Vengeance

by JL Wilson

  I shook my head in denial as he was speaking. "If they tested it then they had the formula. It had to be something else."

  He smiled briefly. "But I lied to her. I didn't give her the real journals. It was incomplete. There was no way I was going to let the government get their hands on that virus. The journals are safe."

  "So it's true? There really was a virus? You were--" Lucinda's gaze swung to me, her eyes incredulous. "It's true?"

  I turned around as Cerberus ran into the room. There's someone outside, he said, racing past me into the living room.

  I pressed my headpiece tighter into my ear. "Two adult males approaching," the voice was saying.

  "You knew?" I asked Delacroix, pulling out my Colt and slipping off the safety.

  "I read the journals. I synthesized the virus and tested it." His eyes met mine and I saw his knowledge. "I knew--about it and you. Robert told me all about it. He told me about your past association with him."

  I wondered briefly if Meyer had told Delacroix about time travel and reincarnation. I didn't have time to pursue the thought. I heard the noise at the door just as Cerberus spoke.

  They're here. Cerberus sped past me, sliding to a stop before the kitchen door. He growled low in his throat. Meyer. He stared at the door leading to the garage. He's out there.

  "Shit." I activated the security controls when I came into the room. Why didn't the alarms go off?

  "We have company." I raised my gun warily. Delacroix strode across the room, pushing Lucinda behind him as he turned with me to face the door. She struggled to get around him. "Stay there, both of you." I gestured with my head to Cerberus. We approached the thick wooden door warily.

  Someone else is there, with Meyer, he said, walking stiff-legged ahead of me. I recognize him. It's--

  The shotgun blast was deafening. Fragments of the door blew inward, peppering my face and chest. I hadn't reinforced it to sustain a direct hit. I didn't plan on anyone getting this close, inside my defensive perimeter.

  Cerberus scrambled back. I saw blood on his right foreleg and right ear.

  How bad are you hit? I pulled out my gun, aiming for the gaping hole.

  His mind voice was weak. Shrapnel. I think it's in my chest. He abruptly sat down in a widening pool of blood, legs splaying out.

  "Damn." I longed to touch him but didn't dare.

  Lucinda didn't give me that option. She was on her knees by Cerberus' side in an instant, throwing her body over his. "I've got him, Nico."

  "Lucinda, get back, now!" I aimed toward the door as another blast echoed in the room, the smoke from the shotgun temporarily blinding me. Why were there no alarms? The security system should have kicked in the minute Meyer entered the garage.

  Parker, Cerberus said, his voice muffled. He's out there.

  Damn. Parker was on my guest list with the security system. He could get Meyer in past the system. It was all lies within lies within lies. I remembered Parker's words: "Somebody high up is in on this."

  That someone was him. Cerberus coughed, a wracking sound that made my own chest ache. I glanced at him. He lay on his side, his head resting in Lucinda's arms.

  The stench of gun smoke resonated in the air. "Take him," I said softly. Delacroix nodded, knelt next to Cerberus and began pulling the injured dog across the ceramic tile floor. Lucinda helped after casting one despairing glance at me.

  Take care of him, I told her.

  Lucinda's face was pale but she nodded. "I will."

  "Why, Parker?" I called out, my aim steady on the door.

  I heard footsteps outside, probably to one side of the doorway. "I was dying."

  "We're all dying, Parker. We all die every day."

  "Not you, Nico." There was exasperated humor in Parker's honeyed voice. "I had cancer. Meyer came to me and offered me his drug in exchange for assigning you to the Delacroix family. His drug cured it. It cures any disease."

  Good God. I looked at Delacroix, who nodded in affirmation before he pulled Cerberus into the living room. A drug like that would shift the balance of world power. No wonder Kat was willing to sacrifice her family.

  "We're coming in, Nico."

  "Why? Why bother with us?" I knew the answer, though. Parker and Meyer needed to eliminate any witnesses. That meant Lucinda, her father and me.

  Parker had set me up to attack Lucinda, hoping I'd kill her. He didn't count on me falling in love with her. He certainly didn't count on David Delacroix calling in Kathryn and the Homeland Security troops. And Robert Meyer--he was the puppet master behind it all.

