Katharine's view...
“I'll start from the beginning.”
I dip the tea bag in my hot water several times, drain the bag with a spoon, and place it on the saucer. I breathe in its citrus scent and stare at the brownish liquid. Sitting here seems so familiar to me. Have I been here before? I don't know, and I tell her, “About a year ago, I awoke in the abandoned Etna Toys Plant and Warehouse with no memory. Beside me on a table was this note–” I tap the paper and point to the other two items. “–that business card, and this music box.” I look to the backpack on the couch where I stowed the Beretta. With aversion to having to carry the gun, I add, “And one other item.”
“What you're saying is, you don’t know who you are, and you think because you have one of my business cards you’re supposed to find me? Okay... You have. Now what?”
After picking up the honey bear, I draw a smiley face on the spoon and whisper, “Fly... fly away, sad, sad day.” I stir the honey in the tea and look into Kimberly's face.
Kimberly's view...
I wonder what that woman's doing playing with the honey. She has to be out of her mind.
“Now what?” that woman questions as she shrugs. “I don’t know. I was hoping you knew me.” She seems to be examining my face again as she inquires, “Are you sure we haven’t met? You look very familiar, but I can’t place you. It's kind of like when you wake from a dream. You know something happened, but all the details are fuzzy.”
“No, we haven’t met,” I answer, irritated and then I remember our first meeting at Topa’s estate and decide I might as well get some information from her before I eliminate that woman, so I state, “I am curious. What were those things you killed at the estate? Were they some kind of robot and why were they there?”
Her gaze becomes distant, exhausted, and dismal as she replies, “They're bio-mechas, model Un-Men.” She flushes as if she is a little embarrassed. “They were there to hunt me.”
“Hunt you?” I chuckle, thinking she made it up. “Why are you so important?”
“I don’t know. They call me the Pandora Project.”
“They? Who are they?”
“The Council. A man named Argus said they were monitoring me and watching me through the tests.” She mutters as her eyes show fatigue, “And there have been so many tests.”
“Pandora?” I inquire and then I remember a story I heard long ago. “I've heard of her; she was a woman who opened a sealed box from Zeus and let all good escape from existence, so are you supposed to be the woman who doomed the world?”
Katharine's view...
“Let all good escape?” I utter. I never considered the significance of the project name.
Kimberly answers nonchalantly, “Yes, Pandora caused Mankind to suffer.”
Is this my destiny? I feel conflicted inside. Am I destined to make people suffer? I stare out the window at the dark day for a few moments and then say, “I guess this was another dead end.” I push back my chair. “I guess my search continues. I’m sorry I bothered you. I'll show myself out.”
“Are you so naive?” Kimberly stands and reaches into her purse. “Idiot! Do you know what I do for a living?”
“You’re Kimberly Griffin.” I glance at the business cards on the table. “You're the Phoenix.” I pause as the horrible realization sinks in. “You're a Life Closer.” I stare at the splattered blood on one of the cards. “You kill people.” Appalled by my own naivety and Kimberly's apparent ruthlessness, I turn my gaze to her. “You kill people for money.”
“Idiot! And to think I was worried I let you slip by at Topa’s estate.” Kimberly removes her gun and screws on its silencer. “You do understand I can’t let you live.” She shakes her head in a tisk-tisk manner. “You’ve seen my face, know my alias, and even been in my apartment.” Her expression shows outrage and disbelief. “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so stupid!” Kimberly takes a moment to regain her cold detached demeanor. “You were searching for me, hoping to find answers, but–” With indifference and a just business attitude, she raises the gun and aims it at me. “–all you’ve found is your death.”
Chapter Fourteen
A Forgotten Melody
8:32 A.M...
Katharine's view...
I stare down the barrel of Kimberly's gun. How could I be so wrong? It's not the first time, but it's unexpected and in confusion, I turn to the table and gaze at the three items that have led me to this point. I have been foolish, and I fist my hands. I believed the items are clues and if I follow them, I'll find answers not my end. I close my eyes in frustration. I have been stupid. Why did I believe I was safe here?
