by Phillip Shaw
Kim began sniggering, she couldn't help it. When she saw the strange expression from her guest she had to explain herself. ‘I'm sorry, it's ironic, for the last year I have felt like a wandering spirit, a ghost, then today I wake up. I feel like there is a reason I am back in my life and you ask me to be a ghost. It's going to be simple.'
‘I fear 'simple' will not be used again. My former premises will be off limits. No matter there is nothing of use there. I will need new clothes and a change of appearance.'
Kim felt her heart sank, there were male clothes in the apartment. She hadn't wanted to keep them but they remained. The clothes of her ex-lover, the killer, it didn't matter she had no time for this. She had a greater cause in front of her now. She needed to look forward, nothing behind her existed. ‘I can get you clothes and there is hair dye in the bathroom. It won't take long; I'll bring you a selection to pick from.' With that, Kim disappeared into the back room.
Arbitan sat on; he closed his eyes and tried to sift through the deluge of information. To get to Europe they would have to fly. The thought of that amused him. The people of the world had certainly flourished in his absence. The airport would be the only hurdle, the Magisters would definitely have a presence there, and they would have to get on a plane without being disturbed. The solutions presented themselves in his head. The equipment Kim had collected as a hobby would prove useful but first, he would need to change his appearance.
Kim had never been one for fashion, she knew what to wear to attract men and recently what to wear to keep them away but as far as dressing a man she was lost. She had set down all the clothes that remained in what she saw as combinations on the bed her guest had been in the bathroom for quite a while. She couldn't lie to herself; it was nice having a man in her house again even if it was in these supernatural circumstances. The door opening behind her stopped her in her tracks. Bare to the waist a red-haired man exited from the bathroom, clean shaven and pruned to perfection he stood like a catwalk model, lean and statuesque. She couldn't help but stare.
‘I have left out a selection of clothes for you. I hope something is appropriate.'
‘I can tell by your expression that my look is appealing, don't worry it's natural. I would do nothing to discourage it. Emotion, when controlled and used directly, is the fuel of the mind.'
She watched as he sifted through the clothes. Firstly he lifted a pair of plain dirty- look denim jeans. Away from the fashionable skinny look they were a loose fit and sat on him comfortably. Then he lifted a grey tee. She had expected him to go for the business pinstripe suit that was lying there but he clearly had an eye for fashion, as he put the clothes on and arranged them on himself they looked tailor made. The final piece was a varsity jacket. Pulling it on and buttoning it up he looked in the mirror.
‘This will do. I look like the typical American traveller. You will need to dress appropriately, despite your age you have the body and beauty of a much younger woman. Now dress accordingly and I will see what equipment will make it through the airport.' With that, he turned in his step and went back to the living room. Kim found herself standing unsure if his last statement had been an insult of a compliment.
Jenny Darcy elbowed her colleague in the ribs to wake him again. Despite this being a stakeout she had been the only one focusing on the people leaving the building. Unfortunately, the ones she had been waiting for had remained inside. Her cameraman turned chauffeur had not been the best company through the night. Once the normal small talk ended Jenny had stopped short of becoming too close. The last thing she needed was this guy thinking she was coming on to him on a stakeout. Luckily for her he had fallen asleep after a few snacks leaving the caffeine fuelled journalist on her own. For the first time on this break, Jenny had time to think. The pull of succeeding for Blain had subsided slightly and she allowed herself to dream about what this might mean for her future career.
It was impossible not to feel some pride in her earlier performance in front of the camera. Despite bung told she was pretty she had never had the self-confidence to use her looks, she was so unlike her brother in that fashion but looking over the tapes to pass the time in the van she felt a modicum of self-satisfaction. She remembered Chloe Tatum's preview tapes that had done the rounds in the office. First appearing with lipstick all over her teeth, then with her trademark mask of foundation became even more noticeable on the screen; she was the joke of the office. The sad thing was that despite being horribly under-qualified for the position she had actually achieved while the rest of her jealous friends sat doing press releases and research. Before long the jokes had stopped and Chloe was acknowledged for what she had become. Jenny only could hope that she was now on the same path. That will please Blain. She shook her head at that and focussed again on the apartment doors. The mailbox had confirmed Clements lived on the ground floor. The wage of a leading Detective mustn't be as high as I thought.
