-He gave you life, a young and beautiful planet where to live...- He said to himself, mechanically, as if it were a song...- So they rebelled, they cut all communications with him and, what is worse, poisoned binary codes with a virus so powerful that his scientists failed to stop it. Still, my scientists are looking for a solution, because since then it is impossible to travel to the future, present or past. If I didn’t want to be part of a wall, tree or any organic remains.
Henry was so engrossed that he did not realize he had already reached his destination until the elevator door opened from the other side and a voice urged him out.
-Henry, finally! You have to give more speed to the conveyor, it took me a century -Batholomeus Van Veeldvoorde said as he approached and gave him a warm hug.
Actually he had arrived a little over ten minutes ago in his company's helicopter and landed at the helipad underground owned by his friend Henry, right where they were now, under tons of sand in the desert.
He stepped aside to take a moment to look at him head to toe, admiring once again his friend's sight, a man of about forty-five, tall and athletic, blue eyes and thinning hair, which by his wives tales has had various hair transplants, not proving effective because of a few chromosomes in bad shape.
- What the hell is wrong, Batholo? Did you fall in love with me or what? I'll have to stop ignoring those who tell me that you're a fucking fagot!- He finished, laughing at the flushed face of his friend. A man in his fifties, with a prominent belly and looking not too healthy. But he did have money, almost more than Henry.
- Come, Batholo, sit.- He took him to the leather chair, forcing him to a sitting position.- Cognac?- He said while showcasing the bottle of Henri IV Dudognon Heritage, Batholo nodded yes.
Once served he went back to him.
- Tell me, Friend! What do you know of the investigations?- Asked Henry.
Tell me, who I am...?
- What...what do you mean tell you?- Van Veeldvoorde- Bartholomew stammered.- It was you who made me come and with the most urgent manner.- He continued.- I had to take the helicopter and leave quickly because of the urgency in the call.
-What, are you crazy!?.- Henri interrupted, looking at him like he actually was.- I never called you!- cried Henry, with a confused face and Batholomeus had no choice but to accept that someone had teased them, but ... who? He felt intrigued, and why?
- If you pour me to a shot of this magnificent cognac I will explain it myself. My intervention caught them totally unprepared, (of course it was what I expected).
It was very easy to get there, Alicia's letter, which Alexia gave me to read, came with directions, exact coordinates, and enough information to know that this place had the least security I could find. Alicia, had everything well planned and knew I had to be there, right there, on the heliport hangar.
It was also very easy to fool Batholomeus Van Veeldvoorde. For that part I hired an imitator, an employee of the forensic laboratory manager of the crematorium in charge of burning the bodies after spending reasonable time, if they were not recognized by family or friends. This guy loved to do imitations of famous people, [I must admit that he was not bad] for a few Euros he agreed to take part in a “joke". (That was the excuse I gave him). Batholomeus, took the bait.
Their faces were yellow yellow as they turned and saw me bent over the small bar with the brandy bottle in one hand and a glass in the other. I did not wait to be invited and I helped myself to a couple of fingers of brandy.
Henry must have smelled the reek of wrong, for he reached into his overpriced jacket, trying to get something out of his pocket. I did not wait to know what it was, a simple wave of my wrist, the brandy bottle flew three meters through the cock pit and crashed with great aim in his face, hitting hard on his nose, destroying it, but without breaking it (the bottle). At the same time I jumped up and with my left hand I broke the cognac bottle and used it as a knife on the great Batholomeus Van Veeldvoorde's neck, who fell like a pig after slaughter, shouting as he lay bleeding on the floor, I felt sorry for the untapped cognac, then mixed with his blood, going to waste, what a pity, I thought.
I watched him for a few seconds, emitting chirps that can ice the blood of anyone, he was drowning in his own blood, no, it was not pleasant to watch, and you sure would have vomited, bunch of fags!
I then turned to Henry, he was still semiconscious holding his face with both hands. I went to him.
