders of the group]" to specifically be Solomon and Chad. Ie, the one's physically present, at that moment, in the making of the contract. Not to mention, the two members who have the least to do in terms of operating with the CIA. Effectively only putting Jinsei in danger for the most part. Meanwhile, since he was talking with Chief Washington, the leader of the CIA, it would make the contract automatically apply it to any and all CIA members who lie to Jinsei, Solomon, and Chad, due to how vague it is.

  Not that Jinsei knows of Edward's true feelings considering their partnership.

  Edward scoffs to himself.

  "'Following'...Tch."

  .

  .

  .

  Meanwhile in the bathroom, Tardigrade waits for the last civilian to leave. He then enters, meeting Vincent.

  "So," starts Tardigrade in a low voice. "You heard everything, eh?"

  "Yes." Says Vincent, taking off his ear piece.

  "Still thinks he's full of shit?" Asks Tardigrade.

  "I have my doubts. He thinks we're stupid, forgetting the contract that the chief and Jinsei made. But on the other hand, this guy is so stupid, I wouldn't doubt if he did it just out of general self interest and/or for a girl. Oh sorry- person."

  Tardigrade shakes his head. "I agree on those parts. It's just a matter of what the hell could he use the money for anyway? Greed is one thing, but it's too damn much for one person, much less a couple. As much as I want to think it's for something else, I still agree that it's within Edward's personality to just be too stupid and keep all of it for himself."

  "Yeah... say, what are we going to do with him?"

  "We'll discuss that at base."

  .

  .

  .

  After the three of them leave the bar, they all return to their motel and go to their rooms.

  Edward walks inside the room and sees Jinsei sit on the bed, still typing away at his script. They say nothing. The both of them brush their teeth and get in their own beds. Staying completely silent for 10 minutes, Jinsei finally initiates a telepathic call.

  "(So I see that you're still alive. I'm surprised. And I saw the news today about the CEO. Did you get the money?)" Asks Jinsei.

  "(Yeah so uh, I'm not good at the whole PsychoPower thing so I'd appreciate if you just read my mind and we converse from there.)"

  "(...I was already doing that.)"

  "(Oh cool. Anyway, by some miracle, even though I completed all the things that I setup from last night and even the things I stole from the pharmacy, the guy lied to me on the contract I made, and he just keeled over... off the side of the building of course. There, Tardigrade caught me brown-handed, and that's when I lied to him. I have a feeling he knows I'm lying to him but, so far, he doesn't know what we're after, and most importantly, I'm still alive. So I'd call it a win for now.)"

  Jinsei ponders for a bit before responding. "(You have a rather... disgusting way of phrasing things. That aside, you're absolutely sure that they don't know that the money is for hiring people at the Underground, right?)"

  "(Nope. Even when they tried to make me spill the beans I just said it was to simp for Quinn.)"

  "(Quinn... Who the hell is that?)"

  "(Oh right- I only told Chad. They're just a person I met at the Underground. They're pretty cute but I have a feeling they want to kill me.)"

  "(...Well, are they good enough material to join us?)"

  "(Probably. I don't know their abilities yet but, we'll see if they're good enough.)"

  "(Great. I still have that appointment with Brooke but he always seems to be so busy that he keeps pushing back the appointment. On top of actually finding a corpse but, that's besides the point.)"

  Edward stares before responding. "(That's... great. But anyway, that's all that's worth discussing. Is there anything else you'd like to talk about)"

  "(Not really. Goodnight.)"

  From there, they all slept. The morning afterwards, they left the motel, ate a diner, and went to the airport to head back to base.

  .

  .

  .

  At the base, Jinsei turned in his manuscript, before he and Edward were both dismissed shortly thereafter. They both received a paycheck amounting to a couple thousand dollars. The both of them leave their own separate ways. Jinsei went to the motel that was assigned to him near the base. Edward bought a used car using the money he just acquired, and went on a long solo trip back to New York.

