Promethean

by P. S. Power

  For the trip back there was no speaking at all. They drove in silence, with Liam focusing on learning how to drive again, in case it came up. It would be a lot easier for him to drive away than to walk, after all. Cars could be lived in, if needed. The trick there was that he didn't have one of those and couldn’t be expected to get one in time for the events later in the day.

  Which didn’t stop him from trying to learn how to do it.

  When they pulled into the paved driveway, which widened into a circle, Sanchez parked to the side. Then got out to go inside, for some reason. There was no one else there however, the others having things to do that day. Important things that didn't have anything to do with Liam in particular.

  The older man put a hand on his shoulder.

  “You don’t have to do this. This, pretending to kill you, is a stupid move on Simpson’s part. Hell, Liam… We wouldn’t be doing this with anyone else. No one. It’s a set up for disaster. Plus, you aren’t an FBI Agent. You aren’t an asset either. We have no right to ask anything of you at all in this. It isn’t your problem.”

  He knew that. It didn’t really make sense for Simpson to have even thought of him at all as a target for things like that. Except that, of course, he could claim that Liam’s nature forced pure hate into being. That didn’t have to be a rational thing. That Simpson didn't feel that way was also obvious. Now that they’d been together for a few moments without the man having to put an act on.

  Also, he could be killed in a very real seeming way where that would be suspect for a lot of other people. He could just be shot or run over and it would look real. It would also hurt, if only for a few moments. That part wasn’t good to think about, though he knew that it was possible for him to endure such things without flinching.

  “I know. Still, if he can find the killers and get proof against them, we should aid him in doing so. Even if it isn’t easy or fun for us to do at the moment. I need my things, if I can get them. From Brenner’s. I…” Really, he should be able to walk over and make up a bag. There was enough time for that kind of thing. It was only a few miles outside of town and he had hours to get there and back.

  Instead Sanchez just pulled a small black cell phone from his side jacket pocket and dialed quickly.

  “Hey, Tiff. The thing is done. Liam needs his clothes and all that from your place. We were going to drive over. Oh, can we meet up at work later? Liam has a thing, some paperwork, that he wants to get done. You know, to get out from under us officially. I can’t blame him… Cool. I have the key. Call it… Four or so, this afternoon?” There was a soft sound then and a smile. “See you then. Bye.”

  Then, a bit goofily, the man pointed to the door.

  “We should get that done, then?”

  Liam nodded at the idea. There really were some things he wanted to get, if it was possible. His other shoes, his clothing and of course, his laptop.

  “Yes, let’s do that? Thanks for driving. I need to get my own car, eventually. I have no clue how to do that.”

  They left then, the trip sedate and filled with nothing more than small talk. Mainly about driving and dentistry, of all things. It didn't seem correct, given the plans for later that day. Then, what else would he speak to the man about, other than what was going on in his life?

  So, they chatted and pretended everything was all right, even as Liam collected up all his worldly possessions and tried to think of a plan. He needed a place to stay, and a way to get there that no one could track. That meant getting online, which he did from Brenner’s. It didn’t take him long to have everything in order.

  For his death.

  Chapter eleven

  Liam reviewed the plan as he stood in front of the Federal building, a large blue truck revving its engine behind him. He could see it of course, even with his back turned. Really, he could see everything around himself, just like always. It wasn’t perfect, since he wore clothing, most of the time, and that covered part of him. Things like having shoes on made it harder to see the sky above, though the skin of his face allowed for that well enough.

  Next to him, on the grass in front of the building, about fifteen feet away from him, Brenner stood, talking to Sanchez, with Mitchel. Chatting about the plan for the day. It was the male Agent that had taken them over there, to the side. Speaking about Liam as if he weren’t there, for some reason. One that he understood without having guess too hard. His task was getting the others out of the way.

  As the truck closed, he thought quickly. More so than normal, even. It was a curious effect in that the world slowed around him as it happened. Probably due to the idea that it was going to hurt when the truck hit him.

