A JSE Fanfic
Chapter Fifteen: Ignorance Is Bliss
[This is part of an INCOMPLETE SERIES that I wrote in about 2018-2019. I don't know if I'll ever finish it, but I still think there's good stuff in it, and merit in reposting it here. The boys are scrambling to figure out how to reach Jackie. Meanwhile, those two detectives are starting to realize things in the world aren’t what they thought.]
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“Please pick up, please pick up, please pick up,” Lydia whispered, listening to the phone ring on the other side. She’d already tried calling Malcolm’s cell three times, and nobody answered. Now she was resorting to calling his roommate.

After some time, the line picked up. “Hello?”

Lydia let out a deep breath of relief. “Hi, Benji. Is Malcolm home? I’ve been trying to call him for an hour now and he hasn’t picked up.”

“Oh yes, he’s been home for a while. Shut up in his room, though. Do you want me to go get him?”

“Yes, thank you.” Lydia waited in silence, tapping her fingers nervously on the arm of her couch she was sitting on. It was quiet in her apartment, with Rachel having already gone to bed. Over the line she heard footsteps and then a knock on the door, followed by quiet conversation.

“Hey, Lyd, what’s up?” Malcolm’s voice had a shaky note to it. “It’s pretty late, what’re you calling for?”

“Just making sure you got home alright after the late shift,” Lydia said slowly. “Y’know, with how far away you live from the station.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, I took a shortcut. Is that everything?”

Lydia bit her lip. “Why weren’t you picking up, then? I called your cell three times before I decided to call Benji.”

“My phone…broke,” Malcolm said slowly.

“Broke?!”

“Broke. While I was on the way home.” A pause. “Anything else?”

“What’s wrong, Malcolm?” Lydia asked.

“Noth-nothing’s wrong!”

“I know you well enough to tell when something’s up,” Lydia said in a low voice. “And I can tell that you’re kinda freaked out right now. So what’s wrong?”

For a moment, there was nothing but interference on the phone line. And then: “Do you…want to meet up tomorrow? I know we have the day off, and maybe…we could meet at the park? Around one or one-thirty? And I can tell you what happened then.”

“You can just…tell me over the phone—”

“No!” Lydia had to lean back from the phone after that word was screamed in her ear. “I—I mean, no, that’d probably be a bad idea. Actually, when we meet up, can you leave your phone at home?”

“Why on Earth—”

“Lydia. Trust me on this.”

Malcolm’s tone silenced her. “Alright, then. I’ll see you tomorrow, one o’clock?”

“Yeah. Bye, Lyd. See ya tomorrow.”
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Since they weren’t working that day, Lydia didn’t wear the pantsuit she wore for work. But, she noted, her button-down shirt was still more professional than the purple hoodie Malcolm wore every chance he got. He was currently hiding in the hood, avoiding looking at her while the two of them sat on one of the benches next to a path. “So…?” Lydia prompted.

Malcolm sighed. “I…fuck, I don’t know where to start.”

“Well, it can’t be that hard.” When Malcolm didn’t answer, Lydia sighed and continued. “Look, you weren’t this on edge when you left the station last night. So something must’ve happened between you leaving there and getting home. Your phone…broke, or whatever, so does that have anything to do with this? I bet if you just share what’s on your mind, you’ll feel better. Or if you don’t, I can help you out with whatever it was.”

“I saw a demon,” Malcolm blurted out.

Lydia blinked. “Uh, that was a serious offering, Mal.”

“No no no, really,” Malcolm hurried to say. “So, I took a shortcut through the north part of town—”

“Are you insane?! Do you even know how many dispatches are sent there every week?!”

“Yeah, yeah, but nothing’s ever happened to me there. I know the spaces to avoid. But, uh, I ended up seeing that vigilante in red. He seemed to be in a hurry, and I just…followed him. And, well…”

Lydia listened in silence as Malcolm spilled out everything that happened the previous night. From the vigilante meeting with that magician, the suspect in the Brody case, to the vigilante turning out to be Jackie Parker, another part of the case, to the most insane details: the magician destroying Malcolm’s phone with what was apparently real magic, to him running home, and seeing something out of the corner of his eye…

“It was a demon, I know it was,” Malcolm finished, eyes wide. “It—it disappeared, but I could hear it, like—like static. And I think it was smiling at me.”

