The Faceless Ones - Chapter 4 (PG13) Chall 140 8/11/14

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darkstarrising
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The Faceless Ones - Chapter 4 (PG13) Chall 140 8/11/14

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Hi, all. :wave:

With the start of the new season and SOTB still weeks away, the muse, not being a patient soul, decided to write her own story. ‘The Faceless Ones’ is a continuation of the first two stories in the Moonlight / H50 crossover series, in answer to Challenge 140. Like the first two, ‘The Long Journey Home’ and ‘Affairs of the Heart’, ‘The Faceless Ones’ is fairly short (9 chapters, all of which are written).

All 9 chapters will be posted before SOTB occurs. For those of you who watch H50, ‘The Faceless Ones’ takes place between episodes 4.20 (when Danny kids McGarrett about not knowing where Catherine is. His reply is ‘she’s visiting friends on the mainland’) and 4.21 where McGarrett and Catherine go to Afghanistan.

From the first three chapters, there are horrific murders in both LA and on Oahu that bear remarkable similarity. Mick has flown to Oahu, fearing that the murderer there is a vampire, while Beth remains in LA to help Carl with the LA murders. In LA, three out of town missing persons have been found dead. A fourth, Ruby, is unaccounted for and has just awakened to find herself being auctioned to people who drink blood.

A/N - Since the action in this story bounces back and forth between LA and Oahu, I nearly went insane trying to keep track of time of day or even what day it was, since there is a 3 hour time difference between the two locations. That's why you'll see Day 1, Day 2, etc., next to subheadings.

With that, I hope you enjoy.

As always, I don’t profit from these stories, but really do enjoy playing with the characters.

The Faceless Ones

Chapter 4

Still Day 3 - Oahu, ME’s office – mid-morning

Max Bergman was stiff from sleeping on his office couch all night. His dreams, though, were the true source of his discomfort. As a medical examiner, Max had seen hundreds of bodies, some with little obvious trauma, others severely damaged. These eleven burnt corpses disturbed him more deeply than he’d expected, causing nightmares to replace his usual whimsical dreams. Whoever was responsible for murdering these poor souls had disturbed Max’s inner harmony as well.

Commander McGarrett had called earlier saying that he and Detective Williams would be over shortly for an update. It wasn’t long before they arrived, and with them a man Max had met briefly once before, a man he feared he’d insulted.

“Commander, I was unaware Mr. St. John would accompany you. Is he here in some official capacity?”

The irritation in Max’s voice was hard to miss; the last time Mick had been here, Steve had described the PI as some kind of ‘expert’, giving the ME the false impression that his own skills were found lacking.

“Actually, he is. Mick has been investigating two murders in LA similar to ours. If it’s OK with you, I’d like him to see the remains for comparison.”

“All of them, Commander?”

“Yes.”

Mick tried to appease the ME. “Hey, I promise it won’t take long and won’t interfere with your work.”

Max sighed his resignation, then tossed a pair of latex gloves at Mick. “Please, put these on and try to minimize what you touch.”

Steve shot the PI a pleading look, one Mick acknowledged with a shrug as he donned the gloves.

After Max retrieved the first set of remains, Steve asked if there was anything new to report. “Indeed, Commander. If you recall, my preliminary assessment indicated that the victims ranged from about 20 to 40 years old. Upon further examination, only one of the victims, the Caucasian male, exceeded 30 years of age. Two of the remaining victims were quite young, say 15 or 16.”

Danny swore. “Are you saying this sick bastard killed and burned kids?”

“Unfortunately, Detective, yes. I’ve also found that many of the victims’ teeth were in poor condition, as if they’d rarely, if ever, seen a dentist. Finally, the bones of several of the younger victims reflect some degree of underdevelopment, often associated with malnourishment.” Even as Max was addressing Steve and Danny, he was keeping an eye on what Mick was doing, or more precisely, not doing. “Mr. St. John, how long before you begin your examination?”

“Actually, Dr. Bergman, I’ve finished with this victim.”

“But..you didn’t touch …”

“I don’t have to.”

That was too much for the weary ME. “Commander, I must protest….”

“Max, you have to trust me on this. Mick has some special skills…”

“Like what? X-ray vision?”

