Suzy cussed and thanked him flatly for enlightening her. “I don’t know if you can’t tell but I’m scared as hell Jason. In fact, the only relief I have right now is that you’re going to be kind enough to walk me back to my dorm.”
Jason nodded and told her it wasn’t any trouble. “And I’m not trying to frighten you Suzy. I need your help.” He took a breath while some students passed by and continued his report. “Jeannette Smith turned up in Saint Margret’s on the third, which was the day Sean Williams went missing. His remains were found on the seventh on Richmond Hill by some runners. He was missing two liters of blood, similar to Edward Park. And this is where I need your help. You mentioned two girls are missing, could you, would you mind telling me about them and when they vanished?”
Suzy stopped walking and told him the first girl, Nicole Weaving, turned up early that morning. “Some guys in my writing class found her in Richmond Park near the campus. She was missing her left ear and left hand.” Suzy frowned and told him she suspected the villain was somewhere on their campus too. “I’m not the only one either. The police and the school aren’t sure what to do as of now. All I know is that it isn’t safe at all.” She looked away from him and admitted she would ask to stay with Audrey and him if things worsened. “I’m scared shitless Jason and I hate to impose, but you live close and I don’t clash with you and Audrey the way I do with mum and Alan, or with Jack. And I can’t bear to ask him, I wouldn’t ever hear the end of that,” she remarked.
Jason told her they would be more than happy to have her stay with them. “I would want to check with Audrey, but as long as you don’t mind taking the couch, I think she’d oblige.”
Suzy thanked him while she retrieved another cigarette. She held it in her hands, which quivered as she continued, “The other girl, Sasha Collins, went missing on the sixteenth, three days after Nicole went missing, but Sasha hasn’t turned up.” Suzy took a moment to light the cigarette before she asked if Jason had any questions left.
“No, that about sums it up.”
“Can I ask something then? What’s your interest in this? Why are you digging for more information?”
He wiped off the edges of his lips and hurried her along until he felt they were far enough from anyone who might overhear their conversation. “Can I trust you to keep something to yourself Suzy? I mean, you can’t tell this to anyone, especially not Jack or his wife or Alan or your mum.”
“Does Audrey know?”
“What? Of course, of course,” he rubbed his eyes, “She’s known about as long as I have. In fact she’s working on the damn outfit as we speak.”
Suzy’s brow furrowed while she dissected his words. “Jason, are you–”
“I’m Ilion,” he told her in a whisper. “I mean it, the whole production and all, though your brother has misguided rumors built up in his head…but basically, I am Ilion.”
She didn’t move. All she did was examine his eyes for any sign of a lie or jest, but quickly realized it was true. “Oh my…Jason, you-you’re really him?”
“Yes.”
“I mean you are actually–”
“I am Ilion,” he repeated. “Please don’t make a scene I’d rather not–”
“Prove it,” she said with a smile. “Fly or lift a car over your head or something.”
Jason scowled and though he didn’t want to perform for his sister-in-law, he plucked the cigarette from her lips, put it out on the end of his shoe, set the rest of the cylinder in the palm of his left hand and quickly produced a fire which reduced it to a small amount of ash in only a few seconds.
Her eyes widened and Jason saw an immediate change in her overall countenance. “Holy shit. You weren’t lying at all, that’s…this, this is astounding. I-I didn’t even know you could do something like that.”
“There are other things the media hasn’t learned of, but I don’t plan on showcasing myself,” he told her while he wiped the ash off of his hand.
She apologized sheepishly, but asked, “Then you’re looking for this killer?”
“In one manner or another.”
“Do you have any idea who he is?”
Jason admitted he thought he had a name, but he was sure it was nothing more than a dead end. “When I was in the hospital,” he paused, “And this is strictly between the two of us, Audrey, and my doctor, alright? Well, I was recovering rapidly.” He mentioned his regenerative power, something she would have remarked excitedly to had he allowed her to interject. “Someone broke into my room and tried to kill me. Actually, they did kill me, but I recovered, revived really.”
“Then the story about the hero who you and all the doctors assumed healed you, or rather resurrected you, was a lie?”
“Yes.”
“Why did this person try and kill you?”
Jason admitted he was uncertain. “But I have a few theories. They’re rather unseemly so I won’t burden you with them, but I believe it might have been somewhere along the lines of what has happened to the other victims.”
“But it didn’t work,” she said. “He must have tried, or at least that’s what you must think. But why didn’t it work?”
“Probably because of my regeneration,” he told her. “My best guess is that he tried to remove blood or an organ or something, but he couldn’t because of my regeneration. I’m not altogether sure, considering my overall revival took days, but in any case it didn’t work.”
“But why do you have any doubt that he’s the culprit?”
“He told me his name but I think it was a false one, seeing as he called himself Doctor Joshua Todd, and the only Doctor Joshua Todd who fits the description I could give would have lived over a century ago.”
Suzy reminded him that it was a common name. “It could have been someone named Todd pretending or claiming to be a doctor to get close to you.”
