Lister Crowe

by Matthew Kenny

  The college was coming to life and a few students were going to their classes. The sun was hidden behind thick clouds offering no indication they would be fleeing anytime soon. Spring had arrived but had not sprung. The chill in the air was loathe to leave and allow the warmth which would herald summers approach. No notice was paid to the three of them as the made their way across campus. If Vita had not been wearing the hoodie Lister had given her he was sure it would have been a different story.

  They entered the telecommunications building and thankfully it was bereft of people. It was not a lab like the one Lister had spent his time in. His was well lit and had tables and stools with all manner of scientific equipment at his fingertips. This one had banks of computers and cubicles for people to work in. The light was a different sort and not nearly as bright. The dim light was broken by a computer at the far end of the room. It cast it’s glare onto the face Lister had been seeking.

  “Jackie.” he said warmly as he began walking down the aisle of cubicles to where she sat. His feet felt leaden as though he were in Vita’s world still. She turned and watched him over her glasses as he approached.

  “Lister Crowe.” she answered flatly, obviously not excited to see him.

  She was the same age as Lister but she had taken it upon herself to be a motherly figure to him which was why what he had said to her had stung so much. Her black hair was pulled back in a tight

  fluffy bun at the back of her head. Her dark skin had always reminded Lister of a mocha coffee and the smell of her flowery perfume was never too much. After the past couple of days he realized he had missed her and with the thought he made a mental note to get a cat scan as the revelation was so unlike him.

  “Listen, I am sorry for the other day.” Lister began, the sincerity evident in his voice. Jackie did not speak but simply continued staring at him over her glasses. There was a brief uncomfortable pause before he continued:

  “I am an asshole like you said.” Lister did not look at his companions but he was sure they were more than a little confused. “You didn’t deserve to be treated like that. You have always been nothing but nice to me and for me to treat you in such a way is unforgivable.” the apology was the most heartfelt and sincere one he had ever given. Yes, he needed her help but he truly felt bad for his actions and he wanted her to know it.

  “Yet here you are asking for my forgiveness.” she did not sound pleased.

  “I am.”

  “Whatever you need the answer is no.” she said and turned back to her work.

  Lister stood there shocked at her dismissal. Not because he didn’t deserve it, but because she was their only shot at finding Karak. His jaw moved up and down as his mind searched for traction.

  “I need your help.” Vita said stepping forward, trying not to make eye contact.

  Jackie swiveled her chair. She studied diminutive Vita then the over large Donovan. Lister could only imagine the thoughts working their way through her mind. He had not noticed it at first but the three of them made for quite a strange trio.

  “What kind of trouble you in girl?”

  “I have to find someone.”

  “What makes you think I can help you. Did Lister tell you that?” she cast him a withering glare.

  “Yes he did. He thinks if you two work together… you can do it.”

  Jackie looked as though she had been slapped at the thought of having to work with him. Lister was not sure he was ever going to be able to earn her trust back but he was determined to try.

  “What did you do to her Lister?” Vita turned to him. Her eyes felt like they were boring into his brain.

  Lister was put on the spot and he did not like it. Sure he had made his decision to do whatever he had to to make this happen but this was almost more than he could take. It was not for him though, it was for Merrill.

  “I said her work was as worthless as she is and I didn’t have time to listen to her drivel.” he said dropping his head in shame. No one said anything and they were all staring at him. Donovan doing so with a small shake of his head at the ridiculous moment.

  “I know… I was in a hurry and I just wanted to get out of here.” the truth was out and once he had said it he felt the sheer stupidity of what had happened between he and Jackie.

  “Merrill would be shocked.” Vita admonished and turned to Jackie. “My grandfather is a wiz… an inventor so I know how much your work means to you. I am sure he didn’t mean it. Did you Lister?”

  Lister was acutely aware he was being chastised and it showed in every facet of his being. He slumped his shoulders and made himself look as pitiful as he was able.

  “I didn’t.” he looked at Jackie making eye contact and holding it.” I am very sorry Jackie. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you please tell me.”

  She regarded him for a moment. She was looking between both Lister and Vita though Vita would not meet her gaze. Finally she softened.

  “Fine. I accept your apology.” she spoke as though she had been talked into buying a refrigerator she did not need. “But if you ever talk to me like that again…” she left the thought unfinished.

  “I won’t. I promise.” Lister was glad to have been forgiven for his cruel words. The old Lister Crowe would not have cared about her feelings or forgiveness but something had changed. He was not sure if it was for the better.

  Out of the corner of his eye Lister could see Donovan still shaking his head smiling at the scene. After all he was trying to save the world and it hinged upon Lister saying he was sorry for hurting someone’s feelings. Lister wondered what Donovan might have done had she refused to help them willingly. The thought made his blood run cold.

  Lister and Jackie worked on the particulars while Donovan and Vita made themselves scarce. Setting the satellites to scan a particular area was not the difficult part of what they were trying to accomplish. Getting Lister’s juiced up resonator to combine with the software being used was another thing entirely and to do so without Jackie seeing too much of it’s workings increased the difficulty. It was not without it’s false starts and spats. Like all collaborations there was more than one way of doing things and the two of them butted heads from time to time but it was the way things got done in a scientific endeavor.

