Radioactive: Chapter Twenty-One

Radioactive

Chapter Twenty-One

~Toro! Toro! Ole!~

“There you are Kaiba!” Ing called as hung onto Fang’s back.

“I really don’t get why we even bother finding him,” Riu complained. “I’m just here for Kiri,” she looked around, “Where the heck is she anyway?”

“Good question,” Fang said as he looked around.

Kaiba pointed down a hallway, “She went after Jumper. They ran down that way just before you guys showed up. I was about to follow but I heard you coming.”

“Well, let’s go help her out!” Riu started running off down the hallway when Fang stopped her.

“If she’s chasing Jumper than who is this?” Fang asked. He looked down at the body of Jumper.

Kaiba sighed, “He jumped into another body when we had him cornered and took off. Now are you going to stand there looking like idiots because if you are, I’ll be on my way. I have a criminal to catch.” Kaiba turned around and walked down the hall, “Make yourself useful and bring the body to the surface. We could use it as bait to lure him out.”

Riu pulled her hand out of Fang’s grip, “Aren’t you coming? We’ve got to help Kiri out!”

Fang looked at her, “I suggest that you stay away from him.”

“Hey, I don’t like him but I’ve got to stand by my girl. Stay here for all I care!” Riu walked off after Kaiba.

Fang stood back and watched them. Kiri dropped off of Fang’s back and walked up beside him. He bent forward and looked up trying to gage Fang’s expression. Ing looked down the hall then back at Fang.

“I don’t get it,” Ing stated.

Fang shook his head. Kaiba and Riu were still within sight. As Fang watched them, Kaiba looked over his shoulder. Fang thought he saw a faint smile on his lips. The twosome disappeared down the hallway and could no longer be seen. Fang nodded when his suspicions were confirmed.

“Did I miss anything?” Jekyll asked as he walked into the room. He looked just as bored as usual.

“I think Kaiba isn’t himself right now,” Fang stated.

Jekyll raised a curious eyebrow, “Really, interesting. I wonder if it would still be frowned upon to nearly kill him in this state.”

“Unfortunately, I think it’s still very frowned upon,” Fang smiled, “Just keep in mind that his father wouldn’t take to kindly to you killing his son.”

“What do you mean that Kaiba isn’t feeling like himself?” Ing said.

Fang looked down at the little android, “He doesn’t smell right.”

“You mean…” Ing thought a moment, “But he said that he took control of another person and took off and that Kiri was after him.”

“Can you track Kiri down?” Fang asked, “I don’t know where she is but I can tell you that she isn’t down that hallway.”

Ing did just that. He ran to the railing and stood on the lowest bar. Ing looked over the edge and saw a vat of chemicals below. He pointed down, “It says she’s down there.”

Jekyll walked up to a control panel. He pressed a few buttons and raised a grate that was on a chain in the vat. A round grate rose and revealed the damaged android. She had substantially more damage than when she fell into the chemicals. The chemicals had started eating away at her frame. The grate lowered beside Ing. The little android ran up to the grate and analyzed the damage.

“She can’t use her body anymore but her initial programing should still be intact,” Ing reported. He looked up to Fang, “I’ll need to download her data in order to save her. I need permission to start the download process.”

Fang looked up at Jekyll, “Do you know what that entails?”

“An androids memory space is equal to about…a lot of government grade computers,” Jekyll stated, “It shouldn’t affect his effectiveness.”

Fang looked at Ing and nodded, “Go ahead.”

Ing looked down at Kiri. He changed his form into a strange white misty appearance. A thread of purple light came from Kiri’s android body and swirled wistfully toward Ing’s body. The purple light turned into white as Ing absorbed her data. When he had downloaded her data completely he assumed his normal appearance and looked up at Fang.

“It’s complete,” Ing stated, “Are we going after them now?”

Fang nodded, “That sounds like a plan to me.”

“I guess I’ll come along for amusement,” Jekyll walked past the duo and started down the hallway.

