Imperfect Perfection: The Lost Chapter

Chapter XX: The Lost Chapter

Samson

My life is going great! Life with Christy this year has been the best I’ve had since before I left for the military. It’s like I’m continuing where I left off, and even though we’ve only dated two nonconsecutive years, I’m going to ask her to marry me, especially since she’s carrying my child. I’m going to try to make a name for myself out in the public eye like dad, but I don’t know what yet. I do feel like our name has to be redeemed though. Luxor has been doing pretty well at that, but he doesn’t share dad’s name. I do, so since the last Samson Alpha tarnished the name, It’s up to this Samson Alpha to redeem it. Next Samson Alpha will hopefully have a nice head start when he finally becomes whatever he wants to be. Yes, I’m sure it’s a boy. Runs in the family, my dad is the oldest, I’m the oldest, my grandfather was the oldest. They say the male determines the gender. I’m pretty sure there’s little Samson in there. So, I’m thinking that after I become, whatever. Maybe I can be one of those guys who talks to another guy during the football game, I know enough about it, that I could probably be a coach, maybe I could do that. I’m too old and broken to play, but I could definitely...you know what? Maybe I’ll start coaching as a high school coach and try to move up. It could happen, when I was a junior, my history teacher left to coach the State college football team. I think that’s pretty awesome, he gets to be on tv, and that’s where I need to be. I can’t act, or sing, or write, but I could talk. Anyway, I wanna start a foundation for veterans who get fucked over when they come home. Set up shelters that serve food, provide a way to get a job and a place of their own, and finally, if I make enough, I’ll pay medical bills if they have no insurance. I know what it’s like to get fucked over as a vet, and I wanna help people like me when the government refuses to do so. I’m hoping to one day make up for the piece of s**t I used to be, and Christy is, seemingly, reluctantly agreeing with me. There’s something in her tone, but I already told her I have to build my way up first, people have to know who I am first, and once I earn enough, THEN I build my foundation of helping fucked over vets. I just hope it’s not too long before I get to do that, and I hope I don’t get too greedy that I forget. Well, I’m proposing to Christy tonight, I’m dressing up for dinner. Damn, I really hate doing this, but it’s for her so it’s worth it. Red shirt with black tie, or black shirt with red tie? “Williamson!” I shout. I hear him come up the stairs and enter my room.
“Yes, master Samson?” He asks.
“Red and black, or black and red?”
“Whatever you prefer, sir.”
“I’m asking your opinion.”
“My opinion does not matter sir, you will choose whatever will make you happier.”
“I value your opinion, Williamson.”
“Sir?”
“Now help me out here, black and red or red and black?”
“Well sir, she is planning on wearing a dark pink dress, so I would have to go with the red shirt, this is a romantic occasion.”
“Thank you, Williamson, have yourself a snack, you know she likes to look her best.”
“Thank you sir, I shall meet you in the car at seven.”
“Sounds good, Williamson.” I check my watch, 6:42. She’s probably starting her makeup routine. She still gets recognized quite a bit, I guess there’s a bunch of people who followed fashion, who knew? She’s usually nice to her fans, it’s kind of the total opposite of how she used to be. She’s such a people person and she acts like they’re all friends. If she was in high school, she would have made her fans her slaves. She was Queen B***h as much as I was King A*****e. She bullied girls she didn’t like, and I bullied guys I didn’t like. Sometimes I bullied just cause it was fun, kid didn’t even have to do anything. I always got away with it cause I was captain of the football team in eighth and again starting in eleventh. I was Samson F*****g Alpha, and nobody messed with me. She was head cheerleader, in charge of all the pep rallys, she was great at pumping people up. We were Homecoming and Prom Kings and Queens, and while she ruled the fashion world, I ended up in the garbage. She plucked me out, and not just because I put one in her, but because I know she actually loves me, and I actually love her, so I’m gonna put a ring on it. I asked mom for the money and she excitedly agreed. She said out of all my girl friends, that she liked Christy the best. I haven’t told her of the pregnancy, although I was tempted. Christy wanted us to do it together. I’m hoping there will be enough time after dinner to do just that. Christy isn’t the only one that gets recognized, some people think I’m my dad, and they try to convince me that no, I’m him, and I’m like, ‘I’m his son!’ And then I show them my birthday on my license or if Christy is there, she confirms, and then the conversation goes straight to my dad. Geez, even though he’s not famous anymore, it’s still all about him. F*****g s**t, man, it‘s embarrassing to be the son of a has been. 6:55, I make my way downstairs to the front door to wait for Christy. I like watching her walk down the stairs, it’s almost hypnotizing.
