The call ended.
For several seconds, I simply stood there.
The phone remained pressed against my ear even though the line had already gone dead. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city gleamed beneath the afternoon sun. Thousands of cars crawled through the streets. People crossed intersections, entered stores, hurried to appointments, and lived their wonderfully insignificant lives.
None of them knew a party had just begun.
I slowly lowered the phone.
Then I smiled.
A genuine one.
Not the smile I wore for churchgoers.
Not the smile I used on donors or gave to reporters and politicians.
This one came from somewhere deeper.
I was excited.
Someone had finally stepped onto the board and announced themselves.
I had spent years constructing an empire out of people, favors, and carefully crafted lies. Every day had become so predictable...
Expand.
Recruit.
Speak.
Smile.
Pretend.
The same routine, over and over and over again.
And now...
A detective had called me, a mystery one at that.
Wonderful.
"Why are you smiling like that?"
I turned.
Alexandria still sat at the conference table.
The exhaustion on her face had somehow worsened. Dark circles rested beneath her eyes, and her usually immaculate hair had several rebellious strands falling loose.
She looked like she'd aged five years in the span of one phone call.
I, meanwhile, felt twenty years younger.
"We're finally meeting."
She stared for a second before answering.
"...What?"
"The detective wants to talk."
She blinked once.
Then twice.
Then she stood so quickly her chair nearly toppled backward.
"No." Alexandria spoke sternly, and controlling as if she did not want this variable to continue being played out.
I frowned a that.
"No?" I question.
"No."
"You don't even know where we're meeting."
"I don't care."
She walked toward me, pointing a finger.
"You are not meeting him."
"Counterpoint—"
"There is no counterpoint." She cut me off abruptly.
"But I really want to."
"This could be a trap."
"Oh, I hope it is. There is nothing more worth walking into than a party within a party."
Her eye twitched.
"You cannot possibly mean that."
"Think about it, Queen. A mysterious detective, hidden motives, clandestine meetings—"
"This isn't a spy movie." She had cut me off once again.
"Then it's a very disappointing reality to live in."
She pinched the bridge of her nose. Exhaling slightly as if that was her last bit of will crumbling under my insistence annoyance. Her shoulders slumped before she spoke tiredly.
"You are impossible."
"I've been told that."
"Repeatedly." She spoke back, glaring up at me.
I simply smiled at her while she, on the other hand. Well, she looked like she wanted to hit me.
Instead, she took a long, measured breath. Surprising. Thought this was going to be the one.
"Let's think this through."
"Oh, good. You're in your planning mood."
"Stop."
I didn't while she began pacing.
"The detective somehow discovered our finances. He found Thomas. He has enough evidence to involve federal authorities."
She stopped.
"He knows things he shouldn't."
"Very observant." I lean back, relaxing. Getting ready for another one of her controlling rants and theories.
"He could arrest you."
"He could."
"He could record the meeting."
"He probably will."
"He could have snipers."
I blinked.
"...That's ambitious."
She ignored me.
"He could be trying to provoke you into saying something incriminating."
"He definitely is."
She stared.
"You understand all of this and still want to go?"
I looked at her.
"Alexandria."
"What?"
"I have never wanted to go somewhere more."
She closed her eyes.
I could practically hear her soul leaving her body.
"Why?"
I considered the question. Alexandria most likely already knew my answer. She has been the one who knew me best for a while now. But she most likely always asked to make sure I didn't delve too deep into the party. She made me think, and I'd like to think I made her more free sometimes.
Why? I think back to her question.
Because I wanted to see him.
Because I wanted to understand him.
Because I wanted to know what sort of man would willingly walk into a lion's den and poke the beast with a stick.
Because after years of boredom, someone had finally become interesting. I wanted to see in the end what kind of party I could make with this.
"Because he's fun."
"You don't even know him. Just, a couple minutes ago was your first time speaking to him."
"I know enough."
"Joe—"
"He called first." I cut her off, putting down my wineglass with a loud clang befor standing.
She frowned.
"So?"
"So he wants something."
I walked toward the window again.
"The question is what."
