by C. S Luis
Tracking Jack was one thing, capturing and obtaining him for The Man in White would be another. He didn’t want any part of it. Yet why had Jack returned? He asked himself that same question. He didn’t want to think it had anything to do with Claudia. And, why would it? Jack had no idea who Claudia was, far less anything about her. The description from the locals had mentioned a woman with him. Did all Minders know one another? Could she know about Claudia? Okay, that was dumb.
“All you want is the woman with him, correct?” John asked before Bryce said anything else. Bryce glanced over at him. There was no expression on his face.
“I want what the alien seeks…whoever it might be,” Bryce informed him.
“Intel has indicated the creature has returned.”
John tried not to appear worried. He forgot about the devices he had planted in Milton at the beginning of his mission. And that’s what Bryce was referring to now.
“The data is insufficient, something, unfortunately, is disrupting our communications and our connections with the equipment. That can only indicate a powerful source of energy within the premise. The Intel is promising. I doubt very strongly it is the Minder accompanying Jack…” Why would that be? Possibly the alien was a lot stronger. Made sense.
“That’s why it’s of the highest importance that I find what power has caused the disruption. If it’s powerful enough to cause such a surge in energy, I want it…”
Before Bryce could say another word, John interrupted him.
“I’m not going back,” he very plainly said. Bryce gazed at him surprised by his sudden outburst or lack of obedience. “I’m not doing this anymore. I’m done fetching aliens, or Jack.” John said like a stubborn teenager refusing to obey the rules. “You want him? You go get him.”
He moved to open the door to step out of the vehicle but stopped midway when he heard Bryce speak again, “It’s been a while since Milton had a visit from the superintendent. I’ll have to tour the campus and invite the current principal, Dr. McClellan, to dinner. Maybe invite the lovely Miss Belle to join us, this time.”
John stopped and shut the door. He slowly turned his head and met Bryce’s clear blue eyes. His mind was swirling in every direction. What did he mean this time? Had he met with Michael before this? When and why? What for? He didn’t want to sound disturbed by the mention of this, but he was beginning to feel the sweat gathering on his forehead and the anger swelling in his gut.
John dropped his gaze. He sat very still with his hands on each leg. He looked furious. Feeling like the young boy under Bryce’s direction again that did nothing without his say.
“You care about them.” It wasn’t a question; it was more like an observation.
“I’ll set it up,” John said. “But I want something…”
Bryce glanced over at him. “I want her. I want Miss Belle.”
Bryce chuckled. “Then I’m done.” John opened the car door again.
“I’m done.” He said again. “Just give me the girl…then do what you want. I don’t care.” John recalled.
“Deliver the alien and you’ll get what you want.”
“Done.”
“And the others?” Bryce asked. “Don’t you care what happens to them?”
“They're not my problem,” John said and got out of the car.
Had he really said that? Had he really meant it? Perhaps he had, figuring he shouldn't be so obvious, or Bryce would get suspicious. The less he cared, the better his chances of getting Claudia out of there in one piece.
He'd escape with Claudia and never look back. Take Claudia sailing far from the chaos, far from Quentin. With time, she would trust him again and forget this ugly mess. And she would smile again. He was going to protect her and hold onto her. Wasn't that what families did? Perhaps then she would love him like he wanted.
John continued down the hall, Thomas and Sam had gone in the other direction. Alone in the hallway, he lowered his weapon as he walked on. Her abilities continued to intrigue him. She was growing stronger, he could feel it. It had touched him many times and he liked the feel of it. Had she known, could she feel it too as he had? She had a better chance with him, together they were strong.
"Take Claudia far away from this place, John," Michael had pleaded with him.
The old man's plead had come at the best possible time. It eased the guilt in his heart which made the betrayal easier. He had sketched out the plan in his mind, nervously devised it, and perhaps that had been his mistake when he first arrived at Milton. For Claudia had sensed it in his thoughts. If only he could explain his actions, his brutal yet reasonable actions. She would understand, it was all for her.
"John, my Venator..." A voice broke through his thoughts.
John turned as a familiar voice came from the shadows, and a tall shadowy form mocked him from the darkness.
"Bryce…" John uttered as the echo of his heart hit the top of his head. It was the first time in a long time the man’s first name sent fear and dread up his spine.
"Don't sound so disappointed," Bryce said. He stepped into the open hallway wearing a white suit, black silk shirt, and a flashy red tie. A color he pulled off very well.
"I was beginning to wonder if you’d show your face," John said, clenching his teeth.
"Now, why would I miss such a fascinating opportunity?” He wrinkled a lip. “The question is, do you have what I’ve come for?"
"I have, then we have a deal..." John said.
"Why of course," Bryce grimaced.
"Remember what we discussed, I give you what you want—then I'm done. No more games, I want out." John said.
"I seriously had my doubts of the severity of your words. But now there is no doubt. Very well, if that is what you wish," Bryce said with a vacant expression. He sounded a bit disappointed.
"And the girl,” John added, ignoring his words. Bryce nodded. “She is yours, I have no need for an ordinary girl.”