“You always beat me down the stairs, why?” Chrisy asks, smiling as she approaches me.
“I love watching you walk down the stairs.” I tell her.
“Really?”
“Yeah, you look so fancy.”
“Ok, weirdo.”
“Oh, I love you.” I give her a kiss.
“I love you too. So, what’s this big announcement you have that you actually got all dressed up for?”
“I’ll tell you at the restaurant.”
“Meanie.”
“It’s worth it.” I tell her as we get into the limo. We start our journey.
“Well, it better be.”
“So, can I be honest with you?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“About the Vague party...”
“Yeah?”
“I thought it was boring.”
“You couldn’t find one interesting person to talk to?”
“No, and everyone who did talk to me just talked about themselves.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, but I’m not sure I could do one of those again.”
“How about I ask you ahead of time if you wanna go? I do other kinds of parties, you know.”
“Sounds like a plan, babes.”
“Although once you redeem your name, you’re going to have to go to boring things too, I’m sure your dad had his moments.”
“Nah, dad reveled in the glory so hard, he’s really trying to take that cover band to the top, but because it’s a cover band, no label wants to sign it.”
“Well, I’ll give you one hint, as to why we’re here...” I say as we pull into the parking lot. I get out, and let her out and we go inside. We get sat down, and I order a soda out of respect for her pregnancy. “Ok, so I guess I don’t have to give you a hint, here it is, here’s the big announcement. She leans in closer. “I got a job... commentating on the local sports games as they’re happening live, on a local news channel!”
“Babe, really? Local?” She seems unenthused.
“I...I thought you’d be more excited than that.”
“Well, I guess it’s a start, so congratulations, I guess.”
“And because I’m a veteran, I get to host the parades and talk about how what we do is to keep this country safe.”
“Wow, so there’s opportunity for advancement?”
“We’re an affiliate, that means that if the company that owns us likes me, they might wanna recruit me, and then I could be doing the national league. I just gotta start at the bottom, not like my dad’s name is worth anything anymore, and this is my chance to redeem it.”
“If you say so, congratulations, I really do hope you make it up there.”
“Do you really mean that?” We place our order. “Well, do you?”
“Absolutely. You went through a lot of s**t, and got your way back up again.”
“It’s all thanks to you though, if it wasn’t, I’d still be in that storage locker.”
“Well then, it’s a good thing my only goal for coming back was looking for you.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I make a killing, but I was missing someone to share it with. I came back, and went to your dad’s and found it empty. I found out from your brother-”
“You talked to my brother? How’d you know how to find him?”
“Oh, he was in the paper about busting some huge case, so I went to the station and asked him. He searched your financials and found that you work at a burger place and make payments to a storage unit. I have to admit, I was super disappointed to find you like that, but I guess it was kind of a test, and I looked into your eyes, and I saw that same good man I left here so many years ago, that I knew I could look past it. That’s who I came to see, and that’s who I’m with.”
“Yeah, you know what would be great? If we got married.”
“Yeah, that’d be pretty funny.”
“Would it?”
“Well, I- no, it wouldn’t be funny, it’d be more like, expected.”
“So your answer is yes?” I snap my fingers to the waiter and he leaves.
“Yes to what?” The waiter hands me the box and I open it, showing her the ring.
“Will you marry me?”
“Wha-I-”
“Cat got your tongue?” She was just sitting there, eyes wide, mouth hanging open. She reaches out and grabs the box.
“Yes. Yes, Sammy, I will!” She rushes over and hugs me, and gives me a long, deep, kiss. I could feel her tears on my face. “I’ve wanted this for a long, long, time!”
