Because I Reward Laziness

Welcome to the Agglomeration

Origin

Episode 2

Rafael Navros glanced at the distant sunset. It was almost symbolic, as if he had reached the prime of his life, and everything was going downhill, plunging him into a period of darkness where he would be lost with no sense of direction whatsoever. He knew that what he was embarking upon would be one of the most important campaigns in his life. He was travelling to Spain via helicopter, where he would be meeting with a highly esteemed businessman, specialising in something that he was very interested in. He hoped that in Madrid, he would find what he was looking for.

Rafael walked toward the helipad, taking one last look at the subdued suburbia languishing in the depths of its nightly slumber. His pilot yelled at him, “We need to go. Now.” As he was about to get into the helicopter, he noticed two shadows approaching from behind. He whirled around to see a gun pointed at his face by one of the two men.

“What do you want?”

“Your helicopter, of course. Put your hands on your head where I can see them and slowly walk away from the chopper.”

“Who are you people?”

“Step away from the chopper.”

“You’re making a big mistake. I swear to you, if you…”

The man fired at Rafael’s feet.

“Ok, Ok, I’m stepping away.”

When Rafael was a safe distance away, the two men climbed into the helicopter. Rafael watched as it vanished into the distance. The only thing that would have saved him had been taken away
from him. He was determined to get it back.

*

Ferris Stanton was having a bad day. He had locked his keys in his car, he had found out his wife was having an affair with his brother, and he had just spilled a boiling hot mocha over his new pair of jeans. Ferris Stanton was having a very bad day. He was sitting in his office, mulling over the sheer badness of his day, but little did he know that his day was about to take a turn for the worse.

“Mr. Stanton, Sir, I have some bad news for you.”

“What is it, Immanuel?

“We just received word that the Hyacinth Theatre, where the Axiom Award Ceremony was taking place, has been bombed. We have emergency response teams at the site, and they have already begun sifting through the debris for any evidence as to who was responsible for this.”

“Oh my God. I should head over there straight away.”

“Before you do, Sir, there’s something else. The Emergency Response Team identified a vehicle parked outside the Theatre. It was a squad car belonging to Agents Friedman and McNamara. All initial signs suggest that they may have been caught in the explosion.

“I see. I’ll leave immediately.”

*

Lucas took a carton of orange juice from the refrigerator and went upstairs, drinking from the carton and spilling some on his shirt. But he was too dejected to care. He turned on his computer and saw that he had 2 new email messages. The first was from Stephanie, and it had been sent 3 minutes ago. He clicked on ‘Delete’ without opening it. The second was from someone he didn’t know: Darren Wells. The only reason he didn’t delete it was because of the subject of the email.

DO NOT DELETE. YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER.

His curiosity aroused, he opened the email.

Lucas,

Your life is in grave danger. We need to talk.
Meet me at Leighton Pier at 6pm tonight.
This email will delete itself automatically in 10 seconds.

Darren

Sure enough, the email vanished just as Lucas got to the end of it. Confused and unsure as to whether it was some elaborate ploy, he did not give it much more thought because his mother, who had just returned home, was calling him from downstairs.

“Lucas. It’s time for your appointment with Dr. Krieg. Hurry up or we’ll be late.”
Lucas looked at the time on his computer. 3:44pm. Time to go.

Five minutes after he had left, a page opened by itself on the screen. It was Stephanie’s email.

*

The helicopter touched down near a mansion in the outskirts of town. The two men jumped out, one carrying a briefcase, and the other brandishing his loaded gun.

The man with the gun spoke. “Are you sure this man will give us the answers we need?”

“As I told you before, Jim, he’s definitely involved. I just hope you’re ready to do whatever it takes to extract the information out of him.”

“I am, Mr. Haxon. Be sure of that.”

“Then let’s go.”

*

Stanton and four of his most trusted men arrived at the Hyacinth Theatre, and he was completely shocked at what he saw. The entire building had collapsed, leaving behind nothing but rubble. But there was an eerie silence. There was no one there, no sign of the emergency response teams or the abandoned squad car or anything else for that matter.

“It’s as if someone had come and disposed of all the evidence”, Stanton said. “But if so, where are all the people?”

One of the agents, Leon Turnbull, recovered first. “We don’t know, Sir. There was a power blackout here 3 minutes before we arrived and we had lost all radio contact with the emergency crews. But nothing I know could’ve come in and tidied everything up in that timeframe.”

“Something big is going on here. I need you to find out what. Sweep the area for any traces that can assist us in our search. Find me something to work with here!”

“Right away, Sir”.

Stanton growled. Some instinct from deep inside his gut told him that something here was very,
very wrong. But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

*

Lucas awoke from his light nap to the tones of a ‘Kings of Leon’ song. The car clock read 3:56pm. Suddenly a black van rammed them from behind. His mother was hysterical.

“What’s going on? What is that van doing?”

Another crash from the stronger van pushed their car into a pole at the side of the road. A few seconds after impact, as the dust was settling, Lucas heard the muffled movements somewhere behind him. His passenger seat door was yanked open, and he was transferred from the wreckage to the van by two heavily built men. Screaming helplessly, he was bundled into the back and tied up. The doors closed and the van sped off.

*

Warren Cole had never felt a pain so excruciating in his life. He screamed in agony, but the pain wouldn’t stop. Nothing was hurting him, but yet he was in the most unimaginable pain ever. Being ripped apart from inside, there was nothing he could do to survive this death of deaths. It would be slow. It would be painful. It would last all of eternity.

Warren awoke from his nightmare, and realised that the man who called himself Jefferson was standing in the doorway of his cell.

“Mr. Cole, someone is here to see you.”

“Thank you, Jefferson. Now please leave the room. Mr. Cole and I have some matters to discuss.”

That voice sounded familiar, and as the mysterious individual entered the room, Warren’s suspicions were confirmed.

“You.”