Up ahead of them was a long stretch of green without anything in between to slow the man down. Beyond that, the next intersection led back into a more commercial area of the city.
The best Gus could hope for at this point was to keep him in viewing distance, and then for something to slow him down. If Gus could clear whatever the obstacle was faster than the other man, he’d start to catch up.
He was confident in his strength, agility, and stamina. But his speed was only that of a fairly fast human.
Patrick is a damn world-record sprinter, or he’s not a damn human!
Especially for his age.
Struggling with himself, Gus tried the only thing left to him.
Telepathy.
He snapped out with force and tried to smash at the man’s mind. It wasn’t something he liked to do, but he knew he could do it.
The man stumbled for only a single step and then kept running. Though he did turn around and look back at Gus for a second.
A slow and steady fear began eking out of him now. Fear that Gus was more than just a human. That his secrets would be laid bare for any and all to read.
Latching on to that fear, Gus immediately began to draw it in. To feast on it.
He felt a rising power with each step. His legs pumped harder as he slowly began to speed up with each sweet breath of fear.
Except fear worked both ways. Fear could give even the slowest criminal wings.
Pouring on the speed, the man began to distance further from Gus.
Then he ran out of grass. There was a wall in front of him. He could go up and over it, left, or right. No matter which way he went, though, it was an opportunity for Gus to close some distance.
Since the man hadn’t deviated at all, it was obvious he was going to vault the wall.
He hit it at full speed and leapt, putting one foot on the wall as he did so.
Getting himself up and over it, he swung himself to the other side and vanished from sight.
This shouldn’t be too bad. It’s nothing. Easy as a hop.
I can do this.
Judging his angle, and how far he could normally jump without getting into his Boogieman self, Gus tried to plan his approach.
When he got close enough, he jumped. He hadn’t done it perfectly, but it was more than enough to make up a few seconds on his target.
His hips hit the top with a thump, and Gus rolled over the top to land on his knees on the other side. The pavement made for an unforgiving landing, however.
Scrambling to his feet, Gus shot off again. He lifted his eyes up and tried to pick out his target. He was in between several buildings. It wasn’t quite an alley, but more like a back street.
Gus couldn’t see the man he believed to be Patrick, but he could taste his fear.
Grinning, Gus followed on at a sprint, dodging to one side of the street.
Then the fear whipped around a corner, which forced Gus to lose a step as he took the turn without slowing down.
When he moved down a much narrower gap between a building and a wall, Gus could see his suspect up ahead again. He didn’t seem to be able to move as fast now that he wasn’t on a flat open field.
Briefly, Gus contemplated lifting Indali and shooting at him. Except he had no reason to do so. He hadn’t seen a weapon on the man, nor had he made any threatening gestures. He’d only run away.
And Gus couldn’t link him to the murder definitively.
Actually, I could probably make it work. Couldn’t I?
He was in the vicinity of a murder and fled from police. He was even behind a vehicle.
Then again, I didn’t stand in front of it, so I can’t claim attempted assault.
Damnit.
Deciding not to shoot, Gus ran on.
The man checked over his shoulder again and found Gus. And his fear started to dump out of him in a hurry.
Gus smiled as he felt the power of it running through him. Charging him up and demanding he get closer. To taste more.
Eat more.
Pushing harder, Gus started to really close the gap now.
Looking ahead once more, the man ducked his head and seemed to be running for all he was worth.
Up ahead of him, a door swung open, and a woman with a kid walked out. It looked like they were going to the dumpster that wasn’t far away, given she had a massive trash bag in her hands.
Skidding across the pavement, the man turned and flew through the still-open door, leaving the woman and the child stunned.
Before the door could close, Gus managed to catch up and jerk it wide open.
Inside was a stairwell that went up and a lobby that led out to the street. The lobby, however, was full of people, and it didn’t look like they’d be easily moved.
Taking a moment to sniff the air, Gus found his prey. He was moving up the stairs now.