“Me too, babes.” I couldn’t help it, her crying made me want to cry. I held it back as much as I could, but a couple still rolled down my face. I’m glad she said yes. We hugged for what seemed like forever, and then we sat back down and finished dinner. “I’m so glad you said yes.”
“I do have one condition.”
“Oh? What's that?” Uh oh.
“Follow your dream, whatever it may be and I will stand with you all the way! Just don’t go crazy or broke.”
“Wait, you’d dump me if I went broke?”
“That came out wrong. It just means like, if you let yourself go and didn’t care about me or little Sammy, or any other children we might have, and you just give up on life. That’s a man I don’t wanna be married to.”
“Ohhh ok, I gotcha. No way, I feel a breath of fresh air! I’m Samson F*****g Alpha, and you are my queen! Together, we will make a difference!” We finish our dinner and head back home. We had some of the best sex we’ve ever had, and we have sex a lot already. That was great, oh man, I’m tired. I’m in the desert. Where’s my piece? It’s in the tent for whatever reason. I put it on and sit back on my cot. This war f*****g sucks. Been a long time since I was here. Why am I here again? And where is everybody? I walk around. It’s night, so everyone should be asleep. Only one other bed is occupied. She gets up, I can’t make out her face. She enters the tent, then comes back out, and the sun gets brighter.
“Are you ok?” I noticed she has a bomb strapped to her abdomen. I raise my gun, I’m not getting blown up, I’ve made it this far. “Put that down, and go back to bed, ok? She gets closer to me, and I see her press the detonator and I fired. The gunshot woke me up. Here I am, warm weapon in hand, and check the clock. 11:03, I look around, and there I see bleeding from a hole in the head, is Christy. My life is over. My future is gone, my son is gone. My wife is gone. My freedom is gone. I put the gun to my temple and-

Luxor

Excelsior! Oswald and I are currently processing the boat killer. Turns out, he would go to ‘international waters’, I say that in quotes, because he was still within the border of the United States and did not believe it when we told him otherwise. He said he always wanted to kill someone but be able to get away with it. We told him because he was still within the border, he will get charged with murder. He then proceeded to tell us they were just prostitutes. I reminded him that prostitutes are still people, and he said he didn’t think killing prostitutes was illegal. Moron, he equates killing a prostitute to accidentally running over an animal. Just sickening. The captain calls me over.
“Good job closing that case, guys! You two will have this station up and running in no time. As promised, I’ve recommended for you to be captain, Alpha. Middleton, you will be lieutenant. Clean this place up if you can, alright? You two are the best detectives I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. I’m retiring soon, by the end of the year, you’ll be sitting in my seat, Alpha.”
“Thank you, sir. But does this mean I can no longer take cases?”
“Instead, I want you to monitor every case. You’ve set a standard in this division, and I want you to ensure that everyone ends up as good as you.”
“That is impossible, as they do not possess my intellect.”
“That’s why you monitor all cases. You will help every detective get a conviction. Be their mentor, their guide.”
“I understand, seems intriguing.”
“Thought you’d think so. But, considering you are as of now still a detective, I have some quick, for you at least, case. We just got a call of a shooting at Bristol’s Bistro, homicide suicide. Go check it out, this should be simple for you guys.” The captain tells us.
“Yes sir!” I tell him. Oswald and I head to the car.
“Neat, I believe we will do really great things for this city.” Oswald says.
“Let us hope so, Oswald.” We head to the bistro, and find a dead woman and man. “What has happened here? Where are the witnesses?” A few people raise their hands. “Well, go ahead, tell us.” A waitress walks forward. I hand her the paper for her to fill out her statement.
“So, I think these people were like, a couple. They were having a conversation, and it started to rain. The guy said he loved the rain, and she went all crazy. Her eyes got wide, her voice changed, and then she shot him, and then herself.” She tells me.
“Does anyone have anything else to add?” Nobody else stepped forward, so I am guessing they have the same version. I pass her statement around for them to sign off on, that what she said was true. Poor fellow. The medics bring them both in the ambulance, and attempts to revive them seemed useless, until they got a heartbeat on the male. I informed them to contact me as soon as he wakes up, if he wakes up. I guess I will have to file this case as closed. Well, it is getting close to end of shift, I cannot wait to- I hear gunshots in the distance. I call it in, and we get there. A male and female, but the female is still alive, but unconscious. I call it in, and an ambulance arrives and loads them on. She is my only source of information, so I will have to visit her once she is cleared for lucidity. She seems to have woken up in the ambulance.