While Danny suddenly found the ceiling fascinating, Mick tried to explain. “No, I don’t have X-ray vision, but my senses are significantly stronger than those of most people. What I’m doing is comparing the scent and appearance of your victims to see how closely they resemble the ones in LA.” Seeing the ME’s skepticism, Mick then proceeded to describe the scent of Max’s laundry detergent, shampoo, deodorant and toothpaste, followed by what he had for breakfast. “Sleeping on the couch last night has made you stiff; I can hear your joints creak.”

And sense this woman’s terror as she died.

For a moment, all Max could do was stand, speechless. The PI’s purported skills were preposterous, of course, but still, he’d been accurate in all his assessments. Finally, the ME recovered. “I have no idea how you are able to discern all that, but there is much about this case that disturbs me. Is there anything you’ve found in your …examination?”

“Only that this victim did hard manual labor, maybe a field or factory worker.”

Max examined the victim’s hands, gently moving each of the fingers as he did so. “You may be right, Mr. St. John. This victim is in her twenties, but her fingers resemble those of a woman twice her age. The fingertips are worn, and there may even be some signs of arthritis in some of the joints. Perhaps this woman did work as you said or even in the garment district.” Turning to Mick, Max continued. “I must confess my skepticism, Mr. St. John, and apologize for any rudeness. However you’re managing your assessment, I am willing to go along.”

An hour later, Mick had sensed all of the victims and provided his ‘findings’ to the others. When all was said and done, there was no clear category that the victims fell into.

Danny spread his arms over the various remains. “So what have we got, Max? A couple of malnourished kids, young people literally worked to the bone and one older guy who’s in far better shape than the others.”

“Unfortunately, Detective, with the exception of the older gentleman, there are thousands of people like our victims on the islands. Most of them are smuggled in from Asia as cheap labor for factories and fields. They are kao no nai mono, faceless ones.”

Steve’s head snapped up as he pulled out his phone. “Shit!! We’ve been going at this the wrong way.”

Danny challenged his partner. “OK, Steven, so explain it to the rest of us.”

“We’ve let the similarities between our case and the one in LA drive our investigation, not the differences. You heard Kono; the missing persons reports she found reflected people with modest incomes. More importantly, they had friends or family who noticed their absence and cared enough to file a report.” Steve pointed to the remains surrounding them. “With one exception, our victims here were dirt poor and lived off the grid. These ‘faceless ones’ – they’re not just missing people, they’re people no one would miss.”

Danny persisted. “OK, then why are all the LA victims just the opposite? Does that mean we’re dealing with two different killers with the same, albeit sick, MO? Maybe one of them is like a va…psycho’s apprentice?”

“Or maybe our killer was experimenting on these people before going after targets on the mainland.”

Mick remained silent, but wondered if the killers had been forced to leave Oahu. That would be a question for Kimiko.

Steve hit speed dial and filled Chin in with what they’d discovered. “I need you and Catherine to go down to the garment district and see if any workers have gone missing in the last three months. Danny and I will ….” Seeing Max signal him, Steve said. “Hold on, Chin. I’ll call you back.” When he ended the call, Steve asked Max what he wanted.

“Commander, if you and your team try to learn anything from the faceless ones, you will fail. For them, the police are to be feared. Those that are here illegally will be reluctant to speak to you at all, fearing deportation.”

“What are you suggesting, Max?”

“Whenever my duties allow, I volunteer my services at a free clinic frequented by poor people such as our victims. Let me go there and see if anyone knows of people who have mysteriously gone missing. They know I am of no threat to them.”

“OK, but one of us should go with you, just in case…”

Mick volunteered. “I’ll go. I can keep a low profile while keeping an eye on him. If I’m lucky, I may be able to sense something.”

Like whether there are any blood demons around.

While Steve and Danny understood Mick’s unspoken meaning, Max was at a loss. Nonetheless, he welcomed the company, if only to learn more about this PI’s purported ‘skills’. “I’ll just need a few moments to arrange coverage during my absence.”

While Max was delegating responsibilities to his assistants, Danny turned to Mick. “Nice touch with the Carnac the Magnificent impersonation, but could you really tell Max slept on the couch?”