I watched the city below.
"He isn't trying to arrest me. At least not now."
"How do you know?"
"Because he called, and we know he's trying to put fear into our members."
"If he had enough evidence, I'd already be in a cell, and he's have no need to shake the bird cage he's building."
I spread my arms.
"But instead, he wants to talk, and he wants to sow doubt and fear."
I give a smile so wide it nearly reached my ears.
"That means he wants to understand me."
I looked over my shoulder.
"And I desperately want to understand him."
Alexandria stared.
Then slowly sat back down.
She looked defeated.
Again.
"You are going to be the death of me."
"I've been told that too."
"Repeatedly."
I laughed.
She surprisingly let out a dry chuckle before speaking.
"Fine," she finally said.
I blinked...Did I hear right?
"Fine?"
She looked up.
"If you're going, then I'm coming."
"Oh."
I frowned.
"No." I spoke almost instantly.
Her expression hardened.
"No?"
"No."
"I'm absolutely coming."
"You'll ruin the atmosphere."
"The atmosphere?"
"This feels personal."
She looked ready to scream.
"Like I said, you spoke to him a couple minutes ago for the first time! What could be personal about this?!"
Jeez, she was not happy.
"Exactly. We're practically rivals already."
She covered her face with both hands.
"I need a vacation."
"You really do."
"Preferably one without you."
"That sounds lonely. How could you fare without little ol me?"
She lowered her hands.
"Call him back."
"No."
"Why not?"
"I don't have his number."
"...You didn't save it?"
"It felt rude. Plus, I already tried to text him, the number already blocked me."
I hold up my phone to her, showing her a message to the unknown number that wasn't able to go through and read. "I hope you're buying my dinner first, mystery hat man. 😉🎩"
She stared.
Then...
My phone buzzed.
Another Unknown Number. Most likely another burner phone. He probably already got rid of the other one.
I grinned.
Alexandria looked ready to collapse.
I answered.
"Hello again."
Silence.
Then the detective's voice.
"You're smiling."
I looked at the phone.
"Can you hear smiles?"
"...No."
"Then that was excellent detective work, Mr. Hat."
A pause.
Then...
"I'd like to meet tonight."
I smiled wider. This was good.
Alexandria looked at me with a death glare, already telling me to decline it.
"This is wonderful news."
"You don't sound worried."
"Should I be?"
"For someone like you, I guess that is a fair point."
For someone like me, ay?
I liked his voice. It was cold, measured, and superbly tired.
The voice of a man who carried too much and was damn good at his job.
"Where?" I asked even more excited.
"An old diner on Seventh Street."
"The one with the terrible coffee?"
"...You've been there?"
Don't play clueless now, detective bastard. I thought inwardly.
"Unfortunately..." I let an exaggerated sigh.
It was silent for a moment. I wondered if he fell asleep with how tired he sounded.
"Eight o'clock." The detective finally spoke, and I responded with no hesitation.
"I'll be there."
"Come alone."
I glanced at Alexandria.
She narrowed her eyes.
Looking away, I smiled to myself before responding.
"Of course. I would not have it any other way."
The detective seemingly hesitated.
"Pastor."
"Yes?"
"I want to hear the truth tonight, and I want to hear it from you."
I laughed softly.
"That's a dangerous thing to ask for, detective..."
The line went dead suddenly.
Slowly lowering the phone, I look at Alexandria, and before I could get a word out, she spoke.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Absolutely." Her face steamed with anger as she then pointed at me.
"If you die, I'm going to kill you, and then after that kill you again."
"That seems redundant."
She groaned.
Outside, the city continued moving.
Cars.
People.
Lives.
None of them knew that in a few short hours, two men would sit across from one another.
A detective bastard.
And a playful monster.
— — — —
The phone sat in my hand long after the call had ended.
I stared at the black screen.
Then at my own reflection in it.
I looked awful.
My tie was crooked.
I hadn't slept properly in three days.
There was stubble along my jaw that I'd missed this morning, and the dark circles under my eyes looked more like bruises.
I looked like a man losing an argument with exhaustion.
The reflection smiled at me.