“Wha- wha’s gonnin?” She mumbles.
“You were shot, could you please tell me your name?” The medic asks. I make my way over to them.
“Luxor Alpha, Homicide. I would like to know that information also.
“Get these bullets out of me fiiir-” She falls back into unconsciousness.
“May we ride with you?” I ask.
“Sure.” The medic tells us. We get in, and they try to revive the male, but they could not. We waited in the hospital for about two hours before we were able to see her, but we did not have long. We go to her room.
“Sandra Zircon, I presume?” I ask.
“Yeah, how’d you- oh, it’s you again.”
“I am sorry we keep meeting like this, can you tell me what you remember?”
“We were on a date in the park, and this guy comes up to us and robs us, and then shoots us. Is- is Charlie- dead?”
“Unfortunately.” She begins to cry. “What did the gunman look like?”
“I don’t know, he was completely covered head to toe in black, all I could see was his eyes, his cold, unfeeling eyes.”
“How tall was he?”
“He was shorter than me, so somewhere in the five foot range.”
“What color were his unfeeling eyes?”
“Hazel. That’s why they looked so cold.”
“Ok, that’s enough.” The nurse says.
“We may return tomorrow, if that is acceptable?”
“Sure.” Sandra says. We leave the room.
“Quite a mystery, eh?” I ask Oswald.
“Yeah, this one poses a bit of a challenge.” He says.
“My favorite kind.”
“Mine too. It’s probably some random thug, the park is full of homeless, we’ll probably find our answer there.”
“I am inclined to agree.” We head back to the station, and I gather my things to leave, and head home. I fell asleep promptly at nine as I always do, but was rudely interrupted around midnight to my phone ringing. “Hello?”
“Hi, this is the night sergeant, there was some gunshots in the rich part of town.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
“The victims are your brother and his girlfriend.” I cannot believe it. I got promptly dressed, and headed to the station. I hated to wake up Oswald, but this was an emergency. I get to the station, and head into the captain’s office.
“Tell me what happened.”
“We just got a call about gunshots, and found them lying in their bedroom with bullet holes in their heads.”
“Is he alive?” I ask nervously.
“Doctors say he’s in a coma, it’s touch and go at this point.” I cannot believe what I am hearing. “If you want to take some time off, we’ll understand.”
“No, I have a job to do, I will be here on time. Speaking of which, I must go back to bed if I am going to get even a little bit of adequate rest.”
“No, seriously, take some time off. Visit him, before you might not be able to.”
“It is fine, I will interrogate him and charge him with murder when he wakes up.”
“That’s what I’m saying, he might not.”
“If you will excuse me, I will take my leave now. I have work in five hours.” I leave the station and head back home. I had a fitful sleep, but I still made it to work on time.
“Alpha, I thought you were taking the day off?” my boss inquires.
“Nope, I have work to do.” I respond.
“Take some time off, I’m serious, I don’t want you to get sloppy because you’re too into your own head. You’ve earned a vacation in more ways than one. Visit your brother, this situation would be hard on any of us.”
“Well, I do have to go to the hospital anyway, I have to finish interviewing the woman who got shot last night.”
“Don’t make me order it. Take some time off.”
“Fine, but this department will fall apart without me!” I yell. Instead, I go home. Perhaps I will take tomorrow off, I need to call my parents and siblings and let them know what has happened to Samson. Is this because I still have not forgiven him for burning down my home? I go home and call my family, and one by one, they show up to my house. “As far as I know, he is still alive. Studies show that people in comas can hear the world around them, so if you would like to talk to him, he may be able to hear you.” I tell my sobbing family.
“Why would he do such a selfish thing?” My father asks.
“Was there a note?” my mother asks.
“No, but officers are looking for a possible camera. Technically they are a celebrity couple, so it’s quite possible they have security cameras. We may find out what actually happened.”