Fang motioned for Ing to follow and started walking off after Jekyll. Ing skipped after Fang as they went to get fake Kaiba before he caused any real trouble.

~§~

Kaiba walked down the hallway. Riu walked behind him. She looked around frequently, not being able to shake off an uncomfortable feeling that she had been experiencing. Kaiba looked over his shoulder and smiled. Sure it wasn’t as easily as he intended but taking them out one by one would work fine. He didn’t like the look that the one known as Fang gave him. Kaiba suspected that Fang knew that something was up. He wasn’t exactly sure how but taking Fang down would be more difficult than he thought.

“Hey, do you even know where you’re going?” Riu asked.

Kaiba sighed and rolled his eyes, “Yes. This way.” He walked into a side room.

Riu followed him. She entered a dark room. It was pitch black and she had trouble seeing where she was going. She couldn’t see where Kaiba had gone and he didn’t make any attempt to let her know where he was. On top of that, the sinking feeling in her stomach wasn’t going away. She stopped; her agitation was through the roof. Riu crossed her arms and refused to take another step.

“Come on, Kaiba! Come out! This isn’t funny! Where are you!?” she called. No one answered. Riu looked around trying to find something that would tell her where she was. The lights suddenly turned on and Riu sighed, “Finally! Where the heck were—”

She stopped; her eyes grew wide with shock. A monstrous mutant was mere inches from her. It towered over her, the horns on its head added to its height. The mutant growled before swiping a massive hand at her. Unable to move quickly enough, Riu was thrown to one side. Riu struck the wall. She grunted in pain before quickly getting to her feet. Riu looked around the room. Kaiba was nowhere to be seen and she was stuck with a rampaging mutant. The room looked like a kind of generator room. It roared and charged at her.

Riu ran around a cylindrical device, placing distance between it and her. The mutant ran into the wall and was stunned for a few moments. Its horns got stuck in the wall. Riu looked up and saw a grate in the ceiling. She looked at the mutant and took several steps back.

“Come on! Come at me!” Riu yelled.

The mutant dislodged his horns from the wall. It turned to her and bellowed. The mutant charged at her. Riu smiled and ran at it as well. As the creature dipped its head to strike her with its horns she jumped on to its back, using it as a step and jumped toward the grate. The grate swung open on its hinges as the creature ran on in to another wall beneath her.

“Aggh!” she grunted as she struggled to hang on to the grate as it swung open.

The creature turned quickly and ran at her. Riu looked over her shoulder. She pulled her legs up and tried to avoid getting her legs skewered by those horns.  The creature passed underneath. With a breath of release she dropped her legs. She started climbing the grate as if it were a ladder. Her legs flailed back and forth as a means of balance. The creature turned again and ran at her. This time it jumped in an attempt to reach her. Again, Riu pulled her legs up. She closed her eyes as she strained to hold on as her center of balance changed. The creature landed with a thud and Riu lowered her legs and climbed a little bit faster.

Finally, as the creature attempted to catch her again, she pulled herself into the ventilation system. Riu flopped over onto her back as she breathed heavily. Once she had caught her breath, she turned over and started army crawling through the ventilation system.

“Oh, when I get my hands on that creep I’ll ring his neck!” Riu muttered to herself as she tried to find her way to the surface.

~§~

Kaiba sighed with annoyance. He sat in a dark corner as he watched the scene unfold, “It looks like she got out. Go after her.” The creature beside him crawled up the wall and disappeared into the vents. Kaiba rolled his eyes, “This is going to be a little harder than I thought.”

Iridescent: Chapter Twenty-One

Iridescent

Chapter Twenty-One

~Private Meetings~

After the Fall

Chaud knocked on the side of the mobile home door. He waited. Inside he could hear male voices talking. While he waited for a response Chaud looked again around the camp. Dr. Jekyll sat in the back of the ambulance. He looked through boxes seemingly taking an inventory. Puppetmaster sat among the children as they climbed and ran around him. Shadow sat on top of the jeep talking to two people who had a disagreement and was trying to sort it out. Tempi slept on one of the four wheelers, her rectangular container sat beside the vehicle. Vicky helped around where ever she could while Amber could be seen in the bus window looking out.