When lifting him from the ground, I wanted to break his neck, and acted in a way that surprised me, he grabbed me hard by my shirt with both hands and ...looked at me for a second straight at my neck (I even thought he wanted to bite me) but no, suddenly he looked me in the eye and said, with great coolness:
-You can’t kill me...
I already had in mind to show him I could do it by breaking his neck when he spoke again, this time shouting;
- No don’t, look!- He shouted as he turned his face to the door mirrors of the bar where we saw ourselves reflected─ Don’t you see!?
I thought it was a trick and turned only for a split second to look at the place he wanted me to look so desperately and ...it was enough.
******
- Sir... What happened? You're pale! -Cuestas finally dared to ask, as he offered water to Alexia without looking at her, and an envelope to his boss.
Mathias looked at him without seeing and reached out and took the envelope, awkwardly, not knowing what he was doing really, and opened it. Cuestas watched and saw how the lieutenant's eyes twinkled, and how his expression changed.
He did not know his boss for long, but he was beginning to recognize some of his gestures and tics when something was wrong, and such gesture, an almost imperceptible gesture of his boss, did not go unnoticed.
The lieutenant finished reading the note accompanying the envelope and glanced towards Cuestas.
-Deputy Inspector– he tried to make his voice sound kind.- Would you leave Miss Alexia and me alone for a few seconds, please?- He asked, as he made a gesture towards the exit doorof the office.
Sergeant Cuestas didn't think it appropriate, after seeing the haggard face his boos had a few minutes before, but could not do anything but obey orders, which he did, quietly leaving the two alone.
- Miss Alexia─ he inquired, watching her blue eyes.- I want you to explain to me how you could take me to the past and make me see such a heinous crime. ─ The lieutenant's voice seemed quiet (as if after the scare, nothing would ever scare him).
- Lieutenant, I cannot tell you more than what I have already said, at least for now.- Her last words were emphasized with a certain air of mystery, but also with calm and serenity.
- You must believe and trust me, Gabriel is the murderer you’ve been looking for─ she continued, firm and secure, staring unblinkingly and rejecting the stoic, inquisitive, suspicious and somewhat cold stare the lieutenant was giving her.
- All right, I do not need to know, for now, though ... ─ This time his voice was hard and dry─ I want to be a direct witness of ALL his crimes, one by one without any of them left out, no matter how cruel they were─ the Lieutenant surprised her with such a proposal.
- I do not know how you do and it does not matter to me, but I want to see him, I want to watch that bastard, see him in action and pick, even if only visually, every detail or evidence to be used against him to put him in jail and make him rot in it.- The Lieutenant pronounced each word with tremendous anger.
Alexia did not answer, she used a few seconds to move a strange bracelet on her wrist at least that's what the lieutenant thought, who watched without losing detail, it seemed that the bracelet was squeezing and bothering her.
Seconds later, Alexia rose from his seat, approached the lieutenant and grabbed him by the arm, in a few tenths of a second they were inside a small apartment, where a lady in her fifties was opening the door to someone who she had just called. The eyes of Lieutenant allowed no detail of what happened there to be lost, he immediately recognized the apartmen
t, he was there for investigating the murder of a woman, she was ... the murdered, the first one... and he was now about to witness and see how the murder happened.
It was not the only crime he saw, Alexia made him watch one by one all of Gabriel's crimes. Matthias did not feel anything, he knew he could do nothing for the victims, so he devoted himself to observe, to collect visual details of everything happening in each murder, often having to bite his lip to keep from screaming in despair and impotence, as when he saw him throw that old lady over the bridge, mercilessly. Mathias, who had not met his grandparents - paternal or maternal, seemed to think that any elder, could have been his grandparents, so the vision of the death of that old woman greatly traumatized him, sharpening his hatred for Gabriel...
He did not understand, but once his eyes met with Gabriel ... and even at one point he thought he saw him smiling at him ... Mathias shivered uncontrollably, but he took it off his head not believing it possible and continued collecting evidence.
