by Watkins, TM
I looked up the path, Eva was at the doors and her eyes narrowed at us slightly. Her time in the light was over and I don't think she was too impressed. If only she knew then she wouldn't hate me as she does. Then again, she would probably lunge at me with one of those spiky pumps if she knew what I truly was.
Chapter 32: KC the lifesaver
Eva was lapping up the attention, for which I was grateful. Anything to draw it away from me. There was something about her attitude that said that I had to back off, that this was her world and I wasn’t welcome.
This place was like a second home for Aphrodite International, a place where they held a lot of functions and product launches. The lobby was a dazzling area that glittered under a monstrous chandelier. At the side was a partitioned section that the staff used to access the catering area. There was even a waterfall that mimicked the one at the building, only this one was a smaller version. It went as high as the mezzanine floor, two grand staircases wrapped around it, between them was the pond that held several large koi. It was as decadent as the entry to Aphrodite International. The same glossy black tiles, the same tranquility that came from an expensive waterfall.
A few people were making their way up the stairs, the sounds of their laughter and conversation filling the monotonous sounds of the party. Waiters scurried around carrying platters filled with glasses of champagne. A woman frantically made her way to us, or rather Dorian.
“Mister Gallagher, the caterer hasn't shown up.” She whispered.
Dorian closed his eyes at an attempt to control his anger.
“What back up plan do you have?”
“Err... none. They've never done this to us before, we've used them for countless functions. I didn't believe there would be an issue.”
I could see that he was about to yell and there were a lot of people in the room. With a gentle tug on his hand, I had his attention.
“Call Derek, have him meet me in the basement. Your assistant...”
“Jess.” She offered, looking like she was ready to leap to me with a hug.
“Jess and I will go to the little delicatessen and buy up big. I need money and access to the basement.”
Dorian grinned and rummaged around in his pocket.
“You are amazing.” He whispered in my ear, putting his credit card, cash and reader into my hand. “Hurry back.”
Jess and I slipped through an opening and into the back of the lobby, taking the elevator to the basement where Derek was waiting for us.
“Third Street and step on it.”
Derek nodded and drove like a mad man, getting us there in five minutes.
“You go to the bakery.” I said to Jess passing some of the cash to her. “Get anything small or can be cut into smaller sizes easily, finger food, lots of sweets.”
She nodded and scuttled off across the road to the bakery.
“I don't think they had plates or serviettes, see what you can find that is upscale.”
“So no paper plates then?” He chuckled, taking the remaining cash.
“No. I don't think Dorian would like paper plates.”
He nodded and walked a quickened pace down the side walk. There was a little grocery store that I hoped would have something suitable but I didn't hold much hope. I walked into the delicatessen with determination, why? I don't know. What did I care if Dorian's night was a blazing inferno of hungry and pissed off people? But that's the problem. I did care.
The man behind the counter looked at me like I was crazy for a moment, then he figured out that I was in a spot of bother. He had been preparing to close for the day and had been packing away his goods. It was a stroke of luck for us, many of the things were ready to go. Several hundred dollars later, getting closer to the four figure mark, I was on my way. We now had an assortment of cold meats, olives and cheeses on platters, dipping bread and several kinds of dips and oils, things on sticks and other things that looked like quiches but I couldn't be certain. The man had assured me that nothing needed to be heated, something that I hadn't thought of but thankfully he had.
I was waiting by the car when Derek came back, his arms loaded with several boxes. He dumped them on the ground beside me with a bit of a huff and then opened the boot.
“They didn't have anything but they did direct me to the place a few shops down, look at these.”
Derek lifted the flap of the box once he had put it in the boot, showing me a small wood plate.
“It's fake, can you believe it?”
I chuckled and passed the boxes to him.
“That's crazy, it looks so real.”
Jess scampered across the road, yelling at a car when it tooted its horn at her.
“Jerks.” She hissed as she dumped the boxes into the boot. “Okay, let's go.”
The boot and the majority of the back seat were loaded with boxes, hopefully it would be enough to cover the people at the function.
“How many people are there?”
“About five hundred sent their RSVP.” She groaned.
I turned back to Derek.
“When you drop us off...”
“Go searching some more?” He grinned.
“I'll bet that's not in your job description.”
He chuckled as he shook his head.
“I actually thought about it while I was in the grocery store. You'll be happy to know that there are lots of mixed nuts and chips.”
“Chips?” Jess spluttered. “You can't serve chips!”
“These are the fancy ones.” He crinkled his face. “Trust me, it will be fine.”
I had warmed to Derek far too easily, he was a middle aged man but the only clue was the salt and pepper hair. He looked like he was in his early thirties. Maybe he was, maybe working for Dorian was sending him grey early.
