The beast let his hand slide down to the bottom edge of the Plexiglas, an eerie squeal of flesh against plastic friction hitting my ears. He let an uncomfortable silence in before speaking, "Is Jessica dead?"
I glanced at Davey, who was staring at the man, watching for the slightest movement of hostility. I turned back to the Plexiglas, nodding slowly. "She is." I saw his jaw twitch as he pushed his face closer to the partition.
"And are you the one who killed her, Caitriona?"
I cringed at the strange question. I wasn't going to indulge in another fucked up psychological game spurred on by Alistair or one of his minions. "This is not why I am here. I’m here to find out who you are and then where to find Alistair." I took a step closer, "Why were you in my house?"
My words were suddenly shattered by the beast slamming both of his fists against the glass, making it ripple slightly with the impact as he screamed, "Did you kill her!?"
Davey grabbed my arm, ready to run me out of the room. I pulled my arm back, holding the beast's stare, not tearing away from the dead blue eyes before me even as my fear was choking me. "Yes I did."
The beast's head dropped down between the two fists still pressed against the glass, "You never were our target, Caitriona. Just the doctor." He slowly raised his head, "Even when you came to us in Tennessee, you were just a bump in the overall road. However, after that day we were given a secondary objective by Alistair. You. You were to die with her since you survived the motel."
The beast stepped back, his eyes appeared to be glossy with unshed tears. "We were given your files. Your entire life recorded like the doctor's." He paused, "Jessica. I couldn't break through to her and her suffering." The beast stopped speaking completely, only staring at me for a lengthy moment, "Caitriona, you're the only one who can end this. When Alistair told me you killed Jessica, I didn't believe it. All I knew is that I wanted to kill you, I had to kill you when I saw the crime scene photos. Jessica lying in the snow, the blood on her chest from the two shots you placed there." The beast raised his head to look at the cage covered fluorescent light bulbs in the ceiling.
Ticking and humming in the silence in between his words, "Then clarity came with the tranquilizers the police officers drove into my arms and legs. You freed Jessica of the last three years of hell she lived through and now." His dead blue eyes fell to mine, a quick flicker of humanity in them. I squinted, catching the flicker and wondering if I had actually seen it.
I was distracted by his eyes and didn't notice his arm moving like lightning, his fist pushing and breaking through the Plexiglas like it was paper. His knuckles and wrist tearing and bleeding from the ragged hard edges, the largest gash near his wrist, began rapidly pouring out blood.
His voice was strong and loud when he spoke, "Now free me, Caitriona."
I looked at him shocked as the alarms sounded in the room. Distant yells and boots hitting the linoleum floor outside mixed with Davey yelling and grabbing me. The beast and I remained in our own little bubble as the chaos ensued.
He smiled weakly, "Take my DNA. Your doctor will find all of the truths she will need, but she must hurry, Alistair is on his way to her, a day or two at the most before he finishes were the rest of us failed."
Davey was yelling, rushing to the door to force it open after the automatic locks engaged, effectively locking us inside with a genetic superhuman who proved no walls could hold him. My fear morphed into a strange calm, I was no longer afraid of the man in front of me.
Looking at the sadness and desperation of this hulk of a man, I took another step closer to him, "How do I free you?"
The beast pulled his arm back through and I watched in amazement as his wrist wound closed on its own as if nothing happened. "She will know. You will know. Both of you will know." He smiled slightly, "What we do for love and for those we love can surpass our own lives."
The smile faded as quickly as it appeared, "Hurry before it is too late. I will be here, waiting for you to return, Caitriona." He then moved to the middle of the room and took a prone position on the padded floor. He laid perfectly still taking one last look at me before closing his eyes and waiting for the onslaught of tranquilizers, restraints and screaming to come.