"But I must ask, why would these people matter to you? Your concern is for no one else but yourself. It always has been, John.” Bryce said.
"Don’t try to distract me with your lectures, Bryce. I already said I don’t care for them. My only interest is the girl. I want her to come with me," John corrected him, he felt uneasy mentioning her.
"Ah, yes, of course, Das Mädchen…the girl…the one you want. The one you refused yourself,” Bryce wickedly remarked with a grin, making John feel an uneasiness surfacing.
“A reason I’m yet to comprehend.”
John gritted his teeth.
“She has been nothing but a thorn in my side. She has turned you into a helpless fool. Look what you’ve become—you used to be so focused. And now you’re throwing it all away for a mere girl?” Bryce sternly said.
“It has nothing to do with her. I am choosing to leave. I’m tired of your bullshit…all I do is what you tell me to do. And quite frankly, it’s getting old.”
Bryce’s laughter made John uneasy. The warning always came in the disguise of a smile. It wasn't going to be that simple, was it? They weren't just going to walk out so easily were they?
"Do as you like after, I don’t care. I'll stay out of your way. And you stay out of mine…" He tightened his grip on the Desert Eagle at his side.
"So, just like that, it all ends here, right?”
John didn’t answer, his hand burned against the metal of the gun, having to hold it so tightly in his grip.
Bryce smirked. “And the money?”
“I don’t care about the money. Just the girl, that’s all, keep your money.” Bryce regarded him with a condescending smile. His boss looked surprised. It was a look John had never seen on him. And it made him uneasy for a moment.
Bryce was way too calm and patient, with a weapon in John’s grasp. Ironically, it had been the same gun he’d given John as a boy on his birthday. They both knew this, staring blankly at one another.
“Can you assure me I will have my source?” John glared at him and uttered
, “Alex Burton…”
Bryce grimaced, “Where is she?”
“Around. I believe your alien has returned to try to locate her.” John said. “So, set your trap. I’ve lured him here... As I said before, you’ll have your alien. And whatever comes with it.”
“I’m only interested in her…I want her,” Bryce said. He appeared delirious about the news.
“If the alien is here, then she must be close as well. All I want is her” Bryce urgently looked back at John.
Something in Bryce’s eyes frightened John; he couldn’t understand his fascination with Minders. That was reason enough to keep Claudia a secret from him.
“No matter—deliver him to me and you can go.”
Bryce moved to leave, then stopped and glared back at John, there was suddenly a strange realization in his eyes. And it startled and concerned John.
"Your interest in this girl, Miss Belle,” he said turning slowly. “Is it a mere fascination? I’m intrigued and curious, she wouldn’t be—important to me in any way?"
Bryce’s eyes beamed over at John, his lip slowly curved, awaiting a response from him. John knew this, and a reaction would be the wrong response. It was a question that had been asked before, John recalled. And Bryce was starting to have doubts. Doubts as to why he wanted her so badly. Doubts were dangerous.
Correct, no one had been that important to him, no girl had been such an interest to him, not even someone close to his type. But Claudia wasn’t just any girl. There was something different about her, something that made him need her. And he couldn’t explain it himself; he couldn’t tell Bryce he loved her. Because it was something Bryce would never understand. Because it was something that didn’t describe John Slater, ever.
“I told you, the source is the girl, Alex Burton. There’s nothing more.”
Bryce’s stone features glared and faced John. Not the Desert Eagle in John's hand or the angry pulsating veins on his face did a thing to frighten the fiend.
He almost pointed the gun at him, feeling its metal gripped in his hand, but for whatever reason, he didn’t. John could hear his own heart beating rapidly against the side of his head. His hand again squeezed the Desert Eagle, darting his eyes away. Bryce narrowed his eyes at him; the rapid sounds of his heart and breathing were drowning his own thoughts. ‘Does he know?’
Bryce circled him until he was facing John again.
"You’re not hiding something from me? Something of great importance in regards to this girl you’re so fond of?" Bryce questioned, intrigued with his reluctance to answer.
Sweat beaded the top of John's forehead, as his lips nervously began to quiver.
Then John suddenly moved forward, pushing against Bryce. "Ich will sie einfach—" he paused for a moment, swallowed, and again said, “Ich will sie einfach. That’s all—I want her, I’ve always wanted her and you’ve known that." He said with guilt, unable to finish. That made Bryce smile.
But it was the way it sounded coming from his lips. He wanted her… it was the guilty truth. The lust in his veins was eating at his mind. Oh, it was true from the moment he set eyes on her. He wanted her. Bryce knew it, Roberts knew it, and even Quentin knew it.
“You’re right. I’m weak. But I can’t help it. I want her. Ich will sie ficken --- das ist alles…" He said.
Bryce’s laughter filled the hall. John moved back, disgusted with himself, disgusted by the words that had come from his own lips, the words he had chosen. Because it was more than lust he felt, he wanted her because he loved her. But he knew his boss felt only lust could come from him. He didn’t know the other part of him, the part that had fallen in love with her.
"You want her? Is that all? All this would have been much easier if you only had taken her as I first ordered you. Now she’s in your head."
