Case File Break: Ace (1)

"Wh-Who are you?" I asked with a face filled with shock.

I nearly jumped out of my skin, the person standing in front of me was an elderly-looking woman who was quite small in stature. The wrinkles on her face made her look extremely ancient. Her eyes, nose, and mouth were small compared to the rest of her face, making the space between her face and hair appear very large. Her hair, or rather what was left of it, was graying with hints of pure white. The woman in front of her looked fragile and smelled of old antique shops that you would pass by when you were younger.

"Ooh, my dear I didn't mean to catch you off guard, hey I'm Mrs. Gibbens you probably didn't notice me during your little welcoming here, but I just had to come and catch you after the whole shindig." Mrs Gibbens said with a warm comforting smile.

My heart was pounding as I got back up, even though she shouldn't pose a threat due to her physique and age my body and senses were on high alert around her. I felt a sense of uneasiness about her as she reached her hand out to shake mine. 

"Ooh no don't worry about it, I was just surprised all didn't expect to meet any of our neighbors yet," I said with a fake smile, I can't let her know that she's someone who I have to keep an eye on, for now, I should play it safe I thought.

"Void" Mrs. Gibbens said 

"Excuse me," I asked questioning what she said.

"The book your friend is holding is a book called Void by David Staniforth, one of my favorite reads too why are you just standing there holding it like that? aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Mrs. Gibbens asked.

I looked back to see that Ruben was standing a few feet behind me unmoving while holding the book in a position similar to that of a firearm at the door, what was he doing I wondered.

"Ruben, Ruben, Ruben," I said while snapping trying to see what was wrong with him.

"Huh? What happened? Why am I holding a book? Who is she?" Ruben asked looking like he was just pulled out of a terrible dream.

"This is Mrs. Gibbens, Mrs. Gibbens this is Ruben. I would love to stay and introduce you two to one another, but we have some important matters to attend to." I hurriedly said to get me and Ruben out of this situation. After we saw Mrs. Gibbens walk 2 houses to the right of us I sighed a breath of release.

"How long did I space out for? What was I holding the book for?" Ruben asked in a high-pitched voice, while sweat was dripping from his forehead almost like he was nervous about something.

"Don't worry you weren't out for long, probably less than two minutes" I said trying to comfort him. 

"Alright, I probably just got stunned by Mrs. Gibbens's unrivaled beauty," Ruben said as I noticed his expression brightened.

"Didn't know that you prefer older women," I said with a shrug.

"Well, I guess this our first time splitting up since we got here, I gonna miss our blossoming friendship," Rubben said mockingly wiping a tear from his face.

After another one of Rubens's annoying comments we started heading into town, the walk into town wasn't too bad, but I'd rather much have preferred to drive instead of walk sadly Roger still hasn't contacted them about the status of my car. While walking I began to notice how friendly all the people living here were, there nothing like how the people in New York are, every time I walk past someone they always give me a smile with the same head turns each time. When we finally got to the main center of town I was surprised at how utterly beautiful and bright the place looked, it almost seemed like a utopia. There was no trash visible on the streets, there were barely any cars driving around, and the air smelled so clean with no traces of cigarettes or anything of the sort. There were a lot of small shops around, everyone seemed to be in their usual happy mood, which for some reason gave me that same feeling I had while being around Mrs. Gibben. 

"Ok, so you already know what you're supposed to do right?" I asked Rubben.

"Yeah go around town, find a nice girl, introduce her to the fam, and eventually get married," Ruben said grinning from ear to ear.

"Just take this seriously ok? I know before we got here I didn't want anything to do with you, but you're the only person I know here, and right now we only have each other to rely on." I said. I might not fully like working with Ruben, but what I said is true We are in an unknown scenario with little to no information.

"Yeah I understand, Don't worry I won't let you down," Ruben said as he walked off.

Ok now I just need to find out how to get to the school, maybe I should ask someone I thought before hearing a familiar voice behind me that made my skin crawl.

"Need a ride? You're visiting our high school right?" Mayor Johnson said as he pulled up to me in a golf cart. "I wouldn't want you walking to the school after you already spent so much energy walking here, come on I won't bite."

"Sure," I said as I got into his vehicle. This can be my opportunity to gather useful information with the person with the most resources here I thought.

"If it wouldn't bother you too much I'd like to get some questions answered," I asked

"If I say no you'd still probably ask right?" Mayor Johnson asked sighing.

"Yes, I would, so who are you? you never introduced yourself to us when we first arrived."

"My name is Morgan Johnson, as you know the mayor of this small town you'd call Whisper Pines, I am 45 years old, and I've been in charge of running things since I was 31." Mayor Johnson said.

I was planning on asking how Morgan knew that was going to be in town, and if he has some kind of outside contact or associate who helps him monitor things from the outside, but I knew that me being an outsider asking too many questions never ends in anything good, especially in this line of work, so I switched my strategy.

"Have you ever been outside of Whispering Pines?" I said mildly hoping I could get a reaction out of him.

"Hmmm that's an interesting question you asked, but I already answered one of your questions why don't you help me answer a question of mine?" Morgan asked with a devilish grin.

I knew that getting information from a man like him wouldn't be easy, right now he holds the clear power advantage. He knows that the information he has is incredibly valuable, right now it's like I'm a mouse who wandered into a pit of vipers. Then something in my head clicked I may be an outlier in his territory which leaves me at a disadvantage, but that also means that I'm someone who he doesn't know either which can be its advantage if used right.

"Ok I'll make you a deal answer my question first and you can ask me three questions of your own," I said keeping a straight face.

"That's an interesting proposal," Morgan said with an awkward laugh. "Hmmm, yes I have been outside of here before, but from what I've seen the outside world is a rancid, unfaithful, uncivilized jungle of barbarians who only know how to destroy..."

This was a better answer than I was hoping for not only did he answer my question and accidentally reveal his true colors of how he feels about the people outside of Whispering Pines, but he also gave me an idea of how he knew we were coming here even before Roger brought us. He has one or more than likely multiple informants on the outside. I knew it in the end I won.

"I should apologize for letting my emotions get the best of me, that was unbecoming of someone in my field, though now I guess it's time for you to pay your dues," Morgan said as he leaned in.

His more than likely going to ask something along the lines of what we're doing here, or how long we plan on staying I thought, which is something I can easily maneuver around to answer, however the words that came out of his mouth left me in complete and utter shock.

"_______ White, how is your father doing these days?"