Fook (20 page)

Taking the door knob in his hand, he
considered the very likely possibility of another monitor in the
child’s room. Thankfully quieter than the previous knob however,
Oliver’s door silently pivoted on its hinges, welcoming him into
the room.

Similar to the hall, two night lights
illuminated the happily decorated room. Admiring the cheerful decor
as he made his way toward the crib, Ty made note of each detail
with every intention of replicating it in their new home. Slowly
creeping to the edge of the crib, he again became aware of his
pounding heart, though only for a moment as it all but stopped at
the sight of the empty crib.

“What the fuck?” he whispered, forgetting
about the possible second monitor.

Scanning the room, another monitor stood
atop the changing table, thankfully with its power light off.

“He must be in their room,” he thought as he
contemplated what to do next. Logic told him to get the hell out of
there; that this wasn’t going to work right now and that he’d be
better off coming back once the Nesbits began to feel more
comfortable again. Logic was typically a powerful persuader, but
logic had never met Grandma Ushi, and he knew what she would say if
he returned to the car without her great grandson.

“Failure! You are failure and disgrace!” she
would scold him. “My great grandson count on you to rescue him from
impostors and you let him down. Shame! Shame!”

Practically hearing the disappointment in
his grandmother’s phantom voice, Ty quickly made his way out of his
son’s room, back into the hall and before he even realized it, to
the Nesbit’s closed bedroom door.

“This wasn’t part of the plan,” he thought.
He didn’t know what he was going to do. All he knew was that he
couldn’t...no...he wouldn’t leave without his son. He hoped to find
him asleep in a little bassinet, away from his stand-in parents'
bed and close to the door so that he could just poke his head in,
snatch him up and disappear into the night but as he slowly opened
the door, his hopes faded as Mr. and Mrs. Nesbit came into view,
asleep on the queen size bed with little Olive peacefully passed
out between them. At a loss for what to do, he proceeded into the
room anyway, pushed by his grandmother’s persistent nagging until
he found himself standing beside the bed, staring down at the woman
who had the audacity to call herself mom.

Only a few feet away, Ty wanted nothing more
than to just grab his son and run, but there was no way to reach
him without disturbing the sleeping parents, so he continued to
watch the trio, contemplating just how he was going to pull off
this abduction. He didn’t have much time however as Oliver began to
shift, his motion shortly followed by a couple of short “Cacks” and
eventually the start of a cry.

“I’ll get a bottle,” Mr. Nesbit announced as
he got to his feet and as Mrs. Nesbit rolled over to comfort the
hungry child, her eyes still closed and mind still partially
focused on sleep.

Receiving the embrace of his temporary
mother, Oliver quieted but remained awake as Mr. Nesbit stumbled
past the closet and out, into the hall.

Thankfully, the closet door had been open,
so quickly ducking inside had been silent and easy. “This is it,”
Ty thought as he watched the father’s departure through the now
only partially open, door. Reaching into his back pocket, he began
to withdraw the pocket knife but quickly reconsidered as he thought
about what that meant. He’d come there willing to do whatever it
took to claim his son, even if it meant murder, but the knife was
to risky. What if Mrs. Nesbit got out a scream before he was
through, or even more concerning, what if she struggled and in that
struggle the knife slipped and ended up coming to rest inside
Oliver’s tiny body? No, the knife wasn’t going to work. He let the
small blade drop back into his pocket. Looking around he spotted a
silky, purple robe on a hanger beside him. Quietly he wrapped the
end of its belt around his left hand as he drew it from the loops
and exited the closet. Careful not to make a sound, he slowly
retook his position over the sleeping woman as his son, catching a
glimpse of his true father, turned his head and offered an excited
smile.

Sensing the child’s movement, Mrs. Nesbit
opened her eyes to see the boy smiling at something behind her.
“What are you so happy about,” she offered Oliver a groggy form of
baby talk as she turned and came face to face with Ty.

Shock delaying her scream, Ty took the
opportunity to deliver a devastating blow to the woman’s face,
stopping the scream and leaving the mother teetering on the verge
of unconsciousness.

