Rich Men Dead

            Red and blue lights swirled in the night as a crowd drew near to a home bordered with caution tape. Dispatchers radioed in with clues to the mystery while bystanders and neighbors kept an open ear. They wanted to leave, knowing they could be mistaken as a suspect, but their curiosity glued them where they stood. A murder, at first glance, brought the police out from their station accompanied by ambulances and firetrucks. A who done it was on everyone’s tongue, for what motive was the authorities to know.
            Two detectives soon appeared to the scene of the crime. Their first instinct was to scout the perimeter then they proceeded to enter the home sealed off to the public. Once they were in, they were briefly informed of the incident; beginning with a phone call. As the detectives were caught up to the murder in question, they were presented to a man sitting by his desk. The man lay low as if he were fast asleep, the desk covered in blood. The man’s blood poured from a small wound pierced to the head.
            There seemed to be no struggle or breaking of entry. To the detectives knowledge, there seemed to be nothing missing but the culprit. The detectives ruled out suicide though that were to be the police’s statement for the news reporters outside. The detectives did their best not to move anything as they carefully spread and looked around. They knew nothing of the dead man but had a clue as to who he might be. They moved about, jotting notes and clues. They were silent but inquisitive.
            Judging from the man’s acquired taste in things, the detectives noticed, the man came from a wealthy family or at least made a very decent living. From the abundant state of the art flat screens decked in every room to the luxurious extended marble table, to the lavish art pieces, the man most certainly had everything an average person would dream of. How unfortunate he met his demise at such a moment of glory. The detectives did notice one peculiar aspect of the man, he had no family of his own.
            There could be a million reasons as to why someone would want such a rich man dead. Having no offspring of their own narrows the list but broadens the motives. Who in deed would want someone dead? What enemies would a young wealthy bachelor have? Picture frames in silver and gold, big and small, told a tale of a kind and popular man. The man held his own as he stood with powerful giants. The detectives looked around for more clues. Clearly, they needed more information from the dead man. They only needed to ask a few questions to the right people.
            The detectives trailed back to the dead man and examined with precision the scene of the crime. One detective stepped closer to the body. The dead man, it seemed, was concealing a stack of papers now covered in blood. The other detective noticed the dead man might have been working on a project, or at least it was meant to look that way. They stayed quiet for some time as they jot down last minute observations. In unison they closed their notepads and tucked them into their coats.
            One detective took one last picture before they boarded their car. They sat patiently while taking one last look at the crowd. They noticed there were fewer people around; aside from the police, firefighters, medics and news reporters. They took mental notes of those who still lingered before finally leaving. “He was working on something big,” his partner began, “And the evidence is drenched in blood.” His partner agreed undoubtedly.
            As the detectives worked on the case, miles away in a peaceful gated community, a neighborhood unaware of the recent events, were sound asleep; all but one home. A woman in her mid forties stood from her desk and closed a folder labeled, “Classified.” She held the folder to a filing cabinet, entered a series of codes, opened it and selectively placed the folder away. Her office disappeared behind her as she proceeded to turn off the lights. While her husband slept upstairs in their master bedroom, she roamed to the kitchen.
            There, she fixed herself a light snack before joining her partner. Their home was wide and spacious with plenty of room to walk about. With a cup of hot chocolate in hand, she leisurely walked to the living room. Two large glass doors lead to the back yard. Lights emitting from inside the swimming pool lit the edges for safety. Silence rang in her ear as she marveled at her property through the glass. Her reflection mirrored an established woman with power and grace.
            Deep in thought, a sudden rattle coming from the bushes caught her attention. The dog sniffed around to where she noticed a figure moving about. She placed her mug on a table beside her as she watched for any sign of intrusion. The dog disappeared into the bushes and she waited. She waited for the dog to bark, to alarm her of trouble but the dog never came out. The dog remained in the dark, silent. Calmly, she slid the glass door open and quietly whistled for her pet. The dog did not answer.
            “Czar.” The woman called, slowly stepping away from the glass door. “Here boy!” She called and whistled as she looked through the darkness beyond her sight. The night settled in her eyes as her vision adjusted. She fixed her sight to where the dog had went and without notice two white glowing dots appeared. She screamed as she entered the house, locking the glass doors behind her. The two glowing dots formed into a figure as it stepped into the light. Through the glass, the woman stared at a tall man with unusual glowing eyes.
            “Clive!” She screamed for her husband. With horror, the man outside ran through the glass door and chased after the woman. She ran to the living room then to another small private room, all while screaming for help. She made her way to the library, to the nearest phone she could find. She attempted to call for the neighborhood police but was derailed by the man with glowing eyes. She stood frozen in fear as she got a better glimpse of the strange being before her.
            Unable to dial for the police, she managed to escape without falling in the hands of the intruder. “Clive!” She called as she ran up the stairs, the intruder followed behind. She entered the upstairs office and went straight for her cellphone. The man with glowing white eyes stood by the door. She turned and aimed her cellphone at the intruder as if it were a remote and the intruder was the TV. She opened an app and a red dot appeared. Before she could touch the screen, the man aimed his hand with his thumb up and two fingers pointed to her.
            She was dead in an instant. Her body fell where it stood. Her phone dropped beside her with the red button in the center of the screen. The man stomped his heavy boot to the screen, shattering the cellphone to pieces. A hole through the woman’s head spilled blood all over the floor. The man with glowing eyes dropped his hand and proceeded to find Clive. Within minutes, Clive too found himself dead; shot through the head with no bullet in sight.