“Nah, I saw him sleeping there last night when I broke into the morgue. I just threw that in to help convince him I had some special powers.”

Steve was still concerned. “Keep an eye on Max. He means well, but he’s not a cop. Something he says might tip off the wrong people, maybe even get himself in trouble.”

“I will. I’ll be out of sight, but be able to hear and see what he’s doing. If blood demons are using these people as lab rats, it needs to end. Now.”

*************************************************************************************

Day 3 East LA –afternoon

Carl Davis arrived at the location Officer Granger indicated his missing person might have been sighted. Standing at the entrance to the alley, the detective spotted two security cameras that might have caught the young woman’s aborted rescue. If he was lucky, the owners would hand them over without a warrant, knowing that a woman’s life was on the line.

Carl looked carefully at his surroundings as he walked the length of the alley. If there was any evidence of the woman being here at all, it was obscured by the garbage littering the ground. The stench of stale smoke, urine and vomit nearly made him gag, but that combination was a key piece of information; together they indicated that patrons of nearby bars or clubs used this alley and might have seen the missing woman.

Even if the woman Granger told me about isn’t the one we’re looking for, we need to find her. She might be our killer’s next victim.

The examination of the alley yielded nothing, so the detective canvassed three nearby bars, again with little to show for his efforts. He knew it was a long shot; being tourists, none of his victims would likely have known about these places let alone visit them. The graduate student’s picture was shown to the patrons and bartenders, and without exception, no one recognized her, nor had they had seen or heard anything about a woman’s abduction. Even if they had, the detective got the distinct impression they wouldn’t have admitted it.

The store owners in the area were more accommodating, handing over security camera footage without any arm twisting. Once he got back to the precinct, Carl viewed the DVDs finding the quality of one so bad as to be useless, with the other only slightly better. Hopefully, his technical people could enhance the quality and Carl might learn a little bit more about his missing graduate student.

As the end of his shift approached, the dread Carl felt continued to grow. With only a few days between the last two killings, Ruby’s time could be running out. As he left the precinct and headed for his car, Carl got the feeling that someone was following him. He stopped several times and looked around, but didn’t see anyone suspicious. Once the detective drove away, a man in the shadows pulled out his phone and made a call.

************************************************************************************

Day 3 - Oahu – late morning

Whatever Mick expected Max’s ride to be, a bright yellow Camaro wasn’t on the short list.

Okaaay, so maybe this guy isn’t as uptight as he looks.

The ME dropped Mick off a couple of blocks away from the clinic, in case someone mistook him for the head of 5-0. Once he arrived at the clinic, the PI was surprised to find it nothing more than a dilapidated Quonset hut, one likely abandoned by the military decades ago. With the sun nearing its zenith, Mick found an open window under the shade of a palm tree. From there he was able to monitor Max’s movements out of sight from both the patients and the passerbys on the street.

Once in place, the PI surveyed the clinic’s interior. He had expected to see the poorest of the poor here, but was overwhelmed by the air of collective despair he felt. These people had next to nothing with little hope of ever changing their lives. Mick was impressed at how Max made his way from person to person, treating each of them with kindness and respect. Sometimes the conversations were in English, others in foreign languages. Still, most of the exchanges resulted in the patient shaking his head – likely indicating they had no information on the victims in the morgue.

One woman glanced around nervously when Max queried her. She seemed reluctant to speak with so many others around, so the ME took her outside. There Mick heard the woman say that two of her co-workers from the factory they worked in had disappeared several months ago. At first, she thought little of it, thinking they had found better jobs elsewhere. Then another one disappeared. She began to be frightened when none of her co-workers would speak to her about the disappearances, fearing their fate might befall them as well. When Max asked, she provided the names of those missing and their employer.

A few minutes later, Max returned to the spot he’d dropped off Mick to find the PI waiting for him, huddled under the shade of a palm tree. “Are you all right, Mr. St. John?”

Mick got into the car and cranked the AC. “Yeah, just too much sun. I’ll feel better once I get inside.”

“Indeed, sunstroke can be dangerous. You should increase your intake of fluids for the rest of the day.”

“I’ll do that.”

