December 8 2021

Arc 1: Cold Snap

Matthew Stern Caldwell is his name. He is twenty nine years old and is a poacher. Before arriving to Iron Lake, he has a dark secret and the entire town hates him and even finds him annoying and entitled. Matt works as a Stockbroker at Morgan & Stanley.

When Jim opened up the shop, Matt and his friend, Bill Harris entered the shop. Bill went to check out some hunting jackets while Caldwell walked towards Jim with a huge smile on his face and said something to him.

Matt: [Smiles] Just the guy I want to see. Jim

Jim: How can I help you?

Matt: Oh, I just rolled into town with my buddy. Gonna do a little hunting. Gonna need a new knife and a big ass gun.

Jim: All right, you looking for a skinning knife, or a-

Matt: [Points at the display] That one.

Caldwell pointed at the Ka-Bar USMC Fighting/Utility Knife as Jim nodded and gave him the knife as Caldwell had a huge smile on his face when he had the knife in his hands and continued examining it like it was an Christmas Gift he has gotten. He began swinging the knife in excitement as Jim stood back and Matt laughed at him before they spoke to each other.

Jim: [Smiles] Easy there!

Matt: [Laughs] What? Is there a problem?

Jim: I. . . . I kind of have a thing about blood.

Matt laughed at him and continued examining the knife before he placed it back on the table and said something to Jim.

Matt: Anyways, how about that rifle?

Jim: Yeah, The Remington 783 will do the job. It's got a good scope, solid construction. You drop it a dozen times, it'll still shoot straight.

Matt: Yeah, yeah, I hear you, man. Here's the thing. my friend Bill over there?

Jim: Yeah?

Matt: He's already got that one and I want a gun that's going to make his one look like a toy.

Jim: Oh I see. So what do you want?

Matt: [Points at a display] That one. I want that one.

Jim turned around and saw the Modern Outfitters MC6 Semi-Auto Rifle with a Leupold Scope as he looked at Caldwell and said something to him.

Jim: You sure? It's gonna set you back nine thousand dollars.

Matt: I got a nice Christmas bonus at Morgan Stanley.

Lindsay looked at Matt and nodded however he was worried about giving him the rifle. Soon Jim gave the rifle to Caldwell and he smiled at the gun until Jim said something to him.

Jim: You know, this is way more firepower than anything you need hunting around here.

Matt: Oh, yeah? What do you hunt?

Jim: Me? I don't anymore. . . . . I haven't killed any animals since I was a teenager.

Matt: [Smiles] Look at you, Angel Jim.

Lindsay had a small smile on his face as Matt was smiling at the gun before he said something to him.

Matt: Yeah, I'll take it.

Jim: Not a problem. Just gonna need some ID for the federal background check.

Lindsay pulled out the laptop from the drawer and opened it as he was on the website and looked for Matt's background. However Caldwell frowned when Jim said that and said something to him.

Matt: Dude, really? How long you been working here?

Jim: Ummm, a couple of years now.

Caldwell pointed at the pictures on the wall as Jim looked at it until Matt said something to him.

Matt: That's me, up on the wall. I was on Fred Senior's Little League team when I was six.

Jim: Nice.

Bill: Hey Matt. [Shows Deodorant] We need this stuff?

Matt: No, no, I got a ton of that in my dad's mud room.

Bill nodded and continued looking around the store as Matt chuckled before he said something to Jim.

Matt: Speaking of my dad, he brought me my first rifle in this very store when I was ten.

Suddenly a beep was heard from the laptop as Jim looked at the screen and saw that Matt is flagged in the FBI background check and can't buy a gun for twenty four hours. Lindsay showed it to Caldwell as he was annoyed and said something.

Matt: Seriously?

Jim: It happens sometimes. It's just a twenty four hour hold while the FBI checks on your record.

Matt was disappointed and annoyed as Jim said something to him.

Jim: So same time tomorrow?

Matt:. . . . . . . Well, dude, just sell me the gun.

Jim: I got to follow procedure. Neither of us want Fred to lose his business, right?

Matt: [Chuckles]. . . . Oh, yeah. Oh, okay, buddy.

Jim stared at him as Matt gave him some money for the knife as Lindsay took the cash until Caldwell said something to him.

Matt: You know, you should break a rule, sometimes you might even have a little fun.

Jim stared at him as Caldwell noticed his silence until he took the knife and said something to Lindsay.

Matt: Oh, screw it, whatever. Means I get to start drinking. See ya, Jim.

He took the knife and soon both Caldwell and Bill left the store as Lindsay said "Thanks for shopping at Fred's Fish and Game" before he sat down on the office chair and looked at the laptop.

Two hours later

Jim made it to the Iron Lake Police Department as he saw Anne working on the computer until she noticed Lindsay and both of them spoke to each other.

