The Penbrook Case

(Chapter 1)

Adrien Runic was a man that was hard to surprise, and even harder to get to truly shake him to his core. So when the wide-eyed man who stood at 6'4 and cloaked in black trenchcoats throughout the year was shivering, you had something to worry about. And when that man who stood at such a towering height was a criminal wanted for any offence you can think of gave up his life of criminality after one experience, you could only pray for safety. But what was this intimidating man so frightened of? That, at least, was what the tellers and visitors in the bank were thinking. What made this man stop in his tracks? What made him drop his weapons, but most importantly- what made him suspend his robbery for long enough for everyone to get out unscathed and unnoticed?

As their minds wandered but their bodies were too frightened to move from out of their shelter, imaginations ran wild. A monster, a mutation? An escaped psych ward patient even? No.. no one saw that it just seemed to be... a man. Just standing there, staring at Adrien Runic - who, of course, is still in the bank, and still shivering - and smiling.

(Chapter 2)

To the unsuspecting stranger, no criminal should be frightened by a man simply standing and smiling. However, to Adrien, the man was a nightmare come true. Almost as if he were experiencing sleep paralysis, he couldn't get himself to budge. Because something that the unsuspecting strangers didn't know was Adrien's past, or his kill count. Most would agree, after all, that a man thought and rumoured to be dead - brutally murdered by the infamous criminal Adrien Runic, that is - would be much more frightening than a plain old John Doe as he seemed to be. Somehow, Adrien brought himself to words, but not yet movements.

"H-How the he-hell are y-y.... are you here?" he stuttered out. "I k-killed you just last week! I thought I did a commendable job too, I suppose not... How did you find me? Hello? Answer me!" The smiling man said nothing. He simply smiled and took his hands out of his pockets, pointing to himself.

"I," he implied. "Was," he signed. "Deaf." he finished. "Didn't hear you come in," was next. "I was scared."

"What are you saying? I can't read sign language, idiot!" Adrien tried yelling to him. He had moved outside the bank at this point, now they were on opposite sides of the road. The man across the road communicated the sentence again, but in a much more dumbed-down way so Adrien could comprehend it.

"I didn't know. But I wouldn't have cared, so what does it matter, really? You would've died the same way, at the same time. Your disability doesn't change that, dude."

"I had a name!" the man signed, to no avail of getting Adrien to understand. Pulling out a pad of paper and a pen, he wrote the same sentence, adding on "It was Michael. Michael Penbrook".

"Oh, Mikey eh? Wait, Michael Penbrook? That name sounds familiar... Were you the one boss said to keep away from, "or else"? I knew you looked familiar! I had no idea, Mikey. You should have said someth- oh... poor choice of words, huh? Ha!" Michael wasn't amused nearly as much as Adrien was.

Crossing over to Adrien's side of the street, Michael walked menacingly, trying his best to intimidate his opponent. Of course, without brute force, he would most likely have little to no luck in this field. But, he tried. Just as he always did.

(Chapter 3)

In his mid-to-late 20s, Michael Penbrooke was the co-leader of a well-known gang in New York. After a horrid accident involving the loss of his vocal chords and hearing, Michael retired for good from a mafia filled life. He moved mid-west to Colorado, settled down, and got a good - albeit safe - job where he thought he would never deal with anything from the mafia again.

He was proved to be wrong when a wanted nationwide criminal broke into his house at 1:49 in the morning and killed him. Luckily, his wife and two sons were on vacation in the Bahamas for the summer, so he was home alone. Now, he stands in front of Adrien Runic as a ghost. Visible to no one but him, forever. Doomed to follow his killer for the rest of his ghostly life, Michael decided to make the best of the situation. And so he did.

Appearing to Adrien in public had its risks, but when he thought about who it was he was messing with, he figured that the public wouldn't jump to the conclusion that a wanted criminal was being haunted, but rather that he was finally showing signs of insanity. At least, that's what the public wanted to happen. People have tendencies to hope for - and in some cases make up - a criminal's mental downfall. It gives people hope, seeing that someone who does such horrible things can still have human flaws.

(Chapter 4)

Adrien Runic, a national criminal wanted for 5 or so years was finally caught and turned in to Alcatraz-like prison in New York, accompanying his fellow gang members. Later placed in solitary for his mental needs, he was visited by the in-prison doctor and diagnosed with severe schizophrenia. Despite his pleads for a lie detector test, he wasn't going to be believed by anyone.

Visits were allowed, under heavy supervision. Of course, Adrien had killed anyone who got too close, so no one visited regardless. Michael Penbrook's family was devastated, but received financial compensation since they were so close to him - and considering his place in power. Now, they live in the most secure mansion in New York, ensuring that the same fate doesn't come of them. Michael Penbrook himself still haunts Adrien to this day, writing notes and teaching sign language. Might as well learn while in solitary with a ghost for the rest of your life, right?