by C. S. Won
“He is my responsibility. He thinks I started all of this, so now I have to take it upon myself to end it.”
“You saw what he’s capable of, Jae. He’s dangerous.”
“That’s why I have to find him before he ends up hurting someone else.”
“I know you feel guilty about what happened, but it shouldn’t be left up to you to clean up his mess. He’s responsible for his own actions, not you. Don’t put yourself in harm’s way for this.”
Madeline was worried about losing him again, which was understandable, but there was no other viable option. The police would only get hurt if they got involved, and he was also fearful of further collateral. He had to limit this to a one-on-one affair and strike Adam when he least expected it, ending this as quickly as he could before things got out of hand.
Gabe put his helmet back on. “I hate to take sides, here but I think Mad is right. If what you say is true—that Adam can, you know, light shit on fire—then it might be best if you avoid him. If you go after him and fail, then it’s your life. Letting the police handle this might be the best course of action. He shouldn’t be too hard to find, anyway. How difficult can it be to find a burnt man running around with one arm?” He turned to leave, and then looked over his shoulder. “And when they do find him, I hope they shoot him dead.”
“Gabe . . .”
“He deserves it. He’s already killed people, and he came here to kill you. I don’t know what happened to make him snap like that, but whatever the reason, he’s now a threat that needs to be put down. It’s harsh, but I don’t see any other way. If the police find him and he makes a move, they’ll have to drop him right then and there, which, sad as it might sound, might be for the best.” He sighed. “Whatever happens, there won’t be a happy ending to this.” He gave them a nod and then walked off, disappearing into the smoky remains of the restaurant.
Much of what Gabe had said was true. Adam, with his newfound powers, was a grave threat to the public. When news came out detailing what he had done and what he could apparently do, the state would launch a full-scale manhunt for him. It’d come complete with dogs, helicopters, and search units armed with enough weaponry to wage a small war. Things would escalate quickly. Property would be destroyed and lives would be lost. And if Adam was pushed far enough, he might even burn Atlanta to the ground, which was all the more reason why Jae needed to find Adam before anybody else did.
Perhaps Jae was being too naïve about the reality of it all, but he believed he could resolve the situation without anyone getting hurt, Adam included. Why? Because while Adam was many things—belligerent, sour, irritable, selfish, angry—they still shared history together, tenuous history, but history nonetheless. It was that history that drove Jae to mercy; to find Adam and offer a helping hand, to try and soothe his rage, to show him that he was willing to forgive, even after everything that Adam had done.
A woman came screaming from the gathering of survivors, tears spilling from her eyes, running towards a blackened body being pulled from the embers of the restaurant. A pair of police officers stepped in and intercepted her, holding her back. She screamed what Jae assumed was the corpse’s name, voice growing more hysterical with each desperate utterance, as if doing so could somehow revive her loved one. Jae felt Madeline slide in next to him, slipping her fingers through his.
He had to find Adam before it was too late.
Chapter 13
“. . . The search for Adam Erste reaches its eighth day today, as police continue to look for the man responsible for burning down portions of Emory Memorial Hospital and Restaurant Eugene. Officials believe his last known whereabouts to be at this abandoned Decatur townhome, which was set on fire late last night . . .”
The reporter gestured to a charred building behind her, the camera panning up and down to show the full extent of the damage done to the townhome.
“. . . Police are using this as a focal point to comb through the surrounding area. A few squatters were found injured in the aftermath of the fire, but so far, no deaths have been reported . . .”
Madeline entered the living room, dressed in her nurse’s uniform. She dropped her purse on the ground and turned to look at the TV, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.
“He’s still on the loose?” She asked.
“Yeah,” Jae said.
“They’ll get him soon enough. I’m sure of it.”
The TV showed footage of police dogs sniffing through a wooded area, leashed by men wielding assault rifles. The footage cut over to a different shot, showing a charred automobile parked in an empty lot—a car Adam had apparently broken into to use and sleep in.
