Defending South City Ch. 02

I spent more than a week looking into that video and its contents. The name Mysteria was almost too popular among stage performers, magicians, mystics and fortune tellers, so it took quite some time to sift through those, but in the end, I failed to find anyone resembling the girl from that video. I even tried the face recognition software I had at hand, but there was no trace of the girl online. I have however found an incomplete record of an incident, that closely matched the scene depicted in the movie. A concerned citizen had reported the scene pretty much in the same way as it happened, but when the patrol arrived, there was no sign of a body, shooter or even a bullet casing, like it never happened in a first place.

As for the cop who was tailing the girl -- it was even harder to try and find out anything about him. Even though he was one of two main protagonists in that video, his face was covered in shadow almost entire time and there was not much else to work with. Even his uniform did not match the one that should be worn by the cops from the report. In fact, I was not able to find out any city that had cops dressed precisely like this. It looked more like mash up of few different uniforms, some kind of archetypal police wardrobe and I added it up to creative license. The filmmaker probably just made it up.

But so far, the video was my only lead and I tried to pick up some clues I've might missed the first time I watched it. Though I was in the streets during most of my days, trying to help people and prevent crimes, I have found time each evening to watch it one or two times, but I was still none the wiser about what its purpose was. At least I've got used to the weird static noise and flashing letters, so it did not bother me that much when I went for re-watch. It was mostly a waste of my hi-tech home media system, but at least I could do my crime fighting research from my comfy chair. Only problem was that I was stuck and needed more evidence.

From what my sources told me; cops were struggling the same way. Every time they arrived at the crime scene too late; it was already cleared out and if they found the same calling card as me, there was no one who would be able to deduce anything useful from the file. Then again, I was still not sure if they have found the same recording and I could not exactly ask them about it. My cover identity was a marketing analyst, which helped me get steady salary and kept me under the radar, but at the same time, there was hardly a thing I could do to get in cops good graces.

I had to hope that those thieves would make a mistake, but so far, they proved to be extremely competent and streak of robberies continued. I had my hands full most of the time. During last week alone I was able to stop a gas leak, returned a lost child, saved a guy stuck in a sewer and was shot by bank robbers. And whatever others tell you, do not believe them. Being shot at is a pretty unpleasant feeling even though small caliber bullets do not hurt me that much. They do leave some bruises and luckily the robbers did not have any really powerful weapons. There was only one instance of jewel theft, but the patrol got there before me and I could only watch from the roof.

It was almost like the culprits had someone on the inside and were able keep a step ahead of both the police and me. But I knew everyone made mistakes and I would be ready for them as soon as they slipped up. In the meantime, there was enough work for me to do around the city. Even when there were no crimes, someone with powers like mine could always help people who got into dangerous situations.

"Defender! Defender! Defender!" crowd was shouting all around me when I rescued couple of people from hideous car crash just in time before it all caught fire.

I have never been doing this superhero thing to be celebrated, but times like these felt extremely good, because I was making a difference. I gave them my signature salute and moved away as the fire truck and medics moved in as there was no more need for my skills. However, I did just get a warning signal in my earpiece. Apparently, there was robbery in progress and it was going on right now only two blocks away from my current location. This was my chance to get them and I wouldn't let it slip through my hands. I was strong, fast and still felt great after my last stunt.

There was no movement at the location and I immediately got frustrated. Was it possible, that they already cleared the place out and went away? I got the warning even before the cops did, so there was no reason for them to be alarmed. But the inside of store was completely empty and there was nobody to be seen. After a quick sweep, I finally noticed someone moving away through a back alley and I jumped ahead to block their exit. The figure stopped in the shade of covered passageway and I was only barely able to discern a slim frame of a person standing in a defensive position.

"So, you are the Defender, right?" a rich woman's voice came out of the shadow.

"Yes, that is who I am and you should know, there is no use for running."

"They say you can outrun a car, punch through a brick wall and bullets don't hurt you at all."

"All of that is true, so you can see how it would be very stupid for you to try and run away."

