"Hey, Mr. R? It's Hookman. I ran into some trouble on my mission and urgently need backup from Cabin!"
A steady, middle-aged voice came through the phone.
"Oh? What kind of trouble?"
"I crossed paths with an FEA agent named Roy Black. He's insanely strong—I couldn't do a thing against him!"
"Roy Black?"
Mr. R's tone shifted instantly.
"You know him?"
"Know him? Oh, I know him all too well!"
Mr. R's voice had a gritted-teeth edge to it, a tone Hookman had never heard from him before.
And how could he not be furious?
After the Crystal Lake incident, Cabin's investigation pinned everything on Roy Black, an FEA peripheral agent who was on a school trip at the time. The Crystal Lake base had cost countless resources—manpower, money, you name it—and now it was just handed over to the FEA on a silver platter.
Worse, their research on the lake's creatures was a total bust. All the data ended up in the FEA's hands (Mr. R didn't know Roy had swiped it himself). Years of hard work, all for nothing. Just thinking about it made Mr. R's blood boil.
Hearing Roy's name again? Yeah, he was seeing red.
"Hookman, you still in Washington State?"
"Yeah, I'm on my way back to Ravensfall."
"Stall for time. I'll bring backup soon!"
"Got it, Mr. R. I'll wait for you in Ravensfall."
Hanging up, Hookman's expression relaxed.
"Mary, good news. Mr. R seems to have a personal beef with this Roy Black guy. Cabin's backup is on the way."
Mary Shaw didn't look convinced.
"Is this Cabin group legit?"
Hookman grinned.
"You don't know who's behind Cabin. They're the real power in this country. Even the feds can't touch them."
Seeing Hookman's confidence, Mary eased up.
"Alright then. Let's head back to Ravensfall and give Roy Black a little surprise. Hand me that girl's soul—I'm going ahead."
Taking the soul from Hookman, Mary vanished from his car.
Roy, in his Ghost Wolf form, had been tracking them for a while when his Hellhound suddenly lost the trail, clearly confused. With Roy's tracking speed, there's no way Mary could've escaped unless she was on a rocket.
The only explanation? She teleported a huge distance, enough to throw off the Hellhound.
Damn it! She must've gone straight to Ravensfall.
Roy thought for a second, then teleported back to his Bumblebee car, drove to the police station, and barged into the holding cells.
The detention area always had someone on duty. The officer on shift blinked in confusion as Roy stormed in, eyes glowing blue.
"Who are you?"
"I'm an FEA agent. Here's my badge. I need to requisition suspect Jamie Ashen to assist with a case."
The officer glanced at the badge, then raised an eyebrow.
"You got FEA paperwork?"
"Of course. Check this out!"
Roy threw a precise punch to the officer's jaw, strong enough to knock him out but not cause any real harm.
He headed straight to Jamie Ashen's cell, ripped the door off its hinges, and yanked Jamie out.
Jamie was fast asleep and woke up in a panic as Roy hauled him up.
"Mr. Black? What's going on?"
"I need you to take me to Ravensfall to find Mary Shaw."
"Huh? I don't even know where Mary Shaw is!"
"Mary Shaw's goal is to kill you because your family was behind her death years ago. If I bring you along, she's bound to show up."
Jamie was floored. He didn't even know about this, so how did Roy, who'd never been to Ravensfall, figure it out?
"Mr. Black, is this for real?"
"Dead serious. Mary Shaw killed your wife to lure you back to your hometown so she could finish you off. Don't you want revenge for your wife?"
That hit Jamie hard.
As mentioned before, Jamie and his wife were super tight, even planning to start a family. The mention of revenge lit a fire in him.
"Alright, Mr. Black. I'm in, even if it means jail time later."
"No jail for you. Let's hit the road."
Roy dragged Jamie to Bumblebee.
"You drive. I've got a call to make."
Roy dialed Gerald, filling him in on the latest about Hookman and asking him to have someone check the roads for clues. If they could prove Hookman was impersonating Jack Snyder, Roy would be in the clear. The blame would fall on the FEA's Seattle branch for not investigating properly before deploying FEAR, leading to this mess.
The Seattle branch would probably lose a few higher-ups over this.
"Mr. Black, if that's the case, the fault lies with Seattle," Gerald said, relieved. Sure, they were colleagues, but Gerald was Team Roy all the way. He knew whose side was stronger.
"Mr. Olin, one more thing."
Roy mentioned "borrowing" Jamie. Better to report that.
"No biggie. I can get you the paperwork, and if you slip that cop some cash, it'll smooth things over."
In America, money solves most problems, and Roy wasn't exactly broke.
"Cool. I'll make sure the cop gets paid. Mr. Olin, I'm heading to Ravensfall. I've got a feeling this is gonna be big."
Gerald tensed up. When Roy called something "big," it was never small. At the very least, it'd be on the level of the Devil's Late Show with the King of Greed. If it was Silent Hill-level? Disaster.
"Got it. I'll reach out to the Seattle branch. Maybe we can even call in a favor."
Say what you will, Gerald was a slick operator. The guy was already planning to pin all the blame on Seattle and make them owe Roy and him a favor.
"Mr. Olin, I'll leave that to you."
Hanging up, Roy noticed Jamie hadn't started the car.
"Why aren't you driving?"
Jamie looked embarrassed.
