The Storm of Garmr

by Bo Luellen

  Captain Andino got up and started the meeting, “Good morning. As some of you know, the body of Officer David Johnston has been stolen. We believe that this is connected to the Brotherhood, as a message to John and the city. I’m assigning Michaels and Cobb to stake out at the cemetery in case someone comes back to inspect their handiwork. I’ll turn it over to John for his assignments.”

  He limped up to the front and announced, “I received word from a reliable informant that Brotherhood members are avoiding areas patrolled by the Crusaders. This informant has provided credible intelligence that suggests the cult knows where Greyson’s patrols will be. To test this theory, I want to avoid stakeouts and patrols in sectors where Dunn’s men are working. Instead, tonight I want all of our resources spread out over the small sections that will not have any Crusader activity. This will create a corridor for us to lay several traps based on past targets the Brotherhood has hit. Traditionally they have gone after religious symbols, places of worship...”

  Captain Andino got up, walked over to John and whispered, “What are you doing? We were told to keep a presence in all areas of the city. If the Crimson Brotherhood hits somewhere where the Crusaders are monitoring, the department will not be able to respond fast enough. This would be like handing over most of Tulsa to Dunn.”

  John replied in full voice, “This isn’t cooperation, this is smart hunting.”

  His Captain lost his temper, “How would we explain leaving the majority of the city to Dunn if the Chief asks?”

  From the back of the room, a voice bellowed, “You tell him that the safety of the people takes precedence over politics. You could say that you decided to serve and protect the people instead of worry about who gets the credit.”

  The fifty plus officers in the room turned to see Richard Enfield walk in like he owned the building. He had on a black Brooks Brothers suit and coat with an empty holster on his belt. Behind him were two of his personal bodyguards dressed in the blue Crusader’s uniform.

  Captain Andino held up his hands, “Mr. Enfield, this is an official police briefing. I would be happy to talk to you afterward.”

  Enfield pulled out an envelope from his jacket, “This is a list of Brotherhood targets we were given in the last three days. Some of these are public schools, hospitals, and libraries. Each day we give a similar list to this task force. Brother Dunn’s resources are again being offered to you, but your Chief has inexplicably said ‘No’ at every turn. Now I’m asking you, Detective John Utterson; Put God on your side and give the Crusaders official status in this investigation. Will you let us work with you?”

  Before the Captain could reply, John responded, “Yes. We need your help. I would be willing to...”

  The room filled with murmurs as his Captain yelled, “No! We would not be willing to discuss this. If you really want to help, then let our officers have access to all of your resources. You’re making a political attempt to divide my officers and take away their focus, Mr. Enfield! Get out or I’ll have you arrested for interfering with a police investigation!”

  Enfield pursed his lips together and looked at John. The detective remembered his meeting with Enfield and the part he had promised to play. He walked over and took the envelope from him.

  Richard clasped his hands together and faced the officers, “God bless you all in your efforts tonight. May the Lord see you through and grant you success and safety. In Jesus name, Amen.”

  To John’s surprise, almost half the room of police repeated, “Amen.”

  He opened the letter and looked at the list, as Captain Andino made a speech, “May I remind everyone that you work for the city and have sworn an oath to uphold the law. Brother Dunn is making a power play in this town and we can’t let that happen. We lost good officers in the Battle of the Preserve, and we aren’t going to lose anymore. You want to be a good Christian, fine, do it on your own time. What your town needs is a crack in this case. Go out there and do what you have to do. Bring me a member of the Brotherhood.”

  John interrupted, “Wait. This list says fifteen tips came in saying the Brotherhood is going to make a play at freeing Henry Jekyll tonight. That is more than we ever had on any single target.”

  He turned around to the map and pointed out the hospital, “Jekyll is in an area that isn’t being patrolled by the Crusaders tonight. We could assign SWAT to the building, set up choke points by locking doors and stake out the area with...”

  The Captain slammed his fist against a table, “To do that would leave the rest of the city thin! This could be the Brotherhood trying to draw us away from their real target. Only 2% of all the five-hundred daily tips that came from the Crusader hotlines panned out. That means….”

