I'm
SPEAKER_01:going to do this just a little under the weather. In Chicago, Illinois, a mortally wounded police officer has... Been placed in intensive care. A young girl with pigtails sits bedside. Sorry, my vision is blurring. I'll press on. She is holding the hand of a dear father who is unconscious and only moments away from death. Yes, sorry. I'm in the middle of recording. Yes.
SPEAKER_00:Why don't you wait until I'm finished, you... Read this. Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, I've been asked to read this card.
SPEAKER_03:The red wagon reliably rolls over Rutabaga. Oh, shit! I'm chipped! You bastards! I'm Balthagar! Lieutenant of Hell! Kneel before me! No!
SPEAKER_04:Stay down, Mr. Johanson. We're with the ORA. Get him out of here. Bring in the replacement.
SPEAKER_02:Check, check.
SPEAKER_04:Are you good?
SPEAKER_02:Yes, I'm set.
SPEAKER_04:Goddamn right. Let's go.
SPEAKER_00:Shitstorm. In
SPEAKER_02:Chicago, Illinois, a mortally wounded police officer has been placed in intensive care. A young girl with pigtails sits bedside. She's holding the hand of her dear father, who is unconscious and only moments away from death. The sound of a hospital EKG sings out across the small room, audibly indicating that her father, Luis Abarca, will soon give his final goodbye. Her loving abuela stands behind her, placing a calming hand on the girl's shoulder. Luis was on duty when he came upon a carjacking in progress. He managed to free the would-be victim from any harm, but not without sacrificing his body to do so. The perpetrator and Lewis wrestled as the police officer attempted to free the criminal of his weapon, but to no avail. The assailant broke free, knocking Lewis to the ground and swiftly firing his weapon, letting off three shots before fleeing. Lewis fought hard to stay in his life, to protect his daughter, but the wounds were too traumatic. Moments later, the physician overseeing Lewis pronounces the formal declaration of death, citing the date and time. His daughter, overcome with emotion, erupts with sorrow as a heavy stream of tears trickle down her cheeks. She leans in towards her father's face and places a simple kiss against his cheek, and then slowly backs away. Soon after, she is embraced by her abuela. Hours later, at the Cook County morgue late at night, Louisa Barker's corpse is placed on a slab and gently placed into storage. The storage door clasps shut. Outside of time and space in hell's capital city of Dante, the obsidian recovery agency located on Good Intentions Boulevard stands sturdily and imposing, all black stone and sharp angles as storm clouds form above in the evening sky. Captain F.J. Mangut, leader of the group of demon hunters of the ORA, files away the case of Phillip Weston. She's caught off guard by an unannounced visitor. The dapper man, in a well-tailored suit with expensive cigarettes, is standing inside. He approaches the captain.
SPEAKER_05:Hello, sir. We weren't made aware of your arrival. I would have tried to spruce up the place.
SPEAKER_03:Wanted to keep a low profile on this one. Less publicity, paparazzi, and all that.
SPEAKER_02:There is an awkward pause between the captain and the dapper man. And then...
SPEAKER_03:Where
SPEAKER_02:is he?
SPEAKER_05:He's downstairs, keeping out of the rain. Cell 2-H. Thank
SPEAKER_02:you, Captain. The dapper man walks the cell block, hearing the whispers of his arrival by the occupants of the block. He finally arrives at Cell 2-H. The demon who had performed an illegal possession of Philip Weston lay on the floor. He is shabbily dressed, barefoot, his extremities gray and ashen. covered with small wet boils, his hair in dreadlocks which frame his round, misshapen face, and tiny, puke yellow eyes. He is not aware that he has a visitor. The well-dressed man leans against the bars of the cell and lights up a cigarette. The demon is startled and sits upright, staring anxiously at his late-night visitor.
SPEAKER_03:You startle easy. Section 3.76 of the mandate states, heretofore, there will be no demonic possessions of any human, whether willingly or unwillingly. I don't acknowledge the mandate. No shit, short. Yes, I know your name. Your real name. Not he who is not known. Descendant of Ammon. Where'd you get that shit? And the voice. Philip isn't here. Straight out of the movies, that one. Oh, not for nothing. By the way, it's pronounced Job. Like globe. Not job. As in G. I really hate my job. Who do I know? Who the fuck do you think I am? You? You are a traitor. You spit in the face of all that came before, dismissing the natural... Oh yes, I know. A reckoning. Yes, an ancient evil has awakened. You know of what I speak. Who sent the ring? Don't know who sent the ring. Should not have worked, but I do know this. A storm is coming.