She sighed heavily and took two steps towards me, which finally got me a good look at who I was dealing with. She was dressed in a tightly fitted black overalls -- pretty handy if you needed to move freely say during robbery, but somehow her amazing figure made this outfit look attractive. There was a small bag in her hand, but nothing that would really fit all the jewels from the store. Speaking of jewelry, she was wearing something shiny around her neck, but it was still too far from me to discern. Her raven-black hair was tied back in a ponytail, so I could get a good look at her face and it took me only a split of a second before I realized something.

"Aren't you the girl from the video?" I spoke before I could stop myself.

"You have seen my movie?" she sounded surprised, but at the same time I noticed something else in her tone. A hint of pride maybe?

"I did, would you mind telling me why it was found in a crime scene very much resembling one you are running from right now?"

"I am not running at all, sir. Quite the opposite," she took few more steps closer to me and slowly stroked her neck.

"There is no point in running, so answer my question."

"Of course I will, mister Defender. But would you mind answering something for me first? How many times did you see my movie?"

"Five, maybe seven times," I low-balled the number because it suddenly felt weird to admit watching it more.

"Oh, does it mean you are my fan now?" she smirked.

"That is enough, time for my questions now."

"Sure, sir. I will answer everything truthfully, just ask your questions," she moved even closer and fiddled with the pendant on her neck. It closely resembled the one from her movie and it was catching light in a very interesting way.

"Would you mind telling me, why are you fleeing the crime scene?"

"Are you sure that is what I was doing?" reflection of her amulet shone into my eyes. "I was just in a hurry, trying to get home."

"It still looks very suspicious, no one else was around the store when it got robbed."

"But that isn't really any evidence of a crime, is it?" another flash.

"It is not," she was right of course and I tried to get my thoughts in order. "But your movie was already found on previous crime scenes. You do not find that odd?"

"It is movie I am starring in, not my movie. Anyone could have left that there. Did you maybe consider someone trying to frame me?"

"Frame you?" I frowned because that notion was not very convincing. "Why would they bother to do that?"

"I don't know, sir. You are the one investigating this crime, maybe you could try to look into it. I mean, you don't really have any direct evidence against me, do you?" she took another step closer and I could clearly see her pendant now -- it had the same symbol as in the movie.

"No, I don't have any direct evidence against you," everything was purely circumstantial at this point.

"See and even the things that currently point to me could not really be considered evidence at all, right?"

"Yeah, they are not really evidence," I nodded, because those things would be probably useless at the court. I did steal the recording from the crime scene in the first place.

"And you would not want to bother me if I were innocent, would you?"

"Even if you are innocent, you should still go to the station and tell them what you know," I interjected.

"But I have already told you that I know nothing, don't you trust an innocent woman?" she used her hand to fiddle with her pendant and my eyes went down to in instinctively.

"I am not sure," she was hiding something, but at the same time, her words sounded reasonable and I could not really bother an innocent person.

"I was just minding my own business and I want to go home, I am innocent sir, you have to believe my explanation," she was still fiddling with her pendant and it was really distracting.

"Trust your explanation?" I responded uncertainly.

"You said it yourself, there is no evidence linking me to this crime, right?"

"Yeah, no evidence linking you to this crime," I nodded.

"Well, that means I am innocent, doesn't it?"

"Yes, of course you are innocent," everything was getting clearer.

"So, there is no reason why you should not believe me, right?"

"Of course I believe you, I just had to make sure that you were not involved with all this."

"Does that mean I am free to go now?"

"Yes, you are, ma'am. I apologize for bothering you," it felt weird to apologize, but at the same time I felt bad for bothering innocent person.

"Thank you, sir. And if you do not mind me saying this: you are doing a splendid job protecting these streets from criminals."

"Thank you, I am trying to do my best," I smiled and puffed my chest.

"I would like to thank you for that. Would you mind accepting this as a small token of gratitude?" she picked up something from her purse.

"There is no need for that, I am just doing my job," I smiled politely.

"This is nothing, sir. Just another movie I starred in, you might want to watch it to learn more about me," she pushed a small box into my hand.

"Learn more about you?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Sure, if that is something you are interested in. Would you like to know more about me?" she was very close now and her warm hand was touching mine. It was the first time I truly realized how pretty she looked.