The door opened and Chaud walked in. A wave of heat stuck him as he walked in. He looked in and saw familiar faces. Crow’s blind eyes turned toward Chaud as he entered. His companion, Crane, smiled and waved at Chaud as he sat across from him on a tattered looking couch.

“Ah Chaud, good to see you’re up and about. We were just talking about you,” Fang stated. He was restocking the pantry with canned food in the hallway.

“Is that so?” Chaud asked.

Fang looked at him, “What are your plans? Will you be moving on soon?”

“Jekyll said that I should take it easy for a while,” Chaud said, “Will that be a problem?”

Crow spoke up, “I heard you were getting chased by people. Do you know why their chasing you?”

Chaud sighed, “They want to catch me and my sister in order to pull my parents out of hiding.”

“Well, that isn’t good,” Crane stated.

“I doubt that those hunters will stop chasing you,” Fang stated, “meaning that they won’t care if you’re protected by our caravan.”

“I’ll leave if you want and draw their attention away,” Chaud said, “All I’d ask is that Vicky and Amber stay here.”

Fang looked at Chaud, “You aren’t going anywhere. You’re staying here.”

“But—”

“That’s nonnegotiable,” Fang stopped Chaud before he could say anything, “You’re in no condition to take on that group of people by yourself. You haven’t forgotten that you’ve almost died have you?”

“I’d manage,” Chaud said.

Crane looked at Chaud, “Even if we were to let you go, I don’t think your sister would stay put. I’d even go as far as to say that Vicky might even take her to look for you. It would be safer for you all to stay here where it’s safer.”

Chaud considered the statement. He knew his sister wouldn’t just sit back and hope he would be okay. Chaud sighed.

“Where were you headed?” Fang asked, “We could take you there. At this point we’re just wandering looking for supplies and survivors.”

Chaud thought a moment before answering, “I’m getting my sister off the Island.”

Crow smiled, “And how do you plan to do that?”

“I’m a Galaxy,” Chaud shrugged, “I tend to know things that most people don’t.”

<<<>>>

Dante looked through a pair of binoculars. He watched the camp from a distance. Dante watched as Chaud and a few others left the sweltering heat of the mobile home to the less oppressive desert sun. At least there was wind outside. Dante sighed and as he sat in the sun. He looked over his shoulder at his team behind him all tending to their wounds.

Ai walked up to where her brother lay on his stomach. She stood beside him on the bluff looking down on the camp.

Dante looked up at her, “Get down! Do you want them to see you?”

“I don’t care if they see me,” she said with an unfeeling voice.

Dante looked at his sister. He knew when she was disappointed and frustrated. In their history of crime together, this had been the most unfruitful job that they had been on. Dante and Ai had been in the business of shady business since Ai was able to hold a gun. He had found her in a bad neighborhood while he was shipping guns for a few extra bucks. It was raining and she was curled underneath a cardboard box. Feeling sorry for her, Dante let her into the car. He taught her everything he knew. For several years it had been just him and Ai against the world. Eventually, with Ai’s permission, he allowed the others into their group.

“Come here,” Dante turned his body and sat in the sand.

Ai sat down beside Dante. She didn’t move but stared blankly ahead. Dante wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“This is our last one,” Dante said

Ai looked up at him, “What are you talking about?”

Dante smiled, “I haven’t been fair to you.”

“I don’t understand,” Ai stated.

Dante pulled her close, “This is our last job. I haven’t been fair to you. You’re just a girl Ai and you should be able to live like one before you grow up to fast. I’ve almost gotten you killed several times on this job. I don’t want all for you to know is how to shoot a gun. I’d like you to have friends. Maybe I could even buy a house and get you a puppy.”

Ai looked at him, “What are you saying? Did I do something wrong?”

“No!” Dante stated, “You didn’t do anything wrong. Maybe I did, I don’t know. What I’m saying is that maybe you and I should retire, pack out money bags and ride off into the sunset.”