SPEAKER_02:Leo awakens in his apartment. A thunderstorm is in progress outside. Raindrops pitter-patter against one of the few windows in the drab apartment. A dull light emanating from the bottom of the door blanketing the apartment floor briefly shifts, obstructed by a shadow outside in the hallway. Leo notices this changing of light and pulls a loaded.45 caliber pistol from under his pillow. He points the nose of the gun towards the door prepared to fire if necessary. Suddenly, a black file folder is slid under the doorway. Leo cautiously makes his way to the door, kneels to grab the dossier, and then opens the door to his apartment. He peers into the dang hallway, but there is no one there. The corridor is silent save for the faint sound of dusty fluorescent lights that adorn the ceilings of the hallway. Closing the door, he sits at a small dining room table, sliding a half empty glass of whiskey to make room for the dossier. There is a sticky note, affixed to the face of the file. It reads, for your eyes only, and then a single letter below the message that reads, S. Now opening the dossier, Leo becomes anxious as he delves into its content. It has the look of a report where he is the subject. The title of the document states, Leo Braun. Case 87358. Death details. Revised. Leo shuts his eyes. A painful memory emerging from the back of his mind as he recalls the tragic day when he was taken from the world and people he loved. He squints harder. His vision goes deeper into black, the images of the day growing ever brighter until... Leo's mind takes him back, several years ago. He sits in an unmarked police vehicle with his partner of 15 years, Marcus Mills. They are parked 30 yards away from the Moto Reel Cinema, a now defunct chain of boutique movie theaters. They are on a stakeout. Having been tipped that the murderer and rapist Samuel Dowd has been using the abandoned movie theater as his base of operations and hideout for the past few months. A squad of officers handpicked by Leo are close but out of sight awaiting Leo's orders. Leo is in charge of this operation. He is also soon to be promoted to commander of major crimes for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. What neither Leo nor Marcus nor the tight-knit bunch of officers selected for this operation know is that Leo will lose his life tonight. And it won't be at the hands of Samuel Dowd.
SPEAKER_03:Well, what the hell are you saying? It's a bad idea to have six kids? No, no, no, no. That's totally acceptable. But six ugly kids? That, my friend, is a problem. Leo laughs and then looks through a pair of
SPEAKER_02:binoculars. Though it is dark and a small storm has begun, the movie theater is still in clear view from the homicide detective's vantage point. While Leo scopes out his surroundings... Marcus takes advantage of the distraction and reveals a small trophy hidden in the duffel bag. It is a plastic mold of a bald, fat man, painted in gold, sitting on a toilet. At the base is a metal banner that reads, congrats on 25 years of shits. Leo sets the binoculars down only to see the trophy shoved in his face.
SPEAKER_03:Congrats, man, on 25 years. Oh shit, Marcus, you shouldn't have. Only the best for you, old man. You know how hard it was to find your likeness? I can see the resemblance. Yeah, that's your son Tony, all right.
SPEAKER_02:Leo and Marcus laugh. However, the levity is short-lived as a member of the squad radios in.
SPEAKER_01:There is movement to the southeast.
SPEAKER_03:Roger that. Sierra moving forward. Assume your fields of fire, but don't breach. Up. Roger. And stay off the radio until further instructions. Could it really be? If the intel was correct, and it usually is, Samuel Dowd is going down. Let's move in.
SPEAKER_02:Leo sets the trophy on the dash of the police vehicle.
SPEAKER_03:I'm coming back for you, golden boy.
SPEAKER_02:Leo opens the unmarked vehicle's trunk and hands a Kevlar vest to Marcus. Leo slips a vest on as well. From the gum rack of the vehicle, he unlocks a shotgun. Already loaded, he racks the slug into the chamber. Then the two partners make their way to the Moto Real Cinema. They travail down the incline of an overpass until they reach the empty parking lot of the movie theater. Streetlights illuminate automatically as the day grows darker. They rush to the entrance of the theater, avoiding the parking lot and the large swaths of light the street lamps have produced. The storm grows stronger, but visibility is still not an issue. In a crouching position, they make their way from the west entrance to the southeast corner of the movie theater, where movement was reported. Leo pulls out a flashlight and briefly turns it on, running his hand quickly through the beams. In the distance, 40 yards away from the theater, two small flashes of light are seen. The squad still has solid visibility. Both torches are
SPEAKER_03:extinguished. What the hell is a PCEU? P-E-C-U. And it's gonna have to wait, Marcus. You don't have time to explain Leo
SPEAKER_02:realizes he is underneath the box office window, and he leans upwards to peer inside the movie theater. At this point, there is a sudden blackout, as if the memory itself has been excised. Leo's memory falters. He can only pick back up with both Marcus and Leo already inside the theater. He has no connection to how they breached the movie theater and made entry. When the reel of his mind resumes, he and Marcus are already separated, and he can't reach his partner or the squad outside on the radio.
UNKNOWN:Marcus.
SPEAKER_02:Come in.
UNKNOWN:Damn it.
