The time is 5:42 pm.
Will enters into James' office
Will
Knock knock!
Hi James, you called me over?
Did you get a new case?
Sorry about being late by the way, can't afford to lose my job right now.
James
Ah Will, thanks for making it.
An old farmer stepped in earlier
Will
A farmer?
James
Yes, he lives outside of the city, but he asked to speak with me on his property,
Will
Why would a farmer call us out to his property?
Why not just tell you here?
James
He said his story would sound too unbelievable if he told me now, he wants me to go over and see for myself.
Will
And you're just gonna trust him?
No background check or anything like that?
James
Yup, no background check needed.
Worst comes to worst…
I have ways of…defending myself.
Will
Oh, right.
Sorry, still getting used to these…what were they called?
James
Manifestos
Will
Right!
Manifesto, you have a piece of paper I could write that down on?
James
No time for that now, we're already behind schedule. Let's get moving on already!
Will
Yep! Sorry
James and Will arrive outside of the farm
The clock shows the time as 6 pm.
Will
So where exactly are we meeting this guy?
Did he tell you where specifically? Or just around his property?
James
…
Will
…I'll take that to mean he'll find us…
Farmer
Excuse me!
Detective?
It's me, thank you for agreeing to come out here, I know it must've been a walk
James
Don't worry about it sir, now, what are the details of this case you want me to take on?
Farmer
Uh, well, it all started a month ago…
Farmer as narrator
I was preparing for the winter, harvesting my crops to account for how much I'd need for myself, and how much I could afford to sell.
A week or so passed and as it was snowing, I woke up the next morning to see my neighbour had no snow anywhere on his property!
I didn't think anything of it, he might've just shovelled all of the snow away.
However, what really confused me was how in the dead of winter, when I stepped onto his property, I got a sudden flush of warm air!
Will
Were you standing next to a fire or something like that?
Farmer
No, that's the strangest part!
It only took me walking onto the property to receive that rush of wind.
James
So you want us to go over and investigate the wind patterns in the area?
Farmer
No, I haven't finished my story yet!
That was all of the odd coincidences up until a few days ago…
Something changed, and I'm not quite sure what it was
The other day, I was looking out my window, when suddenly a fire burst out of the barn!
I ran into town to find help, but by the time I got back, he was already dead…
I returned home that night and when I woke up in the morning, I saw that man, that corpse walking around as if nothing happened!
Will
So he burnt down his barn and then faked his own death. I've read about stuff like that before.
James
Will, I don't think that's the case…
Will
?
What do you mean?
James
Sir, which property exactly did you see erupt in flames?
The farmer points towards a giant farm with fresh crops everywhere, a house on the property, and a barn standing above it all
Farmer
That's the farm I was telling you about…
Will
What do you mean that's the farm?
You think we're blind?
We can clearly see a barn over there!
James, let's go, this isn't worth our time.
Will turns around and starts walking away
James stares at the farm, grinning
Will
…?
James?
Hello?
Aren't we going?
James
No Will, quite the contrary…
Will
W-what do you mean?
You actually believe this guy?
We can see the barn with our own eyes!
Why would we investigate a lie?
James
Will, I'm a private eye. My job is to listen to the client and to gather information.
This case piques my interest…
Especially the part about a fire erupting a few days ago…
Will, don't we know someone with a tendency to use fire as a calling card of sorts?
Will
Chuck…
So you're saying you think Chuck could somehow be involved in all of this?
James
That's not all
Sir, I'd like to ask a question if I may
Farmer
Hm?
What is it?
James
Since you first saw that fire…
Has it reappeared every night?
Farmer
?!
I-I'm sorry, but after I saw my neighbour walking around again, I went straight to the city and brought my family with me…
James
Even better…
Will
What do you mean?
James
Will, it's about time you heard a bit about someone I've been tracking since earlier this year.
Around September, I met a strange man…
…He had a Manifesto, except he didn't get it naturally like you or I did…
…He claimed a man had given him the power.
Since then, I've met several other people like that…
I've been worried what could happen if he decided to give someone dangerous a manifesto…
Will
…and you think he's responsible for giving Chuck a Manifesto?
James
Exactly.
But that's not all.
I think that he gave someone around here a Manifesto as a test to see the limits of his power…
…this is the perfect place for that, isn't it?
The location is just perfect…
Close enough to the city for him to be able to come here and visit the farm to see the results without it being suspicious, yet far enough away that police and the like wouldn't notice.
It's the perfect testing ground.
Will
Wait, so if he could observe the results on his own, why would Chuck be here?
Coincidence?
James
My best guess would be for the same reason as before.
He wanted to see what Chuck was truly capable of…
…so he sent him to this farm as an experiment.
Now whether he realised it or not, he accidentally gave away both of them with such a flashy display of their abilities.
Will
So you think that by investigating this farm, we might be able to find both Chuck and the man?
James
Heh, exactly.
You catch on quick.
Sir, would you happen to know the time?
Farmer
Huh? Oh, it looks to be about 6:15 if I had to wager a guess.
Why?
James
Nothing, just want to make sure our friend's still awake when we get there.
Hope you didn't have plans tonight Will, cause we're gonna be busy.
James brushes his trenchcoat aside and begins marching towards the farm
Will
(H-he's going?)
(Even if he's a detective, going into a dangerous place based on a hunch to track down a murderer doesn't sound like the best plan…)
(No. No way am I gonna follow him.)
…
Will stands there waiting for James to turn around
Will
James?
Hello?
James?
Farmer
Excuse me, but your friend has already gone to the property…
Will
What?!
James!
Wait for me!
Will runs after him
Will is catching his breath as he catches up with James
Will
*pant* James…*pant*...are you sure…*pant*...this is…*pant*...a good idea?
James
It's not gonna do us any good if we turn around and just head back towards the city.
Will
What…*pant*...what if we just waited…*pant*...for a safer job?
James
As far as jobs go, a little recon is about as safe as it could get.
Will
Hunting down an arsonist/ killer on a bizarre farm in the middle of nowhere is safe to you?
James
I didn't say it would be "safe" per say…
…I just said this is as safe as it'll get.
James stops in front of the door to the house.
James
If you want to turn around and go home…
James knocks on the door
James
…This is your last chance.