I on the other hand was not.
"Well..."it said."You got your meeting."
I slipped the phone into my pocket.
"I did."
"Excited?"
"No." I spoke sternly and almost convincingly.
"Liar."
I ignored him.
The conference room had mostly emptied. The task force had dispersed into smaller groups, making calls and preparing warrants. Through the glass walls, I could see officers moving through the precinct, carrying stacks of files and half-empty cups of coffee.
The entire building seemed to vibrate with activity.
I hated it.
Not because I disliked my job.
I loved my job.
No, I hated moments like this.
The moments right before something important happened, or something very dangerous.
Because that's when your mind started filling in the blanks.
That's when you imagined every possible outcome.
Every mistake.
Every disaster.
Every corpse that has, and could pile up.
I picked up the folder lying it on the table.
Joseph Bishop.
Even after months of investigating him, I still can't fully understand him.
That bothered me.
I understood criminals. It was my job after all.
Drug dealers wanted money.
Gang leaders wanted territory.
Corrupt politicians wanted power.
Most people were simple.
You just had to find the thing they wanted most.
But Joseph...
I flipped through the photographs.
Church services.
Charity events.
Fundraisers.
Hospital visits.
A food drive.
A community clean-up.
Every picture showed the same thing.
A man smiling, surrounded by people like he were a hero.
A man who looked like he belonged anywhere and stood out everywhere.
A beacon of light.
I hated people like that.
On the small droplet of coffee someone had spilled on the table. The reflection leaned over my shoulder with a sly smirk.
"He's having fun with this." He spoke with a chuckle.
I closed the folder harder than need be.
"Shut up."* Although I couldn't say I disagreed with him on this one. I could only deflect his words.
A nearby officer looked over questingly.
I cleared my throat.
"Cough."
The officer slowly turned away.
Wonderful.
I looked insane.
Again.
I walked out of the conference room and down the precinct hallway.
The station always looked different in the late afternoon.
Sunlight poured through the high windows and painted the tiled floors in strips of gold. Phones rang somewhere in the distance. A printer groaned. Someone laughed.
For a place filled with murder, theft, and misery, police stations could feel strangely normal.
I reached my desk.
And immediately regretted it.
There were more files.
There were always more files.
A mountain of paperwork sat there waiting for me.
I hated paperwork.
It felt like a cruel joke that detectives spent more time with paper than criminals.
I dropped into my chair.
The reflection sat on the desk.
"You're nervous."
"I'm not."
"You're meeting your favorite cult leader."
"He's not my favorite."
"Name another one then."
I frowned.
"...I can't."* Hewas the only cult leader I've dealt with. But that didn't mean I had to like him nor favor him.
The reflection grinned.
"Exactly."
I rubbed my eyes letting out a breath.
Meeting Joseph Bishop was a terrible idea.
I knew that.
Everyone would tell me it was a terrible idea.
The District Attorney would hate it.
Sergeant Lee would hate it.
Internal Affairs would probably have a heart attack.
I was willingly meeting a dangerous suspect alone.
At night.
Without a recording device.
Without backup nearby.
Without a warrant.
It was reckless.
It was stupid.
It was—
"Fun?"
With a clenched fist and a stern voice.
"No."
The reflection looked unconvinced.
I opened the folder again.
There had to be something I was missing.
Something important.
I studied every photograph.
Every financial report.
Every witness statement.
Every interview.
Nothing.
The man was a ghost wearing a church's skin.
Everything about him looked genuine.
And somehow that made him feel even less real.
A knock interrupted my thoughts.
I looked up.
Sergeant Lee stood beside my desk.
He looked tired too.
I suppose everyone in this building did.
"You look terrible."
"I appreciate your concern."
"I wasn't concerned."
I nodded.
"That's fair."
He folded his arms.
"I heard you made a phone call."
News traveled fast.
I hated that too.
"I did."
"And?"
"We're meeting tonight."
He stared.
Then he blinked.
Then he stared some more.
"You're kidding."
"No."
"Please tell me there'll be surveillance."
"No."
