Post by The New Breed Foundation on Mar 26, 2013 17:38:46 GMT -5
“Then the child opened its eyes, and looked up into the angel's beautiful face, which beamed with happiness, and at the same moment they were in heaven, where joy and bliss reigned. The child received wings like the other angel, and they flew about together, hand in hand.” -Hans Christian Anderson
Mass Destruction 3 – Episode 2
Graveside Heroes: an SSP Tale...
Just after Charles Alden's funeral, at a cemetery somewhere in Jacksonville, Florida.
The maelstrom of gray clouds swirling overhead warns of an impending deluge. Their bulk heavily laden and straining to hold back the flow as the thunder rumbles in it's depths, as if even the angels have wept overlong over the loss of Charles Alden.
Standing near a freshly turned plot with a finely carved marble headstone as an angle looks on over Charles eternal sleep, we see Sebastian St Paul, Darina Weiman, and Owen Holzman. Sebastian and Owen in are fine black suits, and Darina is in a perfect black pencil skirt and matching black blouse. On her head she wears a dainty black hat with a fine meshed black veil pulled low over her face, trailing nearly to her neck.
Darina turns then, and makes her way swiftly to the waiting limo as tears stream freely down her face, her heels sticking in the grass as she runs. Darina, half way to the car, stops and reaches down to take off each shoe and continue her path to the limo.
”Go with her... I'll be there in just a minute.” Sebastian says to Owen quietly.
”OK, Boss. I'll see you in a minute. Owen says as he turns to make his way to the car to comfort Darina. SSP turns back to the fresh grave where his friend lies, and tears begin to wet his face as the first few drops fall from the sky above.
”I don't even know how to go on without you, boy. I was fine before I met you... before I met Darina... just Owen and I running around the world, starting or ending wars... depending on the one paying the bills at the time.” Sebastian sinks to his knees in the moist grass next to the light brown sandy soil of Charles' grave as he cries.
”Now... it's like I lost a part of myself when you went away. It's so hard to even think about it... that you're actually gone... that I won't ever see you again... that I won't have to hear your smart mouth or your jokes... that you won't be right there in my ear the next time I get shot in some gang bangers house telling me not to give up, that it's going to be alright...” he says as he lowers his forehead to the ground, whispering in sadness as he continues.
”I won't be able to look down at you from the top of the stairs in the middle of the night when you never knew I was there, watching you tap away at your computer... I won't ever be able to tell you how proud I was of you, all the time... or how much I love you... or how much you mean to me, and how finding you was one of the best things that ever happened to me... Charles, without you, I never would have figured out how to get over Amanda, and I would have been lost for so long. You made my life right again after so long in the wrong, son... and I don't even know what to do without you here with me.” he says as he lifts his face skyward, the droplets falling faster now, splashing his face and washing away the bits of dirt from his forehead as tears streak past his ears.
”You can make him proud of you... like you are of him.” says a man not far away. Sebastian spins to one foot, crouched facing the voice there in the rain. ”You can do something with yourself to redeem all your wickedness and finally be free of your demons forever. Gain your freedom from the nightmares once and for all. THAT would make him proud of you. Penance and Redemption Sebastian St. Paul. Penance and Redemption.”
Sebastian looks up at the Citizen, his normal red, white, and blue motif replaced today with a heavy black coat of the same patchy leather style as his other, and stiff heavy black pants. His normal mask is also replaced with a black version, emblazoned with a glittering silver eagle.
”Who the hell are you?” SSP asks, bewildered.
”I am a friend, and I want to help. I know the answers to your questions... and I will tell them to you, but not here. There will be time for that la...” the man begins before Sebastian launches to his feet and grabs him up by the lapels suddenly.
”You are going to tell me what I want to know right now, or so help me God, I am going to split your head wide open and pick it out myself you son of a bitch!” Sebastian screams at the man nose to masked nose with him as the Citizen looks at him calmly, understanding the emotional roller coaster he is on right now.
”Sebastian... Johnathan Cable did not kill Charles Alden. I can prove it to you, but not right now. There are som...” Citizen says to him very calmly as he reaches up and takes SSP's wrists between his fingers before Sebastian starts shaking him and yelling.
