“If he’s on this list, he had to do something.” John stated as he shifted around in his chair. “Right?”
“One would think so.” Hatchet agreed with him. “Here’s the kicker, the guy’s an Orange Plus.”
“Orange Plus?” John repeated with one eyebrow raised.
“It’s his threat level.” Hatchet stated. “Remember that fire demon you killed?” He asked as he leaned forward slightly. “It was an Orange. Now you saw what it could do.”
“Yeah...” John muttered and looked down at the picture. “So why’s he so dangerous?”
“I do not know, but...” Hatchet shrugged and leaned back. “I do know that he’s been on that list since you and Aerin got here.” He stated. “There’s too little information. We tried asking Meredith, but she gave us the runaround. You might have better luck.”
“Yeah, something about him is… I dunno, it feels weird.” John said as he stood from his seat. “I think I’m gonna go have a little chat with her, see what’s what.”
“Well, if you find anything, be sure to pass it on.” Hatchet instructed.
“Will do.” John turned to walk out of the door, but quickly stopped himself short. “Oh, I almost forgot.” He said as he turned around. “I wanted to thank you for the other day, Ghost.”
Upon hearing his name, Ghost looked up from what he was doing. It took him a moment to think about what John had said and as he did his eyes narrowed and shifted around as he analyzed John for some kind of a sign. Suddenly a small smile crept up onto his face. He closed his eyes and shook his head side to side slowly as he chuckled to himself.
“No, seriously.” John affirmed. “You saved my ass twice now; I at least owe you one.”
Seeing at how adamant John was, Ghost relented. He stopped shaking his head and shrugged in defeat. With a sigh he begrudgingly accepted the slayer’s offer and nodded his head before turning his attention back down to the papers on the desk.
John smiled and waved over his shoulder as he turned to leave. He made his way down the hall, through the central room, and to the elevators. The doors promptly opened upon his command, having sat still where he had left them. Stepping inside and selecting the tenth floor, the mechanisms below his feet began to turn; quickly, the elevator took him up to the top floor of the building. The doors opened up and John was greeted with a cold chill. He clasped his hands together and quickly rubbed them to warm him as he made his way to the large oak doors. He could see a faint glow coming from below them, meaning Meredith was still awake, and so he knocked.
“Come in!” Meredith’s small voice was barely audible out in the hallway.
John pushed the door open and was greeted with a familiar sight. The window that would allow a pleasant view of the midnight LA sky was obscured by Meredith’s thick, red curtains. The only source of light within the room came from the computer monitor atop the large wooden desk; this time whatever the small girl had been doing, she had opted to turn out the lamp beside her. As John drew closer he could see that Meredith was wearing the same bunny-eared pajamas as she had before. They flopped up and down as Meredith turned her gaze away from her computer monitor and onto John.
“Working late?” John asked as he took a seat in his usual spot.
“Always.” Meredith replied with a smile as she made a few keystrokes on her keyboard.
“Seems to be the local trend.” John observed as he thought back to Hatchet and Ghost. “You guys have been busy lately.”
“Yep!” Meredith beamed with pride. “Thanks for all your help so far!”
“Hey, don’t mention it.” John said with a slight shake of his head. “It’s the least I can do.”
“Speaking of.” Meredith slid her keyboard away from her before reaching over to turn on the lamp. “I just finished this up and I need to scan you again. Is that okay?”
“Of course.” John nodded as he sat up straight in his chair. “You’ll hear no complaints from me.”
Meredith pushed her heavy office chair away from the desk and hopped down to the floor. She made her way around the desk quickly, a slight skip to her step, and stopped behind John. She clapped her hands together; the sudden sound caused John to jump slightly, a reaction that made Meredith giggle. A series of Cyphers appeared around John and she began to peer into him once more. The feeling was warm and a little invasive, but John quickly got used to it again. He sat as still as he could without tensing up as he felt the small girl prod around within him.
