The Three D's
Meanwhile, the bus rumbled along downtown. Choby stared forward for a while, then turned to Damien and asked, "What the heck's Scorpio after this time, Dami?"
"They're after three D's," Damien replied.
"Three D's! They must be nuts!"
"No, they aren't," Shirana said. "They've been after those D's for years."
"Three D's, you say?" said a stranger beside them. "What's the story behind them? If I may ask?"
"One D is made of silver," Shirana said.
"Another of gold," Damien added.
"And the last and most important of diamonds," finished Shirana. "It's said that when the D's are interlocked in a pyramid shape, they have an amazing power."
"The power to cure anything," Damien said. "But, if the D's fall into the wrong hands, there's no telling what will happen."
"Who has the D's now?" Choby asked.
"Yeah, who?" the stranger echoed.
"The diamond D is somewhere in the tomb of Saint Damien [sic]," Shirana said. "The golden D is in Father Damien's possession but Scorpio has it now."
"Who--who has the silver D?" Choby gulped.
Damien slowly tugged on a chain around his neck to bring his necklace out from under his tank top. He held it up and there, dangling from the chain and glinting even in the pale light, was a silver D.
"You have it," the stranger whispered.
Damien nodded. "You know how they kidnapped my uncle Damien for the gold D and Amy found him before Scorpio could do anything," he said. He sighed. "Well, now they're after me."
"What would they do if they did get you?" the stranger asked.
Shirana was the one to answer now. "Being a former member of Scorpio myself, I have a vague idea. Tie him up, slit his throat, cut off his left hand, drink his blood--"
"Okay, already!" Damien snapped. "I don't need that clear a prediction."
"They have one D, and they're going after you now," Choby said. "But where's this Saint Damien [sic] thing?"
"It isn't a real tomb," Damien said. "It's like a temple, really. An underground one. Anywhere beneath us."
"Wow," the stranger said.
They'd forgotten about him by now. Damien turned to him. "Who the heck are you, anyway?"
"Oh, how silly of me," he laughed, reaching out a hand. "Detective Morris. And I take that your name is Damien?"
Damien nodded.
"Wait a minute," Detective Morris said. "Wait just a minute. Haven't I seen you before?"
"Maybe."
"Oh yeah! I remember you! You're the one who got in with that Mason guy, right?"
"'Got in'?" Choby echoed.
"Got into a fight with," Damien said.
"Yeah!" Detective Morris said. He was really excited now. "Y'know, you throw a really good punch."
"Sure, thanks," Damien mumbled, looking out the window.
"Who's Mason?" Choby asked.
Damien started to say "Never mind," but Detective Morris piped, "Pretty Boy Mason. A weirdo. Those two hate each others [sic] guts."
"Okay," Damien said, stressing the 'kay'.
"Oh, sorry, I'm not telling top secret, am I?"
"You're telling my life story."
"Oh, sorry."
The Greyhound began to slow down.
"The cop station's nearby," Damien said. "What say we pay ol' Officer Jones a visit?"
"I thought you two hated each other," Choby said.
"So what? I'm not afraid of cops."
"With all the times you've been in jail I should think you would be," Shirana commented.
"Nah. I'm used to them."
They got off the bus and walked to the police station. It was a red brick building, with a brown stone which said "Michigan State Police. District No. 7." Damien pushed open the door, nearly hitting a policeman in the nose.
"Sorry 'bout that," he said. "Hiya, Jones! How's life?"
"What're you doing here again?" Officer Jones snapped, looking up from the counter.
"Oh, just checking up. Anything weird going on?"
"Like what? You were just here hours ago!"
A policewoman entered.
"Who's this?" Damien asked.
"Officer Slatinsky, this is Damien." [Note--"Slatinsky" was the surname of a girl I went to school with. Like Officer Slatinsky, she too was a redhead. Only similarity.] Officer Jones added, in a murmur, "The singer."
The woman nodded and started to leave, but Damien intercepted.
"Have you ever heard of a certain Mr. Luther Broderick?" he asked.
"Maybe I have. Why?"
"He's got a much worse criminal record than you," Officer Jones called out.
"Oh, a competitor!"
"Thing is, that guy's as slippery as an eel, clever as a coyote and crazy as a fox."
"From your description, he sounds really weird," Choby smirked.
Officer Jones looked irritably at him. "Who are you?"
"I guess he doesn't know of the Shriners," Choby said.
"Shriners?"
"If this guy's mind was a stereo and you put in an 8-track tape, you'd only have one track coming back out," Damien whispered. Choby, Shirana, Officer Slatinsky, and the other policeman laughed.
Choby suddenly grew serious, which was unusual. "What's Luther's criminal record, officer [sic]?"
Officer Jones looked a little uncomfortable. He leaned over the counter and whispered into Choby's ear.
When he finished, Choby drew back and shook his head. Officer Jones nodded.
"What?" Damien asked.
Choby took on the same uncomfortable look. "Suspected murderer and..."
Damien and Shirana looked at him.
"What?" Damien repeated.
Choby looked down, seeming too ashamed to speak. "Something no woman in her right mind would like." [Note--take notice of how I can just never say the R word outright in my old stories. When it was used in The Trench Rats, I seem to remember that, like with the word "damn," I went through much cringing when I wrote it. This attitude persists even to the current writing of Escape From Manitou Island, which refers very, very obliquely to rape, without actually using the word.]
Damien's eyes widened with shock. Shirana clutched her cape protectively. A heavy silence settled over the room like snow.
The other policeman finally broke the silence. "Gotta go, Jonesy," he said, forcing a smile and walking out the door. Damien, Choby and Officer Jones did their best to look composed, but noticed that the two women had grown a shade paler. After a moment, Officer Slatinsky cleared her throat and straightened her hat.
"Well, now," she said, with a barely noticeable waver, "hafta file these papers before I forget."
"C'mon," Damien said suddenly, heading for the door.
"Where're you goin' in such a hurry?" Officer Jones asked, somewhat angrily.
Damien turned back, his eyes narrowing. "For your information, I just happened to meet Luther earlier."
Officer Jones looked stunned.
"And, for my information," Damien said, pushing out the door, "I just happen to know some female targets he may be after." [Note--yet another plot point I completely forgot to pursue.]
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