He looked like he was about to hit me out of my seemingly stupid decision.
"Why?"
I thought about it.
Then answered honestly.
"Because if I go there prepared for war..."
I closed the folder.
"...then he'll come prepared for one too."
Lee frowned as I continued.
"And if I don't?"
I looked out the nearby window.
The sun was beginning to sink.
The city was turning orange.
"Then maybe he'll tell me something."
...
Lee pulled out the chair across from me and sat down.
"You think he'll actually talk?"
"No."
"Then why go this far?"
I looked at him.
Because I needed to see him.
Because there was something about Joseph Bishop that bothered me.
Because men like him didn't just appear.
Because every instinct I had told me that this investigation was about to become far more dangerous.
But mostly...
Because I was curious.
I hated curiosity.
It got detectives killed.
"I need to know what kind of person he is."
Lee studied me for a long moment.
Then sighed.
"You already know well enough."
"I need to know more."
"You have an entire room filled with evidence."
"Evidence doesn't tell you who someone is."
He frowned.
I continued.
"It tells you what they did."
I looked down at the folder.
"I need to know why."
The room became quiet.
Finally, Lee stood.
"You know, every detective has that one case."
I looked up.
"The one they get too close to."
He placed a hand on my desk.
"Don't let this be yours. Don't loose yourself."
Then he walked away.
I watched him go.
The reflection sat beside me.
"He's right, yknow."
I didn't answer.
"You are getting too close."
I still didn't answer.
The reflection's smile faded.
"You're starting to think like him."
That made me look up.
"What?"
"Games. Pieces. Moves."
"You're enjoying this."
I frowned.
No.
I wasn't.
I couldn't be.
Because this wasn't a game.
People had been hurt.
Families had been manipulated.
Lives had been ruined.
This wasn't fun.
It couldn't be.
Right?
The reflection smiled sadly.
"You really don't like hearing that."
I stood abruptly.
I needed air.
I walked outside.
The evening had begun settling over the city.
The air was cool.
Traffic filled the streets with a constant hum.
The sky burned orange and gold, and the first stars had begun to appear overhead.
I leaned against the precinct steps.
For a while, I just stood there. Watching the people go by.
A couple walked by, holding hands.
A man argued with someone on the phone.
A teenager rode past on a bicycle.
Normal people.
Living normal lives.
They had no idea a cult existed in their city.
No idea how close it had come to spreading.
No idea what kind of man Joseph Bishop really was.
And maybe...
That was why I had to go.
Because if I didn't understand him...
I couldn't stop him.
I looked at my watch.
6:30.
An hour and a half.
The reflection appeared beside me.
Hands in his pockets.
Looking at the city.
"You know..."he said.
"What?"
"I think he's excited too."
I looked toward the skyline.
At the countless windows glowing in the fading light.
Somewhere out there, Joseph Bishop was getting ready.
Maybe he was drinking wine.
Maybe he was smiling.
Maybe he was standing in front of a mirror, rehearsing another perfect expression.
Or maybe he wasn't preparing at all.
Maybe monsters like didn't truly need preparation.
Or maybe he was wondering the same things I was.
Who are you?
What kind of man are you?
Why did you choose this?
The thought made me uncomfortable.
Because for the first time in this entire investigation...
I realized something.
Tonight wasn't an interrogation.
It wasn't a trap.
It wasn't even really a meeting.
It was two men trying to understand one another.
Two predators.
Two liars.
Two people who saw the world very differently.
And somehow...
That felt more dangerous than an arrest.
I looked at my watch again.
Seven o'clock.
Time to prepare.
The reflection smiled.
"The party's starting."
I sighed.
"I really hate that phrase."
"No, you don't."
Maybe not.
I pushed away from the steps and headed back inside.
After all...
I had a monster to meet.
————
Far beyond the stars. Far beyond space and time. On the first beam of light and inside the Darkness Corridor.
A certain god raised his goblet.
Because the game was finally becoming interesting. He watched humming something to himself. After all, every party needed guests.
"Dance, dance, another party until your legs give out. Persuading and guiding, pulling strings like a puppet under the guise of fate."