Madeline picked up her purse. “I should be home for lunch. Will you be here?”
“I’ll be at work by then. I’ll prepare some chicken for you to heat up once you get home.” Jae thumbed at the TV. “Aren’t you worried?”
She hoisted the straps of her purse over her shoulder and stared at the TV. “Yes, but it’s not like I have a choice. I have to go to work.”
“You can call in sick.”
“I can’t let the fear of him dictate my life.” She took her keys out. “I have full confidence in the police to do their job. As long as he keeps leaving a trail behind, he’ll get caught sooner or later.”
“What if the police can’t find him, though? What if he’s just biding his time, waiting for the heat to die down before he makes his move against me . . . against us?”
She fumbled with the straps of her purse. “Are you trying to scare me?”
“I’m just trying to be realistic. There are over five million people who live in the Atlanta metro area, and he’s just one man out of many. He may be easy to spot thanks to his appearance, but there are a lot of places for him to hide, and with his powers, it would be easy for him to create a diversion. I’m just worried that he’ll come after me, or God forbid, come after you, before the police ever find him.”
“As long as I’m inside the hospital, I should be okay. We have security posted everywhere, and they’ll make sure Adam doesn’t get anywhere near the building. And if he does somehow get close to me, I have this . . .” She smiled and dug inside her purse, pulling out a can of mace. “. . . to protect me.”
Jae wasn’t sure how effective mace would be against Adam. Most likely it would just make him angrier. A gun would be better, and it was days like these when he wished he owned one.
“I have to go.” Madeline walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss, then turned and made her way to the door, keys jingling in her hands.
“I’m going to go after him,” Jae said. “I can’t sit idly by and wait for the inevitable. I need to tackle this head-on.”
She paused, hand resting on the door knob, and then turned to look at him. “What?”
“I see no other way. He promised to come after me no matter what. Just look at what he’s done already.” He gestured toward the TV. A photograph of Adam was being displayed, his mangled, burnt face caught by hospital cameras and magnified to show a close-up of what he looked like. His name was written underneath so that the viewers at home knew who the crazy man was. “He’s already hurt more people since the restaurant burning. How long am I supposed to allow this to go on?”
“You’re not allowing anything, because he’s not your responsibility.”
“What if he goes after you? Or my friends? Or your friends? He has a number of things he could to do to draw me out. I can’t allow him to use the people we know as bait.”
She shrugged her purse off. “But you promised that you wouldn’t go after him.”
“I never promised anything. You know that. Yes, I considered it, but it didn’t strike me as the right move.” He stood up. “If the police manage to trap him in a corner, do you think Adam will go down quietly? The man has nothing left to lose. He’ll fight until his last dying breath. Too many lives are at stake here. I’m the only one who can stop him without any more blood being shed.”
“You’re just one man
! Why do you think you can do a better job than the police?”
“Because I’m only one target. He won’t be able to hurt anyone else but me. If the police swarm him, he’s going to take down as many as he can. This is about minimizing potential loss.”
“Please, Jae, don’t do this. I’m begging you—let the police do their job. There’s no reason for you to get involved in this.”
“You’ve seen what I could do. With just one blow I can end this forever. Nobody else has to get hurt.”
“Have you already forgotten what he could do? Have you not considered what might happen if he touches you?”
“Of course I have. I’m not going into this recklessly. Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Of course you’re being fucking stupid! How many times do I need to tell you that he is not your responsibility? Why do you feel this constant need to atone for what happened to Adam? How many times do I need to tell you that it’s not your fault? Everyone knows it wasn’t your fault, yet you continue to think that it is. Why? I don’t understand how you can be so stubborn about this.” She stooped over and swiped her purse off the ground, tugging at the straps with notable irritation. “Listen to me because I’m not going to repeat this again: let the professionals handle this. They know how to stop dangerous people. You don’t. You’re just a firefighter. You don’t know the first thing about stopping murderers. What, just because you’re strong you think that gives you license to become some kind of vigilante? How arrogant can you be? Stop trying to pretend to be something that you’re not. There’s no reason for you to run to your death like a goddamn fool. It’s like you’ve turned into this idiot after you woke up from your coma.”
