Episode 07 – Cop Killer
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Previously on Whitechapel
Six was picked up from the Whitechapel Project by Mister Rich, a man who knew Six before his memory loss. Mister Rich confronted Six about his disguise as Dr. Tucci, but after Six told Mister Rich the truth, he decided to trust Six for now. They went to a run-down motel, where Mister Rich revealed that Six was found in London, England, and that his powers are as dangerous to Six as they are to everyone around him. After Mister Rich went to get new clothes for Six, he came back saying he was followed. Six leaves the motel, and notices two police officers asking questions of the other motel patrons.
Episode Seven – Fighting the Law
I walk to Mister Rich’s car, forcing myself to look casual and unhurried. The cops are behind me, and I try not to imagine them shooting me in the back as I walk. I start to sweat in the freezing cold, and each step seems to take longer and longer. Left. Right. Left. Right.
After an eternity, I make it to the car, and risk a glance back. The cop in the cruiser is talking into a handset, while the other is shaking the woman’s hand. When they’re not looking, I dart into the trees to stand behind Mister Rich. He puts a finger to his lips and points to the snowy ground. I crouch down next to him, and he looks back to the parking lot, holding his gun ready.
“What’s going on?” I whisper.
He shakes his head. “They’re not cops,” he whispers back.
I try to get another look of the two uniformed officers, but a tree blocks my view where I’m kneeling. “Who are they, then?”
“Not sure, but they’ve been following me since the store. If they were police, they would have pulled me over, or gone undercover if they were investigating me.” He leaned around a tree to get a better view. “They probably recognized my car. Fuck me for keeping it, I guess.”
“So what are we going to do?”
“We aren’t going to do anything. You’re going to stay here. I’m going to keep them from following us any further.” He gets up and starts to make his way along the treeline, stalking back to the other end of the parking lot.
One thing I’ve learned since waking up in that cell is that nothing is what it seems. The problem is, I’m never sure which side of the problem is the false one. I consider the options. Maybe Mister Rich is on the run from the law, and this is all just an excuse to keep himself out of jail. Could be the police are after me, and Mister Rich is wrong about them not being who they say they are. Or maybe they just think we’re a couple of drug dealers trying to make a buck. I shift between two trees to see if I can make out the police cruiser.
The second uniform – the one talking to the woman – is gone. I can still see his partner in the car, but the other one isn’t anywhere to be seen. I glance back down the treeline, and I can just make out a flash of orange as Mister Rich moves closer to the cruiser.
“Freeze!”
Looks like I found the other cop. He’s holding his gun at me in both hands, his legs spread on the icy concrete. All I have on me is a plastic bag full of smelly clothes, and Mister Rich is probably too far away to help me. Face it, Six, you’re fucked.
The cop continues to bark orders at me. “Drop the bag and kick it over to me.” I stand up and do what he says in a haze, but my mind is still whirling, trying to think of what I can do.
I think about the man I killed in my cell, and suddenly the mother of all headaches splits my skull in two. I can’t stop myself from falling to the ground and closing my eyes because of the pain. The cop’s voice is coming from far away. I barely notice what he’s saying as I imagine the weight of the axe in my hand. Whether I like it or not, I’m going to kill him.
I remember what Mister Rich told me about the thing inside of me. I remember what the guard said at the Whitechapel Project about what happens if I kill again. Whether this cop is a fake or not, I can’t afford to murder someone else. I scream “Get away from me! If you want to live, get the fuck away from me!”
I close my eyes and try to imagine dropping the axe and walking away, but I can feel my arm swinging down. I hear the cop’s firm orders turn into screams of pain. The axe slashes across his throat once, twice, nearly severing his head. I see his body fall backwards, as the axe splashes open his abdomen. Loops of intestine spill onto the snow while the frozen air turns white with his escaping heat.
My hands shake as I open my eyes. Once again, my dream has become a horrible reality.
A gunshot cracks, and then another. I spin to look over at the police car, and I can make out the other cop. He’s out of the cruiser and slumped against the side of it, his gun lying in a slowly growing pool of his own blood.
