Jeff the Killer: The Phantom Detective

Clouds rumbled in the sky and the rain began to sweat. In a shopping district in town a young man in a hood waited at a bar. In front of his unnatural pale face was a bottle of whisky; it was his 8th shot. As he gulped some of the red liquid slipped out his sliced opened smile. He gave off a happy sigh.

“Well you seem happy today Jeff” said the barman cleaning his glasses.

“I final got a chance to replace that old knife of mine and get a new one. You see Larry I made contact with a specialist client on the internet that sells specially made combat knives” Jeff explained.

“Really? What one you plan on getting?” asked the bar man.

Jeff reached for the back of his trousers to pull out a print off from his pocket. He laid the image on the table. The bar man’s eyes widened, he was impressed.

“It’s the dragon’s edge!” he said excitingly as if he was an innocent child again.

“Wow you plan to get one of those?” the bar man said.

“Yeah; it will be useful for kill… er… working at the kitchen with… Mr. Mix” Jeff explained with a quick lie.

“So when do you plan to meet your friend?” he asked.

“He should be here now” he replied before getting back to his drink.

--

An hour has passed and there was no sign of the client. Jeff grew impatient and check outside the window. A few second after straining his eyes in to the distance; he saw a black van. At first he thought it was the client but he soon had a better look at the side of the van. On it was big white text labelled “ILJ”. Underneath was an extended version of the abbreviation “The International League of Justice”. Jeff kept his cool and continued to drink his whisky. He was a little light headed now but was still able to focus if he tried hard enough.

In his blurred vision were three suited men. One was extremely muscly with short buzz cut blond hair. The second was a man with a long dark brown hair and a thick 5 o’clock shadow; nowhere as big as the previous guy but still threatening in lean build. The third man in the middle had slick black hair and sunglasses; you would think he was a greaser going to the prom till you realised the direction of which he had his hair gelled.

As Jeff dreaded the man with the sunglasses took a seat next to Jeff. Jeff acted natural in the hopes it might trick him.

“Waiter your job is done” said the man as he threw a paper aeroplane check to Larry.

“Best of luck kiddo, you’re going to need it!” said the fake barman as he legged it out the building.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“That traitor” Jeff thought to himself, “and to think I was going to try my new knife to send him!”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The suited man turned to Jeff.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Hello… Jeff” the man smiled.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jeff snapped and lunged his knife at him. The largest man laid his giant fist in front of Jeff’s knife. Within collision the knife shattered.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Impossible!” Jeff thought while he saw his old beloved knife in a thousand pieces.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The large man pinned Jeff down, while the other man aimed his cross bow at him. The man with the sunglasses got out a syringe and took a few steps towards him.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Who are you?” Jeff whispered.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Justice… now, go to sleep” the man chuckled as the syringe injected a blue liquid in to Jeff’s body. He soon falls limp on the floor, like a ragdoll. The last thing Jeff could remember before dosing off was the man’s laughter.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">--