  Most of the time, much to Lister’s chagrin it was Jackie who was right but he had to remind himself this was her arena and she had the advantage. Though Lister knew it was not some game there was always an undertone of competitiveness when two scientists worked together.

  “We have it.” Lister was standing over Donovan and Vita who had lost interest almost immediately and fallen asleep. Vita had tried to remain in the loop but before long the conversation/argument had gone far over her head and she retreated.

  “You do!” Vita was immediately standing before Lister. He looked back to make sure Jackie had not seen the superhuman speed Vita was capable of. “Let’s go!”

  “Alright. One minute.”

  Lister turned and went back to where Jackie was sitting at her computer. She was still trying to pinpoint the exact location but Lister knew they were as close as they were going to get. They had a place to start and it was enough for him. He was sure they would be able to find The Cabal and his computer.

  “We are on our way.” Lister said to himself hoping Merrill, wherever he was, could hear him.

  “What?” Jackie asked.

  “I was just saying thank you.” Lister lied.

  “I am glad I could be of help but can you tell me what you are looking for?” Jackie had a worried look on her face.

  “I can’t. I am sorry. It would put you in danger.” Lister was sure The Cabal would know about this if what Donovan had told him was accurate and he was sure it was. “You need to leave Jackie. Some bad people are going to be here soon and things could get…messy.”

  Jackie sat for a moment looking at Lister with a weight of worry on her mind. Lister could feel her trying to suss out the information from his facial expr
ession which his mouth would not speak.

  “Alright, let me pack up my stuff and…”

  “No Jackie, you need to go now. Go out the back door and don’t come back today. Maybe take tomorrow off too.”

  “Lister you are scaring me. Did we just do something… illegal?” she stood and regarded him.

  “No, on the contrary, you did a world of good today.” Lister did not look away from her searching gaze and it seemed enough for her. She retrieved her coat off of the back of her chair and slipped it on.

  “You be careful.” she hugged him and whispered in his ear: “Who is the strange girl?” Lister pulled back and smiled.

  “Good try.” he replied, not about to let her put herself in harms way with any information he might give to her. He was glad they were now closer than ever and he tried to tell her as much with his facial expression.

  “Suit yourself. You let me know where you land.” she began walking across the computer room.

  “I will Jackie and thanks again. You don’t know how much this means.”

  “You better tell me when you can.” she called back as she was leaving through the back door of the computer lab.

  The three of them were walking down the hallway toward the exit, their spirits were high. Vita was moving with a purpose Lister had not seen since they were in the caves making their escape. He was glad at the thought and was feeling a great amount of hope himself.

  The doors at the end of the hallway in front of them slammed with a metallic bang reverberating in the long white well lit corridor. Four men blocked the doors which was their exit. They were wearing workman uniforms and did not look out of place to Lister. Donovan stopped them both with his outstretched arms. Lister and Vita felt the weight of the situation.

  Neither side moved or even twitched, the sound of the buzzing overhead lights marking the passage of time. Lister could barely bring himself to take a breath in the tense environment. It seemed to him he was in some demented western but all of the actors were dressed in modern garb.

  Doors stood beside them on either side of the harsh white hallway and Lister had already decided how he was going to survive the first few seconds. He decided upon the left side door, it was the door to a classroom. The other was a security office which was surely locked. He only hoped the other two had seen or would follow his lead when the time came.

  Almost as one the four men at the far end of the corridor jogged their tool boxes. The casings fell off to reveal small automatic weapons. This was their moment to move and the only one they were likely to get.

  “Left!” Lister shouted and jumped for the door twisting the handle as he did so. Sooner than he had time to realize he has on the floor of the room with Vita on top of him. A crash came from the hallway as shots began to fill the air.

  “Stay down.” she said with a calm voice as if she were telling him to grab a can of peas from the cupboard. Lister glanced toward the door to see her help it close with her booted foot.

  “Where is Donovan?” he shouted as the shots ceased in the hallway.

  “He broke down the door across the hall.” Lister could see Vita was plotting her next move. “Crawl over there.” Vita whispered and pointed across the room to a server stack.

  Lister did not question the order but moved into action immediately. He had never crawled so fast in his entire life. The fear was on him again but it was not nearly as intense as it had been in the caves. He allowed himself a brief moment of relief at the realization.

  Gunshots came ringing from across the hall. First was the sound of automatic shots in rapid succession then two single shots followed. Lister peeked over the top of the stack of servers just in time to see a body come crashing through the door.

  Vita dove over the top of the falling assassin and disappeared into the bright lit hallway. Lister’s heart jumped into his throat as she did so. The door closed slowly behind her. She was fearless but with good reason to be. Vita was a warrior.

  Another eruption of gunfire came which seemed to end not at once but in turn. First one gun stopped then the second. Finally through the stuttering automatic fire there was a single shot and all was quiet.