Kimberly's view...
I prepare to kill this strange woman. Her death will be like countless other Closings I've performed in the past except this one will involve more paperwork, and it'll be the first one I have executed inside my apartment. I notice she doesn't panic and doesn't plead for her life like most Marks do. Kat only stares at the gun and then she closes her eyes as if she deserves her death. A little surprised by her actions, I ask, “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head? Do you understand you’re going to die?”
Katharine's view...
I open my eyes and rub my forehead, remembering the wound I had when I first awoke in Etna Toys. The urgency of the situation finally sinks in, and my attitude changes as I repeat Kimberly's words, “You can’t let me live?” I feel my demeanor transform from a wide eyed child to the fierce glare of a cornered tigress. I look to the backpack that holds my gun; it's across the room. Is this one of the tests? Is Kimberly just another assassin hired by the Council? I go over in my mind how to incapacitate her. Why did I let my guard down? My face softens. Why did I feel so at home here? I stare at the tea, not wanting to hurt Kimberly. Why do I always end up in these situations?
“Idiot,” Kim utters in a calm voice as she places the muzzle of the gun against my temple. “It's going to be messy; your brains will splatter all over my table and wall. Why couldn’t you have died at Topa’s estate?”
Ignoring her, I glance at the clues to my life. What's the point in fighting or in fleeing? I pick up the music box. What does it matter if Kimberly kills me or I fall prey to one of the Un-Men or some other assassin? I heave a great sigh as if it'll be my last breath on Earth. I'm tired, so I open the lid to the music box, and the melody plays. I'm tired of the tests and I'm tired of being alone. I feel myself slipping into the Drifting Time as the tune continues; my eyes slowly close, I go into a trance and enter the Drifting Time, but this one's different than the ones before. Within it, I enter the domain of dreams, and in this realm of my subconscious, no Dry Clouds exist, the sun shines on the land, governments not corporations rule the Earth, and no one hunts me. I drift in this world on my stomach as if floating on a peaceful river. A breeze blows at my back, and the air smells crisp and clean. I pass over large cities and small villages. I fly over many races of Man. I float over forests, hills, deserts, oceans, islands, plains, lakes, jungles, mountains, and streams. I believe I recognize a few of the places, but I can't remember their names. The dream seems endless until the wind changes. A torrent of air blows against me and slows my progression as a shadow casts over the land, invading the peacefulness; a male voice laughs, and the sun flees as Dry Clouds storm in and plunge the land into perpetual night. I feel afraid as I glide over this dark world, seeing no more of the places and people I saw. Everything's different and darker in their appearance and atmosphere. I stop midair as if I slam into an invisible wall, an unknown force pulls me, and I plummet to the earth. The force also affects time and as I drop I grow younger till I reach my early teens. My descent slows, and my thirteen year old body lands feet first in a white tiled room; in the room, people talk with muffled words. Two women’s figures appear, but they have no faces.
One of the faceless women places her hands on my shoulders and t
ells me, “Katharine, you must be strong. I can no longer protect you.” The woman looks to a door, hearing footsteps approach what appears to be an office, and then the faceless woman turns back to me. “There are those in the corporation that want to exploit you.”
The doorknob jiggles as someone tries to enter, and I hear one of the women speak again, but I'm not sure which one it is.
“Rosetta, they’re here. Hurry.”
“Quick, Mary. Push the desk against the door. I need more time!”
One of the women kneels to one knee to look into my face and tells me, “They will take you. I can’t stop them, not with the power I have now.”
Someone outside tries to bust in the door.
One of the women yells frantic, “Hurry! They’re coming.”
“Be strong, Katharine.” One of the women strokes my cheek. “My dearest Kat.”
A small explosion removes the door from its hinges, and it falls as five soldiers rush in.
End Katharine's view...
Back in Apartment H...