“It’s okay,” Ty comforted his son as he
slipped the robe’s silk belt around the woman’s neck. “You’re
almost home.”

Oliver’s smile grew and he let out an
excited squeak as his father tightened the purple fabric.

Mrs. Nesbit’s body tensed as the blood flow
to her brain was suddenly cut off and the veins in her neck began
to bulge with the added pressure.

Seeing this, Ty pulled harder, bracing his
foot against the frame of the bed as the thin fabric began to cut
into the woman’s skin. Given her nearly unconscious state, she
wasn’t putting up any fight and it wouldn’t have surprised him in
the least to see the skin around her neck suddenly tear under the
immense pressure, adding a loss of blood to the cause of death. He
pulled tighter.

“Who...!”

Ty turned to see Mr. Nesbit charging at him,
lowering his shoulder and launching him backward into the fragile
drywall beside the bed. The two men, jarred by the sudden impact,
both fell to the ground, though Mr. Nesbit, less affected by the
blow, quickly got to his feet and continued his assault with three
swift blows to Ty’s head.

The room spun with each additional blow as
Ty struggled to maintain his grasp on reality. Acting on pure
survival instinct as Mr. Nesbit continued to deliver blow after
blow, somehow the pocket knife ended up in his hand. Pushing the
release, the blade slid out of the handle as he buried the knife
into Mr. Nesbit’s thigh.

The father let out a painful cry as he
stumbled backward, tripping over a pair of shoes and falling
headfirst through the fragile closet door.

Trying to make the world stop spinning, Ty
stumbled to his feet, grabbing his face as he realized that his
left eye was already swollen shut.

Lying halfway inside the closet, Mr. Nesbit
lifted his leg toward his hands and with another cry, yanked the
blade out of his leg. Fighting back the pain, he reopened his eyes
just in time to see his seven iron barreling toward him, instantly
turning his world dark.

Standing over him, Ty continued to deliver
blow after blow with the club, leaving Mr. Nesbit’s head
unrecognizable and relocating its previous contents to the
surrounding walls and neatly hung clothes.

Exhausted, Ty dropped the club, ready to
claim his rightful spot beside his son, however before he could
fully turn around, the lamp that
had
been beside the bed,
struck his right temple with a crushing blow. Falling to the floor
beside his victim, Ty only momentarily caught a glimpse of Mrs.
Nesbit before his knife came to rest deep within his only remaining
good eye.

With the delivery of the knife to the
assailant’s eye, Jennifer watched as the man’s body twitched
momentarily before going limp. Struggling to get to her feet, tears
began to flow as she stared at Bill’s lifeless body and the urge to
vomit battled with the wails of sorrow erupting from her lungs as
she struggled to remain upright, leaning against the closet door
jamb while she stared in horror at her dead husband.

“Oliver,” she suddenly remembered and
pulling her eyes away from the tragedy that lay before her,
returned to the bed.

Oliver just stared at his mother as she made
her way back to him. The smile that he’d had just prior to the
attack was now a cold, almost inquisitive stare as his eyes
suddenly shifted toward the door.

Jennifer turned just in time to see the
white burst of the muzzle as a bullet struck her forehead,
repainting the wall behind her.

Standing in the doorway, Ushi lowered the
revolver as Mrs. Nesbit dropped to the floor beside the bed.
Carefully tucking the gun back into her purse and refocusing her
attention on her great grandson, she made her way to the bed.

“Who that?” Ushi asked in a playful
tone.

The smile returned to Oliver’s face.

“That my little angel?"

Oliver kicked his feet.

“That my precious little angel?” she
continued in full blown baby talk. “I think it is.”

Kicking one of the fallen woman's legs out
of the way, Ushi stood beside the bed and reaching down, hoisted
Oliver into her arms.

Oliver just stared up at her, his smile
still beaming.

“That my great grandson. That little Oliver.
But I no think you look much like an Oliver. Do you?”

Oliver giggled.

“What horrible name. I going to give you new
name.”

His smile faded as he appeared to
listen.

“From now on your name...Jason...Jason
Fook.”

The smile returned.

