Chapter #23Interview with a Mob Queen by: Nostrum   “I’m not sure you’ll want to hear this,” you warn your mother in Tessa’s voice, though your nerves ruin her regal tone.
“We need to get to the bottom of this, Davey. I’ll endure.”
“First of all – you got Ashley up there with you, right?”
“Not really. Should I?”
“To recognize this name, maybe. I mean – do you know of someone called Marvin Wright?”
She nods, looking very thoughtful. “Sounds familiar. I don’t know someone with that name personally, but I recall Paul speaking that name.”
“He was apparently a judge or something.”
That jolts her mind . “I know now! Yes... Judge Marvin Wright. Accused of corruption and ties with organized crime.” She looks at you warily. “Why? Don’t tell me--?”
“He’s up here with me. Seems he escaped his fate.”
“But that’s impossible! Authorities found his body – he was killed in what seemed to be a vengeance from the mob!”
“Mom, I’m telling you what I’m hearing from her – him. Seems like he found a way to escape.”
“By becoming her?”
“Yeah. Turns out, I – uh, Tessa – was his ex-wife.”
You don’t feel it, but you see the cold chill running down your mother’s spine. “Revenge against a spouse. What did she do?”
“Apparently, she wasn’t happy with her marriage. She was married to his brother, Gerald Wright, but he died.” You shiver as “Tessa” clarifies this to you. “Scrap that – he was killed. Marvin killed his own brother out of jealousy.”
“Don’t tell me it was all because of her.”
“Yes - and because of that, he slowly poisoned him. Couldn’t force a divorce because the marriage was consummated.”
“Wouldn’t that mean Ashley has an older sister?”
“Actually... Ashley is the older sister. She’s the only one of Tessa’s girls that isn’t Marvin’s daughter. Barbara and Cassandra, however, are.”
“That would explain why she – why Marvin was so callous to Ashley. Never felt anything for his niece.”
You mentally confront your guest in your mind, and you get a mixed response in exchange. “He doesn’t want to admit it, but yeah. That’s why he agreed to work the case against Trevor.”
“Trevor?”
“The...” You gulp, as Tessa scolds and praises you before you even speak. “...guy I killed.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s his response, Mom. He’s sick.”
“What did he say?”, she says as she grasps your hand.
“He never imagined a skin could be burned. Says...” You feel an intense headache, and her personality overwhelms you. “Your kid’s got balls, Mrs. Anderson. Someone so full of hate to destroy a complete stranger--”
“David!” She grasps your hand, tight, and the pain distracts you. “Pull yourself together!”
You gasp, reasserting yourself. “Sorry about that.”
“David, take her off. Something’s happening – she's taking over you.”
“Not if I put him in his place.” You take a deep breath, taunting your guest. You hear, Marvin? Better stay in place and cooperate.
It will be a matter of time, “she” replies. Though I feel cooperation will be more beneficial than competition.
“David, I don’t want to risk it.”
“I’ll be fine,” you insist. “I just felt disgusted to hear that he praised me for taking over Ashley and getting rid of him. Apparently, he was testing if Trevor was worthy of being his daughter.”
“But you just told me--”
“That’s why I say he’s sick, Mom. The moment he learns about the pens--”
You stop again, looking at a small box with combination lock inside a secret compartment in the desk drawers. As you open it, you see slots for five pens, but only four – the brown pen, as well as a green, purple and white one.
“David!” your mother reacts as you draw it out. “Is that what I think it is?”
You take the brown pen, nodding. “Apparently so. And this is her – his – personal set.” As you notice a pen case with a white pen and dig another green and purple set, you hear a chilling revelation in your mind. “There are more. Lots more.”
“How many?”
You discuss with your guest, shocked by the numbers. “About five hundred, black and brown only.” As your mother gasps, you correct the tally. “Give or take. Some gang got ahold of one case of a hundred, and...” You blink at the familiar face. “You’re not gonna believe it, Mom – mayor Chen’s moving another.”
“Mayor Chen?” She snaps, grabbing your wrist. “You don’t mean--?”
“Yeah, Mom! Our mayor! Apparently, she talked to... well, to ‘Tessa’, and they struck a deal. A full case, sold at her discretion, and she’d be hands-off with Tessa’s criminal empire.”
“But why would mayor Chen do this?”
“I dunno, but it was a hard bargain. Seems mayor Chen knew Marvin from before and knew about the skins. She threatened exposing Marvin if he didn’t comply, and when Marvin pressed, she allegedly claimed his politics kept the streets safe. Tessa would control the streets, mayor Chen would control the politics.”