Jim: Hey Anne.

Anne: Hey Jim, I heard a red flag came up on Matt Caldwell. Seems like trouble follows Caldwell wherever he goes.

Jim: There really are no secrets in this town.

Anne: Yeah. By the way, Katherine is at a meeting right now.

Jim saw Katherine talking to an officer in the office as Lindsay saw Micheal walking through the hallway as he spoke to him.

Jim: Hey Mike. Did you find the goat?

Michael: Yeah. I've been chasing it around the woods for a long time I found it.

Suddenly Anne, Michael and Jim saw Benjamin entering the police station while holding multiple boxes in his hands as they immediately helped him place the boxes on the table and said something.

Benjamin: Evidence from the Congregational church theft. Keeping Iron Lake safe one pie at a time. [Chuckles]

They chuckled as they all continued speaking to each other.

Anne: Hey everyone. What do you think Matt could have done to flag the FBI on a gun background check?

Jim: He tried to buy a rifle at Fred's. I'm sure it's just a formality. By the way, These pies smell amazing.

Benjamin: I don't know too much about Matt. All I know is he was making major profit on Wall Street. I mean, he likes to hang out, drink, gamble.

Michael: Not to mention he's was a top athlete back at high school and university.

Anne: I bet it was that boat crash out in Ohio.

Micheal: I dont know too much about what happened. I heard Matt wasn't even driving.

Anne: Five people died.

Benjamin: To this day, nobody knows what happened at the boat. After the crash, Matt was in the hospital for weeks. Shattered femur, major surgery.

As the trio were talking to each other, Jim was listening to the conversation and was thinking about what Matt did until he heard Katherine telling him to come inside the office as he nodded.

Jim entered the office and looked through the window as he saw the officer exiting the police station and looked at the board as he saw what was there.

He saw multiple missing posters on the board as Katherine added another missing poster on the board and he said something to her.

Jim: No luck?

Katherine: [Sighs] The same as always. No body, no pattern, no case. And no funding. Until one of these women turns up dead.

Katherine was looking at the missing posters until Jim said something to her.

Jim: Hey I'm sure you can find them.

Katherine had a small smile on her face as Lindsay smiled at her. Both of them left the office as she said something to him.

Katherine: [Smiles] Line dancing tonight?

Jim smiled at her and nodded as she asked the same question to the others and they were excited too.

Soon Lindsay left the police station and began making his way back to Fred's Fish & Game store, however he was in deep thoughts about what Matt did and wondered what happened.

However he brushed those thoughts away and continued making his way back to the store.

Few hours later

It was night time as Jim parked his truck and began making his way towards the Iron Lake Tavern as he was fixing his hair and jacket.

Jim was looking around the town until he saw a car being parked and someone exited the vehicle as he had a smile on his face and saw Katherine.

Katherine: Sorry. Mad dash. Thought you'd appreciate seeing your girlfriend in something other than a state issued uniform.

Both of them chuckled as Jim kissed her forehead as she was blushing and kissed his cheek until he wrapped one arm around her and said something.

Jim: You look cute in that uniform.

Katherine: Oh. That's why I love you, Jim Lindsay.

Both of them entered Tavern and saw everyone dancing as they heard a song playing and they were listening to the song. The song was Blondie's Heart Of Glass.

Once I had a love and it was a gas

Soon turned out had a glass of heart.

Seemed like the real thing.

Mistrust, love's gone behind

Katherine and Jim saw Anne, Micheal and Benjamin as they also noticed their loved ones with them as they all noticed them.

Sebastian Stan is his name, he is forty three years old and is the boyfriend of Anne Mercer.

Florence Pugh is her name. She is thirty years old and is the girlfriend of Michael McMahon.

Samara Weaving is her name. She is thirty one years old and is the girlfriend of Benjamin Mcfarland.

Samara: [Smiles] Glad your all here.

Florence: [Smiles] Excited for Line dancing?

Sebastian: [Smiles] Because we can't wait to start dancing.

Everyone smiled at each other as Jim said he's gonna get them some orange juice before they start dancing as they smiled and nodded. Lindsay walked towards the counter as he saw who it was.

Jack Ryan is his name. He is twenty nine years old and is a bartender at Iron Lake Tavern.

Jessica Mckay is her name. She is twenty nine years old and is the girlfriend of Jack Ryan.

Jack: [Smiles] Hey Jim.

Jessica: [Smiles] What's up? You want the usual?

Jim: [Smiles] Am I that predictable?

Jack: [Chuckles] Unless you want something new.

Jim: Hahaha. No I'm good, I just want some orange juice. Just put it on my tab.

Jessica: No need. Matt Caldwell's buying everyone a round.