“You’ve got some pretty complex stuff in here, you know?” Meredith spoke up.
“You’re telling me.” John said with a small laugh.
“No.” Meredith affirmed. “I mean, there’s a lot of stuff messed up in here.” She stated much to John’s dismay. “A lot of your circuits are fried.”
“My… circuits?” John repeated in confusion.
“Yeah, you know-“ Meredith suddenly cut herself off. “Well, I guess you don’t.” She said with a laugh. “Magical circuits, they’re kinda like your magic neural system.” She explained. “A ton of yours burned out when Aerin brought you back, so I’ve got to repair them.”
“That… sounds pretty bad.” John’s voice was full of dread.
“Not really.” Meredith assured. “Shouldn’t take too long to do, but I’ll need some time, not sure how much though.”
“Well, no rush.” John stated.
“That’s the spirit!” Meredith joyfully stated. She soon fell silent again as she continued to examine him. Her hands moved delicately around the Cypher that floated behind John as she carefully guided her magic runes within his very essence. As time went on, John could feel that she had slowed down, which was strange considering how fast she had worked before. “Something on your mind?” She asked.
“Well.” John shifted around slightly in his seat. He was still searching for the right way to go about asking her without sounding wrong. “You ever get the feeling you’ve seen someone before, even though you know you haven’t?” He asked.
“When you get as old as I am, that tends to happen.” Meredith said as the Cyphers around John disappeared. She walked around John and hopped up on the desk, causing her bunny ears to flop about. “So tell me, what’s up?”
“Tell me about Richard Holland.” John suddenly said.
His words hadn’t exactly elicited the response he was hoping for. John had expected Meredith to grin ear to ear as she always did and give a very mature sounding explanation, or something along those lines; this time was different. All hints of childishness vanished from her face suddenly and a very serious look came over her, one John hadn’t seen before.
“Where did you hear that name?”
“I read it in a case file.” John quickly stated. He could feel a strange presence envelop the room as Meredith’s eyes narrowed on him. “I ran into Hatchet earlier and he let me read some of it.” John paused for a moment as he worried he that he might’ve thrown the southerner under the bus. “That’s not a problem, is it?”
“No.” Meredith responded. John could see that her disposition had lightened, even if just by a little. Her serious look changed to something more of a mother who realized that she had scolded her child a little too hard. “It’s not a problem at all.” She reassured as the tension lessened. “Why do you want to know about him?”
“Like I said earlier,” John began. “I have this weird feeling.” He stopped and searched for the right wording. “Like I’ve seen him before, but can’t remember. I can’t shake it.” John shrugged and leaned back into the chair. “Call it ‘Slayer’s Intuition’, I guess.”
“That sounds like something Sammy would say.” Meredith’s demeanor returned to something more childlike as she giggled at John’s statement. “Well…” She shifted around on the desk as she began. “Richard Holland is the head of a research firm here in Los Angeles.” She stated. “And he’s a man from Aerin’s past.”
“Her past?” John repeated. The words carried a heavy weight. In the
short time John had known Aerin he had hardly learned anything about her. Hearing that this man was someone from her past lit a spark inside him. “Is that why he’s so dangerous?”
“Partly.” Meredith answered. “He’s connected to a shadow group I’ve been fighting for years, that’s the main reason.” She paused and looked down toward her feet. “The other reason is something more personal. He’s responsible for causing Aerin a great deal of suffering. Because of that, he is my enemy.”
A new look came over Meredith; it wasn’t childish, it wasn’t angry, it was something more. Meredith had a look of pure determination on her face; the kind of look that could only be achieved from someone so devoted. John cupped his hands together and rested his elbows on his knees. He leaned forward and brought his forehead to rest on his hands as he sat there in thought. There were many sides to Aerin, John had seen that much before; but to think of her suffering, the thought left him with a bad feeling.
