Replace: Erase, #3

By Heidy Hardaker

Detective Enfield's past was a lie. For years he has been pushed into a painful existence. The very essence of who he was, gone forever. His partner was already replaced by something sinister. Chaos has pushed them into an even more restrictive maze. Instead of catching dangerous criminals their colleagues are the ones committing the crimes. Stuck in a predatory town, now they are the victims of the enigmatic Erase. Is there a way to survive the fall and shatter the illusion?

 

Erase Book 3. Word Count 63,248.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heidy Hardaker
• Release date: Dec 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393417415

Heidy Hardaker

Just because your creativity is not valued does not mean that there is no value in the process: in the skills you learn along the way, in the self-awareness you gain and determination that you find within yourself. There is something only you can give. True success is when you are true to yourself. So never give up.

Book preview

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‘OVER THE DECADES WE’VE had many different faces. Today I propose another,’ Raven smirked into the darkness. Her voice echoed around the expansive space. The only object in the room was a rectangle table and chairs of varying sizes. She could see that the most important members had the largest chairs and were as far away from her as humanly possible. Her eyesight was impeccable especially her night vision. As a child, she had spent most of her life in a dark pit.

The corset dug into her skin. It was becoming more and more difficult to breathe. The elaborate dress was a waste of time. In retrospect the colour should have been neon. Her crimson hair was also chosen as a distraction but no one could see her. The uncomfortable contact lenses were an unnatural mix of haunting colours that their weak eyes could not see. Her platform heels dug into the wooden boards. She cursed them. So far none of her tricks had worked on them.

‘There’s a complex set of tunnels that Erase employee’s collect their victims from after a few days of suffering of course. Why? There is no need for such gratuitous violence.’ A trickle of adrenaline made her hand tremble. The entire alliance was captive to her every word.

‘If you are too strong physically and mentally Erase won’t work.’ Mr. Preston grumbled. ‘So what? Everyone who’s anyone knows that.’

‘We designed it to torture, rats in a maze. Complicated,’ she tore the lenses out of her eyes. ‘Unnecessary. There is an easier way.’

‘Doesn’t make it better,’ he sniffled.

She cursed him in her head. He was making her job so difficult.

‘I happen to like watching them suffer. It’s a hobby of mine to make the tunnels as deadly as they are complicated and I’ve had no complaints thus far. From Erase or from my victims.’

‘Why am I not surprised,’ she mumbled. ‘We need to be smarter, we do not want to lose so many resources on a daily basis. Efficiency is key.’

The plan was simple but effective. It destroyed her enemies and helped her allies but that would not be a selling point for them. They were her enemies. The deception made her quiver with excitement.

Delaney was grinning ear to ear. It was the last piece to their puzzle. He had successfully infiltrated Cooper’s inner circle and now it was time for her to prove herself to him. His muscles flexed as he hovered around the exit. At any moment they could be found out and killed. It was more important that he escaped so he could carry out their plan. She was prepared to sacrifice herself as long as their objective was reached.

‘Who’s we?’ Mr. Preston asked. His voice came from the bottom of the table right near the exit. It was disorientating for her to have his voice sniping at her from the side. He had chosen his position based on where he felt the most comfortable. Apparently in her presence, he preferred to sit right by the exit.

‘The s,’ she stuttered and spluttered. The unexpected interruption broke her train of thought.

‘Don’t waste our time,’ he sprung out of his chair.

‘Sit,’ Delaney tensed up, he was either ready to attack or flee.

‘If one of us succeeds we all do. We all want the same thing.’ The laces were cutting into her skin. Her fingers crept to the back of her corset. As she slowly unloosened it, it pinched her fingers.

‘Really? Do tell,’ Mr. Preston stormed back to his massive chair and flopped back into it.

She almost made an audible gasp. ‘It’s time to step up our game while the momentum is still with us. Lipowski is—’

‘Focus on yourself.’

‘Are you the only person that is allowed to speak Mr. Preston? Surely you don’t speak for everyone. Otherwise why are they still sitting silently listening to me?’ Her nostrils flared as she inhaled. She dropped the constricting corset onto the ground.