Running up the stairs at full steam, Gus didn’t feel the least bit tired. The fear coming from Patrick was growing by the second. He undoubtedly could hear Gus pounding up the stairs behind him.
“Stop!” Gus called out. “Stop or I will shoot!”
He’d decided enough was enough. A verbal warning was more than enough for Gus at this point, and it was likely people in the lobby would hear the shout as well.
“If you don’t stop, I really will shoot!” Gus yelled with as much volume as he could.
There was a bang from above that sounded like a door slamming open. The sound was loud enough and sharp enough to make the hairs on the back of Gus’s neck rise up. He had the distinct feeling that Patrick had a gun, and he couldn’t shake it.
When he reached the door that’d been slammed open, Gus kept going. Patrick’s trail led upward still, even though he’d clearly opened the door on this floor.
Patrick had moved much more quietly after that, it seemed to Gus, and he’d gone into the door on the next floor.
At least, that was the way Gus was reading the trail of fear.
Grabbing the handle, Gus took in a breath and then let it out. From below he could hear the sound of feet pounding up the stairs.
Frowning, he glanced down and wondered if it was Vanessa.
Should I wait? I should wait.
I can do more with her than without. She’s here to help cover me.
After waiting for a moment, Gus was overjoyed when Vanessa appeared on the stairs, coming straight toward him.
“Went in here,” Gus said softly, meeting her eyes.
Sweat was dripping down her brow, her cheeks were red, and she was panting.
Nodding her head, she lifted her weapon and fell in behind Gus, clearly trying to regulate her breathing.
Gus opened the door and peered inside. It was a very dark room. So dark he couldn’t see for a second, until his latent Boogieman eyesight took over for him.
“Can’t see,” Vanessa said in a pant. “I’ll hold the door. Keep him from circling back on you or getting out.”
“Sounds good,” Gus said, then slipped inside. The door closed behind him. Just knowing Vanessa was there was enough to help prick up his courage.
They’d been through a lot together. Vanessa was far and away deserving of his complete trust and faith.
Stopping just inside the door, Gus felt around with his mind, his senses, and the trail of fear Patrick had left behind.
It was overwhelming here. Clearly the man had lost his nerve. The fact that Gus had stayed on him had shaken his confidence.
Crouching down low, so as to not make himself an easy target, Gus looked up at the ceiling. Cupping his mouth with both hands, he spoke toward the tiles above.
“Give it up, Patrick,” Gus said aloud. “Building’s going to be surrounded any second, and I’ve got a whole lot of people coming for you. If you surrender, this goes a lot easier.”
As soon as he was done talking, Gus began to relocate. There was no reason to remain in the same position. Especially with Patrick likely able to figure out around where it’d come from, if not exactly.
“I
can’t,” said the man. “I can’t let you… no. I can’t.”
Shit. That’s… no, no. Can’t let that happen.
Gus knew that tone. Knew the sudden change in the flavor of his fear.
He was considering killing himself.
“Can’t what, Patrick? Talk to me,” Gus said, changing his approach. He needed to take this man into custody. Needed him desperately.
Every time they got close enough to catch or corner someone involved, they vanished. Vanished or died. The council simply had pockets that were too deep. They bought whatever they needed and whoever they wanted.
“I can’t,” Patrick said. “I just can’t. You wouldn’t even understand. You’ve never… dealt… with them. Never seen it.”
Patrick was clearly at the far side of the room. It sounded like he was squatting down near a wall or something, with the way his voice was echoing.
Reaching out with a thought, Gus entered the man’s mind.
Or tried to at least.
He was prevented from entering as completely as if he’d run into the congresswoman’s mask and shield.
Damn. Whoever’s handing out the private enchantments has got to stop. This is becoming a problem. Need to shut that all down before everyone gets one.
“You’re right. I haven’t,” Gus said. “So maybe you could help me out. Maybe if you come in with me, we can talk about it. You can explain it to me, and we can figure out how to fix it.”
