Contractbound 5 Case Closed

"The job's done. Let me get you home first. We'll talk later."

Fabien, who had just woken up, held his head because it was aching. He was confused as to what had happened. He looked around and saw blood on the ground.

"What had happened?" he asked curiously.

"A fight. I'll tell you later. Get up." Valentine told Fabien as he headed towards the entrance of the factory. He added, "We'll get a carriage."

"Okay." Fabien nodded, still pressing his hands against the back of his head. He looked around once more and noticed his water bottle. He carried it with him.

The two men walked quickly out of the abandoned building. Valentine kept his alert in case more attackers came. The followed along the riverbank and arrived at the big bridge. It had been busy already, at seven in the morning. A lot of motor carriages drove past, and people walked by. They looked at the two men waiting at the side of the street: one looked awfully pale and the other one messy as if he had just gotten in a fight. Valentine kept his bandaged hand inside his pocket.

A public motor carriage pulled over after seeing Fabien waving at it. The two men got in and sat comfortably in the motor carriage. The driver noticed Valentine and said,

"Hey, mister. It's you again! Going back to Tuinstraat?"

"..." Valentine didn't say anything for a second, "Take us to Hoogstraat number 3."

"Are we in a hurry again?" asked the driver.

"Up to you."

The driver started driving after observing his customer from earlier and his new friend. He seemed to have noticed that the two pa.s.sengers were not in their best condition, so he drove fast.

"I'm going to take a nap. Let me know if something happens," said Valentine to Fabien.

"Alright." he nodded.

The rest of the trip went in complete silence, save for the sound of the engine. The driver tried to ask questions several times, but Fabien was still too weak from hunger, so he only answered shortly. After a while, the driver got tired and just gave up.

When they almost arrived at the destination, Fabien nudged his saver to wake him up. It didn't take much, because, before long, the person opened his eyes. Fabien looked at his eyes and he felt something was amiss. He asked, "Have your eyes always been green?"

"Yawn..." he covered his mouth with his fist and stretched his limbs, "Yes, why?"

"No. Nothing. We're here." Fabien didn't continue the topic anymore.

It was Graham who had woken up. He asked the driver, "How much?"

"Six pennings. The same as this morning."

"But I'm sure I only paid five pennings yesterday," argued Graham.

"Sir, I'm sure you didn't." insisted the driver.

Graham turned to Fabien and looked at him in the eyes, "Can you please pay?"

"Fine. Here you go, six pennings." Fabien slid the coins through the opening.

"Thank you. See you again!" said the driver. After he had driven by for some distance, he knocked on a wooden ornament in his carriage twice and on his forehead twice while saying, "I hope my baby son doesn't turn like that."

Graham and Fabien entered the two-story house. Janssen, the a.s.sistant, greeted them and called Ruben and his wife, Anne. Three people went down to the living room where the two men were seated.

"Thank you for bringing my son back, Graham. I knew it was right to trust you," said Ruben.

"Thank you, Mr. Detective. Thank you. I was very worried." said Anne. Her voice was still weak. It was apparent that she was not in very good health.

You're welcome, Mrs. Arnaud. It wasn't easy, but I did my best." said Graham humbly. He rested his hands on the armrests and leaned back on the sofa.

"Tell me, what happened?" asked Ruben worriedly. He noticed Graham's hand that was wrapped in cloth.

"So, it was like this. I went to Emiel's store, but he didn't know anything about the ring. He told me to find an antique store on Oosteindestraat, so I went. I met the store owner, and she knew something, but I had to buy the information. That was when I called you. After I gave her the money out of my own pocket..." he emphasized the word 'my', "...she told me that Fabien was hiding somewhere near Amstel River."

Graham paused for a while and took a deep breath, "And then I found him hiding in the old Whaly's factory. Two men came after him and we had a fight."

"Did you fight too, son?" Ruben asked Fabien.

"No, papa. I somehow fell asleep, so I didn't see any of that. But when I woke up, there was blood on the floor."

"Blood!?" Anne said worriedly.

"It was mostly the attackers. I got only slightly injured. Your son is completely fine." a.s.sured Graham while showing his blood-stained cloth wrapped around his left hand.

"Who are those attackers?" asked Ruben.

"I don't know. Their faces were covered in masks and shades. I could only see their hair. One had black hair and the other one brown and curly. They seemed to be pros." Graham gave his a.s.sessment.

In the short time he fought with them, he was cornered. He didn't see Valentine's fight with them because he was put to sleep and his consciousness only woke up when Valentine got a terrible nightmare.

"Did you say black hair and curly brown hair?" interrupted Fabien.

"Yes, why?"

