Prologue to Sequel to August to Life

It's over...Or is it?

Prologue:

Alone, a weary older man sat facing a desk with a computer monitor on top. Beside the screen was the badge he left behind. Or rather wanted to leave behind. The picture and article on the screen could explain his feeling much better. Well, it was an article and a few mugshots. The mugshots of four men stared back at him, though there were only two that he cared for. They were the last two names in the forefront section of the article he had been staring at for what seemed like hours. He read those names aloud, forgetting the others. "James and Jordan Gilbert…"After a sigh, he continued with the story of the day. "…have been convicted of premeditated attempt of murder of two of their classmates. The crime has been determined to be racially-motivated." Upon reading that one hyphenated word, his fist flew and landed dead center in the computer's screen, leaving a smoking glass hole and a bleeding hand when he pulled it from the wreckage. Ironically, he hadn't felt a thing. He was numb inside and out, the same as he was since James and Jordan, his boys were hauled into the police station on suspicion of the attack on the two teenagers months ago. DNA and numerous witness testimony proved those intuitions correct; the sons of the commissioner were guilty of helping to carry out an attack planned by the man that the head of the police force and the rest of his officers treated as a VIP within the department. Within all of Newport, Rhode Island. 

Derek Warren was a man with money, man whose cash impacted programs and charities presented by the police. 

"I trusted that b*****d!" yelled the man with the last name Gilbert. He really did trust him and had every right to be upset. But more so, he was angry with himself. All the times Gilbert and his officers were asked to watch out for Mrs. Warren, the times the neighbors in the boulevard beyond Anderson Avenue called the law to report a disturbance. 

'Sorry,' Derek would laugh. 'We got a little carried away.' 

His money and charm made everyone look the other way in a bad situation. And it was all his fault. Gilbert had fallen from pillar of his community to a lonely old man wasting away in his newly-purchased Providence townhouse. 

In an instant, the lights and the computer monitor in front of him shut down. The pace of the old man's heart hastened to a pulsating thud that beat violently against his chest. 

"Oh dear God," he rasped. Leaning against the desk and grasping the edge of the computer's table, the man staggered to his felt, letting the swivel chair fly back into what he thought was the back wall judging by the slamming sound it made. 

Clutching his chest, he stopped to his knees. Across the room, his vision barely made out the label to the medication he needed to stop the pain in his chest. However, he could clearly see it was empty. Calling for help seemed to be the next logical option. He would have done it, but the phone alongside the prescription on the other side of the room was out right along with the rest of the power. 

An eerie sensation infused his senses and painful wheezing was his exhale. Outside, night was falling, darkening the room even more, that evil foreboding feeling that sunk deeper into his frail heart. 

"Help!" he squeezed out. His only answer was footsteps, slow and deliberate. They were close. Too close. Even in pain, Gilbert caught a peak of a black boat. A hiking boot with black laces coupled with a stroke of blinding light. He shut his eyes in agony as a liquid dripped down his back. 

I've been stabbed, he thought. 

The black-booted foot moved and that was the last thing the commoner saw before a clothe closed around the old man's neck

And then…

Goodnight, Commissioner.

Author's Note

What do you think? Your feedback is much appreciated.

Reviews

[Kate Whitaker]

A nice start. It moves very well.

[Max_E_Stone]

Thanks!

[Southern Cross]

A wonderful start. Nice narrative that didn't lapse and continued to draw me along its path. I am anxious to read more to unravel this plot.

[Max_E_Stone]

Thank you so much!

[Mockingbird]

i thought this was a very good prologue. it draws the reader in right away and ends leaving us wanting to know what happened afterward. i see the older man's (chief?) dilemma. those two kids being accused of attempted murder and it being racially-motivated were the commissioner's boys. the commissioner acted like he was above the law because of his position and got away with everything. he probably thought his kids would get away with it.
then all of a sudden there's this mysterious person who comes in and stabs the poor old man, probably because he was the one who could send the boys to prison and so it could've been a hit.
it's the beginning of a good story. real suspenseful.

[Max_E_Stone]

Thank you for feedback! I really do appreciate it!