PARKER | Dark H.S. AU

ii. blending in

Copyright © zylgnagnaba 2014

Spellborough is a small town in Chicago. The population ranges from only 600 people to not over a thousand. The weather could get unpredictable year round but it's mostly hot and dry than cold and wet.

Residents could either be polite and warm or none of it. The place is proud of their hotsprings situated at the hillsides and some preserved ancient houses that's still standing up until the present. Aside from that, there's nothing much interesting about the town. However, there's a distinct connection between Harry's heart and the place.

He may forget about it most of the time, but Spellborough is the place where he met Charlie, fell in love with her, and lost her eventually in such a cruel way.

The sun is scorching and the air is humid when Harry decides to go out for a walk. Not just any kind of walk though. He is going to visit the alley where the last person he terminated the night before had laid. This is what he did the day after he'd killed the first two soulless beings before last night. Armed with last night's photo guiding him to the place, the same sling bag dangles across his body.

It's not that he feels bad about taking another person's life. He might feel a bit of remorse, but vengeance is so deep-seated in his heart and soul to even care. They were merciless about what they did that very night anyway, and Harry thinks they don't deserve his regret and apology.

Ruminating about these things makes the scowl carves deeper on his face. His casual steps turn to quick long strides when he glances at his watch. He only has twelve minutes before his brain become spotless again.

He is nine minutes away when he finally reaches the alleyway and he's a little inquisitive about the few onlookers going about. The yellow line surrounding the place in a big square sets the boundary between the civilians and the police who are investigating the crime scene. Two uniformed men are inside the line doing the intricacies of getting any possible evidence they can get from the forbidden place.

Harry wonders if they were able to notice the photo he left with his victim. Part of him wishes they did so a message would be sent to Parker that he's coming for him. He stood just a little apart away from the nosy crowd but he's tall enough to get a proper look of the scene.

A small smug smirk tugs at the corner of his lips as he watches the dried blood and the white indication of an immobile body once laid there on the ground. Harry is tempted to see the comparison of the white mark with the photo he had taken the night before, just to see if the body moved or was moved after he left the alleyway.

Little does he know that his strange yet overly cautious actuations earned a watchful stare from the observant eyes of another officer just supervising the growing crowd.

Officer Langley or Young Mind as his colleagues call him is the youngest in their platoon. Being one didn't only earned him of that title, it's also because he graduated earlier than the rest in his batch. He specializes in people's thoughts through their behaviours. That's why Harry's inconspicuous pride of taking away the life of his latest victim, Fitzgerald, doesn't go unnoticed by the young officer. To make matters worse, the fact that Harry wears a black jacket in the middle of the warm weather only make him grew suspicious -- or perhaps the officer is just so keen to not care of the smallest details in consideration.

But Officer Langley also keeps in mind that he can be mistaking often times, so he waits until Harry does something to trigger for him to do the first move. It wasn't until he retrieves a similar picture to the one they got from the crime scene does the officer's face contorts in a curious grimace.

With casual few steps, the young officer advances towards the towering figure of Harry, dodging everyone's body on the way.

"Excuse me, sir." The officer calls, catching Harry's attention causing for his brows to pull together in an intense gaze towards the intruder of his peace. "Sir, may I see that picture?" He cuts to the chase and gestures for Harry to hand him the picture.

"Oh..." Harry breathes. Instead of getting nervous about the situation, he is more pissed that the officer disturbed him but he keeps it at bay. "I don't see the need for you to see it. This is just a piece of shit." He tucks the photo back to his bag which only eggs on the officer.

"If it was, then why won't you let me see it?" The officer asks and it doesn't help that he's keeping Harry for questioning. Only four minutes more and Harry will forget everything again.

Harry glances at his watch and seeing the few minutes left made his eyes wide and alarmed. There's so much risks if he stays in that same place when he forgets, because he will be questionned and all the items in his bag will be examined for his identity, which will lead for the officer -- or anyone for that matter -- to discover that he was the doer for killing the three men found dead for the past months and Parker will know he is the one after him.

News already has it that there was only one culprit tied up with the killing. Although the three has been killed in different ways, they were still linked to one another for working under one's rule in a certain industry.

So Harry does the most sensical move he can muster up and flees. He runs as fast as his brown tattered boots could carry him and it doesn't take long for him to realize that the officer is apprehending him.

Harry jogs from corner to corner, dodging the passersby taking the opposite way he is taking. The continuous breathless warning of the officer for him to stop running is ignored. The officer doesn't even dare to fire a warning shot at midday when most people are out for their daily routines, or else he would cause a serious commotion so he dealt with just chasing after Harry.

Harry doesn't stop until his boots create a metallic sound against the tiled floor of the nearest shopping center. Breathing erraticaly, his eyes narrow down as he observes the crowd surrounding him and strolling around the place. Some people are inside different stalls and few just choose to hang around.

His head turns back around to the direction he came from, taking in the sight of the officer's exhausted face popping out of the people entering the shopping center. With that in mind, he continues to run around the corner until a tingling sensation coarses through his brain as if his head is being pierced by a barbecue stick.

He falls to his knees with eyes squeezed shut and his hands gripping his head in his futile attempt to aid its throbbing, but to no avail. To Harry, it's absolute torture.

Just as few people catches on his agony and starts to attend to him, Harry's green eyes pop open and he looks around the unknown place, to him at least, as he stands again to his full height. His brows knit together in a very innocent and curious way, his blank thoughts wondering wherever the hell he is.

"Are you okay?" Some random guy asks him with a genuine concern underlying in his tone and in the way his eyes fixed on Harry.

Harry only nods but he is still puzzled. Why can't he remember anything? How was he able to get to the place? Why is he there anyway?

The few bystanders pay him concerned looks but dismisses him right away when Harry resumes on his tracks with casual steps. Grasping on his side, his lips and nose pucker at the sight of the bag by his hip. Out of curiosity, he digs into the stuff he might have in his bag and there he sees the system of photos leading to his own identity and how he might get home to his flat.

---

Officer Langley is out of breath when he turns the corner while he keeps his pistol hidden in its holster. His head is turning from side to side and around as he scans the crowd inside the shopping center to spot the head of dark curls he was apprehending just a minute ago. He definitely lost the unidentified person, but he will never forget his face, his green irises, his tall and intimidating stance, and the deep scowl on his face. He knows something is up with the stranger and he will find him.

*****

Booyah! The second chapter. Officer Langley is played by Troy Bolton. Hahaha!

You missed out a whole lot in your life if you don't know who Troy Bolton is. Aha!

Vote and comment? xx

-- Glyz <3