"I would like that very much," I smiled almost against my will.

"Well then make sure to enjoy my gift," she let go of my hand, waved at me and left before I could protest.

I was standing in a back alley with her gift in my hand and only remembered why I was here in the first place when the sirens started to blast. I didn't even realize when the cops arrived. It was too late for me to look over the crime scene properly, so I just shrugged my shoulders, went quickly over my online scanner and when nothing else popped up, I returned home to get some of my well-deserved rest. Only after I made it back to my apartment, I allowed myself to look inside the box.

To my surprise there was another one inside, this time metal and with blinking lights. It looked very similar to the one I found in the first crime scene and the resemblance was definitely not an accident. I immediately felt a sting of suspicion when I realized I just let the woman walk out from that alley without any means of tracking her, when she presented me with something that could be considered as pretty damning evidence. For a second I thought about running back there and trying to look for clues about where she went to, but realized there might be a simpler solution. She already told me I could learn more about her with the movie hidden inside the puzzle and that was precisely what I've intended to do.

I thought it would be easy getting inside the box at first. I already knew the symbol I was assembling, but this time there were three lights and it took me quite some time to figure out how the right signal looked. After a piece was moved, their sequence that was slightly different. It was like trying to figure out a secondary pattern inside a bigger one. But I wasn't stupid and after some time I again managed to find out the pattern and each of my moves was rewarded with an approving blinking of white lights. It took me maybe an hour to open the box and there was again a small disc inside. I was eager to discover more about the mysterious girl, so I dimmed lights in my living room and hit play. The file started in the same way, with a countdown.

10

I did not even bother to go for a remote, ten seconds was no that much to endure.

9

The obnoxious static sound came back with a vengeance and I considered turning the volume down.

8

Static faded into a background before it became too annoying and I settled down.

7

Each number was followed with a flash of a symbol.

6

I became pretty familiar with it at this point.

5

I have even seen it on her amulet today.

4

It was even reflecting light the same way.

3

It was almost mesmerizing to watch it.

2

But the movie was already coming up and I was eager.

1

Eager to learn more about the mysterious girl.

This time I was welcomed by a much more peaceful scenery. Camera was sliding along the beach and even with black and white movie, I was able to tell that it was a pretty warm day out there. Nothing was really moving, even the waves were few and far between and the water looked calm and soothing. Then the image finally shown main protagonists of this movie -- a man and a woman sitting on a blanket, apparently enjoying the day. Camera was moving around, slowly getting closer to them, but the guy's face was turned or blocked every time he got in the shot. The opposite was true for his companion and it didn't take long for me to confirm that it was indeed the same girl from the first movie, same girl I have met today in person. Their lips were moving, but since this was a silent movie again, I was left at the mercy of its creator. Camera moved even closer and fixed on the girl before the first line of text appeared.

"You wanted to know more about me," this time I was ready for those big letters and their flashing.

"Yes, I am interested in you," the response came without camera change and I was still looking at the girl.

"But you already know so much about me, you just have to remember," and what a beautiful sight it was.

She sat cross-legged on the blanket, wearing a dark two-piece swimsuit that left most of her body on display. Whatever she did in her free time made her look amazing -- firm skin and toned muscles showed both on her legs and arms and there was barely any fat on her stomach. She certainly had to work out to keep looking like that. Although her raven hair was moving slightly due the wind, it took my attention away just for a second before I looked back at her face and realized she had some pretty interesting features about her. But then my eyes moved a little lower to a pretty generous cleavage of her that was certainly emphasized by her swimsuit. Her pendant was nestled in between of her breasts and as I looked on it, it caught a reflection of the sun.

"Sometimes I think I do not know you at all," another line of text interrupted my very professional investigation.

Camera angle was static, fixed on the girl, which made it easy to concentrate on her. Only thing competing for my focus was the text appearing in short flashes.

"What do you mean by that?" this time I realized her text looked slightly different from his. Probably to help the spectator better discern who is saying what.

"I feel like I barely met you while ago and you somehow inserted yourself right into my life," his text was pure big white letters with nothing special to them.

"That is silly, you just need to think about how you like looking at me and how I was always around," while her letters had a very intricate changing pattern in them and it was more challenging to read them.