”Why not NOW? Why does it HAVE to wait? You are GOING to tell me how you know he didn't do it! TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW!” he screams at the masked man as tears run down his face unchecked, the emotion of it all taking him over.
”Sebastian... I was there that night. I saw them talking. Johnathan didn't do it, but I saw who did. I don't know his name, but I’m working on it.” Citizen wraps his hands around SSP's wrists fully now, and tries to calm him down as he speaks softly about that night. ”Sebastian... I really am trying to help, and I really am your friend. I know his death is hard for you, and your family. I want to help make it right. I tried to save him, Sebastian... I did... but it was too late. There was nothing I could do for him."
Sebastian bursts into full fledged sobs of grief at this point, and slumps forward against the Citizen's chest as Owen and Darina race across the graveyard. Citizen wraps his leather clad arms around SSP's shoulders, and holds him close, rocking him back and forth until they get there.
”Sebastian... Are you alright? Who is this guy?” Owen asks cautiously as they approach the pair near the grave. The rains have begun to really fall now, but it hasn't reached a raging tempest just yet... more like a spring shower on a bleak afternoon.
”Everything will be fine. After Mass Destruction 3, things will get better.” Citizen says to Sebastian as Owen watches him carefully still wondering who this random guy in leather armor is.
Sebastian pushes off of the ground, and disengages with Citizen as they stand up. ”He says he saw the guy who killed Charles, and he has information about his death. He says he wants to help make it right. He calls himself the Citizen.” Sebastian answers for him softly, his voice raw and ragged. ”He says he tried to help him... to save Charles... but it was too late. He was already gone.”
Owen and Darina just stand there, dumbstruck at the news as they stare at Sebastian and the Citizen in shock. Owen comes to first, regaining his thoughts after moments drift by. “Who killed him? It was that fucker John wasn't it? I know it was him... I swear to...” he starts as the rage builds inside of him swiftly.
”It wasn't John.” Sebastian says flatly, the emotion draining instantly from Owen's face, his entire perception of the incident falling apart in his mind.
“”If it wasn't John, then who was it?” Darina asks softly, contemplating other options as fast as her mind can grasp that it in fact wasn't Johnathan Cable.
”I don't know his name... not yet, but when I do, you will. I have been a little busy untangling the web of deception you have found yourselves entangled in. The plotting behind all of this has been extensive and confusing to unravel, but I believe I am very close to having the answers you seek. There are others aiding me in this endeavor, working behind the scenes to put the pieces together, and through their hard work ,we have finally made some headway in the case. For now though, while I know this is all still very fresh to all of you, there are very important things afoot, and we all need to focus on the tasks at hand, alright?” the Citizen says to them as they look at him in bewilderment.
Sebastian looks at Darina and then at Owen before focusing on the masked man standing before them in the drizzling rain. ”So you come to me at Charles' funeral and tell me you know who killed my son, and that you are working hard to go get him, and that we are some how involved in some giant conspiracy that led to his death... and we are just supposed to buy all this of bullshit, and just what...? Trust you? Do exactly as you say and we will all make it out of this alive? What the fuck kind of sadistic game are you playing at here, man?” Sebastian says as he grows agitated, his emotions running high and simply tired of being jerked round by everyone around him since his career began in this damned business. The emotional pull of the situation fires Sebastian to a breaking point, and the other two feel it. After years of service together, with a bond forged in blood from the beginning , the three react in unison, instinctively circling the masked man as he stands there, his hands calmly at his sides. Darina and Owen watch Sebastian with one eye each waiting for any sign from him to act.
”It was no mistake that the Beast hired the three of you. It was perfectly designed to aid their agenda and lend to their alibi's. There was no coincidence in this... and I WILL show you what I have found out... but here, in the rain, at Charles' graveside? Be reasonable Sebastian. Owen, Darina... I truly am trying to help... and I know this is hard, but you must consider that there are bigger things at work here than you know of. There are things going on of great importance, and if you help me, you can help to bring justice to the bastard that murdered your fallen brother.” he pleads, hoping not to bring this encounter to more needless violence, truly needing the aid of these three to unlock the secrets still at work.