SPEAKER_02:Leo traverses through the abandoned lobby. He moves through beams of light where holes in the ceiling have given way. The burgeoning storm sends rain pouring through the open ceiling, splashing against the theater's wall. The hallway to the left of the concession is blocked by a collapsed wall. Leo decides to go to the second floor. He holsters his service weapon in exchange for the shotgun. Ascending the stairs, he arrives at the second floor. Tightly leaning against the corner, he peeks around the corner to find an empty balcony. Leo is met with silence. Across the balcony is a small room with some light flickering behind the door. Leo runs the phone quietly, shotgun drawn. He makes his way towards the room with the intermittent light. About halfway to his destination, the floor underneath his feet cracks, then rumbles, and then opens up beneath him. He plummets to the first floor, landing hard against wood and smashed concrete. He quickly dusts himself off and examines the scene. He is uninjured, save for some minor scrapes, but extremely winded. The shotgun has been compromised, buried almost completely underneath the collapsed wall. Only the tip of the handle pokes through the debris. Leo realizes he is in the room of flickering lights. A projector shoots bright light against a silver movie screen in what appears to be some sort of private screening room. It is then that he senses it. He is not alone. The light is too bright and disorientating to make out any of the figures standing in the room. He can only sense their presence. They don't rush him. They just seem to stand, silently. The room is quiet. He can hear the running projector and breathing that is not his own. The projection brightens further. He becomes more disorientated until he notices black shoes facing him. He can't see the person in front of him. As he tries to look up, the light brightens even more. All he can determine is that the person in front of him is wearing an ugly orange tie. As he studies the unfashionable tie, he hears someone speaking.
SPEAKER_01:The movie is over, Mr. Brown.
SPEAKER_02:Time to go. Leo begins to question the man in the tie, but it's too late. A heavy bladed weapon is thrust into Leo's chest.
SPEAKER_03:You hear it all the time. Those that have near-death experiences describe it as a tunnel of light, something that hints at what may be beyond this life that we're given. But I didn't see a bright light. I just felt a void, expansive and constricting all at the same time. Everything went black, no vision, no sound, except for right before I came to, whispers of my wife and son's names, Louise and Harry. Next thing I remember, I'm sitting in a plastic office chair.
SPEAKER_02:Leo sits in an eggshell-colored room. It would be completely empty except for the plastic chair he sits in, and across from him, another plastic chair, tucked under the small plastic table between the two. A door opens that Leo didn't even realize was there, and a young man with well-coiffed hair enters the room. He doesn't immediately make eye contact. The young man carries a binder, which he sets on the small table, He is pale, thin, stylishly dressed. He slides the plastic chair out from under the table and sits down. Removes a file from the binder and opens it, spreading out the various documentation that was contained inside. The young man finally looks at Leo, but doesn't speak. Finally, Leo breaks the silence.
SPEAKER_03:What is this? Where am I? We'll get to that. Where am I? Mr. Braun, I assure you we will get to it. Who are you? You want answers. I understand the confusion. The disorientation. I will do my absolute best to answer any question you have. But I cannot stress enough that no matter what I tell you, these answers won't digest easily.
SPEAKER_02:Who are you? Sebastian points at his name tag.
SPEAKER_03:My name is Sebastian. I'm your case handler. Sebastian? Yes. Just Sebastian. Sebastian. Yes, Leo. I'd like to go home. Now. Mr. Braun, that is an impossibility.
SPEAKER_02:Leo attempts to lunge towards Sebastian, but is immediately restrained. He examines his hands, which have been cuffed to hooked connectors securing him to the floor.
SPEAKER_03:Where the fuck am I? What the fuck is this place? Mr. Braun. Leo... A man of your intelligence and deductive prowess doesn't need help in answering that question. You feel it, don't you?
SPEAKER_02:Leo takes a moment. He looks around. The room. At Sebastian. And the files.
SPEAKER_03:I'm dead? Yes. I'm sorry. And this isn't... This isn't heaven? No, Leo. No, it is not. Oh, God, no. No, Louise, I'm sorry. Harry, my boy. Oh, God, I'm sorry. Leo. Oh, my God. Are they okay? I don't know that, unfortunately, Leo. I wish I did. Look, I was a good man. I was a cop. From what I've read, a cop of distinguished service on your way to a promotion, I understand. Commander of major crimes, yeah. Leo, I know you must have so many questions, and there will be time for that. Due to your extended period of time in limbo, there are a few things I'm obligated to get through. And that window is closing. I'm sorry, my dear. I'm going to tell you some things that are very important. My primary function here is to discuss next steps. It's impersonal, I realize, but onboarding has become a bit of a bottleneck lately due to an influx of new arrivals. Oh, my boy. Leo. For the next few minutes, let me give you my spiel. If it's easier, just listen. You don't have to answer anything.
