~o~
Tony knew nothing of any of this, his plan had failed and now he felt that he was left with little alternative than to take even more drastic measures to ease his sister's departure. There was only man he knew who had the capacity to undertake the task that Tony had failed at. He contacted John Mason and asked for a meeting. The night had fallen and few shoppers were still about as the two men sat in Tony's car in a supermarket car park. The Fiesta was parked away from the lights, shadowed by a wall and a cluster of evergreens. What they had to discuss, should not be overheard and despite being enclosed in the Fiesta, they spoke with hushed voices. It was a sombre meeting and when Tony explained what he needed, he was left feeling as if he had finally sunk deep into the criminal underworld, as if he had let slip the last pretence he had of belonging to decent society.
"I have no money John, but if you are successful, I will inherit a property which will give me what I need and enough to cover your fee. I know it sounds like a risk for you but I swear it will work out as I have said."
Mason's dark eyes seemed to sink further into his skull.
"This sounds like a heap trouble I don't need Tony." He looked at the young troubled man. What he had asked was possibly not so terrible, just expediting the inevitable end of an effectively already dead young woman's life. He had done much worse, for the assassin there was no moral conflict, his hesitation was in accepting a commission from someone who was so clearly out of his comfort zone. Tony was the sort of person who would collapse in a heap if he ever fell under the inquisitive glare of the authorities. If he did then Mason had little confidence that Tony would keep quiet about his own involvement. In all the contracts he had accepted in the past, no shadow of suspicion had ever fallen on him... His record was unblemished and he wanted to keep it that way. Tony was less than an amateur, hardly a player in the game that he was proposing to enter. "I'll make you no promises Tony but take me to see your sister and I will come to a decision. But you must know that that my own anonymity will be my primary concern. If I think there is the slightest chance of me being traced... for any reason, then I'll walk away."
"Yes, yes I understand that... So can you come and see her now?"
The dark assassin nodded and slipped out of the car. He walked round to the passenger's side and leaned his gloved hands on the Fiesta's roof. He spoke through the open side window.
"I'll find my own way to the hospital Tony, it's better we don't travel together. I'll pick you up at the main entrance and follow to your sister's room."
Tony drove straight to the hospital but as he walked up to the main entrance he saw that John Mason was already there waiting. He was holding a motor cycling helmet and looked as unflustered as ever. Tony marched along the corridor towards Emily's room. He turned back to make sure that John was still there and slipped silently into his sister's room. His mother was long gone, running off in her sadness after saying her last farewell.
John looked dispassionately at the situation and quickly summed up his options. His instinct was screaming at him to not get involved in Tony's half baked plans, but he could see that the girl was beyond hope. He noted her intravenous tubes. He could easily inject a fugitive poison into the drip and be gone in seconds; his personal risk would be minimal.
"You're asking a lot mate. You want me to end this young woman's life, make it look like natural causes, and trust that you will pay me after the settlement which may take months."
"She's already dead John and you're my last hope, I need to get the money and make a new start or Costard will eventually drag me down."
"You're not planning on decamping before the bullion job are you? I'd have serious issues if you were."
"No... I'll be there for that, trust me."
Mason hoped that he could trust the young getaway driver and he fully accepted his opinion of Costard; his own, unexpressed, feelings about the man were hardly any different. The difference was that John held a loyalty to those who paid for his services. His own moral code meant that he would not betray Costard but he was realistic enough to know that others did not share his view.
"OK this is against my better judgement, but I'll help you out this once."
"You're a life saver John." Tony said. The irony of the words did not escape the notice of either man. "I need to establish an alibi for myself John... I thought long and hard about this and think I can engineer a minor traffic accident that will put me miles away from the hospital at the time that.... you'll be doing your thing. Could you do it tomorrow afternoon at about two? Emily should be alone at that time, my mother visits her in the evenings."
"It's short notice Tony but it shouldn't present a problem... You want to know how..." Tony stopped the man before he could finish his sentence.
"No, no way... The less I know about the details the better."
"OK... I know some people can be a bit squeamish. Look the exact time will depend on when I can find the target alone but I'll make it as close to two as possible, but don't let me down with your end of the bargain; I can be quite unforgiving you know."
Tony nodded... He did know. They left Emily's room separately. Once more Tony had some hope and was feeling confident despite John's veiled warning. John was not his problem, there was no way he intended getting on the wrong side of John Mason.
Across the membrane, Emily had heard a lot of what was said. The voices were muffled she could not recognise the voices but the words were clear enough, these people were going to end her life. She was still reeling with sadness and worry from her mother's words; and now this. It was such a shock that someone would want her dead that as the words swam in her mind, she shuddered and then seemed to collapse inwards like an implosion as she felt her body go into an involuntary spasm. She needed to tell Alexander, he was the only one who could interact with the outside world... The only one who could save her. But as she retreated from the membrane to tell Alexander, her movements turned into a slow motion dance. She was fading, the colours were turning to grey, darker and darker until she could see nothing feel only the strange energy that came from under the cottage. Unable to navigate, unable to move Emily floated, barely conscious in complete darkness. The overheard words had precipitated something significant, a fundamental shift in her existence.
In Artemis ward, room 12 the alarms had started again. Not because of a system malfunction but because the young woman, so close to death, had suddenly and unexpectedly gasped her own breath and was breathing by herself again.
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