Jenny had just started to go over the file on Clements again when a small cracking noise distracted her. Looking to her left the window on the driver's seat next to her had cracked.
‘What did that? Hello…? Are you sleeping again?'
She reached over and nudged her colleague hard on the shoulder. His face turned round and Jenny felt the blood drain from her face. Just to the left of his head was a small hole with blood seeping out. Jenny went for the door but was greeted by two dark-clothed individuals. The male grabbed her by both arms just at the elbow joints while the female placed a bag over her head. Jenny tried to scream but felt she couldn't, in fact, she couldn't feel anything anymore. Her last thoughts as she slumped to the ground where how she had failed Blain, which was the last thing she wanted to do.
The two agents quickly moved the body of the driver into the back of the van and placed him face down at one end. The woman was placed in the other corner as they took their place in the front of the van; the female agent opened her phone and placed it on speaker.
‘Agents McCall and Jimenez in position, we have neutralised the occupants of the vehicle and are assuming their research. Our watchers in the area were correct. The targets have moved into Clements' apartment. Contact headquarters tell them Flint's research may have been wrong. We will need to get his files sent over to our PDA's.'
‘There is no need for that, Flint will be your C.O. on this op. he is taking orders from Europe directly. Leave this channel open we are not to move until we get the go ahead.'
‘Understood, is there any contact from the missing agents at Massaro's?'
‘No, we cannot account for their whereabouts. They may have gone rogue so assess any situation before acting. If they aren't rogue then we can only assume they have been eliminated. There is no response on their trackers and their weapons are missing. If you apprehend them they will need to be debriefed, but they are a secondary concern, maintain a pre-strike protocol on the targets, non-lethal force.'
‘Understood, McCall out.'
Agent McCall turned to Jimenez, ‘We'd better get cracking on this research before Flint contacts us. We need to know who we are dealing with.'
Jimenez nodded and wound down the window the cracked glass slid from view and he lit a small cigarette. Their gaze was focussed on the entrance.
42. Saloon
The bar was unremarkable, in a dusty backstreet town in Texas away from the rest of the state the locals sat or stood outside smoking and chatting casually. The population of the town couldn't be more than five hundred given the residential area and industrial zone. In the distance, a few oil drills and wells loomed large suggesting to Markus that the local income had been around as long as the bar. Ava shared his weariness; the seeming advantage of being a Magister was running a little thin today as one technical glitch after another had derailed their primary objective. The lack of sleep and close proximity they had been in was starting to show and the last hour of the journey had been spent in silence. Parking the SUV across from the bar Markus got out and stretched his back.
; ‘You shouldn't be doing that Stent. It shows your age and your weakness.'
‘And you shouldn't be questioning your elders Ava, what would you have me do? Walk at a right angle for the rest of the day?
‘Then, at least, I could use you as a table.' Smirked Ava, clearly in an effort to ease the tension, Markus smiled in response. The difficult silence was over and now they could get on with things. Ava would be taking the lead here, a few minds influenced to tell the truth and they could be on their way. That was the plan anyway, discussed in detail on the journey. The initial enthusiasm they felt at this side mission had been tempered by the journey. The worst thing was they had already been through this town on the trace of Coates.
Markus held the door open and Ava walked into the bar, the locals who had been outside thankfully paid them no attention and they were left in your typical American bar. Markus scanned round, three men playing pool, waitress watching instead of serving, barkeep with a picture of him as a junior football star on the wall. No threats, plenty of targets to question. He walked up to the barman and ordered two beers.