*****

“Jason! Jesus! You scared the shit out of me,” Derek
jumped as he caught a glimpse of his roommate, standing silently in
the lab’s doorway.

Jason didn’t say a word as he continued his
silent stare.

Putting his phone down on the counter next
to him, “How long have you been standing there?”

Still no response.

Tracing Jason’s blank stare to the medical
coat beside his phone, “Oh...I...”

“Going somewhere?” Jason broke his
silence.

“No...I mean. Shit,” Derek, at a rare loss
for words, realized that there was no use lying. “I was going
to—”

“—to see her?” Jason completed his nervous
roommate’s sentence.

“Yeah,” Derek admitted. “I’m sorry man. I
know we discussed not going back so soon but you did say that you
weren’t interested so I figured—”

“—It’s fine,” Jason issued an emotionless
approval as he slowly advanced toward the counter at which Derek
sat.

“Really?” Derek responded, confused but
relieved.

“Sure. I mean, what kind of friend would I
be if I got in the way of true love?” Jason continued his slow
advance.

“I didn’t say anything about true love. I
just wanted to go back and give her the coat and…” Derek hesitated
as he noticed that Jason’s hands were hidden behind his back. “I
know that nothing can come of it but I just figured it wouldn’t
hurt to...”

Jason stopped at the opposite side of the
counter.

“What do you have?” Derek motioned to
Jason’s concealed hands.

“Who were you talking to?” Jason changed the
subject.

“What?”

“Before you realized I was here. Who were
you texting?”

“Ah...no one,” Derek lied, unsure exactly
how to bring up the conversation with Bethany and the fact that
he’d given her a sample of the core liquid a couple of days ago. “I
loaded the trip calculations into the phone as a back up this
time...you know, just in case.”

Jason just stared at his deceitful friend
before revealing the iPad in his right hand as he placed the tablet
on the counter between them.

“What are you doing with that?” Derek
questioned.

“Push the button.”

“What?”

“Go on,” Jason insisted in the same,
monotone voice.

Hesitantly, Derek complied, pressing the
single button at the bottom of the device. The iPad’s screen lit up
to display a photo of a Midwestern lightning storm in the
background of the security screen.

“Go ahead,” Jason urged Derek to
continue.

Staring at Jason, Derek slid his finger
across the screen, unlocking the device to reveal he and Bethany’s
conversation.

You still haven’t told me why you gave me
his blood
, was the last message received.

“Jason, I can explain—”

“—Explain what? You were curious, so you
snuck a sample of the core liquid out and gave it to that whore to
test.”

“Whoa!” Derek responded, shocked at Jason’s
blunt and candid description. “I know your date didn’t go well the
other night but Bethany is still my friend.”

“She climbed out of a bathroom window to get
away from me,” Jason revealed the date's true outcome.

Hesitantly, “I know.”

“Really?” Jason’s tone finally took on some
emotion as sarcasm managed to sneak its way in. “Now, how could you
possibly know that? Oh, that’s right...” Sliding his finger down on
the screen the conversation scrolled back to the previous
night.

Derek: Where is he now?

Bethany: At the table. I climbed out the
bathroom window.

Derek: What?

Bethany: He’s weird.

Derek: I don’t know about that.

Bethany: Half the time he just sat there
staring at me silently.

Derek: I’m sure he was just nervous.

Bethany: Yeah, nervous and weird. I’d much
rather see you tonight.

Derek: Can’t tonight. I’m in the middle of
something. Did you get a chance to run that sample I gave you?

Bethany: The blood.

Derek: It’s not blood.

Bethany: It looks like blood. No not
yet.

Derek: I really need that done soon.

Bethany: Ok. I’ll be at the lab tomorrow.
I’ll run it then. Maybe we can get together and I can tell you the
results in person. B===D~~(())

Derek: Dirty girl. You text your mother with
those fingers?

Bethany: lol. Anyway, gotta go. Ride's
here.

Derek: Night.

Bethany: Night.

The two just stared at one another until
Derek, purely in the interest of breaking the awkward silence,
blurted, “What are you doing going through my texts anyway?”