The Eagle’s Nest. It’s after hours, left dark and empty save for a single desk light on an empty desk, one with the placard reading ‘Jackson Cade’.
“What is ‘Paradise’? Is it the feeling of a beer in hand, a woman on your lap, and a cigarette in your mouth? How about the euphoria of endless praise and adoring masses waiting on you hand and foot?” The unmistakable voice of Jackson Cade enters the scene. The officer walks to his former desk, laying his hand on the dust covered placard.
“For me? My paradise, the promised Heaven, was this very nest. I worked my ass off for years, tithing my blood, sweat, and tears to the APD and spending every waking moment trying to get my foot in the door to this wonderful Eden. Yet, when I got here… All the glory, the justice? It was just a lie.” Cade takes a seat, sighing.
He wipes the dust from his name, shaking his head. “All a ruse sold to me by a false prophet of the justice I believed in so strongly. Sheriff Gordon promised me heaven, and yet, he sent me straight into hell. The only paradise, the only heaven, is the one he constructed for himself and his upper echelon on the back of his foolish followers.”
Cade swivels in his chair, chuckling. “I should hate him, and part of me does. But in all that exploitation I learned something valuable. I learned how to see through bullshit. Now, Lionel, you’ve made it clear to people like me what you are. Much like Gordon, you’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing, aren’t you?” Cade leans back against the desk, shaking his head.
“Give, give, give. Tithe just seven of your hard earned credits a month and in time you can lead a bunch of foolish lambs to a Paradise they could never achieve. Everyone in you congregation has had their lives put at risk by monsters like Nox and villains like Doom, all while they pay you for the privilege. And when Colt tried to stand up to you, to show your façade to the world… You went from messiah to demon just to stop him.” Cade stands up from his chair, placard still in hand.
“Unfortunately for you, Lionel? I’ve seen through your horse shit from the start. I know there’s no promised wonderland awaiting me no matter where I go. You can preach, you can lie, but you’re no gate into heaven. No, you’re just a lying, cheating, greedy bastard exploiting your followers like the APD exploited me. And you know? I don’t think I want to stand by and watch a whole congregation go through what I did.”
Thunk.
The placard lands in the trash as Cade walks to the door. “I’m going to tear you down in front of all of Arcadia, Troy. I’m letting everyone know no one’s above the Law.”
“And, Paradise or not?”
“I am the Law.”