The muscles in Jae’s throat tightened. His jaw went rigid with anger. All sense of rationality and common sense dissipated, percolating rage muddling his judgment.
“Did you sleep with Adam?” The words rushed up his throat like a geyser, without thought or prudence. And he knew right away, when the accusation escaped his lips, that he had just made a big mistake. But anger overwhelmed whatever sense of regret he had, and it goaded him on, fueling his desire for confrontation, rationalizing the stupidity he had just released, making excuses for it, telling him that it was okay and that he deserved to know the truth.
A long silence stretched between them. The expression on Madeline’s face went through a slow, gradual change. Her irritation leaked away and transformed into a mask of horror.
“What did you say?” Her voice was small, barely audible even in the gulf of silence that had settled over the room.
“Did you ever sleep with him? Were you seeing him behind my back? Is that why you don’t want me to go after him, because you’re scared he might get hurt?”
“What?”
“Answer me!”
“Of course not! Are you crazy? I’ve never slept with Adam. Why would I do such a thing?”
“He told me he slept with you.”
She gawked at him. “You actually believed him?”
“I initially figured it was just a lie, but sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder, like today, if there was some truth to it.”
“Of course it’s a lie. It shouldn’t even be a question!”
“Why did he say he loved you, then? Why did he say those things to you in the restaurant?”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this. So, you’re calling me a liar then, is that it? After all the years we’ve been together, you’re going to believe the guy who wants to kill you over your own fucking fiancé?” Madeline dug inside her purse and pulled out her cell phone. “Do you want to look through my messages to see if I was talking with him? Do you want to access my e-mails? What can I do to convince you that I never slept with Adam?”
“Whatever, fuck this.” Jae grabbed his coat off the couch and made his way toward the door. Staying here and trying to make sense of the whole thing would only anger him further, and he was not in the mood to get into a prolonged shouting match with Madeline. The only thing he knew for certain was that Adam was a dangerous man that needed to be stopped. He may not be a police officer, but it was still Jae’s civic duty as a public servant to ensure people did not get hurt. He had to at least try, even if Madeline was right in saying there wasn’t much he could realistically do.
As he moved past her, he felt her hand wrap around his arm.
“Where are you going?” She asked.
“I’m going to stop him,” he said.
The grip around his arm tightened. “Don’t make me beg, honey, please.” The tears were coming now. He pursed his lips. Her weeping chipped away at his resolve, and it took a great effort to stand firm and not give in. He had to do this, he saw no other way.
“Despite what you say, he is my responsibility. He sees me as the source of all his troubles, and he believes that the only way he’ll find peace is if he kills me. If I don’t go and end this now, then this nightmare will never end, for either of us.” He grabbed his keys off the nightstand and started slipping on his shoes. Madeline slumped to the ground, the sounds of her tears resonating off his back. He thought about comforting her, but he knew if he did that she would pull him right back in, somehow convincing him not to go. He couldn’t do that.
“I’m pregnant.”
His hand fell on the doorknob and stayed there, holding steady, the cool metal kissing his palm. He looked over at her, unsure of what he had just heard.
“I was going to tell you at the restaurant, surprise you with, it in fact, but Adam screwed everything up so I couldn’t tell you. So, I decided I was going to wait until . . . I don’t know, after a beautiful Sunday morning breakfast in bed, or after we made love one night. I only knew that it was going to be soon, once Adam was caught. I had to know we were safe first before I broke the news.” She looked up at him, cheeks red with tears. “That’s why I didn’t want you going out and trying to pick a fight with Adam, because there was a chance that he could really hurt you. There have been too many close calls lately, and each time it seemed like you were that much closer to being killed. That’s why I pleaded with you to stay away from him, because I feared what was going to happen to you.”
