“Joe.” Henry called frantic. He wore a hooded sweatshirt, zipped and with the hood covering his head.
“Henry, oh my God.” Joe stood up. “Where have you been? We have been looking all over for you. Are you all right?”
“No, Joe. Not at all. Your son.”
Smug, Hal shook his head. “I knew it. It was a joke.”
“This is no joke” Henry argued. “Robbie did something to me. He played mutilator last night.”
“Uh, ha.” Joe sat back down. “Well, I hate to burst your bubble, and I hate to ruin your little, ‘hide out for a while and get Robbie in trouble’ joke, but Robbie has an air tight alibi. Dan waited in the wings by the field, he and Robbie walked to my house, and Robbie stayed there all night.”
“”Oh my God.” Henry stumbled. “I was attacked.”
“Sure you were. And why are you dressed like that?” Joe asked. “You’re never cold.”
“It’s not being cold, Joe. It’s being violated.” Henry said. “I was hit.” He removed his hood.
Joe’s mouth dropped open.
Hal laughed until Joe glared at him.
Hal cleared his throat. “Sorry.”
“Look at me, Joe. Look, I ran from Sector 40 all the way to the garage because I knew this hood was …”
“Sector forty?” Joe asked. “You were in sector forty.”
“That’s where I woke up. You think this was a trick on the part of security.”
Dumbfounded, Joe shook his head as he stared at a bald Henry. “You know actually, that is a good look for you.”
“Joe!”
“Sorry. Henry, you were attacked. The mutilator got you.” He picked up the phone. “I’ll get a hold of Frank.”
“You sure, Joe. Are you sure, it was the mutilator?” Henry asked.
“Pretty sure, Henry, considering you have the word ‘victim’ tattooed on your head. Excuse me.” Joe began to dial the phone.
****
The security uniform as a bit big, but it as the best Frank could do. Either that or let Dean go back to town in the tarp.
“And that’s it,” Dean took a sip of coffee.
“Nothing else.”
“No, and Frank you don’t need to bandage my arm. It’s fine.”
“Just being safe.” Frank put the last big of adhesive on the bandage. “So, the last thing you remember is taking a walk.”
“Yes.”
“What time?”
“Early. Ten maybe.” Dean shrugged.
“And you have no idea how you ended up stark naked buried under a pile of leaves.”
Dean shook his head. “That scares me, Frank. I’m blacking out.”
“Were you drinking?”
“No,” Dean answered.
Frank ran his fingers down his goatee. “Do you remember dreaming?”
“No. Wait. Yes.” Dean said brightly. “I do. But, it was weird. A really weird dream.”
“Tell me about it.”
“What does it have to do with my medical condition?”
“You never know. Maybe you didn’t dream it, but actually did it.”
Dean laughed. “It would be a strange thing.”
“Never know. Tell me.”
“Well …”
Frank held up his hand when his phone rang, he answered it. “Yeah.” He listened, then his eyes shifted to Dean. “I’m on my way.” he disconnected the call.
“Everything okay?” Dean asked.
“Yeah, I have to go to my Dad’s office. Can you make it back?” Frank asked as he walked to the door.
“Yeah, and Frank,” Dean stood. “Thanks. And thanks for not telling anyone about this.”
“Like, I said, Dean, I won’t.” Frank put on his coat. “But you need to find out why this happened to you. Why you blacked out. You have three days to run tests. If not, I run to Ellen.” When he received a nod of agreement, Frank left his office.
***
It didn’t take Frank long to get to his dad’s office, a few seconds maybe, and in his brisk walk he saw Robbie pull up in a jeep.
Frank waved, and Robbie returned a lack luster wave as well, stepping from the jeep and waiting for Frank to enter.
“Tired?” Robbie asked.
“Very. You?”
“Very.” Robbie said. “So, what’s going on? I was all ready to go to sleep when Dad called.”
“He didn’t tell you?”
“Nope.”
“Me either. All he said was they found Henry.”
