Strangers: Chicago Store-Dial

A Chicago businessman is at the center of an unusual modern crime-adventure involving masked maniacs...and capital dreams.

A patriotism-themed Chicago crime-noir work of short-fiction (complete with pictures/photos as usual!), inspired by the unusual crime-depression film The Strangers. Enjoy! 

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Chicago is an iconic US city, and at night you see why the traffic is so symbolic of American imagination, which is why it's the home of such iconic American sports-teams (Bulls/Bears/Blackhawks). It's the site of an unusual modern tale of dark proportions!

The protagonist is an American baseball-card store-owner named Amlan Satan who lives with his mother and three young siblings and young beautiful maid in their Chicago residence. Amlan's been making online blogs about diamonds and baseball-cards and dressing up like a costumed 'maudlin' to advertise his Chicago card store.

AMLAN SATAN ('Thespian'): As the 'maudlin' of American baseball-cards, I'm quite proud of my Royals-cards (Topps) collection!

Amlan takes his mother and gorgeous maid and young siblings to the Chicago movie-theater screening of an iconic new horror-film, based on an unsolved dark crime in US history, called The Strangers.

Amlan blogs on the Internet the next day about his review of The Strangers and mentions how everyone in his Chicago theater 'company' enjoyed the iconic crime-horror film and compares the art-aesthetics in the film to his own 'maudlin' show regarding baseball-card advertisements!

However, this is where the unusual 'face' of our crime-noir tale begins in iconic Chicago. A gang of demonic super-criminals called the Dead-Rabbits reads Amlan Satan's patriotic film-review and Royals baseball-cards advertisement(s) blog(s) on the Internet and decide to target his entire family/maid for bloody murder.

Amlan has no idea the Dead-Rabbits have targeted his Chicago-residence for bloody murder! He's busy constructing a 'Fan-Tube' of the Royals games/cards on his e-blog. He has no idea the Dead-Rabbits are looking for clues regarding the home address of this Chicago card-store owner! They order some of their members to try to track him home as he takes the city metro from work every Friday.

AMLAN (e-blog): It's no surprise that people like my diamond-approach to card-sales, since I'm a Royals card 'dancer'.

Amlan decides to enhance his sports-blogs with a family-values mosaic featuring spiritual conversations between himself and his mother and visiting grandma from New Jersey. He realizes this e-blog initiative is the right 'American tone' for Chicago sales of patriotic consumerism trophies --- e.g., Royals baseball-cards.

Amlan starts to sit outside his residence porch at sunset every Friday after coming home from work on the Chicago metro and wants to see if anyone walking by will recognize it's he who makes those now rather popular Royals baseball-cards e-blogs. That's when he notices one of the Dead-Rabbits 'spies' sent to follow him home walking by (in a rabbit-mask!) and wonders if he's an e-blog fan in his sunny neighborhood!

AMLAN: You look unusual, and maybe you're one of my e-blog readers?
DEAD-RABBIT: No.
AMLAN: Not a fan of my 'diamond' approach to Royals-cards (Topps) fanfare?
DEAD-RABBIT: Nope.
AMLAN: Well, are you a proverbial 'masked thief' of Chicago mystery?
DEAD-RABBIT: Yes.
AMLAN: Well, I admit my Royals cards (and e-blog) are rather...shiny!
DEAD-RABBIT: Yes.
AMLAN: Well...maybe I can entreat you to visit my store as a customer.
DEAD_RABBIT: For what, man?
AMLAN: I can sell you a vintage Saberhagen Royals 'pitcher' rookie-card for...$50
DEAD-RABBIT: How about a diamond earring in exchange for such a Royals card?
AMLAN: That sounds like a 'criminal' deal, my masked friend.
DEAD-RABBIT: I ain't your friend, man!
AMLAN: Well...maybe you'll visit my store just to peruse my collection of...diamonds!
DEAD-RABBIT: Why?
AMLAN: You might become my sports e-blog fan/reader after you peruse my...diamonds.
DEAD-RABBIT: Maybe.

Amlan's in his store the next week, early Monday morning, playing a taped replay of an iconic Royals baseball game when the same masked Dead-Rabbit who visited his neighborhood the previous Friday walks in...unmasked. He notices the Royals game-video and compliments Amlan on the presentation in his card-store.

AMLAN: You sound familiar, friend.
DEAD-RABBIT: I think we've met before, man!
AMLAN: Well, check out this awesome fan-rich Royals game video on our store TV.
DEAD-RABBIT: That female fan is hot!
AMLAN: Right?
DEAD-RABBIT: You got that magic Saberhagen card and some diamonds?
AMLAN: Hey, wait a sec; you're that rabbit-dude who walked by my home on Friday!
DEAD-RABBIT: Maybe.
AMLAN: That girl Royals fan on our store TV is rather...nostalgic.
DEAD-RABBIT: So?

AMLAN: I'd recommend you change your unusual disposition...and buy my Saberhagen card.

DEAD-RABBIT: Maybe.

The strange minion/murderer of the Dead-Rabbits gang walked out that day after purchasing a set of rather valuable Royals (Topps) cards at Amlan Satan's iconic Chicago card-store, and he decided to tell his gang that Amlan would be pardoned for murder-targeting, since his store really was a 'diamond' in the rough.

MOTHER: Why're you playing that video-game for hours tonight, son?
AMLAN: I had this strange/funny experience with a passing masked customer.

MOTHER: Did he buy anything?
AMLAN: Some terrific Royals cards, mom!
MOTHER: Cool; so what's with the video-game hypnosis, Amlan?

AMLAN: I'm thinking of the odd serendipity of voyeuristic magic, mom.

MOTHER: Well...maybe.

AMLAN: I saw that strange news-story of a series of Chicago killings.

MOTHER: Yeah, no one knows the culprits yet.

AMLAN: I hope it's not anyone we know.

MOTHER: You may take comfort in your home video-game...den.

AMLAN: Cool.

The stranger Dead-Rabbits did indeed 'pardon' Amlan's family/home/residence, but they were indeed the culprits behind a series of unrelated future crimes/murders. Amlan never discovered this, however, he remained spiritually shielded by his patriotic activity with 'delightful' capitalism.

THE END

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"Money is everything" (Ecclesiastes)