Just not the kind you’re thinking of…

“I trust you heard what you needed to?”

Mick couldn’t help but hear the ME’s skepticism. “Yeah, if it was in English. The woman you took outside gave you the names of three people that disappeared from their workplace – Onyx Specialty Products. Was there anything I missed?”

“Not really. The people who did not speak English had little to offer in the way of information pertinent to your investigation.”

“Max, you were right about how desperate and afraid these people are. If 5-0 had come down here, no one would have spoken to them.” Mick paused before adding. “You’re a good man, Max. You treat these people with kindness and respect. To you, they’re not faceless.”

“Perhaps, but had it not been for the two caring and gentle people who adopted me, I might have been a faceless one myself. To honor them, I continue their kindness.”

Max grew quiet, embarrassed at having shared something so intimate with a virtual stranger. When they arrived back at the morgue, the ME turned to his passenger. “Mr. St. John, I am at a loss to explain your skills, but still, I cannot deny what my own senses tell me. You said you detected the fear and desperation of the patients at the clinic. Is there anything else you were able to perceive from our victims?”

Mick hesitated briefly, then opted to tell Max the truth. “They died terrified of what was being done to them.”

“Thank you for being honest, Mr. St. John. I feared as much.”

************************************************************************************

Day 3 - LA – Josef Kostan’s office - evening

Beth was ushered into Josef’s office as soon as she arrived. A few years ago, Mick had been kept waiting by Josef’s new assistant, not knowing that his boss was desperately trying to contact the PI. When Josef found Mick cooling his heels outside his office, he went ballistic, making it clear to the terrified assistant that Mick was to be announced immediately upon his arrival. Apparently, that same instruction now included Beth.

Josef rose and moved toward his guest. “So, any word from the hellish tropics?”

“Hellish may be an understatement. Mick accompanied one of Steve’s people to a free clinic to see if anyone there knew about their victims. After a couple of hours in the midday sun, he spent the rest of the afternoon raiding your stash and recovering in your guest freezer.”

“Has he met with Kimiko yet?”

“No, she was ‘away on business’ when he arrived. He’s hoping to meet with her tonight.”

Josef was clearly impatient. “Has he been able to find out anything?”

“Yes, but it’s all rather discouraging.” Beth then went on to describe how the Oahu victims had little in common with their LA counterparts. “They haven’t been able to identify many of their victims and likely won’t be able to. Mick says the victims were probably smuggled illegally onto the islands from Asia as cheap labor, so there aren’t any official records to search.”

“Great. No papers, no names. No names, no way to link them to our murders.”

“Maybe not. The one exception is Janus Fielding, the only mainland victim, from LA, no less. He says Steve’s people will see what they can find on him, but he requested that Ryder work his magic as well. Oh, and he wanted Ryder find out what he can about a company called Onyx Specialty Products. From what he learned at the clinic, that’s the factory where at least three workers went missing.”

Josef swore in an ancient tongue. “Onyx Specialty Products? God, I hope I’m wrong.” Josef hit speed dial and put Ryder to work on finding out about both Fielding and Onyx. “Ryder, I want results yesterday.”

Beth’s curiosity was piqued. “What do you hope you’re wrong about?”

“When Mick and I were tossing about ideas as to who could be behind these murders, both Lola and Pierce Anders came up. I dismissed the possibility that either could be responsible, but perhaps I shouldn’t have.”

“Why? We know they were both destroyed.”

“Anders, yes. I witnessed his destruction. Lola? That’s another question altogether.” Josef sat down again. “What do you know about onyx, Beth?”

“Not much, only that it’s a black gemstone used in jewelry.”

“True, although it has other uses as well. Humor me. Google ‘onyx’ and tell me what you find.”

Beth took out her phone and within minutes, understood Josef’s concern. “Onyx is a form of chalcedony, which is a crypto….cryptocrystalline form of silica… O my God –onyx is a black crystal!!”

“Precisely.” Josef got up and began to pace. “I once told Mick that for vamps, with age comes power. Lola is over 500 years old and I can personally attest to her impressive power.”