"Well, I do like looking at you," I had to agree with the guy and apparently cameraman had the same opinion. Image was getting closer now and I had pretty good look on her face but also her breasts, with the shining pendant right in between them.

"There is nothing wrong with looking. Now just remember all those times you were looking at me before, that feels nice, doesn't it?" her hand was fiddling with the pendant and I remembered her doing the same thing earlier today. She just had a little more clothes on back then.

"That does feel nice," again, I had to agree with the guy.

"You could do this all day, right?" she kept twirling the pendant so it kept reflecting sunlight.

"There is something calming about it," that was also true. Not only I was looking at a beautiful girl, but looking and the necklace was soothing as well.

"Remember seeing my symbol before, remember when you saw it first time," bright star was flashing into my eyes and I remembered seeing it before, on the puzzle box, in a back alley today, and even before that, in her first video.

"But if you think back even further, you will remember seeing it even before that. Look and remember my star, my name and my spirals."

She was swinging shiny pendant in front of her lovely breasts and it was a truly interesting sight. I faintly realized that the static noise became louder again to a point of being little unpleasant, but I kept thinking about the symbol of hers. I knew she was still talking to the man in the movie, but I was suddenly unsure -- was it possible I saw it even before it all started?

"Remember my name and hearing it before, remember the first letter, remember the stars and the spirals. They all have been in your life for a long time."

I was following the pendant on screen with my eyes and tried to focus on all the symbols. Of course, I knew them and saw them all before today. Those were not uncommon by any means. It was just unusual to see them all in one place on that amulet, swinging back and forth in front of her magnificent breasts. It was truly a pleasant sight and I could not really say how long those shots lasted. There was more time for me and my thoughts and less text, but that was hardly a thing to complain about when the image was this pleasing to look at.

"You wanted to know more about me, so you have to remember now. Remember my symbol being in your life before, being in your past before today."

I was still eager to learn more about her, and it was easy to remember seeing her pendant before today, because I saw it in the first movie, but something told me she wasn't talking about that. I watched the image of swinging pendant and tried to recollect seeing it before. Those common shapes, put together in this intricate design, swinging in front of her breasts. There was something soothing about this, something so pleasant, that I could imagine doing this in the past. Being here before, listening to her voice talking to me, watching the symbol and her breasts. The pendant was shining with inner light now and it was hard to take my eyes from it.

"Remember my symbol being in your life before, remember me being in your life before."

Static sound got even louder and the pendant light was pulsing right before my eyes. My head was throbbing and I felt sweat going down my cheek like I was exerting my strength against something. But at the same time, I was going through my memories trying to find any trace of the symbol in them. And when I almost gave it up, the pattern started to emerge. Every time there was a star, I could see the spirals too. With every spiral, there was a letter there and every letter M had a star around it. I never noticed it before, but at the same time it was so obvious now. It really looked like Mysteria was in my life long before I ever knew about her. Her pendant was still swinging before my eyes, pulsing with inner glow and my thoughts were slowing down again.

"When you see this symbol, remember watching it many times before and enjoying it."

Camera was so close that I could only see the pendant and her breasts.

"When you see this symbol, remember feeling safe, calm and relaxed."

It was nice looking at it and not having a care in the world.

"When you see this symbol, remember being open and suggestible."

Like there was nothing that could hurt me right now.

"When you see this symbol, remember that you want to learn more about me."

The static was finally fading and I was able to relax a little.

"When you see this symbol, remember trusting my words."

Even the light from her pendant was fading away.

"When you see this symbol, remember you want to see me again and listen to what I have to say."

The movie ended with image of her pendant nestled between her breasts and it was still a lovely sight. It took me a moment to gather my thoughts and I felt pretty confused by this movie. It somehow made even less sense than the first one. This thing did not even have a plot, it was just two people talking to each other and even that did not last that long. There was some pretty attractive imagery, but it ended with that and I struggled to recall ending of the movie at all. Did I space out or was it that boring? There had to be some reason why she gave this to me. Maybe if I watched this thing one more time and this time concentrated properly. I loosened up, sat back into my chair and started the movie again.