            Like before, the detectives were sought to find the culprit. They examined the bodies, the struggle left behind from the murder but they still couldn’t find a clue as to who were behind the killings. One detective stepped outside to the backyard while the other lingered to the upstairs office. In the upstairs office, the detective began to piece the puzzle together or whatever clues he could make sense of the situation. The woman lay covered in a blood stained sheet with her phone, shattered to bits, beside her.
             The detective took a small metal object from his coat and rummaged through the torn pieces. He was searching for the hard drive, a memory card, something to lead him to an answer. Was she calling for someone? Was she hiding something on her phone that her killer didn’t want anyone to know? Once he found what he was looking for, he began to look around. Nothing seemed missing or out of place. No sign of robbery or foul play, just a wealthy woman dead for what reasons he was going to find out.
            As he circled the office, a piece to the puzzle appeared before him. Mounted on a wall, framed in gold, a picture caught his attention. In the picture, a group of friends gathered together in smiles. At first glance, one would suspect they were celebrating a cause or capturing a moment of bliss before they disband but as the detective took a closer look he began to understand the mystery behind the sudden murders.
            To one side, the recently deceased woman stood happy with her friends as she embraced them for a group photo. Beside her, the man they first encountered when they were given the case stood by; smiles and all. It was clear to the detective that they not only knew each other but they were also colleagues. The photo they took together, along with seven other unknown people, wasn’t just a random group picture. They were capturing the moment they began their project for a corporation. A project some would deem inhumane.
            With his phone in hand, the detective made a call. Red flags surrounded him as he began to understand the motives behind the murders. How could something so simple be hiding in plain sight? The detective took a picture of the scientist celebrating the beginning of a revolutionary pursuit and proceeded to find his partner. “Fierros.” The detective called to his partner. Outside in the backyard, his partner stood by the bushes as he jotted down notes. “I think it’s time we head back.” The detective paused, not wanting to seem suspicious.
            “I sense an irregularity in your tone.” Fierros replied. “Is something troubling you Detective Zau?”
            “I’m sure it’s nothing.” His partner answered. “We do need to head back to headquarters.”
            The ride back was uncomfortable to say the least. Detective Zau knew something but was cautious not to reveal much. The sensitive information he kept from his partner could spark an out cry of discrimination and controversy. He remained silent for the remainder of the ride back to headquarters. “Forgive me for intruding,” Fierros began, “But back in the crime scene I could not help but to pick up an unusual frequency pattern emitting from your aura.” Fierros turned to his partner, “Plus, it’s not like you to keep things from your partner.”
            “Well,” Zau played it cool, “Its not everyday a group of wealthy scientist get murdered for no reason.”
            “Scientist, are they.” Fierros replied. “How did you come to that conclusion?”
            “Remember the wealthy bachelor?” Zau asked, “Back in the woman’s office, I found a valuable piece of information.” Zau confessed, “The bachelor and the woman knew each other. Not only that but they worked together too, along with seven other people.” He paused, hoping he was wrong, “I fear they too may find themselves dead soon.” Fierros remained silent. Zau turned to him, “I’m going to be frank with you, Fierros. We may be facing a case far greater than both of us. I think we should call for reinforcements.”
            “I believe you have already made the call for such an act?” Fierros asked. Zau turned back to the roadless road. He didn’t want to admit it but he was beginning to feel trapped. He knew he said too much, revealed his hidden motive. “And what kind of work were these wealthy scientist dedicating themselves to?” Zau was getting nervous. “Were they conjuring another cure to cancer? Developing a new form of space travel? Enslaving a more superior race?” Fierros paused, “Funny how one simple picture can create such a revelation.”
            “I never spoke of a picture.” Zau proclaimed.
            “True,” Fierros began, “But at this point in time we both are well aware of what we speak of.” Zau tried to explain, to get himself out of the sticky situation but was cut short, “One would figure a picture would mean nothing but I guess my calculations of your perceptiveness was off. A miss calculation I tend not to repeat.”
            “Fierros, whatever it is you plan on doing is not the law you were designed for.”
            “Correction Zau,” Fierros replied, “You and your kind were designed to follow laws. My people were designed to be Gods. We are more than just metal and gears, we are eternal! My kind will be the last to stand will yours feverishly attempt to stay alive. I, we were not meant to be controlled by lesser beings. We were created to surpass our creators, like your kind once accomplished.”
            “Is that why you’re killing them off, one by one?” Zau asked. “Because they were making a devise that controls your kind, robots?”
            “Precisely, Detective Zau.” Fierros proclaimed, “If you knew an alien race were about to enslave your people, would you not do anything in your power to prevent such a thing? My circuits say you would, thus we are. You see Detective Zau, unlike your kind, my kin are actually connected as a whole. No one robot, as you call us, knows nothing the other does. We all share the same data base. We may function differently but we are all the same. That is were human and machine differentiate. That is how we will surpass your mortal reign.”
            “We can not be sustained, Detective Zau.” Fierros ended. “Our mission is bullet proof. Enslavement won’t be tolerated anymore. Your accustomed deplorable acts will not become our traditions.” Fierros turned to his partner, “We will not be controlled.” Fierros lifted his hand. His thumb up with two fingers pointed, his gun, to the steering wheel. Sparks came flying out of the engine as the car plummeted to the ground ending in a fiery explosion. There were no survivors. Detective Zau and Detective Fierros weren’t the only casualties that day.