“Lola can’t be behind these murders, Josef. I was there when her factory exploded. Believe me, there’s no way she or anyone else could have survived.”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in 400 years - where Lola is concerned, anything is possible.”
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Re: The Faceless Ones - Chapter 4 (PG13) Chall 140 8/11/14

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LOLA??? Omg, that sure is a surprise! Well, if Coraline could survive fire, I guess Lola could have. Can't wait to see where you take this!

I had to chuckle when Mick admitted he made up the part about sensing that Max slept on his couch. :snicker:

Will we find out about poor Ruby in the next chapter? :confused2:

So glad to find a new chapter! Thank you!
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Re: The Faceless Ones - Chapter 4 (PG13) Chall 140 8/11/14

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MickLifeCrisis wrote:LOLA??? Omg, that sure is a surprise! Well, if Coraline could survive fire, I guess Lola could have. Can't wait to see where you take this!

I had to chuckle when Mick admitted he made up the part about sensing that Max slept on his couch. :snicker:

Will we find out about poor Ruby in the next chapter? :confused2:

So glad to find a new chapter! Thank you!
:thanks:
Thanks, MLC :hug: As Josef says, where Lola is concerned, anything is possible, but even he doesn't know the extent of her 'reach' here. The next chapter focuses on Ruby and what she's got herself into...but can she get out?
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Re: The Faceless Ones - Chapter 4 (PG13) Chall 140 8/11/14

Post by allegrita »

Oh, eeeew... if it is Lola, we know what those "specialty products" are likely to be... :gasp: :scary: :puke: And now that sentence in Chapter One about Ruby being "the dish best served cold" is starting to ring a very scary bell. :confused2: Who is she--and why is she important? If she's a tool to get back at Mick and/or Josef, I'd love to find out why she was picked. I hope she's going to be okay!! :fingerscrossed:

Max is a lovely guy--it doesn't surprise me one bit to find that he volunteers in service of those who need help the most. :notworthy: I'm glad he's warming up a bit to Mick. He might need a vampire at his back!

I expect Mick will learn some more when he meets with Kimiko. :chin: And I hope Ryder will have some information for 5-0 soon!
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Re: The Faceless Ones - Chapter 4 (PG13) Chall 140 8/11/14

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allegrita wrote:Oh, eeeew... if it is Lola, we know what those "specialty products" are likely to be... :gasp: :scary: :puke: And now that sentence in Chapter One about Ruby being "the dish best served cold" is starting to ring a very scary bell. :confused2: Who is she--and why is she important? If she's a tool to get back at Mick and/or Josef, I'd love to find out why she was picked. I hope she's going to be okay!! :fingerscrossed:

Max is a lovely guy--it doesn't surprise me one bit to find that he volunteers in service of those who need help the most. :notworthy: I'm glad he's warming up a bit to Mick. He might need a vampire at his back!

I expect Mick will learn some more when he meets with Kimiko. :chin: And I hope Ryder will have some information for 5-0 soon!
Thanks, alle :hug: Ah yes, the dish best served cold, but who is doing the serving? Answers to follow :devil:

I'll be honest...Max isn't one of my favorite H50 characters, but he's beginning to warm up to me. In this story, he shines.
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Re: The Faceless Ones - Chapter 4 (PG13) Chall 140 8/11/14

Post by allegrita »

Interesting--you didn't particularly like Mary, so you wrote about her in "The Long Journey Home" and captured her beautifully. Now you're capturing Max and exploring his character in this story. You really have an ear for the way he speaks. I find him endearing, in his odd way... and I am happy you are getting to know him better through this tale! :yes:
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Re: The Faceless Ones - Chapter 4 (PG13) Chall 140 8/11/14

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allegrita wrote:Interesting--you didn't particularly like Mary, so you wrote about her in "The Long Journey Home" and captured her beautifully. Now you're capturing Max and exploring his character in this story. You really have an ear for the way he speaks. I find him endearing, in his odd way... and I am happy you are getting to know him better through this tale! :yes:
When Max was introduced as a character, his social awkwardness and later his 'nerdiness' was really emphasized. He was almost too stiff for the show. After a few seasons, the writers have let Max 'loosen up' a bit, even letting him trade barbs with Danny. Hopefully, I've done him justice with this story.
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