‘How arrogant are you? Silent yes, captivated by or better yet captive to your every word, no. I think what you are trying to say is that we are desperate for your help? But really,’ the shrill voice was irritating on a good day but the mocking tone made it insufferable. ‘We are just trying to figure out why it is taking you so long to get to the point.’

‘No, but defiantly desperate for ideas. The same old tired games are no longer working. I’m right, aren’t I? There must be a reason,’ Raven swallowed the lump in her throat and clasped her trembling hands together. ‘Why you haven’t left yet? P—’

The group started to murmur, she had lost their full attention and was about to lose them to the exit. At any moment she could bathe them in light and show their faces for the world to see. It was a dangerous game but one she had to play to cement her position and gain the power she craved. The target she had painted on her back was making her heart palpitate as sweat dripped down her forehead. If it did not go well then she would incur their wrath for the rest of her life.

‘Stoking the fires of hatred, poisoning our prey, stealing their wealth and knowledge, tearing them away from their family, brainwashing their minds, demoralising their hearts,’ the man’s voice was gruff; his mocking tone caught her off guard. ‘Starving their souls. Confusing them to the point where they even doubt which way is up and which way is down. And yet still they outnumber us. What could you possibly say that would tip the scales. Right now they’re seconds away from turning on us and undoing all that hard work.’

It took her a while to place the voice. She was not use to Barker speaking down to her.

‘Exactly.’ Her heart was in her mouth. It was beating so loud that she was having trouble hearing herself speak. The lack of feedback made her pause. She felt so vulnerable without it.

‘You are wasting our time,’ Mr. Preston snapped.

‘Why do you hide in the shadows like a condescending coward? Come out and face me or shut up. I’m sick of your yapping,’ Raven took a deep breath and tried to continue her pitch before she lost control and went for the stranger. ‘I—’

‘Anonymity is power my dear, if you don’t know that then why are we listening to you?’ Barker sounded like his nose was stuck in the air as he talked down to her. It was damaging her self-confidence.

She almost missed her cue to speak. ‘That’s exactly what I propose, we steal them. We erase them and replace them with us.’

‘How?’

The entire group started to shuffle in their seats. A harsh creaking noise echoed around the large room. She removed her wig and let it dangle in her fingertips. Everything was slowly falling apart and not even her disguise could prevent her from falling apart with it. The wig slipped through her hands. She left her heels standing beside it as she moved away. Her tights slid over the uncomfortable floor. Splinters dug into her toes and made her squirm.

‘So you are more valuable as an ally than an enemy?’ A woman interrogated her. ‘Elizabeth, Ray Alexander and Sam Enfield started this path to destruction. How can only you continue it?’

Raven placed the device on the table and laughed. ‘This is my masterpiece, years worth of work, condensed into a poisonous concoction of brilliance.’

‘Stop wasting our time, your achievements have been sporadic at best. We do not want to listen to you sweet talking yourself. So just spit out your ridiculous idea so we can reject it and leave already. Unlike your time, our time is very valuable.’ Mr. Preston snapped. ‘Especially mine.’

‘Charming,’ someone muttered.

‘Plant these devices around your target. They will whisper in their ear until they willingly, that’s right willingly, jump into Erase. Once there, we will strip away every single part of who they are, eradicate their personality and replace it with ours.’ Her voice started to increase in speed and volume as the excitement animated her entire body. ‘Our bloodthirsty callousness will consume the empty space until they become a reflection of us.’

‘Do you have proof of concept?’ Barker’s voice was shaking with anger. She tried to push aside the doubt that was creeping in. Either something was wrong or he was a really good actor.

She exhaled. ‘Alexander Enfield.’

‘Boisterous and tenacious little brat.’ Mr. Preston snorted. ‘Who cares about him anyway?’

‘Not a compelling tool. Unfortunately nothing like his grandfather, thankfully nothing like his father.’ They spoke together. Their scornful voices grated on her last nerve.

‘The power I hold,’ she tore through the elaborate dress until the seams were shredded; the dress thudded onto the wooden floor as she threw it with all of her might. ‘I will make him destroy Aves Atrium.’

‘Why would you destroy an ally?’ The shrill voice hurt Raven’s ears.

