The Things We Do (Under Editing)

View of the People

"Why does this keep happening?"

My attention was caught by one of the other customers in the coffee shop. I turned in my seat to look at the person who, regardless of the other patrons, was voicing their distaste loudly in the small space. Others had turned at the outburst as well.

The older person had probably wanted to start their day with a quiet cup of coffee, but instead they were sitting with their face buried in their hands, shaking their head from side to side.

"Why here? Why us?"

They started to shake like they were sobbing. The rest of us looked around, no one sure what to do or say that might help.

Personally, I didn't have much reason to care about the new villain. As morbid and terrifying as their crimes were, we operated in different parts of the city. Wraith liked to assign us sectors to work in, allowing limited and specifically governed overlap. He didn't want us interfering with each other.

The people in this coffee shop, though, didn't have those securities. Most of their homes were probably in the newbie's territory. I was currently in their territory... I started to consider finding a new favorite coffee shop. If this villain was intent on grand murders, anyone who set foot here could wind up dead. Those who lived here would be spending every moment of their lives just waiting. Forget looking around every corner for a mugger or rapist, they'd be watching for a mask and a noose.

Suddenly the patch of sunlight I'd been sitting by the window to absorb burned and itched instead of being comfortingly warm. A horribly familiar voice beyond the window only made it worse. Several others joined me to stare across the street at the oversized screens. Having only moments ago held various ads, each had changed. Once again, Storm's face was plastered on all of them, lining the streets.

"Why hello there, people of Lenoir"

The effect of his face and voice in every direction was as disconcerting as ever. 1/10, would not willingly witness again.

"I doubt many of you have heard this yet as most everyone involved has been trying to keep it quiet, but I won't allow that. As of a few hours ago, Trust Bank's system and every system and computer connected to it crashed. Every record they have ever carried is gone. Meaning that, while their vaults are, for now, filled with money, there is no way to know how much is yours, courtesy of yours truly."

He swept into a deep bow, pulling an imaginary hat off his head as the image cut to black before returning to the ads. His voice continued a moment later.

"For future reference, perhaps don't rely so completely on computers. They are far too easy to ruin."

He really was in this solely to hurt people however possible. Cutting the computer system gained him nothing, especially considering he'd all but announced that he might attempt to empty the vaults. More guards would be added until he had no hope of getting close. All he'd accomplished was pain for others.

This would reek of Wraith if the damage hadn't been as widespread. Sure Wraith might have chosen damage over boundaries, but, stopping to think about it, Storm never acted in a set territory. Trust Bank, while local to the Lenoir, had three locations within the city limits. Other targets had been widely scattered.

A moment of silence had followed Storm's final words, giving me a moment to think, but suddenly, the person behind me burst into tears. I grabbed my things and walked out the door.

"Testing. One, two, three." I lowered my newest device from my throat and started toying with it again. After a moment, I tried again. "Hello. Hello? Bagels." Still not good enough. Well, it was pretty good for my first attempt, but my voice modulator wasn't doing quite enough modulating.