January 17th, 2021 12:00pm

Michael Bell propped up his feet onto his desk. His office was immaculate, each and every detail intentional. A woman sat in the remaining chair opposite him, looking down horrified towards the ground. She swayed in her chair somewhat, clearly showing the effects of the drug she had just ingested. To his knowledge, she had been a very vocal and passionate fan of his, certainly “Most Devout” material, but, like much of his flock prior to initiation, she was weak, allowing her worries about those around her seep into her head and drown out his requests. Michael was a lot of things to may different people, but what he always was, what he had always planned to be was simply in control. He stared at the woman with a slight smile, studying the aspects of her face, knowing how the colors he wore reacted in her brain. He could still recall when he bought the rare drug from his benefactor, knowing it was commonly used to knock people out for… less than noble intentions. It was so needless, so beneath Michael in his eyes. Certainly, he could use it as such, but why pass up Godhood in the eyes of his loyal followers for such sins? The woman placed her hands on the desk, clearly showing the psychological strain of the substance. He poured himself a glass of wine and watched on, somewhat curious how he looked in her eyes. It was his biggest frustration that he could never see himself as the deity his followers did, but it was worth living through. With a sip of the red wine, he spoke softly and elegantly, certain that he had heard the impact at the bottom by now.

“So, Rachel, tell me what you know about Ned Kaye.”

“I… I…”

“Take your time.”

---

7:10 am

Ned and Urias had just arrived at the megachurch, Rachel standing near the front of the building fidgeting somewhat as she waited for them. As soon as she saw them, she took a huge sigh of relief in knowing she hadn’t been stood up.

“Thank goodness you two made it! I was starting to think you both skipped town!”

“Absolutely not! We’re men of our words, or, at least I am!”

Ned shrugged in agreement, already growing uncomfortable in the presence of the building in front of him. He found himself looking at the logo on the side of the building that had matched the bootleg merchandise he and the doctor had found. It certainly could’ve been a coincidence. Merely just a red herring in pursuit of this misuse of his image. The more Ned attempted to dodge the possibility of this church being necessary for this investigation, the more he realized he had to go in there sooner than later.

“You ready? We already missed some.”

Ned looked up at Rachel, his moment of spacing out broken by her inquiry. He gave a slight nod and followed the two in as they entered. After some brief traversal of the massive halls within, they had made it to the pews. In front of them was less typical church fair and what could only be described as a humongous television set, cameras recording his every move carefully as the images were being shown on huge screens above them all. Ned hadn’t been in a house of God for years, but he could hardly even identify any resemblance. What sat before them today was a monument of Michael Bell’s ego. An entire endeavor born out of a desire to use holiness to make as much money as possible. Looking at Rachel, her eyes wide with excitement from the spectacle and the gentle and meaningless words leaving Bell’s lips, Ned’s heart sank. He certainly didn’t feel incredibly strong for her, but she was his friend before all else and she was getting duped to fill someone else’s wallet. The idea made his stomach churn, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. For a split second, Kaye tuned into Bell’s words.

“The absence of God’s love is not something we happen upon. It’s chosen. The kind of path that you must consciously tread down. And when you stray from God’s example, when you reject him, he shall reject you in kind, but he will always be prepared to forgive, should you be prepared to repent. Repentance is always an option and there is no injustice that God cannot right.”

Ned zoned out for a few hours, each softly spoken confident word bouncing off of him like water on oil. Every passing second seemed to drag longer the more he sat there and, despite his biggest concerns, it seemed Dr. Pheelanruff wasn’t any more keen on Bell’s program than he was. Careful not to draw attention to himself, Ned leaned over to whisper to him.

“What do you think?”

“I think I got up six hours too early.”

“Tell me about it. Have you noticed anything suspect?”

“Not yet, but I think I’ll go visit the little therapist’s room and see what I find upon the way.”

Ned gave a nod of confirmation and watched his friend slip off out of the hall, a few security guards seeming to note Urias’s obvious sneaking off. As Urias walked out, he began to tiptoe, making exaggerated motions as he turned corners and just being his generally over the top self. Sure, anybody else would be a little nervous around so much security, but Pheelanruff liked the feeling of being a super spy. Besides, Ned had some FBI experience in the past, so he wasn’t totally worried. That’s when the good doctor noticed it. A door opening abruptly as a sketchy figure slipped in. With a gulp, he rushed over to the door, looking behind him repeatedly to see if someone was following. Somehow, he managed to get there just in time to get his foot in between the door and the frame before it shut, peaking his head into the room to see it. That’s when he found the biggest discovery since Ned’s suppressed fear of Furbies. The room where they were producing a ton of bootleg merchandise, much of it with Ned’s face plastered in the middle of it. Realizing the gravity of his discovery, he turned to leave and tell Ned. He was much more experienced with this serious stuff. He’d know what to do. That’s when he felt the whack on the back of his head and hit the ground.

---

11:35am

Ned looked at his phone, the actual sermon wrapping up. He had sent several messages to Urias, but none were even read. He could feel the anxiousness begin to hit him all at once, hoping for any update from his phone possible.

“Hey, could you please stop that? It’s really disrespectful.”

Rachel’s voice once again snapped him out of his moment, although it wasn’t incredibly welcome this time around.

“I’m worried about Urias.”

“He just went to use the restroom, that’s no reason to be disrespecting the Lord’s house.”

“Went to the restroom and didn’t check a single one of his messages? That’s not likely.”

“Maybe he thinks higher of this place than you do, Ned.”

Kaye rolled his eyes, realizing that she had picked up on his transparent disinterest in not only the sermon, but the church itself.

“Maybe so. That doesn’t matter if he’s in danger.”

“He’s not going to be in danger here. Why would you even think that? What problem do you have with God, Ned?”

“You know what the better question is? What issue does God have with me?”

Ned’s voice raised, distracting from the closing moments of the sermon as he held his breath, security approaching him. The security guards word odd, white uniforms with the words “Most Devout” on them. It was more unsettling than Ned had first anticipated.

“We’re going to need you to come with us.”

Ned shook his head, grumbling underneath his breath.

“Fine.”

“Both of you.”

He tilted his head, looking back at the unsettled Rachel and gulping.

---

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---

“Sometimes I wake up and I look in the mirror and I wonder who it is that I’m looking at.”

“Sure, it’s easy to say that it’s me, but what does that actually mean? What is me? It’s taken me a long time to come to any certain terms about any of it. Am I The Notorious One? Am I the man who squandered opportunity after opportunity due to my personal issues? Or am the man who faced Robert Main in an early appearance and showed the world who I am? I am the person that James and Cent and Drew said I would become? Said I could be? Am I the man my father thinks I could be? Am I the person The Engineer nearly broke? That question has seeped within my very soul for years and I’ve finally begun to come to terms with the answer, despite it’s unsatisfactory nature.”

“I am. I’m all of it. I’m my best and my worst. I’m all of those things and more. But more than that, I am Ned Kaye. And while all of you are certainly coming in hot and with the potential to dethrone more or at the very least put a hell of a wrench into my evening, none of you have experienced what I have. You’ll never have the same feeling that I’ve gained through overcoming my challenges. You’ll never understand how my triumphs feel and you’d be hard pressed to make you own more impressive. I was never “meant” to be champion. Not in anyone’s eyes. I chose to be, the same way you all chose to stand across from me this Sunday. I hope you’re comfortable with your choices because despite the pain and the hardship, I’d never change mine or give them away. That’s what it means to be Ned Kaye.”

"You can't run from yourself."