I dug in the pocket of my coat, hearing the yelling and the boots right outside the locked doors. Drawing out a napkin I had shoved in there from the trip to the mall food court with Claire, I glanced at Davey. He was struggling with the door from the inside, yelling at the officers on the other side. I took a breath, reaching out, I wiped the gaping hole the beast had rammed open with his fist. The blood leached into the paper while I pinched small strips of skin off an edge closest to me. I folded the napkin up into the pile of others I had and hid it under my coat still draped over my arm.
The automatic doors were finally released, quickly filling the room with orderlies and police officers all shoving their way in and shoving Davey and I out.
Maneuvering through the onslaught of people, Davey held onto my arm tightly. I could feel the adrenaline in his grip, "Shit, Kit, what the hell was that silence of the lambs moment in there?"
I swallowed thickly, battling a sudden thirst for a stiff glass of whiskey to ease my own adrenaline rush. It was worse when I realized the beast could have easily lifted me up by the neck and snapped it like a brittle twig. "I don't know, Davey." I could barely think, let alone form words to explain what had actually gone in that room. I left with very little answers, a thousand more new questions and a new unshakeable drive to get to Claire as soon as possible.
We rushed out the back door of the building, hitting the cool air of the early afternoon. The cool air helped clearing my mind and lungs of the antiseptic, stagnant air of that room. I walked a few steps ahead of Davey before turning around to face him. He was frazzled, running his hands over perfect hair, "God damn, Kit."
I shifted my coat, reaching for the napkin I had clutched in my fingers trying to avoid tainting evidence. "Davey, I need to get something to Claire now and then I need to be on the next flight to Geneva." The beast's words had filled me with a sense of urgency that was driving me harder with every second, I had to identify him and then get to Claire. Splitting us up had been exactly what Alistair wanted, but I didn't think he expected one of his own to turn on him and give up. Davey threw his hands on his hips, "The flight I can do, the something, depends on what it is."
I drew out the napkin, the blood already soaking through the other layers I had wrapped it in, "He wants us to know who he is. We unlock him, we get Alistair."
Davey looked at the stained napkin, his face narrowing, "He punched a hole in ten inch thick Plexiglas to basically give himself up?" He shook his head, "These bee fuckers are definitely a new brand of crazy." Davey took a step closer to me, staring at the napkin.
I sighed, "Or they are innocents looking for a way out of whatever prison Dr. Bourne and Alistair placed them in." I glanced at the napkin, "How do I get this to Claire now? She will need it before I can get there."
Davey huffed, "I have a way. Won't exactly be the most legal of ways, but it will be quick and trusted." He motioned to the front of the building, "Let's get you packed and off to the airport."
I moved to follow him when I spoke quickly, "We can't let Claire know I'm coming. I don't want to tip off Alistair and force his hand into acting faster."
Davey and I walked in silence for a few steps before he spoke, "Promise me, Kit, that when we finish this, you will take Claire far away for a long time." He looked down at me with an intensity that told me it wasn’t an option for me, "Somewhere to a place where no one knows her, wants her, or whatever. She's been hunted and chased for almost fifteen years." His jaw clenched, "I just want peace for her, you know?" I nodded in agreement while he unlocked his shiny BMW, "But first we make sure Alistair feels all of the pain he's inflicted on others." Davey opened my door, "I'm coming with you to Geneva. If Alistair thinks he is going to blind side Claire, let's blind side him back. With numbers."
Staring out the window of the small cottage that sat over the Criterion Centre, my heart ached. It had barely been twenty four hours and I missed Kit to the point I had caused many intense psychosomatic responses in my body.
I barely slept when we arrived, collapsing in bed as soon as Rebecca swept the cottage. The flight wore me out but I found it impossible to sleep for long without Kit hogging the bed, the blankets or smothering most of my body with hers. There was nothing I could do to trick my body and mind into believing Kit was next to me, therefore sleep become a futile exercise.
So I opted to spend most of the night and morning reviewing Beth’s files and the surgery prep notes. Tomorrow Dr. Zehren and I would begin.
