by Sharon Sant
There was no one there.
Nine: Carefully Planned Coincidences
‘Who, exactly, were we chasing?’ Luca panted, scratching his head.
‘Alex!’
‘I guessed that, I just didn’t see her.’
‘You must have done?’ Jacob now felt more uncertain. Did he want to see her so badly that he imagined her? Or perhaps he had seen someone who simply looked like her.
‘Please don’t tell me we’ve just chased some random girl down the street.’ Luca glanced around, noticing that people were staring at them.
‘No,’ Jacob said more confidently, ‘I’m sure it was her. Why else would she run away?’
‘Erm… let me think? Because a couple of nutters were chasing her for no apparent reason?’
‘I’m telling you, it was her!’ Jacob snapped.
Luca held up his hand in defence. ‘Alright, if you say so. If it is her, what do we do now?’
Jacob squinted down the alleyway. It looked like a dead-end, lined with bins and empty wooden pallets all encrusted with city grime. There seemed to be nowhere she could have escaped to. He tried to sense her once again, but there was only blackness, a void where her consciousness ought to be. Her defences were solid; if his had been half as effective as Alex’s were, the fact that Makash had managed to find Jacob at all on that fateful first meeting was seriously impressive.
‘I’ll have to go back to plan A. If she’s here, chances are someone else nearby knows something about her. I’ll just have to keep listening in.’
‘You reckon?’ Luca questioned, uncertainty clouding his expression.
Jacob felt more conviction than he had done in days; it was only a small breakthrough, but a breakthrough nonetheless. ‘I have to try,’ he insisted.
Luca nodded and cast around for a place to sit. He gestured to low wall overlooking the beach. ‘Why don’t you settle there and do your stuff and I’ll go get ice-cream.’
Jacob cocked an eyebrow. ‘Ice-cream?’
‘Yeah,’ Luca said with a grin. ‘Always helps me to concentrate.’
Long after the lowering sun had set the pastel beachside buildings ablaze with dancing colours, they continued to sit on the wall. Luca spent the time tapping his foot in an impatient tattoo or messing on his phone, while Jacob seemingly stared into space. Every so often, Luca would break his concentration with some piece of trivia or a pointless question. Jacob tried hard to be patient, reasoning that it was probably not easy for his exuberant friend to sit still like this. He had told Luca, more than once, that he was happy for him to wander off alone for a while but, for some reason, Luca insisted on staying with him, despite the fact that he was clearly bored.
Finally, with a vague realisation that their last train was imminent and not wanting them to be stranded, Jacob snapped himself back to his immediate surroundings and stretched.
‘Nothing?’ Luca asked.
Jacob shook his head. ‘Not a thing. You mind if we come back tomorrow?’
Luca hesitated.
‘Or I could come on my own, if you wanted to do something else,’ Jacob added.
‘Course not. If we’re close to finding her, you’re going to need me to look out for you.’
Jacob thought it prudent not to mention the times that seemed to have slipped Luca’s mind, the ones he had spent alone in Anaheim.
‘Why’s that?’ he asked.
Luca shrugged. ‘Seeing how zoned out you were today... I dunno… it makes me feel like you can’t know what’s going on around you, like you’re stuck in this little place in your head. I don’t like it.’
Jacob wondered if he might have a point. While he was in his trance-like state, he was acutely aware of his psychic connections and of threats from others like himself, but sometimes he neglected to notice danger from the physical world.
‘Thanks. That would be good.’ He gave his friend a grateful look. For all the times he wished he had come to California alone, the heavy burden of being Watcher meant he coped with almost everything life threw at him alone and the realisation often crushed him. No matter what he told himself, he was glad to have someone looking out for him.
‘Cool.’ Luca checked his watch and jumped from the wall. ‘We’d better get to the station before we’re stuck sleeping with the winos downtown.’
