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Jan-23-2011 13:38

The heavy rain made the visibility much harder to see the man that Marc was chasing through the city streets. The sidewalks were slick with water pouring into the street. The chase started after a failed attempt on killing Marc, who had no clue why this man wanted to kill him. But then again, he could think of several reasons. They ran twisting and turning through alleys and then back into the streets on different parts of town. “STOP!” Marc yelled at the man. The man kept running.
The man kept his distance from the detective. Marc was only able to catch a glimpse of the mans feet as they turned around corners. Marc was out of breath as they stopped in front of an old abandoned apartment complex. “You have no where left to run, buddy,” Marc said to the dark figure. “Come on and get me, Marc. You’re right where I want you!” The man turned and ran into the building and slammed the door shut.
Marc swore to himself as he ran up the stairs leading to the closed door. Marc reached down and turned the handle. The door was unlocked. The man he was chasing was toying with him. The building was dark. There was no light except for what little the street lights outside gave out in the rain, which wasn’t nearly enough to depend on. Directly in front of Marc was a long hallway with six doors. Three on each side. Marc moved to the first door and kicked it open.
“ You can run,” Marc said, “but you can’t hide. I will find you.” He walked out of the first room and moved to the second door. Just like the first, that room was empty. He kicked in the third door. And walked in quietly with his revolver drawn out. “Where are you?” Marc whispered to himself. He turned to leave. As he turned around he found himself face to face with a masked stranger. “Here,” he said. The blow on Marc’s head knocked him unconscious.

Jan-27-2011 17:09

“Impossible!” Riza exclaimed to no one in particular. “Where are these people when you need them?” As she walked down the city streets and popped into bars and agencies in search of fellow detectives, she decided that she would head to Marc’s office again after all. There had to be some sort of clue there. She knew she was clutching at straws, but it was worth a shot.

Upon reaching his building and hearing her heels click up the steps up to the office, she remembered that it was nighttime, and his office would probably be locked. Trying the doorknob, she found that it was indeed locked. “Oh well, guess I’ll have to break it down,” she thought to herself, smirking. Tapping the door in spots with her knuckles, and listening to the sounds they made, she nodded to herself. Then, taking a step back, she aimed and knocked the door off its hinges with one perfect kick. She caught the door before it hit the ground and placed it against the wall.

Riza made her way over to Marc’s desk and ruffled through the papers in the drawers. Bills, business cards, and old case files. She pulled out a stack of files and dropped them on the desk. She flipped through them one by one, tossing them aside when she was done. One file caught her eye, or more specifically, one picture in the file. “Interesting,” she said, quickly reading through it. She then tucked the picture into her jacket and stood. Looking around her, she figured someone would get to the mess tomorrow, and took her leave.

Riza walked down the street towards the center of the city. It must have been midnight or just afterwards because it was silent save for the sporadic honking of car horns and the sounds of chatter emanating from bars. Across the street in one of the shops that was still lit, to her surprise, she saw Ed coming out. It seemed to be a cigar shop.

Jan-27-2011 17:09

Quickly jaywalking across the street, she grabbed his arm and pulled him down into an alleyway. “I--” Ed began, but Riza cut him off. “Look at this!” she said, thrusting the picture at him. She stood there, looking at him expectantly. “What do you think?”

“It’s a picture of that Marc guy you’re searching for, shaking hands with the police chief. So?” Ed asked. “So, look behind them, on the right. There’s a man sitting inside that car, and he staring daggers at Marc.” Ed looked closer. “You’re right,” he said. “You think he has something to do with this?” Riza shrugged. “It’s the best lead we have at the moment. We just have to find out who this guy is. I’ll head down to the police station tomorrow. Maybe they can tell me something.”

“Sounds like a plan. Oh, you’ll never guess what I discovered,” Ed said, pulling a crushed cigar out of a small paper bag in his pocket. “This cigar,” he said, pointing, “was lying on the ground across the street from where you found that bullet, all smashed across the sidewalk. I took it to this shop here to see if the owner could tell me anything about it. Luckily for me, I hit on the one store in this city that actually sells this brand of cigar.”

“Get to the point, I’m tired,” Riza said, stifling a yawn. Ed pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “After I greased the wheels a little, the shopkeeper gave me the names of the three customers who buy these. They have to be special-ordered so payment is always in advance, and kept on record,” he said. I have the names right here. We can start following up on them tomorrow.”

“Excellent,” Riza replied, taking the paper and glancing at it. Her eyes widened as she read one of the names.

