Ask the Blind Bomber

Taylor and Murphy leave the silent pyro by the window, turning to their last suspect, who waits patiently in the common room.

The two detectives let their suspect limp to the dining area, shoving aside the dirty plates to make room. Murphy closes the shades, Taylor hits the overhead lights.

“I’m going to get right to it,” Murphy says, taking a seat. “What do you know about the explosions that have been heard from town, Mr...?”

“McInnis,” Erin says, taking his seat, “An I‘ve been makin’ the explosions, yea. ‘s my job. Reliable Excavation an’ Demolition.”

“Point taken,” Murphy chuckles before straightening out and hardening his tone once again, “but this facility is supposed to be defunct. Most of the citizens of Teufort thought this was derelict.”

“As you could probably see, with a Demolitions expert here at Reliable Excavation an’ Demolition,” Erin pushed, “we’re not.”

Taylor scribbles on his pad.

“No, you’re still blasting within the residential zone, according to the blast damage just outside.”

“Unless it was an accident,” Taylor suggests.

“But then, if you’re demolishing in the mining area, there’s no need to have explosives on site here,” Murphy finishes.

If Erin was wearing a false eye, it would have fallen out. They’d done their homework, which he hadn’t taken into account.

“Well,” he stammers,”I was just testing out my new batch of dynamite. I make it meself. I don’ trust the commercially available stuff ya see.”

“You don’t buy American?” Taylor quips.

“Back up there,” Murphy says, leaning in, pen quivering. “You just...you just said you manufacture unlicensed explosives in this facility.”

“safer than stick...” Erin murmurs, “an it cuts back on expenses.”

He leans back in his chair putting his boots on the table. With his head in the dimmer light, his perspiration is a bit less obvious.

“You’re awfully uppity for being under arrest,” Murphy retorts, taking out his badge and cuffs.

“On what grounds?” Erin says sitting upright once again. “I thought was a questioning...not an arrest.”

“Too bad for you,” Murphy says, with a devilish grin “like they’ll question us arresting a negro like you .“

Erin stands upright, his face bitter and menacing as he grips the table.

“Yer pushin’ me over tha FUCKIN’ line! You think you can waltz in here an degrade me? Arrest me?” He pushes the table aside, yelling “Who the hell do you Mics think you are?”

Murphy flings up an arm as the table goes flying, hand going to his revolver. Taylor is already a step ahead, lunging forward with a sharp jab at the Scotsman’s nose. Erin reels back with a shout, blood streaming from his nose, and Taylor follows through by tackling him to the ground.

“Officer!” Murphy barks, knotting a hand in Taylor’s collar. “Back away from the suspect.”

His orders fall on deaf ears. The two men are locked in their fisticuffs.

At first, it all blurred together. A haymaker to the face and then he was on the ground one of the cops on top of him raining punches onto him. He flails desperately to grasp and hold the officer’s arm. He finally catches hold and the blows stop.

“Fuckin’ psychopath!” Erin shouts, spraying blood into Taylor’s face.

The Demoman’s flailing arm catches Taylor hard against the ear. The officer hears ringing, feels blood down his cheek, and Murphy’s hand on the back of his shirt.

“What the hell was that, Taylor?” Murphy snaps incredulously. “We can’t take him in like this-what were you thinking?”

“I thought he was going for a weapon,” Taylor explains loudly over the ringing in his ear.

“Well now you’re going for police brutality, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, we nearly had him!” Murphy sweeps his badge and cuffs back into his pocket, grabs Taylor by the scruff of the neck.

The moors still had the same unreal look they’d held since he was a child, sneaking out on Hallows Eve to see the spirits mom always said were about. He’d long since cast aside such nonsense.

"Fairy tales to scare me as a wee one. Bah! Nothin’ more than that." He had said that to someone once.

He stood there, fumbling with a lighter in the damp. Finally, a flame fights it’s way into existence and flickers weakly. He has just enough time to get the cigarette lit before it dances itself into oblivion.Great way to spend a vacation, he thinks as he takes a drag, looking out at lights on the water that he halfheartedly wishes to be spirits but knows to be the freight ships he worked on.

He turns heel and walks down the dock heading for home and a stiff drink. The old dock creeks and whimpers as he treads it. in a self destructive act of revolt, it snaps one of his planks and sends Erin tumbling, his leg bending at awkward angles before bashing through a second rotten piece of wood. He opens his mouth to shout as he falls and in goes the cigarette, ash and all. aying on a dock, sprawled out with a dislocated ankle and lungs full of cooling embers and soot makes time pass strangely. The pain rushed everything a mile a minute but the diminishing oxygen drew it out as the lights on the water rushed in on him.

"You know, smoking is much more dangerous than the warning on the carton makes it out to be." Says a voice, echoing in the mist and glimmer. It’s familiar. His ankle warms and the pain subsides as he wheezes and his lungs seem to radiate an electric, healing glow. As he hacks up foul tasting phlegm, the warmth leaves him. His foot aches, but he can breathe perfectly, as if he’d never smoked a day in his life.