The following day they took the earliest train and headed straight to Venice Beach. At first they wandered up and down the beachside strip, mostly so that Luca didn’t get bored. Jacob was tired when they arrived, but as the day wore on the dry heat, coupled with his intense concentration levels, took their toll on Jacob’s already dangerously depleted energy reserves. He realised that if he was going to be of any use to anyone when the time came, he was going to have to slow down. But the obsessive streak that ran stubbornly through him refused to let him rest.
‘We’ll get something to eat, come out again afterwards,’ Luca said, as he gradually became aware of Jacob’s deteriorating mood. Jacob started to argue but Luca held up a hand to silence him. ‘Even you can’t keep this up all day with no break.’
Jacob relented, quietly relieved. ‘Where d’you want to go?’
‘There’s a restaurant I thought looked alright, off the main beach road, we could go there.’
Jacob nodded assent and followed as Luca started off in the direction of the restaurant, weaving his way through the crowds of pedestrians.
Something, a warning, suddenly crashed in on Jacob’s awareness. He halted in the road, the feeling of dread washing over him. Luca, noticing he was now walking alone, turned around.
‘What is it?’ Luca asked, making his way back. On Jacob’s face was a look he was beginning to recognise only too well, one that filled him with trepidation. Jacob stared at him, his eyes clouding to a coal black. He stumbled slightly and Luca caught him by the elbow. ‘What’s the matter with you?’
Jacob seemed to snap back to his surroundings as suddenly as he had been taken. He looked his at his friend with a new, unnerving coldness. ‘It’s Makash,’ he said quietly, ‘he’s here.’
There were times when Jacob seemed to Ellen and Luca to be more Ioh than Jacob, when his alien alter ego took over. Although neither of them would ever say it out loud, it was a side to him that was almost frightening. There was an overwhelming sense of immense power, of something hopelessly beyond their understanding. This was one of those times. It was the Watcher speaking now, not Jacob.
‘Are you sure?’ Luca asked, nervously scanning the wide promenade.
Jacob continued to stare at him with clinical detachment. ‘Certain.’
‘Do you know where, exactly?’
‘I only know he’s close by.’
A part of Luca wanted to point out that this information was a bit too vague to really work with, but he held his tongue, still in the thrall of this unfamiliar Jacob. Instead, he asked: ‘What do we do?’
‘I’m thinking about that,’ Jacob replied slowly, as if he were working through the very words he spoke. ‘Let’s walk,’ he added, spurred into action again.
‘Where to?’
‘You wanted a burger, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, but –’
‘Then we’ll go get a burger,’ Jacob said in a strangely toneless voice.
Ioh’s consciousness had been jolted into action and there was no room for Jacob. His scalpel-sharp thoughts ran through plans, possibilities, consequences of his every course of action, his every decision. Something bigger than him was guiding him now and the choice to continue with their plan to get lunch had not come from him. Inexplicably, it just seemed like the right thing to do.
Jacob’s stride lengthened as he marched, as though pulled by some invisible force, down the beach road towards their intended destination. Even though he had not known where Luca was going to take him, instinctively, his feet moved him in the right direction. Luca found himself almost jogging to keep up. Jacob was beginning to freak him out now, and he was ready to say so when his fri
end stopped, staring ahead.
‘This way,’ he said, starting up again. Luca wasn’t sure what lay this way. The thought that Ioh was now leading him straight to Makash instead of the restaurant made him increasingly anxious.
‘Are we still going to lunch?’ he asked.
‘Yes. And no.’
Luca frowned. ‘Well, are we?’
‘Yes.’
‘What about the no bit?’
‘We’re going to find Kya too.’
Luca gaped. ‘How?’
‘Trust me.’
‘All I ever do is trust you,’ Luca muttered to himself. ‘Usually gets me into trouble.’ Despite the sentiment, he continued to follow where Jacob led, having little other choice than to believe that his friend would not lead him to his doom.
Turning from the coast road into the street behind, they were greeted by the sight of the sun glinting off the high windows of a rococo-fronted building. Wooden café furniture ranged across the pavement in front, bustling waiting staff weaving in between.
‘That’s it.’ Luca pointed to the building.
‘I know.’
