“Just so you know,” said Arex, “you’re not the first one. Ask for Corey Rodgers, Mika Nomura, or Mike Scatchard. Tell them what you saw, don’t leave anything out. Maybe they’ll give you more than just another ten dollars.”
“But I don’t get it, why would you…”
“Like I said, I’m not the one who stole your money. I wish you’d believe me. Hang on.”
Arex took the man aside. Jason couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but something made the homeless man put his hand to his mouth.
When the man left and the crowd had dispersed, they continued towards Jason’s apartment.
“Arex, why did that guy think that you stole from him?”
“Do you promise not to tell anyone what I’m about to tell you? Not even Janiece can know about this.”
“I promise.”
“Okay, here’s the thing: there’s been a string of robberies lately. Several homeless people have had their money stolen. What I told that guy in secret is that I saw one of those victims being beaten really violently. He was lucky to be asleep when the robbery took place.”
“But the guy said you’re the one who stole from him. You’re not exactly one to blend in the crowd.”
“You’re right, but I’m not the one who robbed those people. That should tell you something.”
Jason didn’t piece it together right away. How could someone claim that Arex, who was a humanoid reptile, had stolen money from them, especially since he never needed any money. Arex was the only product of the A.R.EX. project, at least, that’s what most people thought. Unless…
“No way. You don’t mean that…”
“That’s right. There’s another reptile out there who looks somewhat like me. The FBI has known this for a while now.”
“Why didn’t they tell us anything? Why are they keeping this a secret?”
“They want to keep this under wraps, at least for now. If everyone knew that someone who looks like me was robbing homeless people blind, I’m the one who would have everyone on my back. Everybody would be blaming me. If that happens, then the real thief has done his job. The FBI believes that the thief is trying to get me in trouble. This is why nobody can know this yet. You have to promise me that you won’t tell anybody.”
Jason felt his friend’s eyes pierce right through him, pleading with him to keep the secret.
“I swear, I won’t tell anyone.”
Arex nodded, convinced of his sincerity. They had an agreement.
“Good. I owe you a Whopper, Jas. For now, I’m really not hungry.”
Chapter 7
Monday, July 8, 6:45 p.m.
New York City
Arex was always glad when he had a new student. It was especially a thrill when the person in question had only him the day he signed up. That meant that he and his students could have some fun with his new initiate.
Arex’s classes always started at 6:30 p.m., but he told the new student, Gianlorenzo Di Nicola, to arrive at 7:00. When people started to file into the gym, he got them in on the prank.
He got everyone to do some stretching while they waited. At 6:50, he sat them down while Jason stood watch at the door. After a couple of minutes, everyone heard Jason showing Gianlorenzo how to adjust his uniform properly.
Eventually, they both appeared in the room. The new guy was both awed and surprised that Arex had everyone sit down. Most of the lights were turned off, which left only the mat illuminated with Arex standing in the middle. Arex wanted to create an air of mystery and suspense which would frighten Gianlorenzo. Hopefully everyone would be able to keep a straight face and go with the joke.
“Welcome, Gianlorenzo,” said Arex, trying his best to make his voice sound mysterious. “I hope you will become a great student.”
Jason sat down in the circle with the rest of the students. Arex stopped Gianlorenzo from following suit.
“You can’t just sit down with the rest of the students just like that. You have to be tested first. Let’s see how well you measure up against me.”
Arex stood up, positioning himself in a stance he’d seen in a movie that would never be used in Aikido. Let’s see how much he already knows.
It was clear that his new student knew nothing of Aikido. His eyes went wide at the site of Arex looking like he was ready for combat.
“Go ahead, newbie, give me all you got.”
The fear gripped Gianlorenzo as Arex motioned him to make the first move. Uncertain of what to do, the Italian took a step back.
“Scared? You should be. I only keep the best in this class. If you can’t keep up, you’ll fall behind. I don’t like slackers.”
At that point, it was also painfully obvious that his new recruit knew nothing of Arex’s personality or his teaching methods. When the joke was going to be revealed, it was going to be a while before the young man would trust him, but Arex had to teach him a lesson about the difference between hearing about someone and actually knowing that person. He also felt it his duty to teach his students that learning martial arts is more than what was seen in the movies.
Gianlorenzo was so focused on Arex, he failed to notice Kip Simon snickering right behind him. In fact, Arex himself was smiling, though naturally, his expression was harder to see. It wasn’t until Kip and Jason, who was sitting right next to him, started laughing uncontrollably, did Arex relax his fake stance. Pretty soon, all of the class was hysterical, except for Gianlorenzo, who was looking around, still wondering what had just happened.
“Don’t worry, we’re just joking. For very obvious safety reasons, I don’t spar with my students. It’s a self-imposed rule. Welcome to my class. Everyone, meet Gianlorenzo Di Nicola. Hopefully, he’ll be with us again next class if we didn’t make him angry.”