  Was that all there was? He had seen movies and this was not how it happened. Lister was sure each side was supposed to spout some witty banter or shouted insults perhaps.

  Lister sat holding his breath and waiting for his inevitable doom to come striding through the door to end his life in the most brutal and horrible fashion he could imagine. He ducked and slid down the cases which were flashing at him with the activity of computers in some far off rooms. Then the door opened to deliver him to his fate.

  “You can come out now.”

  Lister stood to see Vita bathed in fluorescent light from the hallway, her glowing blade dripping blood on the white tile floor.

  “Donovan?” he asked as he started toward the door.

  “Still here.” Donovan said from the hallway beyond.

  Lister got up from his hiding place and made for the door. The body in the room had two bullet holes, one in his neck and one in his head. He lay there staring up at Lister with unseeing eyes. For a moment he could not look away from the dead man for death was not something he had ever faced in such a violent way.

  “Lister.” Vita roused him from his contemplation. “Let’s go.” her voice did not carry the tone of a command but instead it sounded as though he were a child in need of some sort of reassurance.

  “Yes, let’s go.” he repeated not feeling too well.

  Lister stepped over the body and made his way out into the hallway. The sight would stick with him for quite a long time and pop up in nightmares every once in a while.

  The white walls were splattered with the crimson of the arteries which had been so precisely severed. On the floor by the door two of the men were laying in pools of blood which stood out with so much contrast on the polished white floor it made Lister swallow hard. The pools were growing and Donovan stepped back to keep his shoes dry. Everything seemed to slip into slow motion. Lister looked up at the large man. The smell of gunpowder, blood and shit filled his senses.

  “Grab him.” Donovan said absently as Lister’s legs gave way. His head seemed to swim toward the ceiling, his body dropping through the floor. Vita stepped into place to support him as he started to fall.

  “Are you alright?” she asked the question but Lister did not understand her, a mumble all he could utter.

  “Let’s get him outside.” Donovan said.

  Their voices seemed to come from some other realm as Vita helped him down the hall. She was much shorter than he was so his back was bent acutely. As they approached the door they could hear sirens in the distance becoming louder by the second. They stepped around the other dead man at the end of the hall. Lister looked the other way for fear of losing what little food he had in his stomach. Donovan opened the door for them and Lister felt the cool breeze on his face.. Then all went black and he knew no more for a blissful time.

  Lister woke to find himself lying in the back of Donovan’s SUV and the vehicle was in motion. He did not feel embarrassed by the fact he had fainted… he was happy to be alive. He sat up slowly, his stomach wanting to remain prone argued with him but he would have none of it. Donovan was in the drivers seat and kept glancing in the rear view mirror, not at Lister but past him.

  “Is there something wrong?” Lister’s tone held more than a small note of concern.

  “Not at the moment. There could be trouble soon though.” Donovan caught Lister’s gaze at that moment.

  “Why would there be trouble? I thought you could fix this sort of thing.”

  “A shoot out in an industrial park is one thing but when shots are fired at a school… there is no getting out of that.” Donovan said with a chuckle a broad grin stretched across his cherubic face.

  “So we’re fugitives?” Lister was worried at the thought.

  “No… not yet. I think we got out of there without anyone seeing us.
” Donovan kept glancing in the mirrors and it was putting Lister on edge. “If someone had seen us we would have been arrested by now.” the thought did nothing to calm Lister’s nerves but he did not feel fear as he had before. He had grown a thicker skin as of late and it was no wonder with everything going on.

  Vita was staring out the passengers side window. She was in a crouch as it was the only way for her to see out. She had not looked at Lister and he was sure she was caught up in her own thoughts. Though Lister still had his doubts about Donovan he was glad to have him with them. He was not sure what they would have done without him.

  “Where to?” Donovan asked sounding a bit too chipper.

  “Egg Harbor Township New Jersey.” Lister replied and lay back down feeling the toll of these last few days grip him and beg him back to the nothingness of sleep if only for a time.

  Donovan found Vita to not be the most agreeable traveling companion. He had tried multiple times to talk to her but she did not seem interested in making conversation. He could not blame her though after what she had been through. It was not as though he was afraid of silence. He had spent many nights by himself on stake outs and the like but he wanted to know more about her and the world from whence she came.

  “We make a pretty good team.” he said as they made their way across New Jersey at a high rate of speed though not so fast as to cause any officer they happened upon to take action.

  “Yeah, sure. You know I could have taken care of them myself.” Vita did not look at him but kept her gaze focused out the passenger window, her tone cold.

  “Well I did my share.”

  She did not reply to comment but rather than admit defeat in his quest to get her to speak to him he continued:

  “That was pretty impressive.” he admitted. “What kind of knife is that? I have never seen anything like it.”

  “It was a gift from Merrill a long time ago.” Vita seemed lost in memory for a moment.

  “Is it magic?” Donovan looked at her with genuine interest.

  “Yes. A Singing Stone is in the hilt.” she was quiet then and Donovan could sense the conversation was over. He left her to her thoughts as he turned his focus back out the windshield.