My mind runs on autopilot. Feeling a sense of deja vu, I dig around in the remains of my victim, stealing from what’s left of him in order to save myself. I find his wallet and pull it out. The license says “Alex Cochrane,” and he’s got a small stack of hundreds tucked inside the billfold. No police business cards or ID cards, and only one credit card – a corporate one made out to ZM Lacuna.
No time. I shove the wallet into my pocket, and take his pistol and the plastic bag. I quickly mutter “I’m sorry” to Cochrane before I run between the trees to where I last saw Mister Rich.
He’s lying on his back, unconscious. His gun is in his hand, and blood is oozing out of his jacket, near his shoulder. I put my fingers on his wrist and then his throat. His heartbeat is strong.
I go to check on the other cop, the one slumped against the cruiser. The hole in his forehead tells me he probably doesn’t need 911. I take his gun and his wallet as well.
I force myself to take a breath and assess the situation. Even if this is a bad part of town that doesn’t ask a lot of questions, there’s at least one witness to two cops getting shot. Mister Rich needs a hospital, but I don’t know how much time I have. I can’t drag him to a hospital, so I’m going to need a car. I gingerly search Mister Rich’s pockets for keys. They’re there, along with a cheap flip-open cell phone. I take them both and rush back to the black car.
Throwing the pistols and the plastic bag on the seat, I start the car and swerve around the corpses to pull it as close as I can to the trees hiding Mister Rich. I scan the dashboard and find a button marked “Rear Door Lock.” I punch it, and both rear doors pop open with a gentle click. I get out of the car and run over to Mister Rich.
At that moment, a black van slowly pulls into the opposite end of the parking lot. I can just make it out from where I’m crouched over Mister Rich’s body. It’s heavy-looking with tinted windows, and something in the shape or the color reminds me of Mister Rich’s car.
My instincts tell me to run, to get away from this van and whatever it contains. If the passengers are associated with Mister Rich, then I can leave him here, and his own people can take care of him. But he mentioned something about “keeping the car” – what if he’s as much on the run from the Whitechapel Project as I am?
What should I do?
Take Mister Rich’s car, but leave him here. It looks like it’s more armored, and Mister Rich can take care of himself.
Take Mister Rich’s car, and take him with me. He’ll be safe in the car.
Take the police car, but leave Mister Rich here. The police car is probably faster than the black car.
Take the police car, and take Mister Rich with me. I can run the sirens and get him to a hospital faster.
Flag down the black van, and take my chances that they’re sympathetic to Mister Rich.
Or I can hide in the woods until it all blows over.
The choice is yours.
What should I do?
- Take Mister Rich's car, and take him with me. He'll be safe in the car. (35%, 15 Votes)
- Take Mister Rich's car, but leave him here. It looks like it's more armored, and Mister Rich can take care of himself. (28%, 12 Votes)
- Take the police car, and take Mister Rich with me. I can run the sirens and get him to a hospital faster. (16%, 7 Votes)
- I can hide in the woods until it all blows over. (12%, 5 Votes)
- Take the police car, but leave Mister Rich here. The police car is probably faster than the black car. (5%, 2 Votes)
- Flag down the black van, and take my chances that they're sympathetic to Mister Rich. (4%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 43
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November 12th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Again going with the control move – keep control of Rich, and away from the Black Van. In what world is an unmarked Black Van good? It’s either government agents, White Chapel, or PedoBear.
November 12th, 2009 at 9:25 am
PedoBear works for Whitechapel! AUGH!
November 12th, 2009 at 10:26 am
I voted for Rich in the police car. Playing with sirens!
Also, I found a quote relevant to the situation…
The Wolf: You know what you guys look like?
Jules: What?
The Wolf: Like a couple of guys who just blew off somebody’s head.
The Wolf: Now Jimmie, hand them the soap.
November 12th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
LOL! Nice.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Cop car. They can trace Rich’s car, the cop car gives you siren and a new vehicle. Keep mixing it up, breaks up the trail.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Interesting point.
November 12th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
This one seemed pretty clear-cut; the black van showing up that soon would indicate that they were watching already and were probably associated with the fake cops. That means they’re probably not going to be friendly to Mr. Rich. While taking the police car WOULD be faster, it would also be a giant neon sign announcing where they are. Mr. Rich’s car is more nondescript but, as Mr. Rich hinted, they’re probably going to have to ditch the car soon. I’m getting the vibe that the people in the van are folks Mr. Rich used to be associated with but isn’t any longer — which probably means they’d be able to track them no matter WHICH car VI takes, but again Mr. Rich’s car is probably the safer bet. VI probably doesn’t want to get the real cops involved just yet! (Which would be sure to happen if he grabs the police car, fake or not.)
