Vice Cop Ch. 09

"He killed Danny in LA and he killed a groupie of his, Christine, plus countless other murders in Europe."

"What about you?"

"I took the lives of Natalie and Laurie and other girls in Europe."

"Yeah? And you raped them too right?"

"Yes."

"You're looking at a lifetime of imprisonment Mr. Morgan. You and Siegfried thought you could hide behind your rock star glamour and celebrity, did you? Where is Siegfried now? My partners Miss O'Neil and Mr. Banach were undercover at the last concert at the Kings Theater and told me he disappeared after singing only a few parts."

Val was silent.

"Out with it," Hudson said, "where is Siegfried Kroll?"

"I don't know."

"You better tell us, Mr. Morgan. Don't try to get him out of this. He's going to undergo a trial and he'll be given a sentence of life imprisonment for what he's done."

"I told you pigs that I don't know. He didn't tell me where he was going. He just disappeared. Call his home in Vienna or Salzburg. Check the hotels where he stayed here in New York. I can't help you any more. I've already said enough."

"Looks like he's telling us the truth, "Lexa observed, "maybe we ought to conduct a manhunt for him. As of now, he's a fugitive."

"Did you talk to the groupie he had attacked?"

"Yes. Her name's Sasha Brown. She said she didn't know that Val or Siegfried were murderers until Val put that knife to her throat and started raving about the Devil wanting a sacrifice."

"Mr. Morgan, did the other band members know about Siegfried and you acting as murderers?"

"No. Siegfried and I acted together on this. It was our calling. Catching Siegfried is going to be hard for you, Detective. The Devil will keep him safe for as long as possible."

"Not as long as there is justice," Mason said, and then he turned to Hudson and Lexa. "something tells me this guy is still in the city. He knows we're after him and he is up to something. Probably wants to play games with us. If he's such a Satan worshipper, he's probably very sure that he can escape and make fools of us."

"Where do you suppose he's hiding, Detective?"

Mason looked at Lexa in silent reflection.

"I think I know."

TEN

Mason, Hudson and Lexa had gathered enough information from interrogations at the Plaza and Siegfried'srecord producer and manager to learn that he had a pent house in Manhattan where he was seen with a girl. Putting two and two together, Mason figured that the girl had been Christine, his most loyal groupie, who was consequently murdered by Siegfried. They had a warrant to search Siegfried's pent house.

Authorities were advised to keep an eye out for the felonious rock star who was trying to evade police. By the time the search for Siegfried Kroll was on its third day, it had already made headlines and it was covered by television news and newspapers. Siegfried Kroll, the Austrian rock star, crazed on drugs and Satanic brainwashing, had committed those bizarre murders at his own concerts.

They looked everywhere in his pent house suite, searching through closets, drawers, under furniture and his bed, behind paintings, drapes and in nooks and crannies. There was nothing to indicate that he had been here recently. He had fled since the night of his last concert at the Kings Theater.

All over the walls were posters of bloody horror films from the 1970's and the more recent ones at the beginning of the 80's.

"He's a horror movie nut," Lexa remarked, looking at the posters.

Mason was busily reading some of the books he had on a bookshelf against the wall of a small den. He had writings by the notorious founder of the Church of Satan Anton LaVey who had written "The Satanic Bible". Among other books were the writings of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and books on witchcraft, demonology, "how to raise the dead" books and the writings of the first reported Satanist Aleister Crowley. As he browsed through various horror books by Stephen King, a photo album fell to his feet.

He flipped through it. There were black and white photographs of Siegfried as a child in Salzburg and as a rebellious teen in Vienna. Then a sepia photograph of a man in a Nazi commandant's uniform, complete with swastika caught his attention.

There was a note under the photo written in German. Fortunately for Mason, he knew how to read and speak German. The note read:

Never forget our ideals, love, your father.

"Look at this," Mason said, calling Hudson and Lexa to his side, "looks like Siegfried's daddy was a high-ranking Nazi of the Third Reich."

"Oh my," Lexa said, "that could explain a lot of things. But it doesn't seem to me Siegfried is one of those White Supremacist fanatics or Neo Nazis. He was making eyes at me when we were in his dressing room at the Paradise."

"He might not have followed in his father's racist footsteps, but he certainly took an interest in the occult and as you may or may not know, Hitler was said to be a secret follower of Satanism and the occult."