Robbie snickered “He was so scared last night. Me and Dan were laughing at him. But …” he exhaled. “I’m glad he wasn’t attacked.”
“Me, too. But not for the reasons you think.”
“Why?” Robbie asked.
“Get this little brother,” Frank dropped his voice to a whisper. “I found …”
“Hey!” Joe blasted, as he flung open the door.
“Uh!” Frank shrieked. “Fuck, Dad. You scared me.”
“You think you two may want to get in here? Thank you.” Joe, leaving the door open, walked inside his office. He paused and shook his head when Henry had returned to wearing the hood.
Frank was the last to enter. He shut the door. “What’s going on?”
Joe held out his hand. “We found Henry.”
Hal said, “And seems Henry …”
Robbie interrupted. “Is dressing like a weirdo now.”
Hal exhaled. “I never get to finish a sentence. Henry is dressed protectively.”
Robbie smirked. “Protectively? From what? The wind?”
Henry stood up in defense, “Shut up, Robbie, it’s all your fault.”
Robbie laughed. “It’s all my fault you are dressing like that?”
“Yes.” Henry nodded.
Frank stepped forward “Henry, I know you’re in the experimental phase of your life. But, that isn’t a very good look for you.”
“Oh, yeah?” Henry asked. “Well neither is this.” He whipped off the hood.
The scream that emerged from Robbie was high pitched and loud, laced with enjoyment, right before he burst into laughter.
“Henry,” Hal moved to him. “You’ve no one to blame but yourself for that juvenile reaction.”
Henry curled a lip. “And your reaction was better.”
“I give up.”
Joe saw it. Frank’s face. He wasn’t laughing. Why? “Frank?” Joe said his name. “What?”
“Fuck.” Frank whispered.
“Frank?” Joe tried again.
“Fuck. Henry. Fuck. If you were gonna shave your head, a little at a time, this was drastic. Now we can see the tattoo on your head.”
“Frank …” Joe tried to intervene.
Frank continued “If you would have left some hair it would have covered the victim tattoo.”
“Frank,” Joe stated. “Look.”
“I am.”
‘No!” Joe snapped. “Henry didn’t shave his head.”
“Uh, Dad?” Frank snorted a laugh. “Yeah, he did. Look.”
“No, you asshole,” Joe barked. “Henry didn’t shave his own head.”
Frank nodded. “I see. Fuckin’ Bentley. He has all the guys convinced bald is the away to go.”
“Frank!” Joe yelled.
“What!”
“Henry didn’t shave his own head. Bentley didn’t shave his head. The mutilator got him. Henry was the victim.”
“How do you know?” Frank asked.
Joe pointed to the tattoo. “This.”
“What about it?”
“What’s it say?”
“Victim.”
“What’s that tell you?” Joe asked. “Henry is the victim. The mutilator did this. Then tattooed the word on his head.”
“Oh,” Frank pointed to his own temple. “I get it now.”
Hal rolled his eyes. “Good God. And this man investigates things.”
“Shut the fuck up Hal,” Frank snapped. “I found the monster.”
&
nbsp; “But did you catch the monster?” Hal raised an eyebrow. “No, so how good does that make you?”
“Fuck.”
Hal grinned.
“Boys.” Joe took his seat. “The point is, we had another attack. Problem is Henry doesn’t remember anything.”
Frank’s eyes grew wide. “Henry, did you take a shower yet.”
“Not, yet, why.” Henry sniffed his harm. “Do I smell.’
“No. No.” Frank shook his head. “Evidence.”
Joe looked at him curiously. “Where you going with this Frank?”
“Well, I just don’t see Henry going down without a fight.” Frank said.
“I do.” Robbie added.
“Me, too.” Hal said.
“Assholes.” Henry argued.
Frank waved his hand out to them. “Henry, come with me. I want El to do a test on you.”
“What kind of test.”
“I’d rather not say yet. Just … Dad, can I steal him.” Frank asked.
Joe lifted his hand. “Be my guest.”
“Thanks.” Frank took hid of Henry’s arm. “Robbie I’m stealing the jeep.”