‘Because she is your enemy.’ Raven spoke under her breath, ‘You stupid moron!’

‘Hey you are not allowed to insult the people in power,’ Mr. Preston grunted.

‘She is plotting your demise. I was suppose to destroy Erase instead I will save it until it rises above,’ Raven raised her hands and clicked her fingers. ‘Your rival. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.’

A soft glow emitted from the walls as the evidence of her many misdeeds filled the space. The faceless strangers were so enamoured with her work that they forgot to hide their faces. As her eyes adjusted to the light, they flickered over them: brown hair, greasy beards, jowls, and wrinkles. They were all so average and dull. One looked like their face had been filled with water until it was almost ready to burst.

She suppressed her laughter.

‘Riveting stuff I know,’ Delaney taunted.

‘Time for a snack,’ Raven poked her tongue into her cheek as she turned the device on. A strong smell overwhelmed her senses and made her feel ill. The voices were swarming all around them but she was used to their screams. She knew them all by name but they were instantly consumed by it. Their faces started to violently contort.

Her loudest critic was the first to go, he convulsed and smashed into the marble floor.

‘Save us,’ Mr. Preston pleaded as he tumbled out of his chair.

‘You people are leeches, sucking the life out of others. No wonder the idea for Erase came to you so easily.’ Her eyes shone with malice as their misery filled her vision. ‘It’s what you do.’

‘No you need us,’ they groaned. Their sprawling bodies littered the table and floor.

‘Why would I give you my work? When destruction is a simpler solution. What you fail to grasp is there are plenty of ways to kill someone without even touching them.’ She knew what their pain felt like, it was like a hundred maggots crawling and gnawing on their brain. A tingling feeling that electrified their veins and made them twitch with pleasure and pain.

‘Stop,’ one of them gasped. ‘Where did reality go, no more fitful sleep.’

‘What’s the problem? Don’t you recognise your kin when you hear them.’ She spread her arms out to them as if she wanted to embrace them all. ‘They are calling you home.’

Mr. Preston stumbled towards the exit, his greasy hair bounced around as he made it outside the device’s range.

‘Lipowski sends her regards.’ She strutted towards the prone man and towered over him. ‘Flutter echo, can you hear it?’

‘You are still a puppet,’ blood dripped out of his mouth.

‘The best thing about working for someone is that they take all the blame.’ She waved at the chaos that was surrounding them.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see more and more of them dropping to the floor. They convulsed briefly before everything was still once more.

‘And all the credit,’ he sneered. ‘What you want is so elusive.’

‘Who cares about that?’ She was dismissive. ‘They will be baying for her blood before mine.’

‘You harassed us for craving anonymity then you hide behind Lipowski?’ He taunted. ‘How pathetic are you? This won’t change anything, you are still less than nothing.’

‘It’s just a personal preference, I like to see and know my enemies. Don’t take it personally.’

His snide laugh exposed his blood-soaked teeth.

She could feel her temperature rising, for some reason she just wanted him to suffer. His words were nothing new. She had heard the same ones throughout her life. It did not bother her. There was something about his smug face that made her loathe the ground he walked on.

‘Just kill me. Being a coward is detrimental to your health.’ The words did not match his actions as he started to crawl away from them. ‘You know Lipowski precipitates every move you make.’

Raven gritted her teeth so hard that her jaw displaced.

‘Can you make a decision without her?’ His brazen and contentious attitude was making her blood boil.

‘For someone in such a precarious position, you are too mouthy.’ She traced her finger around her lips.

‘I’m going to relish your destruction,’ his acerbic words were a blatant threat to their emerging power. ‘A tweak here, a spanner in the works there and everything falls down.’

She glanced over at her allies. At any moment their fractious relationship could come to an end. The alliance was already tentative and unbalanced. She could not afford to show any weakness. His disrespect could unravel ten years worth of work.

‘Avoidance and deception, that is why the traitors are still alive and how you got to us,’ his strident voice was irritating while his haughty eyes were staring through her.

Her allies shuffled uncomfortably. They stayed at the end of the table, parallel to them but separate from the mess and the drama. At any moment they could change their minds and devise a plan against her.

