“Yes. Yes, you will. Lord Constantine has given me orders regarding the reparations for your transgression.”
“I humbly submit to his disciple. I swear this will never happen again.”
“Our Lord will be pleased to hear it.”
* * * *
It was not until sometime later that Chisholm took it upon himself to check in on his boss. After several soft raps on the door failed to engender any response from within, the bodyguard cautiously opened the office door and mumbled an apology for the intrusion. Isbell sat alone at his desk, the office empty of any other visitors, and he appeared to be sleeping. Luminita had already exited the building in a manner as mysterious and unnoticed as her entrance. Chisholm apologized again for the intrusion, hastily backing out and shutting the door. It wouldn’t be for many hours yet before the concerned bodyguard would return for a closer examination, discovering to his horror that Isbell’s heart had been wholly removed from his chest. Luminita now carried it on her person in a small container, a gift to Lord Constantine to atone for Isbell’s failure. Truly, he would never disappoint his merciless master again.
Chapter 19- Catching the Scent
It was almost insulting how easy it had been to gain entrance to the building. Only two green New Brasov officers were assigned to keep an eye on the scene of the crime, and these two fools were so focused on drinking coffee and talking about the new blonde in dispatch that a drunken goblin could waltz right under their noses unnoticed. Constantly dealing with such amateurs had grown exceptionally old, and more than a little boring. She craved a decent challenge for a change. She hadn’t felt that genuine sense of sport, the intoxicating rush of adrenaline from the hunt, in a painfully long while. Maybe this slippery Necrosia hag would provide precisely what she had been lacking of late.
Luminita slowly, soundlessly stepped into Scarab’s ramshackle apartment. Naturally, the corpses had long since been removed, but otherwise the room remained in the identical state of utter chaos present the night before. Kneeling down, she examined a handful of wrinkled papers, but a sample of the thousands littered about, perusing them gingerly with a gloved finger. Despite the absolute darkness, Luminita’s silvery eyes picked up every letter on the papers as she skimmed their contents. Random names, inconsequential places. To spend more time studying the forger’s work would be useless.
Slinking farther in, her petite, booted feet generating no noise whatsoever, even with the many documents underfoot, she crept up to a large blood stain. She sniffed softly. This stain unquestionably marked Scarab’s passing from the realm of the living. The splatter extended in all directions, smeared, heavily mixed with the smell of others. A vampire had stood here for a time, possibly examining the forger’s body, before chaotically thrashing about the room. Attacked, most likely. The scent of Cyclops was heavy in the air, and at least two men had been present around the same time. One of these men had the distinct rank of a traveler recently arrived from the “other side.” Necrosia’s assistant, without question. Shifting across the floor the mysterious woman continued to sniff this way and that; papers, stains, broken objects, all scrutinized carefully. However, she detected no scent of a human woman. Necrosia must not have entered the dwelling herself. But the stink of hunchback, impregnating nearly every surface, was unmistakable. Necrosia’s hunchback. Luminita could detect the fear and fury of her quarry, drifting like a fog through the apartment. As these countless unique odors passed through her senses, flits of memory bombarded her consciousness. The screaming, tearing, biting, lashing, crunch of bone and flesh, it lingered in the air like ghosts from the past. But the scent had become too muddled to be of any great use, too vague to clearly define, too indistinct to clearly envision any of the participants clearly.
For many minutes Luminita crawled about almost nose to the ground, like a beast of prey searching for the scent of its victim. Suddenly her lithe body froze in its place. The silver eyes glinted for a moment, while her lips slowly formed a satisfied smile. Reaching next to the broken leg of a wooden chair, a black leather glove lifted a short tuft of black hair to her nose. Instantly the hazy fumes of her mind’s eye congealed, and standing before her was the image of Moody, as clear as if she were physically present that very moment. The hunchback had become clearly known now, easily detectable for more than a mile away with only the slightest of favorable winds. Luminita allowed herself a soft, hissing, triumphant laugh. She had only been in town a few hours and already had taken a clear advantage over Hammett. Neither of them knew where Necrosia was headed, but she was confident that her skills had brought her several steps ahead of the Cyclops in the game. The UEL dog didn’t stand a chance in hell of catching the fugitives before she did.