Gianlorenzo heaved a huge sigh of relief and smiled. It seemed he somewhat enjoyed the joke, even if it was played on him. He and Arex shook hands. The rest of the class went by without a hitch, though Arex had noticed something strange about Alice Smith, who was usually very cheerful and vibrant. She wasn’t being herself. Every time she and Arex exchanged glances, she immediately looked down, as if she was ashamed to find herself there. It felt as if she was afraid of something, though Arex couldn’t figure out what. The tension was lessened somewhat towards the end of the class as she was paired off with Gianlorenzo, but her smile would fade when she saw him. Arex recognized whenever somewhat looked at him funny, but that would usually happen when someone met him for the first time and was unsure of how to approach him. Alice had known him for a while now, so this behaviour didn’t make sense.
At the end of the class, he had her stay so that she could express her feelings to him in private.
“I’ve noticed that you’ve been strangely during the entire class. You’re not yourself today. Is there something wrong?”
“I don’t know. It’s…I don’t even know what happened.”
“You can talk about it, whatever it is. Is there a problem with work? Is it your family?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s something I saw on my way home from work on Saturday. It was like something out of a dream…or more like a nightmare come true…no offence.”
“That depends on whether or not I should be taking any. You’ve been giving me these strange looks today and I have to ask why. We’ve known each other for six months now. I can’t imagine why you’d be acting so awkwardly in front of me. If I’ve said or done anything to offend you or make you feel uncomfortable, I’m sorry, but I can’t imagine what that might be.”
“YOU didn’t do anything to make me feel awkward, but it’s just…when I was walking home from work Saturday, I saw a lot of blood and a dead body, or at least, what I thought was a dead body because it reeked. When I uncovered it, I saw a reptile’s body, one that looks like you. I was so shocked, I mean I thought that you were dead, but then I saw the pattern on his body. He didn’t have your lightning bolts, but these orangey blotches. I never knew about another reptile. Did y
ou know about this? Was a part of that project your were created in? I just don’t understand.”
“I don’t know who it is, but I do know what’s going on. Come on, let’s go to the FBI field office. They need to hear this.”
Chapter 8
July 8, 8:30 p.m.
FBI Field Office
Mika found herself being reprimanded by her superior. Rodgers didn’t appreciate the way she had handled the investigation.
“I can’t believe you told Reeves all about the case. No civilian was supposed to know what we’re investigating.”
“I couldn’t just interrogate him without giving him a good reason. Besides, I was able to get more information out of him than you think. For example, we now know that there was, in fact a test in July of ’98. The test subject went berserk, and killed most of the scientists, as well as destroying most of the equipment in the chamber. And there’s more: not only are Erikson Meyers’ memories gone, but Arex is going to have to live with the body he has forever. The effects of the A.R.EX. serum are permanent, at least as far as Patrick Sandlak was concerned. He didn’t even attempt to reverse the serum’s effects.”
“It’s probably something that wasn’t high on his priority list, anyway. There really isn’t much in terms of new information, and ”
“So know we know that Mark Reeves isn’t our reptile. He’s still on the list of possible accomplices, however. I think it’s highly unlikely that this reptile is roaming the streets without any help. It’s probably another reason why our victim count isn’t higher.”
“Still, we need to get that reptile off the streets. His puppet master must also be a priority.”
“I have a question. It might seem stupid to bring this up, but if the reptile is being manipulated, shouldn’t that logically mean that he’s also capable of being reformed? Were are still talking about a living being. He should technically have just as much a right to live than those homeless people he hurts.”
“I can’t ignore that, but I also can’t ignore the fact that he’s been manipulated for the past five years. I can’t assume he will cooperate with us if we capture him. Besides, everything we guess about him is pure speculation until we get our evidence.”
Just then, Mike came in, bringing a homeless man along with him.
“This man wants to give us a statement about his own experience with you-know-what out there.”
They settled the man in a conference room.
“Alright, sir, we are going to tape record this interview. For the sake of this recording tell us your name and explain your account to us clearly, and with as much detail as possible.”
“Yes, sir. My name is Elliot Gardiner, and I’ve been on the streets for ten years now. This morning, I was asleep in an alleyway near Central Park. I woke up when I felt someone feeling through my pockets. I knew right away that someone was trying to rob me. The guy took my money and started to run away. I half-opened my eyes to see who it was, and I saw someone that looked just like Arex, climbing a ladder out of the alley. I don’t have very good legs, so I couldn’t climb, but I figured I could go to the police.”
“What did they tell you?”
“It didn’t get a chance to contact them. When I rounded the next block over, I saw Arex walking away with that boy he’s always seen with, Jason. I got to him and confronted him, and I got really mad at him because he acted like he didn’t even know what was going on. I screamed out loud that he was a thief, but he never got mad at me. He gave me twenty dollars, which was double what was stolen from me. He then wrote down the directions to get here and insisted that I speak to you. I must’ve dozed off in the subway, because I should have been here before. I’m sorry.”