“Be my guest,” Robbie repeated the same as Joe.
Without hesitation, Frank escorted Henry from the office.
Hal pointed at the door. “Was it me, or was that odd?”
Joe nodded. “It was odd. Robbie?”
“Odd.” Robbie replied. “You know, dad, Frank was telling me something just when you opened that door.”
“What?” Joe asked.
“You opened the door and he never finished. But …” Robbie gave a nod. “He definitely was glad to hear there wasn’t an attack, because he was about to tell me about something he found.”
Hal rubbed his chin. “Frank found something, and whisks Henry off for secret testing.”
Joe walked to the door.
“Dad?” Hal called out. “Where are you going?”
“He knows something.” Joe stated, “And I’m gonna find out what.” Joe left.
After a beat, Hal looked at Robbie and both of them hightailed it from the office right behind Joe.
***
“Basically, everyone stays put,” Elliott explained to Ellen, as they sat in the clinic lab. “Despite Joe’s warning.”
“Hmm.” Ellen brought a finger to her mouth. “Do you think maybe Mike doesn’t need to move and Joe is saying he needs to move in order to halt trouble from the Society?”
“That is a viable question.” Elliott said. “Although, I don’t believe Joe would do that, is it possible that Mike sees that as Joe’s motivation.”
“Possible. We’ll find out when we go next week.”
“Are you ready for the surgery?” Elliott asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. I feel like I’m going in blindly. I can’t count on Dean, I’m afraid to.”
“With this latest development with latest DNA testing, I can see why.”
A knock on the archway caught their attention.
“Dean?” Ellen turned. “Have you joined security?”
Elliott looked. “Dr. Hayes?”
“Ignore the clothing.” Dean grabbed his lab jacket. “I was down in the cryo looking for you.”
“I’m here,” Ellen said.
“I see that.”
“Why are you wearing security clothes?” Ellen asked.
“Frank splashed me with mud.”
“Oh,” She nodded.
Elliott looked curiously. “There is no mud out there.”
“Trust me, Frank finds mud.” Dean stated. “Sgt. Ryder, can I have a moment with Ellen please?”
“Sure.” Elliott stood.
“No.” Ellen said. “Elliott and I are visiting. Is this personal or medical.”
“Medical.” Dean said. “And I’d rather Sgt. Ryder not be around.”
Ellen snickered. “What? Does it have to do with him?”
Dean said nothing.
Elliott pulled up a stool and sat back down, “Then in that case, I’m staying.”
Ellen nodded. “He’s staying. So, say what you have to say.”
“Fine. Fine.” Dean sighed out. “I was in the cryo lab, and I went on the computer, I always check boot up times. You logged in late last night, and logged off even later.”
“Okay, so.” Ellen said. “Your point.”
“You know exactly where I’m going, El. You ran DNA tests on Elliott and they came up high for the mutation.”
Quickly Ellen shifted her eyes to Elliott then to Dean.
“He knows?” Dean asked.
“Well …” Ellen hem hawed. “We had reason to believe. I didn’t want to say anything about another case of the healing agent mutating like Frank until we knew. But the symptoms were there. Fast running, keen smell, and increased carrot consumption.”
“How fast are you running?” Dean asked Elliot.
“Fast.” Elliott said. “But, uh, I’m really eating a lot of carrots.”
Ellen smiled, and gave him a thumbs up. She made a mental note to thank Jason for making her use Elliott’s name. Dean found the results, his own results.
Before anymore could be discussed, another knock happened on the archway.
“El,” Frank called. “Can I speak to you for a second?” He waved her to the hall.
“Oh, look how popular I am today. My three favorite guys all vie for my attention. And you wonder why people hate me.” With a snicker, she slid to stand and walked across the lab. “What’s up?”
Frank pulled her into the hall.
“Hi Henry.” Ellen waved to Henry who stood behind Frank. “Nice hood.”
“El,” Frank whispered. “I have a favor.”
“What?” Ellen whispered in return. “And did you splash Dean with mud.”