  Then, after being flung through the air, or rolled over by the truck, Simpson would leap out and shoot him in the head. Maybe more than once. He got ready for it, as the truck moved to about fifteen feet. Behind him.

  There was no front plate, though there were, clearly, at least two people inside. Simpson was driving, from the shape of his silhouette. Over his face was a large black piece of cloth. The passenger was matching that way. Shorter though and slighter of build. The one woman on the unit, if Liam had to make a guess. Ginger House. There could be another one, since people had referenced men and women being in the unit. Plural for both sexes.

  It was the smaller person that reached over and pushed the wheel suddenly, making the vehicle swerve away from him. Messing up the plan. They ended up moving past, then, as the smaller one screamed something that was almost audible, the truck roared and ripped out of the lot.

  Brenner ran at it a bit.

  “Assholes! You nearly hit someone!”

  She was ready to fight about it, from her expression, though the truck didn’t slow down, meaning it nearly hit other people as they left the parking lot. Two other cars that, for some reason, expected the other drivers to actually obey the traffic laws.

  It wasn’t the plan at all. He was supposed to be holding still on the ground about then. Playing dead. Now he had to wonder if he was supposed to wait for them to come back. That probably wasn’t the case. Instead of acting any particular way, he shrugged.

  “Mr. Warner, can you hear what they’re saying, in the truck?”

  The man blinked, then let his head drop, facing the direction the loud thing went, with his eyes closed. After a moment, not long at all, he started to speak. Softly, meaning that Brenner and Sanchez moved in closer to him. Liam did the same, though stopped about five feet further back than the others.

  Mitch spoke, rapidly.

  “What the fuck, Ginger… I had him, right there. That… Monster. Frankenstein… They’re practically rubbing it in our faces!”

  The man tilted his head a bit then, as if he were listening to something interesting.

  “I know. It was a test, the others weren’t sure that you’d actually do it. Still, he’s just a kid. No real support or anything. We aren’t trying to claim that everything different is evil, Rich. The vampires, the wolves, the Satanists. Those are our goal. I get that you hate this kid, but he hasn’t done anything bad, so far. He just has that psychic thing going on that makes you not like him. I mean, I get it, he gives me the creeps as well. That isn’t actually him though, just our response to him. So, if anything, we’re the ones in the wrong here. On the good side you really did it. That should be enough proof.”

  There was another pause, this one taking long enough that Liam wondered if the truck was out of range. He couldn’t see or hear it at all, personally. Finally, more talking came.

  “Why wouldn’t you, or the others, trust me? We’ve been at this for years. Together. All of us. I’ve had your back in fights that most wouldn’t survive at all. More than once. This is fucked up, Ginger. So, freaking screwed. Also, since when is killing three people not going to count as doing something wrong?”

  There was a long silence again, with Mitchel finally shaking his head to show that his ability to hear at a distance had limits. That or something else was blocking him.r />
  “That’s it. I lost them. I… Well, that didn’t sound accidental, did it?”

  Not in any way. Including the part where it had been stopped by someone called Ginger.

  Liam looked at Sanchez, then Brenner.

  “Ginger House was a name on the list. The other man could be Richard Simpson, couldn’t it?” The idea was strange enough that he had to school his face, to keep from smiling. It was managed, with a bit of effort. A thing that he wasn’t really used to having to do. It was a lie, except that it wasn’t. He knew who the man was, and the name had been reported by Mr. Warner.

  Yet here he was, claiming that he didn't have that data. It was funny, though he kept himself from showing it, he hoped.

  Mitchel took a very deep breath.

  “That is… I don’t know what just happened here. They tried to murder Liam, the driver did, only the passenger stopped him, because… That isn’t the real goal? I need to go and tell some people about this. We can’t let anyone be nearly killed and not respond. If we do that, it will be open season on us all.” He seemed to be genuinely concerned. His face had turned a lighter shade of pink even, which was a thing that people didn’t fake easily.