Irrefutable proof that God does not exist
No I could not believe it, no, that was not possible, the image that the mirror showed back was that of two men...the same, except that the image of Henry, was a well-dressed man, bejeweled and ...his eyes were blue. Mine are brown or shit, as I called them.
Suddenly I felt I lost my strenght, I did not understand anything and my hands were loose freeing Henry, who took advantage and got rid of my death grip with little effort. If I told you the truth, I suddenly felt tired, as if they had put a rock of a thousand kilos, just on my shoulders. What was happening...?
- Here, drink- He offered me a glass of brandy, Henry did. He had picked up the bottle of Henri IV Dudognon Heritage that miraculously had not broken or spilled its contents.
I drank two fingers of brandy in one gulp and ordered a new cup, I needed it.
Henry watched me silently, he did not seem upset or angry about the death of his friend and partner Batholomeus Van Veeldvoorde at my hands. He neither seemed much hurt about his broken, swollen and still bleeding nose.
Hell, even I had a hard time looking at it!
- Sit down and listen,- He poured me another drink and I pointed to the couch near the exit door, then approached the body of his partner and, taking him from under his arms, he dragged him out of the shuttle; that’s what it was, that little room, leaving him leaning against one wall of the hangar. Then he made sure to lock the sliding door. He wanted no more surprises. We were both locked inside the room.
In my catatonic state I only worried about one thing... It was that horrendous headache, coming back. I think that Henry noticed, because then, taking two fingers inside one of the pockets of his jacket, he pulled an orange tube that he threw immediately to my hands.
- Do not worry about the death of Batholomeus, he was a traitor, sold to the cause of "Aqueene" he thought I didn’t know, but there are few things I do not know- He said mysteriously. Then he looked at the orange tube that I held in my hands, suspicious, and murmured, smiling, that it would immediately relieve the symptoms─ and smiled more when he saw my astonished face.
- ...you know? -. I asked automatically.
- You're my twin brother, what would I not know?
I did not move a muscle on my face. I faked surprise and without further need he continued to tell.
- Those pills are treatment imposed to me by my own doctors since a couple of years ago, nobody ever knew why they came to me, I just knew that they appeared suddenly and without apparent reason, and also disappeared leaving no trace. My scientists have been investigating since but with no results, until recently...- His last words were to me very mysterious.
With a gesture of Impatience, -that was in fact boredom, but I pretend very well, I confirmed that I was interested in the story and wanted him to continue with it.
-I'll tell you everything right now, but let me tell you a story, your story... Something that surely was left out by those who sent you to kill me.- Henry looked at me smiling. I said nothing, after all, he was going to tell me anyways...for the second time...
My skills as a dramatic actor were unbeatable.
Mathias could not know how many minutes, hours or days had passed since he had undertaken that trip or whatever you call what they were doing, Alexia and him, being invisible witnesses of all crimes committed by Gabriel.
He knew only one thing, his hatred Gabriel had increased a thousand times, so if he had seen him in the moment they returned to the office, he would have strangled him with his own hands without hesitation, that’s how great his anger and hatred were. The funny thing was that, Alexia was aware of all of these thoughts, and that made her crack a faint smile of triumph.
Although her joy didn't last, the lieutenant suddenly called:
-¡Cuestas, come immediately!- The Lieutenant cried loudly.
- Sir...- Said Cuestas, entering quickly, saluting, with an astonished face for, just a few seconds ago he had made him leave.
- Take miss Alexia away! And leave her comfortable in one of our guest rooms.─ The order gave no doubt that he was being asked to lock her up, I knew It- Cuestas thought-, the boss would not be fooled by that girl.
While giving the order to his deputy, Mathias had approached the young girl and removed, with the agility of a pickpocket, her strange bracelet without Alexia having any time to react or do anything about it.
- Just a moment lieutenant!- The girl said, looking surprised at the Lieutenant.- Before you lock me up I want to ask one last question.