When we arrived at the building and slipped into the basement, a team of helpers were waiting. They made short work of the boxes and started serving within half an hour. Dorian smiled at me in a way that I had never seen, one that made me really nervous. The night was progressing well, Dorian kept me by his side as he made his way around the room, talking to the guests. Eva was somewhere in the thick of the crowd, she had a partner with her at all times and I knew that he wasn't a love interest. Aside from overhearing the conversation, it actually looked kind of obvious. He looked around the room constantly, he was close but not as close as what a lover would be and of course, there was the almost invisible ear piece.
At the beginning of the night, Dorian had taken to the little stage and welcomed everyone, mentioning that there were lots of little stations where people could sample the new product as well as the other standard lines. To my delight they were also giving away little bags of goodies, it was like several Christmas's all at once. Dorian shook his head at me, telling me that I could have whatever I wanted, that I didn't need to resort to the minuscule samples. I didn't want to be seen as a leach, taking from him without some kind of monetary exchange. It was standard that all employees were eligible for a discount but it was true, as the boss man's bed time buddy, I got anything and everything for free.
I shrugged him off, telling him that my goody bag was enough. He rolled his eyes and grabbed several more, much to my disgust.
Part 5: Unravelling the lie
There are so many lies, white ones, black ones.
Ones that aren't meant to hurt but they do. Ones that
protect the innocent, ones that hide the evils
of this world. I had been lied to but it wasn't
what I expected. When I learned the truth,
I was suitably shocked.
Chapter 33: Daddy dearest
Last night had been a dream, a night of pure happiness and at the end of it, I was sated and delirious. Dorian was obviously pleased that his launch party wasn't a disaster and that I had saved it by my quick thinking. My father wouldn't be impressed, he would eventually get over it once he realized that keeping Dorian happy and occupied was a good thing but he would s
till have a few choice words to say to me. It was Saturday morning, we had slept in and I couldn't think of anything better than a lazy Saturday morning in bed with a gorgeous and naked man.
Dorian had left to answer Eva's urgent call for assistance, why she was so demanding of his time I had no clue but she was. It would be a strain on him and anyone that he was with, namely me. Except that I wasn't going to be around for much longer. Whatever it was that was taking my brothers valued time up, it had to be pretty good. I don't know if they were intending on infiltrating the building last night and worse yet, there was no real way to get in contact with me to let me know if their search had yielded any results.
It was frustrating, this was supposed to be my assignment yet it was almost like I was being used as a distraction for Dorian. Keep him occupied and he won't notice that his building was being broken into and his super-secret project was being pinched. I huffed as I sat on the lounge looking out at the dreary day, it was exactly what was happening. This wasn't my project; this was me being used… again. Nothing had changed, daddy didn’t trust KC enough to be responsible for her own mission, he manipulated the situation to suit his own agenda. The problem with it was that he was putting Chet and Walter in an awkward situation. They had to be loyal to our father and the client yet they loved their sister and knew that it was wrong. I don't know what it was that I did to make my father so distrusting of me, maybe it was because I was the spitting image of my mother. Maybe when he looked at me he saw how she deceived him and walked away, leaving him a broken man.
A flash of light in the murkiness of the day caught my attention, I looked out the vast glass doors that led to the patio and saw another flash. Frowning as I stood I walked to the doors and pulled on across to look across to the next building. I squinted at the figure… was that Chet on the roof? It could be Frank I suppose. The rain was a light drizzle as I walked to the balcony edge, wary of looking down. Being this high up always freaked me out, looking down to the ground that was so far away was stomach churning. I looked across to the next building, it was only a streets distance from this one and I could easily see my brother standing on the flat roof beside what looked like an air conditioning unit. He flicked away his torch and pointed down, turning back to the door that led to the stairs. I sighed and returned to the lounge room, closing the door.
Grabbing my jacket, I quickly flicked it on and made my way to the lobby. The security guard gave me a polite nod which I returned, pushing through the door before he could try and engage me in conversation. I pulled the hood of the jacket over my head and looked around for Chet. He was waiting at the back entrance of the building opposite to this one. I quickly scampered across the rain slicked road, narrowly avoiding being hit by a taxi. As the toot of his horn rang out through the noisy city street, I ignored him and continued on. Chet was a loving brother but he was also impatient. I turned into the little alley that sat behind the building and saw a limousine, Chet was standing by the back door waiting for me.
“Just a quick chat.”
I nodded as he opened the door to let me in, my father was in the car waiting for me. I was barely in the car before Chet was shutting the door on me.
“Good morning Katherine.”
“Hello father.”
“My apologies for dragging you out in such frightful weather and of course in such poor form for our world but this was urgent.”
He adjusted his position on the seat and it was then that I noticed there was a box beside him. It was small and rectangle, neatly tucked against the back seat.