”I thought you said John didn't do it?” Darina asks, the mention of John hiring them not lost on her in the moment.
”I also said I would share what I knew with you, but that I needed your help as well.” he says casually in cryptic answer.
”What do you want from us, exactly?” Owen asks, cutting right to the chase.
”I need the file that Charles compiled on John from the XWF. In that file, I believe... is information vital to figuring this all out. The Beast wanted it hidden for a reason, and I have a feeling it is the missing bit we need to crack this thing wide open.”
”And what if I don't know where it is?” Sebastian asks as they all turn look at him.
”Then all I have to offer you in answer to all the questions you have is a folder full of circumstantial evidence and a video tape that is worth absolutely nothing. Until I can figure out WHO the man was who actually killed your friend, I can't prove anything, and all of the work we have done so far has been for nothing. Charles murderer will walk away scott free, and there is little I can do to help you.” Citizen says in a very matter of fact tone, much more abrasive than he had been thus far.
”So that's it then? We either figure out how to find this file folder, or you can't DO anything for us? You turn around and walk off and let the mother fucker you saw murder Charles go free, just like that? You just...” Owen starts to rant before Darina steps in front of him and places her hand on his chest, turning towards the Citizen.
“I know where it is.” she says to the masked man as the rains come down even harder all around them.
”Good. Then how long do you need to get it? The longer we wait...” Citizen says excitedly as he can finally see the light at the end of the case so to speak...
”I'll have it tonight. Meet us where... where it happened?” Darina says hesitantly as Owen and Sebastian watch the interaction, their minds moving millions of miles an hour trying to understand exactly what was going on. Darina knew they would be upset she kept the file a secret, but Charles had asked her to... to keep them safe. She had promised... but if that file could lead her to the man who killed Charles Alden... and eventually to her revenge... then so be it.
”Agreed. I will bring the information I have, and maybe I can piece this whole thing together finally. In the mean time... stay safe, and know that not everything is as it seems. Be careful and stick together. I'll be waiting." the Citizen says as he makes his way into the woods surrounding the cemetery leaving the three of them there to stand in the rain, blinking at each other as the scene fades to black.
Charles Alden
The courage to save the fool is rare, and yet herein it dwells, taken far too soon.
Beloved and Cherished...
Mass Destruction 3 – Episode 2
Graveside Heroes: an SSP Tale...
Just after Charles Alden's funeral, at a cemetery somewhere in Jacksonville, Florida.
The maelstrom of gray clouds swirling overhead warns of an impending deluge. Their bulk heavily laden and straining to hold back the flow as the thunder rumbles in it's depths, as if even the angels have wept overlong over the loss of Charles Alden.
Standing near a freshly turned plot with a finely carved marble headstone as an angle looks on over Charles eternal sleep, we see Sebastian St Paul, Darina Weiman, and Owen Holzman. Sebastian and Owen in are fine black suits, and Darina is in a perfect black pencil skirt and matching black blouse. On her head she wears a dainty black hat with a fine meshed black veil pulled low over her face, trailing nearly to her neck.
Darina turns then, and makes her way swiftly to the waiting limo as tears stream freely down her face, her heels sticking in the grass as she runs. Darina, half way to the car, stops and reaches down to take off each shoe and continue her path to the limo.
”Go with her... I'll be there in just a minute.” Sebastian says to Owen quietly.
”OK, Boss. I'll see you in a minute. Owen says as he turns to make his way to the car to comfort Darina. SSP turns back to the fresh grave where his friend lies, and tears begin to wet his face as the first few drops fall from the sky above.
”I don't even know how to go on without you, boy. I was fine before I met you... before I met Darina... just Owen and I running around the world, starting or ending wars... depending on the one paying the bills at the time.” Sebastian sinks to his knees in the moist grass next to the light brown sandy soil of Charles' grave as he cries.
”Now... it's like I lost a part of myself when you went away. It's so hard to even think about it... that you're actually gone... that I won't ever see you again... that I won't have to hear your smart mouth or your jokes... that you won't be right there in my ear the next time I get shot in some gang bangers house telling me not to give up, that it's going to be alright...” he says as he lowers his forehead to the ground, whispering in sadness as he continues.
