The Darkness comes hunted

Chapter Twelve: Emergency meeting

Fifteen minutes have passed at the Arcade, Cole still penitently waiting for friends to arrive, looking at his every Ten seconds, look worried and scared as hell.

Pop noticed the strange behavior on Cole, he get worried, so he walks to Cole's booth to ask what happen.

"Hey, young boy, is anything alright?" Pop Pine asks.

"No, Pop--No, everything fine," Cole replies, with sweat all over his face.

"You don't look fine to me son." Pop asks again, sits down right in front of him.

"No, it just school works that it, there is nothing you need to worry about, Pop."

"Alright then, whatever you say young man, but if you need anything, I'm always here." Said Pop, and then walks away, glance back at Cole for a second, and he get a little more worried about Cole, but there is nothing he can do when Cole himself doesn't want to share it with him.

A moment later a strong light and different sound vehicle approach the Arcade, It Mike, Betty, Jimmy, and Cheryl,

Inside the Arcade, the vibe in it turns to silence and quiet the second Cole shows them what is in the files.

"Oh My God, Cole--- it is real, or is just someone trying to prank you," Betty asks

"I don't know, Betty, but it seems really real to me---That exactly what my mother looks like, Betty," says Cole, still can't comprehend what he just saw in the Photo, his mom doing business with Martin Merrick inside one of Merrick Biotech research lab,

"What is that The green bottle that your mom carries, Cole, is it some kind of toxic chemicals or an energy source to power something bad?" Mike asks, the serious question of them all.

"I don't know, man, I don't know anything, and I still can't believe my mom is capable of doing something like this"

"What about that paper, do you know what is it?" Betty asks, curious about the un-open piece of paper that is come with the photo.

Betty open it" Project Scorpion? what the F is project scorpion?" Betty asks, looking at everyone, but they all shake their heads.

"Maybe some kind of experiment on people involving that green bottle that Cole's mom give it to Martin, if it is not involved with each other why did Cole's mysterious person put it with the photo, in the first place?" Mike adds,

"I agreed, that must be some kind of connection with these two." Says Cole.

"So how do we solve it, we don't know where that lab is? and I'm sure it not in Lakewood because the research in Lakewood didn't even finish the first floor yet." Betty adds the four of them think, trying to come up with some kind of explanation to what they just see.

"We should give it to my dad, Maybe he can help, he is a police captain, he should have vast information about Merrick Biotech than us, don't you think?" Say, Jimmy.

"No offense, Jimmy, but your dad answers to a higher authority than God himself, The Prescott, the second he gets that information, they're the first people he would tell," Mike adds with a sassy humor joke.

"And if there's anyone to keep this a secret from, it's the Prescott, that family is just pure awful, they'll twist the story around and will use Cole's mother as a scapegoat's if they ever back into the corner," Betty adds, looking back at Cole's who just staring straight at an empty cup, trying to wrap his head around about what just happened and what will happen to his family, especially his sister if he can't break case soon enough.

"How can we help? Tell us, Cole, we'll do it." Jimmy adds, trying to reassure his friend that they always have his back.

"From now on, we keep this a secret between us four, don't tell anyone else, especially Mason and Cheryl, their family all have a connection with The Merrick, I don't want them to get involved any deeper than they already have," says Cole,

The four of them nods their head, then exits the Arcade one by one, trying to act like nothing happened, even though they still don't know that the Merrick is already on to them, they sent one car to follow each one of them, trying to find out what the teens have on their boss, Martin Merrick. But things were about to get even worst for Lakewood's very own teen detective, they just didn't know it yet.

The next day at school, Captain Hopper standing in the Golden Red office with Principle Parker staring at the investigation board, that Mike and Betty create to keep all of their progress for the few weeks.

Mike walks in, eyeing the older man, who stares sternly at him, " Hey, what are you guys doing here this early?" he says, sits his thing down, then glances between the Investigation board, his Principle, and Captain Hopper.

"Uh...how can I help you? he says again, trying to keep his nerve down.

"I'm gonna need you to come down to the station with me," Captain says, eyeing strongly back at nerve-wracking Mike.

Mike nervously take a deep breath," s**t" he said to himself, then follow alongside Captain Hopper and Principle Parker to the school hallway, past other students and his schoolmate, who turn and stare

He locked eyes at Betty and Cole, who standing together in front of their Locker.

"Call my Dad, Now" Mike instructed his friend, before leaving the hallways, Betty and Cole watch with concern.

"Yeah, yeah, we will," Cole said back to his best friend, who was about to get handcuffed by the police.

Later in the interrogation room at the Police station, Mike sits alone, handcuffed to the table, silent and scared, a moment later Captain Hopper walks in, carrying a file, which explains why he ask him to come down to the station in the first place.

"Forensics came back on burned Hank's body that we just found yesterdays, despite the condition of the body, we were able to recover Hank's phone, and the last number he called belongs to you, care to explain why Mr.Sinclair?" said Captain Hopper, look right straight at Mike, so serious that make Mike can't even look back at the Captain face.

"Yeah he called me, and that call happen before he even get on that bus, I swear I have nothing to do with Hank's death,?" Said Mike, scare shitless to his bone, but try to hold his ground, and not be scared by the Captain's strong words to accuse him of Murder.

"Yeah, but that not all... your prints were on file from an incident that happened five years ago...where you spent some time at the Lakewood Juvenile Delinquent Center for, uh..." Captain search through a long list of files." attempting to burn down Lakewood Elementary school's bus."

"Back then I was playing with matches, and that's a pretty tenuous connection for a Captain," Mike adds, mocking back at the Captain.

"Well, Principle Parker also allowed me to have a look at your school records, and that does not surprise me at all... Mr. Sinclair, you have a long and really rough history... with a record of a lot of bullying from your school friends."

"Yeah, half of my family are Hispanic, what do you expect?" says Mike, gritting his teeth in anger.

"And that bullied come a lot by the football team that just been murdered, in particular." Says Captain, rising a lot more suspicious at Mike.

"So they bullied me in the past, and now you accused me of murder them all." Mike rise his voice, trying to defend his innocents from Captain Hopper.

"No I'm not accused of anything, yet.... so how about this? you tell me your whereabouts on the week of June 6th, the day the bus reported disappearing." Captain asks, continuing to pressure Mike to spite out something that he can make a case against him.

"This is crazy. You think, I-- kill them." Mike replies, he tries to stare at the ceiling, trying to avoid eyes contact with the Captain.

"Mike, A kid like you, raised on the wrong side of the tracks...by a deadbeat dad, bullied by kids like the football team...I mean, who wouldn't want to lash out at that?" Captain tries to make Mike look like a complete suspect while Mike tries to hold his anger and keep his head down, waiting for his dad to arrive, finally bailed him out.

"I'm not talking to you anymore, I plead the fifth and I want a lawyer, now" Mike replies, pulling out his Fifth amendment right card.

Captain Hopper didn't have any other option and doesn't want to break any more law, so he back down, left the room, leaving Mike, sitting there alone in a completely white wall room with no window and sunlight.