“If you’re worried about me, you don’t have to be,” Ai said, “I can take care of myself.”

“That’s the thing,” Dante sighed, “It’s my job as your brother to worry about you and it’s my job to make sure you don’t grow up to fast.”

Ai was quiet for a while. Dante could almost see her thoughts pass behind her eyes. She looked away from him and out at the others.

“You’re so stupid,” Ai stated.

Dante laughed, “Wow, that was harsh.”

“I like doing this kind of thing because you like doing it,” Ai said, “I don’t care what you think we should do but you and I both know you won’t be happy just sitting down in a house in a suburban neighborhood. And I won’t be happy going to a regular school. Besides, the others need us. You’re the king and I’m the princes. Without us they’d be wandering aimlessly. They’d be lost.”

Dante remained quiet.

Ai stood up, “Do what you want because I’d follow you off a cliff no matter what. But start thinking with your head more often. Just because that girl likes her sheltered life doesn’t mean I will too.”

She walked down the dune and left Dante to think. He shook his head. He had forgotten how much more of an adult she was. He’d just have to keep her safe even if it cost him everything. She was right. He was more than a complete idiot.

<<<>>>

“Pack up!” Fang yelled, “We’re headed out!”

Shadow jumped down from his perch and walked up to Fang. He looked briefly at Chaud and smiled, “Where are we off to?”

“East,” Fang stated as he walked to the driver’s side of the jeep.

“We need supplies,” Shadow gently reminded.

Fang looked at Shadow, “I know. We’ll pick some up on the way.”

Shadow shrugged and climbed into the heavy jeep. Chaud walked over to the school bus as Puppetmaster was corralling the children inside. The mothers were calling their children while the men were packing up camp. Tempi drove the four-wheelers into the animal transport truck for storage. When she was done she walked passed him and into the bus. Dr. Jekyll closed up the back of the ambulance. He glanced at Chaud a moment before walking away. Single men that didn’t have a family were allowed to stay in the mobile home with Crow and Crane. Chaud looked around for his sister.

“Chaud!” Amber called as she ran toward him. Amber grabbed her brothers hand and guided him toward the bus, “Come on! We’re going now!”

Chaud smiled and allowed himself to be pulled along, “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

“Vicky and Wini are waiting!” Amber climbed onto the bus.

“Wini?” Chaud was unaware about a Wini.

Amber walked to the back of the bus, “The wolf. I named her Wini.”

Chaud’s shoulders fell as he sighed, “Wonderful.” When the time came to part ways with the wolf, he could just see the tears flowing down Amber’s face. Why did she have to go and name it?

He walked past the seats full of children and their mothers and fathers. The older children sat in the back of the bus. Blankets and pillows lay around to create a sleeping area for them. Vicky sat on the floor in the back of the bus with Wini sitting near her. Amber sat near the wolf and Chaud sat next to Vicky.

Puppetmaster kept the children occupied by playing games with them. Shuppet entertained the children as well. They were all mystified about how the little doll was able to walk around and move on its own accord. Tempi climbed onto the bus and sat in the driver seat. The engine rumbled to life and joined the chorus with the other engines.

It took only a few minutes for the caravan to get moving. Chaud was able to relax a bit. Knowing that his sister was in a safer environment was a big relief and a burden off his shoulders.

“Where are we going?” Vicky asked.

Chaud glanced over at her, “We’re headed east toward the oasis. Then we’ll get off the Island.”

“How many days will it take?” Vicky looked at Amber, “I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now.”

Chaud smiled, “Should take about three to four days.”

“Great,” Vicky nodded, “Now you can relax a bit and get some food in your stomach. I noticed you skipped meals when we were traveling.”

“What can I say?” Chaud shrugged, “I can go longer without food than Amber can.”

“Well,” Vicky smiled, “Now you can catch up on sleep and eat some food.”

“I guess you’re right,” Chaud closed his eyes, “I think I’ll do just that.”

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.