Bryce patted John on the shoulder like they were good old friends. The very words made John sick to his stomach, and he didn't believe them himself now that he heard Bryce repeat them. But the realization eased his guilt. He was betraying her to save her.
“Very well. You’ll have your girl—consider her a consolation price.”
Bryce moved around him to the other end of the lockers then turned back to him. John couldn't meet his eyes, he felt ashamed by what he knew.
"I promised her nothing would happen to her," John mumbled, not realizing he said it out loud until he heard Bryce speak. He lifted his eyes to challenge Bryce's own.
“Save Claudia, protect her,” he heard Michael's plea in his head. And that's what he was doing, protecting her and his family from the people that were here to take them away from him.
“If that is how you wish to explain your betrayal to her. I advise you to use the vials instead, then dispose of her once you are finished with her.”
"I’m done...You and I are done," John uttered, interrupting him.
Bryce took a breath and shook his head, but it wasn’t frustration and disappointment that fashioned the lines on his pale face.
“It’s a shame such talents have to go to waste over a naïve girl. If that is your wish, just bring me what I want and you and the girl can go..." John looked away, unable to respond.
"I hope she's worth it," Bryce finally said before he walked away and was swallowed by the shadows of the hallway.
John gripped his knuckles, watching Bryce disappear into the darkness of the hall. He prayed for it to be over soon, so he could disappear and never have to look back at any of this. And yes, she was indeed worth it.
34
The Descent
Everything moved in such slow motion, that at first, I hadn't heard the voices in the distant hallway as Q and I walked along. I stopped only when Q did. Protectively, he darted forward, standing guard in front of me. I felt intoxicated, a mere feather caught in a current going up and up unable to stop, then I gently dropped to the floor behind him.
"Q, what's wrong?" I asked. He merely glanced over at me, watching as I touched the area where the crystal had once hung on my neck. It had become a habit of mine now to reach for it, to caress it to assure myself it was still there. And now my fingers touched air and I searched for it futilely, until I abandoned the motion.
Q looked away into the distant hallway, and then urgently back at me. I couldn't focus, my mind wandered like a startled bird but as his hand touched my cheek, I focused and things became clear. He knelt beside me and stroked my cheek gently; his touch possessed me so, that I was immediately looking into his eyes, my mind clear.
"Wait here…" he simply said, his voice was tenderly soft, like music to my senses.
"Do not come until I call you. Do you understand?" Q quietly asked me as he held me and stared right at me.
I shook slightly, trying to regain my balance but found it impossible. There was a rush of energy flowing inside me; the light-headed sensation and dizziness had overcome me once more. It was like a drunken sensation.
I managed to look right into Q's eyes, still trembling, still focused on him. His mind was a blank canvas for a mere moment, then swarming with affection and care for my well-being the next.
"Yes…" I softly answered, slightly consumed by his gestures and caresses.
He gave me a crooked smile, when I nodded obediently and moved back behind the corner.
"I shall return..." his voice assured, as it faded in the distance. I reluctantly remained in the dark hallway waiting like a good little pet for her master.
35
The Talk
John Slater
John was leaning against a locker when Quentin approached, as if out of the darkness. The young man moved swiftly into the corridor, fashioning an all-knowing glare on his pale face.
"There you are," John uttered under his breath. Quentin faced him, burning a hole through him. They were alone again.
Quentin stopped just steps away from the other man. Dressed in a dark alien scaly leather outfit, he looked more like a movie character, or a visitor from hell. He looked human, paler than most, wi
th coal black hair and strange beady purple color eyes, fashioned in a squint of suspicion. They always seemed to be scheming a cruel, evil plan.
The Devil's only son, John considered. At his thought, Quentin smiled. John tried to ignore his delight at the description of his resemblance, as they both came face to face.
"You and I have some unfinished business, Quentin," John declared, addressing him by his name, holding the Desert Eagle tightly in his grip.
John loaded the barrel, sneaking a peek at Quentin's face. The metal in John's hand did not frighten the young man. In fact, he seemed unconcerned, even slightly bored at John's intention to scare him.
"Do we?" Quentin responded, with a slight smirk. Perhaps he was finding this amusing, John thought.
"You’re brave for a human. Or perhaps foolish..." Quentin remarked.
John shifted his eyes, undisturbed by the being's words.
"Even now you want me to believe you did it to protect her," Quentin said with a cold chuckle.
"How amusing." Quentin's eyes widened, flashing a childish innocence back at John, revealing a maturity and wisdom unseen in mortal adults.
"I don't care what you believe. All I need is your help to save her, and her family, that's all," John admitted.
His help? Quentin’s eyes flashed at him, the purple began to swirl, the colors in the iris were a mixture of yellow and reds all spinning together.
"All you have to do is draw them away so that I—" John paused, biting down on his lips. "So, she might have a chance to escape," he corrected himself.
Quentin's laughter filled the hallway. Uncertain now, John seemed nervous.
"Do you honestly think I can be persuaded by your human lies?"
"Damn it! If you leave she might have a chance." John yelled, pushing forward. "Don't you see that? It's the only way!"