"You didn't give me the keys. How am I supposed to drive?"
Roy smacked his forehead. He'd been so caught up with the call he forgot. Lately, he'd been letting Bumblebee's autopilot handle everything, so keys were basically pointless.
"Forget it. Bumblebee, switch to autopilot!"
"On it, Mr. Black."
Bumblebee roared to life, the steering wheel turning on its own.
Jamie's jaw dropped as he watched the car drive and talk. This sci-fi stuff straight out of a movie made him feel like he was still dreaming.
"Is this Knight Rider?"
Knight Rider was a 1982 American show about a guy with a high-tech, AI-powered car that could drive itself. The series was a massive hit, running for four seasons and even spawning a movie. (Older folks probably caught the show; I've only seen the film.)
Bumblebee's behavior matched the show's car, KITT, so no wonder Jamie was freaking out.
"Quit gawking. Bumblebee needs directions!"
Roy didn't confirm or deny the Knight Rider thing.
"Oh, right! Head that way!"
Jamie, hyped to be "driving" a talking car, couldn't contain himself.
"This is awesome! I'm basically driving KITT! This was my childhood dream!"
Roy rolled his eyes. Jamie's excitement was so intense he seemed to have forgotten all about avenging his wife. Looked like he just wanted to cruise around in Bumblebee.
With Jamie's directions, Bumblebee tore through the streets at breakneck speed, pulling into a rundown small town.
This was Jamie's hometown, Ravensfall.
It was barely dawn. Roy and Jamie saw streets littered with leaves and trash, empty houses everywhere, and hardly a soul in sight.
Seeing his hometown like this, Jamie's excitement turned to sorrow.
"How did Ravensfall end up like this?"
"Mary Shaw's doing. Ever since she broke free from her seal, she's been taking revenge on the town's residents. Come on, let's head to your place."
Roy knew Mary Shaw would have traps waiting in Ravensfall, but she didn't know he'd already read the script. This time, he'd strike first.
The mention of going home made Jamie go quiet.
About ten years ago, Jamie left Ravensfall for another city. His dad had remarried a young, attractive woman right after his mom's mysterious death. Over the decade, his dad went through three wives, each younger and prettier than the last.
Jamie couldn't stomach it. Back then, he suspected his dad had something to do with his mom's death. Now, it seemed Mary Shaw was the real culprit, but Jamie still couldn't forgive his father.
"Stop overthinking. Just give directions."
Roy felt for Jamie. In Dead Silence, it's revealed at the end that Jamie's dad was long dead and turned into a puppet. But this time, Jamie's fate wouldn't be as grim as in the movie—not with Roy by his side.
As for Mary Shaw, if that old ghost wouldn't take his kindness, she'd face his wrath.
Soon, guided by Jamie, Bumblebee pulled up to a fancy mansion.
Jamie's dad was both the mayor and the richest guy in town. In America, plenty of small towns work like this—a single family holds the mayor's seat for generations, owning most of the land like local royalty. Think of Falltown, controlled by Elena's grandpa, Simon (Chapter 89).
"Go knock."
Jamie hesitated, then stepped up and rapped on the door.
A moment later, it swung open, revealing a stunning woman in her early thirties. Blonde, elegant, tall—a real head-turner.
From Jamie's confused look, it was clear this was his dad's latest wife. His new stepmom.
The woman lit up when she saw Jamie, pulling him into a warm hug.
"Oh, you must be Edward's son, Jamie, right?"
Being hugged by a gorgeous woman around his age, with a figure that was, well, noticeable, left Jamie a bit dazed.
"And you are?"
"I'm Ella, Edward's current wife. Your stepmom."
Edward was Jamie's dad.
Even though Jamie had guessed as much, hearing it confirmed soured his mood.
"Where's my dad?"
"He's inside. We just finished breakfast. Oh, and who's this?"
Ella's eyes landed on Roy.
Roy gave a faint smile. Ella was actually a perfect puppet created by Mary Shaw, indistinguishable from a real person. She definitely knew Roy would show up in Ravensfall—her warm act was all a performance.
And what a performance. Her acting was even better than Madison's. No wonder she had movie-Jamie completely fooled, even making him scream in terror when he reached the Ravensfall theater.
"He's—"
Jamie started to introduce Roy but fumbled. All he knew was Roy's name and that he was an FEA agent. Nothing else.
"I'm Roy Black, Jamie's friend. I'm just tagging along to check out his hometown."
Roy flashed a grin, covering for Jamie. Ella nodded, looking like she'd just pieced it together.
"Got it. Come on in, both of you."
Ella ushered Jamie and Roy inside with all the warmth of a real stepmom.
A few steps in, they spotted an elderly man in a wheelchair in the living room, hooked up to an oxygen mask.
Ella hurried to his side, resting a hand on his back as if soothing him. But Roy knew better—she was controlling the puppet.
That's right. Jamie's dad, Edward, had been turned into a puppet by Mary Shaw. Unlike Ella, this puppet wasn't perfect and needed someone to operate it.
Ella was basically a ventriloquist, using her voice and movements to make Edward "talk" to Jamie and Roy.
"My boy, you're finally back."
Edward's voice was frail but emotional, like an old man genuinely thrilled to see his kid.
Jamie had been full of resentment, but seeing his dad like this, it all melted away.
"How did my dad end up like this?"