In the Silence, I Hear

Episode 8, Cell Phone Pig

*** Warning this fictional story contains scenes that talk about the horrific human trafficking of children and violence. ***

Three months had passed since the death of Captain Ham, Police Chief of Archer, Arizona. It was a gruesome death, by all accounts. Nevertheless, Fredrick was in a joyful mood as the date of his planned excursion to Portugal approached rapidly. He had his passport and airline tickets. His lodging accommodations at every stop along the way solidified and secured. The only thing left was for the day to arrive. After a terrible dream, Fredrick changed his departure day and began his murderous vacation early in Phoenix, Arizona. In the dream, a man named Bill, who Fredrick met at his bar, Melpomene’s Place, was beating his wife and kids. Physical abuse. Which was not as bad as the other things Fredrick had heard in his dreams. Later, however, Fredrick had another dream; Bill’s wife conversed with her sister wishing Bill would die. The ladies started plotting a way to kill Bill. Fredrick thought he would save the wife and six kids from the tragedy of one parent killing the other and the likely possibility that the wife would be caught. The sisters’ plans were just stupid, Fredrick thought to himself. So, he was driving to Phoenix to do a good deed before leaving on his much-anticipated killer vacation to Portugal. Fredrick learned that Bill loved a threesome, strip bars, marijuana, and alcohol in several subsequent dreams. Another dream revealed the location of Bill’s favorite strip club, so Fredrick was heading for Artichoke Avenue to a joint called Mr. T’s. His plan was simple. In a nondescript, stolen vehicle, a bearded man would pull up to the club as Bill exited and walked to his car. The car would roll up beside Bill, and the man would shoot him in the head.

Later the police would find a stolen car. The hunt for the killer would go on until leads were exhausted and the case retired to the pile of unsolvable cases. Then Fredrick would hang out for a day in Phoenix and depart for Portugal. He parked his car in the long-term parking at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Walked with his briefcase to the arrivals pickup zone and took the first available rideshare. He went to his hotel and checked in. At around midnight, he left again, walking the street until he found a large strip mall with a large 24-hour shopping center. He waited until a couple driving a gray Ford Taurus entered the store. He removed the plates with an electric screwdriver, broke into the car, hot-wired it, and went to Mr. T’s.

As he entered the parking lot of Mr. T’s, Bill sauntered out of the club. The parking lot was empty, and Bill walked to the back of the building and around the corner. Fredrick, now in disguise, followed slowly. Bill stepped back behind the building and started to urinate. Fredrick pulled into a parking spot and turned around so the driver’s side would be closest to bill when he returned to the parking lot. Bill finished up, came out into the lot, and headed to his car.

“Hey, Mister, have you ever seen this person,” Fredrick held a picture.

Bill stopped and turned to the car; Fredrick stopped. Bill reached in to take the photo. With his left hand, Fredrick grabbed Bill’s wrist. Fredrick raised his pistol and shot Bill between the eyes with his right hand. Fredrick quickly put the gun down, removed Bill’s wedding ring, let go of his wrist, then drove off. Fredrick then drove the vehicle to a street about a mile from his hotel and parked. He left the car there, walked to the nearest road, turned, walked a little further, and then removed his disguise and put the items in the briefcase. Fredrick took odd streets, making his way back to the hotel. At the hotel, he showered, set his alarm clock, and went to sleep.

In the morning, he took rideshare to the airport departure drop-off, made his way to long-term parking, put the briefcase and pistol in his trunk, got his suitcase, and made his way back to the departure terminal. While waiting his turn in line, he whistled and did things on his phone. Soon he was on the plane and in the air headed for Miami, Florida, for a layover, then straight on to Portugal. On the plane, Fredrick napped.

In the deep black of his dream space, Fredrick smelled brewing coffee. A doorbell rang, a door opened, then shut; it was Bill’s wife and sister.

“Can you believe it? It is like a dammed fairy tale.”

“Just the other day, we wished this and even ran scenarios past one another. Then, bam, like that, the wish comes true.”

“Was he insured, Jane?” the sister asked.

“Shockingly enough, he was through his work. I have to do a bunch of paperwork to get it. I contacted Social Security earlier; they set me up an appointment and are going to help me get the benefits lined up. I feel guilty about being so happy. It is difficult to act sad around the kids.” Bill’s Widow said.

“Well, I tell you what, sister, you best never let any man ever again lay a finger on you.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Never again. I will focus on getting Theo and Lucy through to high school before I even think of dating. Then I guarantee you no man will ever hit me again.”

