Self Destructing Messenger

#19 - Choice Peace

Superior Kills park. Horrible name, enchanting patch of land. With strategically planted trees to dampen the sound of traffic and a clear creek winding through the lush surroundings, a person could almost forget obnoxious city life was only yards away.

It could have been a peaceful, perhaps even pleasant outing for Cayce if the circumstances had been different. He couldn't ignore that a location scrawled in blood by a man who exploded was most likely dangerous. Completely on edge, he stepped from his truck, holding the door open for Hunter who took an excessive amount of time gauging the short jump.

A few people here and there. Nothing out of place. Certainly nothing that screamed psychopathic supernatural serial killer.

Cayce considered his options. He was supposed to go to the bridge, a weathered pile of wood that spanned the widest part of the creek. Was it wise to follow the directions to the letter?

He sighed and looked down at Hunter. The shepherd returned the gaze, tongue lolling, wiggling around on his back. While the dog didn't offer advice(which most dogs can't do anyway since they have a hard time speaking), it did give Cayce a temporary plan.

"Let's go for a walk, huh?" Cayce gestured.

Hunter flipped over, clumsily shuffling his paws beneath him and the two started the path around the park. Cayce had never been huge about physical activity. He certainly never sought it out for fun, personally believing runner's high was pure nonsense. However, the mohawked man had been laid up for months and walking or being able to felt good and bad in equal measure. Was he one hundred percent? Hell no, not even close but he also wasn't one to take things slow.

He was a man. A beast. A beastly man.

Three laps around the park later and no big bad had popped up and tried to fry him. It was at this point that his mind started running through alternative possibilities. Was the suspected idol trying to kill him? Or was there some other agenda? Perhaps Gia or Pyro had been the targets and the message was simply a way to remove him from the immediate area. S@#$.

He stopped. Should he go back and check? Pyro could get f@#$ed but Gia?

Suddenly he was pulled from his thinking by a whine, short and quiet, from Hunter. Cayce looked down but the dog's eyes were trained on the bridge. He followed the line of sight.

"Son of a b@#$%," he muttered under his breath.

Stretched out on the railing was a familiar figure, one that Cayce had hoped to never see again, the Man in Black. The bastard stood in stark contrast to everything else on Earth and yet somehow he had snuck past Cayce and put himself on display smack in the middle of the park. He must be a ninja, Cayce mused, a snappily dressed, deranged ninja. The worst kind.

There was no doubt as to who he was dealing with now. Cayce walked across the bridge, a confident air radiating from his being to conceal his uncertainty. This was, after all, the madman who wielded horses for the gain of penis apparel.

The Man in Black noticed the approach and hopped down from his perch, his long hair flowing as if he was about to appear in a shampoo commercial.

"Oh, it's you. The dick," he said sharply. He turned away, seeming suddenly disinterested.

Cayce stared the man in the face, deliberately avoiding eye contact with the codpiece. Still the jewels winked at him; the actual gems and not his man bits. "Who the hell were you expecting?"

The Man in Black shrugged gracefully. "I was expecting a dick but I expected no dick in particular."

"Bet you say that a lot." Cayce replied.