Absolution: The Clandestine Saga Book 4

by ID Johnson

  “Then why did they take him?” she asked.

  “Who knows? There’s a possibility that they were traveling a great distance and thought they might need him for that trip, but from what you’ve described, chances are he was dead before he even left the hospital. And if the nurse had been shot, she was likely dead already, too,” Aaron explained.

  “Well, if you do find him, you’ll let me know, right? Even if… even if he’s not the same?”

  “Of course,” Andrew assured her. “If we are able to find out what they did with him, we’ll let you know.”

  “Thank you,” Watson said, letting her breath out and leaning back on the sofa.

  “So you didn’t see any of the other intruders, did you?” Andrew asked. “And you don’t really know how many there were, right?”

  “No, I’m sorry,” Watson replied. “I didn’t give chase. I was just too shaken up by what I’d seen, and they were moving so quickly.”

  “That’s okay,” Aaron assured her. “Again, you’d have been a casualty if you had.”

  “Right,” she said, nodding her head slowly, wondering if that would be such a bad thing.

  “Is there anything else you want to tell us?” Andrew asked, smiling at her meekly.

  “No, that’s all,” Watson said quickly. “Nothing else.”

  “All right, then,” Andrew said starting to pull himself out of the chair.

  “Are you sure?” Aaron asked, still sitting. “It seems like… there might be something else.”

  Watson looked at him, surprised, wondering how he knew there was something she wasn’t telling them. She swallowed hard. She really didn’t want to talk about it. But when she looked into those blue eyes, she felt like she could, like she could finally unleash the secret she’d been holding for so long. With another deep breath, she slowly began to tell her story. “About three years ago, I lived in an apartment across town with my sister, Rayna. She was a kindergarten teacher, the sweetest, kindest, most innocent person you’d ever meet.” She glanced up to see if they were still with her, and they were looking at her intently, so she found a way to continue. “One night, I came home from my shift late. I was dead tired. She was still up, working on some project for her class. I’ve gone over the events of that night a thousand times in my mind, but for the life of me, I cannot remember whether or not I locked the front door. Anyway, a few hours after I went to bed, I heard a strange noise. It was a scuffle of some sort. I thought I was dreaming at first, but then I realized it was real, and it was coming from the living room. I grabbed my revolver and rushed out the bedroom door, but as soon as I turned the corner, I froze. My sister was laying sprawled on the floor, pieces of the art project fluttering down around her, and on top of her was this… this woman. She had long blond, scraggily hair, pale skin—almost snow white—and these blood red fingernails. I pointed my gun at her, but just as I was about to fire, she pulled her head back, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Her face was contorted—her jaw was pulled open so wide, it was like the top of her head could flip open. She had razor sharp teeth—rows and rows of them. And her eyes were almost black. I’ve never been so terrified in my entire life.”

  Watson paused to take another breath before she continued. “I wanted to help my sister—I really did—but I couldn’t move. And then, when I realized this creature was looking around the room, I ducked behind the wall. I crawled behind a piece of furniture and held my breath, just waiting for her to come for me.

  “But she didn’t. And after a few moments, I found the courage to go and see if my sister was alive. The monster was gone—she had somehow escaped through our living room window, twenty stories up with no fire escape—and my sister was gone, too. Her body was still there, but she was gone. And her throat had been slashed.

  “When the police came, I didn’t know what to tell them. I just said I didn’t see who had done it, that I just heard my sister scream and came out to find her that way. At first, I was a suspect. They didn’t believe anyone could escape through that window. But I took a lie detector test, and there had been some other similar murders in the area, so I was ruled out. This whole time, I’ve been trying to decide if what I saw was real, or if it was just my imagination. When I rounded that corner last night and saw that beast on Dixon, I knew for sure that what I had seen before was real—and it was happening again. I’ve never told this to anyone before,” Watson explained. “And I don’t know that it helps you. But it helps me. It helps me to finally say it and to have you say that what I saw that night was real—wasn’t it? That thing that killed my sister was also a Vampire, right?”

