Gray leaned against a brick wall, fiddling around with his watch while ignoring the curious glances of those passing by. Occasionally glancing up from his watch, his eyes scanned the crowd for a familiar face, one he hadn't seen in years.
"One more minute…"
He murmured to himself as the holographic images floating above the watch disappeared, his arm dropping to his side. He nervously tapped his foot, each second feeling like a minute. Finally, as the time switched to three in the afternoon, he spotted him. A plain looking brown-haired man with short brown hair, brown eyes confidently strode down the street. Gray took a deep breath and approached the man. As soon as he was next to the man, he turned and whispered, "The weather has changed. Thought you should know."
The man stopped in his tracks and turned to face Gray before surveilling the area, making sure no one was watching them. Satisfied that no one was watching, he motioned for Gray to follow him. The two walked a couple minutes to an alley before walking inside and stopping. "How do you know that phrase? I don't know you."
"Perhaps, but I'm in need of your assistance. You still have eyes and ears all around the city, right?"
"...Depends on who's asking."
Raising his wrist, Gray turned on his watch as a hologram of a picture of Elias floated above. "Do you know where this man is? I was told by a reliable source that he is in the city."
"Why do you want to know his whereabouts?"
"Let's just say he owes me, and his debt has been unpaid for too long."
The man was silent before nodding. "Payment up front before–"
Gray reached into his pocket and took out a large stack of dalers. "This should cover the up front costs plus any subsequent requests that could come up."
The man's eyes widened in surprise as he grabbed the stack and quickly counted. Nodding his head, he stuffed the money in his pocket. "Only a crazy man would be lookin for Elias, but you're right. He's here in the city as we speak. One of my informants spotted him thirty minutes ago on the east side. He was leaving a man's apartment, and he had a particularly unpleasant expression on his face."
"Know where he was going?"
"North, though not sure why. Cops are swarming the area after that crazy man destroyed another shop."
"Can you have an informant look after the shop? Let me know if he arrives there?"
"...and somehow you have the exact amount already paid for such a service. Who told you about me?"
"Long story, one I don't want to go into, but I paid for your services."
"Indeed, you have. What can I use to get in contact with you?"
"A secure email. I'll send you the information once you take out your phone."
The man nodded and took out his phone from his pocket. Bringing it close to the watch, the phone beeped as an email address appeared on screen. "Alright. I'll get in contact with one of my boys and have him watch the building. If you confront Elias and are in trouble, he won't be coming to your rescue."
"Won't need his help, and I didn't pay for that service anyways. Pleasure doing business with you."
With that, Gray turned around and nonchalantly exited the alley, blending in with the crowd. The man stared at Gray as he left before shaking his head. "I'm gonna have to shore up my information network and find out who blabbed. Though…he knows what's up. Good business."
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"And here we are."
Darius's patrol car slowly rolled to a stop in front of a large hospital, with several people walking in and out of the building. "The woman's name is Miranda Voss. She's a nurse here. Just ask for her when you enter."
Nia quickly stepped out of the vehicle, nodding at Darius as she rushed towards the entrance. Stepping inside, she walked over to the front desk, asking for Miranda. When the receptionist picked up the phone to call her over, Amara walked up next to Nia.
"Thought you said on the way here that you'd rather just stay in the car and leave the talking to me?"
"And I was going to let you, but that was also while I was thinking that Lucien would accompany you considering he helped you talk to the other witnesses. There was no way I would be staying in the same car with him if I had a choice."
Nia chuckled. "Nice to see my two coworkers getting along so well."
At that moment, a tall blonde woman with blue eyes and hair tied up in a loose bun on the back of her head walked up to them. "I'm Miranda…you wanted to speak to me?"
Nia nodded. "Yes, thank you for coming down to talk to us. I'm Nia and this is my coworker, Amara. We're here to talk to you about the man who talked to you a few days prior claiming to be your husband."
"Oh yes…him." Miranda muttered, her voice filled with annoyance. "I've already given my statements to the police–"
"I understand that, ma'am, but we're from a federal agency that has been assigned to the case to arrest him. I know it's a bother, but would you please tell us what happened? Even a little information about him would do wonders for us."
Miranda sighed but nodded. "Alright…but let's take this somewhere else." She motioned for Nia and Amara to follow her. Leading them down a hallway, she entered a currently unused hospital room. "The patient was just discharged this morning, so no one has been admitted to this room yet." She stated as she leaned against the wall.
"Last week, this guy came to the hospital and asked the receptionist to call me over. When I arrived, he immediately rushed over to me and wrapped me into a hug, mumbling something about that he's glad that I'm safe. Naturally, I shoved him away and asked him what the hell his problem was. He gave me this annoying look on his face like he was confused. He asked me what I was talking about."
Miranda shook her head. "So, I very bluntly told him that rushing up to hug strangers wasn't exactly socially acceptable and that I could have him arrested for sexual harassment. His eyes widened as if it looked like I had just punched him in the gut. He asked me if I recognized him, and of course I said that I didn't. He then told me that he was my husband. I know damn well that I'm not and told him as much. He took out his phone, and I could see him scrolling through his photos. That's…when he started panicking."
Miranda gave Nia and Amara a cold look. "He started frantically saying that he hadn't deleted the pictures so they should still be there, but weren't. He began scrolling like crazy until reaching the very top. At that point, he was practically begging me to remember him, telling me facts about me."
"Were the facts he was saying true?" Nia asked, not looking up from writing her notes. Miranda nodded.
"Surprisingly and disturbingly, yes they were. He said I had a Boston terrier when I was little named Major who died after being hit by a car, which made me terrified to own another dog so as to avoid the same heartbreak. He said my mom died of cancer when I was in high school, which inspired me to become a nurse. He knew some secrets about me that only my best friends know. It…really freaked me out if I'm being honest, and I then started to develop a massive headache."
"Just like Darius…" Nia muttered as she continued writing. "What did you do afterwards?"
"I called security and had him escorted out. He fought against the guards, screaming that he wouldn't let me go without a fight…and that he loved me and always would. Since then, he hasn't shown back up here."
"Do you know where he could be?"
"No, I don't. Actually, I'd rather not think of him ever again if I'm being honest. Has he done something that would warrant the feds to come after him?"
Nia nodded. "You could say that, but thank you for your time. We should be going and let you get back to work."
Miranda nodded. "Good luck catching that creep."
After being escorted back to the front desk, Nia nodded at the receptionist before walking outside. Amara looked over at Nia. "So, any leads you could use?"
"No…but I'm certain that, despite their claims, that the man does indeed know the people he's gotten in contact with. Though as to why they don't know him is a mystery."
"Probably by stalking."
"I don't think so, no. Plus, the timing of the headaches both Darius and Miranda experienced were when he was trying to get them to 'remember' him. Possibly using a power to force their brains to remember him? Maybe implant false memories?"
Amara shrugged. "Who knows, but we've got more witnesses to talk to." As they walked back to the vehicle, Amara looked at Nia. "Oh…and can I sit in front this time? You can deal with Lucien this time around."
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and then Add to home screen.