Summoned

~`~`~`~`~` ( Author Notes ) `~`~`~`~`~

Sorry for the wait. It’s been a hectic last couple of days for me, I used writing as a stress reliever so I was able to get it done a bit sooner than expected. Here’s Chapter 14. I kept flip flopping on where I wanted this to pick up at but I finally found a good scene that I just wanted to do for fun. This is another filler chapter for the next big scene in the next few chapters. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. :)

Amanda88 – Sorry for the wait but at least I got it done a little earlier than expected for you and AFF readers! ;)

ShelleDW – I’m so glad you like my story so much! I’m working hard creating great chapters for your enjoyment! :D

Note: Story is in Harley’s POV unless stated otherwise in chapters.
“Blah blah” – Normal speech
“Blah blah” – Thought of character
(Blah blah) – Author comments

Chapter 14

-------------------- ( Third Person POV ) --------------------

( 15 Minutes Earlier )

*Bzzz* *Bzzz* *Bzzz*

Jeff notices his cell vibrating against the ledge on the treadmill as he jogs. He pauses his pace and catches his breath as he leans forward, hands placed on his knees. He straighten ups and gulps down some water as he goes for his cell. He touches the touch screen to reveal Harley’s name.

“Crap, I was hoping to avoid talking to her for a couple of days so I can figure this mess out. Oh well, I’ll at least see what she wants.” He thinks as he hits ‘View’ on the screen.

From Harley – you home? I’m out side.

“SHIT!!! SERIOUSLY?! C’MON!” are Jeff’s thoughts are as his eyes bulge, trying to keep the water he just drank down. “Think, think, think!.....Screw it!”

To Harley – Sorry, downstairs. Be up soon.

“I got to get to Slaiden before he tries anything! This can’t be happening!”

Jeff grabs his water and runs up the stairs. He passes the front door and heads up the next flight of stairs. He bursts through his door, panting heavily. He instantly sees Slaiden lounging on his bed, reading another book. His back is against the wall with one bent leg to support his one hand holding the book. The other hand is behind his head. The demon looks as if he owns the place, perfectly content. Slaiden doesn’t look up from his book but a slight smirk does appear on his face when Jeff enters.

“I was wondering when you’d show. You have a visitor, you know. It’s not polite to keep a lady waiting.” Slaiden says sarcastically.

“I know. *Pant*..*Pant… You need to..*Pant*.. stay up here. *Pant*” Jeff gets out, slightly spilling his water on the wood floor.

“You mean I can’t say hi, master?” Slaiden mocks, still not looking at the boy.

“NO!....*Pant*… Not happening!”Jeff catches his breath again then continues. “She can’t know about you being here yet! I still need to figure this thing out! Please, Slaiden just do me this one favor. She can’t know…” Jeff trails off, giving the demon across the room a pleading look.

Slaiden looks up from the book and studies Jeff’s expression. His eyes harden, then he closes them as if to concentrate. A few moments goes by without any response. “Hnnn.” Is all he says.

“Is that a yes?” Jeff asks with pleading eyes.

Slaiden doesn’t respond. He then reopens his eyes and begins reading again. Seeing this Jeff takes it as a ‘yes’ and races back down the stairs, slamming the door behind him.

A few minutes goes by when the door opens again to reveal a nervous Jeff. Without a word he grabs a bag by his closet and exits the room, the whole while ignoring the still reading demon. Slaiden glances at the closed door, raising an eyebrow. “Damn. So close…”

A few more minutes pass when Slaiden hears the two humans walking back towards the front door. He snaps the book shut and gets up from the bed, leaving the book where he sat. He walks to the open window and scans the area for any humans. Finding none, he leaps out, grabbing hold of the roof ledge to swing himself over. He leaps over to the top of the roof then into a neighboring tree for cover. He hears the front door shut and sees Harley come into view on the driveway. “You’re lucky it’s daylight 'little girl'.”

