The man pulled a chair up so that he was sitting knee to knee with Frank. His face featureless, no eyes nose or mouth just a cattle prod in his hands and a strange symbol adorning his suit jacket.
As Frank looked at the symbol Loki illuminated the scene so he could see the detail of the emblem.
It was a gold bolt of lightning with two leaves crisscrossed over it.
The faceless man’s mouth appeared, there was no detail, no feature, just a gaping hole from which words came out as it moved.
“Where are they?” he screamed as he put his head in Franks face, “Where are they Frank?”
Frank tried to plead with the man, he didn’t know what he was talking about and his gag hindered mouth merely expelled out muffled pleads of innocence.
The faceless man prodded Frank with the cattle prodder, sending volts of electricity shooting through his nervous system leaving his body slumped unable to protest or disable the figure now standing over him.
The black, panther men slowly bent towards the floor, transforming as they moved into real black panthers, panting and snarling ready to pounce on their prey, F
rank lay helpless, oblivious to what these creatures wanted from him.
The panthers started prowling around the room, nudging the newspapers strewn across the floor. One leaped violently at a stack of papers against the wall, claws shredding them violently transforming them into a snowstorm of black and white shards that descended to the floor, covering Frank’s limp body.
The man with no face leaned close to Frank and removed the gag cutting into the sides of his mouth.
“Tell me!” he screamed his putrid breath flying up his nostrils.
Frank coughed and spluttered his body rigid with fear, as the large cats circled him and the faceless man.
“Please!” he pleaded “Please stop, I don’t know what you want from me! I don’t know what you are looking for!”
The cattle prod once again made contact, the pain shot through the nerves of his body like a fierce red hot poker, again and again looping through his system like a broadband wave trying to find a portal for connection to download and cease. The negative energy that created the intense pain eventually began to subside.
Saliva was drooling out of Frank’s mouth and he had little control of his bodily functions or his cognitive self. Loki controlled the faceless man to drop the cattle prod on the floor as he knelt down to Frank. If the pain carried on Frank may wake up due to the human survival mechanism.
“I’m going to kill you Frank McFadden I am going to make sure that you never expose what you know.”
“My name is Jim!” he managed to scream at the top of his voice. This was a good sign for Loki it indicated that Jim was fighting for his present identity.
“I don’t know any Frank McFadden!”
“Sure you don’t Jim.” The faceless man indicated to the creatures circling the scene.
All four panthers leapt from their position upon command ready to devour the wilted body curled up on the floor.
“Wake” Loki whispered in Jim’s ear.
Jim shot bolt upright in the bed, perspiration dripping down his face, his hands trembling in reaction to his feline fate, a scream leaving his body as he entered reality.
Loki’s angelic being swiftly returned to his earthly form and he knocked on Jim’s bedroom door.
“Hey Jim, are you alright?”
There was no reply. Loki knocked again on the bedroom door, this time with more urgency.
“Jim, Jim is everything ok in there?”
The door to the bedroom slowly opened for Loki showing Jim rubbing his furrowed brow, his head bowed low in the action and his shoulders slumped. Loki waited, no words left his lips as he allowed Jim to fully awaken from his dream.
Slowly Jim lifted his head, his hair wildly on end his hands now rubbing his face from chin to head in an attempt to ensure he was fully awake. His movements ceased and his eyes locked with Loki’s as the silence of the early hours of the morning drifted around them with a renewed energy, a quiet quickening of time, an epiphany of truth and a spark of the inevitable all fused together in one moment.
“I think my name is Frank McFadden.”
Loki smiled, Frank was now on the first steps of his old path and Jim was coming to the end of his.
Chapter 6
Jenny was awake she had tossed and turned all night at the transformation of Jim after his stylist episode. She knew the man sleeping in her house was Frank; one of her best friends that she thought she had lost forever.
