The Detective

Daniel Sihn shook his head to clear it of the lingering haze that had fallen over him when that Chloe woman appeared. He didn't know what she had done to him, but he swore that she would not get a second chance.

When his mind was clear enough to function, he looked up and met the even stare of Agent Knight. The woman's pistol was trained directly at him as she gave him a wan smile. “Good to see you detective. I would like to have a chat of my own before the other agents get here. You can run both we both know I will find you again.”

The former detective snorted, then gave her a shrug. "Fine, talk. It's a free country. And please put that gun away, you know you can't harm me with it." The tuning fork she was holding in her other hand might prove a problem though; if only he knew what it did. Daniel moved away, heading across the room over to where he had dropped the Locker Key.

"What are you doing?" Knight asked, gun still pointed at him.

"Just retrieving my property," Daniel told her as he bent down to pick up the key. Once his fingers touched it, the ghost locker appeared several feet behind him.

The agent's eyes widened in surprise. "Amazing," she muttered, then said, "I'm guessing that's where you're keeping the rest of the Imprints you've collected?"

"No," Daniel rolled his eyes, feeling irritated at her stupid question. "That's where I keep all my laundry." He stuffed the Locker Key into his pocket, causing the locker to vanish.

Agent Knight ignored his sarcasm. "You know I'm going to have to take those items into custody."

"Oh yeah? Why don't you try it?" the detective snarled.

"Damn it, Sihn. I'm trying to help you," Knight explained, her own irritation at the cop's behavior apparent. "You have no idea what these things are capable of. Haven't you done enough? These things will destroy you, I've seen it happen before. We need to get all of them and put them away somewhere safe before another Edward Jewel can get his hands on them."

"No, agent, it's you who has no idea what these items are capable of," Daniel said, his eyes glinting with fury. "You want to find all these items and just lock them away in a basement somewhere, where their powers will remain untouched. Unused. What a god damn waste." As he spoke, his voice became louder and more agitated. "Can't you see all the good these things can do? Can't you understand what they can bring to this city? This country? This world?"

"Sihn-" Sarah tried to cut off the man's diatribe, but he wouldn't be silenced.

"I can bring order, real ORDER, to this city. Get rid of the scum that infests its streets, clean up the pimps and the mobsters and the prostitutes, wipe out the garbage like Jewel and Ed Easton. Do you know how many criminal shitheads I've gotten rid of since getting these items? Huh? I took out a racist psychopath, I ended a **** murderer's pitiful life, I even took out those clone assholes who were trying to kill you. And I did all that with just a small fraction of the things that were in that briefcase. Can you imagine all the things I can do when I find out what the rest of those Imprints are capable of?"

"Yes, yes I can," Sarah stated. "And that's what scares me. Detective Sihn, you've lost it. I'm sorry, but you have fucking lost your mind. You're ranting like some comic book super villain, and you can't even see it. You are absolutely nuts, and I will do everything I can to stop you."

Daniel sneered at the agent before breaking out into loud laughter. "Oh, really? Well then, go ahead, Agent Knight. Give me your best shot."

And so, Sarah did, by pulling the trigger and shooting a 9mm slug directly between his eyes. The bullet merely bounced off his impenetrable skin, though, but the blow was enough to daze the detective for a few moments. And a moment was enough for Agent Knight to activate the Tuning Fork.

The Tuning Fork was one of the most powerful Imprints in the Bureau's possession. It could manipulate sound waves to a frightening extent, causing the harmonics in the air, the ground, and even in people to vibrate at a violent rate. She had seen it destroy and entire building in just a few minutes. But thankfully it could also be used to stun, as low frequency sound waves could assail a target and render him unmoving. This was exactly what she was doing to Sihn; the detective was now stock-still, his eyes wide in shock and his teeth chattering as his bones and innards began to vibrate violently. Sarah quickly rushed towards him, holstering her gun and pulling out her cuffs; she knew she had to get to him quickly since the effects of the Tuning Fork could be fatal if used for too long.

Right as she was within arms reach of him, the Tuning Fork's vibrations suddenly ceased. Her eyes widened in shock and her attention was quickly brought to the far end of the room at the doorway where Agents Castle and McQueen entered, the female carrying the Briefcase.

Sarah's attention was quickly brought back to Sihn when he moved swiftly behind her, one arm grabbing her left arm in a vicious hold and pinning it against her back whilst the other jammed his gun painfully against her neck. The move caused her to drop both her cuffs and the Tuning Fork.

"Damn it, Sihn, let her go! Now!" Agent Castle ordered.

"I don't think so," Daniel spat as blood began to leak from his nose. He made sure to keep Agent Knight directly between him and the two agents, both of whom had their guns drawn. He also glared at the redheaded woman who was carrying the Briefcase in her left hand.

"We got this building surrounded, detective. Every exit is sealed, even the roof. There's nowhere you can run, and with the Briefcase here, you don't got any superpowers." Castle tried to get a bead on the former cop, but he couldn't get a clear shot with him holding Knight so close. "So just give yourself up. This doesn't have to end in blood."

Daniel laughed. "Oh, please. I heard you right before you got here, agent. Oh yes, I know all about your plans to kill me. Kind of Orwellian, don't you think? Killing a citizen without a trial first? Oh well, shouldn't be surprised at what you feds are capable of. First it's spying on our emails and phone calls; now it's executing us while we aren't looking." As he talked he was backing away from the two agents, dragging Sarah along with him. Although there wasn't another door in the room except for the one Castle and McQueen were now blocking, behind him was a window.

"I'm not gonna tell you again, Sihn. Let her go or we will open fire, hostage or not," Castle bluffed. He hoped Sihn was paranoid enough to believe him.

Daniel merely laughed. "Hear that, Sarah? You're friends here don't seem to hold your life in very high regard. If I were you, and you manage to live through this, I would go out and try to make some new ones."

"Sihn! We are opening fire on the count of three! One!" Castle raised his pistol, and McQueen, with a wide eyed look of horror on her face, did the same. "Two!"

"Three!" Daniel shouted as he let go of Sarah. He quickly leapt backwards, his momentum causing him to crash through the window. Sadly, without the Rubber Band's protection, his second time smashing through a window was much more painful than the last as he felt shards of glass cutting through his clothing and into his skin. The pain was soon out of his mind as his body was then assaulted by the sensation of falling five stories.

"Shit!" Castle shouted as he rushed forwards, past the shocked Knight, to peek downwards out of the smashed open window. He was just in time to see Sihn, who was well out of the range of the Briefcase, glide swiftly across the street while still twenty feet in the air and land onto the low roof of a nearby cafe. The detective even had the audacity to turn back and wave at him before he rushed off, jumping from the rooftop and into the dark, shadowy alley below.

"Damn it," Castle pressed his finger to his earpiece as he activated his radio. "Snipers! Do you have visual on the target?"

"Negative," said Sniper One, which was quickly followed by more negatives from the others.

"Jordan, what about you? Are we still tracking him on our satellites?" Castle asked his tech.

"Um, no, sorry," the tech answered from the surveillance van. "We don't have any satellites overhead right now... but there's gonna be one in forty minutes! We can track him then!"

"Dammit, he'll be freaking gone in ten!" Castle cursed once more before rushing away. He didn't even give a glance back at McQueen, who was speaking to Agent Knight and making sure she was alright. "All units, be on the lookout for Sihn. He's across the street in the alleys. Get everyone searching, now! I want that bastard found and taken out! Is that clear?"