The Turn
Chapter
Twenty-One
~The Fixer’s
Job~
Two Years
before The Turn
Jekyll stood
in his motel room bathroom. He fixed his tie as he stood in front of the
mirror. Already donned in his suit, he had very little to do. No one knew his
appearance so there was no need to take on another form which he could easily
do. Casually, he fitted on two white gloves on his long slender hands. It
wouldn’t be good for him to leave any fingerprints. He left the bathroom into
the living space. A laptop computer sat on the small desk. He picked it up and
stored it in a black suitcase. After that, he put on his hat and left the room.
Purposefully,
Jekyll left the door slightly ajar and went to hand in his set of keys to the
room. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a group of men gathered for
some questionable purposes. In a bad neighborhood like this, money was tight.
Selling anything was always on the thought on people’s minds. Jekyll counted on
it. That way any DNA that he might have left behind would be destroyed or too
degraded if his things were found. He thanked the motel owner and left.
Jekyll walked
down the street and called a cab. The cab driver was annoyingly talkative.
Fortunately, as a doctor he had mastered the ‘oh, how interesting’ nod. He
could do it subconsciously now without trying. The cab stopped in front of a
car rental place and Jekyll stepped out.
“Hello, sir!”
a man said and walked up to him, “Are you here to rent a car today, sir?”
“No,” Jekyll
muttered, “I’m here to buy petunias.”
“Right,” the
man laughed uncomfortably under Jekyll’s hard stare, “Are you looking for
anything in particular?”
“The Lexus SE
350,” Jekyll said clearly.
“We have
those but we also have some nice vehicles over here…” the man’s voice trailed
away.
Jekyll glared
at him, “I don’t want your sales pitch, get me the eff-ing Lexus…now.”
“Right,” the
man could barely whisper, the client looked ready to kill, “Follow me please.”
The man let
him into the building itself. He walked behind a desk and typed briefly at a
computer. Jekyll waited patiently. He glanced at the watch on his arm. He still
had time.
“Name, sir?”
“Armitage
Shanks,” Jekyll produced an ID.
“Thank you,
Mr. Shanks,” the man said, “How many days will you be using this car?”
“Just one,”
Jekyll stated.
“That will be
$125. How will you be paying?”
Jekyll opened
his wallet, “Cash.”
“I’m sorry
sir, but we only take credit—”
“How’s a
thousand dollars?” Jekyll slapped ten hundreds on the desk. Conveniently, it
was when the other saleswoman was busy with a client.
“We don’t
normally deal in cash,” the man whispered.
“I’m sure you
can think of what you can use the cash for,” Jekyll looked disinterested as he
waited.
The man
looked cautiously around. Inevitably he accepted it, “I’m guessing you won’t
want to supply a contact number, address or e-mail?”
Jekyll smiled
darkly, “You’re catching on.”
“Please give
me one moment to print out the contract,” the man walked quickly to another
room.
Jekyll
watched him closely; making sure the young man wasn’t second guessing himself.
But the young man didn’t try anything. By his appearance he was trying to work
his way through college and the extra $800 would be a welcomed gift. The boy
came back and handed Jekyll the contract. He glanced over the contract. It was
a standard contract nothing special. He signed his alias name making sure to
change it from his usual signature.
“Thank you,
sir,” the man said as he accepted the contract, “Follow me to your car.”
They walked
out front toward the car. The man handed Jekyll the keys and stepped back.
“Hey, where
are you from anyway?” the man asked.
Jekyll
shrugged, “I’m from a small island. Doubt you’ve ever heard of it.”
“What do you
do?”
Jekyll looked
at him a moment before entering the car, “You don’t take bribes all that often
do you? Good. Never take one again.”
“Yes, sir,”
the man muttered.
Jekyll closed
the door and started the engine. He drove it off the lot and headed down to the
police station. It was already late in the night and he had a lot to do and a
lot of different people to be. But that was his job as a Fixer. The job as a
Fixer was to fix whatever the Tower needed fixing. It was a vague description
but it didn’t need to be specific. If information suddenly needed to disappear,
it was his job to make it disappear. If there was a journalist that was getting
too close, it was his job to dissuade them to dig any closer. In this case, he
had to get Agents out of a sticky situation. He pulled up to the police station
and got out of the car.
Jekyll walked
up the steps and walked in. He walked confidently into the police department. Briskly
and with an air of superiority he walked toward the interrogation room.
