Quantum Dissolve: Chapter 27. (Harry Hembock: Revelations)

Harry pulled JS to him, and whispered a secret.
It took a couple minutes to tell, and it was just enough time.
Harry breathed his last, and his hand dropped away.

JS recoiled from both the secret, and the passing, as if electrocuted.


2011

One day, the judge who convicted Dusty Irwin mysteriously died.
With him gone, his appeal magically went through.
He was released.
His trial was exposed as the travesty it was.
But, the damage was done.

Rewind to a night before...

A man in a ski-mask broke into the judge's house, tiptoed into the judge's room, pulled out a long strand of hair, dangled it into the judge's mouth, and used the hair to guide droplets of poison in.

Drop, after drop, until the tiny squeeze bottle was empty.

Then, the assassination complete, the man let himself out, and locked everything back up.

He left behind no prints.

He escaped in a car parked a block down the street.
He unmasked.

It was Joseph, "Lash", Tamron.

"Score settled, you corrupt old son of a bitch", he mumbled as he made good his getaway.


2011

Summertime.

Lash was working on a new mask.
A mass production one for sale at stores.
Sculpting, molding, vacuum forming, the whole deal.

He was at the sculpting stage.
Slow going.
A lot of setbacks, and outright squashed flops.

But, finally, he had nailed it.
He stood back, and looked at his handiwork.

It couldn't seem to decide if it was a ghost, an alien, or a skull.
The finished version would be painted green, and have a black shroud on the back for covering up the wearer's hair.

He'd based it on the local Lentilville legend of The Green Monster.

He pointed at it, and said "you're gonna sell like hotcakes!".


2011

October 20th.
Dusty Irwin wandered through the grocery store, and then stopped dead in his tracks.

There was a display of Halloween masks, and one of them hypnotically grabbed his attention.


2013

Lash saw the news report.

A man in a green mask calling himself "The Jade Shade", was fighting crime, and had unraveled the conspiracy against Dusty.
Seemingly, half of all Lentilville went down over it.

It was Dusty. There was no doubt in his mind.

"I should have killed those sons of bitches myself", he hissed inaudibly.

He looked at the TV again.
"I'm coming, Dusty", he whispered.


2014

Lash tried on his costume.
It consisted of an oversized black greasy pompadour wig, light grey sweatpants, and a matching sweatshirt, red boots, and scrawled on his chest in black permanent marker was a large thick "H", with a third middle line down the middle.

He got himself on two episodes of "The Krazyfool Show", hoping Dusty would see, and have his memory jogged.
No dice.

He'd have to be more direct.

He went out during JS's patrol hours.
After running afoul of a mugger, and dispatching him, he hit pay-dirt.

JS hopped down from a nearby fire escape, startling Lash/Harry momentarily.


Minutes later...

Harry/Lash pulled JS to him, and whispered a secret.
It took a couple minutes to tell, and it was just enough time.
Harry/Lash breathed his last, and his hand dropped away.

JS recoiled from both the secret, and the passing, as if electrocuted.

The above wasn't that secret.
That was just the setup.
Here we go....