Jan-27-2011 19:26

I walked inside my one room apartment and sat down in my chair replaying the night. I pulled out the cigar and read the small golden wrapper on it. Domain Avo. Dominican Republic. Riza had the list of names but I had the picture that she showed me earlier. The picture showed Marc shaking hands with the chief of Police at the time. The back of it was dated. June 1925. The man in the back of the picture had an evil look at Marc. It was obvious that they knew each other.

I flipped the picture over. June 1925 was written on the back. It had to have been Marc's handwriting. It was barely legible and resembled that of a doctor. "That's it!" I yelled out loud. "June 25! It's got to be it," I said to myself. I grabbed my coat and hat and ran out of my apartment, slamming the door behind me.

The door to the Hall of Records was locked. I made sure no one was watching when I picked the lock and walked in. I closed the door behind me and turned on the light. Opening file after file, digging up all I could find on Marc on that particular date. I couldn't find anything. Just about to give up, I finally found what I was looking for!

"On June 29, 1929 Marc secured a jewel known as The Heart of Anubis. Instead of being a large beautiful stone, instead it was a small ruby red gem. It is said to contain a vast power and if it falls into the wrong hands and activated, the bearer of the gem can control any army in the world. When it was secured Marc gave it to an unnamed person who hid the gem from the world. Only Marc and this mysterious man know where the gem is located."

I'm not much for myths and legends. I almost laughed at the story. I'd never heard of such bogus. Controlling any army in the world? I laughed at such ridiculous things. I folded the article and put it in my pocket. It could come in handy. As I started to clean up my mess, I started to fall asleep. The next thing I knew, I was awakened by Riza.

Jan-27-2011 19:34

"Get up," she said as she shook me awake. "Huh?" I said as I lifted my head of the table. "How on earth, did I know I'd find you here?" She asked. "You've been here all night?"

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "Yeah," I said yawning. I pulled out the article. "Take a look at this. It has something to do with a gem called The Heart of Anubis. Riza, Marc is missing, you find that picture on his desk, I find this here, I think we are going to have to travel back in time to 1925 and find out what happened."

Riza looked at me and then pocketed the article. "C'mon," she said, "we're going to question a certain someone on that list. I know he'll have some information."

"Riza, that was fifteen years ago. Besides, we can't even be sure he knows anything about it!" I said, practically yelling. "Even if he did, we can't just tell him to talk."

"Oh I have my ways," Riza said with a sly grin.

"And how is that?" I asked.

I looked back up at Riza, who stood leaning up against the wall twirling a stiletto knife between her fingers.

"You're scary," I said. "You know that?"

Feb-7-2011 21:27

The small gem known as The Heart of Anubis was a powerful jewel. What the press had said about it when I had secured it, was different than what was really the truth about it. There was a secret way to activate it, even I didn't know. Mrs. Von Schmidt told us everything she knew about the gem on our second visit. Only after my partner and I grabbed her and put handcuffs on her hands. According to the ancient Egyptians, Anubis was their God of the Dead. Almost like Hades in Greek Mythology. I had no clue where the press came up with the whole Army controlling thing later on.

"Anubis is associated with the dead," I said to Sully. "Mrs. Von Schmidt says that it contains an unimaginable power. I don't think I want to see what kind of power that jewel has if it is associated with a God of the dead."

"I agree," Sully said, "but how do we get any more information about it? Our vic's wife knows nothing more than we do. All she knows is that her husband had wanted it, and that's what got him killed."

I lit up a cigar. "A few years back, there was a transatlantic call made from here to London. I think we can do the same thing now. I know a guy over there who owns a museum. We can call him. He very knowledgeable."

Feb-19-2011 18:46

Transatlantic calls were hard to make but I had finally gotten through to London. "Marc, the Heart of Anubis is a powerful gem, if activated by the right people, then they become immortal," The curator said.

"Immortal? Are you sure?" I asked him. "Yes," he replied, "In Egyptian mythology, Anubis is a God that has to do with the embalming process when they mummified their dead. I don't know much about the power of the gem except that it makes you immortal."

"Thank you," I said. As I went to hang up, I heard him call my name. "Detective, you can't let that fall into the wrong hands. I'll do anything I can to help keep it safe for you."

"Thank you," I said again, "you're a good friend." I hung up.

Feb-19-2011 18:59



------------------June 20, 1940------------------------------


Marc stared at the figure in the shadows who stared back at Marc. All the detective could make out on the man was the slim shape of his body and the fedora he was wearing. The man sat back and lit up a cigar. The flare from the lighter's flame only gave off enough light to reveal a bad burn scar on on half of the man's face.