The whole time Kat had been in the Drifting Time, Kim had been talking to her, but Kat had ignored her.
Kim asked, confused over the woman's actions, “Aren't you going to plead for your life?” She placed her finger on the trigger, and still Kat didn't respond to her. “No? Well it wouldn’t have done you any good.”
Kim squeezed the trigger, the hammer fell, and gunfire lit up her grim face.
Chapter Fifteen
Portraits Of Her Past
Dawn, dusk, and twilight did not exist in Noir since the sun no longer ruled over the land. Shadows gathered in the park across the street from Nexus Apartments and held position, and the gathering stared at the building, knowing their target lay within. The shadows detected an electronic barrier surrounding the building and like a magical curtain, it prevented the glowing eyed monsters from entering; for the moment, they would wait till the prey came to them.
Before Kim fired the gun...
Kimberly's view...
All I have to do to rid myself of this strange woman is pull the trigger, and then she'll be gone from my life like any other Mark I have come across on my morbid travels. I only need to continue walking the path my bleak and lonely existence already leads me down, but a split second of time changes the course of both our fates. Unfinished Melody chimes from the music box that woman holds, filling the room with a familiar tune. Louder and louder the music grows until the melody incites a trigger and ghastly images inundate my mind: the roar and smell of fire, screams that chill my soul, and the distinct sound of three shots. My head throbs, and I gasp as horrible pictures buried deep in my brain force their way to the surface. Memories of my mom rapidly flood my consciousness, making me feel sad, alone, and abandoned.
“Stop it!” I yell, but the tune chimes on, pulling from my psyche portraits of my past I long buried. I separated myself from those happy moments that died when my mom left my family. “Stop the music!”
That woman doesn't respond, caught within the recesses of her own mind, so I slap her hand, knocking the music box to the floor; as I slap her hand, I inadvertently move my gun away from her head. “I said stop it!!” The music box closes as it hits the carpet, and the melody ends. I stare at it for a few moments, turn my attention back to that woman, and snap, “I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but it won't work on me. Do you hear me? Are you going to stay silent? Aren’t you going to plead for your life? No? Well it wouldn’t have done you any good.”
I start to move the gun back to her head.
End Kimberly's view...
Within Kat's dream, five soldiers barged into the white tiled room, and Rosetta and Mary screamed as three shots resounded then all faded to black.
“No!” Kat screamed as she pulled from her trance, swung her hand up and back, and shouted, “Mary! Rosetta!”
She knocked Kim’s gun to the side; it went off, and a bullet struck the wall. The gun blast lit up Kim's surprised face. Caught in the drama of her dream, Kat made a fist, pulled it back to hit Kim, and paused, realizing she no longer stood in the white tiled room but in the apartment. There was no fire or soldiers, and no one was in danger but herself. Kat slowly blinked, frozen in place and then lowered her hand.
That woman caught Kim off guard, but Kim quickly recovered. Rage and sorrow filled her resolve as she aimed the gun back at the woman.
Kat ignored Kim at first as she clung to what she remembered while in the Drifting Time. She couldn't hold on to the memories for long and they slowly left her. Kat turned to Kim and realized she had struck her and worried she might have hurt her.
“I’m sorry,” Kat said as she tried to lose the last remnants of the dream world and focus on reality. “I didn’t mean to...”
“Who are you?” Kim’s gun hand shook as her emotions overwhelmed her. She hadn’t felt such fear or heartache in such a long time, and she didn't understand why she was feeling them now, so she demanded, “Why are you here?!” Her head continued to throb as she stepped back from the table, getting some distance between herself and the strange woman.
Noticing Kim's trembling hand and her watering eyes, Kat felt a little pang in her chest and asked, “Are you crying?”
“No.” Kim wiped her eyes. “Shut up and sit there!” She rubbed her throbbing temple and asked, “Who sent you?”
Kat crossed her arms as if pouting. “You just told me to shut up, so how can I...”