She quietly got up from the bed, trying not to wake Tom and walked to the window, peeping out through the curtains hoping for a distraction from the evening events; none came.
“You can’t sleep either then?” Tom’s voice whispered from beneath the fluffy mound of eiderdown.
“No.” Jenny crept on tip toe back to the bed and gently sat down, “It is Frank isn’t it?”
“Yes honey it is.”
Tom placed his elbows on the mattress and raised his body from his pretend slumber, eyeing his wife intently,
“I am worried that we have lost him forever Jen.”
She moved her hand to his shoulder and gently rubbed it in comfort,
“Never say never darling” she smiled in the street lit darkness of the room in an attempt to console Tom.
“What was that?” Tom sat bolt upright, “Do you hear people talking downstairs?”
Jenny slowly turned her head to the right straining to hear the noises that Tom was referring to.
“Yes….yes I do hear voices, they’re coming from the kitchen!” her tone raised a few decibels and Tom put his finger to his mouth in a gesture for her to remain quiet.
“Shhhh” Tom hissed “I think I can hear Jim’s voice”
They both fell silent as they heard the muffled tones of Jim and Loki’s voice below them in the kitchen.
After five minutes of straining to listen to the early morning conversation that was taking place below them, Tom got up out of the bed.
“I’m going to have to go down Jen, this is driving me mad. What are they talking about?”
“They are probably just happy to have full bellies and a warm house; I think you may be expecting too much Tom.” She stood up and took her silk dressing gown off her dressing table chair, “However, I too need to know what they are talking about!”
She threw a huge grin at Tom, who jumped out of the bed wagging a finger at his wife
“You see, you see, it’s driving you mad too!”
“Yes it is, now put a dressing gown on for God’s sake and let’s meander down stairs and see what is going on.”
Tom laughed quietly at his wife’s comment, his sniggers lightening the mood,
“Who says ‘meander’ these days?”
Jenny also started sniggering and hit Tom with a pillow on the bed.
They indicated to each other to be quiet and stop sniggering as they tip toed towards the door. Jenny slowly opened it as she and her husband quietly crept out onto the landing to strain an ear towards the conversation below.
****
Annie looked at her first ever work of art. She had slept for about two hours in her beautiful bed, totally appreciative of its luxury, but the calling of the colours and the canvas awoke her from her slumber.
“Well where the hell did that come from?” she said out loud as she gazed at her first piece of artistic creation.
“Well, well, well, well, well!” she said as she ceremoniously placed her hands on her tiny hips.
“Who would’ve thought that I could paint that!”
She gazed at her first creation with love, she had no critical eye; she was merely ecstatically pleased with her debut performance.
Putting her brush down, she rubbed her brow, a feeling of achievement filling her body and soul, a feeling of virginal achievement, for the first time in her life. She knew, as she looked at her oil inscribed adoration to freedom, that some
thing had awakened within her, something bigger than her, something bigger than life. For the first time in her entire existence she felt truly regal.
“You know what God” she said, her eyes rising upwards, “You’re pretty cool!”
She walked into her own en-suite to wash her hands noticing the dawn of the early hours, when she heard voices down below.
“That’s Jim” she said aloud as she dried her tiny hands on the huge blue towel that was in hanging on a chrome rail, “he’s up bloody early!”
Annie moved back to the bedroom with the towel in her hand, and ceremoniously covered her debut painting so nobody could see it. She then gently picked her work of art up like that of a mother with a new born baby, and tip toed out onto the landing, in an attempt to listen to Jim’s tones below.
****
Dawn crept back into the house, the nights events had sent her head into a massive spin.
“Sshhhhh” she whispered emphatically “be quiet will you. I’ll get you some food in a minute”
“Ok lady!” Pete whispered back “I didn’t ask to be brought here you know!”
Dawn indicated with one finger on her lips to be quiet and with her other hand to remain still.
“I think someone is up!” She turned towards Pete and pointed towards the kitchen, letting him know where the noise was coming from “be quiet and follow me.”
