Absolution: The Clandestine Saga Book 4

by ID Johnson

  “So, Christian gave us access to their site that livestreams the footage out of the airports, right? And so we’ve been checking it, and we saw Giovani at Heathrow!”

  “Shut up!” Cassidy exclaimed. “When? Today?”

  “Yes!” Lucy replied. Emma had her laptop out, and Lucy pulled it around so Cassidy could see, holding the phone near the screen.

  Cadence leaned in and looked over her sister’s shoulder. While it wasn’t easy to watch the short video off of the phone, it did appear to be Giovani and Zabrina making their way through security at an airport. The footage was clearly stamped with LHR, an indication that it was Heathrow, and the date and time stamp showed it was about ten hours ago. “Oh, wow,” Cadence mumbled, staring intently at the couple. She knew Aaron and Jamie could see it, too, through her own IAC. Just as Giovani passed the camera, he paused. Slowly turning his head up and angling it so that his face was looking directly into the camera, he snarled a vicious looking smile, flashed the peace sign, and then flipped it around, making it the British equivalent of the bird.

  “See? It’s him, right?” Lucy said, bringing the phone back to her face.

  “It’s him, all right,” Cadence agreed.

  “But why is he telling us ‘peace’?” Lucy asked.

  “That wasn’t peace,” Cadence explained. “That was the opposite of peace. Lucy, can you email that to me, please?”

  “Sure,” she replied, clearly still confused by Cadence’s explanation of his gesture. “So--what are you going to do now?”

  “Well, we need to figure out where he’s headed. Can you check to see what flights were leaving Heathrow around that time, where they were headed, and start checking airport footage for where he might have landed?”

  “Already on it,” Emma replied, her computer back on her lap before Cadence even started talking.

  “Awesome. Thanks a lot, girls!” Cadence said and then leaned away from her sister’s phone.

  “No problem!” Lucy called, answering for both of them. “Hope you’re having a good time, Cass,” she added once her friend’s face was the only one looking back at her.

  “It’s been interesting,” Cassidy replied. “I need to go, but thanks again for all of your help.”

  “Sure thing! We’ll keep working!” Lucy assured her before they said goodbye and discontinued the call.

  “So… Christian gave them access to highly sensitive footage from world wide airports?” Jamie asked, clearly confused by the whole exchange. “Aren’t they high schoolers?”

  “Yes,” Aaron confirmed on both counts.

  “Doesn’t that seem a little…”

  “Effective?” Cadence asked.

  “Sure,” he admitted, “but I was going to say dangerous. Or reckless.”

  “They’re fine,” Aaron assured him. “They’ll both be here in a few years.”

  “Huh?” Cassidy asked, this being new information to her.

  But Aaron didn’t answer. “Eliza just messaged me that she had a report that Giovani may have been spotted at Heathrow earlier today. She’s on her way to check it out.”

  “I can give her the dollar she’s short, but I can’t give her another minute, let alone a whole day,” Cadence muttered. Changing the subject she said, “Where the hell is he going? Why did he want us to see him?”

  “Because he wants us to know where he’s at so you can arrive there,” Aaron reminded her. “You can’t meet him wherever he’s going if you don’t know where that is.”

  “Well, then, he should have held up his boarding pass or something because it could still take us days to figure out where he went, especially if he doesn’t give us some sort of a signal once he arrives. Heathrow is huge,” Cadence replied.

  “Maybe he needs a few days,” Aaron said, running his hand through his short brown hair. He was doing his best to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but it seemed like he was missing something--something obvious. What could it be?

  “Why? Why would he need time?” Cadence asked. She got up now and started pacing back and forth the few steps between her chair and the door, the Vampire flutters almost more than she could presently bear.

  “He must need to do something--get something--find someone,” Jamie offered.

  “Who? Is there another Vampire more powerful than him that we aren’t considering? Someone he can get on his side? Someone he thinks he may need to defeat us?” Cadence asked as she wandered back and forth.

  Aaron went over all of those questions in his own mind. He was aware of virtually every Vampire in the world over the age of a few months old; none of them seemed powerful enough to defeat Cadence.