  I heard the click of a round sliding into place and jumped out the way. The door blew. I scrambled back, keeping the kitchen island between the two men who filled the smoking doorway and myself. I caught a glimpse of Parker, his aristocratic face, white hair and business suit making him look like a banker--a banker who carried a gun. Meyer was right behind him, his handsome face harsh in the hazy light, a shotgun bulky in his hands.

  I got a shot off and hit Meyer in the upper arm. The impact spun him backwards, but Parker dodged aside and fired. He hit me in the side, almost exactly where Meyer got me days before. I absorbed the blow, but it slowed me down, enabling Parker to get past.

  He's here, Cerberus gasped from the living room.

  I stood up, abandoning any hope of avoiding further injury. I started after Parker, but the sound of a shotgun shell being chambered made me pause. I looked over my shoulder as Meyer raised the gun. "I told you one of us would die," he said.

  We stared into each other's eyes for a long moment. Decades of history reverberated in my head. My convoluted, fractured life had all come down to this moment as I stared into Robert Meyer's hazel eyes. I heard the gunshot from the living room and I flinched.

  Nico!

  It was Lucinda. I closed my eyes as her voice echoed in my mind. I sensed her presence fading. She was slipping away from me again. When the second shot rang out, I didn't have to hear the snarl and yelp that signaled Cerberus was hit. I felt it, slamming into me. I opened my eyes.

  "Kill me," I whispered.

  "Why do you love each other so much? It makes no sense." Meyer raised the shotgun. The insanity of anger faded from his face and in its place was only coldness. "No. I think I'll let you live without her." He fired.

  The pellets peppered my legs, sending waves of agony along shattered nerve endings. I fired aimlessly and stumbled into the living room where Lucinda lay on the floor in a pool of blood, Cerberus nearby, his eyes glazing with death. Parker turned at the sound of my entry and fired. His bullet tore into my shoulder, crushing the collarbone and sending bone shards into my throat. I dropped, landing next to Lucinda then I flung an arm over her waist and dragged myself nearer to stare down into her gray eyes.

  The life was fading away as I watched. "I love you," I gasped as blood bubbled out of the wound under my jaw.

  Her eyelids fluttered and for an instant, her vision was clear. I love you, for all time. She touched me and our shared memories flooded through me. Persa, Lucinda, 1790, 2190, the future, the past, the present--everything coalesced into the love that flowed out to me when her hand clutched at mine. It was vanishing, spiraling away as I held her, evaporating like smoke on the breeze.

  "You son of a bitch."

  The sound of a struggle broke through the miasma of pain choking me. I moved my head and saw David Delacroix, his arm upraised. He struck down at Parker Madison and at first I thought he held a knife. Then I realized it was a syringe.

  Parker reeled, grabbing at his neck, but Delacroix held on, dodging the gun that swung wildly. He depressed the plunger and Parker screamed. Meyer entered the room, gun raised. I twisted and fired, diverting his aim enough to allow Delacroix to push Parker away. He dropped the syringe, fumbled in his pocket and advanced on Meyer, who had staggered backward to lean against the wall, clutching his stomach where my bullet had struck.

  Meyer raised his head, peering groggily at Delacroix. "David. Why are you here?"
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  "Did you think I'd let you kill my child?" Delacroix stood in front of Meyer. The older man looked like a stern, avenging God with his curling gray and white hair, cold gray eyes and hard, inflexible face. He raised his hand and showed Meyer what he held.

  Another syringe.

  "David, don't," Meyer gasped. "I can still synthesize the virus. You can--"

  Delacroix drove the syringe downward, stabbing Meyer in the neck so violently I heard the sound of bone snapping. Meyer screamed as Delacroix depressed the plunger. His eyes widened with shock and he started to slowly slide down the wall, leaving a thin trail of blood on the pale green wallpaper. As he reached the floor, his eyes sought out mine. "Haidess," he whispered. "Why? Why choose death?"

  I held Lucinda's hand, her life essence fading in my consciousness. "Because life isn't worth living..." without the person you love.

  Lucinda's ghostly voice echoed in my mind. I always will. I'll love you through all time.

  Delacroix knelt next to me, tears rolling down his face as he touched Lucinda's neck. "Thank you for killing Meyer," I whispered. "Now kill me."

