Nick walked down the dark corridors with forceful, confident strides. Only little red lanterns perched on the walls illuminated the path. The ground was heavily waxed and reflected his tall, 6'2'' frame. Yet, he paid no attention to it. He had strolled down these corridors so often that he had memorized their every curve.
It had been almost all of six years, yet for some reason, it had felt like an eternity. It was as if no other world existed, just this one heartless, cold reality which he had bathed in ever since he passed the tender age of 14. He didn't hate his life. He just felt detached from it. There was no joy in cutting up dead bodies or in chasing down cold-blooded killers. There was only the sense of relief that he didn't die in the process.
Yes, his world was one that was consumed in darkness. He had never seen anyone crack a smile. In fact, he did not even know how to smile. He had thought the idea of happiness rather vague. Why did people laugh? What did it mean to have fun? And why do people look forward to vacation so much?
As for him, he had not had a vacation in 6 years. He did not know how it felt to lay on the beach or walk in the park. He had never bothered to try either. All he knew was his machine-like existence. He lived to work. He lived to pull other humans out of their messes. That was his job. That was his life.
And today was no different. He was headed to his boss's office. Actually, Urgof couldn't be called his boss. For one thing, Nick thought to himself, the man was too stupid. He did not have Nick's intelligence or workmanship. He just lazily sat in his chair, giving orders right and left. He had no talent when it came to solving mysteries or tracking down serial killers. He could only do the administrative stuff.
Nick sighed. Today was December 23-a little over a month until his birthday. Come to think of it, he didn't remember when it was the last time that he had remembered his birthday. But this time, it would be different. This birthday would be more special than the rest. He would be free, at last! Strangely, he did not look forward to it though. So what if he were free? What was there to celebrate?
Nick sighed yet again. So next month, it would have been six years-six years since he was framed for the murder of his adopted father, six years since he was forced into this exile-like existence, doing nothing but dealing with the dead and the wanted. He had no fond memories of his adopted father. But one thing did impress him, though-how clever the government was at plotting and executing the murder.
To Nick, his adopted father's death had been surreal and beautiful. Not that he had pleasure in watching his so-called "father" die. No, he was not that cold-hearted. It was how they managed to conceal everything so that every clue pointed to Nick. They even forced upon Nick a motive. So there it happened-his adopted father's body ferociously torn apart and Nick imprisoned with murder written in his files.
However, everyone knew that Nick had not killed the man. All they had to do was look at his youthful, innocent face then to know that Nick was not the one that had gashed the man's throat and cut open his belly, exposing his guts to the world. No, it wasn't Nick. But they didn't care. They wanted that man dead, and they needed someone to take the blame for it. That was where Nick came in.
He was to be punished for a crime they had committed. The government had despised Nick's adopted father for quite some time. He wielded too much power and mishandled it one too many times. So they decided to put an end to his leadership. Yet, they didn't want to be held liable for that. That was Nick's job.
Nick had been adopted by that horrid man since he was an infant. No love was involved. The man needed a good image at the time so he had adopted this extremely cute baby that he had found at an adoption agency one time. He brought Nick home and simply ignored the baby. Of course he hired someone to take care of baby Nick, but he couldn't care less if Nick disappeared the next day. All he needed was for Nick to smile at the camera.
To his delight, Nick always smiled whenever a camera was flung in front of his face. Apparently, Nick was happy. When Nick was about 5 years old, he fired the housemaid. He hated spending money on anybody but himself. Besides, at 5 years of age, shouldn't Nick be able to take care of himself?
So Nick ended up growing in a world with little love and a lot of mystery and coldness. Nick had known all along that the man wasn't his real father. The man always hurt him in so many ways. He had called Nick every crude and horrible name he could think of. Not that he hated Nick. He just wasn't used to giving out love.
But that didn't give him the right to lash out at Nick and vent his anger on the boy. Nick had remembered how, from time to time, he would come home drunk and angry. And if Nick did not have the house cleaned, he would repeatedly punch and slap the boy until he blacked out. How many fractures had healed before new ones were formed? Nick couldn't count anymore. All he knew was that he hurt so bad.
Yet no one cared. His adopted father's enemies-the government-were actually happy. They waited for the day that Nick would be tall and well-built enough to lash back at his 'father'. And when he was 14, he did grow tall, but not well-built. And he did not lash out at his 'father'.
Rather, Nick was considering running away. He did not entirely hate the man. He did share a few rare moments of love with the man. Like one time, the man had bought him ice cream after beating him with a metal bar. That was his adopted father's way of saying sorry. To Nick, it was good enough and he forgave easily.
So, his 'father's' enemies decided to take matters in their own hands and killed the man himself. When the well-planned murder was done, they had branded Nick as a 'physically abused son seeking vengeance upon his unloving father'. The public bought the story and the gossip spread like mad. Both Nick and his adopted father were "damned" in the public's eyes. Nick became the poster child for "Satan". Anyone who had ever looked at his picture could have sworn that they saw the devil's soul through his ice cold blue eyes.