Chapter 20- The World’s Greatest Scientific Minds
Serene and Tiberius worked through the night, the sounds of their lunacy above echoing through the old man’s home without letup. At the first light of dawn the two inventors loudly clambered down the stairs into the living room, laughing, hooting, and generally making an ungodly racket. Moody opened her eyes just enough to shoot a vulgar expression at her boss before rolling on her side and pulling the tablecloth “blanket” up over her head. Then, with a great deal of clanking and crunching, Tiberius shoved the contents of a coffee table onto the floor just as Serene dropped a large box she had been carrying onto its surface with a tremendous thud. “Oh, did I wake you, darling?” she asked, noticing that Alex now stared at her with bloodshot eyes and a grouchy expression.
“No. Not really,” Alex replied, rubbing his eyes. “I don’t think I slept at all last night.”
“Too excited, eh?” Serene said with a smile. “I know what you mean. Tiberius and I were so consumed with the driving power of invention that we worked through the entire night ourselves.”
“Yeah…I know,” Alex growled. “I’m hoping it was at least a productive night, then?”
“Productive? My dearest boy, last night our genius was so fruitful, our cooperation so dynamic, that it would be an understatement that our time together was likely one of the most prolific in the venerable history of science!”
“Hear! Hear!” Tiberius bellowed. “Couldn’t have said it better myself!”
“The Necrosia/Swinefeld team-up was awe-inspiring and shall humble all who consider themselves inventors!”
“To use a crude expression, common in the vernacular, we kicked ass,” Tiberius added triumphantly.
“Yes. Yes, we did.” Serene stood rigidly, hands on her hips, a look of majesty on her face.
“If you two don’t shut up I’m going to kick both your asses,” Moody snarled from under her blanket.
“Down with the UEL!” Serene shouted, ignoring the hunchback. “Death to the Cosa Nosferatu!”
“And what manner of insanity have you two been concocting that’s going to be so effective in decimating your enemies?” Alex asked doubtfully.
“Nothing short of a plethora of tools, an arsenal of implements, which shall provide you with a clear upper hand in this righteous war!” Tiberius squeaked.
“Uh-huh. And I bet not a single one of these things, whatever they are, are the least bit practical.” Alex nodded toward the box on the table.
“Bah! You and your cynicism,” Serene waved her hand dismissively. “You’re beginning to sound like Quasimoody. Here, let me show you.” The inventor reached into the box and pulled out a small canister, reminding Alex of an aerosol air freshener. “First, we all agree that secrecy is our greatest weapon; to conceal our true identities, to blend into the sea of riffraff as we make our way to the European continent.”
“Yes, which is why we nearly got ourselves killed in New Brasov acquiring fake IDs, and why we look like freaking idiots in the asinine disguises you’ve cobbled together,” Alex interrupted, rolling his eyes.
“Precisely!” the inventor continued. “And last night I gave a great deal of thought to you and your lack of an eye patch…”
“No, no, no, no, no…I�
��m not going to have this argument with you again, Serene,” Alex began, getting hot.
“Don’t worry, my love. This is a million times better!” she smiled, brandishing the canister. “With this ingenious beauty, we possess the ability to literally change the natural color of your eyes!”
“That’s it? And that helps us how?”
“Good heavens! Must I spell everything out? Our enemies are searching for a man with brown eyes, but with our invention we could give you blue, or green, or hazel…even a cat’s eye if we choose!”
“Oh! A green cat’s eye! Capitol idea!” Tiberius chirped up.
“God, it’s way too early to deal with this crap,” Alex groaned, rubbing his face into his open palm. “And I hate to break it to you, but there’s a little thing called colored contact lenses which already do the job. Why don’t you just take your box into the other room and let us get some sleep?”
