Int. Inside Warehouse (Night) October 23, 2025, 9:45 PM
Blake had a strange look on his face, a cross between being frustrated and confused. "Yeah, now I have to admit this is freaking me out just a little bit," he admitted as he looked down at the message. Blake kept clenching and unclenching his fist, a look of concentration on his face.
Gabriel took a glance at Blake before looking back at the message. "What's freaking you out, the fact we're locked in a strange warehouse, or the fact our suspect has an issue with you?"
Blake replied, "Both. Honestly, it's a little bit of both," a look of frustration on his face.
Gabriel didn't have anything to say in response, knowing that Blake has had some dealings with many people over the years; there is no telling how many of them he has pissed off. The message read: "The world is small, Officer Blake, and someone is always watching." Gabriel dragged his foot over the message and noticed that the message was completely dried, his foot dragging across had a few specks scraping across the ground.
Based on the dried look, it seems as if the message has been sitting here for a while. The red of the blood looks like a brownish-red, but with how bad the lighting in the warehouse is, it is hard to tell. "Based on the blood, it has been sitting for a couple of days! When did Mark say he was kidnapped again?" Gabriel questioned as he turned to Blake, his head cocked to the side, mind racing over a fact that is escaping his mind.
Blake took a moment to think, his right hand rubbing the few pieces of facial hair he had as he thought about the question. "If I recall, Mark said that he was kidnapped around October or after October 7th."
"I see," Gabriel replied with a sinking feeling in his stomach; some words started to click together. He hesitated for a moment, looking back towards the blood message, then looking back at Blake. "Mark said he was kidnapped, but didn't tell us how long he was held. He also didn't say how he escaped, just that he did. Don't you find it a little suspicious that not only did he not have any marks on him, no rope, tape, bruises of any kind but yet we saw nothing?"
"That son of a bit-" Blake started to rant before loud clapping began to cut him off.
"Tssk, tssk, tssk. Blake, always the hothead," a voice sassed, the words seemingly echoing from all around Gabriel and Blake. "Didn't you read the message? There's someone always watching you. I bet that makes your ego proud to hear, right? Someone actually gives enough fucks to monitor you."
Gabriel noticed Blake's face slowly turn red before he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out his gun with his right hand. Lowering his right arm with a gun, his index finger on the trigger, he pointed the muzzle towards the ground. Blake looked around, anger on his face as he slowly looked around the space they were in. Gabriel and Blake were in between two shelves that were knocked over; multiple other shelves and equipment were around them, making it hard to pinpoint where the voice could be coming from. "Easy to talk big, punk, when you're hiding, sneaking around this place like a coward!" Blake shouted out, his head swiveling every time the clapping was heard.
The clapping noise ceased, soon replaced by a very eerie laugh; the sound was high-pitched. Gabriel's knees almost buckled at the noise, his ears ringing as the noise continued. Shelves began to buckle from the loud sound waves, yet Blake stood strong through all of it. His demeanor never changed as he kept looking, making sure to cover Gabriel's back. "Ah, you never cease to amaze me, but my master has already told me the truth. You talk about cowards, but did you ever tell your friend over here about the connection you have to some of the victims killed? See, you pretend to want justice, to be in reality you have just been hiding behind that badge like a shield. Using it to cover any wrongdoings you have going, but my master isn't as foolish as the others," the voice chuckled. The laughter soon ended after he finished his statement, nothing left but sounds of squeaking and drops of water hitting the floor.
Gabriel shook his head, clearing up lingering dizziness from the noise, a small drip of blood sliding down his right ear onto his jacket. He couldn't help but stare at Blake's back. "No way Blake could be hiding things from him, right?" Gabriel thought to himself. Gabriel bit his lip in anger, but tried to put those thoughts out of his mind, wanting to focus on the problem. Gabriel reached to his hip, following Blake's lead in pulling out his gun. His form was more professional than Blake's as he kept both hands on the gun grip; Gabriel turned, facing the opposite direction of Blake.
"Listen, Rook, I know you're probably thinking about what this maniac said, but," Blake tried to explain, his voice in a whisper as the two men stood back to back.
Gabriel just let out a deep sigh, his eyes straining to look around in the low light. "Honestly, now is not a good time for this," he interrupted, tabling any discussion for the moment, wanting to come back to it when they leave the situation.
"No, no, I think now is a good time to finish this discussion," the voice said. To Gabriel's right, a picture came floating down, landing at his feet.
Blake looked at the photo on the ground, his face turning pale. "Rook, listen. Whoever is doing this is just trying to divide us right now; we have to focus and start moving towards the exit."
Gabriel ignored Blake, holstering his gun; he bent down to pick up the photo from the ground. His face turned to shock; if anything, Gabriel felt disappointed at what he was seeing. In the photo was Blake taking money from the murder suspect, Jacob Ryder. If Gabriel recalled correctly, Ryder was the one who beat his wife. "If Blake was getting rid of and hiding police records, it would make sense why I couldn't find any info, including arrest records, on some of the guys," he thought to himself, his hand with the photo shaking at the revelation.
Blake went to open his mouth, but a figure quickly dashed between the two of them, knocking Gabriel down in the process. Gabriel looked up from the ground and saw a figure towering over him, holding Blake up with one arm, his hand covering Blake's mouth. It was a man standing around six foot six, long blonde hair going down the middle of his back. He was wearing a hooded cloak that went down to his knees; below that was what looked like black pants with black boots on. The man leaned forward, his tongue licking Blake's face, causing Blake to let out a shiver. Blake did his best to struggle against the hold, but the man's grip kept strong. "See, Blake, I grow tired of your lies, the way you try to manipulate everyone around you. I can even blame you for the system you so succeed at; I can blame you for not doing anything to change it," the man stated. The man turned his head towards Gabriel; now being able to see his face, Gabriel noticed the man had bright yellow eyes; on his right cheek, a small piece of skin was missing. "We have no quarrel with you, Detective Gabriel. Feel free to leave… if you can find the exit," the man stated.
Gabriel's breath caught in his throat as an overwhelming amount of fear washed over him staring into the man's eyes. It was like the man could easily see through Gabriel, like every little secret he held close was laid bare in front of the man like an opening book. His body unconsciously shaking, sweat sliding down his face, mixed with the blood that just began to dry.
The man looked at Gabriel for a moment longer; the seconds stretched on, feeling like hours as they looked at each other. Finally, the man turned his back on Gabriel, walking with Blake's body further into the warehouse. Gabriel finally let out the breath he was holding, his chest raising up and down rapidly. Gabriel slowly made his way to his feet, his knees buckling as he struggled to stand. The piercing gaze of that man made him afraid.
Even if Blake did things wrong, he deserved to be given due process, not slaughtered like an animal, and god knows what else may happen. Gabriel was determined to save Blake if he could, his morals not allowing him to leave a fellow cop behind. Overcoming the pit in his stomach, Gabriel took out his gun once again. With all the speed he could muster, he ran towards the man, getting close he pulled the trigger, letting loose the full magazine into the back of the man's head.