Erin pulls himself to his feet and rips a railing off the dock for a makeshift crutch. It’s a long walk home, but a short drive to the hospital. Before he leaves, he looks up the directory for any Wolfes. The only number that works sends him to an answering machine. "Allo, ‘Melia! It’s Erin, if ya can’t tell. I don’ know you were up here too, but I thought I heard ya out by the water. I wanna say thanks fer helpin wit what ya could…maybe when we get back to the forts, I could buy ya dinner or sumthin. anyway, I’ll let ya enjoy the rest of your time." *Click*

 A week later, and he’s back at the forts, in the heat of battle. Blasting himself up to the catwalk, he spies Gavin, shakily trying to aim his rifle, a hard grimace on his face. Something’s missing. A partner. Erin lowers his launcher and taps the sniper on the shoulder. The sniper starts, a small yelp escaping.

"Where’s your lass?"

Gavin turns away from the scope of his rifle, his eye bloodshot and glassy. “gone…" he says, barely a whisper. He looks back to his scope, and fires, ending Erin’s new Boston co-worker into the moat, a trail of red falling after him.  From behind the rifle lens, a tear escapes and trickles down his face. 

Scream: My character has caused yours to scream out for some reason

Graveyard: My character will visit your characters grave

Spectre: My character will be visited by your character’s ghost or vice versa

Dream: My character will have a dream about your character

Nightmare: One of our characters will have a nightmare.

Busted: Your character will catch mine doing something they shouldn’t.

Break Me: I will write an angsty drabble about our characters.

Comfort Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character comforting yours- vise versa.

Drink Me: I will write a drabble about my character taking shots with yours.

Dominate Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character dominating yours. Or vise versa.

Embarrass Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character saying or doing something embarrassing to himself or to your character.

Haunt Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character watching over yours [as a ghost, watching from a distance, or otherwise, feel free to specify.]

Hunt with me: I’ll write a drabble about your character and mine on a hunt together.

Join Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character giving your character an offer

Kill Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character killing yours.

Nurse Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character healing yours.

Raise Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character resurrecting yours. Vise versa.

Surprise Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character surprising yours. Vise versa.

Save Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character saving yours or vise versa.

Shoot Me: I’ll write a drabble about my character shooting yours or vise versa.

Torture Me: I’ll write a drabble about your character torturing mine or vise versa.

Deny Me: my character will either deny your character’s advances or deny them a ’ happy ending’

Lick Me: my character will lick yours in any specified place or manner.

Suck Me: my character will suck on any body part of your character

Tease Me: my character will tease yours, whether in a friendly or a sexual manner

Bite Me: my character will bite yours on any part of their body

Blindfold Me: my character will blindfold yours in order to have their fun

Meet Me: My character is meeting yours either for the first time or just causally.

Slap me: my character will slap yours. In the sexual manner, or of anger. specify.

Call Me: My character will call your character for whatever reason.

Hug Me: My character will hug yours. Either by surprise or for a specific reason.

Give Me: my character will give yours a gift

Sleep: My character needs to stay at your character’s house for the night, or vise versa. Specify.

Drink: My character will call, text, or show up at your character’s house drunk. Specify which of the three.

Heal: My character will tend to your character’s wounds, or be at their side when they’re sick.

Protect: My character keeps yours safe from harm.

Kiss: My character kisses yours, or vise versa. Specify.

Dream: My character wakes up in the middle of the night because of a dream with your character in it.

Revenge: My character will get revenge on yours.

Jealousy: My character gets jealous over yours.

Hallucinations: My character will have hallucinations about your character.

Candle: Our characters spending time together by candle light.

Gift: My character gives your character something special. Or vise versa. Specify.

Spell: I’ll write my character putting a spell on yours. Or being under a spell/curse.

Song: My charcter singing a song to yours, or vice versa.

Gloves: How my character deals with news from yours, Specify

Snow: Our characters in the cold together.

Rain: I’ll write a fluffy drabble of our characters kissing in the rain.

Kill: I’ll write a angst drabble of my character violently killing yours.

Love: I’ll write a drabble of my character admitting they love yours.

Lust: I’ll write a drabble of our characters making love together.

Date: I’ll write a drabble of my character taking yours out on a date.

Defend: I’ll write a drabble of my character protecting yours.

Fight: I’ll write a drabble of my character fighting with/against yours.

Trick: Your character and mine being sneaky together

Treat: Your character and mine being sweet to one another

Costume: Your character or mine, dressing up for the other

Stars: Our characters under the stars together

Snow: Our characters in the cold together

Scarf: Your character or Mine borrowing/stealing clothes from the other

Hot Cocoa: Our characters enjoying a hot moment together.

Candles: Our characters enjoying a moment by candlelight

Gift: Your character or mine, surprising the other with a present

Bows: Your character or mine, dressing/undressing the other