Dawn walked with stealth towards the lounge, where they were earlier that evening and gingerly opened the door praying that it wouldn’t creak in the process.
“Quickly” she said as she ushered Pete into the room “stay here, whilst I get you some food.”
Pete sat down onto the plush velveteen settee and gently stroked the fabric in appreciation
“Nice!” he said nodding his head, his mouth drawing downwards with an expression of appreciation.
He gazed around taking in the luxury of his surroundings, his mind a mixture of confusion and sheer exhaustion with the lack of food and the coldness of the night air. ‘It’s really good to be indoors’ he thought as he raised his body from the settee to take a good look around.
Dawn had returned to his cardboard house under the bridge, with a huge flashlight, knocking on the side of the boxes as if she were knocking on a regular front door. He had the shock of his life when he saw her standing there, teeth chattering and knees knocking; he had found it quite amusing if he was being honest.
She had ranted on about life not being fair, and that she couldn’t stop thinking about his predicament since talking with Queen Annie. She had felt some kind of compulsion to come back to him, and bring him to this house to be fed.
Upon the journey to the house Dawn had told Pete that the house was not hers, but for some reason to do with her job she had to stay there for a few days. She wanted to feed him, and get him showered without the owners knowing. Looking at the size of the house Pete could now understand how she could complete such a task without the owners, asleep in their bed ever realizing that a homeless bum had been there, eaten their food and used their facilities.
He strolled around the room and turned on a standard lamp in the corner to shed more light on his affluent surroundings.
“Wow!” he whispered as the faint glow of the light, mixed with the early rays of the rising sun.
He walked slowly as if in a museum taking in every detail; the mahogany hand crafted cabinet displayed hand cut Waterford lead crystal, every type of glass known to man was sat on each glass shelf gleaming in their residence of stature. Pete put his hands to the wall to feel the flexed texture that acted as a skin to the room; a slight shade of green subtly accented the raised furry material beneath his fingers.
The fireplace was huge, with a black and green marble hearth, the real coals had been placed their ready for lighting when the owners of the house deemed it necessary. The mantle over the fire was magnificent, not in an ornate way, no gilding or anything so ostentatious, just a rugged over-sized plateau of mahogany; it looked magnificent, the central point of the whole room.
Pete picked up the first photograph of a man and woman, they looked happy and below the picture it said, ‘25th Silver Wedding Anniversary’. The next framed picture was of a man dated just last year holding an award in his hands, his face jubilant and the caption reading ‘Independent Journalist of the Year’.
“No wonder they have a big house.” He gazed briefly around the room, “no kids though” was his conclusion, as there was no evidence of such an event, no photographs or family portraits anywhere to be seen.
Pete’s hand absently moved to the next frame, the third of about eight frames adorned on the mantle. He picked it up and looked at the image before him.
“What the fu…” his eyes were glued to the image in his weather beaten grubby hands, he could not believe what he was looking at.
The door to the room opened and Dawn entered.
“Loki and Jim, I mean Frank are in the kitchen Pete, I had to pretend I was after a snack so all I could get were some olives, cheese and a few crackers. I will go back for more in a while, sit down and eat these, then I can get you showered and dressed, I brought these”
She held up some blue denims, a dark blue jumper with the brand “Ralph Lauren” stitched onto the front left hand side, some white Nike training shoes with blue stripes down the side and some new underwear.
“I bought these for my son but he doesn’t need them now so I popped home for them earlier, when I was asked to collect the black bin bags.”
Dawn put the clothes and food down on the coffee table carefully, as she registered Pete’s grim expression.
“Why is my father in this photograph?
Chapter 7
Loki stood in the kitchen peculating Italian coffee beans, the smell of the Italian Riviera guiding its way through his nasal passages to his brain; it was sublime.
“Loki!” Jim said, awaking him from his momentary ecstasy “how am I going to make sense of all this?”