”I won't be able to look down at you from the top of the stairs in the middle of the night when you never knew I was there, watching you tap away at your computer... I won't ever be able to tell you how proud I was of you, all the time... or how much I love you... or how much you mean to me, and how finding you was one of the best things that ever happened to me... Charles, without you, I never would have figured out how to get over Amanda, and I would have been lost for so long. You made my life right again after so long in the wrong, son... and I don't even know what to do without you here with me.” he says as he lifts his face skyward, the droplets falling faster now, splashing his face and washing away the bits of dirt from his forehead as tears streak past his ears.
”You can make him proud of you... like you are of him.” says a man not far away. Sebastian spins to one foot, crouched facing the voice there in the rain. ”You can do something with yourself to redeem all your wickedness and finally be free of your demons forever. Gain your freedom from the nightmares once and for all. THAT would make him proud of you. Penance and Redemption Sebastian St. Paul. Penance and Redemption.”
Sebastian looks up at the Citizen, his normal red, white, and blue motif replaced today with a heavy black coat of the same patchy leather style as his other, and stiff heavy black pants. His normal mask is also replaced with a black version, emblazoned with a glittering silver eagle.
”Who the hell are you?” SSP asks, bewildered.
”I am a friend, and I want to help. I know the answers to your questions... and I will tell them to you, but not here. There will be time for that la...” the man begins before Sebastian launches to his feet and grabs him up by the lapels suddenly.
”You are going to tell me what I want to know right now, or so help me God, I am going to split your head wide open and pick it out myself you son of a bitch!” Sebastian screams at the man nose to masked nose with him as the Citizen looks at him calmly, understanding the emotional roller coaster he is on right now.
”Sebastian... Johnathan Cable did not kill Charles Alden. I can prove it to you, but not right now. There are som...” Citizen says to him very calmly as he reaches up and takes SSP's wrists between his fingers before Sebastian starts shaking him and yelling.
”Why not NOW? Why does it HAVE to wait? You are GOING to tell me how you know he didn't do it! TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW!” he screams at the masked man as tears run down his face unchecked, the emotion of it all taking him over.
”Sebastian... I was there that night. I saw them talking. Johnathan didn't do it, but I saw who did. I don't know his name, but I’m working on it.” Citizen wraps his hands around SSP's wrists fully now, and tries to calm him down as he speaks softly about that night. ”Sebastian... I really am trying to help, and I really am your friend. I know his death is hard for you, and your family. I want to help make it right. I tried to save him, Sebastian... I did... but it was too late. There was nothing I could do for him."
Sebastian bursts into full fledged sobs of grief at this point, and slumps forward against the Citizen's chest as Owen and Darina race across the graveyard. Citizen wraps his leather clad arms around SSP's shoulders, and holds him close, rocking him back and forth until they get there.
”Sebastian... Are you alright? Who is this guy?” Owen asks cautiously as they approach the pair near the grave. The rains have begun to really fall now, but it hasn't reached a raging tempest just yet... more like a spring shower on a bleak afternoon.
”Everything will be fine. After Mass Destruction 3, things will get better.” Citizen says to Sebastian as Owen watches him carefully still wondering who this random guy in leather armor is.
Sebastian pushes off of the ground, and disengages with Citizen as they stand up. ”He says he saw the guy who killed Charles, and he has information about his death. He says he wants to help make it right. He calls himself the Citizen.” Sebastian answers for him softly, his voice raw and ragged. ”He says he tried to help him... to save Charles... but it was too late. He was already gone.”
Owen and Darina just stand there, dumbstruck at the news as they stare at Sebastian and the Citizen in shock. Owen comes to first, regaining his thoughts after moments drift by. “Who killed him? It was that fucker John wasn't it? I know it was him... I swear to...” he starts as the rage builds inside of him swiftly.
”It wasn't John.” Sebastian says flatly, the emotion draining instantly from Owen's face, his entire perception of the incident falling apart in his mind.
“”If it wasn't John, then who was it?” Darina asks softly, contemplating other options as fast as her mind can grasp that it in fact wasn't Johnathan Cable.