Lydia leaned back, staring at her partner. “Mal, are you off your meds?”

“No, no, I am not!” Malcolm slapped his leg with the flat palm of his hand. “This is a different issue! I’ve just had all of my life and beliefs thrown out of balance, because fucking demons don’t exist, except they do! Fuck!”

“Okay, okay, calm down, dude,” Lydia patted his back in a soothing manner. She didn’t quite understand what was happening. The two of them were skeptics, they’d always been, but now Malcolm was shaking like a leaf and claiming he’d seen magic.

“You don’t believe me,” Malcolm said, narrowing his eyes.

“Well…no,” Lydia admitted. “Honestly, I would be calling Benji and asking him if you’d really been taking your medication, if you hadn’t insisted I leave my phone at home.”

“I think it can use phones to watch people,” Malcolm said, folding his arms and shrinking a bit. “And I know that sounds like a paranoid delusion, but it’s the only conclusion I’ve drawn for everything that happened.”

Lydia sighed deeply. “Look, if you’re sure about this, then I’m not gonna talk you out of it. But I’m gonna ask you to double-check with Benji about the meds.”

“Alright, alright,” Malcolm relented. “But I’m pretty sure I’ve been taking them like I’m supposed to.” He stood up. “And now I’m gonna…I’m gonna go home, if that’s alright with you. I don’t…really feel like being out and about.”

Lydia nodded. “Fair enough. Get some rest, dude. I’ll see you later.” After Malcolm had walked out of sight, she too stood up, and started in the opposite direction. She really didn’t believe his story about magic and demons. But she did believe that he saw the vigilante meet with that magician. And that he figured out who the vigilante actually was beneath that costume. Technically, she wasn’t on duty today. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t, say, go visit a certain Mr. Parker in a certain apartment.

She didn’t want to arrest the vigilante like some of the more extreme members of the department did. She just wanted him to stop, and leave the crime-fighting to the ones whose job it was. This wasn’t a comic book; running around in a mask and hooded jumpsuit just made you look like an idiot, even if you’d managed to actually catch a fair number of criminals. It didn’t matter what the end result was, just what you did to get there. And vigilantism put yourself and others in danger.

Not to mention, if she went to talk to him…he could tell her what really happened last night with Malcolm. He could tell her that her best friend wasn’t losing it. Or maybe he could tell her he was, but support her in the efforts to help him.

But first, she needed to stop by her apartment. She’d need backup for this.
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“So, let me get this straight,” Rachel said, not taking the eyes off the road while she drove. “Malcolm follows this vigilante last night. Finds out who he is, and that he’s meeting with someone wanted by the police. Then he gets caught eavesdropping, the guy steals his phone, blasts it with bloody green lightning, am I getting that right?”

“Yep,” Lydia nodded. “We’re getting close to the apartment complex, by the way.”

“I see. And, after he sees this happen, he seeing a…floating eyeball?”

“That’s what he said.”

“And gets threatened by the wanted man, runs, and sees a demon that can apparently use phones as its own personal spy cameras.”

“Yep.”

Rachel whistled. “And now you’re planning on confronting this vigilante man in the hopes that he can corroborate Malcolm’s story?”

“No, I’m confronting the vigilante man in the hopes that he can explain what happened, and I can talk him out of crime-fighting.”

“And you need me for this?”

“Figured I might,” Lydia shrugged. “You have your whole lawyer-talk thing going on. You can be pretty persuasive.”

“Aw, thank you, love. Is this the building?”

“Yeah, just pull up in that lot over there, we can walk.”