  “Are there any bad people in the world that are actually Vampires?” Cassidy asked, trying her best to be of use.

  “What’s that?” Cadence asked pausing behind her chair.

  “You know what you were saying earlier--about how not all bad people are Vampires, some are just bad people? Well, are any of them actually Vampires? Someone really bad?”

  Cadence considered her question, but before she could answer, Aaron said, “Holy shit… I know where he’s going.”

  Cadence and Jamie looked at each other, and since Elliott wasn’t there to say it, they both said, “Of course you do.”

  “Philadelphia,” Aaron said quietly, standing up. “Gibbon. Of course! Cassidy--you’re a genius!”

  “What?” the teenager asked. “I am? Huh?”

  But Aaron wasn’t listening. “We need to alert the team in Philadelphia. They need to get that hospital covered as soon as possible. If Giovani actually gets ahold of him and has the opportunity to turn him, we’ll have one hell of a time destroying him.”

  “God, it’ll be like Jack the Ripper all over again,” Jamie mumbled.

  “And I do not want to go through that again,” Aaron agreed.

  “Whaaat?” Cadence asked, wondering what she was supposed to infer from that conversation. But the answer would have to wait for another time. “Cassidy, can you call Lucy and Emma back and let them know to check Philadelphia International?”

  “Sure,” Cassidy shrugged, still not exactly sure what was happening. “For Giovani?”

  “Yes,” Cadence confirmed. “We think that Giovani might be on his way to Philadelphia to turn Steven Gibbon, the Jogging Path Killer, into a Vampire.”

  “Oh,” Cassidy nodded. “Why would he do that?”

  Cadence looked at Aaron, holding his gaze for a long moment before she said simply, “Because he thinks Gibbon will make a powerful Vampire, and he wants to use him to stir up trouble.”

  “Cadence,” Cassidy said, waiting until her sister looked at her before she continued. “Is Giovani going to use Gibbon to try and kill you?”

  “You don’t need to worry about that, Cassidy. There’s no Vampire alive--none that can be made--that can kill me. I promise you that.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Detective Abby Watson had been sitting in the lounge outside of the Intensive Care Unit for hours. Though there were two armed police officers at a time working shifts directly in front of Gibbon’s door, she was not about to leave until she had a chance to talk to him. Since his surgery earlier in the day, he still hadn’t come to, and so she continued to wait, a plethora of coffee and frequent trips to the bathroom her new weekend routine.

  She hadn’t slept in longer than she could remember. Not that she ever rested when she did sleep. Still, sitting in the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room, trying to keep up with the media coverage the best she could from her phone while The Weather Channel droned on in the background, was causing her to nod off. It was getting late, and she was doing her best to keep her eye open. Dixon was due back soon to bring her a bite to eat and let her know what was happening at the precinct. She hoped she could stay awake until then.

  The whole scenario at the gym that morning keep replaying in her thoughts. What made him decide to put the weapon down and then change his mind and run anyway? And why did the office
rs outside open fire so readily? Clearly, they had him surrounded. It would have been pretty easy to take him into custody.

  As she continued to ponder these questions, her eyelids grew heavy again, and if she hadn’t heard someone calling her name, she may have finally given in and fallen asleep. She looked up to see her partner, with a brown bag and a soda, standing a few feet away. “Someone order a cheesesteak?” he asked.

  “Hey, Dixon. Thanks,” she said, taking the offerings. “Sorry--I’m….”

  “Exhausted?” he offered. “Why don’t you scarf that down and go see if the nurses have a bed you can borrow for a little while? I’ll keep watch.”

  Despite her exhaustion, Watson was also starving. She dug into the sandwich, a full mouth preventing her from arguing right away. Once she swallowed, she said, “I’m fine. I want to stay up, just incase he comes to.”

  Dixon sat down in the chair across from her. “Abby,” he said quietly, “he got shot three times and was in surgery for six hours. It’s going to be a while before he comes out of the anesthesia, and even then we can’t waltz in and start interrogating him right away. I understand why you want to be here, but you’re not going to be any good to anyone if you don’t get some sleep.”

