New York City — the early ’90s. A killer’s shadow falls over Central Park…..

—————————————————————————Central Park – ???????????? ~ 10:00 PM

{..aww gawd… aww fuck me, its coming for me….}
“Jake.. Jake..! What the hell is going out there, we lost contact with Officers Nickelson and Torres…”

{…fucking..fucking monster aced Nickelson… Christ Adam, vein-y tentacles, smelt like rotting mushrooms…. Torres was on the ground and it looked like it wanted to ..to..her…
….oh gawd Adam… had to get it off of her, now its after…}

“Damn it Jake, where the hell are you..!? Callahan’s got 5 officers out there right now…”

{Gotta run.. Maybe if i can do some mojo– oh —-SHHHHIIIIIIIITTT….}
———————————————————————————————————–
Central Park – Near the Harlem Meer ~ 10:10 PM

{OFFICER DOWN! This is Smith – we got a suspect on top of Nickelson. Requesting back up – south side of the Harlem Meer.

Put your hands in the air and step away from him…}

The figure in the trenchcoat hovering over the wounded officer continued to press his gloved palm on top of Nickelson’s stomach. Looking up, his face was illuminated by the dying yellow light emanating from an ornate lamp post.

Smith took stock of the stranger immediately. He was an Asian man, 5’9″, somewhere in his late 30s. A little on the lean side, but well dressed – navy blue three piece suit, reddish-gold tie, silver pocketwatch daggling from his vest, short cut black hair immaculately-gelled and parted.

{I SAID PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR OR I WILL…}

“Officer. Your fellow patrolman has suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach,” spoke the man as he raised his right hand revealing streams of crimson flowing down from his black glove. “Do you want him to bleed out?”

{STEP AWAY FROM..}

“I SAID DO YOU WANT HIM TO BLEED OUT?!” bellowed the man as he adjusted his blood-stained glasses.
There was a moment of silence as Officer Smith held his pistol trained on the stranger.

“Then come over here and help me staunch the bleeding and radio in to your superiors that we need EMS over here in the next 10 minutes…”
—————————————————————————Central Park – North End, North Meadow Recreation Center ~ 10:45 PM

“Fuck Sarge, this an open and shut case. Two strange men show up and then all of a sudden we get 1 cop down with Officer Torres injured and Adam’s friend run down like a dog being chased like a lion.”

Sergeant Callahan bit down on the pencil in his mouth. This had the potential of being a political shitstorm. The media would have a field day with it, especially given the fact that a civilian was involved.

“I assure you this is all a misunderstanding,” spoke the stranger as he squirmed in his chair, his hands cuffed behind his back. “Once the young lady and the man recover, I’m sure they can easily attest to the innocence of myself and my missing friend.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are you sonova-”

“His name is Dr. Kenneth Li,” said Adam as he walked into the cramped make-shift office and threw down a battered silver business card holder. “Jerry just phoned in. He’s legit. Works at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Tribecca.”

“Who gives a fuck what this piece of garbage is, we still had him at the scene of..”

“Did I mention he’s also one of the head-shrinkers we hired to try and coax something out of the Martinez girl who survived the attack?”

Sighing, Dr. Li stood up and turned his backside to the three men as he lifted up the cuffs. “Would somebody mind undoing these?”
—————————————————————————“Talk….” said Adam as he pushed a foam coffee cup toward the doctor.

“What’s there to tal-”

“Look, I know something isn’t on the up and up. Jake was screaming about monsters on the radio. Torres looks almost catatonic. And more than half of this task force is either fearing they missed their chance to take out the trash or that they are going to lose their jobs after this fuckup.

Now talk…”

Putting his head on the table, the good doctor merely muttered, “Your assailant isn’t normal.”

“Well that’s an understatement…”

“Mr. Kerrigan.. Adam. I know you by reputation, although from a different crowd than the ones you are hanging around with tonight. So, I’m begging you to believe me when I say your assailant is quite special.”

“Fuck me… Its a Stalker isn’t it?” Kerrigan whispered.

“That’s what Henri and I initially thought. We were waiting for a third member to join us on a little evening walk if you will. Henri’s rather acute senses would have made it particularly difficult for even one so skilled in skulking about the shadows to surprise us.

However, the true nature of this assailant did not require such a refined…”

“Just get to the point damn it.”

Doctor Li’s head tilted upward, his piercing gaze directed toward the face of the young detective.”

“Oh come now – not that hard to put the pieces together. Female victims – all sexually assaulted. Officer Torres almost ending up the same way. I must confess i’m a bit surprised it chased your friend down, but even his incoherent screams gave way to a depiction of the truth. The Vidiot only survived because of an almost reflexive use of his magick…

Mr. Kerrigan, your assailant is the progeny of unrestrained brutality and degradation.

And if you do not catch the Carnal by the end of this evening, I guarantee things will become a lot worse…”