  “Yes,” Aaron assured her. “The monster who claimed your sister’s life was also a Vampire.”

  Unable to hold back her tears anymore, Watson began to sob, covering her face with her hands in an attempt to keep up her unbreakable façade. Andrew plucked some tissues from a box on the end table and handed them to her, sitting next to her on the couch and patting her on the back as he said, “It’ll be all right, detective. We’ll get the guys who did this to your partner.”

  After a moment, Watson pulled herself together and said, “I’m so sorry. I’m not usually so emotional.”

  “It’s fine,” Andrew assured her.

  “You’re allowed to be human sometimes, detective,” Aaron reminded her.

  “Right,” she said, the tears finally subsiding. She wiped her eyes again before saying, “Well, if there’s anything else I can do to be of assistance, please let me know.”

  “We will,” Aaron assured her, standing. “And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that it’s better if you keep this information to yourself.”

  “Of course,” Watson replied. “No one would believe me anyway.”

  “Likely not,” Andrew agreed as he patted her on the back one more time and stood.

  Watson began to usher them to the door. “Thanks again for coming,” she said once they’d reached the threshold.

  “Thank you for your assistance,” Aaron replied. “Your information will be very helpful to our investigation.”

  “That’s good to hear,” Watson smiled. “And… I’m not sure what your recruiting process is, but if you ever need an experienced detective to join your team….”

  “We’ll keep you in mind,” Aaron smiled. “It was nice to meet you, Detective Watson,” he said shaking her hand. “We will be in touch.”

  Andrew shook her hand as well before she disappeared back inside the apartment and they made their way down the hall towards the elevator. “Wow,” Andrew muttered. “That was really interesting.”

  “What’s that?” Aaron asked, pressing the down arrow.

  “Listening to you talk to her. How did you get her to feel so comfortable? She was willing to tell us stuff she hasn’t been willing to tell anyone else, not even her best friend, for years,” Andrew exclaimed.

  They stepped onto the elevator, and as Aaron selected the ground floor, he shrugged and said, “I don’t know. It’s just something you learn over the years, I guess. I mean, she didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know, but we were able to help her, so it wasn’t a waste of time to go talk to her.”

  “Yeah, I was hoping there would be something she would say that might be a clue as to what Giovani is planning,” Andrew agreed.

  “You never know, though. She might end up being useful at some point.”

  “And you’re not worried about her saying anything to anyone?” Andrew asked as the elevator reached the bottom floor.

  “No,” Aaron assured him. “I’m sure she won’t say anything. She’s kept this secret for so long, she’s not going to start talking now. The best thing about keeping a secret that is so unbelievable is that no one dare speak about it aloud for fear of sounding like a lunatic.”

  “Very true,” Andrew agreed, following him off of the elevator.

  “When this is all over, I’d like to bring you in to KC and do some recurrent training. There’s nothing I did in
there that you wouldn’t be able to do as well.”

  Andrew looked surprised. “That would be great!” he said.

  “All right, let’s go meet Cadence and Christian at your headquarters, and you can show us where Giovani disappeared.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Andrew nodded, leading the way to the vehicle. With any luck, they would find some sort of sign as to where Giovani was hiding. They needed to find him before Gibbon was completely loyal or else he may be impossible to stop.

  ***

  “So, World War I. That was—a mess, right? I mean, all those trenches and bombs and stuff. Had to be brutal,” Cadence commented trying to sound nonchalant as she poured over maps of the city with Christian, Stormy, and Jamie.

  The doctor looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. “Uh, yeah, I guess so,” he replied before exchanging amused glances with Christian. “What brought that up?”

  “Oh, nothing,” Cadence said as she studied a depiction of the City Center area from several decades ago. “I was just thinking about how you guys have lived through so many historically significant events, and how interesting that must be.”

  Christian snickered. “You don’t really think that’s interesting at all, do you?”

  “Of course I do,” Cadence said defensively. “It’s very interesting. I mean, you fought the blue coats….”

  “Red coats,” Christian corrected her.

  “Damn,” Cadence muttered. She was afraid she would mess that up. “Right, the red coats, and that had to be a really amazing time to be alive, you know—the birth of our nation.”