Hudson had walked away into another part of the suite. Resting against a mirror was the bejeweled sword he used as a prop in his rock opera Siegfried. It was one of several in a row of swords. The others were medieval swords, and Persian swords.

"Looks like these swords are antique and actual swords," Mason observed, "and look, you can see the slightest trace of dried blood in some of them. These are the swords he used to kill some of his victims back in Europe."

"Hey, come here, look what I found," Hudson cried out.

He had found dozens of bongs and hookahs as well as needles, marijuana, LSD and cocaine. These were all hidden behind a small writing desk. On the writing desk was a fake, plastic human skull and the pen he used to write notes with was a raven's plume. The ink was in blood.

"He really liked his drugs," Hudson said, "and that damn hookah."

"I'm surprised you didn't look at this, first, Hudson, "Lexa said to him, "you always go straight for the drugs."

"Yeah well I'm used to it. I work Vice, remember, not Homicide like you, Lexie."

"What did you find, Miss O'Neil? That skull is fake, right or is it real?"

"No the skull is a toy but the ink is real blood. And take a look at what he wrote."

She showed the Detective the note written in blood. It was in Old English style letters:

"The Devil hath Power and by His Might hath transported me to the Palace. Soon I will offer him two more sacrifices. Hear me. I know that thou hast searched my home and are reading this letter. Herr Detective, why don't you send one of your pigs to find me. No tricks. Two cops, one showdown."

"The bastard knows we're here," Mason said, "he's playing games with us. He's showing every sign that he's of a psychopathic serial killer sort of mind."

"That blood is probably that groupie he killed, Christine, "Hudson said.

"So what is he asking?" Lexa said, "what does he want?"

"He wants two cops to come after him. I think he is hiding at Loew's Kings Theater where his last concert was held. It's abandoned again. He had only used it for his show but he might still be hiding there since no one really goes there anymore. His words also indicate he has abducted two people he intends to sacrifice."

"We can't just do what he said," Hudson remarked, "If two cops go in there, they'll need back up. If he wants a showdown, we'll give him a showdown."

ELEVEN

It was getting dark. To avoid any media attention, which Siegfried was sure to garner, the cops under Chief Barry Hiller's orders waited until twilight, when most people were coming home from work and ending their day, to show up at the King's Theater.

A sense of danger and gloom was in the air, and as if Siegfried had masterminded it himself, a thick fog and mist enveloped the whole of Flatbush, Brooklyn, surrounding the theater. Even its deteriorating façade looked eerie and frightening in the mist. Everything looked like something straight out of a horror film. Mason Holmes was standing next to Captain Barry Hiller and Lieutenant Isaiah Dante.

An armed force of uniform cops had come to cover Hudson and Lexa in the case of an emergency or a shoot-out. This is what Chief Hiller thought was the most likely outcome. However, there were other possibilities as well. Siegfried would most likely be armed himself, which meant that the two cops going into the theater would be risking their lives.

Despite what was already known about Siegfried, he was still an enigmatic figure with a grim and mysterious aura around him. This Anti-Christ image was of course his showy public rock star persona that had won him millions of fans. But it did seem as if Siegfried was a sadistic, dangerous and disturbed individual. Before arriving to the Kings Theater, there was no argument concerning who would go in after him. Hudson Banach and Lexa O'Neil were assigned to the mission.

They arrived, still wearing their undercover plainclothes. Mason Holmes had suggested that they go into the theater dressed as one of Siegfried's fans, in the hopes of distracting and confusing him. It was dark and perhaps Siegfried would be looking for cops in uniform wielding guns. Siegfried had not seen Hudson and Lexa the night of his last concert. Hudson and Lexa arrived in Hudson's black camaro and approached the Chief and Mason.

"Are you ready to do this?" Mason said, "Got everything ready? Your guns and mace? Communication device?"

"We're ready," Hudson said.

"Be careful and God help you."

He embraced Lexa and gave her a kiss. Then he turned to Hudson.

"Good luck to you."

"Let' go, Banach," she said to him.

* * * *

The opulent but decaying theater was like the set of Phantom of the Opera. It was not completely dark. The theater lights were dimmed, casting shadows here and there, giving everything a somber and horror movie type of feeling. Hudson and Lexa braced themselves. They had concealed their guns in holsters -- Hudson under his black leatherjacket and Lexa on a holster attached to the top of her stockings at the hem of her leather skirt.

