The Turn: Chapter Twenty-One

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.