“I sure hope so.”
“If I were to guess, I would say he was having a flashback that he thought was real, killed her, woke up, realized what he had done, and then attempted to kill himself.”
“Why are you so cold?” Rayven, my sister asks me.
“Look, I- I am worried about him, too. I still have not forgiven him for burning my home down.”
“We should head to the hospital while he’s still alive.” My father says. I ended up riding with Wolfgang, my younger brother.
“How is the um, world of barbarian sports?”
“Fun. I won the title last month, and until someone good enough to challenge me for it, is gonna get their a*s kicked!” Wolfgang says excitedly.
“That is good to hear. So, how do you feel about our brother’s current situation?”
“Man, if you’re right about this, then that majorly sucks, because he had no idea what he was doing.”
“When he wakes up, I intend on charging him with involuntary manslaughter.”
“What? How could you?”
“He took a life, whether he meant to or not, is still against the law.”
“Then he needs to be in a hospital on psych meds, not rotting in a jail cell!”
“Perhaps you are right. That is, however, if we have sufficient evidence.” We stop at the hospital. We exit our vehicles, and head towards the hospital. When we get there, we find that he is sharing a room with my first shooting case of the day, how odd. While the family is weeping over Samson, I sneak my way to the young woman’s room for my current case. “Sandra Zircon?”
“Yeah?” Sandra answers.
“Tell me specifically what happened last night.”
“Well, me and Charlie were on a date, and ended up taking a walk through the park, because I thought it would be romantic. We must have been on the wrong end of the park, because it was littered with bums, and this guy with his face and everything else covered, held us up at gunpoint, robbed us, and then shot us. I don’t understand, we didn’t put up a fight, why did he shoot us?” She starts crying.
“I do not know, but I will try to find out for you. All we have are his eyes, what about his voice?”
“Oh, it was kinda crusty.”
“Crusty?”
“Gravelly. Like this.” She says, in a harsh voice. Good, that gives me a good start, I have a place to start, and someone to look and listen for.
“Is there anything else you can tell me about him?”
“No, that’s all I remember.”
“Ok, thank you. Feel better.”
“Thanks.” I leave her room and head towards my brother’s. Everyone is huddled in the hallway.
“There he is!” My mother says. “We all talked to Samson, are you going to?”
“He will just survive, you know how superior our family is.” I tell her.
“You know for a fact that nobody is invincible. This may be your last chance to get whatever you need to get off of your chest.”
“No, he is selfish, I have nothing to say to him.”
“Ok, I just don’t want to hear about regret later.”
“I am fine, he was a negative influence in my life, I do not care one way or another.” My family gasped.
“This is your older brother!”
“He sure does not act like one. He picked on me as a child and burned my home down.”
“Don’t you think you should forgive him? It’s been years since either of those things happened. Even if he does survive, he’s going to be so brain damaged, he’ll be specially abled, he won’t be able to most things for himself.” My mother does make sense. He served our country and was handed a bad hand afterwards. This may be my only chance, I open and close the door.
“Hello, Samson. I never thought I’d find you here. I’m sorry if my theory is correct and you were reacting to a flashback. That’s a tragic would be family to go. I don’t know how far you two were, but I could sense a future between you two. I hope that for me and Emily one day. Maybe I’ll talk to her today, she’s an expert in emotion, and I don’t really know how to feel right now. This might be our last conversation, and if so, then you’re forgiven for burning my place down, I know you didn’t mean to. I’m sorry our relationship ended the way it did, I guess I was a bit overdramatic. Goodbye, brother of mine.” I hope my family heard that, I am sure they are listening at the door. Truthfully, I could not care if my brother lives or dies, he was a terrible person, and he deserves whatever he gets. I just did not want my family to know that. Good thing I learned how to act empathetic and about emotion, I feel it is a useful tool in manipulation. I used all contractions, because that is how my family knows I am truly upset, it pained me to use them all, but I feel my acting to be convincing enough. As I leave my brother’s room, everyone greets me at the doorway and gives me a hug, and I hug them back. Mission accomplished. I have my brother drop me off back at my house, and I call Emily and she comes over.
