Hello Reddit,
This is Clark, Zander's best friend. I hope you'll remember me from the last series that Zander posted. I wish I was here to say thank you for all of your help in getting David King what he deserved. I wish I was here to tell you that all of Zander's charges have been dropped and that we are returning to normal life, but that's not why I'm here.
I'm here because Zander is missing.
I haven't heard from him in a little more than 2 weeks now, and his Reddit activity is nonexistent ever since July 7th that I can see. I'm worried. He always sends at least a few words to keep me updated every couple of days so I know he's safe and still on the run. But now... No one has heard from him.
I've talked to Detective Hernandez, his parents, and even Katie. No one has seen or heard from him in a while.
Let me fill you in on what I know.
A week ago, I realized I hadn't heard from him in a while. I texted him, and got no response. I sent him an encrypted message through the online messenger that we use for really secretive conversations. Nothing. I looked at his Reddit page, and there were no new comments or submissions.
The last thing I see on his Reddit account is a request for password possibilities to brute force David King's old hard drive and a few comments here and there to people.
You may be wondering how I'm posting using Zander's Reddit account. He never shared the password with me. Let me explain the timeline of events until now.
After I checked his Reddit userpage and tried to contact him through all other normal and abnormal channels, I went to see Detective Hernandez. I asked him whether he'd heard from Zander recently. He told me that the last time they'd talked was on the 5th of July. They'd met together with one of Hernandez's lawyer friends to discuss Zander's legal problems.
Hernandez had also “borrowed” the hard drive once it came back from the lab and given it to Zander when they met. The lab was unable to salvage any useful data, as far as Hernandez knows.
While I was there, I asked him where Zander stood from a legal standpoint. This is how I understand his current situation.
Zander had been previously charged with aiding a kidnapping, arson, manslaughter for David's mom, resisting arrest, credit card fraud, bank fraud, theft of personal property, and unlawful possession of David's confidential medical records. I think that's everything. It's been a week since I talked to Hernandez, so I might have some parts wrong.
It was a lot of charges, and only four have been dropped: aiding a kidnapping, theft of personal property, arson, and manslaughter. Three of those charges were dropped as a result of the GoPro footage we turned in as evidence. The theft of personal property was dropped because the prosecutor didn't feel he could successfully convince a jury without David's testimony.
I'm pretty pissed off that the other charges are still being held against him.
As Zander stated before in his previous posts, the credit card companies and Zander's own bank had done their own investigations and have filed criminal charges against him for fraud. This was because the information provided to them while filing for a credit card was so complete and so accurate that they didn't believe someone other than Zander could have filled out the form. The electronic submissions also came from his own computer.
As for possession of confidential medical records, I don't know of any real way around that. If anyone has any ideas, I'm happy to hear them.
He is also being newly charged with voluntary manslaughter for shooting David King. Hernandez's lawyer friend is convinced that a jury could be persuaded to call him innocent on this charge, but only if he turns himself in. The sooner he turns himself in, the less guilty he looks to a jury. Even so, the GoPro evidence I gave them should still help prove that it was in self defense. Alternatively, Hernandez's friend is worried that the video will prove that we set a trap for David, proving malicious intent.
Hernandez also warned me that they were working vigorously to accuse me as an accomplice in David's death. I already knew that from my own attorney. Once again the GoPro footage should help. I hope.
The police were able to identify the partner that was with David King. Unfortunately, they refused to disclose who that was. Even Hernandez refuses to say so. He claims he's on thin ice with his boss and refused to risk it.
Right, because a stolen hard drive puts you at the top of your bosses “great employees” list.
The charge for resisting arrest is three-fold. The first is from Zander leaving the scene after the car crash where David broke him out of jail. The fact that he even left the scene is a crime by itself. The second instance is in his continued state of being on the run. The longer he keeps running, the worse it'll get. The third instance comes from running away after shooting David King. The prosecutor is treating this last instance very seriously and it will be a leading point in bringing down Zander's credibility and innocence.
Hernandez told me that when they'd met, he'd made the recommendation to Zander to turn himself in. This was quite a while ago, so obviously he didn't listen. Hernandez and Zander apparently got into a little shouting match over the affair. Hernandez threatened to simply arrest him on the spot. Zander took the threat seriously and left, taking the hard drive with him.
I chewed Hernandez out for threatening him like that.