Detective Row saw him walk by as he sat in his desk. He got up and followed the
man. Jekyll walked into the room where Zara sat.
Zara looked
up and saw Jekyll. She had to remember to keep her composure. Unlike Chaud, she
hadn’t seen or talked to Jekyll. She wasn’t exactly sure about the reason why
Jekyll was here but she could guess that he was getting them out. Zara sat
patiently waiting for the back story in order for her to improvise.
“Excuse me,”
Row stated as Jekyll set his suitcase on the table, “Who might you be?”
“Armitage
Shanks,” Jekyll looked at Row, “I’m here to bring my clients home.”
Row raised an
eyebrow, “You’re their lawyer?”
“Yes, and
you’ve had my clients here more than necessary,” Jekyll glanced over at Zara,
“We’re going now.”
Silently,
Zara stood up. Jekyll headed out of the room. Row stepped aside as Jekyll went
to fetch the others. Zara walked past Row and stood in the hallway. She looked
down the hallway and saw Naru walking out of his interrogation room. He looked
worn down and tired. Vicky looked a little shaken. She smiled a tentative
smile. Deontay looked annoyed. Hands on hips, he sighed. Chaud was the only one
who looked happy.
“Hullo!” he
chimed as he walked up to Zara. She simply glared at him.
“Come on,”
Jekyll muttered as he walked passed.
“Mr. Shanks, I
would like them to come back for further questioning,” Row said, watching
Jekyll closely, “How’s tomorrow at noon.”
Jekyll
smiled, “We’ll see if we can make that work.”
“I’m sure,”
Row didn’t sound convinced.
“Let’s go,”
Jekyll said as he walked out of the station.
Chaud walked
beside Zara as they walked after Jekyll. Deontay wrapped his arm around Naru’s
and Vicky’s shoulders to keep them balanced as they walked. The only person
that was left was Hina but she was in the hospital for the gunshot wounds.
Jekyll walked down the steps to the car and pulled out his keys.
“Here,” he
said quickly. He handed Chaud the keys and Zara the suitcase, “Get to the
airport. There are documents in there. Do NOT touch the laptop.”
“What about—”
Zara started.
“I’ll deal
with it,” Jekyll cut her off.
Jekyll
started walking off down the street. Chaud climbed into the driver seat and the
others situated themselves. Zara looked out the window. Detective Row Harper
stood at the top of the steps. Their eyes locked for a moment. Chaud started
the car and drove off the curb. Zara opened the suitcase. There was a laptop
inside. In a flap there were five six folders.
Jekyll hailed
a cab, “Take me to the hospital.”
When the cab
pulled up to the hospital, Jekyll walked inside. He asked for a patient’s room
number, saying that he was their lawyer. When he saw his opportunity he slipped
a white doctor’s robe. He spotted an unguarded duffle bag and emptied its
contents. He placed his hat inside and his white gloves. Jekyll pulled on some
latex free gloves and pulled out a doctor ID to pin on. He wore a surgical
mask.
Jekyll made
his way to Hina’s hospital room. He pulled a wheel chair and pushed it into
Hina’s room. He closed the door behind him and walked up to her bed side. Hina
was sleeping. A large bandage was wrapped around her midsection and her upper
right shoulder.
“Wake up,”
Jekyll said.
Hina’s eyes
opened slowly. She winced as Jekyll helped her into the wheelchair.
“Jekyll?”
Hina said as she woke up.
“They have
you on pain killers don’t they?” Jekyll asked.
“Well, they
tend to do that when you get shot…” Hina said with a sarcastic air.
Jekyll pushed
her out of the room, “Glad to see your cheery attitude is still intact.”
He wheeled
her out of the hospital and into the back of a van. He hotwired the van and
headed toward the airport.
Zara stood
out in the cold air. A small plane sat behind her as she looked back the way
they had come. They were on a rarely used runway, one used for private jets or
smaller planes. There was a pilot, a member of the Tower, waiting for them.
They showed the paperwork that Jekyll had given them and now while the other
four had gone into the plane, Zara stood alone with suitcase in hand. She
sighed as she felt Chaud’s presence suddenly behind her. She was much too tired
to care too much. He draped his suit jacket over her shoulders.
“I wasn’t
cold,” Zara stared.
Chaud
shrugged, “I didn’t want to carry it anymore.”