  Stormy let out a groan from the other end of the table. “I ain’t got time for this nonsense,” she muttered. “I’m going to go check in with Morgan.”

  Cadence’s jaw dropped open at her rudeness, but she was actually secretly happy to see her leave. She’d never been a fan. Once she was out of the room, she turned back to Christian and said, “So exciting times, right?”

  “Well, Valley Forge wasn’t that much fun,” Christian reflected. “But it was a time in my life I’m very proud of.”

  “Right!” Cadence agreed. “And you must be very proud of… some of the things you did, Jamie.”

  “Yes, I am proud… of some of the things I did,” Jamie laughed. “Tell you what Cadence, we’ll tell Aaron you attempted to get to know our history a little better if you promise to stop talking about it right now, okay?” he asked.

  “Why?” she asked, sitting back in her chair confused.

  “Because I really don’t want to hear your thoughts on how President Kennedy handled the bombing of Pearl Harbor or how King Arthur should have gotten rid of the Stamp Act.”

  Cadence’s mouth dropped open. “I am offended, sir,” she replied. “I know a lot about history. Just because I didn’t live it doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about it.”

  “During the Civil War, who was the president…” Christian began.

  “Lincoln!” Cadence interrupted.

  “Of the Confederacy?” he finished.

  Cadence thought for a minute. Finally, she said, “Jefferson?”

  “Jefferson…?” Jamie said.

  “Thomas Jefferson?” Cadence asked.

  “Oh, and I was just about to stand corrected,” Jamie exclaimed.

  Christian shook his head. “I say we stay focused on the maps,” he suggested.

  “What? Was I close?” Cadence asked.

  “In what way?” Jamie asked. “Chronologically? No. Patriotically? No. But his name was Jefferson… Davis.”

  “I knew it was a Jefferson!” Cadence exclaimed, and then more quietly, she repeated, “I knew it was a Jefferson.”

  “Yes, you should be very proud,” Christian replied, shaking his head.

  “Proud of what?” Aaron asked as he entered the room, followed by Andrew.

  “Cadence was just asking us some questions about our lives,” Jamie explained.

  “And amusing us with her vast knowledge,” Christian added, eliciting a chuckle from Jamie and a glare from Cadence.

  “Say no more,” Aaron replied. “Are we ready to head out?” he asked, looking from Christian to Cadence.

  She wasn’t ready to change the subject just yet. “Hey, I’m not as dumb as you think I am!”

  “No one thinks you’re dumb,” Jamie assured her. “It’s just… different… when you’ve lived it, you know?”

  “I’m sure you know all sorts of things about other subjects that we know nothing about,” Christian agreed.

  “Like what? Boy bands? College football? Thanks,” Cadence muttered. “Fine. I’m ready to go. Will we get to see the Liberty Bell?”

  “Maybe,” Christian smiled, looking impressed again.

  “Good!” Cadence replied, walking out from behind the table. “And the Statue of Liberty?” She heard Jamie gasp and punched him in the arm playfully. “It’s a joke!” she assured him. “I know we aren’t in Washington D.C.,” she added winking at him.

  “She’s still joking!” Aaron exclaimed taking her hand, “I think. Jamie, keep looking at the maps, and we’ll be back in a bit, okay?”

  “Okay,” Jamie agreed. “Although I’m not sure I know what I’m looking for.”

  “Anything unusual,” Aaron reminded him.

  “Right,” Jamie said. “If I see any Vampires drawn on the maps, I’ll let you know.”

  “That would qualify as unusual,” Aaron assured him.

  They made their way down the stairs to Andrew’s awaiting SUV. “Aaron, you want to sit up front so I can point everything out to you?”

  “Sure,” he replied, opening Cadence’s door for her.

  Christian went around the back and got in, and as Andrew started the car, he said, “You two behave back there. No funny business.” The passengers all looked at him as if he’d grown two heads, and he said quietly, “I say weird things when I am uncomfortable.”