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Dreary from the fluid, Jeff opened his eyes. He found himself in a glass container in a dark vast room. He had no idea how long he was out but he knew by the architecture he probably wasn’t anywhere near the bar. In the shadows emerged the suited man from earlier. Behind him in the shadows were more figures that were hard to see due to the terrible lighting.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Where am I!” asked Jeff.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Why, you’re in the ILJ HQ” Jeff explained.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Nice place you got here; it only needs a coat of red blood and you will have yourself a nice hideout for your suit club” Jeff cosmetically mocked their possible demise.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“You petty murderer the suits is not what we are about. We are The International League of Justice, the most deadly anti-injustice agency in all the UN. We go after warlords, Terrorists, heck even a few supernatural entities like you!” the suited man countered.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Yikes! I pissed of the UN. Maybe if they go to sleep they could calm down”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Not going to happen bud! This glass is going to keep you here, till the jail vans get here!”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Fool no prison can hold me!”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“This is no ordinary prison, it is the SCP. You will be right at home with the other murderers that get sent to their grizzly deaths as D-class”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Killing the killer? Isn’t that counter intuitive”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Not if you plan to kill again”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Ok, so tell me. Why do you wish to talk to me if you’re going to send me to my death anyway?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Well the thing is Jeff; the thing is I like to know my opponent before I beat them. Like a game of chess”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Ok then; only if I know you first”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Deal”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The two sat down on two opposing chairs with the glass in the middle, separating them from physical contact.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Now tell me your name, since you already rudely stalked me enough to know mine” Jeff asked.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Well if you must know, it’s Cedric” Cedric replied to Jeff’s trivial question. Jeff was just warming up however.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Cedric? I killed plenty of men named Cedric. I can assure you your death won’t be special” Jeff mocked.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Your confidence will follow with disappointment if you believe you are going to kill me”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Next question, do I look beautiful?” Jeff asked.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“No”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Reminds me how mother thought of me after my new look”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“I’m sorry to hear that”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“It’s ok, I killed her. At least unlike her you will be the only victim honest enough to tell it to my face!”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Jeff, if you’re trying to turn my answers in to psychological threats, it’s not working”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“There one more thing I must ask!” Jeff quickly butted.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Ok, what sprang in to your mind?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“What’s behind those glasses… are you blind?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Cedric froze. Ironically Jeff cleverly played him in to his trap of emotional despair. What lied behind Cedric’s eyes were something that would wield haunting memories for years.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“It’s not very nice to pick on a guy’s disabilities to get an emotional response but if you insist” Cedric, putting on a kind front as he took off his sunglasses.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Cedric slowly removed the black piece of plastic to reveal something possible more terrifying than Jeff’s lidless eyes. What was shown appeared to be two lights of Cyan. It shone on Jeff’s surprised face.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“What the hell are those?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“These are synthetic eyes; The Holmes Unit 1. I use them to do advanced detective work, like scan prints and DNA”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“They look freaky. Did you choose to remove your old eyes?”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Unfortunately not”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Go on?” Jeff smiled as he knew he might be getting in to a sore spot with the man.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“It was a while back, on an old case. We were up against a serial killer that plucked people’s eyes out with a spoon. He was known as the “Eye Taker”. He writes journal entries over his victims on why he does what he does. He would constantly go on that the world is a terrible place to look at and that people should be free from the sight of it. I was a detective for a police station at the time, and I was on the verge of getting a promotion as inspector. Unfortunately for me the police chief didn’t take my advice on where his hide out really was and so I had to go on my own. He took the jump on me and tied me up. When the cops finally arrived, their most talented detective was eyeless and the “Eye Taker” was gone. For five months I was lost in a world of no vision, no light and no future. I would never be able to tell if I was asleep or awake as my lids would always be folded back in to my skull. Eye transplants were really hard to come by and a man of my status just wasn’t that vital enough. While in bed I can hear the TV, tell stories about how many others like me lost the light.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">When I was about to take my own life; I was greeted by a man named Alex Spencer. He seemed to be important but al at the same time, no common foke have ever heard of him. He told me that he was looking for a test subject with their eyes already out their socket with nothing else to loose. I just couldn’t let that opportunity pass, I had to see again! A week had past and I was in his research facility, or at least he said it was. He told me the procedure in full detail. I forgot what he said but at the time it sounded like a trip to hell and back, metaphorically of cause. While my hand shivered I scribbled on the paper and he began to work. First he peeled away my forehead, and then opened up my skull. I was given drugs to avoid the pain but I felt my head structure slipping and slinging like a rubber toy with Lego trapped inside. As you could tell I was very uncomfortable. He soon whispered to me that this was the difficult part. All of a sudden, I heard a tiny saw buzzing next to me like a wasp. I bit my lip tight as it dig right into my brain. He was taking away the part of my rain that used my eyes before they were taken from me. Not even the drugs could stop me from screaming. The pain was absolute but the thought of that man still at large kept me going, knowing only I was smart enough to outwit him.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The Buzzing stopped. I took a sigh in relief as all my main brain functions were still in tack. Just then I felt rubber finger hold the gap in my brain open as Alex slid a metal box in to my head like a jigsaw. He was treating me like I was some sort of computer, sliding his new graphics card in. Just then I felt the biggest pain I ever felt in my life. From the box were wires spiking out and locking itself in to my brain. It was like my entire body was on fire; it burned through my entire nervous system. However in the pain was a light. I had no idea what it was. Was I dead? Was my nightmare over? When the light came closer it became a cyan colour. Right in front of me was computerised text dubbed “Holmes Unit 1”. It seemed Alex got my sight to work even if it was just a screen.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">It was the final stage. He plugged in these eyes. They seemed so unnatural and so outlandish. It was as if Alex was from another era. The screen shone up as he got the eyes to work. I smiled with joy as my vision was back, even if the only colour I saw was Cyan. There was a problem however; they were still outside of my skull. Alex took quick care of that with a simple reattachment of skull tissue and flesh stich and before I knew it, I was a new man.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">At first I felt I could save the world again from scum like the “Eye Taker”. Then I soon got the word that the killer was finally captured. The police department couldn’t have me anywhere near that monster and the trail where I could get the closest was years and years away.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">He won, he actually won! The moment I could see again, he will be facing a life sentence without real justice from me. I continued my job and waited for the trail only for him to escape a year after my surgery. The cops claimed he moved town and was hiding in a different country. In the end I lost all hope.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Maybe he was right maybe the world is a terrible place and maybe I should have stayed blind. Till one morning my friend in the UN came to me. He told me he wanted an idea how to suck up more of the world’s money for the sake of the UN. Many of my suggestions were terrible till a moment of genius came on to me. I soon became the founder of the ILJ and I was on the hunt for the bastard ever since” Cedric told to Jeff as an epically long sob story.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jeff clapped sarcastically as he began to understand why he was there.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Now Jeff, can I ask you a question?” Cedric asked.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“I already know the question and the answer is no! I am not you’re the “Eye Taker” nor do I know him. What I can tell you is that you’re are trapped in a pitiful existence of trying to acquire your own brand of personal justice, just so you can boost your ego and mentally get revenge on the same guy over and over again. You are an absolute useless hack with cool eye ware and nothing more! Once I dig a knife in to you, you will know that your will always be powerless to monsters like me! You can’t wield justice in a world as unfair as I see it. The only escape for you is to go to sleep.” Jeff explained as he shrieked and chuckled to the detective like a mad man.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The detective didn’t even change his expression to what he just heard. At first Jeff thought those eyes must have affected his emotional system. He soon got up and opened the door. Jeff’s plan worked, he pissed the man enough to get him to open the cage. Little did Cedric know Jeff had a spare knife hidden on his person. Jeff ran at him, pulling out his knife. Cedric’s eyes glowed red and instantly snatched the killer wrists before slamming him to the ground.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“You listen to me punk! The only real monster is me! Do you know what happens to criminals that push me to the edge far enough? I kill them slowly in the same method they did to their victims. If you keep this up, I will be sure you will be tang a nice long sleep. Understand!” Cedric looked in to Jess round eyes.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“I understand you’re a spoilt sport!” Jeff mocked before Cedric kicked him in the gut.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Cedric walked away and locked the glass again; disappearing in to the dark side of the room.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">--