“What did he do?” John asked, a serious tone in his own voice as well. “To Aerin, what did he do to her?”
“It’s not really my place to say.” Meredith answered with a hint of sadness in her voice. “Truthfully, I’ve said too much.” She readjusted her pajamas before speaking again. “Just know that he has caused her a good deal of grief.”
“I understand.” John said with a sigh.
“He actually took over the research firm here this year.” Meredith stated as she dropped down from the desk. She walked around the large wooden structure and stopped beside the window. “I’ve been watching him patiently, always keeping him within reach, but never leaving the shadows.”
Meredith pulled back on the curtains slightly to get a view of the nighttime LA skyline. John stood up from his chair and made his way around the desk and stopped beside her as he gazed out of the window. The early morning traffic wasn’t much to speak of, a few cars buzzed back and forth here and there. The atmosphere within the room had settled tremendously since John had brought up the topic. Both he and Meredith seemed to have come to an unspoken understanding between them.
“Why wait?” John asked as he stuffed his hands into his pockets.
“It wouldn’t be right.” Meredith answered. “As much as I would like to tear him limb from limb myself,” The words coming out of the small girl’s mouth were jarring and gave John pause to remember just exactly what she was. “This isn’t my fight.” She sighed. “I couldn’t go after him without her.”
“So you wanted to wait for her.” John observed.
“Yes.” Meredith responded. “When you two showed up I knew it was almost time.” Meredith walked over and pulled herself up into her large office chair. “Since she’s been here, Aerin has been helping me plan and prepare.”
“So that’s what you two have been up to.” John said as he pulled the curtain closed.
“As far as things go, we’re ready.” Meredith stated. “But neither of us knew when we should attack.” She paused and leaned back in her seat. “I had planned to leave it up to Aerin, to let her choose, but now I’m not so sure.” She sighed heavily and sat up straight in her chair. “Earlier you called it ‘Slayer’s Intuition’.”
“Yeah.” John nodded.
“I like it.” Meredith said with a smile. “Go to bed and get some rest.” She instructed. “We’re going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He made his way around the desk and over to the large wooden doors. As he opened them and stepped outside, he looked back at Meredith. She had already turned her attention back to her computer and was busily typing away at her keyboard. John let the door close gently behind him, leaving the small girl to her work. He went straight to bed as soon as he got back to the room. Meredith was right; there would be a busy day ahead of them tomorrow.
John was suddenly shaken from his dream as his head bumped against the window. He looked out into the darkness of the night and watched as the pothole riddled back road rushed beneath the tires of the SUV. From the look of his surroundings, the team was just about to reach their destination. John took a deep breath and cleared his mind. The vehicle was packed, just as it had been the first time he had gone out on a mission; but unlike then, the air was heavy with a strange feeling. No one spoke, no jokes were made, and everyone was in a different frame of mind. John sighed to himself and calmed his mind as he thought back on the day’s events.
The fifth floor had been packed. Normally there were maybe a dozen or so people busily working at their stations, but that morning the room was full. John had stood toward the back, nearby the elevators; from his vantage point he had gotten a good look at the crowd. The members of Gemini, whom John was currently riding with, had stood off to his left. Over to his right, John remembered a few of the faces he had seen before when he had fought the fire demon; Capricorn, they had been called. There were a few dozen other squad members who crowded around Meredith and Samuel, who stood in the center of the room next to the large transparent map. There were murmurs and whispers about as everyone wondered what was happening. Finally, after scanning the room a few times, John had seen Aerin. She stood over to his right at the edge of the crowd, her arms crossed as she leaned against the wall. There was a look on her face that John couldn’t quite place. Before he could study it more, Meredith began to speak.
“Thank you for coming, everyone.” She said as she climbed atop a small pedestal that put her at eye level with everyone else. “Today we’ll be doing things a little different than usual.”