”I don't know his name... not yet, but when I do, you will. I have been a little busy untangling the web of deception you have found yourselves entangled in. The plotting behind all of this has been extensive and confusing to unravel, but I believe I am very close to having the answers you seek. There are others aiding me in this endeavor, working behind the scenes to put the pieces together, and through their hard work ,we have finally made some headway in the case. For now though, while I know this is all still very fresh to all of you, there are very important things afoot, and we all need to focus on the tasks at hand, alright?” the Citizen says to them as they look at him in bewilderment.
Sebastian looks at Darina and then at Owen before focusing on the masked man standing before them in the drizzling rain. ”So you come to me at Charles' funeral and tell me you know who killed my son, and that you are working hard to go get him, and that we are some how involved in some giant conspiracy that led to his death... and we are just supposed to buy all this of bullshit, and just what...? Trust you? Do exactly as you say and we will all make it out of this alive? What the fuck kind of sadistic game are you playing at here, man?” Sebastian says as he grows agitated, his emotions running high and simply tired of being jerked round by everyone around him since his career began in this damned business. The emotional pull of the situation fires Sebastian to a breaking point, and the other two feel it. After years of service together, with a bond forged in blood from the beginning , the three react in unison, instinctively circling the masked man as he stands there, his hands calmly at his sides. Darina and Owen watch Sebastian with one eye each waiting for any sign from him to act.
”It was no mistake that the Beast hired the three of you. It was perfectly designed to aid their agenda and lend to their alibi's. There was no coincidence in this... and I WILL show you what I have found out... but here, in the rain, at Charles' graveside? Be reasonable Sebastian. Owen, Darina... I truly am trying to help... and I know this is hard, but you must consider that there are bigger things at work here than you know of. There are things going on of great importance, and if you help me, you can help to bring justice to the bastard that murdered your fallen brother.” he pleads, hoping not to bring this encounter to more needless violence, truly needing the aid of these three to unlock the secrets still at work.
”I thought you said John didn't do it?” Darina asks, the mention of John hiring them not lost on her in the moment.
”I also said I would share what I knew with you, but that I needed your help as well.” he says casually in cryptic answer.
”What do you want from us, exactly?” Owen asks, cutting right to the chase.
”I need the file that Charles compiled on John from the XWF. In that file, I believe... is information vital to figuring this all out. The Beast wanted it hidden for a reason, and I have a feeling it is the missing bit we need to crack this thing wide open.”
”And what if I don't know where it is?” Sebastian asks as they all turn look at him.
”Then all I have to offer you in answer to all the questions you have is a folder full of circumstantial evidence and a video tape that is worth absolutely nothing. Until I can figure out WHO the man was who actually killed your friend, I can't prove anything, and all of the work we have done so far has been for nothing. Charles murderer will walk away scott free, and there is little I can do to help you.” Citizen says in a very matter of fact tone, much more abrasive than he had been thus far.
”So that's it then? We either figure out how to find this file folder, or you can't DO anything for us? You turn around and walk off and let the mother fucker you saw murder Charles go free, just like that? You just...” Owen starts to rant before Darina steps in front of him and places her hand on his chest, turning towards the Citizen.
“I know where it is.” she says to the masked man as the rains come down even harder all around them.
”Good. Then how long do you need to get it? The longer we wait...” Citizen says excitedly as he can finally see the light at the end of the case so to speak...
”I'll have it tonight. Meet us where... where it happened?” Darina says hesitantly as Owen and Sebastian watch the interaction, their minds moving millions of miles an hour trying to understand exactly what was going on. Darina knew they would be upset she kept the file a secret, but Charles had asked her to... to keep them safe. She had promised... but if that file could lead her to the man who killed Charles Alden... and eventually to her revenge... then so be it.
”Agreed. I will bring the information I have, and maybe I can piece this whole thing together finally. In the mean time... stay safe, and know that not everything is as it seems. Be careful and stick together. I'll be waiting." the Citizen says as he makes his way into the woods surrounding the cemetery leaving the three of them there to stand in the rain, blinking at each other as the scene fades to black.
Charles Alden
The courage to save the fool is rare, and yet herein it dwells, taken far too soon.
Beloved and Cherished...