“For heaven’s sake! This is infinitely better than contacts. My device literally changes the very pigment within your iris! Here, let me show you.” Before Alex could even respond Serene popped the cap off the canister and blasted a shot of clear liquid into his left eye. The very instant the liquid made contact, an excruciating pain stabbed through his eyeball, traveling straight into the back of his head. Alex screamed in pain, fell off the couch, and rolled on the filthy living room floor with his hands plastered to his face. His very teeth throbbed as bubbles trickled out of his eye socket like hydrogen peroxide applied to an infected wound, and it felt as if his eyeball were literally melting away in his skull.
“Damn it, Serene! What the hell have you done?” Moody roared, jumping down to her friend thrashing in agony, attempting to wrench his hands away.
“You know,” Tiberius began calmly, “I do recall suggesting that we test the device before human application.”
“Nonsense,” Serene argued. “This is but a minor, temporary reaction. He’ll be fine in a moment.”
“Let me see! Let me see, you dummy!” Moody screamed, now straddled across Alex’s chest, yanking on his wrists. After several tugs the hunchback finally got a good look at his eye. “Cool.”
“Cool? Cool? Get off me, you maniac!” Alex scrambled to his feet, tears streaming out of his eyes, vision blurred. “Stay. Away. From me. All of you.” He waved his pointed finger about erratically in all directions.
“See! It worked, just like we intended!” Serene clapped her hands with pride.
“Hoorah!” Tiberius cheered, pumping his fist. “Although, maybe our next go at it should contain some manner of anesthetic?”
“Excellent idea as always, Tiberius.”
“What are you freaking lunatics talking about? You just freaking blinded me!” Alex screamed, knocking over a stack of magazines. “You’re all a bunch of freaking…”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Alex,” Serene said soothingly, rushing over to him and taking the shaking man by the hand.
“Get your hands off me!”
“Honestly, boy, it wasn’t that bad.”
“Screw you! How would you know? You didn’t have your freaking eye melted out a second ago, you damned psycho!”
“Hey, little man, how many fingers am I holding up?” Moody prominently displayed only one digit, in fact, the longest finger located on the middle of her right hand. In a rage, Alex quickly looked over his shoulder, grabbed the first object to meet his glance, and hurled it toward the mocking hunchback’s head. The small electronic device would have crashed right into her forehead if Moody hadn’t ducked at the last moment.
“Look at that! I do believe your visual acuity has actually improved since the application of my formula!” Serene boasted.
“What the hell did you do to me, Serene?!” Alex roared.
“Tiberius, do you have a mirror?” Serene asked in a perfectly calm tone. The old man rummaged about a shelf in the corner for a moment and returned with a small, handheld mirror. “Now take a look for yourself.”
“Oh, God. Tell me this isn’t permanent.” Alex’s left eye was now a bright, mesmerizing, glowing red, like something which belonged on a demonic gargoyle, or a half-assed Terminator reject.
“No, no. It should wear off in what, a month or so?” Serene turned to Tiberius.
“Maybe two.”
“Oh my God, I look like a freak!” Alex cried.
“That is so wicked. Once you fix the whole searing pain thing, I totally want one,” Moody chimed in, staring greedily at Alex’s red eye.
“But of course, my dear,” Serene answered proudly. “Although, I was expecting a blue color,” she went on, half to herself. “Very odd. Well, there’s always time to work out the kinks, eh?”
The pain in his eye had died down considerably, but Alex still felt a tremendous burning anger, greater than any he had experienced in his entire life, raging inside. Waving his arms about wildly, he stomped his way across Tiberius’ living room toward the bathroom, kicking anything even remotely close to his feet. There he proceeded to splash water in his eye, desperately hoping that Serene had caused no permanent damage, while he loudly recited every profanity, in each of their myriad variations, as loudly as possible so that his tormentors could clearly hear each syllable, since they were directed squarely at them.
