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Episode
025 |
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“Woman is the emissary of Hell.” Teisetsu Kyokua, Onna Shikimaku “The biggest clue we have,
actually, is from the chase last night,” “Okay, refresh my memory,” Edgar
said, rubbing his face as if suffering from a vicious headache all in one
place. “Which one is Parkour and which
one is free-running?” “Parkour is to free-running what
Krav Maga is to Capoeria,” Morgan commented, finishing off his soda. “They’re both semi-acrobatic
techniques used to clear obstacles,” “Or pursuit,” Morgan interjected. “Free-running is kind of the
snazzy, flashy form of Parkour,” “If he’s got training in Parkour,
then he has to study somewhere,” Morgan said.
“Odds are, in order to avoid standing out, he belongs to a gymnastics
school. They’re usually the places
that teach Parkour and free-running.
What else you got?” “He uses a rapier,” “He’s also got balls if he trusted
to K-mart’s quality,” Morgan mildly exclaimed. “Jesus, he’s nuts.” “Never get into a fight with a man
crazier than you,” Edgar remarked. “I thought it was argue,” “Fight, argue, it works for a lot
of things.” “Anyway, I’m not sure what the
deal is with the mask,” Morgan listened, a troubled
expression growing across his brow. He
looked around the mall food court cautiously out of habit. Almost startling him, his eyes settled on
the woman. In the black t-shirt and
jeans, she stood at the far end of the open space, watching the people as if
waiting for someone. “Guys, hold up,”
he said, standing. “Where’s he going?” Edgar asked,
he and Everett watching. Morgan rose and began towards the
woman. She didn’t notice him until he
was halfway to her. When her eyes
settled on his, he stopped entirely.
The icy blue eyes stared back at him with a feral determination. Morgan felt his body unconsciously ready
for a fight, but she turned. She moved
quickly towards the exit of the food court through the small inner-mall
alley. Morgan rushed to follow her,
making for the door. He threw it open,
Edgar and Everett leaving the food behind to follow him. Through the door, a long, narrow
hallway made up of thick cinder blocks towered several stories high, metal
scaffolding obscuring the ceiling.
“Where’d she go?” Morgan tilted his head and closed
his eyes. He sniffed the air, walking
forward. “I smell a rose,” he
whispered to himself. He followed the
scent to a fork in the path. To the
right, the hallway curved back along the rear of the food court restaurants,
while to the right, the path headed away adjacently. He turned to the right and dashed forward. “Do you know who this woman is?” “Not a clue,” Morgan called back,
shooting down the hall. “Do you think she’s in trouble?”
Edgar asked from his right. “Wouldn’t surprise me.” The path came to a sudden stop
before a loading deck door. Morgan
looked at the floor, seeing disrupted dust on the ground. He looked at Everett and Edgar, both
stepping back without a word. Morgan
placed his hand against the metal door and pushed it open slowly. Outside, the concrete loading dock
was empty. In an alcove building into
the mall, several loading docks met in this one space. But each of the doors at the docks were
shut, their handleless form showing no signs of disruption or use. Morgan stepped out onto the dock
as the door behind him opened, Edgar following him out with Morgan put his hand on one of the
concrete mini-pillars built into the dock, thinking. “Where’d she disappear to?” he asked. “Well, it looks like she left you
a clue,” “Well, it’s just one mystery after
another, isn’t it?” Edgar joked.
Looking out at the larger world beyond, Morgan was too entranced to
retort. |
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