“Good deal, sister.”

Fredrick’s dreamscape grayed, flashed white, then dimmed to black. Then, like a Polaroid, a blurry scene materialized. “Wow, what the hell,” Fredrick said to himself. It was a picture of a young child being sexually abused on a cell phone. “Ok, that’s enough of that,” Fredrick spoke again to himself in his dream.

Dim to gray, a flash of blinding white, then blackness, and the Polaroid’s blurry scene materialized. A man looking at his phone, a different picture of another kid being victimized. “What the fuck? Stop.” He took a moment to gather in all the details of the man’s face and his clothing.

Ding, ding, ding, “Good morning passengers, we are arriving at Miami International Airport; please buckle your seat belts and return your seat to its upright position. In addition, please store your tray tables. Thank you.”

Fredrick woke a bit startled at the revelation of his dreamscape. He followed the Attendant’s instructions and then looked around to see if the perverted disgusting wad was here on the plane with him. They landed, got their things, and made their way off the plane. Finally, Fredrick spotted the offender. He was headed for the luggage return area. Fredrick followed. What am I going to do about this? He pondered the two-hour layover before his flight to Portugal departed. Fredrick steadily got closer and closer to his mark. Finally, he could see over the man’s shoulder on the escalator going down to the luggage claim area.

The disgusting pig of a human was boldly still surfing pictures of children being sexually abused. Fredrick looked around, grabbed the man’s neck and a gold chain he wore, and, thrusting a foot behind the man’s right knee, fell forward. The two fell, and Fredrick screamed as if in pain. He did everything he could to keep the man under him. They took out three other people on the way down. Sorrow and anger filled Fredrick’s chest; he felt sick, possibly hurting innocent others. At the bottom, Fredrick pushed the man’s face into the moving escalator that compelled them forward onto the tiled floor. The man squealed in pain. Fredrick reached, grabbed the man’s phone, slid it into the open area of the terminal then slid himself away from the pile of people feigning injury to his hand and leg. The man rolled over screaming, holding his face, blood flowing through his fingers. He was lying on his back, and a couple of bystanders were pulling him away from the escalator. Security was beginning to act. Fredrick watched as a man bent over to pick up the cell phone.

“Oh my God,” the man looked up and met Fredrick’s gaze, “Is this your phone?” he shouted.

“No sir,” Fredrick said. Then with his uninjured arm pulled his phone out of his pocket, showed it to the man, and said, “I’m pretty sure it’s his; he dropped it when we fell.”

“The man turned and said, “ Officer, come here and look at this.” The man bent down and touched the screen to prevent it from going dark or locking. The TSA officer got over to him and looked. Both their faces went ashen. “It is that man’s phone,” the bystander said, pointing at the bleeding man receiving aid but still laying on his back and screaming due to his injury.

Someone touched Fredrick’s shoulder. Fredrick looked up. It was a TSA agent. “Do you need help?”

“Yes, please, I hurt my wrist and leg,” he said, exaggerating his speech impediment. “I’m deaf,” He declared.

The agent waved over what appeared to be emergency medical personnel. They came over and moved Fredrick into and wheelchair. They assisted him with his injuries. However, Fredrick continued to purposefully exaggerate his speech impediment and declare, “I’m deaf.”

The phone and man now had the attention of three TSA agents. So the medical personnel moved him, and the TSA agents moved with him.

Fredrick smiled, looked at his watch, and said, “I have a connecting flight at gate 32, international. I came down here because I thought I had to transfer my baggage. Can you help me get to my gate?” he asked the medical attendants. Fredrick made his connecting flight. He sat in his seat with a blank expression on his face. Fredrick pulled the gold chain he had ripped from the man’s neck out of his pocket; at the end, a small gold medallion hung, a man with devil horns, his hands on a young person’s shoulders, standing in front of him. Chills ran down Fredrick’s arms, and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. He put the medallion back in his pocket and closed his eyes. The flight was a long one, and he was tired.

Next up, Episode 9, Justice abroad.

You can find Episode 7 here.

The journey of Fredrick Appelton begins here

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© 2022, T. Mark Mangum

I am T.Mark Mangum. From an early age, I was hooked, addicted to the imagined, unfathomable worlds of Star Wars, Star Trek, Conan, the Lord of the Rings, and many others. I love writing fiction tales. I love writing in multiple genres. However, my favorites are Sci-fi and Fantasy fiction. I am a father of six; we have two cats and two dogs. Tabletop gaming is a passion.