A few minutes later, the two of them were outside Jackie Parker’s apartment door, knocking. Or, more accurately, Lydia was banging on the door while Rachel was standing off to the side, watching with a resigned look. “Mr. Parker, I know you’re in there!” Lydia was shouting. “I really need to talk to you! Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble or anything.”

“I think that would make him think he was, wouldn’t it?” Rachel pointed out.

Lydia made a shush sound. After a few silent seconds, she continued banging, even harder this time. “Parker, open up! This is really important! So I’m demanding at this point that you open this door!”

The door swung open. Not all the way open, but enough for a person to stick their head out of the apartment inside “Will you ever learn how to manners, detective?!”

Lydia blinked in surprise. “You’re not Parker. You’re that doctor fellow. What are you doing here?”

He scowled, folding his arms. It was indeed the same doctor from last week, just wearing a turtleneck sweater instead of a hoodie, with the addition of a pair of glasses. “Well, I live here,” he said sharply.

“You do not. You have an apartment on Greenway.” Lydia narrowed her eyes. “Though I suppose it’s possible that a mysterious disappearance for NINE ENTIRE MONTHS with no explanation whatsoever could lead to them selling it.”

“Precisely.” The doctor adjusted his glasses. “Now, what is so important that the police have come to break down my friend’s door?”

Rachel poked her head in between the two, making Lydia realize that she’d been subconsciously leaning closer to the doctor, edging in. “Well, it’s not the police actually. Hi, my name is Rachel Kikelomo, are you that doctor with the strange last name that Lydia won’t shut up about for the past week?”

The doctor took a step back. “If she has been complaining about a Dr. Schneeplestein, then yes, I think I am. And…you are not a member of the police, are you?”

“Well, technically I’m a member of the judicial system, being a lawyer and all,” Rachel said coolly. “But I’m not here in that capacity. And Lydia is not here as a detective, since today she is off-duty.”

Lydia coughed awkwardly. “Rachel is my…partner. She drove me here and is…support.”

“Ah! I see!” The doctor raised an eyebrow with a smile. “Well, in that case, this is slightly better. We have had enough of police running around. But you are looking for Jackie, are you not?”

Lydia nodded.

“I—I’m afraid he’s not here.”

“Not here?!” Lydia repeated incredulously. “Where else could he be?”

“Well, he has a job, you understand.”

There was something more to it. Lydia noticed the way the doctor’s shoulders had tensed, the way he was very deliberately blocking her view of the rest of the apartment, the way his voice had cracked. “Well, can I have his cell number to call him then?” she said calmly.

“I do not think—I do not think he would appreciate me giving that out to you.” The doctor shifted on his feet.

“Well, I guess that’s understandable.” Lydia leaned forward. “But what isn’t, is the fact that you seem to be hiding something.”

The doctor bristled. “I do not appreciate such accusations.”

“It’s not an accusation if it’s the truth.”

Rachel opened her mouth to say something, then decided against it. She took a step back. She’d been with Lydia long enough to know when she was getting ready to do something rash.

“Even if it was, which it isn’t,” the doctor continued, “since you are not on duty, and would not have a warrant anyway, you must leave when I ask you to, and cannot come inside.”

“Oh, really?” Lydia backed up a few steps, looking for all the world like she was retreating. And then she rushed forward and threw her weight against the door. It flew open, and she landed flat on her face inside the apartment. She groaned. Honestly, she’d been expecting more resistance, apparently the doctor wasn’t as strong as she’d thought, which still wasn’t that strong.

She climbed to her feet and looked around the apartment living area. This was the second time she’d been in here, and it looked basically exactly the same. Not only because the furniture and everything was the same, but also because the same collection of people were inside. Brody was curled up asleep on the beanbag, arms wrapped around his head like he was protecting himself from something. Sitting on the couch was a man who she couldn’t quite remember the name of, but who was dressed in a fancy vest and bow tie. His hands were frozen in midair, apparently having been interrupted in the middle of making a gesture of some sort. Next to him was—it was that crazy magician fellow. He was holding a black wand with white tips in his right hand, and had a strange book open, propped against his left hand. Both of them were staring at her like they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

“I’m really terribly sorry about all this,” Rachel sighed, entering the apartment. “Are you alright doctor? She pushed you right over.”