Luca shot him a sideways glance.
‘We need to sit inside,’ Jacob added.
‘But it’s gorgeous out here…’ Luca began to protest. He was silenced by the detached expression still smoothing Jacob’s features. ‘Sure, sit wherever you like,’ he concluded lamely.
They stepped into the restaurant, the cool gloom of the interior a sudden shock after the glare of the road outside. A girl with long black hair came to welcome them, smiling. Another time, Jacob might have been thrown by her resemblance to Ellen. As she approached, her smile faltered, replaced by a fleeting look of shock. The incident did not escape Jacob’s attention.
‘Table for two?’ she asked, quickly regaining her composure.
Jacob nodded and they followed as she began to show them to an empty booth.
‘Not here, please,’ Jacob called.
She looked taken aback momentarily. ‘Where would you like to sit, sir?’ she asked, gesturing the restaurant with a sweep of her hand, her smile now less genuine than it had been at their arrival. Jacob did a quick scan of the room while Luca threw him an unnoticed questioning glance.
‘That one.’ He pointed to a cramped looking table with two chairs near the kitchen doors.
The girl clearly fought back the impulse to raise her eyebrows in surprise. For most customers, this would be considered the worst table in the house and there were plenty of tables free for them to take a better one. Even her fake smile was now quickly fading. ‘Certainly, follow me.’
They sat down and Jacob ordered them both drinks, not bothering to look at the menu first.
‘Can you feel anything?’ Luca asked in a low voice when the waitress had left them.
Jacob shook his head. ‘I can’t tell what it is. I just know that there’s some kind of connection here.’
‘It’s a bit of a weird coincidence,’ Luca mused, ‘this was the place I was going to suggest for lunch and then it turns out she might be here.’
Jacob stared at him. ‘I don’t believe in coincidence.’
Luca’s mouth worked silently while he searched for a reply. ‘What does that even mean?’ he finally managed to ask.
‘I think something made you notice this place.’
‘But I don’t have Jedi mind powers…’ Luca began to argue.
‘No. But others do.’
Luca stared at his friend while he digested this information. The idea that someone could have been inside his mind without his knowledge, influencing his decisions, was a shock. Especially if that someone was not Jacob – it could only leave one terrifying alternative. He swallowed hard, and was about to ask more when the waitress returned with their drinks.
‘Here you go.’ She placed the clinking glasses on the table. ‘Are you ready to order?’
Luca glanced at Jacob with a silent question.
‘Give us a few more minutes,’ Jacob replied.
She nodded and left them, throwing a lingering, puzzled look at Jacob as she went. He watched her go with a curious expression.
‘She looks a bit like Ellen,’ Luca remarked, noting Jacob’s interest.
‘Does she?’ Jacob replied absently.
‘Come on, don’t say you haven’t noticed.’
‘There’s something else about her…’
‘She gave you a funny look, too. She either fancies you or thinks you’re totally weird.’
Jacob showed a flash of his old self, just for a second, and he grinned. ‘I’ll go for the second option.’ His grin quickly faded and was replaced by the look of cold calculation again.
Jacob didn’t take his eyes from the girl as she went outside with a phone to her ear, throwing a cautious glance back at the restaurant interior as she did. Luca watched as Jacob’s expression went slack, the way he looked when he lost himself to that dark place in his mind. No matter how many times he saw it happen, it still made Luca feel uncomfortable, as if he were witnessing something intensely private that he shouldn’t be seeing. He tore away his gaze and fixed it on the girl as she stood outside the restaurant doorway, conversing in quiet, earnest tones. Feeling doubtful that he should be speaking at all, he questioned Jacob in a low voice.
‘Do you think she knows something?’
Jacob blinked at Luca, as though surprised to see him there. ‘Shush for a minute.’
Luca clamped his mouth up with a slight look of vexation, the next enquiry dying in his throat. Jacob continued to stare vacantly at the girl. To another diner, reflected Luca with some irony, it would seem as though Luca had brought out his simpleton friend for a meal. No one in that room could begin to imagine or understand the intelligent calculation and sheer mental power behind that empty visage.
