Regenesis (Book 1): Impact (33 page)

“Seriously,
I don’t want anyone else to know. And I’m going to have to talk to Jordan,
because you two weren’t supposed to hear about this yet.”

“We
swear,” Wally promised.

“Yeah.
Now,” Coop put his arm around Ian, “You’ve gotta take baby steps until you know
all of what you can do.”

Ian
pushed him off, “Yeah, thanks.”

“Seriously,”
Wally started, “You have to learn to control the voltage, otherwise you might
kill someone.”

“And
how do you suggest I do that?”

“Start
by trying to jumpstart my hybrid,” Coop joked.

---*---

2:35
PM

Baltimore,
Maryland

Repair
work on the parking lot was still in the final stages since the attack the
previous week. Fortunately the station wasn’t damaged too greatly, so aside
from the limited access of their lot everything continued to run smoothly. A
general cover story about a ruptured pipe hushed media attention, though
officers outside of the Cladis investigative team doubted the validity.

Detective
Felton walked into Ryan’s office, shut the door, and took a seat in a chair
adjacent to Chief Johnson. The chief had his hand over his face, a file in his
lap, and hardly took notice of the Detective’s entry.

“Commissioner
Schmitt wants a full report come Monday,” the Chief told him. “I’m not sure why
he wants it exactly, but I can’t imagine it’s good.”

“He
can’t just shut it down. There’s an obvious threat here in Baltimore and we
can’t just ignore it. Cladis isn’t going to stop killing people if we stop
looking for him.”

Johnson
agreed. “Y’know, some of the others are asking about the case,” he told Felton.

“What
did you say?”

“I
told them that there was no case until Schmitt says so.”

“I
take it they didn’t like that too much?”

“No,
most were absolutely fine with it.”

Felton
scowled and muttered, “It’s a grim thought that our own are turning their backs
on what they’re supposed to stand for.”

“I
don’t think that’s it Chuck,” Johnson began.

“Then
what is it?”

“I
don’t think they believe we can stop him. I’ve already had two people ask for transfers
in the past week. They’re scared as hell that they might be next, and they
don’t even know who’s behind all of the deaths.”

Someone
knocked on the door and broke their conversation. Johnson told them to enter
and Officers Maguire and Hendricks, and Sergeant Geoff Murdock walked in. The
three officers had a few scrapes, bandages, and Mia’s wrist was in a cast, but
all in all they survived the attack on Mario Evanston.

 “What
can I do for all of you?”

The
sergeant started, “We want to be on the case.”

The
chief rubbed his eyes and sighed, “I would love you let you all on, but there
are a few issues with that. First off, this investigation is pending until we
get the okay from Commissioner Schmitt to continue. Secondly, Maguire and
Hendricks don’t take cases. I have no issue with you signing up Geoff, but they
don’t have any prior work on a single case and they’re not even past their one
year mark.

Sergeant
Murdock nodded, “Then at least explain to all of us what the hell’s going on.”

“I
read on REFOIA that this Cladis guy’s killed over ten people and that you guys
said he might have super powers,” Maguire interjected. “Is that true?”

“I’d
say so,” Mia Hendricks mumbled, “Considering what happened last week.”

Felton
stopped them and asked Johnson, “What does it hurt if we tell them?”

“If
we told them they’d just try to get involved.”

“Um,
excuse me sir,” Mia cut in. She showed them her damaged wrist and told him they
were already involved.

Johnson
apologized and told them he wouldn’t say anything about it.

Sergeant
Murdock let out a breath and nodded. “Y’know, there was another reason I came
to talk to you sir,” he told the chief. “Apparently Jenna Bell has one of the
crescent scars on her wrist.”

Both
Felton and Johnson asked what he meant in unison.

“I
happened to be down talking with some of the guys in forensics about an
unrelated case,” he started.

“I’m
sure you were,” Johnson sighed.

“One
of the guys down there happened to notice the mark on Bell, a mark that wasn’t
present when she was brought in. I happened to notice that mark on a few of the
victims on Sage’s wall a few days before the incident with Evanston. From what
I understand–”

Another
officer interrupted the group’s discussion, “Sir, something’s wrong down in the
morgue. Detective Sage’s and Jenna Bell’s bodies are gone.”

Johnson
glowered, “What do you mean?”

“They
are missing and no one signed them out or came for them,” the officer reported.

The
officer asked if Johnson wanted him to stay but the Chief only told him to
leave. Johnson looked at the four of them and reluctantly told said, “There
isn’t any investigation, do you understand me?” He walked over to Sage’s desk,
retrieved a set of keys from his pocket, unlocked a drawer in his desk, dropped
the file he held in his hands on Sage’s desk, and walked out of the room.

Felton
grinned and stood up from his seat to instruct them. “We’re already running on
a rather cold trail,” he told them, “It’s already been two days since Detective
Sage and Jenna Bell were killed, which means…” he opened the file and found a
piece of scratch paper with the numbers four, six, five, five, eight, two, one,
and nine written on it, counted back through the list of victims to learn where
they were in the pattern, and told the three of them, “We only have six days to
figure out who the next target is.”

“Alright,”
Sergeant Murdock folded his arms, leaned against the door, and asked, “What do
we need to know?”

---*---

8:57
PM

London,
England

The
explanation to Jason’s recovery and revival took some finesse, though
ultimately it boiled down to complete uncertainty. Audrey’s mother claimed it
was not only a miracle but also a sign that Jason was healed by someone with an
uncanny power, akin to the unexplained phenomena she read so frequently about.
The couple and their doctor agreed to leave his regenerative properties out of
their accounts. Doctor Reynolds thought it best to hide his abilities until
they knew more, lest they draw the attention of the press and bring unwanted
conflict into their lives.