"They're the people who were chasing me! I've seen their faces!" he exclaimed.

"Do you know them, son?" asked Ruben.

"No, I don't recognize them."

Silence fell upon the room. Everybody seemed to be thinking about something.

Suddenly, Graham spoke, "Anyway, my job here is done, can I get my reward now?"

"Sure, sure. I've prepared it for you." he then turned to Janssen, "Can you go get it, please?"

Janssen, who had been standing next to Ruben, left the room. Shortly after, he came back with a brown envelope.

"This is your reward: thirty guilders plus an extra two guilders as reimburs.e.m.e.nt."

"Thank you. I almost forgot. What should I do with the ring?" Graham took out the ornate ring from his pocket.

"You can keep it. It has given me more trouble than it is worth." Fabien said.

"Where did you get this ring anyway?" asked Graham inquisitively.

"A friend sold it to me. He said he needed money. He was probably lying, but he is my friend."

"Val, I wish I had a friend like him." Graham lowered his voice and whispered. He then said, "Alright then. I'll keep the ring." He turned to Ruben, "Are you alright with that, Ruben?" asked Graham to be polite.

"No problem. That was my son's, so it's up to him. Thank you again, Graham." answered Ruben.

"Val, we got a lot of money," he muttered.

Graham got up and left after saying goodbye to everyone. It was still early. He checked his watch for the time and it was nine twenty-three in the morning. He was thinking of stopping by the bank first to deposit his money, but he remembered that he was still hiding the gun that his attacker dropped. He decided to go home.

He arrived home and entered his office. It was a small office and dark. There was no direct sunlight because his bedroom and the kitchen were in the way. There was a big shelf full of files and doc.u.ments and other stuff, and a sofa for the guests to sit on, and also a chair opposite his office desk. There were drawers in the corner of the room next to his desk. He switched on the light and sat in his chair.

Graham took out the gun, the knife, and the ring and put them on his desk. He also took out Valentine's commando knife and set it separately. The gun was small; it was a pocket revolver. There was only one bullet left inside the chamber.

"Val, I don't know what kind of gun this is. You should know better about it. I only can shoot, and even then I miss three out of five times." he self-deprecated. "There was only one bullet inside. We'd better find more if we want to use this. For now, we can keep the gun in our office."

Graham unlocked a drawer and put the gun inside. He then directed his attention to the knife. It was a pocket knife, much shorter than Valentine's 29-cm knife.

"This knife is much shorter than yours. Thanks to your knife I could defend myself." he put the knife in the same drawer as the gun.

"Now there is this ring." he took the ring and brought it closer, "It makes our body warm, and it also improves our eyesight tremendously. But wearing it for too long can give us a terrible headache." he thought for a while and continued, "We should ask Paim more about the ring."

He stuffed the ring in his pants pocket and went to the kitchen to grab his other chocolate bar. He ate some pieces quickly and went to his bedroom to get changed. He took off the leather jacket, now dirty, and left it in the dirty laundry basket. He also took off his torn t-s.h.i.+rt and right glove and put them in the same basket as the jacket. He went to the bathroom to unwrap his left hand and wrapped it with a proper bandage. After his preparation was done he took his favorite dark brown trench coat and stuffed Valentine's knife inside one of the pockets, not forgetting to also carry the money he just received.

"Val, I'll be borrowing your knife," he said while putting his trilby on his head.

He went out and took a public motor carriage to the bank. It was located on Grotemarktstraat, on the same street as Bron's Jewelry. He entered the bank but stopped by security who did a body check,

"Sorry, sir, we'll have to take your knife. You can get it back later." the big and intimidating bank security said.

Graham went in and deposited thirty guilders and kept the two guilders on his person. He went back to security, retrieved his knife, and left.

"Val, it's still early. Let's walk to Oosteindestraat. We'll have breakfast on the way."

It was one hour before noon. The sky was cloudy and the wind blew. The leaves started falling off the trees, and the wind blew them away. The street was busy with motor carriages driving by. Graham walked leisurely in that cold morning. He stopped by a small restaurant to have breakfast. He ordered the most famous breakfast in the republic: toast with b.u.t.ter and hagelslag, eggs on the side, and fresh fruit. He also ordered a cup of hot chocolate. Everything cost him only five pennings. He left the restaurant and continued walking.

It took him a total of more than one hour to walk from the bank to Oosteindestraat, without counting the time he spent for breakfast. He had felt tired by the time he reached his destination. He first went to a corner store to buy a bottle of water. It was only half a penning. He continued walking and finally reached the nameless antique store. He opened the door and was greeted by a smile.

"Welcome, dear. I knew you would come back." Paim, the store owner, said.

