#8 FLASH: Behind His Back
"It is as if a man had been wounded by and arrow thickly smeared with poison, and his friends and kinsmen were to get a surgeon to heal him, and he were to say, I will not have this arrow pulled out until I know by what man I was wounded. Whether he is of the warrior caste, or a brahmin, or of the agricultural or the lowest caste."
-Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
"You ready for your reward Jack?" Max asked as he walked into his office. Jack sat behidn his desk stairing attentively at the photo's of the suspect, "Hey, Jack, common man, you said so your self, there is no reliable wy of getting a correct identification of him. If the blood matches then you got him. But if it doesn't, then "It means you got the Dargan City Strangler.
"I won't accept the reward. If the blood doesn't match, then taht means I just gunned down an innocent pedestrian."
"Look, it was a good theory, but we have to listen to the music here, the Dargan City Rapist wouldn't have been so easily Apprehended. Seriously Jack, do you honestly thing that he would miss me? I wish they were the same, but they are not.
"He is smart enough to set up a pedestrian to run, and then have me mistake him for the shooter, and gun him down. Thus, getting my license revoked, and getting kicked out."
"You wouldn't get revoked for that. You gave the suspect fair warning, to either stop, or you would shoot."
"Usualy, you give a warning shot, but I actualy gave a mortal wound."
"Common, the ceremony is wating for you."
*FLASH*
Jack sat in the corner for the whole two hours of the awards ceremony. People were laughing and celebrating, the death of a possible innocent pedestrian. He wasn't' satisfied. They were counting their chickens long before their eggs were even layed. He didnt' move fro that spot, he didn't eat, or drink anything, just stood there thinking. When the celebration was supposed to be for him. These people were getting drunk, and making asses otu of themselves for me. How honorable. I am the cause for a police wide keggar. And possibly a few accidents. He thought to himself as he looked around the stupid herds of cattle, chewing their cud. An occasional drunk would walk up to him and shake his hed, then belch on him then tell him he did a good job. So are you. Dargan city was the most crime filled city in the country, and they were celebrating the possible murder of one man. All those robberies, fires, rapes, and murders, and they were...Rapes. Thats right, he isn't dead yet. I have to find him. He looked through the crowds and began to walk to the doors.
Drason walked up to the stage and turned the microphone on,"We are gathered here, to celebrate the capture of the psychotic Charley Wilks. The copy cat to the Dargan City Rapist. And here is a man who needs no introduction. The man who put his neck out to get this guy, the man of the hour, Detective Jack Pullman." Everybody turned to him and began to clap. He looked at the dozens of people who had gathered to applaud him. "Where do you think you are going Jack! This celebration is for you. Come on up and take this reward. And a possible speach."
He grumbled as he walked through the crowed as they pat him on the back giving their congradulations. He pushed them all away as they all tried to touch him, "Jack Pullman is being rewarded for bravery on the line of Duty." He heard Drason say as he ascended the steps.
Drason handed him the reward and took a step to teh side, he reached his hand out which hesitantly took firmly, "Good work Jack. Give a speach for the crowd."
"Jack walked to the microphone and set the framed plaque down on the roster, "YOu wanted a speach. Fine, I'll give you one, but you won't like it. You can't realize how heartwarming it is to be up here, and watchign you iditos get drunk off your asses in my favor. Making me out to be some kinda...hero or something. But you have this all messed up. I was unable to make a possitive identification on the body which was gunned down by myself, but until the D.N.A sample arrives, I will not accept this reward. I don't give a shit what you peole have to say on this subject, always refering to Charley Wilks and the Dargan City Rapist as two different people. But I tell you now, he is the same person, and he is out there, watching this, on national television, keeping tabs on me..."
He was interupted by a man who started to grumble and clutch his stomach in agony. He could hear people beging to cough. And he knew right away, that something was wrong. He turned his head and looked at Drason, he slowed his brain down so everythign moved in a haze of slow motion as he contnued to talk in slow motion, "For these reason I will not be accepting this reward..."
His head slowly turned to the audience and saw one man hunched over with blood on his lips, he turned back around and looked at Drason, "Chhhhhhhhaaarrrrllllyyyyy. Iiiiiiifff yyoouu aaarreeee oooouuutt theeeeerreeee, keeeeeeep iiiinnnn miiiiiinnndd, Iiiiiiii aaaaaammm oooooonnnn ttoooooo yoooouuuuu..." And with that he saw the blood fly out of his mouth as it was regurgitated from the bowels of his stomach.
He suddenly leaped off the stage and ran to one of the police officers standing over one of them as he spilt blood from his mouth, "Did you eat any of the food!"