He moved away from the door and cupped his brow. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I told you; it was supposed to be a surprise. I wanted to tell you only when the moment felt right.” She gave a sarcastic little chuckle. “Too late for that now, though, huh?”
“When did you know?”
She wiped her nose. “A couple of weeks ago.”
It felt like someone had just given him a sudden, swift kick to the groin. Of all the things that she could have said, this was the last thing he was expecting. He took in a few deep breaths. A child—unbelievable! Jae Yeon, a dad. The mere thought of it made his head spin. It was so farfetched that he almost couldn’t believe it. This changed everything.
“Honey, this is great news. I can’t believe . . .” He reached down to help her up, but she swiped his hand away
“No!” She stood up, uncoiling her legs, tears still streaming. “According to you, I’m nothing but a liar and a whore who loves to sleep around, right?” She grabbed her purse from the floor. “Go be with the man you trust more than me, even when he’s trying to kill you. Ignore everything I say, your own fucking fiancé. I don’t care anymore.” She pushed her way past Jae, going toward the door.
“Damn it, wait. It’s just—”
“It hurts knowing that you don’t trust me, the mother of your unborn child. Our histories are intertwined so deeply, and yet, none of that seemed to matter when Adam told a lie.” She turned to him, lips curled in sorrow. “Did you always distrust me? Have you always felt that way?”
“Of course not. I—”
But she was gone. The door closed in his face, and he was left staring at the emptiness she left behind. He stood unmoving, hand outstretched toward nothing. The sick feeling in his stomach grew more painful. He heard the sound of her car door opening and closing, the r
evving purr of her engine, the tires rolling over concrete as she backed out of the driveway and onto the street. He leaned forward, and with gentle care, placed his head against the door frame. He pressed out a long sigh and squeezed his eyes shut so hard that stars burst in his sight.
How stupid could he be to disclose such a suspicion? He had no proof of his accusation, merely the word of a man he never really liked, and in a monumental lapse of common sense decided that was enough to indict the most loyal woman he had ever known. Now, his relationship with Madeline was damaged, perhaps irreparably, their engagement most likely skirting on thin ice—if not already drowning—all because of his insecurity. Now he had to begin the long and difficult task of salvaging what they had, if such a thing was even possible. He would have to apologize first, but that would only serve as a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. He had to think of a long term, amicable solution. Something that would permanently mend the trust and love that was broken. Even if Madeline rejected him, he had to at least try, if not for their sake, then for their child.
He moved away from the door and slumped on the couch. Adam would have to wait, or perhaps, even be forgotten altogether. Going after him now would only push Madeline further away, and that was the last thing he wanted. This was bigger than them now, with the child forthcoming. Madeline was right; provoking Adam could get both of them hurt, if not outright killed. He had to let the police do their job and let them handle the business that they were trained to do. He would only get in the way.
Chapter 14
“And so the girl says to me, ‘Well, what did you expect? Brazilians aren’t known for their shyness!’”
The garage erupted in laughter. The firefighters gathered around Gabe slapped their knees, held their stomachs, and threw their arms around one, looking entertained by the tale Gabe had woven. That surprised him. He thought the story was amusing enough, but he didn’t think it was so amusing that it would garner such impressive feedback. Maybe he just had a knack for storytelling, hitting all the right notes and all the right crescendos and saying all the right things that got people’s imaginations running. But as he studied his audience, observing the wild, showy way that they laughed, it dawned on him what was really happening: they were faking it. All they were doing was looking for an excuse to laugh. Normally, such a fraudulent display would have annoyed him, but after what had transpired over the last few days, he couldn’t really blame them. With Adam marching across Atlanta like he was Sherman reincarnate, the climate had grown decidedly morose. The crew kept quiet about the situation, but the gloomy looks on their faces told a story that was easy to read: they were desperate for answers, confused as to why Adam was doing the things he was doing. For all his faults, and he had plenty, Adam was still one of them, and many couldn’t fathom how one of their own could fall so far.