  He squeezed my hand. "What do you mean?"

  Despite his words, I saw the understanding in his eyes. "Kill me. I won't live without her. I can't go through it again."

  His pale face softened into regret. "I can't. I'm sorry. I only made enough of the antidote to kill Meyer and one backup ampoule. I'm sorry."

  "Holy Jesus. Look at that. What the fuck happened here?"

  I heard the new voice from the kitchen and smiled despite my pain. Trust Joannie to get right to the heart of the matter. I turned my head and saw her and Sheila come into the room, guns drawn, tiny Joannie leading the way.

  "Nico!" Sheila knelt next to me as Joannie held her gun steady on David Delacroix.

  "He's a friend," I whispered. "Don't hurt him."

  Joannie glanced at me but stayed alert, her bright blue eyes sweeping from Parker, to Meyer, to Delacroix, then back to me, where I lay next to Lucinda on the floor.

  "Kat Delacroix sent us," Sheila whispered, her round, plump face anguished. "Homeland Security was investigating Parker. She said you needed backup." Her gaze shifted past me to the floor nearby, where Parker was gasping for breath. "We thought it was him, but we weren't sure. Parker didn't know we were on to him. When he sent me here, it was a chance to find more evidence. And it was a chance to help you. I'm sorry, we meant to get here sooner--"

  Her voice started to fade. "Kill me," I whispered. "Cut my throat. It's the only way I can die. Kill me, Sheila."

  She pulled back, stunned. I let my head drop to one side and stared at Delacroix. He shook his head. "I can't," he said. "I'm sorry."

  I'll do it, Cerberus whispered.

  I jerked my head and looked into his eyes, a few feet away from my own. Pain hazed them, making the pale blue even paler. "What will happen?" I croaked.

  His tongue lolled out. Ask God. He scrabbled on the wood floor, his claws rasping as he stretched out to me. I struggled to fight past the pain, flinging my hand toward his paw.

  We touched.

  I heard Delacroix's voice from a far distance. "Take care of my girl."

  Cerberus's face blurred in front of me, shifting and changing then I saw David Delacroix again, dressed in faded denims and a blindingly white T-shirt. But this time he was laughing, smiling at me with such a paternal, proud look that I felt healed by the very sight.

  "Good work, Nico," he said. "We finally got that son of a bitch, Meyer."

  I moved carefully, but there was no pain. I was lying on the grassy lawn that sloped down to the lake at my home in the North Woods. My house was behind me, full of memories from my past. As always, just the sight of it gave me a sense of peace that I felt nowhere else in the world. I was home.

  A warm summer breeze rippled through the trees, sending up a scent of grass and honeysuckle. Lucinda stood near the lake, staring at the vast expanse of water that shared a border with Minnesota and Canada. Seeing her there made me realize that I was truly home.

  "What happened?" I asked.

  Delacroix looked at Lucinda, shading his eyes with one hand. I followed his gaze. A large dog, black and white with feet the size of dinner plates was gamboling beside Lucinda, barking. I laughed when I saw him jump in the air and twist, looking as though he was leaping for joy. He reminded me of the Velveteen Rabbit, who discovered he had real legs.

  Lucinda laughed too. "He's such a show-off," she called to me. She wore shorts and a cropped T-shirt. Her skin was brown from the sun and she was barefoot, her feet sinking into the thick, moist grass. Her dark curly hair shone in the sun, glossy and vibrant with life. "Come on, Nico. Let's go swimming." Lucinda gestured to me, racing after the dog as he splashed into the lake.

  I looked up at Delacroix then got to my feet. I felt odd. My bones ached and I was bruised, battered. I looked down and saw blood on my side, where Parker shot me. "What's happening?" I touched my throat and my hand came away covered in blood.

  "You're dying." Delacroix turned to face me, but it wasn't really David Delacroix, I could see that now. This was some other being, some creature who had temporarily borrowed Delacroix in order to walk among us mortals. His eyes were the color of cold steel and his face was stern, unyielding and full of wisdom. "Do you want to die?"

  I heard the question within the question. I looked at the lake. Lucinda stood in the shallows, the water lapping around her thighs. The dog bounced in and out of the waves around her, snapping at the water. "Is she dead?"

  Delacroix nodded.