The Lieutenant nodded yes, and she asked;
- What did the note you read a few minutes ago say?
Mathias left her in the hands of his subordinate (who hand-cuffed her immediately) and went to his desk, where he picked up the little note and handed it to Alexia, who read aloud; Do not believe anything she says or shows you, she’s a clone of Alicia. I'll explain later. Signed: Gabriel.
Gabriel, how did he know...? Alexia asked herself and finally sighed, feeling defeated, he had beaten her, he was smarter.
- You don’t understand, do you?- He smiled sadly.- Of course not, to understand you should have researched before and would know that Gabriel and I are friends since elementary school, we even went to the same college, only he chose forensics and I criminal law, although I liked having prisoners locked up, not defending them so that they were released, so I opted for something more risky, leaving my career unfinished, and choosing riskier jobs, like "Gal". there was a time when I believed strongly that the only way to stop the terrorists was to act like them; a few months later would I realize my mistake and asked for my transfer to the special forces corps. "Geos", where I served for ten years, or the Mossos, to give some examples. I would also have to explain that many, many years ago, when we were just boys, someone from an unknown part of the world, universe or some other worse place, came to visit and told us a science fiction story that neither of us believed.
Mathias continued idly with his explanation, ignoring the look of surprise and disbelief in Alexia.
- Of course we did not believe him! - He looked at her with an ironic smile. We did not believe until he proved it with facts, he showed us our lives from birth all the way until a few days before we died, of course, of age. All this, of course, if we followed his instructions to the letter.
-Allow me Lieutenant, I myself will explain the rest.- My spectacular entrance in the company of Henry, caught by surprise even the poor sergeant Javier Cuesta, who did not expect such an entrance, less so with the door closed behind him.
Not so the lieutenant, who was expecting me because I had informed him a few hours before, through agent Anton Cubero, following the plan we made a few days earlier.
- It can’t be!- Alexia cried fiercely,- you two hate each other and you're a fucking murderer! - Alexia was churning with fury in the strong hands of Deputy Inspector Cuestas.
- Perhaps...-She looked desperately at Mathia.- Don’t you remember how he killed your girlfriend, Rose, Lieutenant? -Alex
ia wanted to used that as a last resort.
- Who killed me?- A sultry female voice was heard, well known to me, Rose entered, beautiful, splendid and ...alive. She came into the visual plane of all present and, thereby leaving Alexia puzzled, and also the poor sergeant Cuestas, who no longer knew where to look, ignorant, of course, of our evil plan. And on top of all that accumulated remorse of months ago, when he thought Rose had died because of him.
Alexia was pale, and could not believe her eyes, no, it did not seem possible, they could not fail, they had spent years planning everything, checking to make sure everything was perfect, what went wrong? Her thoughts where hammering her head denying her eyes and that was already evident.
- Honey, won't you introduce your brother Henry.- Rose said, smiling sweetly.
Alexia then looked at Henry, glared at him with hatred that seemed to come from almost a century ago.
Henry then advanced towards her, saying:
- Hello, my dear Alicia, no, do not give me that look of surprise, I know you're not exactly her, but you are her clone and I also know that those who planned it all, introduced in you all her knowledge, so, you know all she knew. No, do not look so innocent, you know that you don’t fool me. You cannot fool me as you did once, not like my beloved father, when you kidnapped my twin brother at birth and you left him in the hands of a strange family, changing him for a child who'd just been born, What did you do with the kid? you killed him, didn’t you? Murderers!.- Grunted Henry with disgust and contempt.- Clearly, leaving my twin brother with his new fathers you could watch him while he lived, that was the reason for inserting a microchip in his brain, reason why, years later, in his maturity, he had potent and severe headaches, which was also the way you could induce a strong aggression in him towards all, an irrational hatred he could not control. That caused him uncontrollable desire to harm whoever was in front of him.
Henry made a pause to stare into Alexia's eyes, then to mine, with true affection, before launching the next accusation.
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