"Wait," Marc said, "you want that gem for immortality?" The man let out a loud laugh. "You just don't get it do you? I get the gem, activate it, become immortal, and then I can take over anything. I will become the most powerful man in the world!" The man exclaimed.

"You son of a bitch!" Marc yelled. "You're crazy! Nothing like that will ever happen and you know it!'

"Wrong! I know it can happen and it will! Now tell me! Where is it?!"

"Why don't you show me your face you coward!"

"You want to see my face? Fine!" The man shouted. He stepped into the light. The face! It was a man Marc had known for years! Salvatore "Sal" Costello. "Sal, you son of a bitch! When I get free from here, I'm going to ring your neck!"

"Marc, you're not going to get free. You're going to tell me where that gem is, now!"

"Why should I?" Marc screamed back.

Sal stepped back pulling out a revolver. "Sal I swear to all that is powerful, if you pull a gun out on me you had better be ready to use it and kill me, you bastard!-"

BANG! Marc was cut short of his sentence by a gunshot followed by a sharp burning sensation. The bullet had grazed his ear.

Apr-8-2011 19:19

The clink of dishes intermingled with the drone of low chatter as Riza and Ed sat in Sami’s at a booth enshrouded in shadow in the corner. “Are you sure about this?” Ed asked, glancing over his shoulder.

“Yup,” Riza replied looking at the clock, “He should be here in the next five minutes. Just do what I told you and it’ll be fine. Just be ready for some action.”

“I don’t get it. Who did you call?” Ignoring the question, she tapped her fingers on the table, causing little ripples to go through the coffee cup on the table.

She narrowed her eyes and smirked, pointing out the window at a black car that had just pulled up. A man in a dark suit got out, smoothing his jacket and looking around. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize him right away, but then again it’s been at least ten years,” Riza said, pursing her lips.

“That’s the man from the photo!” Ed exclaimed with recognition. “Who is that guy?” As the man entered he immediately looked towards their corner.

Upon seeing Riza, a filthy grimace spread across his face as he brought his arm from behind his back. In it he held a gun, raising and pointing it at the pair of them. “You? It’s you!?” He screamed in their direction, his face contorting as he began to redden.

“No time to explain,” Riza replied, pulling her pistol from her waist. “Get your gun ready.” A gunshot exploded into the air, shattering the coffee cup next to Riza. “Get down!” Riza screamed as the screams of the regulars erupted into the silence. Ed ducked to the left and shot a string of bullets towards the stranger as Riza rolled to the right and tried to take out his knees. She succeeded in knocking him to the ground, his head hitting with a resounding crack.

Apr-8-2011 19:20

Before anyone knew what had happened, the entire front window of Sami’s shattered into a million pieces, raining down glass on everyone inside. The air was rent with the sound of gunfire. “Damn it!” Ed yelled, “He brought backup!” Riza gritted her teeth and dove behind the counter as the line of fire directed itself towards her. She felt the impact as bullet after bullet embedded itself into the wood. Peeking out, she fired a few shots and heard the thump of bodies hit the tile floor.

“Ed! Do it now!” Riza yelled just as he punched one of the cronies in the face, and simultaneously took out another with a swift jab in the eye with a fork. He looked at her and began to run towards the table they had been sitting at. Grabbing a rectangular metallic can from underneath it, he wrenched off the pre-cut top and threw the contents onto the remaining men who were converging towards him.

“Hawkeye, fly!” he yelled, and watched as a flaming match flew through the air, landing on the ground before the men. Instantly they burst into flames in a giant plume. Horrible screams of panic and agony ripped through the air as they tried to put out the fire, but to no avail. Four of them ran to grab the now-unconscious mystery man, and jumped with him out of the shattered window. The sound of their shoes pounding the pavement echoed.

The one they left behind fell onto the ground as his flesh singed and began to peel from his face. Riza and Ed watched in silence. Soon the man stopped moving, as all that was left was a charred corpse on the ground. It was the sound of labored breathing that caught Ed’s attention.

Apr-8-2011 19:20

Looking over toward the left wall, he saw a girl, seeming to be in her early twenties, clutching her chest and looking down with terror at the red stain which was slowly spreading. As she began to fall sideways, Ed ran over and caught her in his arms. “Hey, Miss, are you ok? Miss! Don’t worry, I’ll get you to a hospital right away, just hang on!” The woman looked up at the man who had caught her. She gazed into his eyes for a moment, looking like she wanted to say something. But before she could, the color began to drain from her face and her eyes began to close. Soon she dangled limp in Ed’s arms.

Watching tears begin to drop from Ed’s face onto the woman, Riza felt something stir within her.