“Charles and Frank made their way into the building with success and found the notes in regards to the information that the client wants. Before we go into the details I want to thank you for the effort that you have gone to in order to make this mission a success. I know that we have had our issues in the past Katherine but you have excelled in getting the necessary information for us in order to complete it with little issue and for that I am extremely grateful.”
I was a little stunned, it was the first time that my father had actually vocalized that I had done something right.
“Their discovery has remained in place, they read the notes on this project and made the call to withdraw from the mission.”
My jaw went slack as I stared at him.
“Pardon?”
“The project that Aphrodite International was working on is extremely dangerous Katherine, the notes that the twins found showed that the efforts the company has made to keep it locked away is necessary. They have informed me that it is in our best interest to walk away from this mission in fact, they suggested that we inform the company that the client is engaging the services of corporate spies to infiltrate and steal from him.”
“What is the project, why is it so dangerous? Does it cause cancer or birth defects… what?”
He sighed, his fingers running over the edge of the box. It was almost like a reassuring stroke that calmed him.
“The project alters the DNA of the subject causing terrible medical issues. It should be destroyed but there is a reason that they have not done it.”
“Which is?”
“They are looking for a cure. One foolish soul used the prototype and now they are struggling to save her life.”
My eyes widened, knowing of Eva's health concerns. She looked perfectly well but I knew it was a lie, I knew she was incredibly ill.
“What are the symptoms, what are the issues?”
“The notes on the test subject stated that the woman struggled to retain blood, it was as if the body saw the blood as an infection and started killing off the cells. She is given repeated blood transfusions in an effort to maintain the levels required, she is given medication to fight the so called infection but that is the least of the issues.”
I frowned at him, wondering how severe blood loss was such a little issue. I would have thought it would have been a pretty big issue.
“The subject hungers for blood.”
My jaw went slack again, staring at him.
“Do you mean, like she wants to drink it? Like a vampire?”
He nodded and I laughed. I laughed with a few snorts until I stopped and saw that he didn't think it was a joke.
“Oh my god, you're being serious.”
“Do you remember the murders over the past few weeks?”
I nodded as he pulled pieces of paper out of the inner pocket of his jacket, passing them to me.
“The boys reported that these clippings were with the notes.”
The two fellows that had been reported as the victims of a gay serial killer and the homeless guy that I read about this morning.
“Based on the coroner's report and the notes found with the project information the twins have concluded that the woman is responsible for the first two deaths, it's too soon to link her to the homeless fellow. There are no hard facts to associate her with it of course but it is pretty obvious. This is why we are pulling out of the mission and I want you to prepare yourself to walk away. Is there anything that needs attending to at the residence?”
I shook my head, feeling a heaviness in my heart. He was expecting me to walk away from Dorian.
Chapter 34: KC the gun slinger
My father moved the box onto his lap, opening it and pulling out an odd weapon. I had seen a few varying types of weapons in my short life. My father had prepared all of his children as they moved through their teen years, guiding them in the safe and proper use of weapons, the ideal times and types to use in varying situations and of course, theoretical work on them. He wasn't a man that would take his kids to the shooting range and let them go for it. No, this was a man that made all of us sit and read about weapons, how to clean them, how to store them safely and the one that I loved the most, how to acquire them without the government knowing about it.
But this weapon that he held in his hand was like nothing I had ever seen. It was like a mixture of a crossbow and a machine gun. At the front was a barrel with a lot of lo
ng thin tubes, near the handle was a hammer like device that was tethered to a taut line.
“Come and sit beside me please Katherine, I will show you how this works.”
I quickly moved to the long seat as he pressed buttons on the side wall of the vehicle. At the other end of the vehicle the back rest of the seat parted in the center and a target came forward.
“Now there are two settings for this piece, single fire and rapid fire. We will start with the single fire to test the scope on it.”
He turned it on its side and showed me a little switch that had a circle on one side and a little line on the other side.
“The line is single fire; the circle is the rapid fire. Flick this switch and the scope rises. Give it a go.”
The piece was passed to me and I pushed the switch and a little circle of glass flicked up.
“Gee that's a technological marvel.” I scoffed.
“Enough of the jesting Katherine, this is serious. Aim for the target please.”
I knew what he expected, as always my father was a man that liked perfect results. In my younger years, a bullseye had been rewarded with a smile and something sweet for desert after dinner. So with the thought of getting a smile out of my world weary father, I looked through the scope and aimed for the bullseye. As I depressed the trigger I was pushed back into the seat, an arrow shot out and flew down the length of the limousine, sinking into the target with a great thud. This little piece had a lot of power and would take some getting used to. At the target end of the vehicle was the little metal arrow that was embedded deep into the red inner circle.