Loki shook his head momentarily, wrenching himself from the Italian image residing in his mind,
“Sorry Jim….I mean Frank” he replied with a wry smile “where I come from, you just don’t get to experience such wonderful aromas.”
“Yeah, tell me about it” retorted Frank “the streets are a hard place to live, yet despite my so called epiphany” he laughed now, shaking his head slightly “get me! Epiphany! I am even talking like a Frank!”
“That’s because you are Frank” replied Loki with a quiet reassurance.
“I know that Loki, but my mind is empty, all I have is that stupid dream, and unless I can make some sense of it I fear Frank McFadden will be lost forever!”
The kitchen door slowly opened as Tom and Jenny popped their heads around like little children stealing a peep at Santa.
“Come in” Loki offered “It’s your kitchen after all.”
“We really don’t want to intrude” offered Jenny, which made Loki smile. His angel sensors told him they were lying with this statement, but that their intensions were good.
‘I know what that means’ Loki thought,’ I can now sense complex data, it is starting to filter through which means everyone is now on the right path; only a few more hours of this human form and it’s back home for me.’
“We smelt the coffee..” Tom offered as an excuse “and we thought that…”
“It’s OK Tom, I know who I am; I am Frank McFadden.” He got up from the breakfast bar chair and walked towards Tom and Jenny, his arms open.
It was these moments Loki loved, when his assignment had taken the first steps on their rightful path ready to face the inevitable and move forward. It was a brave thing for a human to do, and Loki was always in awe of their abilities to choose. Even as a human form with all the senses that attracted all the elements, he never knew what it was like to be tempted away from the love of God, it was beyond his angelic comprehension. He understood the temptations; that was the whole point of being an assignment angel; you
are created to understand and empathize, but to know was Godly.
Tom and Jenny hugged Frank with intense emotion, their eyes welling with tears of joy
“What happened Frank? God it feels good to say your name and know you understand it!” Tom gave him a huge slap on the back in an attempt to subside his welling emotions.
“Madly enough” said Frank whilst he rubbed his hands through his hair “I had the most bizarre dream, and although I can’t make any rhyme nor reason of it, I know I am Frank McFadden!”
Jenny’s hands flew to her face, holding herself in utter acceptance at his words,
“You know Frank” she said, her hands leaving her face and her mouth smiling in pure joy “your most common saying when on cases that were baffling you was that you could not make any rhyme nor reason of it.” Her hand extended out again to him and he took it in friendship and love.
Tom poured him and Jenny a coffee and sat at the breakfast bar with Frank and Loki, listening intently to the dream that took place just a few hours earlier. Loki took a step backwards to allow Tom to play his part and for Frank to unlock the secrets of his mind.
As they were all in deep conversation about the dream and its interpretation Loki sensed Annie upstairs, curious about the noises below. He also knew that Dawn and Pete were in the lounge room mid conversation and he prayed to God for perfect timing, he asked his Creator to hold back any interference at this point in time.
“Tell Tom about the emblem Frank” Loki offered in order to help move things along
“Yeah you’re right Loki, the emblem!” he turned to Tom intently “it was a broach of kinds Tom, a lightning bolt overlapped by some leaves I think they were..”
Tom stood up from his stool and walked into his office just off the kitchen; he had it specially built so he could work from home when cases were exceptionally sensitive. He entered the kitchen again with a magazine in his hands, pointing to an image in the magazine,
“Was it like this Frank?”
“Oh my God yes! That is exactly what it was like! How the hell did you know that?”
Tom shook his head and dumped the magazine showing the image of a man wearing a beret with the badge Frank had described pinned to the left hand side.
“As soon as you described it I knew I had seen it. We did some research into this guy and his company but couldn’t dig anything up. Just after you disappeared, the present Government got into power and this man is the CEO of the company who obtained a huge military contract that not only won them the British contract, but the French one too.”