I tugged on the edges of her purple hoody, wrapping the sleeve ends into my hands and zipping it closer to my chin. The view before me was incredible, gorgeous. Snow covered mountains, small cottages dotting here and there, then drifting down to the modern building that had been designed to fall and flow with the nature around it, moving around trees and the rocks instead of tearing them down. I scanned over the massive medical Centre. If only the world knew exactly how large the Centre really was. It had been built above ground and underground, the secret labs and surgery theaters carried down fifteen to twenty floors from the base level of the public first level. It extended and wove into the earth like roots of a tree, a decision made by my father and the other contributors after my first attack and the interest in my work by the deviant scientists.
I sighed, burying my nose in the lingering scent of Kit on her sweatshirt. A few more days and that would also be gone.
I took a step back from the window, reaching for my phone hoping there was something from Kit. We had agreed, together, no phone contact. We couldn't tip anyone off that we were separated and vulnerable. Swiping the unlock screen, I had nothing but the usual senate emails and messages from fellow Senators wishing me a speedy recovery and other vapid well wishes.
"Claire, lunch is ready if you're hungry." Rebecca's voice came from the doorway behind me. She had been respectful since Kit was attacked at my parents’ home. It was apparent she had finally accepted I had moved on and that Kit was not the failure she wanted her to be.
I dropped the phone in my pocket, "I'll be down in a minute." I ran a hand over my hair, scooping it up to slip it all into a loose ponytail. I was tired, something that had been a constant most of my life, but today it weighed heavier than normal. I raised my head to look at Rebecca, she held a small box in her hands as she walked towards me. "This just came for you."
I gave her a questioning look. She smiled, extending the box to me, "It came through Davey's Russian mafia connections. The package is clean and has been swept at each stop. It was hand delivered from San Diego to here."
I raised an eyebrow taking the small box from her. Only Rebecca and I knew Davey's past with the Russian mafia. Looking down at the Cyrillic script, I smiled, recalling on the story Davey told me years ago.
In his first year in the Secret Service he had been assigned to the U.S. Ambassador in Moscow. At a bar one night he was in the right place at the wrong time that became the right time. He had saved the equivalent to a godfather in the mafia from a mortal stabbing during a turf war fight. Took the man to the hospital and made sure the police had a semi accurate story of how the man was stabbed, an attempted mugging gone terribly wrong. The police believed Davey, the upstanding Secret Service Agent and no charges were pressed.
Davey told me he only covered everyone's ass because he was in a part of Moscow forbidden by US Agents. He would have gotten into far more serious trouble as a simple bystander than saving a life and lying. Because of his actions, he fell into favor with the Russian mafia and when he left the Secret Service, they adopted him as one of their own. He took the invitation, knowing that the wider his contacts stretched across the world, the more successful his contract firm would be.
"Does he still cover the tattoos on his knees with his mother's makeup?" Rebecca was standing next to me, motioning to the box. I laughed lightly, "He does. I always ask him why he bothered to get the Captains stars only to hide them constantly."
I walked over to a small table by the window, setting the box down. Although I never really agreed with it, Davey's connections had saved my life more than once and sadly, they were one of the very few I could actually trust outside of the three people I cared for around me at all times. I reached for the letter opener tucked in an old coffee mug holding pens and pencils, lifting it up to cut the brown paper tape sealing the box, "Did the courier say anything?"
Rebecca still stood off to my side, "All he said was, the Pakhan extends his hand to you."
I raised my eyebrows, "That actually is comforting to know I have the pledge of the godfather." I ran the letter opener under an edge and tore slowly at the seals. Flipping open the box, I found a small plastic evidence bag tucked in thick brown wrapping paper. I picked up the bag by a corner, looking at it.
Inside the plastic bag was a few napkins with large crusted spots of dried blood and what looked to be tissue samples. I held the bag off to the side, looking back in the box for more, spotting a small sheet of paper folded over once. I set the evidence bag down on the table top, reaching for the sheet of paper and flicking it open. Kit's handwriting filling a quarter of the page.
