Fantasy Consumed By Sins

[Kharmin]

Raven listened to Charles as she sipped on her coffee that tasted as if it had been brewed yesterday. His perception of the encounter with Merson were completely off of the mark insofar as she was concerned. She was about to file her partner away in her head as an abject idiot in all business matters when it occurred to her that maybe she was the one who was out of touch.

She had been the one exiled these past eight years. Perhaps more had changed in "civilized" society than she knew. Raven glanced out of the window as Charles prattled on and watched a middle-aged mother tow her two kids across the busy street. Car horns blared as the woman and her issue weaved through the traffic rather than use the well-marked crosswalk at the end of the street. Heat vapors from the intense afternoon sun rose from the blacktop and colored the far end of her view in a wavy mirage.

"I agree that Merson's image is important to him," Raven said as she turned her attention back to their table but before she could continue, the coffee shop's telephone rang.

She was relieved that whatever informant had been on the other end of the phone had something for them. Raven left the disgusting coffee on the table and rose to follow Charles. "Finally," she muttered.

 

[Ayl]

They quickly traversed the street and got into the limo. "Drive", he ordered. The car screeched onto the road at fast speed, as the sounds of other traffic goers' honks followed them. "Another entitled son of a bitch", they thought.
Charles turned towards Raven. "I don't think Merson is as caught up in this as you may think, after all. Why'd he point us right towards a clue like this, if he were involved? Anyway, things are about to get really interesting!" he said with a grin. "I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this." he added.

Finally, the car came at a full stop in front of a rather normal apartment complex. Nothing about it screamed 'danger' or even 'out of the ordinary', yet it was about to make things even more complicated. In front of the entrance, there was a slim woman with sunglasses, watching the street. Her head perked up when she saw Charles getting out of the limo, accompanied by a woman she did not recognize.

"Welcome, sir. Second floor, third door on the right. Mind the smell." she said to him, officially. "Thank you, Lynne. Keep an eye out." the man said. Motioning towards Raven, he entered the complex and practically flew over the stairs towards the specified room. Inside, they had found their engineer, alright. Hanging from the ceiling, his body could no longer be classified as 'human'. His skin was grey, rotten, it looked weeks' old. It looked absolutely horrifying.

 

[Kharmin]

Raven was internally thankful for the security of the limousine's seat belt as the driver raced through the streets to their destination. For his part, Charles seemed rather smug but Raven was starting to get used to it. His mannerisms, while annoying, would serve no other purpose than to distract her from the case so she mentally shut them out.

"You know these people better than I," she admitted with a casual shrug. "Perhaps Merson isn't so caught up, but in my opinion he is just as guilty by his association with those who have manipulated him. Perhaps giving you this clue is his attempt to deflect attention. Time will tell."

The buildings blurred by outside of the car's tinted windows as the conditioned air thankfully kept the day's heat at bay. Stoplights and taxis impeded their progress but their driver proved more than adept at maneuvering the larger car in and around the various obstacles that tried to impede them.

The apartment that they stopped at was fairly plain yet fit in with the rest of the buildings of the neighborhood. Only four stories high, the facade sported paned windows most of which were curtained off from within to stave away the oppressive sunlight. Raven took quick notice of the associate that Charles called "Lynne" as they passed by and into the foyer of the building.

The two of them passed by the bank of small mailboxes inset into the wall on their right as they approached the industrial designed stairs. The warning of the stench was justified as Raven smelled death down the hall as they landed on the second floor.

She took curious note of the emaciated corpse that still hanged freely from an exposed crossbeam in the living room of the apartment. If Charles had expected Raven to blanch, then he would be greatly disappointed; she had faced much worse during her exile from the city. Out there, suicide was a frequent and common occurrence for those who hadn't the will or fortitude to survive in that environment. Living there, on the edge of civilization, had hardened Raven into the cold, stoic woman that now examined the scene.

"Curious," Raven said as she turned her attention away from the body and began to search the rest of the apartment. "I would be surprised if there were anything of value to us here. I would also be surprised if the coroner classified our friend here as a suicide."