This is getting really good! Nice touch incapacitating Mr. Rich, by the way. It’s a very good way to keep VI squarely in the protagonist’s seat.
So when will you be pitching this as a TV series? ;)
November 12th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I… uh… hadn’t actually considered that. I know that concepts that are strongly first person are pretty hard to recast visually, but now I’m thinking about it.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:14 am
I know, I’m a little late to the party. Lost my job last Monday and everything got throw up into the air. Just not got around to listening to the latest episode. Anyway, I’m back with my blow-by-blow analysis of my choices. Starting this week with the one I chose.
Or I can hide in the woods until it all blows over. Yeah, that was my option. Generally, my attitude now is fuck ‘um all. Fuck Mr. Rich and his cryptic ass. Fuck the police. Fuck this van. Time for Six to just take things on his own. Also, I’m not keen with my other options as you’ll see below.
Flag down the black van, and take my chances that they’re sympathetic to Mister Rich. That just seems like a HUGE risk. I’d say better odds are on them grabbing Six and hauling him back to wherever it is he came from… of course there might then be answers…
Now, instead of breaking down choice by choice I’ll break it down into the common parts.
Take Mister Rich’s car. Mister Rich already thinks they got spotted because of the car, I don’t think driving it any more is going to really help Six’s case. I felt it was best to just leave Mister Rich’s car behind and find something else.
Take the police car. This seems like a bad idea all around. Six might be able to steal the skin of one of the cops but cop cars are tracked pretty damned well and stealing one is just a plain stupid idea. Last thing Six needs is more police attention. Even if their not real cops… their car doesn’t seem like a smart choice.
Leave Mister Rich here. Odds are good that is a death sentence for him one way or another. While he’s been semi willing to help Six out it seems like things have gotten worse because of him. Plus, I still don’t trust him.
Take Mister Rich with me. He’s really just going to slow Six down. He might have more information for Six so it might not be a bad idea to safe him… but really, Six has enough on his plate already and adding “Dying Man” to it isn’t going to make life easier.
As always, a fantastic story Eddy!
November 16th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Sorry to hear about you losing your job. :(
November 16th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I was going to vote for “take Mr. Rich and his car”, but I picked “hide in the woods” instead. I don’t know about “until it all blows over”, but at least until VI sees what’s going on- how the van-people react to Mr. Rich… he should be ready to go in, guns blazing if necessary, once he’s assessed the situation.
November 17th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
November 17th, 2009 at 5:37 am
Another interesting situation Six’s gotten himself into. Or finds himself in, rather. The van is too much of a coincidence to be any sort of good news. Like Jim Ryan said, if they were on Rich’s side, they’d stepped in already. NO, getting the heck away is the way to go. Take Rich with him of course, he’s got too much info that Six needs. Six better keep Rich alive if he’s got any hope of finding out what’s going on with him. And he needs to get Rich talking. So this situation might be a blessing in disguise. And finally, the car should be Rich’s nondiscript vehicle. Attention is bad, M’Kay?
Can’t wait for the next episode!
November 17th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Thanks for the analysis! It’s always cool to see what you guys think of each episode’s choices.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:58 am
It seems to me that VI is developing a wary kind of loyalty to Mister Rich, even if it’s because he’s the only one who seems to know what’s going on. Between mysterious “research” facilities and a growing body count, VI could really use an ally and this could go a long way toward proving that Mister Rich doesn’t need to go all Hunter on him.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Three isn’t a high body count! It’s only about… well… one death every two episodes.
Okay, it’s high.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:11 am
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November 19th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Looks like I was late to the vote, but I’d followed the majority anyway. Abandoning Rich would be bastardly, and who wants to think of themselves as a bastard? Black vans are never good — even the A-Team’s had a bright red stripe — and Rich’s car is just less blindingly obvious than the cop car. Thanks Eddy, it’s a great story.
November 19th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Glad you’re enjoying it!
November 19th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
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November 25th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
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