Dark Absentia: Blood Infernal Chapter Six

"Eddie… I'm sorry. Take care of Maddie and Harper for me." Parker said.

A wave of infernal flames dances around his body. Engulfing him in flames. For a moment, he looks relieved before every part of his body burns away until nothing remains.

"Parker!!" I cried, reaching out to him.

The flames wrap around my outstretched arms. Turning them to ashes while I struggle to gather my friend's ashes. The flames turn to me, and I bathe in the merciless fire. It tickles my body with unimaginable pain. A towering figure looms over me. Even in the viciously hot flames, I could see those pairs of eyes that burned even hotter than the fire around me. This was hell; I was burning in hell.

A constant beeping plays into my mind. Slowly the fog clouding my mind fades away. The beeping grows louder. With the return of sound comes the return of feeling. I wasn't prepared for the sudden activation of my pain receptors. My body aches all over. I lay for a long time, trying to open my eyes or move my body. A faint ounce of light crept in before a blurry image appeared. My eyes attempt to adjust to the new scenery for a few moments. A white ceiling reveals itself to me. I lift my head to explore my surroundings. A hospital room from the beeping sound and various medical equipment.

I rise up a little more, ignoring the raging pain in my body. A quick self-assessment indicates my arms and hands are fine. I feel my chest and neck, then my head. Other than a bandage around my head, the upper half of my body was fine. Still, I stretch my back a little. The pain wasn't too much, and I felt a lot less now that I was sitting up. I checked my lower body and legs. No wounds or other injuries. Seems I managed not to break any bones. I was still in my clothes from this morning. Although, my dress shirt was gone, replaced with a hospital gown. My watch said the time was half past seven. That meant I'd been out for a few hours. I need to get back down to Parker's home. I have to know what happened. With that in mind, I hop out of bed and do an in-depth stretch routine. There was pain and soreness, but this was nothing to me. I'd been through worse. I gather my things and leave. A couple of nurses protested, and the officer on guard stood down when he saw the look on my face. I'd make sure he didn't get any flack for letting me leave.

It didn't take long to return to the upper east side. My cruiser was right where I left it, along with a host of other local authorities. I got a good look at the aftermath. The entire attic was blown off the house. Yet, there was no further damage visible. I spot Thomas, Captain Kremer, and Captain Cook. Kremer's box top cut was easy to spot. A throwback hairstyle from the 80s. He took a puff of a premium Cuban cigar. I could already tell the sixty-something ex-Marine was pissed at me. "Never go into a crime scene or active area without backup!" I know that was a rookie mistake at best and an arrogant one at worst. If the Captain wanted to, he could even take me off active duty. That man had a wealth of experience in combat. His tailor-fit gray suit couldn't conceal the muscular build of the man. He cut me off before I reached my brother and Captain Cook.

"What the hell are you doing out of the hospital, Eddie…" Kremer said.

He wasn't asking a question, and I wasn't keen on testing his might at the moment. I was about to devise some half-assed excuse when he took a puff of his cigar. A cue to shut the hell up or else.

"We didn't find a body. We didn't find anything. Just a pile of ash and a melted wedding ring Thomas identified by the special gemstone Parker had made for his wedding," Captain Kremer said.

His deep but calm voice meant he wasn't finished talking. Anyone with a brain on their head worth anything knew to listen when the man was speaking. He pulled out a photo from the breast pocket of his jacket. He looked at it for a moment before handing it over to me. It was a picture of Parker, me, Thomas, Ben, and every man from our unit. Most of these guys I hadn't seen since I got the hell out of that God-forsaken desert. A few of them, except Parker, had an x over their face in black. He had a bright red x. It was clearly a copy, but someone had marked it after it was made. That same chill came over my body again. I look up in puzzlement.

"That was found at Parker Wells vacation home. I already confirmed those marked in the photo are dead. All unsolved murders or mysterious deaths. Even a couple were reported missing. All in the last year," Kremer explained.

"Jesus, Rex…," I whispered.

"Porter's going to lead the investigation into the death of Parker Wells. What I want to know is what's this picture about?" the Captain questioned.

'Shit! What was I supposed to do? Tell him we were all in a classified black ops unit?' I tried my best to put all that behind me.

"Gimme a couple of hours, and I'll see what I can dig up," Captain Cook said.

Cook was ex-CIA, a spook from back in the day. The tall and lean old man retired to serve the city he was born in. He wore the typical tan trench coat that cops and spies wear in the movies. Underneath that was an expensive blue business suit. Cook didn't even need to work. Who knows what kind of exploits brought him vast amounts of money. The man preferred Newport's as vapes. I gave him the photo to look at as Thomas came over. Cook chuckled a little.

"Isn't that something? They brought back the Blue Ghost Project," Cook said to himself.

Kremer took a long puff of his cigar. "What's this Blue Ghost Project?" Kremer questioned.

If Cook knew about the Blue Specter, then so much for sworn to secrecy. I don't know what this Blue Ghost Project was, but it sounds awfully familiar to our unit.

"The Blue Ghost Project" was a late 70s and 80s myth. You probably heard of it under some other name. They were a highly trained group. Well, let's say a group of extraordinary people," Cook explained.