Moving carefully in slow and measured steps, they were as quiet as they could be, knowing that if they made noise Siegfried would become aware of their presence and open fire. If he wasn't armed with a gun, he was most likely going to use some other kind of method to kill them. Their hearts beat fast and the thrilling rush of adrenaline kicked in. It was the same kind of thrill that they had always enjoyed when doing missions like these.

They knew that this would be their most dangerous assignment to date, even more so than the time they were assigned to thwart the detonation of a bomb planted by terrorists on the Empire State Building. This was in many ways more dangerous because they did not know what to expect.

They crossed the main lobby facing the entrance of the theater. They were now facing the theater rooms in which, in older times, old movies were shown and the main auditorium where vaudeville acts had been performed and where Siegfried's own show had been staged.

Statuettes of Roman goddesses looked down on them from pedestals and the candelabrum surrounding them were opaque, as were the chandeliers above them.

"I welcome you to my lair," said Siegfried's voice, amplified by powerful microphones, coming from out of the blue, "and although you can't see me, I can see you quite well. Don't do anything stupid like fire your guns."

Hudson and Lexa were speechless, their eyes darting about, trying to see if they could catch a glimpse of Siegfried. He was evidently familiar with the theater and taking advantage of the fact that they were not. He was using the acoustics he had utilized for his concert and show and hiding somewhere backstage most likely.

"I am not as cruel as you think," Siegfried continued, "the murders I committed were not all what you cops call homicide. No. They were consensual. My victims were asking for it. Some of them were so depressed and morbid type of fans that they craved death, like a lover's touch. I merely helped them achieve their dream of death."

"You're a drug-addicted maniac," Hudson replied loudly, "You're so fucked up by drugs and drunk on fame that you've gone totally nuts."

"Show yourself, give this up," Lexa said, "we are not alone. There are cops waiting outside armed and ready. If you just turn yourself in; there won't be any need for violence."

"We'll see about that. Like I said, my Master needs two sacrifices before the night is over."

"Where are these two people you kidnapped? What have you done with them? Release them, dam you," Hudson said.

"I have not abducted anyone. You've got it all wrong. The two sacrifices I was referring to in my note are you two."

TWELVE

Hudson and Lexa froze but remained strong, their eyes searching everywhere and aiming their guns in front of them. Their eyes even looked up above them. His voice, owing to the microphone and sound system, was bigger and it made him sound godly. Hudson and Lexa walked toward the theater room where he had premiered his film. Perhaps he was in there, or perhaps not, but their job was to leave no stone unturned. They walked into the theater room.

Siegfried was using the dry ice and fog machine.

The entire room was covered in a thick mist, and it was hard to distinguish their surroundings. There was a toxic gas was in the air and Hudson and Lexa began to cough.

"Damn that crazy son of a bitch, he's trying to gas us to death," Hudson remarked then he spoke up loudly addressing Siegfried, "is that what you're trying to do, huh, gas us to death like your damned Nazi father did to victims in German concentration camps?"

"I see you've been putting your pig nose where it doesn't belong, "Siegfried replied, then he screamed loudly and maniacally into the mic, "shut up! Don't you dare say another word about mein vater!"

After he was silent, the gas seemed to be have turned off but the dry ice and fog lingered. Hudson and Lexa's hearts raced. Their eyes were alert and they held their guns tight. When they walked further into the room, they heard a trap door opening. As it turned out, it was directly beneath Lexa's feet. She fell down instantly into a dark pit without screaming.

"Fuck," Hudson cursed.

His eyes fell on the pit. It didn't seem to be too deep and he heard Lexa's fall being broken by something.

"O God damn it," he heard Lexa say, and he had never heard her swear, "oh God."

"Lexie, Lexie are you alright?" Hudson shouted.

"Get me out of here. It's so dark down here. I can't see what broke my fall."

Hudson's eyes moved rapidly around the room. The fog had cleared and he was able to see the room better. His eyes fell on a long rope that had been wound up on top of a loft that was accessed by a ladder. Swiftly, he climbed up the ladder and dragged part of the long rope across the floor. He knelt by the hole that had been opened up on the floor and lowered the rope.

"Grab on to this, Lexie."

Lexa was silent. Then he heard her scream. It was the first time he had ever heard her scream.

"Jesus Christ, there are cobras and snakes down here!!"