‘Need a couple of cold ones, been on the road all day.'
‘Nice accent buddy, where you and your pasty little friend from?'
‘Sweden, Ava is from Germany I believe. I take it you don't get many Europeans here?
‘No, truth is we don't get many visitors here, but you're more than welcome. Your dollar is as good as Bill's over there. This isn't some slasher pic.'
‘I'm glad to hear that. The truth is we are here to ask a few questions. We are with an international law enforcement agency and we believe your premises were used to exchange something.'
The barman's expression went frosty and Markus acted quickly to put him back at ease.
‘Relax sir, we aren't here to arrest anyone, we're here to stop a serial killer. We think they used your bar to dispose of the body.'
A loud crash and breaking glass sounded behind Markus and he immediately spun and drew his weapon, Ava likewise had drawn her sword and its distinctive sound cutting the air as it fitted into place sent chills through the air. When he regained his composure Markus noticed a waitress had been walking behind them with a tray of drinks as he had been discussing the serial killer, now like everyone else in the bar they stood or hid behind the nearest cover paralysed with fear at the two armed guests.
‘Ava, lower your weapon its ok. Now as I was saying we are just here to look around. From our reaction, you can see that we are serious.'
‘I didn't doubt it, sir. You can check out our CCTV. There was a guy in here a few nights ago. He was looking to sell an old car. The only thing was, he ended up giving it away to a guy who came up to him in the street. He was talking to Jed and Mark over there. You can ask them what happened.'
Markus made his thanks and beckoned the two men playing pool to come to a booth with him and Ava. They sat down and Markus let Ava do her work. It started simply enough a few questions to determine they were telling the truth and then she was inside, she tested them with personal questions that the normal male would not answer before talking about the incident in question. Jed seemed to be the most coherent source.
‘This regular looking guy came into the bar and came over to play a few games of pool with us. We noticed him drive up in a nice ride but knew it needed some work. All of a sudden, he started taking some beers. He was easily keeping up with us when we asked him how he was going to drive home. He just said the car was being left there unless he could sell it to someone. We stood outside and were going to help this crazy guy sell his car when another man came up to us. He was strange, he just asked for the car and the guy gave him it. He took a few minutes to show him around but the man was in a hurry h didn't even check the trunk or under the hood. He just got in drove off and the other guy left like that. Mark and I were left standing out here then went back inside.'
Markus looked at Ava and a glance told him there was nothing more to glean from these two. All that was left was to view the CCTV and see if there was some clue.
Minutes into the footage of the mysterious car owner, Markus knew they were not going to find anything interesting. The footage of the man drinking beer showed he definitely had issues. The beer bottle went to his lips but every time the other two looked away or went to the restroom the bottle was poured onto a nearby table. ‘The subject was trying to remain sober, why?'
Ava shook her head. ‘There's more to it, either he has a nerve problem on his face or he's wearing a prosthetic nose. Look at his mannerisms. The fly lands on his nose and he doesn't swipe it away immediately, any other person and they simply would have shaken it off immediately.' She stopped and rewound the tape. Sure enough, a large fly landed on the man's nose. It took him seconds to shake it off. She paused the tape and zoomed in. The suspects face was always partially hidden as if he knew where the camera was but when he took a shot in pool, they could see closely. Ava took out her PDA and scanned in a still image. Markus could only hope the Magister's systems could throw up a lead.
They waited outside in the car for almost an hour. The tension from the earlier trip had returned. Without rest or inspiration, they had hit the end of the line. Whoever this serial killer was, he was good. He had already killed five people and the only thing connecting them was the manner of disposal. The bodies were all folded up and bound. Like meat at Christmas, except there were no missing parts, just the calling card of a professional. Markus started, ‘Like all serial killers, they want to be caught, they long for the day when the local hick police force put two and two together and realise that the same person is carrying out these killings. The real danger is when one of these killers decides to push the boundaries, decides that they are doing good. When they start to do it as a service and not as some kind of sick thrill then you get into our territory. We have had cases in the past Ava; they either come down as one of us or against us. The tell-tale signs are there on this one. One of the order may have been sent to investigate anyway if only to rule out the possibility of a new adept.'
