[Off-topic] K.A.:
Prawn + nitits... prawntits :laugh:

I read a looot too :rolleyes:

Okay, well.. I'll hide it..

War. The scene bore a striking resemblance to that of a war aftermath. No wonder the extremely high decibel levels even in the remotest part of the airport. Putting my suitcase down for a minute, I examined the situation. Flattened small-scale buildings and torn bodies all painted with bright red blood were scattered all around with ambulances rushing around conveying the survivors to the hospitals as soon as the horrific layout on the road allowed them. A blanket of shattered glass and broken windows, home appliances and furniture and building rubble from the high rises had descended on the main streets of the town. Deafening cries and expletives filled the air. I clutched my ears to reduce the impact as I shouted at my assistant to find a goddamn cab as quick as he could. Mixed cries, they were, many of people who praised the Lord for saving their compatriots, while others cursed and cried having lost their dear ones. I was pushed about twice, as people rushed around like headless chicken, indecisive and unsure of where to go, yet moving about anyways. I took a deep breath and sighed, as my assistant hurried up to me, out of breath with a cab right behind him. I entered the cab to a nervous and shaking driver. I hardly trusted him, but my assistant convinced me he was the last one still there, so I had to make do. I gave him the name and we set off as my assistant, finally regaining his breath, said to me “You just can’t get away from it, can you, Sir? “ I smiled and shook my head, and prepared myself for a short nap, as we set off on our 2 hour ride to countryside.

~~ It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder ~~

My nap was abruptly put to an end as the car jumped violently over a bump. I cursed under my breath as I gathered myself and looked at my assistant. “Ah! Don’t worry Sir, we’re almost there. He says we’re barely 2 minutes away.” “It better be.” I replied curtly, still furious at this sudden end to my sleep. The car halted beside a narrow, dark lane, as the driver demanded his fare. Having paid the driver, I had my assistant collect my things and as I started to turn away from the car, the driver shouted toward me “Be careful Sir, not many come out of there alive. And there’s been a murder there just last night. They say it’s paranormal.” “And I’m here to prove it’s not.” “You mean you are here for the investigation? Surely you are then the inspector they talked about.” “They? The word gets out pretty quick, eh?” “Yes Sir. Also, how ‘bout I drive you to the crime scene directly. Usually people like me aren’t allowed, but I’ll be able to get a glimpse of the situation while you get a free ride.” “Sure, how far do you reckon from here?” “I can get you there in 10.” “Great. Get my bags in again, please. And make sure there aren’t any more goddamn bumps.”

Suddenly, I felt light, repeated taps on my shoulder as I wearily stared at my assistant with my half open eyes. “We’re there Sir. The Senior Detective is here.” My assistant nervously spoke. I got down from the car clumsily, trying to shake off my uncalled for slumber. “Good day, Sir. We knew you would come.” The man greeted me. “Duty calls, they leave you with no choice.” I laughed. “Detective, it’d be nice if I could see where I’m going to be put up for my stay here, you have no idea how tiring the car journey has been.” “Sure. Inspector Shane will help you find your lodging. We expect you to be here by 9 A.M. sharp tomorrow, and I hear you’re one of the very few who actually believes in punctuality.” “That, detective, is true. Now if you may excuse me, I shall want to retire to my room. Good Night.”

I met Shane on the way, and I was in for another 15 minutes of an exhausting car journey, even at 80 km/hour. As we finally reached, Shane gave me my room keys, while he told my assistant he’ll be stationed in the guest rooms a little down the alley. “Good night, Sir. I’ll be here to pick you up at a quarter to 9. Rest well, it’s a huge day tomorrow.” “I sure will. Good night.” I walked towards the mansion, unaware of the several cobwebs and insects sprawling around on the walls, half due to being sleep deprived and half because I just didn’t care. I got the lock to finally open on the 5th attempt, but as I stepped inside, I almost felt as if I’d just drunk a few cups of pure caffeine. I thought those lousy superstitious bastards wanted to force me into believing in paranormal activity, what with setting me up in a place like this. Still confused and almost wide awake, I took a walk around, as my assistant used my handy flashlight to show the way ahead. The long dark corridors and passages and windowless rooms made the night seem eternal inside this rambling structure. The air smelt of stale blood, as dead men’s bones, the last thing I wanted to see, were heaped up in some of the rooms, and that too very subtly right at the doorstep. The doors were half broken themselves, and they were just a light wind force away from being separated from the hinges, which was unlikely, given the poor – almost lacking – ventilation in the structure. Finally, as I reached the main room, I threw my bags in the corner, and fell sound asleep on the bed, unaware of the many insects I had murdered in the process.

The next morning was eventful, to say the least. It wasn’t until half past 8 that I woke up, mad at myself for being such a heavy sleeper. I had 15 minutes to get dressed, and I had barely gotten out of bed yet. At exactly 8.45 AM I heard a car’s horn blaring outside the mansion, and I rushed out to meet it with my tie in hand, as I tried in vain to wear it properly. My assistant was already there, and we both got into the car, as Shane sped off without a word. My assistant, I wondered often…he did all the work for me, all the heavy lifting, came home the wearier, yet was always up before me. How was it even possible? I pondered on, but as the journey came to an end, I decided upon ‘The Great Generation Gap’ being the answer to all my trivia and prepared myself for what they told me would a huge day at work.

