《The Brains of the Operation》This World is Hope-less
Advertisement
"Did you see the man's face at all?"
"I told you, no!"
Clive put his face in his hands.
"But this woman... she was definitely the fiancée?"
"Yes. But the vision... it happened ages ago! The file said 2014!"
"Did it have her name!"
Liv panted, trying to catch her breath.
"Her name was... Summer? Summer Pendleton!"
"Right. This is the one?" Clive asked, pulling up a photo of a blonde woman with green eyes and glasses, with tanned skin and the same red dress she was wearing in the vision. Liv nodded mutely.
The phone next to Clive rang, loud and shrill. He picked it up with a sigh. Liv couldn't hear what was being said on the other end, but she could see Clive's face. It just fell, and fell, and fell. Distraught, he placed the receiver down.
"You remember Jade Hope?"
Liv nodded. Obviously she did; it had been a day since they'd spoken. Not exactly a long time.
"She's dead."
Jade Hope's body lay on the autopsy table, cold and silent. No way; it was a corpse. Most corpses are cold and silent. Being cold and silent are two of the main symptoms of being dead. Also, note the 'most'.
"She died... twenty three hours ago, ish. There's an entry wound at the hilt of the cranium, shaped like..."
"Shaped like...?" prompted Clive.
"Shaped like a corkscrew."
Liv smiled and whipped out her sunglasses. "You could say she got-"
"Don't you dare."
"-Screwed."
And then they groaned. Like always.
Ravi rolled his eyes irritably. "Do you want to eat her brain, get rid of these bad puns? 'Cause we want you to."
Ding, vision.
"Stop making puns," hissed the giant man.
Advertisement
Liv looked up and saw a tall white man, with a bald head and a pure black tuxedo.
"Yes, sir. Sorry sir."
"Now," he growled in Liv/Jarod's face, showering her with spit, "Get me that cash. Do whatever you can, just get the woman out the way. Our ring is suffering because of your incompetence."
He pushed Jarod hard in the chest with his index finger.
"Got it, Champ!"
"Shut up."
Liv came back to control, with Ravi staring at her in anticipation and Clive waving his hand in front of her face.
"Hey, psychic. What you see?"
Liv told him everything and gradually watched as the cogs in his brain started turning, then clicking, then whirring into life.
Aand snap. Let's-get-stuff-done Clive was in the house.
"Ravi, I want you to search everywhere you can for information on Jade, and this bald guy Liv saw. Search on every database in the world if you have to." He flipped round to Liv. "Ready to check out Jade's house again?"
Liv placed her hands on her hips with purpose.
"Hell yeah!"
As Liv prowled around the suave interior of Miss Hope's house, she couldn't help but critique the interior.
"Duck egg blue walls with a white carpet? You're playing a dangerous game, here, hun. You're really showing your feathers. Breaking out of your shell."
"Enough with the bird puns!"
Wait wait wait wait. What did Liv just stroll past?
So, you know I mentioned earlier that Jade was married?
Ever wonder what happened to the husband?
There was an ornate painting on the wall, gold-gilded and dusted pristinely. In it stood two people, in front of a sunset, holding eachother like lovers and laughing. One was clearly Jade; which meant the other was Mr. Hope.
Advertisement
"Let's see if there's a safe behind this one as well," Liv joked sarcastically. Apparently Clive didn't get the memo. He took the painting off the wall, and voila. Another safe.
"Well that was-"
"Don't you dare make that pun again."
Liv pouted. "Stop pun-ishing me."
"Can we get a locksmith over here or something!"
Thirty-ish minutes later, the lock guy arrived and cracked open the safe; or he would've done, had it been locked.
"It wasn't fu-"
"Thanks, Jerry."
Jerry left, tutting about how Clive was an idiot and everything is stupid and the usual stuff you tut about when you're irritated and just woke up for no good reason.
Liv was expecting drugs, money, or jewels. I don't know why, because the safe was unlocked, but that was what she was expecting.
Inside was a thin police file and a wedding ring.
"Did she... steal this? From the police?"
"Oh please," Liv said, except she didn't say that. Making the worst pun in zombie history, she said, "Oh police. That's impossible."
All Detective Babineaux wanted to do was scream into the void.
"This is the death file of... Lincoln Hope? Her husband?"
"Well, duh, Clive. Look at the picture."
Liv gently received the file, when Clive offered it to her. She flicked through it.
"Hey! I did this file!"
"You did?" Clive questioned expectantly.
"Yeah. He died of brain cancer, I think. Nasty. No next of kin besides Jade. Lincoln Hope? More like Lackin' Hope, amirite?"
"If I punch you, will you have a vision?"
Liv considered it.
"I might. I think he got punched a lot."
Clive nodded. "Yeah. I feel like he did."
"Wait! What's that‽"*
She reached to the back of the metal safe, retrieving a small yellow post-it note.
"Tell Maria to go to the police!
-Cheng," Liv she read, staring at the note.
"Maria? That's... a maid?"
She muttered to herself, "If the Angels find this, she's dead."
Clive shot her a look. "Angels?"
Liv nodded. "Yeah. The Black Angels was the drug ring Cheng was in."
"You're only telling me this now?"
She shrugged. "We didn't realise before. I only worked it out this morning."