As if possibly sensing him, Harley turns around searching for something. She then shrugs and goes to her car. “Looking everywhere but up.” Slaiden thinks amused from his hidden perch.

She looks around again from the inside of her car then drives off. Slaiden hears the boy frantically calling him from his room. He takes one last glance back at the retreating car then hops back onto the roof, careful to be out of the girl’s view. He crouches above Jeff’s window and swings himself inside.

“Yes, human?” he asks with a bored expression as he leans against the nearby wall.

“Damn it, Slaiden! I was freaking out thinking you went after her!” Jeff yells then closes his eyes to calm himself down. He takes a deep breath then continues. “That was way too close for comfort.”

“Relax human, based on your conversation she isn’t suspicious of us.” Slaiden simply says.

“Easy for you to say…..wait, you heard us?” Jeff questions, giving the demon an annoyed look. Slaiden just gives him a knowing look. He wipes his forehead then continues. “Whatever. We are taking a break for a few days before the next kill. I need to figure some things out.”

“By things, you mean the girl.” Slaiden adds with a smirk.

“Obviously, jerk.”

Slaiden’s eyes harden at the boy, daring him to go further with his back talk. “Last warning, boy.” He sees Jeff look away, the scent of sweat and nerves reach his nose. Slaiden continues, accepting the submissive gesture. “It’s not like you have a say in this anyway. She will find out eventually, either before the list is complete or after. You’re just prolonging the unavoidable.”

“Even so, at least it means she safe for a little longer.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that…” Slaiden remarks, showing a fanged smirk.

Jeff swallows hard at this statement then looks away, still trying to deny to himself the truth. The truth being that Slaiden can do whatever he wants to her and Jeff is powerless to stop it. He lets out an exhausted sigh then turns away from the demon. “I’m taking a shower, later.”

Jeff grabs a change of clothes then exits his room, slightly slamming it behind him. Slaiden’s eyes flash in victory then pulls himself away from the wall. He grabs the book again and gets back into his earlier position. Before cracking the book open, he looks back to the window. “Next time ‘little girl’, I won’t let you get away so easily.”

-------------------- ( Harley’s POV ) --------------------

Once I pulled into my driveway I noticed both my parent’s cars were gone. I parked at the top of the driveway and went to the key pad on our side view garage. Punching in the code, I step under the garage door once it gets high enough. I unlock the house door and close the garage behind me. After I take my shoes off I set my keys and purse by the phone and notice a note by the phone.

-Harley
Dad is going to Jason’s game after karate class. I’ll be at Gran’s for the day with Aunt Mary to pack her stuff up for her new apartment. Call Dad if you need anything.
-Mom xoxo

“Oh yeah, Jason is almost done with spring season hockey. I’ll have to catch one soon. Maybe I’ll stop by Gran’s later to help Mom and Aunt Mary if nothing comes up.” I think as I grab my phone from my purse. I head upstairs to my room and change into something more comfortable. I pull on a pair of jean capris and a grey t-shirt with a nice flower graphic on the front. I brush out my hair a bit then head back downstairs. I go back into the kitchen and open the fridge, in the mood to make a sandwich.

*Ding* *Dong* *Ding* *Dong*

The sound of the four note door bell catches my attention as I’m scanning the refrigerator shelves. Sighing, I close the door and walk by the family room, my parent’s room and the den to our front door. I see a tall shape of a man through the frosted style glass window, all for show, as I unlock the door. Opening it, I am surprised to see Detective Gavin De Niro standing before me.

“Hello Harley, nice to see you again.” He says with a small smile.

“Hi Detective De Niro, what can I do for you?” I ask, unsure as to why he is here.

“I was wondering if I could ask you, and possibly your father, some questions.”

“Well I’m the only one home at the moment so maybe I can answer all your questions, what is this about?”