  "Can I be with her?" I looked around at the grassy yard, the lake in the distance. "Here? We can be here?"

  "We all choose our own heaven. If this is it for you--" He nodded again. "She said if that's what you wanted then she wanted you. You can die with her, or you can both be reborn and come back together, with full knowledge of the past. She served her penance and has earned her redemption. She left it to you to decide what that redemption will be."

  The dog barked and surged out of the water. Lucinda laughed, tossing a stick. The dog plunged after it, submerging, then paddling triumphantly back to her, stick in his mouth. "And Cerberus?"

  Delacroix smiled, the harsh face relaxing. "Now he's just a dog. We...borrowed that form too. He can stay with you if you'd like."

  Sunlight warmed my face and I sniffed at the heady aroma of summer, the smells of grass and flowers and trees. I felt a tug of regret at the loss of all that beauty. Then Lucinda turned to wave to me. I love you, Nico.

  Cerberus came into the shallows, his tail sweeping the water and sending a shower over Lucinda, who laughed and splashed him back. His tongue lolled out and I know he was grinning at me. Are you coming? he called.

  I shivered, remembering that feeling.

  Someone walked on my grave.

  The feeling had been right.

  I looked at Lucinda and Cerberus. We had all the time in the world.

  I ran after them, the bright light of sun on water lifting me.

  Epilogue

  Shelia knelt next to the dead man on the floor, tears in her eyes. "Son of a bitch," she muttered. She looked across the room at the slumped figures of Parker Madison and Robert Meyer. "This is a mess."

  David Delacroix blinked widely, looking startled. "How do you know Meyer?"

  Sheila straightened up slowly, her eyes going to the dead woman and the dead dog sprawled next to Nico Haidess. "Kat sent us. We've known for a time that something was wrong in the Agency. Parker's been acting--" She shook her head.

  "Weird," Joannie supplied. "Something was up." She looked down at Nico and winced. "I liked him. What a waste. Shit." Her tiny body seemed to vibrate with anger.

  Sheila glanced again at Parker Madison. He was rigid, his face mottled blue and his mouth fixed in a grimace of pain. Meyer was next to him, his hands clenched around the syringe that still protruded from his neck. "I talked to some people I know and they hooked me up with Homeland Securit
y. Turns out they were looking at Parker too. Your granddaughter knew that Parker set up the hit on your daughter and she wanted Nico to have backup, so she sent us. We were too late, though."

  "Aunt Lucinda?"

  Joannie turned at the sound of pounding footsteps, holstering her gun. "Company," she said, moving to one side.

  Kat Delacroix burst into the room, gun drawn, followed by three men. Two of the men moved immediately to Parker Madison and Robert Meyer while Kat and the other man approached Sheila.

  "Damn," Kat said softly, looking down at Lucinda's body. "They shouldn't have left. I didn't have anyone in place fast enough." Kat glared at Nico then glanced to the side of the room. "Status?"

  The two men straightened up. "Dead."

  "Get the recovery teams in," Kat said, holstering her gun. "We need autopsies."

  Joannie's hand went to her gun and she shifted position so more of the room was within her field of vision. "What?"

  The third man standing next to Kat stared at them, his dark eyes unreadable. "You don't need to know." He gestured to Nico and Lucinda.

  Sheila stepped forward. "Not them." She looked at David Delacroix, who nodded wearily. "You don't get them."

  Kat started to speak, then saw the look on her grandfather's face. "We have Meyer. That's enough. Maybe if we have his body we can find out what's missing."

  The man hesitated. Kat stared him in the eye for a long moment. He finally gave a curt nod and went to join the other men, kneeling next to Meyer and Parker Madison.

  Delacroix watched him walk away then turned to Kat. "What do you mean?"

  Kat smiled bitterly. "I think you know." They exchanged a long look. "You're lucky, grandfather. Lucky we have Meyer. If we didn't have him, we might have to start asking a lot of very pertinent questions."

  "Cut the bullshit, Kat," David said, his voice rough and low. "You know why I'm still alive. I left information with some very influential newspaper people and research scientists. If anything happens to me, it goes public. So don't put on this fake 'take care of the family' act. I won't divulge what I know because of the harm it might do to the world and you won't harm me in case I do divulge it. Checkmate."