  Brenner nodded then, even if that didn't make a lot of sense, given that she knew the plan. At least Liam thought that was the case. He hadn’t really spoken about it to her, personally. Mainly due to the fact that Mitchel had been there, with her, all day long. Sanchez had drawn her to the side along with the other man, so it was just possible that neither of them were up on the idea of the moment. At least the one that seemed to have passed, right in front of them.

  It was a thing that might become a major problem for them, Liam had to suppose. To him the thing to do was clear, of course. They needed to simply let Mitchel Warner, who was high up in the communities in some interesting and powerful way, in on the current plan. The one the FBI had in the works to infiltrate those people, also from the FBI, who apparently wanted to tear apart or even kill certain groups that were considered other. Because they thought of them as monsters.

  Liam could see they were different, but hadn’t really found them to be that, in particular. Then, he was willing to admit that his exposure had been slight, compared to what the FBI had going on, as a group.

  For the first time in his young life, he felt something that he didn’t understand. A thing that he’d heard referenced, without truly having had the experience for himself. Until that very moment, as facts and data points cascaded inside his head, putting things together and coming up with…

  Nothing.

  He was, as annoying as it turned out to be, confused.

  Liam had a lot of information, but it wasn’t truly making sense any longer. That had started the moment the bad men, or in this case, Ginger House, the bad woman, had gone out of her way to save his life. Based, it seemed, on him not being bad. Even if she didn’t like him, personally.

  Simpson had done his part in things, to an extent, driving the truck at him, like he’d suggested he’d be doing earlier in the day. Then they both drove off, aborting the mission. Talking about how he, Liam Frankenstein, was an innocent. Possibly even a harmless individual, who shouldn’t be killed in particular.

  Which made no sense. Not because it wasn’t true, just that people who would murder their own coworkers to make their plans come to fruition probably wouldn’t be upset about a bit of murder on the side. Particularly against someone that they considered a freak in the first place.

  Instead of coming up with a clever story or attempting to lie or even disclose the truth as he knew it, Liam felt himself closing down, inside. He didn’t know what was correct any longer. That was, he thought, due to the fact that he didn’t have enough information. That, or even more likely, several key facts he thought he knew were lies.

  So he stood there, unmoving for a moment, while Agent Brenner patted Mitchel on the arm.

  “I hear you on that. We should… Probably get out of here, in case whoever that was comes back. I’m not certain we can trust anyone right now. Come on.” Then, as if it made any sense, they all just walked, fairly calmly, with only a few glances over their shoulders, to the vehicle they’d come in. It was the car that Sanchez was using, which had been checked out from the motor pool, instead of Brenner’s larger SUV.

  Liam, not speaking, tried to collect all the data that he could. Which on the nearly silent trip back to Mitch’s house, meant watching how Agent Sanchez was driving. That was done well. All the rules were being followed at any rate.

  When they were back, Liam went to the trunk and got his things, almost everything he owned, out of the trunk. The plan had been for him to be tossed in there, and then dumped in the woods, to make his way to a city, several towns away, where there was a hotel that he could get a room at, paying in cash. Instead he moved back into Mitchel’s place, not knowing what was going on any longer.

  As emotions went, it wasn’t a pleasant thing at all. Confusion. He wanted to right it, inside of himself, as soon as possible. A thing that was outside of his ability at the moment.

  Normally he would have jumped right online, in order to try and find out information that would help him understand the world around him. In the past, when he’d lacked information, it had been a simpler thing, of course. If he’d needed to know which colors mixed into other shades for an art project, he simply looked the data up and then he knew. Now though, he was left baffled, because it felt like he should know enough to put a good picture together, only it wasn’t working at all.

  It was a situation that he didn’t understand how to address.