“No. Anyhow …”
“I didn’t think so.”
“El, Shh...” Frank said, then grunted, when Henry tapped him on the shoulder. “Wait a second Henry.”
“But, Frank, your dad ….” Henry said.
Frank waved his hand backwards. “Anyhow, I need …” He grunted again, when Henry tapped his once more. “Henry knock it off.”
“But, Frank.”
Frank ignored him. “El, I need you to run some tests on Henry, can you do them without Dean knowing, and I also need to you to …” He lowered his voice even more. “Run a test on Henry without him knowing your running it.”
Ellen snickered. “That would be hard to do. What kind of test.”
Frank leaned in closer. “I need you to …” He rolled his eyes “Fuckin Henry taps my shoulder one more time.”
Joe placed his face close to Frank, and in between him and Ellen. “Wasn’t Henry this time, bright boy. What kind of test and why are you being so secretive?”
“Fine. Fine.” Frank gave up. “El, I need you to scrape under his nails. I think Henry may have scratched the mutilator.”
Ellen blinked. “How would Henry scratch the mutilator unless … Oh my God. Henry were you attacked?”
“Shh.” Henry held his finger up. “I don’t want it to get around.”
“Christ.” Joe shook his head. “Once they look at you and read it on your head, they’ll know. So... Frank, why do you think this? What do you know?”
“I don’t know anything, call it a hunch.” Frank defended.
“Uh-ha,” Joe nodded. “A hunch. Okay. Fine. But I expect to know the results of this especially if your hunch is correct.”
“Not a problem.” Frank said. “Can you El?”
“Sure. But if I find skin, do you know who I’m trying to match?” she asked.
Frank widened his eyes and twitched his head to Joe.
“You think Joe’s the mutilator?” Ellen asked.
“Christ,” Joe groaned. “You two have been together too long. No, Ellen, he doesn’t want to say because I’m here.”
Frank breathed out. “Exactly, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Get back to me,” J
oe gave a swat to Frank’s arm and turned.
Ellen peered round Frank, watched Joe join Robbie and Hal at the end of the hall. “Frank, take Henry to room three. I have to get my supplies.”
“Got it. Let’s go, Henry. And keep the hood up.”
Waiting for them to leave, Ellen went back into the lab.
Dean asked, “Everything okay?”
“Oh, sure.” Ellen answered grabbing a tray. “I have to do a test for Frank. A skin sample.”
“Culture trays are over here, “Dean said.
“Oh, thanks.” Ellen walked to him.
Elliott asked. “Is Frank having skin problems?”
“Um, yeah, you can say that.” Ellen crouched to the doors to the counter.
Dean spoke rational, “No worries, Elliott, I don’t think it’s the mutation.”
Elliott nodded a single long nod “thank you for that.”
From under the counter where they both sat, Ellen called “Dean? I’m not seeing them.”
Dean reached down and pointed, “Right there to the left.”
“Oh, okay … I …” Ellen paused when she saw Dean’s arm, and the scratches as they crept out from under the sleeve of his lab coat. “I see. I see them very well.”
***
Frank opened the door to his father’s office with flare, “Two hours,” he announced. “Can you say two hours?”
Hal was the only one there. “Yes, Frank, speech is a basic thing for us. But why am I saying two hours.”
“Where is everyone?” Frank asked.
“On their way.”
“Dad said El called the family meeting and I at least thought she’d be here.” Frank looked at his watch. “Man.”
“You still didn’t tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“What about two hours?” Hal asked.
“Two hours of what?”
“You came in saying two hours,” Hal said perturbed.
“Oh … yeah. I’ll wait.”
“For what?”
“That.” Frank pointed to the door
Joe and Robbie walked in.
Frank smiled. “Finally, when you called you said to get here right away. I did.”
“I would have been here,” Joe said. “But I had a hard time waking your brother up.”
Frank looked smug. “That’s because we only got two hours of sleep.”
Slumping, Robbie dragged to the chair and sat. “Yeah, tell me about it. Two hours.”
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