“Yes, I am—I am fine,” the doctor said, sitting up from where Lydia had knocked him down in her rush to get into the apartment. He accepted Rachel’s offered hand and let her pull him to his feet.

The magician snapped his book shut. “What the fuck are you doing here?” he growled.

“Well, certainly not looking for you,” Lydia growled right back. “I just wanted to find Mr. Parker. Though, you know, now that I’m thinking about it, you could probably tell me the same things.”

“Nope, not doing this, goodbye.” The magician stood up, but was interrupted from leaving when the other man—Lydia was pretty sure his name started with a J—grabbed his arm. The magician looked down and watched as the man made some gestures, too quick for Lydia to catch but apparently he understood perfectly. “Fine. Fine, one chance.” He plopped back onto the couch and glared at Lydia.

She sighed deeply. “Look, Mr. Moore, if I’d seen you even just yesterday, I one hundred percent would be calling the police right now. But apparently Malcolm heard you talking with the vigilante last night—who turned out to be Mr. Parker—about finding the Brody kids and getting them back, so now I’m in doubts that your confession was actually real.”

“Well, I really confessed, didn’t I? It’s not like one of my friends was about to get detained and most likely ultimately arrested, probably eventually giving in to his CLINICAL DEPRESSION again, and thus probably giving the real culprit what he wanted, which pressured me into saying whatever I had to in order to make sure that didn’t happen.”

Lydia truly, honestly didn’t know how to respond to that dump of information and sarcasm. Luckily, Rachel jumped in. “So it sounds to me as if you were just protecting your friend there,” she said. “Possibly not only from the police, but from whoever really took the Brody children?”

The magician stared at her. “I didn’t say I knew who took the kids.”

Rachel chuckled. “I never said you were implying you did. But the fact that you assumed that says a lot.”

“Well…fuck.” He slumped a bit deeper into the couch cushions. The other man next to him was smiling. “Don’t give me that look, JJ. That’s called a ‘shit-eating grin’ and it’s not something you give to your friends.” The man—JJ, apparently—gestured more. “Oh, shut up.”

“You KNOW who took the kids?!” Lydia gaped. “Well, why didn’t you tell us?! We could’ve used that lead, and avoided almost arresting him.” She pointed at where Brody was sleeping. “He must look a lot like you guys, if we believe the security footage. Is that why you didn’t say anything? Because you thought ‘there are already five of us, they won’t believe one more exists’?”

The doctor coughed. “It is bit more…complicated than that, I’m afraid.”

“What? Are you all quintuplets or something?” Lydia threw her hands up in the air. “Can’t get any more absurd than this!”

“Ah, love,” Rachel piped up. “Do you still want to see the vigilante man? I thought you intended to confront him at some point.”

Lydia had almost forgotten about the fact that she now knew who the vigilante in red was. “Yes, yes I do,” she said. “Is he really at work? Or are you all just hiding here like—like cowards?”

Silence. The three awake men exchanged sad looks. “He’s…not at work,” the magician admitted. “But he’s…not…here, either.”

Lydia took in the sad glances, the awkward explanation. “…something happened, didn’t it?” she asked softly. “Something happened to him.”

“The less you know, the safer you are,” the magician said, tapping the wand against his leg. “But…yeah. We’re…working on fixing that. Have been since last night, actually. Chase gave in and crashed, as you see. But the rest of us…”

“I’m…sorry,” Lydia whispered. She’d just barged right in here, in the middle of their crisis situation, and unknowingly made everything worse. You’d think that she’d learn how to think things through in her years as a detective, but nope. She’d always trusted the thinking to Malcolm.

The silent man, JJ, made a few small gestures. “He wants to let you know it’s okay, you didn’t know,” the magician said. “It’s, uh, sign language.”