I met the detective after a small walk-cum-guide through the lanes of the town. “Morning, Sir. Ready to see the crime scene?” “Morning. Straight to the point, eh? Sure” I replied, with a hat tip. “Raise the cover, John.” John slowly removed the cover from the man’s body, and as the body was fully uncovered, there was only thing that struck you. Blood. A LOT of blood. Green Blood. I was shocked momentarily, and seeing the look on my face, the detective reminded me of his earlier words. I nodded, and as I recovered from the short shock, my mind was set racing. For different reasons, you may think, and I wouldn’t fault you for that. But having been in this line of work for over 30 years it was routine for me to expect the unexpected and yet keep my calm. “Surely, poisoned. And you know the best part detective? As much as there is a chance of him being murdered, there is an equal chance of him having committed suicide. And unless we have a thorough background check on this guy, we can’t weigh down on either one of the two possibilities. “ “We thought as much too, Sir. I currently have people collecting information about this man. We searched his body too. Only thing we found was a workplace ID card.”

The card read : “Mueller, K. Ferrison’s Industries, 34th Street, Mullohand. “Pretty much summarized there. Piece of cake getting the info now, eh? I’ll take a stroll now in the vicinity. Here, call me when you have the information ready.” I replied, handing my card to the detective, as I walked away from the crime scene, eager to engulf the bright warm morning sun rays.

We had a quiet walk, my assistant understanding my silence and following suit. I noticed as the radiant rays penetrated straight through the thick, huge tree branches, as the birds chirped away joyfully, with not a care in the world, but at the same time, my mind kept going back to the crime. Suddenly, I snapped back and walked back swiftly to the crime scene. The detective was surprised to see me back soon, but I signaled him to keep quiet, as I examined - for the second time - the crime scene. With every minute that passed, my inclination grew towards murder. There were no windows, or even homes in a 100 yard perimeter from the place. Surely he couldn’t have staggered so far having poisoned himself. “Maybe he took the poison here himself, Sir? “ my assistant suggested, almost as if he read my mind. I directed his vision towards the east, pin pointing a faint trail of shoe marks, not of one walking, rather the very tip of a shoe, being dragged. “He was murdered. The trail clearly shows he was dragged down here so as to make it look like what we all almost fell for – suicide. I shall now want the information at the earliest, detective. It may only be a onetime killing, maybe as a form of revenge, but we can never rule out the other possibilities. And then there is the question of the number of people involved. Yes, it would take only one man to poison him, but you wouldn’t know if he might be working under orders from a higher man, a Don, or a leader, most possibly.” “I shall try my best…Ah! There! Hurry up, for ****’s sake, you’ve had us stuck for ages now.” The detective screamed, excitedly and angrily, at the young man hurrying toward us with a heap of papers. “I’m very sorry sir, but the government computers and the horrible internet make it impossible to work with. “ he replied sheepishly. “Aye, call the local providers, and be quick.” The detective handed the papers over to me, with a somewhat interesting look on his face.

I skimmed through the most important parts, and my face developed exactly the same look I had seen on the detective’s face. “Queer, isn’t it?” He said, with a sly smile. “Queer indeed. Age 46, has worked at Ferrison’s for 22 years, a wife who died 5 years back after which he…Hah! Became a drug abuser, being caught with huge amounts of cocaine, marijuana and…What the ****! Arsenic? Extremely paranoid, must be said.” I summarized. “And guess what, the green blood? Probable result of Copper/Arsenic poisoning. So, a loyal 36 year old Ferrison’s worker gets extremely paranoid after his wife’s death and is continually on drugs, and after 5 years of having had enough, he takes the last step and consumes the Arsenic. How does that work for you?” The detective spoke, almost triumphantly. “Almost complete, if only you would explain why would he be dragged down here after he died from the poisoning.” “It says here he moved into a new neighborhood just last year, maybe a lot of them decided to dump him out here, avoiding the unnecessary attention that their society would’ve gotten.” “Haha. Feeble attempt, detective. Unless you can come up with something more solid, I say this is still a murder. I shall need all documents and database records to be sent to my rather queer mansion at the earliest. Also, would you be as kind as to provide my assistant here with a computer? I’ve got some things that I hope I can rule out, so as to prove your argument true, if not for anything else. ‘Night detective, I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Ah, well ..Okay, the required material will be sent to your lodging, where I guess you’ll be there to receive it.” “ I…don’t think so, detective. I might not be back till then. Here, take the keys. You can keep ‘em beside the clothes rack in the second room.” “Okay. I shall have one of my men deliver the items. Good Night.”

I tipped my hat, and walked slowly towards my earlier strolling place, it was now dark, as the trees reversed roles and breathed just like us humans, hungry for oxygen, and as the moon shone ever so brightly, only to be hidden from sight by the same trees that let the sun rays pass. It was going to be a worthwhile trip, I thought to myself. “So, what do you do now, Sir? What if they actually find out the gang? Should have left it at the detective’s flawed theory, in my opinion. “ My assistant spoke up, breaking the silence. “ Tut, tut. You saw the immense brain power these guys possess. They pose me no threat. And anyway, a little adventure shouldn’t hurt. We have our tracks well covered, and if these men do catch him, I’ll make sure to be there first.” “The examination part second time around was very well done, Sir, I must admit. It almost fooled me too.” He said. I laughed at that comment, “ It’s a piece of cake when the mental abilities of the people you’re dealing with are on your side rather than theirs.” My assistant afforded a laugh too, then. “ Though I wonder why the **** would he use Arsenic. I told him I needed it to be clean, but I guess for the money he’s being paid, we might have to allow him to have his way once in a while.” I continued. “Hard times to do business, Sir.” He replied shaking his head, and we walked off into the distance, as our conversation switched topics.

Ignore the abrupt time jump at the end, its a wip :p