Meredith raised a small silver rod into the air and suddenly brought it down with a swing. A telescopic pole extended a few feet suddenly and she slapped the tip of it against the large screen behind her. The screen changed from displaying a map to showing a series of folders that opened up and revealed a good deal of information. Among the files listed, Richard Holland’s profile was displayed for all to see.
“This is our target.” Meredith stated. “His name is Richard Holland and he runs the Holland Research Firm in the north side of town. I’m sure most of you have seen it.”
The screen changed again as many of the smaller files slid out of the way at the direction of Meredith’s pointer. A large triangular shaped building suddenly dominated the screen. It looked to be maybe thirty stories tall and was surrounded by a ten foot concrete wall on all sides, save for the metal gate in the front.
“Richard Holland is an enemy unlike any we’ve faced before.” Meredith assured. “We can’t do this like usual. If I send you in guns blazing, none of you will live to see another day.” An odd feeling reverberated throughout the crowd at her words. “This mission requires a high level of finesse.” She turned her attention back to the large screen as an aerial image of the building came up. “We won’t be able to deploy a barrier without alerting the enemy, so this mission will require a heavy amount of stealth.”
The screen changed once more to a shot of the building at a distance. Pictures of the building at various hours of night and day flashed across the screen until it stopped at one shot that looked to be around midnight. Meredith tapped the screen once more and the image’s colors suddenly changed. The building was coated a light blue and there were a few dark red splotches that could be seen in and around the building.
“This is a shot at 12:30am.” Meredith stated. “They’re at their weakest point here. But don’t breathe easy yet, even this late at night there are still 24 armed guards inside the premises.”
“I’m sorry.” A voice suddenly spoke up from somewhere over to the left. One of the members of a squad John had yet to meet voiced his concern. “Did you say 24 armed guards?” He asked. “I’m sorry ma’am; we kill demons, not people.”
“Don’t worry.” Samuel spoke up as he stepped forward, his presence dominating the floor. “They’re some of Holland’s creations.” He stated. “Puppet Soldiers, I’ve dealt with them before. They give off a very distinct signature, one I wouldn’t mistake for a human being.”
> “Right, sir.” The man quickly retracted his issue. “Understood.”
“I know you all have concerns and are worried, but I believe in you one hundred percent!” Meredith assured.
“The teams will be split up differently tonight, I expect you to cooperate well.” Samuel said as he stepped in front of the large screen. “Gemini, you’re on point.” Images of Lazarus, Hatchet, Diamond, and Ghost flashed across the screen. Samuel reached up and drug both Diamond and Ghost’s images away from the main group. “Ghost is the best sniper we have, and Diamond has scored highest in spotting out of all of us. They’ll operate as over watch while Gemini moves in from the south, here.” He said as he pointed toward a place on the map. “To make up for the loss of Diamond and Hatchet, John and Aerin will fill in as Gemini 3 and 4.” Samuel slid his hand across the screen and brought a new set of images forward. “Orion will assault from the north with Gemini from the south. Synchronized movement is key to the success of this mission; failure could mean losing Holland or worse, all of you.” Samuel tapped the screen and caused it to turn off. “Eat, sleep, and take care of everything you need. Check your weapons, ready your gear, I want you all ready before nightfall. Dismissed.”
With that, the room started to vacate. Those who couldn’t fit into the elevators quickly took the stairs as they headed off to do the various things that they needed to do. John had moved away from the doors to avoid the crowd and he rested in an office chair that had been pushed over to the side of the room. He leaned back and sighed as he closed his eyes; there was nothing he needed to take care of. As far as he was concerned, he was ready to walk out of the door.
“Meredith told me it was you.”
Aerin’s voice startled John, and he opened his eyes to find her standing directly in front of him. She wore that odd expression he had seen before, and even though he was able to get a closer look this time, John still couldn't figure out what it meant. It was very clear, however, Aerin wore a vast array of emotions on her face.
Slayer: A Demon Hunter's Tale Page 19