“I see,” Lydia said. She wanted to ask more, to know more, but she couldn’t tread on their hearts anymore. But… “Just…one more thing. Last night, Malcolm said he ran into Parker and you, and he…saw some strange things.”

The magician raised an eyebrow. “You mean, like this?” He snapped his fingers, and a small burst of green sparks and fire flew out from the site of impact.

“Holy shit!” Lydia gasped, stumbling back a few steps.

“Hmm, wha…?” There was a sudden surge of movement as Brody opened his eyes and stretched. “Wha’s happ’ning?”

“Good morning, Chase!” The doctor waved from his spot by the door. “Or should I say good afternoon, because you fell asleep earlier this morning. Sorry about the commotion, I think the detective was just leaving?”

“Detective?” Brody blinked the tired out of his eyes and stared at Lydia with no recognition whatsoever.

“Yes, the detective lady,” the doctor continued. “From the case about the kids. She wanted to talk to Jackie, though I’m still not sure why.”

“Th’ kids?” Brody looked confused for a moment more before suddenly bolting straight into a sitting position. “Fuck, right, the kids! Oh my god, I’m so—god, I must really be tired, damn, I can’t believe I forgot they—fuck, I’m horrible.”

“You are not horrible, you have a lot on your mind, and just woke up.” The doctor walked over and sat on the beanbag next to Chase. “Is fine.”

“Alright, if you say so.” Brody rubbed his eyes, then looked over at Lydia. “Did you…want to talk about something?”

“It wasn’t about the case,” Lydia hurried to say. “It’s just—my partner, last night he saw your friends talk, and then some…unusual stuff happened, and I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t…imagining things.” She glanced over at the magician. “But apparently, he was right. Magic is real, I…fuck.” She looked at Rachel. “Tell me I didn’t hallucinate that.”

“The sparks?” Rachel looked a bit pale. “You did not. That is…some new things to take into account…”

“Yeah, no shit.” Lydia was starting to feel a bit dizzy, which was to be expected when one’s world got totally turned upside-down. Magic was real…she looked at the magician. “If…you really can do that, then…Malcolm, my partner, he saw some more things. A floating eyeball—”

“Sam,” Brody said. “They…were with Jackie. We need to find them too.”

Ah. It had a name. And existed. Fantastic. Lydia could feel a stress headache blossoming. “He also thought he saw…he said it was a demon, following him?”

The atmosphere in the room immediately changed, becoming sharper, more tense. All of the men exchanged glances. JJ signed something. “He said don’t think about it,” the magician translated. “Or, well, it sounded a bit more polite the way he spelled it out. But that’s the gist.”

Lydia stared. “Are you telling me…that demons exist?”

JJ signed something else, very rapidly. “They do, but this isn’t…that,” the magician translated once more. “It’s very complicated.”

“I beg your pardon, but why can’t we learn more?” Rachel asked. “Wouldn’t that be better to prepare ourselves?”

“Not when knowing this thing can draw his attention to you,” the doctor said in a hushed voice. “Not when he gets stronger the more people know. And quite a few know already.”

“Ignorance is bliss,” Brody said. “Really. Just forget about it, and you’ll be fine. Tell your partner to forget too.”

“I…don’t quite get it, but I’ll believe you, I guess,” Lydia said slowly. Maybe she should just forget this whole thing ever happened. Go about her business like nothing had changed. It would probably be better for her mental health that way. “Rachel, I’m ready to go now. You?”

“Yes, yes, we should,” Rachel backed out the door, and Lydia followed her. “Thank you for accommodating us.”

“It was no trouble,” the doctor muttered, clearly implying it was.

“Alright, well,” Lydia said awkwardly. “Guess I might be seeing you?”

“Hope you don’t!” The magician called, earning himself a smack on the ear from JJ.

“Yeah, well, same, honestly. Bye.” Lydia shut the door.

The boys listened to her and Rachel’s footsteps recede down the hall. When they could no longer be heard, Marvin opened up the book again. “Okay, let’s give it a couple more go’s,” he said.