  Taking a drink of her Diet Coke, Watson considered his statement. She knew he was right. She wasn’t going to be able to question this perp without some sleep first. She was just too exhausted. She sat her drink down on the floor next to her chair and took another bite, formulating a response. Dixon knew her well enough to let her think without interruption. If he let her mull it over, he knew she might see things his way; otherwise, she would be prone to argue. Eventually, she said, “Fine. I’ll go rest for a little while. But I’m not leaving this hospital without talking to Gibbon. And if he so much as blinks, I want to know about it, hear?”

  “You got it, partner,” he said smiling. It wasn’t too often that he actually won an argument with Watson, so when he did, he had to relish in it a bit, even if this particular time she had been too tired to come up with anything too disagreeable.

  After a few more bites and another drink to wash it down, Watson put her trash back in the bag, and crossed to the nearby trash can, tossing it all in. “All right,” she said as she she walked back over to her chair to grab her bag. “I’ll go see if I can find some place to crash. You text me the second you hear anything, okay? And don’t you fall asleep.”

  Dixon stood and patted her on the arm. “Go take care of yourself, Abby,” he urged. “I’ll let you know if anything happens. You can trust me. Get some rest.”

  Watson smiled at him fondly. He really was a great partner. She leaned in and gave him a quick hug. “Thanks, Pete,” she said. “You’re the best.”

  He just chuckled as she stumbled her way towards the nurses’ station, her exhausted body no longer willing to cooperate. There was a short brunette working behind the counter when she got there. She looked up from her computer screen and smiled at Watson. “Hi, honey. Can I help you with something?” she asked with a bit of a southern accent, unusual for these parts.

  “Do you happen to have a bed where I could rest for a little while as I wait for Gibbon to come around?” Watson asked quietly.

  “Oh, you’re the detective aren’t you?” was the reply. “Sure, sweetie. I can take you to one of the other rooms down the hall. We’ve been trying to keep patients out of the area since--well, you know.”

  She really didn’t need to finish. There weren’t too many people who would want to be in a room near the Jogging Path Killer if they could help it.

  The nurse was short, but she was fast, and in her current condition, Abby had a little bit of trouble keeping up with her. She hurried down to the end of the adjacent hallway and threw open the door to a small, private room. “This work for you, honey?” she asked.

  The room was only about eight by six, but it had a bed in it and it was dark. “Perfect,” Watson replied. “Thanks a lot...Sally,” she said, glancing down at the nurse’s badge.

  “No problem,” the nurse responded, smiling. “Have a nice nap!” She watched Watson cross over to the bed and pulled the door shut behind her.

  Abby sat her bag on the floor and her phone on the little table next to the bed before she collapsed onto the hard mattress. She considered slipping her shoes off, but she wanted to be ready to jump up at a moment’s notice. Besides, she was definitely going to be able to fall asleep fully clothed, with her shoes on. Absently, she double-checked her holster was empty. Her gun was in her bag; her bag was on the floor right next to her bed. Not that she would need it. Within a few minutes, Abby Watson was sound asleep.

  ***

  Giovani and Zabrina had gone straight from the airport to the appointed meeting place near the Hospital of the University of Philadelphia, where Gibbon was being treated. Standing atop a parking garage, they had a clear view of the building, and though there were a few cars coming and going nearby, for the most part, this area of Philly seemed to have gone to bed for the evening.

  It was past midnight, and a cool breeze stirred the air around them as Giovani began the introductions. “Howard, nice to meet you. This is my sister, Zabrina,” he said as the gruff middle-aged man with the military haircut stepped forward and took her hand, nodding a hello. She gave Giovani an annoyed look, perhaps thinking he should have said “girlfriend” at this point in their relationship, but he ignored her and continued. “Who have you brought with you?”

  Behind Howard stood four equally intimidating men of various sizes, all clearly armed to the teeth, as was Howard, dressed in dark clothing, ready to begin the operation as soon as the word was given. “This is my team,” Howard began. His voice matched his appearance, more of a growl than human speech, and he went down the row giving Giovani the name of each of them as he did so. “Martin, Tanner, Preston, and this big guy here on the end, well, we just call him Meat.”