“It’s about a man named Steve Crandall, I believe you know him?” Detective De Niro says, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh-oh, this can’t be good.” I think before answering. “Yes I do, why don’t you come in?”

“Thanks but why don’t I take you out to lunch so we can talk instead? I don’t think you’re parents would like you to be alone in your house with a man they’ve never met in person.” He suggests.

“Oh…you’re probably right. Let me grab my keys and I’ll follow you. I don’t think sharing a ride would go over too well either.” I say with a small laugh.

“Smart choice, not that you wouldn’t be safe though. I know a place a mile down, let’s go there.”

“Ok. I’ll meet you out front.” I reply with a smile. “Well at least I’ll get a free lunch with a cute guy even though I might have to lie again.”

Detective De Niro turns around and walks back to his car as I shut the door behind him. I relock the door and go get my stuff. I head out the side garage door that locks behind me and get into my car. I pull out and follow the waiting detective. We drive about 10 minutes and pull into a small deli sandwich restraint. I smile as I park, happy to be getting what I was craving. I step out and lock my car and meet the detective at the door. He holds it open for me the follows.

“Ever been here before? They have great sandwiches and salads.” He asks as we sit down at a nearby booth.

“No, I drive by here all the time but never bothered to stop in. Do you come here a lot? It seems a bit out of your way.” I reply.

“Not really, I live in an apartment about 20 minutes away. I know a guy that is part owner so I stop in every once and a while.” He says as we notice a waitress coming our way.

I just nod and glance at the menu. The waitress is almost at our table as I glance up. She looks about college age to me, maybe twenty or twenty one. I can tell right away that she has that attitude of ‘I’m cute and I know it’ going on because she quickly flips her hair and pulls her v-neck top down a bit lower as she approaches. Her eyes are glued to Detective De Niro. “Oh great, this will be good.” I think sarcastically once she gets to us.

“Hi, my name is Mindy and I’ll be your server for the day. Ready to order or would you like to start off with drinks?” she asks flashing a smile at the detective.

“I’m ready. How about you Harley?” he asks.

“Yeah, I think so.” I say as I glance once more at the menu. I look up at him and he motions for me to go first. “I’ll have the Italian sub with a regular coke.”

She writes it down then turns to the detective. “And you, sir? What can I get you?” she asks, slightly flirting with him.

“I’ll take the same with a side of fries.” He says, barely glancing at her as he hands her our menus. Once she walks away he get down to business. “Alright, mind if I start?”

“No, go ahead. What do you need to know about Steve Crandall?”

“Well since we’ve met and you know him I’m not going to keep you out of the dark. Last night Steve Crandall was killed.” He says, his voice serious.

I widen my eyes slightly to appear surprised since I unfortunately already knew that. “Really? How?”

He studies me for a second then speaks, “I’ll spare you the details, it wasn’t pretty. Let’s just leave it at that. Anyway we found out he was at a martial arts tournament last night. The event manager said your dad presented its awards and that you were there as well.”

“Oh this is why you came over, you want to know if I saw him last night.” I answer, trying to act innocent.

“Yes, a fighter there said he saw you and a friend of your fathers exchange words with Crandall, and he said they didn’t seem friendly.”

“Uh-oh, guess I have to tell him the truth after all.” I think as I get ready to explain. Suddenly the waitress comes back with our cokes so I keep quiet. She sets them down in front of us. “Here you go, anything else while you wait?” the detective just replies with a no and she turns away, purposely swaying her hips a bit to get his attention.

“Well, since someone noticed I might as well tell you what happened.” I say as I sip my coke. The detective leans forward slightly at this. I then tell him what happened as well as how I know him. Not going into too detail about what was actually said.

“…Then Bill and him went outside to fight but I stopped them. Then Steve provokes me by threatening to hurt a friend of mine again like he did a few months back. I didn’t want him to do that so I figured I’d teach him a lesson. We end up actually fighting. I had the upper hand on him when my dad came out and interrupted us. He was really mad at me. He told Steve to leave which he did. That was the last time I saw him.” I finish. I sit back and wait for the detective to say something. He is about to when the waitress comes with our food.