Jim turned around and saw Matt drinking with his friends until Caldwell noticed Lindsay and laughed in excitement before he slammed his hand on the table multiple times while chanting Jim's name.

Jim smiled at Jack and Jessica before he said something to them.

Jim: Put it on my tab anyways.

Jack and Jessica smiled and nodded as they gave him some glasses of orange juice and he gave it to his friends as they all began drinking it while talking to each other.

Anne: So ready everyone?!

Benjamin: I'm ready to dance the night away!

Micheal: Same here, brother!

Katherine: Let's do this!

Everyone smiled as they got up from their seats and they all began dancing as they were smiling at each other and continued dancing while listening to the song.

Lost inside

Adorable illusion

And I cannot hide

I'm the one you're using

Meanwhile there was a gas station as someone stepped out of the truck and the truck driver told him that Iron Lake was two miles from here.

The mysterious man nodded and put his hoodie on before he began walking through the road and continued making his way towards the town.

Meanwhile Jim saw Anne dancing with Sebastian, Benjamin and Samara drinking some orange juice while cracking some jokes, Michael and Florence were talking to Jack and Jessica while cracking some jokes and Katherine was talking to someone.

Suddenly Matt stood in front of Jim as he looked at him until he said something to him.

Matt: Hey Jim! I'm having a party at my dad's house tomorrow. You should come.

Jim: Oh, I'll see about that.

Matt: Hey, listen. I was thinking. Why don't we get out of here? You could open up your shop, give me that rifle. My guys and I, we want to go hunting in the morning.

Jim: If your background check clears, you can come and pick it up at the store in the morning. I'm sure your friends are gonna be really impressed with the size of your gun.

Matt stared at Lindsay as he was staring at him until Caldwell laughed at him and said something.

Matt: The angel loves his rules. [Laughs] You know what? Why don't you come to the party anyway? You never know. Maybe you'll even enjoy yourself.

Jim smiled at him as Matt noticed Lindsay was looking at Katherine until Caldwell said something to him.

Matt: Girlfriend's a cop, huh? Should probably come stag. There's gonna be a lot of red flags there, if you know what I mean.

Jim stared at him and nodded as Matt walked away and soon Katherine walked towards Lindsay and said something to him.

Katherine: Hey Jim, sorry. I gotta go back home, Samantha has a party happening and I have to go check up on her.

Samantha is Katherine's adopted daughter. Samantha doesn't know what happened to her biological mother since she left her when Samantha was three years old and Katherine has been taking care of her since then.

Jim: Oh its no problem. See you tomorrow, honey.

Katherine: You too pumpkin.

She kissed his cheek and Jim kissed her cheek as they smiled at each other and soon she left the Tavern.

Jim was also standing outside as he was fixing his jacket and began making his way towards the truck but unknown to him, someone was watching him from a distance.

December 9 2021 [The Next Day]

Jim continued his daily routine of running through the woods to look for the white deer while holding the rifle in his hands. Eventually he found the deer and aimed at it, however he resisted the urge to fire at the deer and eventually the feeling went away and he decided to go back to his cabin.

However as he was making his way back to the Cabin, Jim noticed something as he saw what it was.

Fifteen minutes later

Jim was making some breakfast for himself as he was speaking to someone.

Jim: I have a feeling, I'm being watched.

????: And I have a feeling you're letting this Matt asshole get to you, brother. . . . . . . .

Jim:. . . . . . . It's been almost ten years. . . . . .

????: Stick to your routine.

Suddenly she was gone as Jim sighed to himself and looked at the fried egg he made as he said something to himself.

Jim: Right. Routine, Routine, Routine.

Three hours later

Jim did his usual routine and soon began making his way towards tavern to get a tuna sandwich for himself. He continued walking as he also had a pastries box in his hands.

However Jim heard a protest happening as he saw some civilians protesting by the tavern as he was confused until Lindsay noticed Katherine and said something.

Jim: Wait, what is all this?

Katherine: Everyone's favorite billionaire decided to close down the Tavern for his annual board meeting.

Jim: My tuna sandwich is in there.

Katherine: [Smiles] Poor baby.

The civilians continued protesting until Katherine and Jim noticed someone as they saw who it was.

Samantha Jones is her name. She is eighteen years old and is the adopted daughter of Katherine.

Katherine: Samantha? What are you doing here? I thought you had a test.

Samantha: What's good about a test if people like Edward Olsen destroy our planet?

Jim: Well, I know someone isn't getting their tuna sandwich anytime soon.

Samantha chuckled as everyone saw someone exiting the tavern as they saw who it was.

Edward Olsen is his name. He is an oil tycoon whose company negatively affects the environment.