  Except that, when he processed things for a moment, sitting on the sofa, next to Mitchel, he did manage to come up with a plan. It wasn’t sneaky in particular, or even brilliant in any way. What he needed to do was find all of the major points of information he had on the situation and go over it. Confirming everything he thought he knew, so that whatever was incorrect would, hopefully, be apparent to him. That was a thing he didn't think he could do in front of everyone else.

  In the moment, that meant sitting and watching as Brenner and Sanchez started to try and influence Mitchel. In a way that seemed odd.

  The red headed lady took a deep breath, then sat directly between Mitch and Liam. She leaned into the taller, rather paler, man. It was a close thing. One that spoke of having a relationship that was, perhaps, a bit more than just friends. Liam had picked that up before, though it wasn’t that consistent from either of them. Now, in the moment, the other man simply put an arm around her thin shoulders, as if to comfort her.

  She spoke, her voice carrying a wry tone.

  “This was not what I had planned for the day, you know? Anyway, we need to… Crap. I just don’t know. This is a small group of people trying to pull something off. They’re going after the vamps and wolves, it sounds like. Our people, only… We can’t know that yet. This could be something else. Mind control or infiltrators put in over the years, trying to make us look bad. If word of this gets out, there will be a war.”

  Mitchel actually nodded at the idea.

  “I know. Except, if there’s a war starting anyway, then the people about to be attacked deserve to know about it. I need to call a meet. Just the key players.” He shook his head. “The trouble here is that I don’t really know anything. Overhearing one conversation, and only part of it… Well, that kind of thing can lead you in the wrong direction. This is… Fucked.”

  Both of the Agents nodded, seeming serious about it. As if the idea was one that truly bothered them. Perhaps it did. Liam had to wonder if they were all feeling the same way he was in the moment, if for different reasons. It was tempting to go to the computer, to start his investigation, except that it was clear to him that Mitchel was going to need to use the computer with the deep web programs on it to get in touch with a lot of people, in short order.

  So he sat there, not saying anything at all.

  Interestingly, after standing up, the man moved to him an
d put a hand on his shoulder. It was warm and meant to be comforting. Really, it worked, after a fashion. It really did leave him feeling better.

  “Liam… you were nearly attacked again. You must be… Do you need a cup of tea or…” He sounded genuine, even if that kind of thing wasn’t going to aid anyone, he had to think.

  Smiling, just a bit, Liam shook his head.

  “I’m fine, just thinking about things. I need more information. Something isn’t right here.” He was whispering, Mitchel leaning over him. It meant that the elemental could hear him, while the others missed what was being said.

  Interestingly, the other man nodded. Then he whispered back.

  “I know. Hang tight.”

  Then he moved across the room and started to bring things up on the desktop. It took a few minutes to get things started, since the one truth of the deep web was that it was never fast, in particular. Agent Sanchez left then, having something to do, away from the house there and Brenner, looking torn, nodded and followed along behind him.

  She called out from the door.

  “You two should be all right here. Maybe… I don’t know that we want to take action yet. Give me some time to work this out, first?” That was for Mitchel, who seemed ready to argue the point with her.

  Liam stood from the sofa, the soft surface under him not making any sounds as he stood.

  “I agree. We need to be careful here. We’ll just see if we can find anything, and keep quiet about the rest of this for now.”

  That seemed to be the right thing to say. Even Mitchel nodded at the idea. He even moved back from the desk he was at, and smiled, if in a strained fashion, over at the FBI Agent.

  “Good idea. This is probably nothing.”

  Liam simply stood, watching as the others left. Not speaking at all, even as he listened to them get into the blue boxy car that Sanchez was driving and pull out of the driveway, onto the street. Moving away from the town, for some reason.

  Turning to Mitchel, Liam didn't speak. Mainly because, to his perception, the world dropped away from him, if only for a moment. The scene was a thing that he’d seen before. There were faces first. Brenner was there, standing in a doorway, to a room that Liam had never been in. Sanchez was off to the side, deeper into the space, with several others being there as the whole thing exploded.