"Drip Work Incorporated." Bill Rosenthal spoke on the table. His fingers were tapping on the
He was in a giant room along with Chance, Freddie and a combination of several other Havertons, HAST and MPD officers. Ford and McSweeney in particular were standing next to him. Fermor was seen at the far end of the room. The room was wide. One thing that stood out was a massive board, filled with various pictures of individuals, locations, and various victims.
There wasn't a single victim whose body wasn't mutilated heavily, or was in odd conditions.
"Before I continue, let me say that the MPD and Haverton have their differences: in everything. But if there's anything that we do have in common, is ensuring the safety, peace and prosperity of the people of the New World."
He slapped his hand onto the billboard. "Drip Work Incorporated. Never had a name like that at first, until it became famous for all the wrong reasons"
"Back in '47, exactly 2 years after the great war, there's been something going on in the criminal underworld, the same place as Wes Riskell and all those big shots were playing around in. Bodies were piling up. You Havertons could imagine the amount of murders we had to respond to and investigate. 80% were criminals: shot, tortured, burnt, the execution styles goes on, but that's no excuse to ignore them, especially when we're talking about Hellfire Arms involved! The people are dependent on the state to provide them security, and the MPD is a part of that."
"Detectives Gordon and Bass have testimonies from the Morissey Four: that Drip Work Inc. has risen again with the appearances of Clive Stabler, a well known member of the organization, I highly suspect that's why new murders have turned up these recent months, including Lloyd Howitzer. We didn't think they'd showed up again a year after they first appeared, but here they are now."
"In short, this organization was basically the clean up crew of the underworld; the go to guys whenever you wanted somebody to shut up, especially if they were causing a rift for your business or your life essentially. "Rosenthal pointed on the wall to sketches of various individuals, each of them bearing significantly different faces. There was Clive Stabler, in which he had a bomber jacket on as well as a spade tattoo on his neck. Next, was a man in a top hat, with a heavy coat, the collar being quite large and his sketch had question marks below the image.
Chance saw the striking image of the man in the top hat. Could this man be a member of a past generation? Cause ain't nobody in Morissey let alone the country be sporting a hat like that.
Might be from Scarburrow, he thought of the South. Back in the 1800s, top hats were a sign of the rich, the elegant gentleman that all ladies would prefer to court and marry, in addition to having kids, living a quiet life, bla bla bla.
Over in this town, people are too busy with that kind of thing. There was a year where news pumped out regarding scandals, divorces, and scandals that ended up in divorces along with a truck load of paperwork, and the poor guy that has to pay whatever fines with his previously hard earned cash.
"Witnesses say that when they saw this man." Rosenthal pointed at the man in the top hat. "They heard whispers that said 'Ripper'. We assume it they were bluffing, but that is the name we decide to give him, for now. Seeing how these Hellfire Arm users had distinctive appearances, their weapons caused them to leave distinctive marks on their victims. In the Ripper's case, it was the ripped bodies; some were cut in half". Below the Ripper's picture were his victims bodies, mutilated in the way the commissioner had just said.
Rosenthal proceeded to briefly explain the photograph belonging to a figure with the name McDonald. had the face of an old timer in his 60s, with a great mustache, and he had the angry look of a cranky old man. It reminded Chance of his grandfather when it came to the hold look.
Angry wasn't probably enough to describe his face.
"At first we had our doubts about a man running amok clothes from the Old West, an olive green duster to be more exact, worn by some old man." Rosenthal joked. "But it was real. I certainly didn't expect him to put out a fight back in 48 when we spotted him. We got his name following a very helpful officer who pretended to be a client, but this informant, well, let's just say he retired early from investigative work."
"What about the guy in the middle?" Freddie pointed at a man wearing a wide brimmed hat. His face was barely shown. Chance narrowed his eyes to get a better look.
He saw the sketch Freddie was pointing at, and on that photo was the name Bright and a question mark next to it. The sketch revealed another man wearing a hat, but this one was wide brimmed, facing forward in addition to a scarf as well as a thick collar from his coat. On top of the sketch, was the writing:Bright?
"We don't know for sure if Bright is an alias or not." McSweeney butted in. "But when it comes to people like this, names aren't really the matter here, it's more of what they do. Bright here isn't an exception.
Rosenthal continued. "He's been on our watch for sometime, considering there's only been one man reported to be dressed in crimson, and at least a quarter of these murders have the victims be covered in crimson as they decompose. That was last year."
"Guess it's safe to say that this guy killed Lloyd Howitzer." Chance spoke with his arms crossed.
"I'd agree, but as much as you want to find out why, I suggest we focus on how we getting their possible Hellfire Arms back."
"We suspect all of these people may be part of Drip Work Incorporated. The press is going to have a field day by the time they request another series of interviews or even a press conference, and we can't allow the public to panic even more than they should, especially what happened at Sunshine Heights. Bear in mind, the sketches you see here, well, I have good reason to believe that there's more people involved in the organization."
"It's all of us against these Drippers, then." Chance spoke with his arms crossed. Freddie had the same look as him, as with the remaining officers and HAST members.
"Everyone of them, Chance." McSweeney exclaimed. "Every. Single, One of them." Rosenthal took out a note as Ford and McSweeney were standing next to him. The commissioner looked at the row of officers and Havertons on standby. "What I have here is a note from the Director of the Haverton Agency, Mr. R. Chandler. This was written based on the phone call I had with him long ago."
Rosenthal started to read out the note. "I have spoken with the President regarding the Hellfire Arm crisis. While the President does not plan on involving the United States military into this issue, he has given me the decision which I would relay to William Rosenthal of the Morissey Police Department. To ALL available Haverton agents stationed in Morrissey, you are given full authority to use whatever methods you wish apply to receive the necessary information you need to acquire the location of Hellfire Arms, as well as individuals who are in usage or plan to use them. In addition, I grant you all the usage of excessive force, by any means necessary, to retrieve the Hellfire Arms as well as bring peace for the people of the New World. If needed and you are willing,, you are allowed to obtain and use Hellfire Arms yourselves."
As Rosenthal finished speaking, the building started to shake slightly. All of the people inside the room shifted their attention to a slight figure of black and yellow smoke forming upwards. The crowd of law enforcers From the bottom there was feet, and as it went up, it revealed a familiar figure.
"The gloves are off boys!" Valefar spoke as smoke emerged from his hand forming a fist. "Let us indulge in the massive hunt and Hellfire Arm collecting trip for the New World!"
"You're really looking forward to all of this, are you?" Chance spoke.
"Is he always like this?" Freddie asked.
"The less you question, the better."
"We have a lot of work to cover." Valefar spoke. "You all might think I'm being weird as a demon for caring for the human race, well, I somewhat care based on some things I've seen and done while on this Earth. So." he sighed with a wide grin that made some of the people in the room feel uneasy. "Where do you all want to start?"