"How did you know? Did you divine it?" asked Graham curiously.

"No. It's because you have paid." she smiled meaningfully and continued, "I believe you have a lot of questions. Come to my room, we'll have a seat there and talk."

Graham followed Paim to the room at the back. They both sat on the sofa.

"Do you want anything to drink? Tea, perhaps?" she offered politely.

"Hot chocolate, please, if you have any."

"I don't have anything like that, dear," she answered truthfully.

"That's okay then. I'm good. So, tell me about the ring."

"Before I answer that, did you encounter someone who did something you couldn't explain?" she looked at him in his eyes; her dark brown eyes glimmered with antic.i.p.ation.

"In fact, I did. Two people attacked me. One of them did something and suddenly I felt inexplicably sleepy. He also chanted something and suddenly I had a terrible nightmare and a splitting headache." Graham recounted.

"Only one of them? What about the other one?"

"The other one was really strong, but there was nothing abnormal about him."

Paim nodded and said, "You've just encountered a contract-bound person, or a Contractbound, for short."

"What contract? What are they?" he looked at her in the eyes with genuine curiosity.

"Do you remember our divination last night? We borrowed the power of Fire Divination Deity, you, through the ring. A Contractbound is someone who has made a contract with certain deities. The person is then granted some of the deity's power. You haven't made any contract, so you needed the ring to borrow the power." she explained.

"How to make a contract? How many deities are there?"

"Oh, there are many, dear. To make a contract, you need to find a scroll containing the deity's sigil. Once you open the scroll, the knowledge of how to proceed will enter your brain. Each contract will require different sacrifices-- and the process can be very painful." she paused, thinking for a while.

Graham was listening intently.

She continued, "A lot of people have died trying to make a contract. They couldn't bear the pain."

Graham seemed to have been slightly shocked. He continued to ask, "Are you also a Contractbound?"

She smiled mysteriously and said, "I am, and I am not."

"Val, what does that even mean?" he whispered to himself. He looked at her and asked, "So if I want to be a Contractbound, what should I do?"

She looked somewhat relieved, "Do you want to be one? Once you make a contract, there is no turning back, dear. You can only proceed forward. Your world will never go back to that of a normal person."

Graham went quiet for a while and thought.

"Hmmm... I'll think about it. Last question; do the deities have names? Other than just Fire Divination Deity or something?

"They do. Someone will know the name once they enter a contract with a deity." she paused; her tone became serious, "But you must never say their names out loud, ever."

"What will happen?"

"Something really terrible," she said coldly. After saying that, her smile came back, "Come back here tonight if you have made up your mind, dear. It has to be tonight. I'll help you with the ritual. Bring the ring; you'll need it."

"One more thing; why are you helping me?" he asked Paim without any ill intent.

"Because you paid me." she laughed.

It was the first time Graham had heard Paim laugh, and her laughter sounded unsettling even though there was no malice in it. It somehow sounded like a broken record. Moreover, her eyes were wide open while laughing.

"It's because I can feel that bringing you over to this side is the right thing to do," she added.

"Alright. I'll come back here if I decide to make the contract. I need time to think it through. Thank you very much for your help."

He got up and left the store. He took a public motor carriage home. He once again tried to haggle the price without success. He arrived home seven minutes later. He walked upstairs, entered his office, and hung his coat and hat. He sat down in his office chair in the dark while thinking.

"What do you think we should do, Val?"

Silence.

"I know what you would do. You are more of a doer than a thinker. You would definitely say yes." he paused for a while, "I need chocolate."

Graham got up and took pieces of chocolate from his fridge and ate them slowly while sitting in his office.

"Now, our line of work is getting more dangerous, Val. This morning we had to fight two dangerous people. If not for you and the ring, I might have died." Graham felt grateful, "Also, the more famous we get, the more difficult our commissions will be. That divination power can be very helpful to us."

He paused for a while, eyes on the ceiling.

"What's my goal, Val? I'm just a normal person. I live day by day. I like solving mysteries. I like chocolate. But what is my goal in life?"

"Maybe I would like to be not normal for once. Maybe after becoming a Contractbound, I will find my goal. Maybe I will be able to help more people with the new power. It's all maybes, Val."

He pondered for a while again.

"But all those maybes are definitely better than the boring normal life. It'll be dangerous, I'm sure of it, but it also sounds very exciting."

"Maybe I'll die on the job, but isn't that what we've come to accept, Val? When we decided to get into this line of work?"

He ate the remaining piece of chocolate.

"I've decided to do it! What about you, Val? I know you'll be with me in this."

His green eyes glimmered with antic.i.p.ation and excitement.