Quick cw: brief mention of gore, murder, kidnapping, violence
There was this group of people, I don’t remember specifically what they were doing but they were your standard villains plotting to overthrow the city. They were also like a family, mostly biological but some of the older ones were just really close friends, partners, whatever. There was this guy, and his parents were the ones in charge of the whole operation. In the dream I know I wanted to think that he was a good guy, and that he was just part of their plan because he didn’t have any other choice, but I’m pretty sure he had a choice and chose to carry on the family legacy.
I was a part of some agency, currently in the team that was working to take down the villains. We were able to track down a part of their operation, the smaller financial branch (they were very organized and planned out, it was very difficult) and it was this little coffee shop cafe place, like the ones you would expect in a small town. Friendly staff, warm lighting, reading nooks, smells like pumpkin spice in the fall (it was late fall, turning to winter, cold outside. Important detail for later). Generally just completely inconspicuous, except their deposits didn’t match their income, and when you tracked the bank records there’s all these little details that you would t notice unless you were looking that just don’t add up. So we have someone stake it out for a while from a distance, we aren’t able to prove anything so then we plan to send someone in. Of course I’m chosen, because what kind of dream would it be if I wasn’t the main character, so we plan for all that and I go.
I get dropped off like a mile and a half away because we can’t have them track us. I walk around the city for a while, maybe an hour or so, before finally going into the shop. Remember how I said it was late fall? It was cold as hell out, and I was cold even though I had a jacket (to hide the wire and the mic I had). It’s almost evening, about an hour from close and the shop is pretty dead. There’s an old man at the counter talking quietly to one of the waitresses. I seat myself at the booth closest to the fire (one of those fake fires encased in glass that’s also a heater so it feels like a fire—you know)
About a minute later, the guy from before that I talked about, the son, comes over (he also works there, I recognize him) and he’s like literally the sweetest guy ever. He brings a mocha and explains that it’s on the house cause I looked cold and I’m immediately suspicious but he seems pretty genuine and from all the research I’ve done he doesn’t seem to be too deeply involved with all of the murder and robberies his family is accounted for. There’s no way he could know who I am, I’m not anyone. I’m not a public figure of the agency, I worked from a second location, I’m literally a nobody. I obviously see the opportunity to take advantage of this (and let’s be honest, that’s not all) and we talk for a little bit, he takes my order and goes back. And the mocha is fucking amazing.
He comes back with my food, we talk a bit more and it’s going great. Not important chatter but u can kinda tell something is forming. I’m also paying attention to the old man and the waitress who are a bit deeper in conversation, it seems to be getting tense. I pay for my food and then leave after a while, when other people come in like ten minutes before close and he goes to help them.
Blah blah time passes, I give my report, they analyze the audio files and review everything, all the fun stuff. I tell them about the guy and the waitress and how I thought that was kind of suspicious. One of my teammates (of course he was about the same age as the guy at the cafe—what dream wouldn’t be complete without a love triangle) kinda teases me about the other guy. Literally just a YA novel—just wait, it gets better I promise stick with me.
Two days later, some random fisherman finds a severed and burned leg in a lake. After more searching, police discover the rest of the body, scattered through the lake and the rivers that flow into it. Each part is completely mutilated and tied in separate trash bags. After investigation, it’s discovered to be the man from the diner.
I’m going to skim over the rest cause I’m getting tired of typing. I go back to the diner a couple more times over the next few weeks, the guy is still really friendly. After the third or fourth time, he writes his number on the back of the receipt. After a bit of discussion with the team, and a bit of personal incentive, I text him and we get to talking even more. Time passes, I investigate, every time I go to the diner I gather a bit more info. It’s never enough, never much, but every little piece helps. With his number, we can track the ip address, his location, calls and all that crap. He doesn’t go to the main base, that much is clear because he’s always within ten or fifteen miles in the city, so he goes to an apartment (we also investigate that. Seems all normal and stuff)
I’m not sure exactly how or when it happens, but one time I go to the diner and he’s not there. The waitress is though (she’s not in uniform, but she’s behind the counter), and two different guys at a booth that I don’t recognize. It’s only four in the afternoon but the diner looks closed, only the lights on but no coffee machine running, the heater is off. I can only remember a little bit from here out but I know the woman had a gun. I’m so pissed off I don’t remember the kidnapping because it had so. Much. Potential. And I know there was one, but next thing I can remember is their house. It’s a big house, not a mansion but big. Its in a very rural, wooded area (because thats where all the best kidnapping houses are) It’s lived in but pretty empty.
The room I’m taken into is completely empty, it looks like maybe a den or something but it doesn’t have any furniture. Beige walls, fairly high ceiling, hardwood floors with a dark tarp centered in the room. I’m tied to a chair, there’s people all around me. I know most of the faces from all of the files I’ve investigated, but there’s some I don’t. I remember seeing the guy in the back, standing by the open doorway. He looks confused and almost nervous, watching the woman as she monologues in front of me. Not sure what she was saying, but it was probably something along the lines of how stupid I was to think I could spy on them, how any information I’ve gathered has been information they’ve planted to throw us off track, blah blah. It ends with her ripping the mic off from where I had it hidden and saying “I hope their life was worth it” to my team before dropping it and crushing it beneath her boot.
I remember seeing a knife, but then I woke up and I have never been so pissed to hear an alarm. There was so much fucking potential, I’m so sad I can’t remember more.
I’m going to count this as a prompt, so if anyone would ever be interested in maybe writing something based off it (hint hint nudge nudge, or I might write it one day maybe) just credit me and go right ahead!!