“Honestly, Alex, hasn’t your little tantrum gone on quite long enough?” Alex had been on a tirade for a good while, and Serene now stood next to the bathroom door, her ear pressed against the wood. “We are in a hurry, you know.”
“Go away! You’ve ruined my life!”
“Yes, yes. Why don’t you come out and we’ll discuss this misunderstanding properly.”
“Misunderstanding?” The door swung open, and Alex rushed at the inventor. “You sprayed an untested liquid into my eye without my consent, you lunatic! You could have blinded me!”
“Hardly.” Serene waved her hand, as though the notion were inconceivable.
“Shut up! You have no idea what kind of repercussions this will cause. I probably have a dozen freaking cataracts brewing right now because of your stupidity!”
“It’s all in your imagination, my love.”
“Get the hell away from me!” Alex slammed the door again.
“I do believe our trifling debate has taken a step backwards. Let’s try that again, shall we?” Serene waited several moments, but Alex made no reply from within. “Hello? I’m still here, my dearest.” Alex thumped the door hard, sending the inventors head back with a jerk. “Why, you little imp! I have had enough of this foolish immaturity! Come out this instant! Alex? You hear me? Insufferable man! So now what? Do you intend to spend the rest of your life in there?”
“Anything’s better than being stuck with you.”
“Now that’s downright impolite. Honestly, what’s it going to take to get you to return to your senses and join the rest of us? What do you want me to say?”
“What do you think you should say, Serene?”
“That the spray will be less uncomfortable next time?”
“Go away.”
“For heaven’s sakes, man, just speak your mind!”
“Well, gee, let me think…how about you start by saying you’re sorry, for one thing; that you were wrong and irresponsible.”
Serene stared at the door for a span, contemplating. Gradually her lips began to move, hardly more than a slight quivering, as if they resisted with every cell. “Bugger it all! I’m…I’m sorry. There. Are you quite satisfied?”
The door opened slowly, revealing only a crack big enough for Alex to peer through. “And?”
“And…I was wrong to involve you in my craft (even if it is harmless and beneficial), without your consent.”
“That’s a start,” Alex sighed, opening the door wide.
“Ha, ha! Three cheers for reconciliation and all that emotional hoo-ha!” Serene exclaimed, wrapping her arm around Alex’s shoulder and escorting him back to the living room couch. “Just like a real family, eh?” She playfully kissed the top of his head
and patted his cheek.
“As dysfunctional as there ever was,” he muttered in reply.
“Precisely. As genuine as there ever could be. Now let me show you what else Tiberius and I have cooked up for the entertainment of our enemies.”
Chapter 21- “Weaponized”
It took a great deal of coaxing for Alex to sit on the couch again and allow Serene to continue the unveiling of the inventions she and Tiberius had concocted the previous night. Additionally, the woman had to swear repeatedly that no further demonstrations were to be conducted, no matter how benign the device purportedly was, before Alex consented for the madwoman to even stand within arm’s reach of the box resting atop the table. “Are you quite satisfied?” Serene asked, clearly demonstrating that her patience had been pushed to the limit.
“Not really, but…whatever,” Alex sighed. “Just do your thing and get it over with. And don’t you dare point anything at me again.”
“Splendid. First, I wish to show you these little darlings,” she continued, unveiling a small plastic bag. Reaching in, the inventor produced a handful of purple pills, which she doled out between her two employees.
“And these are?” Alex asked, sniffing the capsules suspiciously.
“Cyanide! Should you be captured by the enemy, of course!” Serene paused a moment and stared at Alex mischievously, whose mouth was open wide and his eyes glinting of another fit welling within. But as soon as Alex proceeded to engage in a volatile protest, his face turning beet red, Serene burst out in uproarious laughter. “Dear me! You should have seen the look on your face! I was being facetious, darling. Even I enjoy the delights of levity from time to time. These are not cyanide pills.”
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