“So, how’s your brother doing?” Emily asks me.
“Oh, he is either going to die, or be a brain dead retard the rest of his life.”
“My goodness, Luxor, so scathing as ‘retard’?”
“Yes, he will be unable to function for himself, he will be retarded.”
“Can’t you just say ‘specially abled?’”
“Fine, ‘specially abled’”
“Thank you. The rules have changed these days, you can’t use words like that, people will lash out at you.”
“But I was stating a fact.”
“Yes, dear. However, politically correct culture has caught on, and you’re not allowed to say that in certain company.”
“That is preposterous, I did not mean it in a derogatory way.”
“I know, it’s just that some people don’t know the difference.”
“Because people equate the retarded with being moronic, which are two different things. Specially abled people just take longer to learn. Morons are bred of ignorance. If you do not educate yourself, you are more susceptible to being told what to do, and to be easily brainwashed. Stupidity is a choice, it is much different. Everyone has potential. It just depends on if you use it or not.”
“Use it or lose it.”
“Essentially, yes.”
“So, did you actually mean anything you said to your brother?”
“I do not know, perhaps. I do not really see this as a loss, he only ever talked to me when he needed something, and he burned down that something.”
“But he’s your brother!”
“Not like my memories of him are fond.”
“What do you mean?”
“He may have protected me at school, but at home, it was a different story. He used to talk like a robot to imitate me, because of the proper way that I talk. That is why I left the first time you imitated me, it reminded me of how my brother made fun of me.”
“I’m sorry, it’s now like I knew.”
“I know, but it seems to have worked out for both of us anyway, eh?” I wink at her. “May we have intercourse tonight?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t right now, but as soon as I can, then yes.”
“Ok.” I say, disappointed. It has been awhile since we have, and it is like an itch I cannot scratch. Manual stimulation just isn’t the same. “So, they are holding a ceremony where I will be named the official captain of the Homicide untit and I would like for you and Stanley to come.”
“Congratulations! Of course we’ll be there! When is it?” I told her when and where. We hung out for awhile before she went home. This relationship is taking way too long for me to develop, I would like for things to move faster. The next day, I got a phone call from the hospital telling me my brother died in the night. I guess not everyone is invincible. He had a military funeral and was buried with his medals. Me and my siblings were the only ones not crying, our parents could not understand why. Having Samson as an older brother was not fun in the very least, he tortured all of us as children. I was glad we all got to go our separate ways. Rayven and Wolfgang were mostly spared, but since I lived with him and father, he tortured me a lot. You know how it works, pretend to care in public, be harsh in private. I am glad he is gone, good riddance, now I can focus entirely on running the department, and work on things with Emily. Speaking of Emily, I have not talked to her since my induction ceremony. In fact, it has been around half of a year. I have been so busy with my new job, I have not been able to spend any time with her. One day, I walk into my office, and notice Stanley in the chair across from mine at my desk.
“So, you’re in the big chair, huh?”
“Yes, it is quite exhilarating, our conviction rate is in record numbers, I may be able to save this city, Jones.
“I’d love to celebrate your win with you AGAIN, but we have a bigger problem on our hands.”
“What is it Jones?”
“I need you to take a case for me.”
“I cannot, it is no longer in my job description.”
“When was the last time you talked to Emily?” He asks, frantically.
“Last time I talked to you.”
“S**t. S**t. It’s been three months, Luxor. I haven’t heard from her in three months, and her apartment is and has been empty.”
“What are you trying to tell me?”
“Emily is missing! As in missing persons!” He breaks down and cries. “She’s all I had left.”
“I will take the case, I love her too, Jones.”
“You and her were going steady?”
“Semi steady.”
“Gotcha, takin’ it slow?”
“You have no idea.”
“I guarantee I will find out what happened to our dear Emiily, my old friend!” I shake his hand.
“Thank you, Luxor. You really are a damn great detective.”
“I know.” I could not help it, I felt as smug as ever. A difficult case with an emotional factor, interesting. I will conquer this, and I will make Emily my wife after I rescue her from her predicament. I am Luxor Centauri Alpha, the smartest detective of the SFPD!


To Be Continued...