  Detective Cobb got tired of waiting on the Captain to do that math, “2% of 500 is 10. So if those fifteen reports are the only ones in todays list that are accurate, then than means it represents 3% of the 500. John, that would exclude all other reports. Sure, it’s statistically high, but we’ve seen multiple tips come in on the same target before. The probability that this is genuine is there, but slight.”

  The Captain nodded in agreement as John retorted, “It’s not a coincidence. The Crusaders are doing their jobs; the Brotherhood is afraid of them. That’s why they have waited until Dunn’s men are away. This might be our best shot!”

  His captain’s face went red, “The matter is closed! This briefing is over. Everyone get out and go to work!”

  Within a few moments, the room cleared out, leaving only the Captain and John. Andino locked the door, turned, and kicked a folding chair across the room. John didn’t flinch, as it crashed into a desk and knocked it over.

  Utterson said calmly, “This isn’t the right call, Captain. We need them on our side. Hell man, we need to be on their side even more. They have twelve thousand members, we have just over 700 officers. We are working on a year’s end budget, and they can bleed out millions of dollars a month without blinking. How can we look the public in the eye and justify our refusal to cooperate with Dunn?”

  Captain Andino put his hands on his hips, “Because a single religion cannot be allowed to have that much power! If the city deputizes the Crusaders, then overnight Richard Enfield becomes the new Chief of Police. You see John, when you have authority backed by the kind of money Eastland can throw into the Crusaders, that makes the Department worthless. We don’t have the manpower to oversee a force as large as the TCC. How do we ensure they will respond if a Jewish man is accosted? What if an Islamic family’s house is broken into, or if a pagan business is vandalized? We can’t guarantee they will follow the law because these people see the Christian faith first!”

  John put Richard Enfield’s list of leads in his pocket, “Right now you have lawmakers and politicians worried about keeping people dependent on civil services. They’re scared citizens might discover they don’t need a government to survive. You ask how can we be sure these Crusaders will be impartial? At least they are trying. You are just worried about your pension. The Mayor, the Chief, and the Governor are so eager to prove Dunn wrong, they refuse to do the best thing for the people. Today you had an opportunity to make a difference, Captain, and you decided to protect and serve your job, not Tulsa. You’re a coward, and that will get more people killed. Lady justice is blind, but you can bet she sees your hypocrisy.”

  As he walked out, Captain Andino yelled after him, “Hypocrite? Who are you to talk! The drug addict that was too high to call 911 and let his partner OD on his living room floor. You’re a real hero!”

  John spun on his heel and landed a right cross on the Captain’s jaw. The punch was flush and sudden, catching the shorter man by surprise. Andino went down like a bag of feed and sprawled out on the slick linoleum floor in an odd chaotic mixture of arms and legs.

  He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him and left his superior unconscious in a heap. He grabbed his complaining ribs and clenched the letter in his other hand. He limped out of the building, and
focused on what was next in the plan he and Enfield had concocted. As he drove through the streets, he picked up his phone and made a call.

  Richard Enfield answered, “Hi, John.”

  He turned onto Boston Avenue in downtown Tulsa, “It went down just as you predicted. The damn fools. Is the offer still good?”

  Richard sighed, “Yes, of course. It’s sad to hear though. I wished they would have surprised me and made the right decision for Tulsa. Where are you?”

  John parked his car at a news station, “I’m downtown at KOTV. Should I wait before I go in?”

  Enfield responded quickly, “Yes. God told me to prepare for this. I have two attorneys that can meet you in fifteen minutes. Wait for them. The Whistleblowers Protection Act will work for you, but still, you must be careful. The Devil has many weapons, and your bravery will not go unchallenged. John, I have to ask you a question, are you sure about this? It’s the end of your police career and your life will become a three ring circus of media and controversy.”

  Utterson looked down at the newspaper hanging out of his pocket. The headline read, “One Dog-Gone Great Cop,” with a picture of Charlie. His mind flashed back to the humiliation he received at the awards ceremony. He recalled the threats from the Chief and from Agent Hamilton of AEGIS.

