Episode 5 - Ghosts of the Past

Episode 5 – Ghosts of the Past CREW MEMBER “I know right, ugh, it’s like nothing ever happens here. Can you believe a murder and wolves? I never heard of anything like that. Uh, seems like somebody’s coming in.” CREW MEMBER “Hello Sir, how can I help you?” REN BLACK (In his most polite tone) “Oi oi, sorry to bother, but is this where the ferry for Nantucket takes off?” CREW MEMBER (Confused) “Sorry Sir, we only do private charters here. If ya are looking for a ferry, whatcha ya wanna do is go ova to Woods Hole. It’s a little bit more south of here. When ya see the Oceanography Institute though, you’ll be in the right place.” REN BLACK (Embarrassed) “Sorry about that. And Um, thanks for the info.” CREW MEMBER “Ya, no problem.” HIRO AKASHI “Are we all set?” REN BLACK “Get in, Seems I had forgotten where the ferry was. We’re in the wrong place.” HIRO AKASHI “What? The Great Black made a mistake? I didn’t know that could happen.” REN BLACK “Storm of Swords Akashi. Everyone makes mistakes and I’m no exception to the rule. The important thing is not to make the same mistake twice.” HIRO AKASHI “I’m just saying that your friends really build you up.” REN BLACK “You know it’s not good to put me on a pedestal; unless you want me leaning over you that badly? You do strike me as more of a sub anyway, so I wouldn’t be surprised.” HIRO AKASHI “As if I would give you the pleasure of being over me… ok, ok, I get it.” REN BLACK “Getting ahead of the game, I see. Careful what you say Akashi, you never know what reaction you’ll get from me.” HIRO AKASHI “Hardly, let’s get going.” REN BLACK “Of course, Darling.” HIRO AKASHI “I give up!” REN BLACK “Done so soon? Where’s this man of great accomplishments you put forward?” HIRO AKASHI “Right here, I’m just not sure if continuing this cat-and-mouse thing we got going is worth the energy.” REN BLACK “How Purrrfect.” HIRO AKASHI “Who said I was the mouse?” REN BLACK “You don’t have to say such things, I see it in your eyes… You look like prey to me.” HIRO AKASHI “Then you admit you’re the cat…I mean instigator?” REN BLACK “Guilty as charged.” HIRO AKASHI “Your pride knows no bounds.” REN BLACK “If it’s a battle of wits you’re after, you’ve come to… REN BLACK (CONTD) HIRO AKASHI “the right place” “The wrong place.” REN BLACK “Smart, how about you stop pussy footing around and fill me in on who you are, and where exactly you came from. No hiding now. Unless you plan on jumping out of a moving car that is. If I’m already anchored to you, I think it’s only fair to know who is supposed to be watching my six.” HIRO AKASHI “When you put it that way. I’m not sure if it will put your mind at ease after I do.” HIRO AKASHI “The reason I know about the Fujiwara Clan is that they have been chasing my family.” REN BLACK “They were stuck in their old ways? Old habits can be hard to break.” HIRO AKASHI “They were just living the way they had been taught, but in the end, it wasn’t how I wanted to live.” REN BLACK “D’ya know how many they’ve killed?” HIRO AKASHI “I’d rather not guess, but enough for my parents to have a son and a daughter.” REN BLACK “That is a good amount of humans right there. You must be more powerful than I thought. Where is your sister now?” HIRO AKASHI “I don’t like to think about how many lives they took. Both of us didn’t want to snuff out any more candles.” REN BLACK “Did you leave at separate times?” HIRO AKASHI “We escaped together and decided to go our separate ways.” REN BLACK “Must’ve been hard.” HIRO AKASHI “I was wandering for days before I passed out from hunger. I was having this crazy dream about some woman in a mask finding me and taking me to some underground lab.” REN BLACK “You sure you weren’t actually hallucinating that whole thing?” HIRO AKASHI “Anyway… When I woke up the woman and lab were gone and Victor was standing there. I was in some kind of motel room.” REN BLACK “That’s some story Akashi, did the woman say anything to you?” HIRO AKASHI “She said something, but I can’t seem to remember. She seemed to know what I was and why I was in so much pain.” REN BLACK “Do you think you would remember if you met her again?” HIRO AKASHI “I have no idea, it’s like every time I feel close to remembering, it slips through my fingers like smoke.” REN BLACK “It could be that they made you unable to remember. Seems like the mysteries keep on piling up.” HIRO AKASHI “Well, I’m a pretty mysterious guy.” REN BLACK “Heh, right. Although they did take you to the proper location. I’m guessing that Drezz gave you some medication to help with the transition?” HIRO AKASHI “How did you know?” REN BLACK (Smirks) “You’re not the first to kick the Human habit my new friend, nor the last.” HIRO AKASHI “Victor did tell me that there is no tolerance for killing humans inside the sanctuary.” REN BLACK “It’s an outdated notion that some supernaturals can only sustain themselves through the consumption of essence. For those that do, Drezz and the other founders have come up with a series of medications that help with that.” HIRO AKASHI “How many founders are there? From