“Splitting the power between the two.” That was an eerie claim by your mother, but her startled reaction appeases you. “If mayor Chen’s involved, then that means... This is worse than we thought!”
You briefly ponder the possibility, choosing to focus elsewhere. “We’ll deal with that later. Say – didn't Ross tell you about the other pens?”
“As if I could recall that.” You get her, as Quentin never told you that he figured them out.
“Turns out, Marvin and Ross knew each other - he forgave a misdemeanor in exchange for help. Then a hit piece on the news outed him.”
Your mother nods, tapping her lip. “That must’ve been Buck Smithers’ column – your dad likes that guy. Said he was happy journalism helped out corruption.”
“After that happened, everyone betrayed him – except Ross. He offered a deal to save him, in exchange for partnership.”
“That must’ve been when Marvin replaced Tessa.”
“Yeah. Ross then brought someone else to the deal – Quentin, who helped him figure out how the other pens work. He gave them Barbara and Cassandra in exchange.”
"I see...” She grabs one of the cases, drawing the pens in her disposal. “What do these other ones do?”
“You know about these,” you say as you grab the black and brown pens. “This one,” you say as you grab the green pen, “lets you... I dunno, extract a copy of someone’s skin from them."
“Extract?”
“Yeah, like when snakes shed their skin – except someone else can wear it, and you can make a clone of it with the black and brown pens.”
“A clone?” Your mother covers her mouth to muffle her gasp. “No wonder why they closed the case after finding him dead. There were autopsy records and everything... Those pens can create living clones of people?“
“Yeah, but Marvin’s not happy with the results. Good for decoys, but not for replacements. Too robotic, apparently...” You grab the purple pen with some respect. “This one’s worse.”
“Why?”
“It seems to... hypnotize people. Fortunately they’re not on the cases, nor the green or white ones.”
“Hypnotize?” she repeats in disbelief. “That means, you can give them orders?”
“Short ones, but if worded well, you could make them last.” You invoke a tale from Tessa’s mind to explain their function. “After taking revenge on the family that betrayed him, Marvin spared one of their daughters – Gloria di Santino – and made her their boss. He feared she’d betray him, so he used the pen on her.”
“That’s scary.”
“He nailed it after the third try, though. It’s kind of a ‘monkey’s paw’ wish – you need to word it carefully. They don’t become robotic like the clones, but still feel compelled to obey. It seems it’s best for short-term orders than long-term ones, except Marvin combined the pen with coercion and the offer to ensure her loyalty.”
“That doesn’t make it any more recomforting...” Your mother grabs the last pen, eyeing with dread. “And this one?”
“It’s the reason why we didn’t find anyone inside Tessa. It’s...” You grab it, looking at Ashley’s neck. “I think it’s best if I show you.”
“As long as it’s not as scary as the other two.”
“Just don’t move while I use it.” You carefully grab the green pen to avoid disturbing the clip; as you click it, you notice a green beam cutting the skin open, startling her. “Mom, stand still!”
“Davey!” she exclaims in horror as you pull Ashley’s skin off hers.
“It’s alright.” You’re not sure if it'll work, but Marvin insists it does. “If you put it on again, it’ll rejoin.”
“This better work,” she tells you as she yanks and replaces it. With a green glow, the pieces rejoin, proving your statement. “Why would that exist?” she asks afterwards.
“It seems to work like... I dunno, like a welding tool. Cuts and merges. It only works on deflated skins, though – use it anywhere else, it doesn’t do anything.”
“But you said it’s the reason why we couldn’t find anyone inside Tessa.”
“Exactly. Because if you use it on the tear on your back... you seal it. If someone uses the black pen on you, they won’t be able to take away your skin. It’s like... you merge with them.”
As your mother absorbs the details, you witness with dread how she grabs the green pen. “You said this pen could copy the skin of another, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then use it on me,” she says. “And then, seal me inside Ashley.”
"Mom... We don’t know if it’s reversible.”
“We can always test it on her,” she points at you. “We need to save her from Marvin. But like I told you – Ashley ruined my marriage. If I let her free, I’ll end with nothing.”
You dread her determination, but the voice in your mind taunts you. She could make them miserable. Give me to her. Let me guide her revenge.
It’s a clever idea, you admit – but will she be able to handle a personality as powerful as his?   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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