39 Results in the "Burned Cover" category
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Finding a hotel in Chicago, even on short notice, wasn’t much of a trial. A few hundred hotels, motels, hostels, inns, and bed-and-breakfasts were scattered throughout the city. Erika had no particular preference, as long as the place was clean and discreet. The kind of place she could get into with cash and few questions asked. Cash was the important bit. Perhaps it was paranoia, but after having been in a massive archive that seemed to catalog everything, from street light patterns to the mayor’s…-
147.6 K • Ongoing
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Erika held fast to the handrail of the subway car, watching the sparse lights outside the windows fly past. People sat around her, occupying the seats and, occasionally, standing off to the sides. They talked among themselves, listened to music with their earbuds, and generally just lived. It had been a week since that ‘gas leak’ shut down the subway, and everyone was already perfectly willing to trust that everything had been taken care of. To be fair, everything had been taken care of. Erika knew…
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147.6 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
08 – Unpressed Charges
“Yep… dragged us off to the station and read us our rights,” Rick grumbled as he sat in the back room of Varn’s, typing away on his laptop. “Good thing Leslie wasn’t there. He’s got a family to worry about.” “Excuse me?” Anna said, narrowing her eyes. “I have a mother to take care of. Leslie’s family can take care of themselves—” “It isn’t a competition, Anna. And you know Leslie would help your mom out if something happened to you.” Anna stared at the back of…-
147.6 K • Ongoing
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Erika followed the navigation on her phone, turning down one of the seedier streets in Chicago. It was up north, pretty much the opposite side of the city from where Erika and Daniel lived. It was, nonetheless, the street he had given her over the phone. She drove down, frowning at every building she passed. A video rental place that looked sketchy as shit right next to a store advertising clothes, shoes, erotic toys, and lingerie. And a hookah lounge. Two separate tattoo parlors whose signs had faded…
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147.6 K • Ongoing
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It was some small consolation that there was next to no traffic or pedestrians in the area of the Old St. Patrick’s Church at three in the morning. Erika didn’t want to look too suspicious as she stalked around the church, but even a priest would get an odd side-glance walking around at this hour. That said, Erika wasn’t one for subtlety. That nun was in some way associated with this church. Maybe finding Friar Tuck inside would be an acceptable alternative. If Erika could ask a question or…
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147.6 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
07 – i – The Art
What a mess. First, The Castle and The Puppet. Now this? The Art surveyed the subway utility tunnel with a vacant expression. The doll-like porcelain face she wore couldn’t emote. If it could, she imagined it would have been twisted in a disgusted snarl. At the very least, her nose would have wrinkled from the foul stench lingering in the air. Like rancid sewer pipes. The Art didn’t find it all that unpleasant, if she were being honest. It was almost… fragrant. Her senses and…-
147.6 K • Ongoing
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Erika did not panic. “The Analyst and I appreciate The Eclipse’s cooperation with this matter.” She wasn’t sure if she could panic. There was a moment, right when she heard the word stop, that she felt that spike of adrenaline. But it was gone now. “Of course. The Emperor was most invested in this project. She will be pleased to hear it turned out well.” The Hanged Man and the worn-out accountant were talking. Erika couldn’t turn her head, but neither had moved out of her view. At…
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147.6 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
06 – A Proper Investigation
“So, I call you on a Friday, and you can just come right out and hang?” Daniel shifted in the passenger seat of the old pickup, looking uncomfortable. “Sorry,” Erika said, not taking her eyes off the road. “Didn’t mean to imply that you had nothing better to do. But… did you not have anything better to do?” “My… family likes to go out on Friday nights,” he said, still looking distinctly uncomfortable. It was probably the worn seats—though the passenger seat wasn’t half as…-
147.6 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
05 – Pedway
“Subways are creepy enough,” Sofia said, peering into a darkened tunnel. “Underground walkways that lead on forever… gives me the shivers.” “Don’t forget the monsters,” Erika chirped, swinging her flashlight back and forth. She had been in the Chicago Pedway one time, walking the short route from the Red Line to the Macy’s State Street. It had been clean, brightly lit, wide enough to accommodate a dozen people side-by-side, and moderately empty. Not a lot of people used the…-
147.6 K • Ongoing
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He adjusted his necktie as he stood in the elevator, watching the floor indicator slowly increase. Even though the building was only ten floors, the aged elevator took its sweet time. He occupied the time by picking off small bits of lint or dust from his suit—most were probably imaginary specks, but a clean suit made for a clean mind. A single chime accompanied his arrival to the final floor. Picking up the long black case at his feet, he stepped out into the old Gilmore Building’s…
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147.6 K • Ongoing
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