Edward: Thank you, everyone, for waiting so patiently. Sorry, my meeting ran long. We brought you some cocoa to warm you up. Please, enjoy.

Samantha took the cocoa and stared at Edward before he splashed it at him and everyone began cheering for her and continued protesting as Jim was watching what was happening.

Lindsay was gonna walk away until he noticed a hoodie man watching him as he was confused and was gonna walk towards him but the hoodie man immediately ran away as he was gone and Jim was confused and began wondering who it was.

Soon he began making his way back to the store and saw Fred Jr, the owner of the store speaking to him.

He said that Matt's background was clear and wants Jim to deliver the gun to his house. However Lindsay didn't wanted to give the gun to him.

But Fred didn't have anyone that can deliver the gun and asked Jim to deliver it to his house and in the end, Lindsay nodded and took the rifle before he got inside the truck and began driving towards Caldwell's house.

One hour later

Jim was inside Matt's house while holding the gun and the entire house smelled like cigarettes, civilians dancing to loud music, others were drinking beer while talking to each other.

Soon Bill noticed Jim and told him that Matt is upstairs and is busy with his girlfriend and he should wait for sometime.

Soon Harris and Lindsay walked upstairs as Bill was smoking a cigarette and said something.

Bill: You want a cigarette?

Jim: No, I don't smoke.

Bill nodded as Jim noticed the scar on his head and Harris noticed him staring as he said something to Lindsay.

Bill: You know what they call me?

Jim: Bill?

Bill: No, Asshole.

Jim: Oh. Because of the scar.

Bill: Yeah. You know who never gets a girlfriend?

Jim: You?

Bill: Bingo. You gonna finish this or what?

Jim: Ummm, actually I'll come back later and-

Bill: I NEVER SHOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN ON THAT BOAT!

Jim was staring at him as Bill had tears falling from his eyes and Jim continued speaking to him.

Jim: Your talking about the accident?

Bill: I told Matt to stop. . . . . .

Jim: What do you mean you told Matt?

Bill: [Laughs] You know what? Screw it and Screw him! . . . . . . I covered for him, man!. . . . . . I lied at my trial. . . . . . So that he could go free and be with my girlfriend?!

Jim was staring at him as Bill looked at Lindsay and continued speaking to him.

Bill:. . . . . . . I can't believe that I was. . . . That two grand a week and a Rolex was worth taking the fall. . . . . And his dad had to sell two trucks to cover me and those cops out in Ohio. Hope it was worth it!

Jim was in deep thoughts about what he heard as Bill threw the cigarette away until Lindsay said something to him.

Jim: If Matt was driving, why didn't he stop?

Bill: Because he was playing chicken. Except Matt was drunk. He hated that guy. Lost half a million on some deal because of him. . . . . You want to know the worst part?

Jim: Uh. . . . . Not really.

Bill: The other guy gave up. Turned the boat away. Totally yielded. And Matt just drove right into him anyway. . . . . . . .

Soon they saw Matt's girlfriend leaving the room as Bill said something to Jim.

Bill: Hey. . . . . Uh. . . . This all stays between us, huh? See. . . . . I really need that two grand a week.

Jim:. . . . . . . . . You're looking at the guy where secrets go to die.

Bill nodded and walked downstairs as Jim entered the room and saw Matt drinking some beer until he noticed Lindsay holding the rifle.

Matt: Finally! Want a drink?

Jim:. . . . . . No thanks, I just need a signature.

Matt: Come on. Life is short, dude.

Jim slowly gritted his teeth in anger and placed the rifle on the bed as Lindsay fixed his hair and took a deep breath before he said something.

Jim:. . . . . Cash or check?

Matt: A check? What is this, 1985? [Laughs] Relax, I already Venmo'd Fred.

Jim: Oh. . . . Okay. . . . . .

He gave Matt the documents and Caldwell immediately signed it as Lindsay said something.

Jim: Just letting you know, the owner is prohibited from operating the weapon while intoxicated-

Matt: Little late for that.

He had the rifle in his hands and laughed in excitement as he kissed the rifle before aiming it around the room while laughing.

However Jim's eyes darkened and the moment Matt turned around, Lindsay snatched the rifle away and hit a headbutt on him before using the rifle and smacking Caldwell in the face as blood fell from his nose and he stared at Jim in shock.

Blood fell on the ground and Jim was staring at the blood until he heard someone speaking to him and saw Matt who was completely fine and still had the rifle in his hands as he said something.

Matt: Hey Jim, what happened?

Jim noticed he was having the thought of attacking Matt and shook his head as he began walking away while Matt was confused but ignored him and continued examining the rifle.

Jim left the house and was inside the truck as he immediately started the vehicle and began driving away.

A/N: Thanks For Reading And

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Stay cool everyone and stay safe :)