'Are you quite sure about that?' JJ asked. 'You’re starting to develop those black bags under your eyes. Practicing all night without sleep can’t be good for your soul and body.'

“I’ll be fine,” Marvin shrugged. “I think learning how to open dimensional portals is a bit more important than sleep.”

“Jamie is right,” Schneep said. “If you do not sleep, you are no good to anyone.”

“Says the guy who runs on coffee like a car runs on oil.” Chase rolled his eyes. “Hypocrite.”

“Cars don’t run on oil,” Marvin pointed out.

“Oh, shut your face, I’m tired.” Chase yawned, as if to accentuate this. “I was having a good time, and then that detective lady and that other one woke me up. Who was that, again? Did she ever introduce herself?”

“That lady was a lawyer, and she was the detective’s girlfriend,” Schneep explained. “At least, I assume so. She was introduced as a partner, in that sort of awkward way you do when you are not sure where the other party stands.”

“I see,” Marvin hummed. He gripped his wand tightly and swirled it in a circle. Green whisps appeared and whirled about for a few seconds before dissipating. Marvin frowned. “That was a fluke, it didn’t even get close but I can do it better next time.”

'I don’t believe you can,' JJ signed with a sigh. 'I think you’re severely draining your energy, and you should really sleep in order to recover it.'

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead, which could be soon if I don’t figure out how the fuck to get Jackie back and stick it in that—that glitch bitch’s face.”

Chase wheezed, and then leaned over as he devolved into laughter. “Okay, okay, I love it,” he said after a while. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard in ten months.”

“He would not like that.” Schneep sounded vaguely amused by the idea.

JJ shook his head. 'Clearly, you are all loopy from lack of sleep. We all need to go to bed, NOW.' He emphasized the “now” part by making the sign a bit sharper than it normally would be.

“Okay, fine, maybe you’re right,” Chase relented. “Marv, bedtime.”

“Don’t try to dad me, it’s not gonna work,” Marvin grumbled, rereading the instructions for the spell.

“Do not make me count to five,” Schneep added with a smile.

“Two dads! Ay!” Chase made finger guns. “Now you have to listen.”

Marvin closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “Alright, fine.” He closed the book. “But once I wake up, I’m going straight back to working on this. We’re gonna have to double up if we want to use the beds here. Dibs on the one in Jackie’s room.”

Yet, he still couldn’t sleep, even an hour after everyone else had crashed. It wasn’t for lack of trying, or for lack of exhaustion. But he couldn’t stop thinking. His thoughts kept whirling through his mind in a cyclone, unable to halt for one minute. It seemed like everyone had been pretty safe during the week he was away. Nothing had happened until he ran into Jackie and Sam, and now look at where Jackie was.

Maybe…maybe there was a reason for that. He was the only one of the group with power. And he was the only one who…maybe stood a chance against him. Maybe that was enough to earn his attention.

He slipped out of the bed. He grabbed a pen and piece of paper from on top of one of Jackie’s dressers, scribbling a note to the others before creeping out into the main living area of the apartment. He put the note on the coffee table, then opened the window to the fire escape and climbed through.

He’d find a solution on his own. And if he drew Anti’s attention to him in the process, what of it? At least then it would be away from the others. At least this way, they’d be a little bit safer. They wouldn’t know anything about where he was or what he was doing, and it would be fine that way. After all, not knowing was a blanket of protection.
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In another world entirely, someone was watching him leave through a broken computer screen, the only one that was lit up on top of a pile of more shattered screens. Its plug was dangling limply, but the picture was crystal clear. He was screaming at Marvin, telling him to turn around, to go back so he could protect them, to remember that there was safety in numbers. When Marvin didn’t listen, he banged his fist against the screen in a fit of frustration, making the image cut off entirely. Tears were threatening the corners of his eyes.

The pile shifted beneath his feet. When he tried to stand up, cords wrapped around his wrists. When he tried to kick his feet free, wires wrapped around his ankles. There was laughter, more laughter, seemingly as ever-present as the red glow all around. The cables dragged him down and he disappeared.