She puts my plate down first, barely giving me a glance then sets Detective De Niro’s down next. She then purposely places the small dish of fries on the far side of him, leaning slightly in front of him to give him a nice view of her boobs. I roll my eyes at this but also notice that he isn’t even giving her the time of day. In fact, he just looks straight at me and gives a small smirk of amusement. “Is this guy immune to boobs or something? Any one of my guy friends would be trying to score her number about now.” I think to myself as she finishes.

“Will that be all for now?” she asks, trying to be flirty again.

“Yeah, how about you pull up that shirt? My v-neck isn’t nearly as revealing. But if you’re going for that slut look, you got it down girl.” I silently say but say a polite ‘No thank you’ instead.

She walks away, looking a little annoyed but sways her hips again just in case the detective is watching. Once she is out of ear shot Detective De Niro speaks, getting right back to business. “So that was the last you or anyone else saw him?”

“Yes, he walked away to his car and drove off.” I say then take a bite of my sandwich. “Mmm, this is good!”

“Glad you like it.” He says, taking a bite of his own. Once he swallows he speaks again. “Well sadly that doesn’t give me any good leads or suspects if no one else went with him. But your fight does explain some of the older bruises on him.”

I swallow another bite then comment. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I know it was wrong of me to act that way but I couldn’t let my friends get hurt because of me. I’m sorry he's dead, really I am, but honestly he was a creep and a jerk that insulted my dad and Bill, as well as myself. Not many people were fans of his. The only bit of respect I had for him was that he was a decent fighter when he fought fair. But that’s it.” I say with a serious tone. I’m glad I was honest about my story this time. Telling the truth feels a lot better.

“I see.” He takes a sip of his coke before continuing. “Everyone is entitled to their own personal opinion. Though fighting isn’t the way to go about it. But, your reason for it seems to be justified. Mind if I ask what Crandall had said to set Bill off?”

“I’d rather not say, they were pretty inappropriate things.” I say as I look down at my half eaten food. “If my dad had heard them instead of Bill, well…I don’t think I would have been able to stop him for seriously hurting Steve.”

A small ‘Hmm…’ is as all Detective De Niro says as he takes another bite of his food. We finish our lunch in silence until the waitress comes back with the bill. She places the bill in the middle of the table then takes my empty plate. She reaches over to grab the detective’s plate, brushing her arm against his wrist that is gripping his glass. He moves his wrist away to take a sip, acting as if nothing happened. The waitress glances at him as she lifts his plate away. Seeing no reaction she turns away, dropping her polite act. “Ouch, denied.” I think as I form a small smile in amusement. Once she walks away, I look back at the detective.

“Not your type?” I ask jokingly with a small smile.

“No, not really.” he says simply, giving a small smirk.

“What? Tall, blond and beautiful isn’t your type? You two look like you could go together.” I say with a small laugh.

“Look’s aren’t everything.”

“Really? Too bad for her then.” I say with another laugh.

“I find the personality of a woman is much more important, certain qualities I find very attractive.” He says as he reaches for his wallet. He rises from his seat after finishing the rest of his coke. “Shall we?”

“Yes, and thank you for the lunch.” I say as we walk to the counter. He pays and we go to the door. Still being the gentlemen he grabs the door for me. Once outside we stop in front of our cars. “Thanks again. Sorry if my information on last night wasn’t very helpful.”

“Don’t worry about it. Hopefully I’ll get some leads elsewhere.”

“I hope you do. Good luck, Detective De Niro.” I say as I unlock my car.

“Thanks and Harley, I just bought you lunch so I’d appreciate if you use my first name. Detective De Niro seems so old coming from you, like I’m a middle aged guy with graying hair.” He says with a rare smile.