the way Victor was explaining things it was him and someone else he called the Shadow King.” REN BLACK “He said all that now did he? Huh. Well, someone was feeling chatty.” HIRO AKASHI “Care to fill me in about the others?” REN BLACK “Perhaps, or you can solve that little mystery yourself. Call it a welcoming gift.” HIRO AKASHI “Cryptic again, I’ll find out, and when I do, don’t send me chasing my tail and just tell me if I’m right. Can you do that for me?” REN BLACK “Sure, want me to pinky-promise?” HIRO AKASHI “Yes.” REN BLACK “You’re full of surprises, but if it’ll set your mind at ease, I pinky-promise to tell you the truth if you figure it out. Now that that’s been settled, we should grab our tickets.” HIRO AKASHI “That didn’t take long. Looks like something is going on here. What’s up with the news vans?” REN BLACK “Hmm. That’s what I was thinking. Doesn’t look like the tall ships are coming around.” HIRO AKASHI “We should check it out.” REN BLACK “My thoughts exactly.” TESS (Marites) “Bryan, you did not tell me there are wolves around here. This is not safe. What are we going to do? This is going to ruin our honeymoon. We need to know what happened, Go and ask the nice policeman again.” BRYAN “I can ask some of the others here maybe they know.” [Ren Black and Akashi can hear them clearly.] TESS “No, you have to ask them.” REN BLACK “Excuse me, I’m Detective Black and this is my partner Akashi. Do you know what happened here?” TESS (Marites) “I’m not entirely sure, but when we were at the coffee shop, I heard someone say that some local security team from the lab was murdered.” BRYAN “I could hear one of the cops saying that some of the bodies had wolf bites.” TESS (Marites) “There were people talking about seeing a wolf running past their windows. Akalain mo yun may lobo pala dito!” BRYAN (Awkward Laugh) “Oh, honey, he might not speak Filipino.” TESS (Marites) “Shet! Ah.. Umm. I’m, I’m just translating the thing in my head, okay? It’s difficult! Ahh-uh.. Okay, okay! There you go, uh.. I didn’t know you guys have wolves here, quite fascinating.” BRYAN “There was a howl. I could hear it, but I didn’t get up to look. I thought I was dreaming.” REN BLACK “A wolf? That’s unusual, isn't it? I think the nearest sanctuary is in Ipswich.” HIRO AKASHI “It could have been a coyote.” REN BLACK “Hard to tell until we know more. Thank you.” BRYAN “Sure, let us know if you find anything.” TESS “Bryan, what are we gone do? What if we die here? What about kids? I’m too young for this…” REN BLACK “Alright Greentail, time to put your money where your mouth is.” HIRO AKASHI “Well then, my all-knowing Sensei, tell me how we’re going to get in. It’s not like we can just walk up and start asking questions?” REN BLACK “Why not? We’re homicide detectives and this here looks like a homicide. Gabriel might have had something to do with this and I need to find out.” HIRO AKASHI “Ok, but how. Our badges are not local.” REN BLACK “Just follow me and I’ll show you how it’s done.” OFFICER “I’m sorry sir, this area is off-limits to the public.” REN BLACK “Well, Good thing I am not the general public. Lead homicide detective Ren Black from Turners Falls. My partner and I are here following a tip from a cold case we had over a year ago.” OFFICER “Let me see your badges.” HIRO AKASHI “Ahh, mine too…?” REN BLACK “Show the nice officer your badge. Sorry about that, you know how much of a pain in the neck rookies can be, wet behind the ears and all that.” OFFICER “Sure, I got one of my own.” HIRO AKASHI “Sorry about that.” OFFICER “I have here two homicide detectives from Turners Falls Mass. They would like to access the crime scene.” LEXI “I don’t have the time for… What are their names?” OFFICER “The head detective is Ren Black, and his partner is Hiro Akashi.” LEXI “Fine, Send them up.” OFFICE 1 “Yes, Ma’am. You two can go on up.” REN BLACK “Thank you.” HIRO AKASHI “Thank you, officer.” REN BLACK “Just follow my lead. I think I recognized that voice. If it’s who I think it is, we might have to wait a bit before heading to the island.” HIRO AKASHI “Do we have the time to do that?” REN BLACK “Everyone is dead. I think we have time.” HIRO AKASHI “You seem so sure that she is already dead.” REN BLACK “Call it intuition if you like, but I am sure they’ve caught a mild case of ‘no longer breathing'.” HIRO AKASHI “Don’t you mean… permanently, like… you know, more than mild?” REN BLACK “Heh, smartass. Now come on, this might give us a time frame to work with.” HIRO AKASHI “If you say so.” Agent Alexandra (Lexi) Cortez “Agent Black, your reputation precedes you. What can I do for you so I can send you on your way.” REN BLACK “I have a reputation, but we just met. Who could have filled your head with such lies?” AGENT CORTEZ “That would be my partner. I think you know him. Does the name Philip Deckard ring a bell?” REN BLACK “Ahhh how is good old agent Dick doing these days? I don’t happen to see him anywhere.” HIRO AKASHI “He’s not related to Drezz Deckard, is he?” AGENT CORTEZ “The one and only. Your new partner catches on quick.” REN BLACK “He’s an avid