Rodgers gave the man 50$ for his information and escorted him outside. Mika was about to finish documenting the tape recording when she was told Arex was waiting down in the lobby with a young woman. She met them there, and Arex explained that the woman, Alice Smith, was here to give a statement about what she had seen on Saturday.
“I was on my way home from work, when I noticed a really nasty smell coming from and alleyway. I was curious, so I went to go see what it was. When I got there, there were garbage bags ripped open and a trail of blood leading to what I thought was a dead body hidden underneath some bags and some cardboard boxes. I uncovered it, and I saw Arex lying there with a lot of blood on his shirt. I thought he was dead, at first, but then I realized he was breathing. I calmed down enough to also realize that it wasn’t Arex. The pattern on his body was different. That guy had the pattern of a Gila Monster, with orange blotches. It was like paint was thrown on him.”
That was some new information that Mika could use. Nobody had looked at the pattern on the other reptile’s body in Officer Mackenzie’s tape. It was often assumed that the other reptile looked exactly like Arex. Of course, it was also possible that her target.
“This might be something we can build on. I will have to check that tape again. Thank you, miss Smith. I will see to it first thing in the morning.”
Mika immediately wrote it down in her notebook:
Got to look at the tape of the mugging, what’s the pattern on his skin?
Chapter 9
Friday, July 11, 1:25 p.m.
FBI Field Office
After spending a few days covering the investigation up, Corey Rodgers finally decided it was time to hold a press conference, and reveal to the public just what was going on. He knew that this was going to bring down unwanted attention on Arex, but this was necessary if they were going to have any help in finding their man before he would escalate in his actions and possibly kill someone, whether intentional or not.
Nomura had double-checked the video tape of the attack on the 4th of July. She was able to confirm what the witness, Alice Smith, had told her. The reptile in the video did, in fact, have a different pattern on its skin than Arex.
It was important for Rodgers to set the records straight after some information was leaked to the press. A news report the day before had put Arex in the spotlight as a prime suspect. Arex was there, today, sitting next to Nomura, as a guest, and that should have been clear, although he knew he would have to tell the press that himself.
The crowd of reporters had assembled there from just about every major news channel in the country. It was probably very awkward for Arex to be sitting there, especially considering the guy’s complete shunning of the media. Rodgers would have to do a lot to protect Arex from the unwanted attention he had yet to receive. The hard question were his to answer.
“Thank you very much for coming, ladies and gentlemen of the press. As you know, there have been several incidents in the past few weeks involving petty theft of several homeless people. Witnesses have come forth with information, some of them swearing they saw Mr. Rivers attack these people while they were awake at the time of the theft. I will tell you right away that Mr. Rivers is innocent. Two field agents who are well acquainted with him were present when he was hosting a 4th of July gathering while one of the attacks took place, and have already testified to that. Now, obviously, the question is: who is that other reptile, and what does it want? Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do anything other than speculate as to the reason behind these attacks. We do know that this reptile has a different pattern on his skin. We now turn to the public for information on the whereabouts of this reptile. He will likely attack again, even though we know he is trying to frame Mr. Rivers for his actions. If you have any questions, please ask them now.”
Several hands shot up. Rodgers started picking them from the crowd.
“Is there any possibility that these thefts might just be the product of a man or woman in a reptile suit?”
“That’s a good question. We have been able to determine from an eyewitness account that this is not some elaborate hoax. We are not talking about a man in a costume. Yes?”
“Does this have anything to do with BIOGENCORP or the A.R.EX. project?”
“We certainly hope no
t. I can assure you that any of the scientists involved with this project are not allowed within fifty yards of anything relating to scientific research of any kind. We have been able to interview half of them and all are adamant that Dr. Patrick Sandlak was the only one who knew the contents of the formula he created.”
“I heard that a video tape showed one of the attacks, and that the examination of that piece of evidence has led you to believe that Arex is innocent. What exactly makes you think this is a different reptile?”
“We have an eyewitness who uncovered the reptile while it was hidden in an alley and had fallen asleep for some reason. I’m certain that after what I’ve just said that such a lousy mistake will never happen again, but it is essential for the public to know everything they need. We have commissioned a special mask from a special effects company to compare with what you will see in the video we will release to you shortly.”
Nomura had stood up and brought a cardboard box to him. He opened it, revealing a latex mask with a moveable jaw prosthetic.
“This mask was made using an artists’ sketch provided to us using the video. Right away, you will notice that the pattern on the mask is different from Mr. Rivers’. The pattern here, for those of you who don’t know, is very close to a Gila Monster’s. And when I put it on…”
Rodgers struggled for a moment to fit the mask on his head. He had to put it on right in order to make the whole thing seem as realistic as possible. He felt his dignity leave him as several people in the audience started chuckling. He heard Arex let out a throaty sound he hoped was laughter.
“Now, if Mr. Rivers would please come here and stand beside me for a comparison demonstration.”
Arex walked up to him, avoiding eye contact with him. It was possible he wasn’t too happy with the little demonstration.
The A.R.EX. Origin Page 5