Audrey
and Jason dined at a small restaurant near where their home once stood and
tried to get away from Audrey’s family and their smothering amazement and
overall intrigue. Jason initially wanted to stay in but Audrey insisted. She
had lost him and now that he was back she wanted to celebrate. But even once he
relented and they were seated together outside the restaurant, he was distant.
Jason's gaze wandered and he remained away from their table for minutes on end
before he would bring himself back. He was quiet too, rather nearly silent.
Audrey asked questions and he either ignored her altogether or grunted replies.

“What’s
on your mind Jason?” Audrey asked. She waited for acknowledgment but it never
came from him. “Jason!” she finally shouted and tore him from his thoughts.
“What are you thinking about?”

Jason
sighed and remarked that his thoughts remained on Joshua Todd. “I don’t even
know the man and I can’t recall we’ve ever met, yet he tried to kill me. I
can’t understand it Audrey.” He paused for a moment to concentrate before he
added, “I can just make out his voice, but it isn’t enough to use.”

“What
are you talking about?”

Jason
had a habit that always acted as a tell when he was nervous or anxious, and
Audrey learned what it was and what it meant early in their relationship. Jason
sat hunched forward, fingers laced and in front of his mouth, eyes away, and
his foot raced in place madly. He only ever seemed this on edge when he was
genuinely stressed out about their finances or if there was a hint of layoffs
at work. It worried Audrey.

Jason
finally answered her, “I want to find him Audrey, I need to find him. I need to
know what possessed him to burn our building down and single me out for
execution.”

Audrey
frowned and slowly told him that their building was the target of a terrorist
attack. “Honey, it wasn’t Todd, it was the Dáfù.”

“No
it was Todd,” he spat. “Don’t try and tell me it was someone else. I know it
was him.”

“There
are recorded messages from members of the Dáfù who claim responsibility for it
Jason,” she informed him. “It’s been in the papers and on the news for weeks
since the attack.”

“You’re
wrong Audrey, they’re wrong and they’re lying. It had to be Todd.”

Audrey
looked away from him and did her best to quell her frustration. Jason remained
focused on the table before him, as if it was a chess board and he contemplated
his next move. She glanced back and saw how tense the muscles in his face and
neck were. Audrey also noted how he kept his teeth grit and how tightly he
gripped the edge of his chair.

She
shook her head slightly and openly asked him what was wrong with him. “You are
alive and whole through miraculous means and you’re bent on revenge. Jason,
forget about him and move on with your life. Why can’t you be happy and
celebrate the fact that we’re together again and that we’re safe?”

“How
the hell can I find relief with a madman out there?” Jason finally looked at
her and asked how safe she could feel knowing that Todd might return and try to
kill them once he learned that Jason wasn’t dead. “For all we know he’s already
hunting us down, of maybe some of our neighbors who made it out soundly? He
could have already slaughtered them and–”

“The
doctor already checked the security videos Jason,” Audrey cut him off. “No one
came in your room the night you died who wasn’t a member of your medical team.
There’s no way he could have infiltrated your room and tried to assassinate
you.”

“Then
how did I end up with those chemicals in my bloodstream? Why did I die and what
caused me to come back?”

“I
don’t know Jason.”

“It
was Todd; Doctor Reynolds and her crack team of guards must have missed it, or
Todd managed to tamper with the footage.”

“Jason.”

“Why
not Audrey? It’s what I would have done. It’s what any villain would have
done.”

“But
what reason does he have to attack you in the first place?”

“I
don’t know Audrey, that’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

He
nearly shouted his last words which ended their argument. Jason looked away and
Audrey tried not to make eye contact with the others at the restaurant. All she
wanted was to leave, to walk away from the scene they created and talk,
discuss, or fight over the issue elsewhere. She didn’t want to fight, though
she knew any discussion would escalate there. They were on edge, Jason
especially. She thought they should be happy, glad he was alive and ecstatic
that he’d recovered fully in such a short period of time. Instead they fought
over a phantom who caused ire and fueled their contention. If they should worry
about anything it should’ve been over their loss of home and possessions and
their stress over locating a new home and property, as well as all of the paper
work through their insurance. She didn’t want to argue but plainly saw her
husband’s obsession and grew worried.

Audrey
composed herself and gathered her thoughts. Had the attack never happened the
pair would have been out in eager anticipation of their holiday, which only
stood a few days away. They still had their tickets and Audrey never canceled
their reservations. Alan offered to handle the cancelations but Audrey never
managed to give him their information to make the changes. For a brief moment
she considered leaving, only to further consider it.

“You
know, we’re only a few days from our vacation,” she started.

Jason
told her they couldn’t go. “We need to stay here and start rebuilding; we have
too much to do.”

“Yes
but luckily Jack has already found us a place to live,” she told him. “One of
his mates is leaving for Brussels for a few years and there’s an opening at his
flat. It’s further from your work but the price is very reasonable, and
considering how desperately we need another home, I think it’s a great
opportunity.”

Audrey
saw her husband’s attention waver. “Yes, that is wonderful but we need to
refurnish wherever we live and get our life back in sorts.”

“It
could wait though,” she replied. “We wouldn’t be gone for more than a week, and
we’ve already reserved enough of our funds for the trip and our flight tickets
are already booked. Why not use them?”

“We
can’t be that irresponsible Audrey,” he stopped her. “If anything we need to
take the time we already requested off from work to handle our affairs. And
what if…” he trailed off for a moment before he continued, “What happens when
they find something? What if we’re away when they discover the video of Todd
killing me? And what can I do from Greece if Todd strikes and kills someone?”