Jacob, with quiet confidence, was now beginning to fit the clues of the puzzle into place…
From the girl Ioh sensed anxiety… and desire, guilt, something else… fear? All these feelings were linked with a name… Troy. It took a moment to separate these engulfing raw emotions into something meaningful, but, slowly, her thoughts came through more clearly, surfacing like the splinters of driftwood from a wrecked ship. Jacob felt the tingle of excitement and he forced himself to ignore it and concentrate – he had found a connection. Troy and Alex. This girl knew them both. He had a flash of the interior of a cramped apartment, film posters covering the walls, a pile of paperwork - rejection letters, audition notices - unwashed dishes in a sink… curtains always drawn to keep out the light and… the outside world? A man of about twenty pacing the floor, tensed, intimidating… he was speaking to Alex in controlled yet threatening tones. She shouted back and he raised his hand to slap her. All this was in the girl’s memories. Jacob sensed another name… Martina, this was the waitress. Martina dashing across the room to hold Troy’s blow back from her friend. The electrifying shock of desire as she touched him, the longing for him mixed in a confused jumble with the fear of him and the guilt for wanting him when he was Alex’s man. They were talking about a robbery. Alex was yelling at him for being stupid, she would not take the blame, she wanted Troy to clear her. Troy laughed and threatened to kill her if she went to the police. Martina hated herself for the way she felt about this man, hated what he was doing to Alex. She would protect Alex however she could but Troy had this weird control over her… There was another image – a door number. 4365. Then the plaque outside the apartment building, the street name…
Jacob shook himself and turned his gaze to Luca, who was still watching the waitress.
‘4365 Clear Spring Apartments,’ Jacob said, a quiet smile lighting his features.
Luca turned to him. ‘Seriously? But how?’
Jacob inclined his head toward the restaurant entrance. ‘Martina… Alex is at her place hiding out.’
‘Who the hell is Martina?’ Luca asked, his glass half way to his lips.
‘The waitress –’
‘That
one?’ Luca interrupted.
Jacob nodded.
‘Wow...’ Luca took a quick gulp of his coke before continuing. ‘Now that’s a power I’d like to have. Think of the chat up possibilities.’ He grinned, but immediately became serious again. ‘Do you know where?’
‘I’m not sure where it is, exactly, but we can find out.’
‘Why don’t we just wait until she finishes her shift and follow her home?’ Luca suggested brightly.
‘No good, we can’t wait that long.’
Luca groaned. ‘Why do I get the feeling this means we’re not going to get any food.’
‘We will,’ Jacob replied, getting up and throwing some money on the table. ‘Just not yet.’
The waitress ended her call and turned back to the entrance to resume her shift. Jacob halted uncertainly.
‘What’s wrong?’ Luca asked.
‘I don’t want her to see us leave.’
‘Why?’
‘She suspects some connection between me and Alex. Alex has told her that two guys chased her down the road,’ Jacob continued, ducking behind a huge potted plant as Martina was summoned to a booth. Luca followed Jacob’s example, feeling extremely stupid as other diners watched them in mild surprise.
‘Could be any two guys…’ Luca replied, wafting a palm frond from his face.
Jacob turned to him, his features in shadow but a wry smile about his lips. ‘Look at me. Do you think anyone who knows Alex is not going to think we look uncannily alike? I’m convinced that Alex, on some level of her consciousness, knew who I was. The first thing she would have told Martina is that one of the guys who chased her looked like her. That’s why Martina was looking at us strangely, and why she dashed out to phone Alex.’
‘Ah. Now I get it.’
Martina stopped at another table to collect some glasses. Jacob and Luca took the chance to steal from the restaurant and emerged, blinking, into the stark sunlight.
A couple of blocks away, Jacob sat on a bench while Luca, protesting the fact that his Italian heritage and lack of food were not a good mixture, went off to get filled pretzels from a nearby stand, leaving Jacob to unfold his flimsy map.