  Tardigrade, Vincent, Chief Washington, and several other higher ups meet up in the board room. The blue screens serving as the only light source, yet plenty enough to light up the entire room. Several people have notes written down.

  "So," says Washington. "What are you proposing we do to Edward, Tardigrade?"

  Tardigrade then answers. "He's a slippery snake that's for sure. He fucked everything over, and though the mission technically didn't have any difficulties, and the media isn't suspicious, those are hardly points. It doesn't matter if the media knows it's us or not. They can't do anything. That being said, if Jinsei can't wrangle his own members, then we'll do it for him."

  Tardigrade turns to the rest of the agents before continuing. "You see ladies and gentlemen, with someone with his abilities and that drive to plan ahead, I'd rather use him than just kill him. Granted, as much as a problem he is, we can turn it around as long as we make him think it's all for his own sake. Judging from his personality, he's not necessarily smart, he's just very, very crafty. So we'll just convince him to join the CIA with all our benefits."

  "What if he declines?" Asks Vincent.

  "Well, that's his choice. That being said, no matter what he says, we're going to plant the chip on him."

  Vincent taps on the back of his neck. "You mean-"

  "Yes," answers Tardigrade. "The very same one all CIA agents have implanted. That way, we'll know his exact location. And as an added bonus, as a way of actually stopping him were he to do something really stupid, we can just activate the chip so that it kills him on the spot. And as you all know, taking it out is impossible. The very moment he tries to tamper with it, the bomb automatically goes off. So, any thoughts?"

  The agents murmur altogether. "Should we do the same to all of them?"

  "If we can, yes. That would be optimal. However, the most important one in the moment is Edward, considering he's the most unstable of them all. Jinsei is also important, but I'm not too worried about him since he cares a lot more about our relationship. He even stabbed Edward's hand as a sign of discipline so I highly doubt he would willingly try to cross us. As for the others, I could hardly care for. If we catch them, that'd be great. But as of right now, Saul-Sol...Solomon? And...Chad was it? They're not priorities. All in favor of passing the motion say 'aye'."

  5 directors raise their hands.

  "All in opposition say 'nae'."

  4 directors and Vincent raise their hands.

  "You're not a part of this, Vincent." Says Tardigrade. "You're here as a witness to the mission, and nothing else."

  Vincent scoffs.

  "Well then, I'm glad we came to an agreement." Says Tardigrade, motioning towards The Chief.

  Chief Washington nods his head. "I suppose that settles that. We'll come up with plans immediately. Thank you for your time, gentlemen."

  .

  .

  .

  Three days later.

  In a two-story suburban brick home, where the garden is full of tulips and the grass is trimmed perfectly, and the neighborhood is full of equally precious colorful homes; where the neighborhood watch barely exists, and the police feel no need to patrol; where the guards at the gates of the community are attentive, and the typical household is the spitting image of a perfect nuclear family, said two-story home holds a loving, quaint scene: a mother, a father, and their daughter are watching the movie “The Goonies” on a Saturday night.

  Though the eight year old daughter had no business being up that late, given that it's the weekend, and she begged with puppy eyes, the parents couldn't resist and caved in to her demands.

  "Alright," said the father. "But after this, you go straight to bed."

  With popcorn and a large blanket shared between them, the family happily watch the movie, finishing at midnight.

  The daughter hugs both of her parent's legs, before going to brush her teeth and then to bed. The wife finishes the dishes. And the father unchains the Jindo dog from the back.

  "I'm gonna take Johnny out for a walk." Announces the father.

  "Ok sweety. I'll be in bed. Are you joining when you come back?"

  "Nah, I'm gonna watch TV for a bit, and then I'll join you."

  The wife smiles. "Alright." They kiss each other, before the man leaves.

  Walking amidst the neighborhood, it's rather quiet. There's several ponds throughout the neighborhood. A slight fog is forming. And it seems that the only other person roaming the sidewalks is a tall and slender man.