“But then why use their real name? If they were going to lie, why not fabricate something else?” Jason checked the time and continued their walk. “I do need to get going Suzy, but let me ask you a few more things. Firstly, if you still want to come and stay with Audrey and myself you are more than welcome, but if it would be more convenient to remain here, I can assure you I’ll keep a close watch on you.”
“How?”
“I can hear a pin drop in Havering with the utmost clarity. I would be more than willing to keep an ear out for you at all times, in the event that our mystery killer attacks you.”
Suzy gawked at yet another one of his powers but quickly agreed it would be easier for her to remain in Roehampton. “You’ll give me a moment of privacy at certain times though, right?”
“Naturally,” he said, somewhat embarrassed. Jason cleared his throat and added, “The other thing, two things really, are that you update me if anyone else goes missing, and if you could do just one last thing for me. I really need to know what blood type those two girls have, er–rather had, sorry.”
Suzy said she would see what she could do, but couldn’t promise anything. “I gather this has something to do with the motive behind all of these murders?”
Jason nodded and said it all revolved around the organs, tissue, and blood the killer stole from the victims. “He knows what he’s after and is extremely skilled at what he’s doing. My guess is he might actually be or have been at one time, an actual doctor.”
The two arrived at Suzy’s dorm where they said a few parting words, and exchanged a brief hug, before Suzy dashed inside and up to her room. She rushed past her roommate and peered out her window and into the night sky for her brother-in-law, the hero, but he was gone. Suzy sighed and muttered in a low whisper her roommate couldn’t hear, “Your secrets are safe with me. And send my love to Audrey.”
---*---
6:34 PM
Seattle, Washington
Lauren Facet sat alone at a small table in the only restaurant her hotel offered. Her parents brought her with them from Paris because they feared she would throw one giant party at their home
from the second they left until the moment they returned months later. They cloaked their paranoia in the ruse of the journey’s benefit to someone of her age, but Lauren managed to see through the cover story. The restaurant was nowhere near as fashionable as she hoped it would be, but with a falsified passport which claimed she was two years older than she truly was, Lauren drowned her misery with cheap chardonnay. Before her family departed for America, she asked if she could stay with friends, but her parents told her they weren’t comfortable with that plan. Lauren couldn’t help but agree though, as a majority of her good friends were all people she was not altogether sure she trusted either.
Lauren sat with her chin rested in one hand and swirled her drink in its glass with her other. She’d only taken two sips from it and since there wasn’t anyone to drink with she almost felt guilty for having it in the first place. In fact, she almost exclusively drank with friends back in Paris, which made the event sobering in one manner.
She retrieved her cell phone and tried to give David a call, but it only went straight to voicemail. “
The tone sounded and she quickly cheered herself up and said, “
She hung up and quickly downed the rest of her drink.
-- -- --
Lauren walked toward the elevator and met up with a young man who waited somewhat anxiously for the compartment to arrive. They boarded shortly thereafter and he asked which floor she was on after he pressed the button for the fourteenth floor.
“That’s actually the floor I’m on as well,” she told him.
“Oh.” He remained quiet for a moment before he asked where she was from. “You don’t sound like you’re from around here.”
“I’m from Paris…and just so you know, this is a hotel, so most of the people staying here aren’t from around here.”
He reddened and admitted that it was a stupid question. “Are you enjoying yourself at least?”
“Somewhat.”
“What brought you here?”
“Family.”
“Did someone die?”
“” she muttered in French.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she sighed. “Listen, I don’t want to sound like a bitch, but I’m not really in the mood to make any acquaintances.”
“Ah, yeah, sorry.”
The rest of their elevator ride was silent, even when others boarded. Lauren looked away from him and the young man kept his eyes low. Once they reached the fourteenth floor they both disembarked and headed down the left hall.
“I-I wasn’t hitting on you or anything,” he suddenly told her. “I just don’t like awkward silences.”
“It’s fine. Just forget about it.”
She left him once he arrived at his room, which was only one room down from where she stayed. However they heard a commotion and a scream from her room before she managed to leave the young man’s side. He didn’t hesitate to walk past her to the room, pounded on the door, and asked if everything was alright.
There wasn’t a response.
“Get out of the way,” Lauren snapped. She retrieved her card-key for the room and opened the door.
Lauren didn’t see the attack, but the young man with her managed to pull her out of the line of fire of four shuriken-like projectiles. She hit the floor and in what seemed like a blur, the young man produced a firearm from thin air, grabbed the door to the hotel room before it swung to a close, and placed himself between the assailant and Lauren.
The young man seemed vastly different from the timid boy she met on the elevator moments earlier. The fellow before her held a dead aim at their foe. He did not waiver and he remained in control of his emotions amid the tense situation. Lauren saw her mother’s motionless corpse on the floor between Lauren’s savior and a well dressed man who held her father hostage with little more than a set of earbuds wrapped tightly around her father’s throat. Her father struggled vainly for air.
The sharply dressed man cracked a smile and spoke up, “My my my Nick. Yer more surprisin’ than I thought. I’d seen ya scared shitless a few months back, so where did ya find this new set of stones kid?”