“That’s just it, though,” Patrick said. “That’s just it. You can’t fix it because you’re part of it. Don’t you see? You’re not human.”
“Sure I am. My partner, though? Definitely not,” Gus said. “Sometimes I feel like maybe she’s more like a badger.”
“Hahaha,” laughed Patrick. “Hahahahahaha. That’s… that’s actually kinda funny. And not your terrible joke. You think I don’t know what you are?”
Gus was quiet. He didn’t know how to react at first. He was hoping Patrick was just talking about the fact that he was an agent for the Fed.
“A federal agent who’s looking to hear your side of things,” Gus said. “That’s what I am. And to do that, I have to get you out of here safely. Out of here safely and back to the Fed building to talk.”
“Uh huh, sure, sure,” Patrick said, then started to laugh again. “That’s true, though. That’s exactly what you are.”
“What, you think I don’t want to talk with you?” Gus asked. “If I didn’t want to talk, we wouldn’t be talking right now. Now would we? There are many other options I could have taken. I’m here, trying to talk to you.”
“I… that’s… that’s fair,” said Patrick, his voice lowering in volume. “But it doesn’t really change the problem. Doesn’t change the truth of it all. The reality of the world.
“It’s all… all being run from the top. All of it. We don’t even have a choice in it anymore. Just do what we’re told. What we’re lied to about. Demands upon demands.”
He knows who’s actually running it?
I really… really need to get him in to talk. Desperately.
“All the more reason to come in and talk with me and my boss. I promise you we’ll listen. We’ll talk to you. Work something out for all of us,” Gus said, and he meant it. Truly and completely meant it. “I’d guarantee your safety.”
“Of course you would,” Patrick said, his voice trailing off to a mutter. Then he laughed again. “Of course you would. But that just makes it all the worse. You know? All the worse.”
“No it doesn’t. I can guarantee you we’d be there for you, protect you, and make sure you got a good deal out of this. You could help us figure out the missing pieces,” Gus said. “Give us a way out of this and how to figure it all out.”
“Ooooh, I bet you’d like that,” Patrick said. “Bet you’d like exactly that. Tell you where all the cells are, where my friends are, where they’re all hiding. So you can exterminate them.”
“That’s not it at all,” Gus said, shaking his head. “I just want to go after the people at the top. Just like you.”
“Ha, no. No… you don’t,” Patrick said. “You’re an exterminaret. Don’t think I don’t know about you. We’ve been watching for a little while.”
Gus grimaced, not wanting to answer that. He didn’t know what an “exterminaret” was, but he got the gist of it just based on how close it was to “exterminate.”
In other words, you know I’m a Boogieman.
Damnit. I kinda… need to kill him then, don’t I?
I can’t let him go blabbing away to everyone about what I am.
“Don’t worry too much about it,” Patrick said. “Only figured it out today, but didn’t have a chance to report it up. I had visitors I didn’t want tromping all over the place.”
That’s a blessing in a way then, isn’t it? But that doesn’t solve anything. It doesn’t… but… I need to bring him in, don’t I?
Things could get so much worse if I don’t. So much worse.
If the Para world were to be revealed, it’d be a riot the likes of which Necromancers would drool over.
“Well. I think that’s about all for me,” said Patrick. “There really isn’t much left to be said, is there?”
“Sure there is. Like telling me your name, about your family,” Gus said. “What you want to get done and how we can go about that?”
“Heh. Right. Right. I’m afraid that’s already all done and over with,” Patrick said. “I can only hope I’ll be forgiven.”
“Come on, let’s just get out of here and go talk. We can—”
The explosion of a round going off was like a lightning bolt.
There was a brief flash of light and the boom of the round firing, followed immediately by the clatter of what sounded like a gun hitting the floor.
“Shit,” Gus cursed, getting up and hustling over to where he was sure Patrick was.
“Gus!?” Vanessa shouted, opening the door.
“Over here. I think he shot himself,” Gus said, coming up to Patrick.