  The man checks his phone. It's several texts coming from the Chief. The Chief wants every available officer to fervently investigate the case with Travis Bullwinkle. The man sighs. "Fuckin...busting my ass..." Him and Barnes already tried their hardest but, that shady man in black just had to make their only lead disappear. The man lights up a cigarette. As he continues walking around the neighborhood, he sees the same tall and slender silhouette. "(Say,)" thinks the man to himself. "(that's the second time I've seen him.)" As the man walks forward a couple steps, he looks back, only to see the man already turn the corner.

  "(Hmph.)" Thinks the man to himself. "(No use in apprehending someone who's doing nothing wrong. I'm off the clock anyway so, whatever.)"

  After the dog goes to the bathroom, the officer picks it up, throws it in the park's trash, and then the both of them head home.

  Upon arriving home, the dog sits comfortably in his dog bed and chews on its bone, staring lazily at the glass screen door. The man takes his coat off, pops open a beer, and plops onto the couch, watching some late night sitcom reruns from the 90s. He tries to laugh at them, but he can't. The jokes weren't that funny. The characters seemed less endearing and corny at best, or annoying at worst. Yet he still stares at the TV.

  AURF. AURF. AURF.

  The dog barks loudly.

  Annoyed, the man gets up from his chair and tiredly stomps towards the kitchen area where the screen door is. The hound growls at the screen, staring intently.

  "What is it boy?" Asks the man.

  The man opens the glass door. He opens up his phone's flashlight and looks around. Something scurries from the woods. And out pops out...

  A raccoon.

  The man gives an annoyed look at the dog.

  "Johnny... it's just a fuckin raccoon. You know better."

  The dog whimpers.

  The man returns to his couch.

  The dog barks again, this time louder.

  Repeating the same process, the man looks out the screen door and only finds small family of raccoons rustle through the backyard.

  "That's it." Says the man.

  Dragging the dog outside, he chains Johnny up near his dog house.

  "This is what you get for making noise over nothing. Don't make another sound."

  The dog whimpers.

  From there, the man returns to his couch and watches some TV. After finishing his beer, he turns the TV off, brushes his teeth, and finally enters his bed.

  Within 20 minutes, Johnny barks outside again, this time echoing throughout the neighborhood.

  Not even opening her eyes, the wife tiredly groans "go shut the dog-"

  "I know, I know," says the man, already getting out of bed.

  As he groggily descends down the stairs, Johnny goes quiet. Frustrated, the man shrugs and curses under his breath. "Waste of fuckin time..." He mutters. The man returns under his covers, before staring back at his ceiling.

  After 15 minutes, the wife groggily opens her eyes and asks to her husband. "What's wrong sweety?"

  "It's Johnny. Now that I think about, he hasn't made noise for no reason for 2 years. Like... when he was a puppy, sure. But we've trained him better. Sure it happens now and again but... I'll just check on him."

  The wife groans. "Don't take too long." She says, before wrapping herself with 3/4 of the covers.

  The man exits his room and goes down the stairs. As he looks out the glass screen door, he sees that Johnny is in his dog house, already tired and sleeping. But... what if...

  "(Something's not right...)"

  The man goes to the living room closet and takes the service pistol out of his holster. With his phone flashlight in one hand and his gun in the other, the man slowly opens the glass screen door and calls out. "Who's there?"

  No answer.

  The man slowly steps out into the backyard. The cold breeze makes him tremble. At least that's what he tells himself.

  "Hello?" Calls the man oncemore.

  No answer.

  The man slowly walks towards the dog house. He sees footprints. Red foot prints.

  He runs over to flash the light inside the dog house.

  Only to see the remains of his loving pet of six years.

  "What the...fuck?" He says to himself, in a mix of several overwhelming emotions.

  He frantically waves his flashlight around, trying to get a glimpse of the monster that did this.

