Just før Fun

Chapter 11

Four Hundred Eighty Two Stab Wounds

Stanley walked into the house, showing his badge.

Stanley: "Detective Stanley Richard, FBI. Step aside morons."

The officers got out of his way as they cursed him with their eyes.

Stanley: "What do we have here?"

Officer: "The victim appears to have been stabbed four hundred and eighty two times with a kitchen knife that possibly came from this kitchen. Same symbol has been drawn on the wall with the victim's blood. Other than that, no traces left. As always."

Stanley: "Four hundred eighty two times? Jesus, well someone's been having fun with this one. Any idea who they were?"

Officer: "Not in the shape they've left the body, no. The body was entirely covered in stab wounds. Almost nothing left but bones. The medics couldn't even tell the victim's gender."

Stanley: "You're telling me we have nothing?"

Officer: "Well, there is the question of why this specific house. The house seems to be owned by a Mark Cheronobog."

Stanley: "I'll make sure to put that in my list of worst last names I've ever heard. So?"

Officer: "Well, sir, Mark's wife has been dead for a very long time, and since no one's been concerned with what has happened in this household yet, it is safe to assume that the victim was indeed Mark himself. And whoever was behind this homicide, clearly had a personal grudge against our victim."

Stanley: "Tell me something that isn't obvious. What's your point?"

Officer: "Although we couldn't identify any live relatives of this man on the system, we asked around and all the neighbors who've known Mark for long, claim that he had a son. A son who ran away from home at a young age. A boy that went by Tøny. Now that's all we got so far but we'll keep—

Stanley: "Oh you beautiful bastard! You just made my day. I'll make sure you get a promotion before the end of this month."

Officer: "Thank you sir. It's been a pleasure working with you."

***

Matt: "Dude! That many stabs?! You were stabbing his corpse for fifteen minutes straight! Now I'm not one to talk, I mean, I raped my mom before slitting her throat after all, but in my defense, she was both hot and annoying as fuck. The hell did your dad ever do to you?"

Tøny: "He never apologized to me for making me exist."

Matt: "Oh you and your anti-natalistic bullshit! Don't act like you're doing this for a cause. I mean, going against the universe sounds great 'n all but, we're really just doing this for fun. You know it, I know it, hell even Gerald knows it."

Tøny: "Then why'd you agree to leave that mark, every time we kill?"

Matt: "Oh c'mon! We agreed to it for fame. So that some dumb murderer wannabes couldn't claim our kills for theirs. To let people know that it was us who slaughtered all those idiots. We agreed to have left a mark."

Tøny: "But I told you that the symbol represented my anger against existence. How I'm against the cycle of life. And you said that it sounded like a great cause. Fuck the universe. Those words came out of all your mouths. You all agreed!"

Matt: [Anger you say? Or is it your inability to get a grip on your life? You ignore human decency and slaughter thousands in cold blood fully aware that you have no power against life. You only pretend to be in control, but you have lost all power over the hatred you started yourself. Have you forgotten who you are? You are nothing but pathetic.]

Tøny looked at Matt in confusion.

Matt: "Lemme guess, ya didn't hear me right. Seriously man, ya need to get your ears checked."

Tøny: "Yeah yeah, can you just repeat that by me one more time?"

Matt: "I said, yeah well that too, but it's not like we could actually end humanity. I couldn't give two shits about any causes, I just love the violence. And you're the same. Plus what we did today was dangerous."

Gerald: "Yeah we shouldn't have killed him in his own house."

Angela: "For once I agree with Gerald. We could've killed him anywhere else. Like when he went out shopping or something. We could've killed him along with other people. But killing just him in his own house has left a massive trace."

Tøny: "I didn't want other people screaming in my face calling cops and bothering me. I needed some private family time with him. He had to suffer for his ignorance! And didn't you wipe us out of the system? How'd the cops ever look for me if they don't know I exist?"

Angela: "I wiped you out virtually, I can't wipe people's memories! All it takes for them is to ask around and someone will tell on you! They could eventually catch up to us thanks to your foolish arrogance!"

Tøny: "Whatever, you guys owed me a favor and it was due. Now we're even."

Angela: "I just hope nothin' bad gets outta this."

Tøny: "We're fiiiiiiine. Drop it already."

Angela: "I can't help but be worried, Tøny."

Tøny: "Ugh. I know how to fix this. How 'bout a treat? Since we're done with my personal business, why don't we hit that huge mall we were planning about? That ought to get our spirits back up."

Matt: "I was waiting for you to bring that up. Any objections guys? No? Then... tomorrow at seven?"

Tøny: "Tomorrow at seven."

***

Officer: "nope. There is no one named Tøny Cheronobog on here, sir."

Stanley: "I'll never get used to that last name. So you're telling me he doesn't exist?"

Officer: "Well at least according to the system he doesn't. However I traced some files back to about two decades ago and it seems like there has been a security breach. Maybe someone deleted his identity off the system."

Stanley: "It's that easy to hack into your systems?"

Officer: "As I said, this was years ago. Things were different back then."

Stanley: "Has there been anyone else deleted off around that time?"

Officer: "I'm not sure, but I could check it out."

Stanley: "Do so. See if anyone else has been removed in the same manner, at that timeline. Specifically check for convicted criminals. I think we're onto something here. Someone's been helping them stay hidden from the authorities. Wiping them from right under my nose. It's likely that they have a very skilled hacker amongst them. And their mistakes will be their downfall."