  Giovani eyed the man suspiciously. He wasn’t that much bigger than the others. “Why Meat?” he asked?

  The man pulled out a flashlight, turned it on, and removed the black cap he had been wearing snuggly against his head. The answer to the question was apparent; it looked as if his head had been rung through a sausage maker. He was bald with twisted, jagged scars covering most of his scalp and face. Even his lips were deformed.

  “I see,” Giovani replied, holding back a grimace. Zabrina was making a gagging noise next to him, and he had to admit the man was gruesome—even for someone like Giovani who had seen his share of monsters “What happened?”

  “He doesn’t like to talk about it,” Howard replied for him as he put his cap back on, “but it was at the hands of a team member of the Hunters you are seeking to destroy. It wasn’t hard for me to get these guys on board. All of us have been negatively affected by the team you’re after in one way or another.”

  “Well, once we secure Gibbon and put him through the Resurrection process, I’m certain we will be able to take out our vengeance on LIGHTS. Though, by the looks of him, Meat might just be able to do the job by himself,” Giovani explained.

  “He’s one tough son of a bitch,” Howard agreed, “but if you want to defeat Findley and McReynolds, you’re gonna need someone vicious, someone animalistic. We’ll help you get Gibbon,” he assured Giovani, a gloved hand thoughtfully stroking his chin. “And then we’ll help you lure them in.”

  “Perfect,” Giovani smiled. “What’s your plan for getting into the hospital?”

  “We have someone on the inside, a newbie who works in the blood bank. Three of us will make entry through an unlocked door on the roof top while the other three come in a side door on the back part of the building below Gibbon’s room. We already know his precise location on the sixth floor. There are two police officers outside of his room, four security guards in different locations throughout the building, and a detective in the waiting room. We’ll get through them easily enough. The hardest part is going to be extracting him. We don’t want to kill him
—before we kill him.”

  “Right,” Giovani agreed. He crossed over to the wall that surrounded the top of the roof, leaning against it as he eyed the hospital. What would be the best way to get him out? They could steal an ambulance. Or perhaps—there was a better way. “Any of you know how to fly a helicopter?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Tanner barked. “Used to fly them for the Navy, sir.”

  “Perfect,” Giovani replied. “Then we’ll just take that little gem with us.” He pointed at the medical helicopter sitting atop the hospital landing pad.

  “That will be fairly visible to any police on the ground,” Howard warned. “Easy to track.”

  “Well then, we’ll just have to get in and get out before they have a chance to act,” Giovani responded, turning to look at Howard over his shoulder. He turned back to face the hospital before continuing. “Zabrina, contact Nina and have her people meet us at the opening of the tunnel, near the river. We’ll go in that way. It will give us an opportunity to bring the chopper down in a secluded area away from town. Tell her we’ll be transporting Gibbon, so make sure the cell is ready and the path is clear.”

  “Very well,” Zabrina complied, sending a message to her contact, Nina, with the instructions. “We won’t all fit aboard that helicopter, though,” she pointed out.

  Giovani turned and gave her a hard look. “I know that, dearest,” he spat. “Howard, you have a transport vehicle ready for the rest of us once we have our weapon?”

  “Affirmative,” Howard nodded. “Another member of our team, Clayton, is ready to pull us out. He’ll meet us at that same back door whenever the mission is complete.”

  Smiling, Giovani turned to face Howard. “Now, this sounds like the beginning of a coup, Howard. Let’s get this show on the road.”

  ***

  Brandon had only been under anesthesia one other time in his life, when he was eight and he’d had his tonsils out. Waking up from the medicine Jamie had given him after the Transformation Serum was a little like that. He sort of remembered where he should be, but his brain was foggy, and his body felt funny—tingly, full of electricity. It took him a few seconds to open his eyes once he realized he was awake, and alive. He looked around the small operating room, and seeing the empty chairs near the door, at first he thought he was alone. But then he turned his head and saw that another bed had been set up near his. He smiled when he realized who was asleep in it.