‘They died,’ he pointed to the dead bodies of his fallen comrades. ‘For your stupid plan. What an insult, to them, to me.’

‘And they,’ she waved her hand in Barker’s direction, ‘were just showing hysteria to make you feel better. They didn’t mean it. You know they were out of range just like you are now. Did you figure it out?’

‘Those who yell the loudest,’ Mr. Preston’s voice quavered with rage and frustration. ‘Have the most to hide.’

‘Abrasive and divisive, is there anyway to stop your incessant yapping? The way you exploit a situation transcends reality.’ It was a surprise to hear Elizabeth speak let alone voice such a strong opinion; she was normally so impartial. ‘You are the epitome of a thorn in our sides. Why should we trust you? You have no loyalty to us, you’ve systematically ruined everything you’ve touched. Betrayal is your middle name.’

‘Thanks Elizabeth. Both of your faces are so vivid and surreal as the years catch up on you all.’ He scoffed. ‘Good luck with this precocious brat, she can’t be muzzled.’

‘Don’t denigrate my allies,’ Raven’s sweet and soft-spoken voice hid her malice. ‘You are so contrived.’

‘Dependency on their narrative of repetitive coercion will only make you weak, disconnected. Then they’ll mock you for it,’ he snorted. ‘All the power they wield over you will never be yours. This pretence, they expose it and hide it because either way they have control. But this way you know it too. It happens in increments as it reverberates through your life. Think back to me. Thank me for the warning and the torture.’

‘The assiduity with which you tackle tasks is alluring,’ she mumbled. The tension in the room was palpable. She could taste the stench of death as it permeated her lungs.

Mr. Preston resumed his crawl towards the exit. No one else moved. Her face turned red as she realised they were all glaring at her. They were all waiting for her to make a decision. Her hand trembled. Everyone had stepped on and dismissed her throughout her life but this was the first time she could do something about it. Her mind was racing with possibilities. The pressure she was under was mounting. Everyone wanted to leave but no one could until she made up her mind.

She pursed her lips so hard that her tooth pierced through her lip. Blood oozed out. It tickled as it trickled down her chin. She did nothing to stop it, she had already stripped herself bare. There was nothing more she could hide behind. Even the darkness had receded by her own hand. The situation was entirely of her making, it was her fault, her burden.

Mr. Preston was almost to the door. His fingernails clawed at the polished floor as he flopped around. Every surface they touched had to be perfect while she was stuck standing on a creaking wooden floor.

‘If you’d be so kind Delaney.’ She nodded towards the door. Her tights started to slide as she made the transition onto the polished floor.

Delaney stepped in front of the exit.

‘No one leaves until you apologise.’

‘To who?’ Mr. Preston spluttered as he tried to chuckle. ‘Huh? To a bunch of spurious deviants?’

‘Everyone.’

‘I’m so sorry. Is that sufficient, insufficient? Like I care either way,’ he emanated a deep rage. ‘I’m not going to be subdued by your stupidity. Now kill me or let me change.’

Delaney glanced at her. ‘In to what, a competent man? A mundane soulless drab brat?’

‘Vivid characterisation.’ Her curt nod was directed at Delaney. ‘Not all changes are for the better.’

The knife glinted in the low light as the blood splattered on the table and the wall.

‘What the hell was that?’ She was incredulous. ‘You need to work on your non-verbal communication. Would anyone else have done that? Huh? Oh silent treatment, real mature.’

‘If you would give us a second,’ the shrill voice snapped. ‘Then maybe we would answer you. In his defence you really didn’t specify. Anyway do that outside or you will stain the fluffy rug under our pristine marble table. Get your feet off the polished marble.’

‘Look around you Hale, we are way past cleanliness at this late stage. Sorry,’ he cradled Raven’s chin and brushed his finger against her eyelashes. His thumb gently stroked the blood away from her lip. The soothing gesture did nothing to quell her anger. They were both dressed for a fight.

‘Look around you Duh, he’s escaping,’ Hale snorted. ‘Next time you might want to disable or kill your enemy before you start your flirty little chitchat.’

‘Duh’s not my name.’ His inscrutable countenance was unnerving. Raven grabbed his arm and dragged him away before he did something that broke their