“Ah!!” She grabbed Kat's t-shirt, balled it in her hand, and yelled, “Who sent you?!”
Kat dropped her arms. “Sent me?”
Kim lost her professionalism and like a common thug thrust the gun in her face, yelling, “Yes, who sent you to mess with my head?!” Kim released her t-shirt and put that hand on the gun to steady her shaky aim. She was trembling; it wasn't like her.
“No one,” Kat answered. “I’m with no one.” Concerned she might had done some unseen damage to her, Kat started to stand. “Are you all right?”
“Don’t move! Sit right there!” Kim took another step back, getting squeamish. Since the flood of memories, she felt as if they were not alone and that some person was watching them. Her headache faded as she glanced at a shelf in between the entry and the living room where her mother’s picture rested. Theresa’s photo gazed at her and watched her threaten Kat, and her mother’s eyes were more alive than ever.
Kim whispered to the picture, “I can’t take a life with you staring at me.” She lowered the gun. “Why did you forsake me? Why did you abandon me?”
“Forsake you?” Kat looked to where she did and saw the photo and at first, she thought the picture was of Kim, but realized the woman with blonde hair pulled back in a bun wasn’t her. The blonde woman seemed familiar, but Kat couldn't place her. “Is that your mo...”
Kat put a hand to her chest.
lub-DUB... lub-DUB...
Kat turned and stared out the window down at the street. She felt the urgency to flee as Ultra-Epi coursed through her blood. “They’re here.”
“What?” Kim was still deeply upset. “Who’s here?”
“The Un-Men.” Kat pointed. “They’re just outside.” She wondered why they hadn't come in and remembered the apartment’s black spheres; the barrier must be keeping them out.
Kim glanced out the window. “I don’t see anyone.”
“I can feel them. They’re out there. Six of them.”
“You’re imagining things.” Kim walked over to the couch, picked up the backpack, and tossed it to her. “Get out of here.”
Kat caught it and glanced down at the bag. “I don’t understand.” She looked up. “I thought you couldn’t let me live.”
“What part of get out of here don’t you understand?! I’m not going to kill you, at least not here.” Kim glanced at the picture, muttering, “Not in front of her.” She pointed to the entry. “Now get out!”
Fearing what waited for her across the street, Kat gripped the backpack tightly. “Please don’t make me leave.” She knew the apartment was safe and protected from the Un-Men. “I don’t want to live like that anymore.”
Kimberly's view...
“Like what?” I ask.
What's that woman's problem? She has to be mental. Anyone else would run at the chance to escape the Phoenix’s fury.
I yell, “Get out! Get out before I change my mind, and I kill you now!”
Katharine's view...
Filled with hopelessness, I stand, grab the note and worn business card, and leave the blood speckled one on the table. I bend down, snatch up the music box, put the three items in my pocket, then sling the backpack across my chest, and head out; within a minute, I stand in front of the elevator and see Kimberly watching me from the apartment. The cab opens, I walk in and a few minutes later, the doors open to the ground floor. I walk out as if going to my own execution, continue through the building’s front doors and into the courtyard, and then I stop half way to the gate. Once I walk through it, the Un-Men can attack me and the hunts will begin again. I hope Kimberly will change her mind, and I glance over my shoulder and see her watching me from the entrance making sure I leave. Disheartened, I pull the business card from my thigh pocket. It's one of the three clues to my identity or is it? Are any of them? Maybe these aren't meant for me or... maybe they're just another test, a test to see what I'll do with them. I fist my hand; I'm an idiot to believe any different. I don't need it anymore and drop it to the path, watching it fall to the concrete as one hope dies. First Preacher and now this... How much more can I take?
I sniff my runny nose and force my mind to move on to the current crisis. I remove my gun from the backpack and check the magazine; it has four bullets. It won't be easy with six Un-Men out there. I remove the Ravlek Vest from the outside of the bag, put it on over my jacket, open the gate, and step out to the sidewalk. Why must I always run or fight? Why are they my only choices?
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