For some reason, maybe the government felt guilty about this whole ordeal, they did not end the story right there by giving Nick a lethal injection. They could have just killed him and no one would have ever known about their secrets. Instead, they were willing to give him an alternative. They would give him a new identity and a new life. In return, they wanted him to give them six years of his life.
They told him at the time that he was a smart boy. His innocent good looks betrayed his worn down soul. He was very sharp and clever. He had remained silent throughout the whole ordeal, and they liked that about him. They liked his calmness and his maturity. They were willing to let him live and earn his freedom. All he had to do was serve them until he was twenty years old.
Nick did not know why, but he agreed to everything. That was why he was here in this building, waiting for his next case. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of Urgof's office. He quickly knocked on the door.
"Come in," he heard Urgof's muffled voice. Nick gently opened the door to reveal his boss, cozily sitting on his chair. Nick took a seat and waited patiently. Urgof smiled. "Well, it has been an interesting few years, huh my boy?" Nick nodded nonchalantly.
Urgof stared into those blue eyes again and sighed. "Have you ever had any regrets working with us?" He held onto Nick's gaze to see if he could force any sort of emotion from Nick's face. Nick gazed at him back. He shook his head.
If there were any emotion, it had been drained from Nick long ago. Urgof felt disappointed. They had all felt bad about framing him. That's why they had backed off and given Nick another chance in life. Perhaps Nick didn't know it, but Urgof had felt love for the boy ever since Nick had been forced to join their government.
Nick wasn't evil, just lost. And though Urgof had no part in the plot to murder Nick's adopted father, he felt somewhat responsible for Nick's state. Sometimes, he wondered why Nick's real parents had put him up for adoption. Nick was a beautiful baby. He had seen those photos. Many showed Nick with a cocky face, beaming at the camera. Urgof thought it was hilarious.
And now, the boy had turned out to be a handsome young man. He was picture perfect with his golden strands of hair and stunning blue eyes. The strangest thing was that no matter how Nick dressed or combed his hair, he was still pleasing to look at. He could wake up in the middle of the night and still look like a fine prize. If only he would open up.
"Yes?" Urgof heard Nick quietly urge him to continue talking. He didn't know how long he had zoned out, but Nick looked slightly impatient.
Urgof smiled. "I have a new case for you. It will be perfect!"
"Perfect?" Nick asked, his eyes slightly wider.
"I have a very close friend in need of help. He is a very successful businessman, but it seems he has been having trouble lately. Someone is tampering with the data in his company. He has hired detectives before, but they have been useless. Plus, the situation is worsening. His family has recently been drawn into the whole thing. His daughter had recently been harassed by two men which he believed had something to do with the person or group who is tampering with his company. So he finally decided to give me a call."
Nick nodded, waiting for Urgof to continue.
Urgof looked sternly at Nick. "This is really important. He is a very close friend of mine. He is also a respected public figure AND," Urgof had to emphasize this point to Nick, "AND he is a very LOVING and CARING family man. I will put you on this case, but you must act with dignity. I will not allow you to act inappropriately in front of him. You treat him with respect, okay?"
Nick remained silent, pensive. Finally, he collected his thoughts. "Please don't complicate matters, Urgof. It is my job to solve a case, not to go around practicing my etiquette."
Urgof slapped his desk hard, catching Nick's attention. "That's exactly what I don't want to hear, okay? It's not that difficult to do your work and ACT appropriately around this man." The moment those words slipped out, Urgof immediately regretted them. That was how Nick worked-blunt and callus.
Nick remained unfazed. "So why do you want me on this case if it requires socialization skills?" His voice showed no hints of anger.
Urgof sighed again. "Because you're the only one I trust to get the job done." He looked at Nick and thought he detected some joy in Nick's eyes. But it only lasted for a millisecond. Well, Nick may never have cried or smiled before, but after this case, Urgof hoped to change that.
He thought that this was the perfect case for Nick. Not that he doubted Nick's skills. No one doubted that. Nick was the best they had.
But this case was like no other because of the people involved. The Brooks family is a well-known family. They've been embraced by the public and loved by all. Daniel Brooks, the father, was a very noble man. For them to be experiencing problems was a puzzle to everyone. And there were his three beautiful children. Two teenage sons and a teenage daughter. Their family was almost too perfect in Urgof's opinion.
But Nick would fit right in. Urgof knew that Daniel had an extended family that spanned four countries. So having Nick pretend to be his nephew would not be a problem. Plus, the similarities between Nick and Daniel were astonishing. Had Daniel been twenty years younger, they would have looked like twins. They share the same build and facial features. The only difference was their personalities. But that didn't alarm Urgof as much.
After a few minutes of silence, Nick looked up at Urgof and replied, "So when do you want me to start?"
"Tomorrow, on Christmas eve. There will be a party at the Brooks', a very big and formal one." Urgof smiled. "We'll need to get you some decent clothes, my boy."
Nick looked at the man oddly. Why was it that Urgof wanted so badly for him to take on this case?