  "Show yourself you motherfucker!"

  A creeping voice rings within him; not a physically present voice, nor a soundwave coming from some direction. Rather, the confines of his own head produce a voice that sounded familiar.

  "Officer Remington."

  Remington turns around. He feels his head spinning. Where... the door...

  He sees the glass door open.

  He frantically shuts it closed.

  "(No wait- what if he already went inside? What if he already went up the stairs and-)"

  As the man opens the door again, the voice rings again in its cold, hateful hiss.

  "(Don't worry. I'm not here for them.)"

  Remington stops. He turns around and faces the field again.

  He points his flashlight at the stranger.

  As the officer is about to pull the trigger, the officer gets a real good look at the face. A smug, cocky grin with black hair, a long coat, and a sheen in his hair that turned white with the lighting.

  Remington's heart skips a beat.

  "Y-Y-You're-"

  BANG.

  A shot is fired.

  With the blinding muzzle flash of the gun, the devil that was in front of him happened to disappear.

  The wife turns on the bedroom light. Several other neighbors do so as well.

  "That's right, Officer Remington." Says the voice in a serpentine tongue.

  "E-Edward? Wh-where are you?"

  Feeling a pressure and strength that he's never felt before, Remington is seized from behind. His hand holding the gun being overpowered by a single hand, while he gets dragged backwards by another arm.

  "LET GO WHA- WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?"

  BANG.

  BANG.

  BANG.

  "As much as I'd like to enjoy this," says Edward. "You already fucked it up for me. Remember, this is what you get. And what you deserve. You were the cop that beat me over the head. As a result-"

  Edward forces the cop to slowly yet surely, maneuver his own gun towards himself. As much as Remington tries to kick and punch and scream and throw and overpower Edward, at all comes to no avail.

  The wife comes running down the stairs in a frantic state. There, the three of them see each other.

  "Look at that, right on time." Whispers Edward. "Let's see if she can unsee this."

  The officer screams. "NO-"

  Bang.

  Red and brains spill all over the grass.

  Officer Remington's body limply falls to its knees, before plopping down on the ground.

  The wife, choked up, tries to scream. Yet nothing comes out. The only thing she can remember seeing, is a tall and slender man smile, and mouth something.

  "No one will ever believe you."

  With a blink of her eyes, the man vanishes.

  Sitting in a fetal position, she rocks herself back and forth, where the police find her, and their comrade.

  .

  .

  .

  Several blocks away, mere seconds after the scene, Edward walks down the streets of the neighborhood. He palms his ear as a loud ringing still continues. "Damn... that hurt..."

  "Well anyway," he mutters to himself, whipping out a small notebook in a chipper tune. He opens up to the most recent page, crossing out the name "Remington." Several other names are already crossed out, while others, such as Barnes, Amataug, and Trisch still need to be done.

  Come with me and you'll be

  In a world of pure imagination

  Take a look and you'll see

  Into your imagination

  Smiling, walking, prancing, Edward continues on and on, while several police cars whizz by him.

  We'll begin with a spin

  Traveling in the world of my creation

  What we'll see will defy

  Explanation

  Stimming, posing, overwhelmed by his evidence of his own existence, the pure essence of a magical specialist made his mark, validates himself, itself, as a creature bound by its own rules and ego.

  If you want to view paradise

  Simply look around and view it

  Anything you want to, do it

  Want to change the world?

  There's nothing to it

  Denouncing their own negative flaws, one proves to one's self with confident acts; not through the validation of others.

  Evolved from stardust for billions of years, up until this moment; just to make the meaning of life and prove it to one's self once more.

  Vividly ecstatic, these next few weeks will be as busy as they will be fulfilling.

  In the midst of the dance, a beautiful realization strikes; despite the flippant attitude one held for their own life, at this very moment, it seemed as if their own attitude for life inverted; realizing that as long as it makes one happy, then perhaps...

  Life is worth living.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-DuOmA75lI