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jeff was dragged out the room down a dark dank tunnel. Jeff woke up to realise he had been drugged again. Next to him either side where military styled soldiers with a SCP insignia attached to their uniform. At the end of the tunnel was a light. If Jeff’s eyes could squint they would.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“You must be those SCP guys that emotional pussy was talking about” Jeff asked.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Shut Up!” yelled on of the men as he slammed his head against the wall.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">He continued to be dragged as he soon saw the outside. Right in front of his a cliff side, with a small river down low. It was now revealed that Jeff has been staying at some kind of fortress on an isolated rock surrounded by valleys. The only way of was a bridge that exceeded out in to the forest. It became apparent Jeff was being pulled though the side passage not to endanger the people inside the fortress itself.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Jeff was dragged up the satires to the front gates which revealed a grey van labelled “SCP”. Jeff sighed and looked down in shame. It seemed it really was the end of the line for Jeff the Killer. He looked up to see the man from earlier accepting a brief case from a SCP official. He didn’t know what was inside but he took a wild guess. His blood boiled with rage as he realised Cedric was profiting from his death. He vowed he would kill him if he ever got out.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Cedric walked up to him. Jeff was in a fit of rage.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Calm down Jeff. If you’re lucky you may become a test subject for SCP instead!” Cedric mocked as Jeff was hurled in to the back of the van. Jeff’s yelling was silenced by the door shutting on him. The two guards saluted before they got in the van. The official was greeted inside the fortress as if it was a casual visit. Jeff looked back as the van drove over the bridge, seeing his enemies getting away from him. Cedric looked back at him. Jeff (gad he could get his attention), travelled his neck, symbolising that he is on his hit list.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">The van continued down the bridge till it came across a strange tree in the road.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Whoa what is that?” asked the guard in the passenger seat.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“I think it’s a tree?” the driver replied.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Cedric got out his binoculars to see what was holding the van up. Cedric shuddered “That’s no tree!”

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">All of a sudden the van was attacked by tentacles, from what seemed to be a very tall man. Before the guards knew it they were dead and the van capsized. Everyone rushed behind the gate and closed it shut. Cedric concerned of the wellbeing of the guards, got on his radio device.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Hello? Bob? Jim? Are you there?” Cedric asked desperately.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">At first all he could hear was heavy static; but soon it settled down. He was then greeted by a harsh whisper.

<p class="MsoNoSpacing">“Go to sleep.”