Nick took a reassuring breath and tried to remain sure of himself, despite the beads of sweat that trickled down the back of his neck. “Drop him or–”
“Or what?” the man sneered. “Y’ll shoot? Go ‘head.” He ducked behind Lauren’s father and told him it wouldn’t make a difference. “By the way Nick,” the killer’s voice change and he lost his accent, “Do you even know why I’m here?” He showed himself again and looked entirely different. Nick, nearly dropped his weapon.
“V-Victor?”
The assassin nodded and told him the Facet family were members of the Dáfù’s plan to attack the Seattle Art Museum. “I’ve been working with Mizuno for years Nick. I’m sorry that I couldn’t tell you about all of this sooner, but I had to fake my death and lie to you for his project.”
Nick stared at his brother in disbelief and asked why Mizuno wouldn’t say anything.
“It’s because he thinks someone’s aware of his plan and is out to get him.”
“Is that true?”
Victor nodded. “Of course. I would have told you I was alive–”
Nick took a poor shot at the man, missed, and shouted with tears in his eyes, “My brother’s been dead for weeks you son of a bitch.” He retook his aim and demanded to know who he really was.
Victor gripped the cord around Lauren’s father’s neck tighter. “You know this isn’t going to end well, right Nick? I have a job to do and I will complete it one way or another. If not today, then tomorrow.”
“Who are you?”
The charlatan shook his head and told Nick he had nothing more to say. He retrieved a knife and in a fluid movement flicked the blade open and slit Lauren’s father’s throat. Victor raced toward Nick with Lauren’s father as a shield and tackled Nick to the ground. The charlatan fled afterwards while Nick tried to free himself from under the dead weight of Lauren’s father.
Lauren watched Nick curse under his breath as he freed himself and struggled to try and stop the bleeding. Blood covered his hands and slid through his fingers. Nick watched as the man stopped struggling for air and grew still through tear soaked eyes. Finally, he set the man aside, wiped his hands on his jeans, and composed himself. Blood remained on his hands, no matter how he tried to rid himself of it.
Nick took a breath and realized that Lauren was gone. His heart raced and he dashed out of the hotel room and scanned the area for any sign of her among the other guests who slowly emerged from their rooms. He heard the shocked comments about the blood, the confrontation they overheard, and of a man who fled, but Nick tuned them out and looked for a young woman he had neglected.
A pit grew in Nick’s stomach as he failed to locate her, unsure of whether the charlatan kidnapped her or if she fled on her own. But Nick called out for her nonetheless. He finally heard someone sobbing towards the stairwell at the end of the hall. He quickly made his way toward the distressed person and found Lauren there, sitting on the floor, in tears.
Nick collected his thoughts and asked if she was alright. Lauren however did not respond. He helped get her back on her feet and told her in a hushed tone that they needed to leave. Lauren tried to object but he cut her off and told her the assassin who targeted her earlier would try again once he knew where she was, even if she was taken in by the authorities.
Nick waited for her to say something, anything, but she only continued to weep. Before she realized it, Nick led her by the hand down the auxiliary staircase and toward the emergency fire exit. He told her everything was going to
be alright, though he was not sure she heard or believed him.
---*---
8:01 PM
Seattle, Washington
Rachel and Vladimir stood only a foot apart before Van Gogh’s Starry Night Over the Rhone. Each painting was protected by five stanchions and ruby velvet ropes. There were nearly one-hundred other guests at the gallery, though neither Vladimir nor Rachel paid any attention to them. She had dressed up for the occasion, which left Vladimir unseemly in his usual attire of slacks, a wrinkled collared shirt, and a thin scarf.
“Where were you last week?” Rachel asked him.
He simply said he was sick and hoped to end the matter.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” he told her and flashed a smile, “Things will be better in the days to come as well, so there is no need for you to trouble yourself.”
“But I am worried about you,” she whispered.
Vladimir didn’t respond.
She looked away from him and muttered, “What are you hiding?”
“What about you?” he asked. “Are you going to tell me why you invited me and not Jordan?”
She scowled and told him she’s ended things between the two of them. “He didn’t respect me and I know I can do better than him.”
Vladimir twitched. He cleared his throat and walked on to the next painting without her, though he knew she would follow after him. The next painting was Bedroom at Arles, which he personally enjoyed, though Rachel hardly noticed it when she returned to his side.
“I need to talk to you,” she told him as she took his hand and led him away from the exhibit. They stood off a short ways from the rest of the group and managed to have a moment to talk without anyone overhearing. “I left Jordan because I want to be with you.”
Vladimir only looked away from her and told her he couldn’t be with her.
Rachel frowned and asked why he thought they couldn’t be together, however screams and gunfire erupted in the heart of the gallery and a man dressed in all black and a pearl mask emerged from the crowd and opened fire on the patrons. Rachel’s heart raced as she tried to hide but froze when she saw the killer take aim at her.
Impact (Book 1): Regenesis Page 51