So, he is definitely not out of the woods yet, legally speaking. But even those new developments aren't a reason for him to go completely under the radar, especially from me.
Three days into my search for Zander, Katie contacted me. I had just gotten home from checking a few of Zander's local hideouts. Yes, he gave me a list of them in case I needed to use them. Nope, not sharing. Sorry.
I was heading home to my mom's apartment. I had moved back in with my mom during the David situation where I could lay low and keep from being targeted. I intend to move back out, but haven't bothered yet.
Katie was leaning against the wall outside the apartment. I froze when I recognized her. Her hair was cut to shoulder length, where it used to run down her back before she was kidnapped. Her eyes weren't smiling anymore like they used to. They looked... dull. Dim. Unmotivated.
"Hi Clark," she said after a minute. She pushed away from the wall and walked towards me.
"K-Katie?" I stuttered. I hadn't heard anything about her condition after the night in the warehouse. I'll probably recount the warehouse experience in a future update.
"Where's Zander?" She asked immediately. It caught me off guard. Not what I'd expected to hear from Katie after all this time.
"I... don't know. He's gone," I said.
"Yes, I know he's on the run. But he should have snuck over to see me at least. It's been weeks since the warehouse, and I haven't had any contact. I'd expect him to at least check up on me after what happened."
"Katie, what happened to you?" I asked after a minute. "I mean, you're up and walking around and... functional."
"Am I supposed to be a mess? A sobbing nut-case who hides at home and is afraid to go outside?" She said harshly. When did she get so coarse?
"I didn't mean..." I said.
"Forget it," she interrupted. "I need to talk to Zander. It's important."
"I told you, he's gone. No one knows where he is. I haven't heard from him."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Zander is missing?" She clarified. I nodded. Her eyes blanked out again. Her face rested on worry for a moment before slipping back into that dull expression.
"Okay, I'll go look for him," she said, walking past me. I gently reached for her arm, but she raised a fist and spun to face me. She realized what was going on, and dropped her hands.
"I'm... sorry," she said, vulnerable.
"What happened to you?" I asked quietly. "What did David King do to you?"
She looked up and caught my eye.
"Not David," she replied with a hard expression. After that, she left. I was puzzled as she walked away. We'd been pretty good friends before everything happened. Zander, Katie, and I would hang out quite often and we'd always gotten along and been friendly.
That year had really changed her, I could clearly see that.
For the next two days, I kept checking his hideouts. He had over a hundred of them, some local and some in other nearby states. His preparedness was now becoming a burden on me.
It was somewhat late, but still light outside when I found this hideout. It's an older home that's been abandoned for years. According to Zander, most of his choices are homes where the owner died quietly, and the old home would slip through the cracks or be so worthless that no one bothered with it.
I can easily understand why this house was forgotten. It's old and unkempt. The frame leans to one side: it's slight, but noticeable. All of the windows have been smashed and boarded up.
The hideout notes told me that the front door is always barricaded, so I had to enter through a window on the second floor accessed by standing on an old window AC unit. I have to pull my arm out of my sling in order to climb up.
Zander's setup is down in the basement. He has set it up to siphon electricity from the neighbors and uses as little power as possible in order to avoid detection.
When I walked into one of the old bedrooms where he was holed up, a sense of dread filled me. On an old, rickety table stood a few computer towers with multiple monitors. They were powered off. An assortment of keyboards and mice cluttered the tabletop. A few folders were spread across the remaining space, as well as some stacks of papers.
That's when I found his cell phone on the floor. I actually stepped on it, but didn't break it. I picked it up with terror. Zander doesn't set down his cell phone. Ever. Not after David Fucking King.
Zander's phone was still logged into Reddit, which is how I'm here on his account. I'm coming to you now, Reddit, for two reasons. The first is to try and enlist your help, though I don't know what I need from you yet. The second is to try and get Zander's attention.
Zander. Where are you? Get a message to me. You know how to contact me. If something has happened, obviously you won't respond and I'll start doing what I think is right. Otherwise, you better talk to me.
As for everyone else, I'm considering releasing a picture of Zander so you can keep an eye out. I'll be walking around this area checking Zander's hideouts to see if he moved locations. I'm... nervous to release his picture in case he's run into trouble with someone and a picture will only help them identify him.
I'm going to call Hernandez for help. If he can help.
Zander, get a message to me. Please.
-Clark
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