[Kitsumi]

PLEASE NOTE! This thread is going to contain highly mature material. Subjects may include swearing, alcohol/drug use, kidnapping/binding/torture, gore, rape (nothing detailed), pretty much anything and everything. If you are not prepared to read about such mature topics, PLEASE do not continue further.
Thank You.



William Hartman

-10 Years Earlier-
"Careful, darling. Do you need help getting into the car? Here, let me open the door for you. Yes, I've gotten the car seat set up, and yes, I followed the directions this time. I'm not taking any chances with little Markie."

William Hartman ushered his wife into the car, their newborn son secured in the backseat. As he helped lower her into her seat, he pressed his lips against hers, causing her to squeal in surprise. "Oh, Will, stop it!" Her words were in protest, but her smile and the hand she held on his chest proved that she was happy to be with him. He smiled in return, before striding over to the driver's side door to take his family home.

Now that they were officially a family, William had never been prouder.

---

-Present Day-
William had never been more desolate.

He poured himself another glass of whiskey, throwing it back easily. After another long day of work, all he wanted to do was get piss drunk and pass out asleep. He didn't want to dream, or to think, or to be. He didn't want any part of the conscious world until it was time to go back to work again tomorrow.

As he was pouring another drink, the phone rang. Growling in anger, Will thought about ignoring it. The last thing he wanted was to speak to anyone. Still, it might have been important. Reluctantly, he answered the phone.

"Hello?"

[Jedi]

NOTE: I currently have no form for either of these malevolent beings

The receiver was gripped within Leonardo's cold clutches while Jacob dialed the phone. Jacob let his finger run through the buttons, bringing the numbers to dial and stopping before the final digit. "He won't pick up. He's not going to answer. We should just-" "Shut up!" Leonardo demanded. "He'll pick up. And if he doesn't, we'll make him answer." Jacob dialed the final button and waited. When the phone rang, Leonardo brought his fist up to hold it to their ear. As the ringing stopped, he heard the voice of their victim.

"Greetings, Officer Hartman. I visited a certain graveyard today. Care to guess which one?" He chuckled menacingly. He reached to the table the phone rested on and grabbed a single rose from the dozen left there. "I saw the flowers you left. Soon, they'll wilt and die, but you know a lot about death, don't you?" His smile grew with increasing malice. "You don't remember me, do you? But I guess it's hard to remember when you've drowned all your memories in booze and despair."

"I've got a proposal for you. A way to return to your former self. However, before you can become better, you must venture further into hell than you've ever been, and I wonder, can you live with yourself after everything you'll have done?"

[Kitsumi]

William stiffened as soon as the person on the other end of the phone began to speak. It was obvious which graveyard this cruel joker was speaking of, and William couldn't stand being taunted in such a manner. "Listen, if this is some kind of joke-"

He was interrupted by the person on the other end of the line, and William gripped the phone tighter. Was this someone he knew? No one at the department would ever play with his emotions like this. At the moment, work was the only thing he actually got out of the house for. It had to be someone from his past - it would explain why the person was speaking of being remembered. But if it was someone from the past, how had they known about the person he was nowadays? He had only began hitting the bottle within the past five years or so, and he had already isolated himself by then.

"What the hell are you talkin' about?" William was seething, and the anger carried through in his tone of voice. "How are you expecting to make me a better man?" He had half a mind to just hang up then and there, but he hoped that if he kept the caller on the line for long enough, he'd be able to find out who it was. Then, he could file a report. This had to be harassment, right? He just had to keep the bastard talking, until he gave away some clue about his identity.

William sighed. "Let's pretend I'm interested. What's this 'proposal' of yours?"

[Jedi]

Pleased to hear of Williams cooperation, Leonardo concluded, "Go to the corner of Newman and Barkley. When you're there, I'll call." Leonardo then set the receiver on the telephone, ending the line. "What do we do now, Leo?" Jacob asked. Leonardo then responded with "The trap is set, now we wait." Leonardo then proceeded to leave the room, but stopped shortly before, "And I'd prefer you call me by my first name."

Leonardo stood, watching out the window over the street. Across the road, a liquor store resided. As Jacob finally appeared, Leonardo declared "You're late." Jacob simply replied, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," to which Leonardo demanded, "make sure it doesn't happen again. Hopefully, like a mouse to cheese, our old friend well show before too long." They waited, staring out the window for William. When their victim showed up, Leonardo pulled a cell phone and dialed it, ringing the payphone at the base of the building...

[Kitsumi]

Click

The line went dead. Forgetting that he had been holding it, William dropped the glass and it shattered. He ignored it, walking over the mess and collapsing into an overstuffed chair. Rubbing his temples, he shook his head sadly. "What do I do, now?"

It was obvious that he had to follow directions. The only way that he could possibly figure out who this mysterious caller was, was to play along. As soon as he had a hint as to who was doing this to him, William would arrest the creep for messing with him. He wasn't sure what this little game was all about, but he intended to see it through until he was able to nab the man behind it.