Claire
The napkins have blood and skin tissue samples of the second bee that took on Tito and took out my house. The man, beast, willingly gave it to me. He wants you to run his DNA and find his identity and the files that come with it. He said everything will make sense when you do. He also told Davey and I, that Alistair is on his way to you. A day or two away.
I turned to Rebecca, handing her the evidence bag. "Take this now to the Hive. Have Dr. Zehren start the extraction process, then put the Centre on lock down and triple the security measures." Rebecca nodded once, gently taking the evidence bag before rushing out of the room, bag in one hand and dialing the cell phone with the other.
My stomach rolled and twisted, fear wanting to consume me. I swallowed it down and read the rest of her note.
I will tell you the rest when I see you. I’ll be there tonight. I want my hoody back. I love you.
I folded the note, tucking it in my back pocket. My fear edging away a tiny bit. I wasn't expecting Kit for another two days, but would have her tonight. I took a deep breath and left the room. Running through the kitchen, grabbing the sandwich Rebecca made and headed out to the Centre. I couldn't waste any more time. I would have to start on Beth tonight if Alistair was moving closer.
______________________
Walking through the cold, steel hallways of the Centre always made me feel different. Here I could be the doctor and focus solely on science, medicine and the projects I created. Gone was the Senator and the volumes of politics I sat through and the bills I wrote. I could actually be myself within these cold halls.
I walked slowly down the hall towards Dr. Zehren’s office. On the short drive down from the cottage, I called ahead. Filling him in on why I was moving up Beth's surgeries and moving them down to the Hive. He fully understood and agreed, letting me know he would have Beth and her parents picked up and brought to the Centre to begin the pre-surgery briefing and prep.
I ran my hands over the stiff yet soft fabric of the dark blue scrubs I wore. There was a high possibility that the Littel family would not agree to this surgery. That the idea of this radical surgery was just that, far too radical and unbelievable, truly testing the boundaries of reality and science fiction. The biggest concern I had, was revealing myself as the surgeon, the doctor and the mastermind behind the process that would save Beth's life.
I stopped in front of Erich's frosted glass office door, hearing the muffled voices of him and Beth's parents, mixing in casual conversation. I took a deep breath, kn
ocking on the door softly as I opened it.
Beth sat between her parents, grinning as she saw me. I smiled tightly in return, taking note of her health and how much it had declined in the last few months, continue to go downhill at a rapid rate. The eleven year old girl was incredibly tiny for her age, thin and the first signs of liver failure were showing in her skin and eyes. "Hi Senator Avondale." Even her voice was frail.
"Hello Beth." I closed the door quietly, Erich standing up to vacate his chair. "Ah, Claire! Perfect timing, I was just going over the details of the surgery with Chris and Diane here."
Chris, Beth's father looked confused as he noticed the dark blue scrubs I wore. "Senator Avondale, we didn't expect to see you until after Beth's surgery."
I smiled, nodding as I sat in the chair Erich held for me. He handed me the files and whispered that everything was ready when I was and then left the room with a whisper. He knew that this discussion I was about to embark on would be best left for me to do alone, to reveal my so-called secret identity and not have the family distracted by his presence.
I pulled Beth's updated file to sit in front of me, "I wanted to be here, to explain the procedures with all of you in person." I lifted the cover of the file with a finger, still maintaining eye contact with the family. "I know the surgery wasn't scheduled until the end of the week, but I feel it necessary to get started as soon as it is possible." I could see the confusion expand to Diane.
She leaned forward in her chair, catching my eyes, "I think I’m missing something, Senator Avondale. My husband and I were just speaking with Dr. Zehren, isn't he the one who will be doing Beth’s surgery?"
I let a pause sink in the room, I had never revealed myself like this before and was not sure how to go about it. I looked at the thick packet Erich had on his desk, the packet I had created months ago to explain who I really was and the project. My strange organizational mind thought if I had it all laid out in black and white, it might be easier to digest. I lifted the thick packet, handing it over to Chris. "This will help answer some of the questions you will have as I explain things. First, Dr. Zehren will be present during Beth's surgery, but he will be assisting me."
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