"Grab on to the rope and I'll pull you up, hurry!"

She complied and Hudson lifted up the rope, weighed down somewhat by Lexa. Upon seeing her, he took her by the hand and pulled her onto the floor next to him. She was gasping and panting as if she had been running. She put a hand over his shoulder and smiled.

"Thanks, Hudson, this isn't the first time you've helped me out," she said to him.

"No problem, Lexie."

"My snakes may not have gotten you but my Moloch will!!!" Siegfried's booming voice said, "after them my pet!"

An animal cry pierced the air and Siegfried's pet panther leapt from a loft. The creature was furious and rabid and it began to look for Hudson and Lexa who had already begun to find their way out of the room.

Adrenaline kicked in again and they ran as hurriedly as they could.

The panther was too fast and it caught up to them. It began to attack Hudson. He jumped over his body so fiercely and swiftly, that it took Hudson by total surprise and he fell to the floor. They began to wrestle on the floor and Hudson tried to reach for his gun which had flown off his hand. Hudson did his best to keep the panther from biting him and fought him aggressively. Then the panther bit his teeth into Hudson's arm.

Lexa wasted no time. She fired her gun, aiming at the panther. The bullet shot into its flesh and it let out a roar of pain. Hudson's shirt had been ripped by the panther's strong paws.

"Are you hurt bad?"

"No, I'm alright, Lexie. He bit me once in the arm, but I'm ok. Let's get the hell out of this room."

Lexa noticed some blood beginning to drip from Hudson's arm.

They found the way out but as soon as they were back into the main lobby, they were once again facing danger.

A multitude of snakes, vipers and cobras were crawling on the floor, hissing and rattling their tails. It was a sea of venomous creatures, ready to attack the closest person.

From out of nowhere, on his mic, Siegfried laughed a wicked laugh. He fancied himself a sort of "Phantom of the Opera" and he relished in his supposed powers. He had a record playing somewhere and it was Iron Maiden's heavy metal rock anthem "Phantom of the Opera".

"This guy doesn't give up," Hudson said, "it really does seem as if the Devil is helping him out."

"I won't believe that," Lexa said, "we're going to put a stop to him. I have an idea. Let's fire at these critters and run into the main auditorium."

"Works for me."

They opened fire on the snakes. This caused a chaotic uproar and the snakes became hysterical, hissing loudly. Hudson and Banach raced across the floor, shooting their guns. They found that their plan worked out perfectly and they were standing by the door to the large auditorium.

"Having fun, cops?" Siegfried's voice said again, coming from nowhere, "I can see you two don't die easily. I was sure you'd be the perfect sacrifice. But if you refuse to die, then maybe you can join me in a SatanicWedding. I'm going to marry my favorite groupie, who alas, has crossed over to the Land of the Dead, my beautiful and beloved Fraulein Christine."

The doors to the main auditorium burst open. As if a concert was in full swing, Hudson and Lexa heard rock music playing. They figured it must have been coming from an long playing record. It was Billy Idol's hit song, "White Wedding". Not long ago, Hudson had seen the music video on MTV. The song was about a Gothic wedding in which the groom broke off the knuckles of his bride by thrusting the barbed-wire ring into her finger hard.

"Come on, it's a nice day for a White Wedding....it's a nice day to start again"......

Siegfried was giving his final show.

Hudson and Lexa, holding their guns before them, walked into the auditorium, running across the aisle and heading for the stage. Siegfried was on the stage, dressed in his Devil get-up, this time with two red demon wings on his back, and he was before an altar with the corpse of the dead groupie dressed in a flowing white wedding gown As soon as he saw Hudson and Lexa he hurled small daggers at them.

"This guy is the craziest son of a bitch I've ever seen," Hudson said, dodging the daggers.

Lexa hid behind some of the seats and began to fire her gun. Siegfried laughed an insane laugh and pulled a chord on the stage. From the ceiling came a barrage of Persian swords. Hudson and Lexa got of harm's way while still trying to dodge the small daggers he was throwing at them forcefully.

"Die!" he shouted, "why don't you just die!"

He pulled another chord. The animatronic Red Dragon from his rock opera fell down from a loft, with its mouth open and breathing fire. Siegfried had hoped the thing would fall over Hudson and Lexa or burn them with the fire, but instead it fell over the dead body of Christine. It burned her wedding dress and body very quickly.