learner. When should we expect Agent Deckard to hit the scene?” AGENT CORTEZ “He is wrapping something up back at the office. I came out ahead of him. Look Black, I can’t let you in there. I’m still not sure how all this stuff works.” HIRO AKASHI “Care to clarify stuff? You seem to know more than you let on.” REN BLACK “Cortez… I knew a Cortez that worked in the same department as Philip years ago.” AGENT CORTEZ “That’s my father. I just graduated from the academy about two years ago and now I’m in the same division as him.” REN BLACK “Little Lexi all grown up and tossed into the same dark world as Daddy.” AGENT CORTEZ “Watch it Black. I never gave you the right to call me that and my father is a great man. He taught me everything I know.” HIRO AKASHI “Did he tell you about us?” AGENT CORTEZ “I thought they were stories to keep us kids out of trouble. I never knew that there were true monsters lurking around.” REN BLACK “Careful who you go around calling monsters little Lexi, I’ve seen humans commit far worse atrocities than what some of us are capable of.” AGENT CORTEZ “As Poe so eloquently said, “The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls.” I feel like this extends to all living creatures.” HIRO AKASHI “Would it be ok if we took a quick look? I promise we won’t touch anything.” REN BLACK “We’re following a lead, and need to know if these murders have any signature marks from the killer we’re after.” AGENT CORTEZ “I shouldn’t, but my father did say that you saved his life once. Don’t make me regret this Black and do me a favour and just vanish after.” REN BLACK “That I can promise. Tell your old man I said hi and that he still owes me a beer.” AGENT CORTEZ “Sure, I mean it Black, I want you gone in ten minutes.” REN BLACK “We have been warned. I’m sure our paths will cross again.” HIRO AKASHI “I’ll keep an eye on him. We’ll be gone before you know it.” AGENT CORTEZ “This here is Agent Black and Agent Akashi. They are going to look around, so I want to give them some room. How about everyone takes a coffee break and give them a ten.” REN BLACK “Thank you ever so kindly, Lexi.” AGENT CORTEZ “That’s Agent Cortez to you. Ten minutes!” HIRO AKASHI “I’ll make sure we don’t take up too much of your time Agent Cortez. Let me give you my card if you found anything you would like to share.” AGENT CORTEZ “I can’t promise anything, but if something does come up, I will reach out.” REN BLACK “You didn’t have to do that. We could have checked in with Philip.” HIRO AKASHI “It’s called professional courtesy. You might want to try it sometime.” REN BLACK “Storm of Swords, Akashi. I am the pinnacle of professionalism.” HIRO AKASHI “Being professional is more about doing your job right, even if you don’t feel like it.” REN BLACK “Now that I have you around, I can just be myself and let you take care of all the formalities.” HIRO AKASHI “A good partnership takes effort on both parts. Finding balance is par for the course.” REN BLACK “Now that that’s settled, let’s get back to work, shall we? This one here definitely looks like a wolf bite. I can’t tell for sure if it was a werewolf or not.” HIRO AKASHI “Should you be doing that? Aren’t they going to know you took that?” REN BLACK “‘She watching?” HIRO AKASHI “Looks like we are in the clear. I’m going to make a note about making sure to have something at the ready to collect evidence, so we don’t need to use sleight of hand to acquire something.” REN BLACK “Then what she doesn’t know won’t hurt us now, will it? It’s good that you’re taking notes, I forgot my field journal.” HIRO AKASHI “If possible, I like to be prepared. This one here was used as a pin cushion. Just by glancing, there must be over five wounds.” REN BLACK “What or whoever it was, seemed to catch them by surprise. I mean, this poor sod here is wearing whatever he’s been eating.” HIRO AKASHI “Then there are the others. These two also have stab and slash wounds. Then there are the wolf bites.” REN BLACK “They even got a few shots off. Whatever it was, it knew what it was doing, even if a bit brutal.” HIRO AKASHI “Perhaps some young Vamps are out for some fun?” REN BLACK “Eh - I don’t think so. New Vamps don’t tend to draw this much attention. Plus, none of these have vampire-bite marks.” HIRO AKASHI “Where did that wind come from?” REN BLACK “Don’t turn around, it looks like someone is watching us.” (CONT’D) “Did you know that they have a song about Nantucket?” (Singing) “There once was a young man from Nantucket; Who’s…” HIRO AKASHI “I didn’t know you could hold a tune.” RED “What the hell did you do, Tragedy.” HIRO AKASHI “How about we get a second opinion?” RED “Should I get caught? Time to play follow the leader, boys. I have something special waiting for you.” REN BLACK “I’d bet my favorite bottle of whiskey with a good bowl of Sashiro’s katsudon that whoever in the First Five Rings of Hell that is, knows something about what happened here.” HIRO AKASHI “Should we chase…!” REN BLACK “What do you think, genius? Looks like our ten minutes are up and I could use the exercise.” RED “Let’s go. Time’s a wastin’…”