Omniscient POV

"Which Devil could have done this? A woman, who resided in the northern suburbs of New York City,gushed out in exasperation.

"Merely seeing the barely recognizable face gives me chills"another woman added

"I pray the killer never finds happiness and may he be caught"The first woman, declares.

"Ssh! Shouldn't the situation of things tell you that this is going to be a very challenging case for the detectives? I mean look! The warehouse is burned beyond recognition. An educated woman, utters.

The whole place is crowded and the police, are trying their best to secure the scene, and gather useful information about the whereabouts of the killer. So far, there has been no witness, with helpful details regarding the incident.

Amidst the pandemonium, a corpse, covered in white clothing, is carried into the death investigation vehicle, the most Intriguing thing about the scene, is that the warehouse in which the murder, took place is totally burned. Even the dead body that looks quite feminine, is burned beyond recognition. Almost everything is charred, plus,the abandoned warehouse that was in place before, is now a pile of debris but despite the chaotic atmosphere, the detective supervisor present, is still calmly giving out orders. An analyst, sneaks off to a corner, and makes a suspicious call... Just kidding, she's currently trying to reach her troublesome friend.

"Hello, agent of chaos... are you there?

The analyst on the phone asked.

"Trouble magnet, is that you"

Eva rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Wait ... Don't you dare tell me you were still asleep?

Valerie, her colleague and close friend, tentatively asked.

"What? Eva sleepily drawled

"you had better get your flat ass out here, right this instant! We have an emergency, and Mrs. Wilson hasn't noticed your absence yet but trust me I won't cover for you when she does" Valerie states in an acidic tone.

" wait what! Please Val, do it for your baby huh? I love you sweet heart"Eva tried to cajole her but she wasn't having it.

"Don't..."

"From my asshole. Muah! Eva blows a kiss to her on the phone

"You insolent thing!" Valerie seethed.

" Text me the location. I'll be there even before you blink. Eva hastily says and without giving Valerie room to speak, she hangs up.

"What the hell..."

The call ends abruptly, even before Valerie could complete her statement.

"That insolent thing! I'll teach her a good lesson when she arrives" Valerie thought.

Meanwhile, Eva hurriedly brushes her teeth, and takes a "casual" bath she didn't even have the time to wash her hair. she brushes her hair quickly with her fingers and leaves for work looking disheveled.

She locks the door to her spacious apartment, that Vincent Sullivan, her father's friend got for her after her father's death. The thought of him, brought a genuine smile to her face. He and James, her best friend since childhood, have been there for her, during those hard times, and she couldn't be more grateful to them for that.she enters her car, and hurries to work. She was hella late, and she knew it. She couldn't even meet up with them at the crime scene.

*FREDERICK DOUGLASS BOULEVARD HARLEM, MANHATTAN. EMPIRE EYES HEADQUARTERS

"Hey" James called

"Speak of the devil..." She thought.

"Woah! woah! woah! James abruptly pauses in his tracks and stares at her bewildered.

"What?

"A zombie" James dramatically said

"What? where? Eva looks around frantically.

"Dimwit! You are the zombie what happened to you? Did you just survive a hurricane? Your hair looks like it's having a party plus, your clothing... You look like a fashion disaster! James hastily states.

"___"

James chuckles loudly and quickly drags her Into the office.

*SIX HOURS LATER

There is dead silence.

The only thing that can be heard is the aggressive rustling of papers and envelopes.

"These items, were found while sifting through the ruins"

Mrs. Wilson's authoritative voice rang in the office. The rest of the great detective team, Empire eyes, sat around the large mahogany desk in the spacious office as they listened keenly. The walls of the office are adorned with crime scene photos, evidence boards and time lines.The other part of the wall is made of glass which permits anyone inside, to see a reasonable part of the city, as it was on the fourth floor.

There was a piece of clothing in one transparent leather bag, and a blackened knife, in another transparent leather bag on the desk. Mrs. Wilson, also shows them the photo of a charred part of the wall.

"What's this?

Betty, Valerie's cousin, an analyst curiously asked.

"It's a blackened wall, but why are we looking at it?

Valerie inquires.

"Look closely Betty, there's something scrawled on the wall"

Eva finally speaks up for the first time .

"Good observation, Eva. It's a puzzle ...or should I say ...a cryptic clue"

Mrs. Wilson points out carefully.