They pulled up at Jade's house for the third and final time. Even after the engine had stopped, however, Liv stayed in the car, talking with Clive.
"So, the Angels. How d'you work it out?"
She sighed through her nose.
"Tattoo on his wrist with an angel on it, 'The Black Angels' underneath. Ravi and I didn't know why, until now. When we found out about the drug ring."
Clive nodded. It made sense. All this talk about angels, though... zombies existed, and now it looked like angels did. In a way. An ironic kind of way that absolutely didn't work at all.
"Do you think this is one killer, or many?" Liv's inquiring eyes slightly disturbed Clive. Detective's eyes.
He pondered it.
"One," he said decisively. "So far, the deaths haven't exactly been... mundane. They're... quirky. There's a distinct style here."
They would've spoken more, probably, had there not been a shrill scream from inside Jade's house.
*In all honesty, I only put that line in so I could use an interrobang. You know, this thing: ‽.
Advertisement
- In Serial131 Chapters
I Can Create Perfect Accidents
John, who had been framed and wrongly imprisoned, was finally released. His five-year jail time had fostered his hatred toward the son of the Waters Conglomerate, Niel. However, John, who had no connections, could not do anything about it. When he had almost lost all hope while accompanying his girlfriend who was in a vegetative state thanks to Niel, he suddenly realized that there was a search bar right before his eyes! This search bar was just like the search bar in Google Chrome!
8 858 - In Serial52 Chapters
Modern Age Online Book 1
(Book Two on Amazon here) (Book Three on Amazon Here) Both books should be available through Kindle Unlimited. It is the Future. The realm of online video game entertainment has grown, creating vast and wonderous worlds for people to explore and enjoy. This is the story of Kaleb, a young gamer, and his adventures in the latest Super-Hero Virtual reality MMO: Modern Age Online. Join him as he takes on villains (both player and NPC), joins forces with other player heroes, and even deals with some of the bureaucracy of being a hero in a perfect virtual recreation of the world. No cheats, no guides, just one newbie Super-Hero against the forces of villainy in his new virtual home. Notes: 1.) While not my first time writing, this is my first time throwing anything I've written at the tender mercies of the internet. All criticisms welcome. 2.) Just to inform people early: There is no evil corporation looking to control the world with VR, there is no Krueger-esque "if you die in the game, you die for real.", and this isn't a story of some OP harem-loving god of the system. Nothing wrong with those stories this just isn't one. This is a simple story about a guy playing a game and finally 3.) This story is extremely rough, i did very little editing, this is just me gauging interest really. oh, and English is my 1st language, if for some reason you find that important. Note 2) from now on Book 1 will exist in its entirety on Royal Road while Books 2 and 3 (and any others) will be released on Amazon. I want to thank everyone who has been reading and has taken this weird journey with me. I will continue to write in my spare time and will always be thankful to Royal Road for giving me a space to be creative. Thank you to everyone.
8 202 - In Serial32 Chapters
Undying Soul
What can a hero do when he is the only one that can save humanity? What can he do when he was born blessed by darkness but must try to hide it? What can he do if his loved ones are taken away from him? He fights until he is the last one standing…And occasionally eat some souls.
8 150 - In Serial19 Chapters
The Wrathic: Transcendence Series Book 1
The world is at peace. Governments have been abolished, weapons have been systematically removed from society, and most diseases have been cured.Adam has a rare disease that will soon claim his life. Spending most of his remaining time in the VR world Asphodel, he's discovered something unbelievable. The ability to transfer human consciousness into the game. Upon choosing the Shifter class, Adam becomes the first known character to obtain the transformative powers of a Wrathic, Asphodel’s version of a wyvern. When the word gets out to three billion users that he could be the key to living inside the game permanently, he’ll need all the help he can get to survive. The Wrathic is my first book in the LitRPG genre, and the first in the Trancendence Series. I will be posting half of the book online to garner interested and find out what people think of the story and world I've created. In June of 2017, the full, edited version will be released on Amazon for purchase. I hope you enjoy the chapters to come!
8 125 - In Serial16 Chapters
Clockwork Theocracy
May the self-centered belief lead you to peace.In a world that feeds on minorities, two friends, Forty-one and Forty-two are escaping fate.With an unwelcome or unexpected visitor Daughter at their tail.With many times, many tries, and many cries, down, down, and down they go.Chased by the many elements of the Tower they live in, will they be able to see the stars or touch the soil. Can their will and wits suffice to reach the freedom they want to grasp, learning the past on their way?If not, there is no need to worry as no end is the last in this Experiment. In the name of the Mother, Father, and the Family we lead you to peace if you ever give up your stubborn loyalty. I would like to thank everyone who spend time reading my first original story. I'm looking for improvement, as such all forms of criticism are welcome, if not asked for. I do plan to return to all as none would be of waste.Also, anyone who would like to help directly is welcome and can message me.Beta-reading, Proof-reading, and Editing are done by PoliticanSeal. Editing is done by The_Howitzer
8 89 - In Serial28 Chapters
Aino and Eien
Luckless Eien is stuck surviving with his former sociopathic squad leader, Aino, after their city burns to the ground during a rebellion against the government. They are pursued by government agents, and Aino seems to know what she is doing, but can Eien really trust the woman who kills without remorse? His survival depends on it.
8 173