"Our unit was called Blue Spector. There were four teams. Same setup as the Seal Teams. We weren't anything special like these Blue Ghosts," Thomas said.

"Is that so? What if I told you those rumors? They were true, and your unit is likely the successor to that project. I don't know for sure. As I said, I need to dig around," Cook said.

"If that's the case, it explains why they had you two and your brother in the same unit. Special circumstances allow for siblings to serve in the same unit. Cause you know that would be a bunch of horseshit if there wasn't a photo to back it up," Kremer said.

"What's that got to do with the cases we're working on? Someone went thru a lot to get my wife out to a town in the rural area of Upstate New York. Now Parker is dead, along with many men we haven't seen in damn near fifteen years," I said.

"Well, isn't that what you're going to find out? Get back up there and follow any leads. As for you, Thomas, you and Tate look into this photo," Captain Kremer said, handing Cook another photo.

"One of the guys in the photo? A possible next target then," Captain Cook whispered, giving Thomas the photo.

Kremer took another puff of his cigar as he stared off behind me. "You better go take care of that, Eddie," Kremer said. "You better take my SUV; gonna need the room," he added, tossing a set of keys.

I turned to see what he was talking about. Harper Wells and Parker's wife, Maddie Wells, were getting out of a taxi with their daughters. 'Damn, they both have twins.' I let out a deep sigh. This wasn't going to be easy. Suddenly. I needed a courtesy shot of vodka or scotch. I can hear Harper and Maddie arguing with a couple of officers guarding the scene's perimeter. It didn't sound like they knew what was going on.

"This is my house! You need to tell me what's going on!" Harper shouted.

"Has there been some sort of crime committed here?" Maddie asked.

"Ma'am, this is an active scene. Right now, there hasn't been a determination of any criminal activity," an officer said.

"It's okay, officers. I'll take it from here," I stated.

They moved on to other areas as the two women rushed to me. Their teenage children are hanging back behind the police tape. I could only imagine what was going through their minds. What I witnessed didn't make sense. I wasn't sure if it happened at all. There was no way I was mentioning this to the Captain. He didn't ask, and I wasn't telling at this point. There had to be an alternative explanation other than me going insane. That didn't change the concerned looks on the two women's faces.

Harper was a female version of her twin. Her long bright red hair hung over her shoulders. Just an inch shorter than her brother, she was insanely gorgeous with bright green eyes, often being mistaken for Parker's teenage daughters. Her incredibly proportional face earned her several modeling gigs in her childhood and adolescence. Having high cheekbones, slim eyebrows, a heart-shaped face, a freckled nose, and peachy lips. She wore her usual work attire. A white blouse with a blue double-breasted jacket, a black pencil skirt with black pantyhose, and black slip-on stiletto heels. Harper's complete set of voluptuous melons was neatly hidden behind her clothing. Her round and peachy bottom was covered by her long jacket. She knew how to dress and still be sexy at the same time. That was Harper, conservative yet seductive.

Standing beside her was Maddie, a bleach Blonde sultry woman, who was the Wells family's oddball. Her children may have her looks, but they got the ginger gene of their father. That didn't detract from the blue-eyed Vixen's pure elegance and beauty. A former gymnast and ballerina, she was a graceful yet shy woman. Her straight eyebrows, high cheekbones, seductive lips, and upturned nose brought out the radiance of her oval face. Maddie was a genius with fashion. She wore a white button-down shirt with an elegant string tie, a black fur coat, a shiny leather pencil skirt, black fishnet pantyhose, and expensive strappy heels. The ample melons she was blessed with looked amazingly appealing. As well as the tight apple bottom of hers.

"Eddie, what's going on here? Was there a break-in or something?" Harper questioned.

A slight tremble was in her voice. Maddie wasn't even looking me in the eye. Instead, looking down at the ground. She was a shy one to begin with, leaning heavily on Parker more than she should have. He was gone now, which was the most challenging part for me. I witnessed the last moments of the man she loved and married. This wasn't the right setting to break a bombshell like this to either of them. No matter how strong Harper pretended to be. They were twins, born a mere half dozen second apart. The two always were together growing up. Never living at least, a house or two away from each other. The only significant time they were apart was their time in the military. Parker was a Marine, and Harper was an Air Force pilot. The latter never really knew what happened during that time. Parker never wanted her to know about that part of his life. I couldn't blame him, either.

"Let me give you a ride back to your place. A lot is happening here, and I think a quiet scenery is best right now," I explained.

"Eddie, just tell me what's going on?" Harper pleaded.

"I can't comment on an ongoing investigation," I said, kicking myself.

"Okay, we'll go to Parker and Maddie's place. That might be the safest place for now. It's not listed under his name. I really hope this isn't related to one of his clients," Harper said, holding Maddie's hands.

I looked at the villa behind me before taking Parker's wife, sister, and their children to the Captain's cruiser. I held the door open for Maddie, then for Harper as she got in the front side passenger seat. Parker's last words still rang in my head. His final thoughts were of his family. My resolve to find out the cause of his death was firmly etched in my mind.