Slipping into his shoes and a worn brown jacket, William headed to the described area. He had brought his cell phone with him, as the man had specifically said that he would 'call'. To his surprise, the public phone began ringing instead of his private one. After a quick glance in each direction which turned up no visible evidence, William quickly shut himself in the phone booth and picked up the phone.

"Alright, what do you want from me?"

[Jedi]

"In due time, Officer Hartman. In due time. Across the street, there stands a simple  liquor store. Do you see it?" Leonardo waited a few seconds, then continued regardless if he'd responded. "I want you to, shall we say, liberate them from their obsession of legal tender. Under the phone, you will find a gun, fully loaded. You shall walk into the store and up to the register, then demand from them all the money in the register. You WILL do this, or else they die. And just in case you decide to skip out on our arrangement," Leonardo nodded to Jacob, who flipped one of two switches in his hand, igniting the trash can a few feet from the booth. "Let's just say their business will lighted up. Good luck, Officer Hartman." It was then that Leonardo set the phone's receiver on it's base, cutting the line. "Let us watch, Jacob," he said, gesturing for him to approach the window...

[Kitsumi]

Whoever this person was, he was really starting to piss William off. "Why don't you just come right out and tell me what it is you want me to-"

Of course, it wouldn't be that simple. The person on the other end of the line cut William off, asking him about the liquor store. "Yes, I see the fucking store. I'd have to be blind not to see it, it's right there. What does this have to do with-"

Once again he was cut off, and he had the urge to slam the phone down, ending the call. He couldn't do that, though. Not yet. But as the man continued talking, William wished that he could. His mouth fell agape, and his eyes widened in horror. "What the hell are you talking about! I can't rob a place, I'm a fucking police officer. I'm supposed to stop crime, not commit it!"

Despite his protests, there would be no getting out of this. A trash can was suddenly set ablaze, and William had no doubt in his mind that this psychopath would destroy the liquor store and anyone in it if William didn't do this.

He grabbed the gun with a trembling hand, stuffing it in his belt under his shirt. There was no sort of disguise, though, and William wasn't just about to walk in where someone might recognize him. His hat helped hide his identity, but it was only a start. Luckily, he had a large piece of cloth in his pocket - part of his torn drapes that he had meant to use to buy an identical fabric to replace it with. He tied this over his face, and then walked into the liquor store.

[Jedi]

Jacob looked out window at the street below. The flames in the can had extinguished by the time William entered the store. "What do you think he'll do?" asked Jacob, to which Leonardo replied "If he's smart, he'll follow my exact instructions. Besides, this is just to see how flexible he truly is to the law." He then pulled out a large cell phone from his pocket. On it's screen displayed the image of a security camera feed of William entering the shop. "Let us see if he keeps to his promise, or if we should kill him like we did his brother."

[Kitsumi]

((I'm done putting the song lyrics in every post I make xD I don't even know why I kept doing that.))

Once inside the store, there was no time to hesitate. With the bandana over his face, it was pretty clear that he was trying to keep his identity hidden. People would soon become suspicious if they weren't already. He didn't want to do this, but he had to. He was robbing people to save their lives. It was never something he had thought he would have to do, and he hoped that he would never have to do anything like it again. He had a feeling, though, that he would be doing even worse before all of this was over with.

He walked up to the front of the store and pulled out the gun. He shot a single bullet into the ceiling before training the weapon on the man behind the counter. "Everybody down, and then nobody move!" The bandana helped to muffle his voice, but he was sure to use a voice that was far from his own just in case. "You!" He motioned towards the teenager behind the counter. "Give me all the money in the register. Hurry up! If I see you reach for the silent alarm, I'll shoot."

William was obviously bluffing. Would he actually shoot the kid? No, of course not. If he absolutely had to, he would be sure that the bullet would just graze him, a warning without the risk of permanent injury. He didn't want to have to even do that, and luckily he didn't have to. The poor boy obviously had no experience with this sort of thing, and he didn't do anything heroic as he handed over the money with shaky hands. "P-please don't shoot me!" The boy pleaded, close to tears.

The money was quickly shoved in his pocket, and then William headed towards the door. He kept his gun trained on the employee, but his gaze looked around to make sure that nobody tried to stop him. The store was practically empty. Those who had been unfortunate enough to be in the liquor store were laying on the ground as he had ordered, and he had no problem getting out the door. Once he was out he ran, taking an alternate route home in case anyone tried to see where he had gone.

Whoever was playing this game with him would have to contact him from somewhere else - he wasn't going to stick around and have to explain to his fellow cops why he had just knocked off a liquor store.

[Jedi]

Leonardo began dialing Williams cell number as soon as he was out of the store. He'd lost visual of him when he pressed send. The phone rang and as soon as the ringing stopped, he left a breif message "Well done. Your first test is complete. Dispose of the money in the nearest dumpster then leave." He then pulled another phone from his pocket and hit send. Shortly after, a man picked up, asking "Yeah boss?" Leonardo ordered "As soon as he dumps the cash, detonate it. I don't care if anyone else gets hurt, but he is to remain unharmed." He turns to Jacob. "It looks like he'll do. Ready the pawns."