He was sprawled out behind a crate. Apparently the room was some type of storage area. Everywhere was furniture covered in sheets, crates, and dusty wooden pallets. All cluttered brown wood and white cloth mess.
Except for Patrick, who had a single gunshot wound at his temple.
One of his eyes was looking to the right while the other looked down. Blood was fountaining out of his head in spurts, squirting up onto the box behind him and rapidly making a pool beneath him.
Gus was instantly reminded of stumbling across Olsen after he’d shot himself in the head. The way his eyes weren’t facing in the right direction and even how his hands had pulled up in front of him.
A pose Gus had seen far too often when he’d been destroying Elves.
“Fuck,” he said, holstering Indali and shaking his head.
What Patrick had shot himself with was a nasty looking pistol that looked more like a cannon.
“Fuck, fuck,” Gus said, holding his hands out for a second before bringing them back. He didn’t know what to do for this situation, but he knew beyond a doubt that Patrick was well and truly gone.
Nothing could be done for him.
Patrick’s lungs had already shifted to agonal breathing, as his body didn’t believe his brain that it was dead.
“Oh my—” Vanessa’s voice broke off from behind him. “He really did shoot himself.”
“Yeah,” Gus said, shaking his head. “He was that terrified of the council. So absolutely frightened of them that he’d rather just kill himself than run the risk of them finding out.
“I mean… what’s worse than death? I don’t even… that makes no sense at all.”
“Did he kill himself to protect his secrets then?” Vanessa asked.
“That… seems like it? Maybe? It just doesn’t make sense. He was talking like a man driven beyond normal limits.
“And did you see how fast he was? Like the damn wind,” Gus said. “I had to really push to
catch up to him. I mean, I actually lost him twice, but I caught up with him.”
“Yeah… he was really fast,” Vanessa said, then sighed. “Damn. I really thought… I really thought we finally got a break. Like we made some progress. Even just a little bit.”
“I mean… technically we did,” Gus said, watching as Patrick’s agonal breathing finally ceased. “We stopped who they tapped with killing Newbin, didn’t we?”
“I suppose,” Vanessa said. “Doesn’t feel over, though.”
“No, it doesn’t, Ness,” Gus said.
Nothing felt over at all. It felt like this was when things would get worse.
Chapter 33 - Debrief
The door behind Gus opened and then closed. The soft tread of work shoes on carpet told Gus who it was before he’d even spoken.
“Given the size of the round he used to make his exit,” Mark said, coming into the room. “There wasn’t a damn thing you could do about it once he pulled the trigger. There wasn’t anything anyone could’ve done, even if he did it on an operating table with surgeons all around him.”
“Small comfort,” Gus said, not looking up. He had his face in his hands and was hunched over his knees. “Doesn’t change anything or what I couldn’t do.”
“I mean… yeah,” Mark said with a sigh. The desk in front of Gus creaked, making him lift his head and look up.
Mark was perched on the end of his desk.
“Hey. You did what you could. This is really different than Olsen,” Mark said. “A lot different. Olsen… Olsen wasn’t the same. You know that. We all knew that. He changed out there and… he did what he felt he had to do.”
Gus winced at that. He didn’t want to talk about Olsen right now. In fact, it was one of the furthest things from what he actually wanted to talk about.
Olsen’s face was overlapping with Patrick’s right now, and he really didn’t need anything else to fuel that mental fire.
“Though I do think this is a victory in its own way,” Mark said, holding his hands up. “At least as far as I’m concerned.”
“Yeah? How’s that,” Gus said.
“You pulled out the key person who was likely to take the shot. That house, the dead man, and everything else was all that remained of Patrick’s cell. He was a man alone, with a task all his own. Whatever happened to the rest of his cell, we don’t know, but it’s gone,” Mark said. “I mean, come on, based on what we found in the car and that house, matching it to what we found in Patrick’s home, we can accurately say the shot was going to happen three days from now at the debate. Everything for that one is buttoned up.”
Swing Shift: Book 2 Page 35