  He looked up at the news station and answered, “I’m sure.”

  Chapter 5: Henry VII

  The Mind of Hyde – Unknown Date – Unknown Time

  Henry Jekyll found himself on a black moon circling the ringed planet of Segradus, “This looks depressing.”

  The Demon’s voice flowed from the ether, “It has a quality to it that produces a hardness to its population.”

  To his left, a baby’s cry came out from behind one of the midnight black rocks. Henry moved gracefully inside Hyde’s celestial body and peered around the large boulder. A crib made of dark wood was leaning to one side, and humanoid infant had spilled out onto the ground. The blue-skinned baby was wailing and confused. Henry flapped his wings and launched himself towards the helpless child.

  Hyde shifted the memory and caused the baby to appear a little further away, “Saving the child won’t be that easy. You see, the mother was my Vessel, but was attacked by one of the many predators that inhabit this moon. Miniel was close, so I jumped into the baby to avoid capture. As you will find out, it wasn’t an easy day.”

  A thick, scaled, solid black snake slithered out from between two rocks, “The Segradusians call it a shell snake because it lives in the rock and has armor plating on its scales.”

  The serpent spotted the unattended child and stopped. A pair of tongues flicked the air, and the beast opened its mouth to display a double row of teeth. The alien creature poured out of the tiny cracks in the ground, and revealed its twelve-foot long body.

  Henry muttered, “Jesus Christ!”

  The Demon announced in a confident air, “I had no choice. If I had simply walked out of the body, Miniel and the Order of Virtue would have been on me in seconds. Now it’s up to you.”

  He looked in the air and asked, “What’s up to me? Hyde! I’m not going to stand here and watch some creature eat a baby! Tell me what to do?”

  As the snake worked its way over to its meal, Hyde instructed, “Illusion is a powerful weapon if you know how to use it. Concentrate on the baby and repeat after me, ‘Procidat Deceptioneum. You’d better act quick. That creature doesn’t constrict its victims, it sprays it with acid.”

  Henry did his best to clear his mind, “Procidat Deceptioneum!”

  An illusionary duplicate of the child appeared directly in front of the animal. The shell snake stopped and eyed the decoy. It flicked its tongue at the image and then slithered around it.

  He exclaimed in a panic, “It didn’t work!”

  Hyde’s voice was full of impatience, “Not good enough! You have to invest your emotions into the casting. The more hate and anger you put into the spell, the more substance the illusions will have.”

  By the time Henry completed his second attempt, the creature was only a few feet away. The duplicate baby appeared in its path, but this time the snake took its time. It made a violent hissing sound, as a spray of green liquid covered the doppelganger. In a shimmer of golden energy, the fake dissolved into thin air.

  As the predator looked around in confusion, Henry pleaded, “What happened?”

  The Demon chuckled, “You added substance to it, but that meant it could be hurt.”

  The snake coiled around the bawling child, and a drop of acidic saliva sizzled on the black stone. The acidic fumes wafted into the baby’s face, causing it to start choking. The scales on the back of the serpent flexed upwards, making it look like it had spines.

  Henry switched his mental focus and yelled the incantation in a rage, “Procidat Deceptioneum!”

  An exact duplicate of Hyde popped into existence beside the animal. The snake’s gaze shifted to the newly arrived angel and sent a spray of corrosive liquid towards the illusion. Henry mentally controlled the replica and dodged the attack. As a puppeteer, he worked the construct as the creature did its best to land a strike. It took a great deal of effort to maintain the spell, but after a few seconds, Henry had the hang of it. With a twist, he caused the image to take out his sword and slash the snake’s head off.

  A gallon of acid spewed out from the neck and doused the surrounding rocks. Henry looked down in horror as the small child melted away under the substance. The smell of burning flesh filled the air and caused him to lose his focus. The illusion blinked out. Hyde dissolved the memory and landed them back in the Study.