SPEAKER_02:Leo notes, in acknowledgement.
SPEAKER_03:Thank you,
SPEAKER_02:Leo.
SPEAKER_03:Normally, we'd have far more time to explore your background, discuss your past transgressions, but due to the extended time you've been in limbo, we'll schedule those discussions at a later date. I need to prep you for orientation. Orientation? Yes, it can often be the best part of the transition. Billy is a great orator. At orientation, you'll learn the ground rules. Ground rules? For what? For how to live your life here. Your assignment. The ground rules. Here's a map.
SPEAKER_02:Sebastian hands Leo a map, which literally shows the steps he would take from the room he is in now to what resembles a classroom only a few yards away.
SPEAKER_03:So where do we begin? When I was nine, I stole a pack of gum? It's in the file. Is that why I'm here? No. Well, there is the cause of death, which is fairly detailed. And then there's a portion of the report that explains why you wound up here. Which sin you committed. Your file says... That's unusual. is unknown? I'm sure it's a clerical error. Like I said, we've had an unexpected influx of arrivals. These things get updated regularly. Sorry, Mr. Braun, a new onboarding specialist is going to need the room. I'll walk you to the bed we have for you tonight, and then first thing in the morning, make it to orientation. Sound good?
SPEAKER_02:Leo doesn't answer. Sebastian unlocks the handcuffs and guides Leo out of the sparse room. The door is closed forcefully behind them. The sound of a pager beeping brings Leo back to his dull apartment once again. The dossier remains open. Many pages turned over. He removes the pager from his pocket and reads the message that was received. Leo grabs the glass of whiskey and drinks the rest of it down in one shot. Now in the present day, back in Chicago, Illinois, at the Cook County morgue. Leo was lying on the slab, having just been reincarnated as Lewis Abarco. His briefcase vibrates. Leo cracks it open and with effort is able to remove a tool. After a few minutes of jostling the clasps, the morgue slab lock is removed and Leo slides the slab open. Leo exits the morgue in the dead of night. He's wearing a white t-shirt and police department issued pants. He grabs the briefcase and begins his trek towards the next poor human who has recently been possessed. As he begins to walk, he feels something pressing against his hip. Reaching into his left pants pocket, he pulls out a golden locket. Opening the locket, he sees the picture of a little girl and a name inscribed below the picture. Isabella. He knows that time is of the essence, and yet he faces the Cook County morgue with obligation. The following day, the staff begins filing into the morgue. The woman at the front desk places a bag with her belongings next to her office chair, sits down, and logs into her computer. Then she notices something placed on top of the counter, a golden locket and a sticky note. She examines the locket and then reads the sticky note. Written in marker, it reads, For Isabella. On an empty street at night in the city of Dante, a jet black Cadillac Coupe de Ville pulls down an alleyway and comes to a stop. The short man with a fedora and overcoat steps out of the vehicle and approaches the side of a building. He unlocks the door and enters. The man referred to as Piggy shuts the door and locks it behind him. He is in a darkened room saved for the green glow of computer servers. He flips on a desk lamp which reveals an open laptop on a wooden desk. He sits at the desk and logs into the laptop. The lit up screen casts light on his malformed face. He inserts a USB cable into a side port of the computer and then places a briefcase on the wooden desk. He opens a gold metal panel in the center of the briefcase and connects the cable. Turning back to the laptop, he executes a program with a few keystrokes and the laptop appears to be running some kind of diagnostic. Next to the gold metal open panel is a label that reads Braun, Leo. Suddenly the laptop has completed the process and the results have been returned. The results appear to display a location indicating the source of the transmission that sent the silver ring to Leo. Piggy stares at the screen, and his expression becomes one of shock.
SPEAKER_03:What? Who the hell is that?
SPEAKER_01:Leo Braun is a production of Shoestring TV. You can find us at patreon.com slash shoestring TV, where you can listen to each episode for free or subscribe for only$5 a month. With the subscription, you'll become a member of the Obsidian Recovery Agency, which grants you early access to each episode. Additionally, you'll gain exclusive access to bonus clips, concept art, show notes, direct chats, and merchandise including the brand new Welcome to the ORA Coffee Mugs, and so much more. You can also find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and just about anywhere you listen to podcasts. Leo Braun was written and produced by me, Jason Beard, and starring Stitch Mainville as Leo Braun, Andy Parkin as Narrator 2, Jim Fronk as the Dapper Man, Piggy, and Marcus Mills, Eric Carlino as Sebastian. Melrose Johnson as Captain F.J. Manget and O.R.A. Agent. All music and sound effects provided royalty free by Soundstripe and Freesound. You can find the artist information in the soundtrack section of our Patreon site. Stay tuned for Leo Braun Episode 4, Orientation. Thanks again for listening.