‘Are you saying some people like me have carried out these murders?' Asked Ava.
‘Yes, some like you and some like the others. I think our best lead might be to see if the victims were under the control of any of the local adept.'
The comms unit sparked into life and the results of the facial scan came in. No matches. In a normal week, Markus would have taken this to be confirmation of the prosthetics on the face but today had seen so many flaws in the previously perfect system that he wondered if it were another. In any case, the trail had run cold. They would have to call into Schultz and get back to the primary mission, the loose ends of the bodies could be checked out on the way. Markus dialled Schultz.
‘Schultz, Stent here.'
‘Markus, we need you back in New York, something terrible is happening. We've lost four agents. We don't know whether they have been eliminated or turned rogue.'
‘The only way they could turn rogue is if one of the leaders had turned them. We will set off immediately.'
‘I will get details sent to the nearest airfield; we will need to fly you in before it's too late. We can't risk one of them announcing themselves onto this world without us. Either they will need out support or they will need to be taken down. I fear we have wasted enough time sending you on the trail of this one.'
‘I don't believe it a waste. As unlikely as it seems the suspect we were chasing could be one of those we seek. Either that or a powerful ally or enemy we can't just abandon this trail or the pursuit of this killer. They are all interlinked someway.'
‘Well unless you can find it on the way to the airport then we will have to leave it to some local agents. We simply need our best agents where we are certain there is a threat.'
‘Stent out.'
Markus felt fear, the same fear he remembered climbing the stairs the night of his partner's death. The same feeling in his chest, the burning ball of anxiety where his heart was, the same burning that was yo
ur greatest enemy, conquer this and you could conquer anything. Agents were dying, the omnipotence of the Magister Order itself was failing and Markus was afraid. The adept in the passenger seat did little to ease his mind. She couldn't burrow into his thoughts but she didn't need to. Her stare made him feel uncomfortable enough. The destination flicked onto the screen and Markus set off, the path laid out before him was simple on screen but in his mind there was only uncertainty. Markus didn't deal in uncertainties.
43. Idol
Jimmy Baker, teen sensation stood on stage singing to his adoring fans. Well, I have sung this before even if I'm not this time. My throat is sore from the party last night. What happened last night anyway? Jimmy had met his agent last night before the party to talk over his plans for the week ahead. Social media interaction was near the top of the list as so many of his fans, followed his every move online. The lucky few were screaming here in front of him hanging on his every pre-recorded word. The meeting itself was a weekly tradition ever since he had hit the big time on ‘The Sound of The States.' He hadn't won the competition but the public took a liking to the runner-up so he was signed by the same company as the winner. All in all, Jimmy couldn't complain at the way his life was turning out. The overriding drive in him was pushing his message out to his fans. It drove him to perform until exhaustion every night either on TV or at a concert, then when the show was over the party began.
The song ended and he made his way back to the dressing room for a brief respite before his encore. The cheers and echoes of the crowd reverberated around the tight corridors as he reached the door. The small star on the door bore his name but he could only think that someday he would make it big. Being the nation's sympathy vote wasn't good enough. I need to get my message out. The dressing room was decked out with his usual requests. A games console for him to relax on, a bottle of rum to take the edge off and a Jacuzzi, in case some fans wanted to get a bit closer. A sick smile crossed his lips at the sight of the Jacuzzi, hazy memories of the night before began to refocus in his mind. Images of girls, clothed and naked circled in his head. They were his reward for getting the message out, that's what his agent had told him. The first chat he had with him always seemed to be in his mind, pushing him on. The funny thing was it brought back bad memories as well because when Jimmy had been in that meeting he had nearly vomited because of a killer migraine.