  The Demon was once again in his black regal finery, “Don’t concern yourself over the child. It was just a memory.”

  Henry was mentally exhausted and dropped down in a leather chair, “What really happened to the baby? I mean in the past that the memory is from. Did the kid survive?”

  Hyde took a stiff drink and smiled, “Not at all.”

  He looked down, trying to reconcile both the spell he had learned and the horrific reminiscence he had just relived. After two months in “Hyde Time,” Henry Jekyll had discovered dozens of incantations and how to activate them in Latin. The training was affecting more than just his mind, but Henry’s entire being. With each arcane lesson, Hyde took him to a different planet to train in a specific spell.

  His mind was able to deal with the trauma of seeing the horrors of Hyde’s past. Still, the absorption of all the hundreds of life experiences had changed him. His posture, mannerisms, and even his diction were so altered that Henry barely felt like himself anymore. He felt what little innocence his abusive family had left him being taken by the Demon’s education. Nevertheless, Henry clung to his values by cherishing the memory of his friends Juste and Lewis. He kept himself centered on why he had agreed to this covenant and the good he intended to do with that power.

  Hyde sat down and peered into the burning fireplace, “The idea of being confined to a three-dimensional existence looms over me like a guillotine.”

  It was the first time Henry had heard him speak on this level, “What scares you about it? We will be powerful, nearly unstoppable, and the Order of Virtue will no longer be able to touch you. If our body dies, you continue on. This is a win-win for you. What’s to fear?”

  The Demon flung his glass into the flames, “Hyde fears nothing! What I feel apprehensive about is the idea of being dormant inside our body. What we are doing is a rare thing, and the long term results are a mystery. I could be lost forever.”

  Henry felt the creature become vulnerable at the moment, “Hyde, I’m just as uncertain. If what you say comes to pass, we won’t be individuals, but a blended person. Our souls might be lost. What will happen to our minds? Will we be two individuals, riding along in the mind of a third? You can’t tell me, and I don’t think I’d believe you if you did. All we can do is learn to trust one another and follow through with this plan. The Crimson Brotherhood needs to pay, and this Miniel creature o
f yours, the one that killed Lewis and Juste, will pay.”

  Hyde rolled his beautiful eyes, “After all this, and you still think like them. The angelic legions stretch over multiple dimensions and hundreds of worlds. We act as the Almighty’s messengers, warriors, and even his servants. We degrade ourselves for Him and communicate God’s words and thoughts to the less evolved natives of the cosmos.

  You see your friend’s death as some kind of badge of courage, carrying you through our training. These things aren’t worthy of your time or effort. Would you go out and avenge a cow or a chicken when the farmer harvests them for your dinner table? Humans are not worthy of your sympathy. They are delicious morsels of flesh and blood.”

  Henry winced, “You eat humans?”

  A light flickered in the eye of the fallen angel, “God wishes humanity to take the sacrament and then be forgiven. There is no such luxury for angels. So, I seek my salvation in drinking the blood of mortals, but so far, I’ve not been granted a pardon.”

  He realized Hyde’s game, “You do it to anger God? Why? Out of spite?”

  The Demon sat up straight, “And why not? If a Vessel is evil by nature, do you think God really cares? Don’t be so appalled. You earthlings give names to the animals you keep as food and show them degrees of kindness before you devour them. I spare those that are noble or righteous and get no glory for my merciful restraint.

  I can see in your face there is disgust, but your perspective is going to change. You see, a colony of ants doesn’t thank the shoe for sparing their lives when it passes over them. Just as the shoe doesn’t stop to demand praise for its benevolence. Humanity is a social experiment at best. A pet caught in the center of a celestial war of egos between God and Lucifer. So when it suits me, I occasionally partake in human blood and flesh to mock God’s sacrament. I vex Lucifer’s plans for a lark and will never join his fallen angels in hell. While the Morningstar wishes to see the human experiment fail, I’m not interested in poisoning your culture. I believe the anthill needs its queen, the drones should continue their work, and I can hide among the insects. That is all they are my child, lesser beings undeserving of your attention.”