"A woman's charm, a catastrophic curse. Helplessness my hunting ground "

James reads out slowly.

"I don't get it"

Valerie mutters.

"It's all gobbledegook to me"

Eva says dramatically

" Please don't start"

James says and chuckles.

"You've got a strange grammatical sense, Eva"

Betty says while chuckling.

"Davis, take the knife to the lab for luminol testing and try your best to extract the fingerprints on the knife too it isn't fully damaged, Betty and some others, try to figure out What the cryptic clue means, Eva and James try to track possible witnesses, and visit the crime scene to find surveillance cameras"

Mrs. Wilson hands out duties to the team, and everyone is dismissed.

Valerie, Eva and James tiredly walk out together to grab lunch at a nearby restaurant Davis joins them.

"Guys, what do you think the cryptic clue means?

Davis brings himself to a sudden halt and spun around to face them. Valerie takes it upon herself to give him a fitting reply.

"Can we not talk about work? With you it's always work, work, work. Arrgh I honestly pity your future wife" Valerie demonstrates vigorously, as she talks

"What if it's you?

Davis shamelessly asks

"Shut up Davis"

Valerie snarls while James and Eva chuckle.

"When are you too getting married?

Valerie transfers her aggression to James and Eva. James nervously coughs while Eva's smiled... a sarcastic smile with her hands on her waist.

"Shut up, Trouble magnet "

*Meanwhile, on the streets of Los Angeles

"My feet hurt"

Julie, Ethan's niece whines like a child on her way back from the grocery store.

"I won't carry you"

Ethan already knew where this was going, but he wouldn't let her have her way. First, she forced him to accompany her to go grocery shopping and also made him carry the bags so he won't carry her . Before Ethan could fully arrange his thoughts, Julie jumps on his back and he staggers forward, almost dropping the bags.

"What in devil's name are you doing" Ethan screams

"Helping you to perform your duties"

Julie replies childishly.

"Don't tell me you consider me, carrying you, my responsibility?

"Who knows "

Julie says and chuckles

"Hey! Ethan, I'm too tired to cook let's order pizza" Julie spoke with a sudden burst of enthusiasm.

"You are drunk Julie, no... you ran out of the mental asylum. first, you force me to go grocery shopping with you, and you made me carry all the bags, including you and now, you want to make me bankrupt! Ethan sighs out frustratedly, while trying to carry her properly, on his back.

"Quit being dramatic. Just a little more money, won't hurt"

Julie pouts.

"I will not let you waste my hard earned money " Ethan scoffs.

"Eww you sound like my grandpa " Julie made a disgusted face.

This is what Ethan faces, everytime Julie has a break from college.

They argue about what to cook, and sometimes, Ethan ends up ordering takeout, or cooks food himself. Julie is the only family Ethan has, so no matter how much they fight, Ethan would still love her. Julie was the only one who encouraged him at that time. Despite her young age, she was, and still is a source of great comfort to him and he would do anything for her. Julie is currently in her final year in college and yep, Ethan singlehandedly sponsored her education up to this level. Julie can act pretty crazy at times, but she's very smart. She tops the class every semester and because of this, she attracted a lot of people to herself.

*At midnight, in the forest

The thudding of a woman's feet could be heard in the eerie forest and a masked man dressed totally in black is chasing her with a knife. The woman falls down several times and this results in several injuries as she ran, the sharp branches of a few trees pierced her arm, stomach and even her face, but she doesn't stop. If she does, she would probably get killed by the man who still isn't tired.

Exhausted, she hides her petite frame, behind the bark of a huge tree. The thick leaves and branches of a few trees totally blocked the moonlight and the darkness was so thick, that a knife could cut through it. As the cold breeze caressed her arm, she shivers in fright despite the cool atmosphere, beads of perspiration, hung on her forehead.

Meanwhile, the blood thirsty man dressed in black, sees the tip of her dress behind the tree.

"Aah"

She screams as he pulls her.

"Do you think you can run forever, just accept your fate"

The man says, his voice laced with venom.

"Please don't... aah"

The woman's screams suddenly die down, and the attacker, lifts up his bloody knife and smirks sinisterly. He pours liquor over the body and he sets it ablaze.His deep black eyes watch the burning flames with a poker face. He tilts his head and suddenly starts laughing hysterically.

"Another enemy, gone"

He says and smiles satisfactorily.