“Sure, Det-…I mean Gavin. See you around.” I say as I reach for my door. Then I turn back around and add, “Oh…sorry if I was too personal again, I was just was having a bit of fun.”

“It’s fine. I enjoyed it. And I got to say this again given your current track record, please stay out of trouble.” He says with a smirk as he opens his own door.

“I’ll try, honest.” I say with a laugh then get into my car. Giving one final wave, I drive away as Detective Gavin gets in his car. “Good thing no one they talked to saw me with Slaiden, the only one who ever saw me with him was Jeanette and she’s not talking for a reason.”

-------------------- ( Third Person POV ) --------------------

Gavin has one hand on the top of his open car door as Harley gives him a wave then pull away. He gets into his car and shuts the door behind him. “If only you were a few years older, Harley Collins.” He thinks to himself as he pulls out his cell phone. Scrolling through his contacts he finds the name he is looking for. Pressing ‘Call’, he waits for a dial tone.

*Ring*…..*Ring*…..*Ri-Click*

“Hello Detective.” a woman’s voice answers.

“Hey Trisha, am I interrupting anything?”

“Not at all, just taking advantage of my day off.”

“Glad to hear it. Anyway the reason I’m calling is about last night’s case.”

“Oh, did you talk to the Collins?”

“I just finished talking to Harley which was all I needed. Unfortunately she never saw him after he left the parking lot.”

“I see, so what did she have to say about her and Crandall’s unfriendly chat? Anything interesting?”

“Actually, she did. Listen to this…” Gavin tells her what he was told from Harley. Once he finishes he waits for Trisha to comment.

“Well that is interesting. My money would’ve been on her anyway. Sounds like our vic had quite the ego, and was a bit of a jerk. He probably was so worked up from his loss and ‘lesson’ that he was looking for a fight when his attacker got to him. Too bad we don’t have any other leads.”

“I figured that as well based on how Harley described him. Also, I am almost certain that either this killer chooses his victims at random or there's a common variable that we haven’t discovered that may or may not be personal.”

“Almost certain? We’ve been over both of those theories among many others, what reasons do you have to support these two?” Trisha asks.

“The random theory is supported by the fact that Harley said that no one followed Crandall out of the parking lot. Since there was the possibility of Crandall’s friends being with him if not interrupted by Tom Collins, there is no absolute certainty that Crandall was a predetermined target. But personally I’m favoring the common variable theory. If Crandall was a predetermined target, the killer had been waiting for him at some point on his route home. He would need to know the vic’s car and his schedule. This would be the same for the rest of the vic’s.” Gavin explains.

“But what about the gang and the woman? They don’t fit with that theory.” Trisha remarks.

“Actually they do. I believe maybe one of the gang members or even the woman was the initial target and the rest were killed just on the fact of them being there.” He answers confidently.

“Alright Sherlock, that is a good theory. Still entertaining mine?” Trisha half mocks.

“Yes I am. I think it ties in more with the common variable theory because if a being with super human strength is the killer then he must have a reason for who he is killing.”

“Well maybe we can put these theories to good use soon if another killing occurs. We need to figure out his pattern and stop this guy as soon as possible.” Trisha comments.

“That’s all I have to share for now. I’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks for calling De Niro, see you later.”

“Enjoy the day off.” He adds then disconnects.

Detective Gavin pulls out of his parking spot and drives back to the department. Thoughts of the cases flow through his mind. “Three or more possible male targets, all possibly have histories of acts of minor or major violence and some have criminal records. All these are common variables but what sets these men apart from the millions of others out here just like them? What about them were important to the killer?”


~`~`~`~`~` ( Author Notes ) `~`~`~`~`~

Nothing too exciting but I needed this filler to help me plan the next kill. I’m juggling a few different ideas so it might be a few days until I update again. I’m still fairly busy so probably Monday or Tuesday I’ll have Chapter 15 up.

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