Chapter 9: The Arsonist
The television's urgent blare ripped through the manufactured calm of Adam Kessler's apartment, a stark contrast to the quiet hum of his air conditioning. On screen, a warehouse, once a hulking silhouette against the Miami skyline, was now a monstrous, blazing inferno. Flames, orange and hungry, clawed at the night, painting the clouds in a hellish glow. The acrid scent of distant smoke, carried on the humid breeze, seemed to seep through his closed windows. Adam, an actuarial report forgotten on his lap, felt the familiar, unsettling tingle of the Thanatos Ledger System activating.
[SYSTEM ALERT][NEW AURA DETECTED]
Just when I thought my evenings couldn't get any more… statistically improbable, Adam thought, a dry, internal sigh escaping him. He pushed his glasses up his nose, his gaze fixed on the glowing interface that only he could perceive.
[SUBJECT: BUILDING][CAUSE: ARSON][PROBABILITY: 99%][ETA: 3h (Estimated Time to Arson)]
"ETA for arson? That's a new one," Adam muttered aloud, the analytical part of his brain already dissecting the anomaly. The System has always been about life and death, about the probability of a human expiration date. Property damage? This is a significant deviation from the established parameters. A cold dread, different from the usual chill of impending death, settled in his gut. This wasn't about saving a life, but preventing a different kind of destruction. The Ledger was evolving, and with it, the scope of his unwilling mission.
His phone buzzed, a low, almost clinical vibration against his palm. Dexter Morgan. Of course. The universe, in its infinite, twisted wisdom, always finds a way to connect us.
"Kessler," Dexter's voice was a flat, even tone, devoid of the alarm that should accompany a city-wide emergency. "Are you seeing this on the news?"
"The one that looks like a dragon just sneezed on downtown Miami? Hard to miss, Dexter," Adam replied, his sarcasm a familiar shield. "My apartment's practically bathed in an apocalyptic glow. And my System just flagged it. A new kind of… event."
"Interesting," Dexter mused, the word carrying a subtle, almost predatory hum. Interesting. That's Dexter-speak for 'a new toy for my Dark Passenger to observe.' "Not a body, not yet. But the sheer scale of destruction… it has a certain, undeniable artistry to it, wouldn't you say? A different kind of canvas."
"Artistry? I'd say it has a 99% probability of being a massive insurance claim, and a 100% chance of making my Monday morning a bureaucratic hell," Adam retorted, the actuary in him bristling at the casual disregard for financial ruin. "And a new kind of headache for me."
"Perhaps this 'headache' warrants a closer look," Dexter suggested, his tone shifting, a subtle invitation to his macabre world. "A new kind of monster, perhaps? One that preys on structures, not flesh. It's… a divergence from the usual."
Adam paused, the word echoing in his mind. Divergence. He's right. This isn't in Harry's Code, and it certainly wasn't in my original timeline. This is uncharted territory for both of us. "Alright, Dexter. Where do you want to meet? I'm already feeling the heat, literally, and I'm pretty sure my landlord is going to charge me extra for the smoke smell."
The scene was a maelstrom of sensory overload. The roar of the fire was a living thing, consuming everything in its path. Sirens wailed, a discordant symphony against the crackle and hiss of burning debris. The air was a suffocating blanket of thick, black smoke, stinging Adam's eyes, burning his throat, and coating his tongue with a bitter, metallic taste. He could feel the intense heat radiating from the inferno, even from a safe distance. Amidst the chaos, Dexter stood, a strangely calm, almost serene figure, already engaged in conversation with a weary-looking firefighter.
"…third one this month, same M.O.," the firefighter, a burly man whose face was streaked with soot and sweat, explained, his voice hoarse. "Starts fast, spreads quicker than a Miami rumor. Always an abandoned commercial building, always late at night. Like clockwork, almost."
"Any accelerants?" Dexter asked, his gaze sweeping over the charred remains with a detached, professional interest that Adam found both unsettling and oddly comforting.
"Oh, yeah. Lots of it. Like they wanted to make sure it went up like a goddamn Christmas tree," the firefighter sighed, wiping his brow with a gloved hand. "No bodies, thank God. But someone's got a real grudge against empty spaces, or maybe just a twisted sense of urban renewal."
Adam stepped closer, the heat prickling his skin. "A pattern, you said? Any specific type of building? Any common denominators?"
"Mostly commercial. Old warehouses, abandoned storefronts, even a derelict office block last week. Places that have been sitting empty for a while, collecting dust and code violations," the firefighter elaborated, gesturing with a gloved hand towards the smoldering ruins. "Like someone's trying to clear out the old to make way for the new, if you catch my drift. Or maybe just making a statement."
As the firefighter spoke, Adam's System flickered, the glowing interface momentarily distorting like a faulty projection. The [SUBJECT: BUILDING] [CAUSE: ARSON] [PROBABILITY: 99%] [ETA: 3h] entry shimmered, then fractured. A new, unsettling icon appeared, pulsing with an erratic, almost frantic energy:
[GLITCH: INCOMPLETE DATA][AURA TYPE: DESTRUCTION (UNLOCKED)][WARNING: UNKNOWN SOURCE OF DESTRUCTION]
Unknown source? But it's arson. Someone set it. There should be a subject, a perpetrator, Adam thought, a knot tightening in his stomach. He tried to reconcile the System's usual surgical precision with this new, frustratingly vague warning. It can track destruction, but it can't pinpoint the architect of that destruction? That's a significant, and potentially dangerous, limitation. The System had expanded its capabilities, yes, but it had also revealed a gaping blind spot. It was like being given a detailed map to a treasure, but with the "X" marking the spot replaced by a cryptic, unanswerable riddle.
"Something wrong, Kessler?" Dexter observed, his eyes narrowing slightly, always attuned to Adam's subtle shifts in demeanor.
"Just… a new data point, a bit of a system hiccup," Adam deflected, tapping his pocket notebook, pretending to jot something down. "This arsonist isn't just burning buildings at random. They're burning specific buildings. There's a method, a selection process. A very precise, almost surgical, pattern of destruction."
Suddenly, Dexter's phone vibrated, a jarring intrusion into the cacophony of the fire scene. He glanced at the caller ID, and for a fleeting moment, a flicker of something almost human, almost vulnerable, crossed his face before his practiced mask of composure settled back into place.
"Rita," he answered, his voice softening slightly, a carefully constructed warmth. "Yes, I'm fine. Just… a late night at a crime scene. No, no bodies. Just a lot of smoke. I'll be home as soon as I can. Don't worry." He paused, listening, then added, "Yes, I'll be careful. Always."
Love [ Dexter : Death Ledger]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
Dive deeper into the world of [ Dexter : Death Ledger ] with exclusive access to 35+ chapters on my Patreon, plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $5/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [Grimm, Teen Wolf ,blacklist,Game Of Throne ,MCU and Arrowverse].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!