  “Dually noted,” Aaron replied, without bothering to point out Andrew had been talking about his fiancée. “Anyway, if you would take us to the hospital, I don’t think we need to go in, but I would like to retrace the route Giovani’s henchmen took when they left the hospital last night, all right?”

  “Got it,” Andrew said, heading in that direction.

  “Does it look a little different now than it did when you were growing up here?” Aaron asked Christian, who had squished himself as close to the door as possible after Andrew’s comment.

  “Very much so,” Christian nodded. “There are a few buildings that are the same, but not many.”

  “How long have you lived here, Andrew?” Cadence asked.

  “Nice! That was a good question!” Aaron said only to her.

  “Actually, I just moved here a few years ago when I was appointed as Area Leader. I grew up in Boston,” he said as they neared the hospital.

  “Oh, another town very important to our US Revolutionary War,” Cadence noted.

  Christian was smirking at her again, and Cadence couldn’t help but ask what was so funny. “Nothing,” he replied. “I appreciate the effort.”

  “I don’t detect a Boston accent, though,” Cadence mentioned, turning back to Andrew.

  “Nah, around here, you kinda need to hide it,” Andrew answered, letting his true accent come through.”

  “Hmmm, maybe I should start talking with a weird accent to confuse all of you,” Cadence muttered.

  “You don’t think your Midwest accent is weird?” Christian asked.

  “Be nice!” Cadence warned, glaring at him. “We are the breadbasket of America.”

  “I think you mean ‘Merica,” Christian laughed, eliciting a glare.

  They pulled into the hospital parking lot, and Andrew took them over to where the escape vehicle had been parked. He then proceeded to drive them down to the location where the bikes had lost track of the SUV. “The helicopter was seen over these woods, but we didn’t see if the SUV pulled in here or what happened to it.”

  �
��This is the Delaware, correct?” Aaron asked.

  “Yes, and that first river we crossed was the Schuylkill,” Andrew confirmed.

  “And they’re sure they landed on this side of the Delaware?” Christian asked. “It seems like more people would have seen that.”

  “There have been all kinds of reports coming from witnesses all the way from the hospital to I-95. I’m not sure what to believe,” Andrew replied.

  “All right,” Aaron sighed. “Well, I think our next step is to pour over the maps in this specific area and see what we can find. We need to send a reconnaissance team out into the field to scour this area for any clues.”

  “The police have done that,” Andrew reminded him. “They may have some information.”

  “Good point. We’ll still send a team out, but we probably need to meet with them tomorrow as well.”

  “What are we doing tonight?” Cadence asked.

  “What we do best. Find some Vampires. Maybe we’ll find one who is willing to talk,” Aaron replied.

  Cadence smiled. “Good idea. I can be very persuasive.”

  “Yes, you can,” he agreed. “Let’s go back to headquarters and start delegating. Since we have no idea what our timeline truly is, we need to stay on top of things. Giovani could show up at any time, and we need to be ready.”

  ***

  Gibbon was growing stronger; even in the few short hours since his Resurrection, he had become almost too powerful for the restraints on the bed to hold him. Rather than risk his own safety, Giovani had him moved to the special cell he had, had built in one of the old jewel safes. Now, secure to the wall by chains around his arms, and held at bay by steel bars, he was unable to access the rest of the team, but Giovani was able to work on his conditioning.

  Sitting on his cot, pulling angrily against his chains, Gibbon resembled a junkyard dog. Giovani stood outside the bars, an eight-and-a-half-by-eleven photo of one Barbara Gibbon in his hands. “Look at her, Gibbon. Don’t you hate her?” he asked repeatedly. “Don’t you want to rip her heart right out of her chest?”

  With each taunt, Gibbon grew more and more angry. He did not speak, but his groans of rage were enough to let Giovani know his plan was working. Even though Steven Gibbon had killed his step-mother years ago, slashed her throat in cold blood as she was out for an evening jog, he seemed to have no recollection of that. He had been killing his mother over and over again for the last several months. It should be fairly simple for Giovani to convince the mad man that Cadence Findley was his step-mother, even though she looked nothing like the woman in the picture.