“Did you
leave anything?” Zara asked.
“I didn’t,”
Chaud shook his head, “but I’m sure Jekyll will go back and tie up loose ends
when we leave. It is his job as a Fixer you know.”
“You knew he
was a Fixer?”
“My dad and
brother practically run the Tower,” he smiled, “You tend to pick things up.
He’s the best too, after my brother though. I was surprised when I saw him at
the hotel.”
Zara looked
at him, “You knew Jekyll was here! You could have given me a heads up!”
“I didn’t see
that it was necessary!” Chaud defended himself, “Besides! The less people that
know about a Fixer the less likely it is to get out in the open!”
Zara remained
silent. She knew he was right. A Fixer’s job was best done with as few eyes on
them as possible. However, she still hated the fact that Chaud couldn’t have
even dropped a hint. Zara squinted in the night. She saw a van driving toward
their location. Her shoulder’s fell in relief as she saw the hospital logo on
its side. It was a good sign that Hina was alright.
The van
pulled up and Jekyll stepped out. He went to open the back of the truck and
Zara followed him.
“Ow! That
hurts so bad!” came Hina’s voice as he pushed her in her wheelchair, “What kind
of doctor are you!?”
Jekyll didn’t
answer her, “Chaud, get her to the plane will you.”
Chaud nodded and
took over wheeling her to the plane. Zara handed Jekyll his suitcase. She also
reached into Chaud’s coat pocket for the car keys.
“Thanks,” she
muttered.
Jekyll barely
took notice, “It’s my job. You’d better get going. I have to dispose of a few
things,” he motioned with his head to the two vehicles.
“Fine,” Zara
turned to walk to the plane.
She walked up
the steps and into the plane. When she sat down, she realized how exhausted she
had been. Zara glanced out the window and saw Jekyll leaning against the
borrowed hospital van. He stared at the plane with bored vacant eyes. She saw
Chaud sit across from her out of the corner of her eye. The plane started to
move and despite her best efforts, Zara yawned and her eyes got heavy. The
plane took off a few moments later.
Jekyll
watched the plane take off into the sky. When he saw that this part of his job
was done he opened the driver side door and pulled out the duffle bag. He took
out his hat and placed it on his head. After that he took off all the things he
borrowed from the hospital and placed them in the bad before shoving the bag
back into the van. He had made sure that he take out his gloves and put them on
again. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a bottle of spray paint. He
covered the van with insults against health care and the like. He also put the
suitcase in the driver’s seat. Finished with that part of the disappearing act,
he walked back to the rented Lexus.
He got in the
car and started the engine. As he drove away there was a large explosion behind
him. The van was now covered in flame and smoke.
Jekyll looked
in the rear view mirror, “That was cutting it close, actually. I should delay
the timer a bit next time to anticipate for over eager salesmen.”
He drove out
of the city on to a rather rural road. There was a nearby cliff and Jekyll
stepped on the gas as he neared it. At the last possible moment, he jumped out
of the car and rolled to safety. The car crashed down the side of the cliff,
catching ablaze as it crashed and fell. Jekyll got to his feet and dusted
himself off. He walked to the cliffs edge and looked over. Satisfied, he
crouched down and produced a surgical scalpel from his own wrist. He wrote DR. J in the soil and rock. The police
would know what that means. Yes, he used to be a serial killer but it wasn’t
like you think.
He used to
kill killers in a twisted sense of justice. He was a doctor in his respected
neighborhood. Where he lived it was crime ridden and gang owned. There was
rarely a day where there weren’t reports of a dead body or a drug deal gone
wrong. As a doctor, he had lost a lot of patience in his time. One day, a small
five year old girl came in with life threatening injuries and died on his table
as he was trying to save her life. Frankly, he snapped. He left, barged into
the drug cartels office, and murdered everyone there and carved up the cartel
leaders face. He left his name in blood on the wall. DR. J. He had several more
victims before the Tower got ahold of him. Instead of killing him, like they
should have, they offered him a place after extreme counseling.
Jekyll stood
up and sighed. He looked at the scalpel in his hand. It retracted back into his
arm, fitting into its place in his body. He barely winced. Jekyll wasn’t ever
really sure when he had had this ability. It could have been during one of his
killings and the true aim of one of his victims but he didn’t remember ever
dying. He walked away from the scene. Then again, he could still be human. In
that case, he was nothing more than a monster.
