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Display a printable version Ultimatums, Part One
Yes. We're all ready. Which building to start with? She could feel him practically vibrating with excitement to be an active part of her plan to find the missing Abbot. She smiled with pride and affection at his desire to please her. He was her little General, passing on her orders to the four other courier gargoyles she borrowed from Susan since they would not speak to any mortal until they bonded with one, except to deliver messages. Karen looked at the buildings she could see. 'Let's go left to right. One building at a time, bottom to top.' She sent the image of the first building she wanted the gargoyles to scout. She opened her cell phone. "Reginald? Are you ready?" "Yes, Karen. I find this whole thing fascinating." Noting that Reginald's voice was becoming more and more human-like everyday, she could not help but register his curiosity. "Why?" "Well, you are looking for something by looking for what you can't see." She smiled. "I learned it from the movies. The absence of everything, even the normal static, means that something must be there. If it blocks the gargoyles, you might get in. If it blocks you, the gargoyles might get in. If it blocks both of you, we know something big is up and I might get in." "Won't that put you in danger?" The concern was plain in the Master of the City's voice. "If it's deep into the Children's territory, I'll call John first. So, it'll be fine." We're ready. Sebastian sent from somewhere at the base of the first building she wanted inspected. "Ok." Karen said and sent at the same time. Then spoke to Reginald. "You're up, too. Stick with the gargoyles. "I can talk and focus search at the same time." He chided. "I am a complex being, just like you. I just have a different physical body." "I know. I'm sorry." Karen marveled at how her relationship with Reginald had changed over the years she had known him. More often than not, she was the one calling him, telling him that something needed to be done to help the city. Though, when he called, it was very important. "What are you doing?" A female voice from the side of her demanded. Karen turned and watched the familiar teal-haired teenaged girl walk around from the side of her to the front of her. The girl looked both angry and scared. "I'm just sitting here, enjoying the day. How about you, Vicki?" "No. You're not. You're doing something more." Vicki put her hands on her hips. "I can feel it. I know who you are. You shouldn't be here. You haven't passed the Test of Worth." "I never had the chance to pass it." Karen smiled thinly at the girl, her voice calm. "I am not in the Children's territory. I have every right to sit here if I want." "But you're not just sitting there." Vicki repeated. "I can feel you doing something. I wanna know what it is. You're too close to my territory." "If I tell you, will you sit and talk with me?" She frowned. "Talk about what?" Karen shrugged. "The weather. The city. The future. Fashion." She gestured at the girl's current futuristic, urban gothic Bladerunner look. "You seem to be an expert in that." Vicki sat down. "All right. What are you doing?" "I'm looking for someone. An ally of mine. He's gone missing." "Who would that be?" Karen shrugged. "You wouldn't know him. It wouldn't help." Going to the next building. The Master says it was clean, too. Sebastian interjected, and then was gone again. "I don't know. I know a lot of people." She twisted a lock of her vibrant hair, looking almost cute; almost innocent. Almost. OK. She sent to Sebastian. Aloud, she said, "He's a sick old man. A monk." "Why here?" Vicki frowned again. "And how?" "We think he's here. Hidden. As for how I'm searching, well," she shrugged, "we all have our ways. You wouldn't know anything about an old man in this area, would you?" Vicki shook her head. "No. There are no monks here." "Do you know of another place where this monk could be?" "A church, maybe?" The teen shook her head. "No. I don't. Look. I gotta go. I think you're wasting your time." She stood up. "And don't come closer. It's not safe." "I know that, Vicki." Karen put out a hand, not quite touching the girl's arm. "If you ever need to talk - about anything, anything at all - I'll listen. I promise to listen to everything. I don't promise to agree but I do promise to listen and to give you an honest opinion." Jerking her arm back from Karen's almost touch, Vicki shook her head. "I don't need to talk. I don't want to talk to you. I think you need to go now." "I think I'm exactly where I need to be." She smiled. "You have a good day, Vicki." Karen watched as Victoria Mordecai, younger sister to Regis Mordecai, the leader of the Children of Anu, stomped off down the street into the Children's territory. She bet that Vicki was about to give Reggie an earful. That was just what she wanted. She wanted the Children on edge and nervous. They would make mistakes then. This building is clear. Going on to the third one. Sebastian sent. The Master says that parts of this third building are dead to him. What do you want us to do? 'Go inside and look if you can. Be careful. Be smart.' We will. Karen smiled. She hoped to find the Abbot before the end of the evening. *** "I want him dead! All right, I said it. I want to shoot him like he shot me. Satisfied?" David did not shout this declaration at Dr. Mercer. He spoke in a low, intense and cold tone of voice. "Now, we're getting somewhere." Dr. Mercer said with some satisfaction. "You're not repressing your human emotions anymore. Tell me more." "More? About what?" He looked away, embarrassed at the ferocity of his desire to do V'ger harm. He was a cop. He was supposed to serve and protect the people of Kendrick. That included V'ger in some way, didn't it? "About your feelings. Why you want to shoot V'ger. More than just that he betrayed you." David frowned more. "V'ger stands for everything I oppose. He put innocent lives in danger to pursue a supernatural path. One that was designed to take over Kendrick! He did it without regard for anyone and was willing to kill to meet his and his group's goals. He's not a man who should be allowed to walk around free and yet, he is." "Will you pursue him yourself?" "No. He's still a citizen of Kendrick. As a cop, I'm bound to follow the rules and regulations of our city." "But you want to." "Yes." David admitted. "He's a menace to society. Him and his kind." "What about Karen Wilson?" "What about her? He sat up straighter in his chair, uncomfortable with this sudden change in topic. "What do you feel about her?" He looked away again and shrugged. "I miss her. I miss her a lot but..." He shrugged again. Dr. Mercer wrote something down. "Isn't she one of his kind now?" "No! She's not." David scowled at the thought. "She was doing business with him." "She was upset about him being there." "But she still agreed to work with him." "Under duress." David paused. "I guess you've seen the transcript. So much for the Mayor's eyes only." "He gave it to me because he thought I should know." The doctor adjusted his glasses. "Back to Karen Wilson. Why don't you consider her to be one of his kind?" "Because she wouldn't hurt anyone. She wants to protect Kendrick from the other supernaturals." "Yet, she's threatened several officers of the law and still works with supernaturals." "She apologized to Sergeant Mueller for the threat she made to him and she works with other supernatural groups because they also are trying to protect Kendrick. She wouldn't hurt anyone." "From a certain point of view... for their own less than altruistic reasons." The doctor commented. "And you don't know what she will do." "I know Karen." "You don't know how she made every door in the precinct open to her. You didn't know she could control the street lights of Kendrick as she threatened to do. If you don't know what she can do, how can you assure me of what she will or won't do?" "What are you getting at, Doctor?" "I'm pointing out to you that you cannot pick and choose who the monsters are anymore. Either they all are or they all aren't." Dr. Mercer held up a hand to halt David's protests. "Obviously, some monsters are much more dangerous than others but all monsters are dangerous. You joined the Special Unit to protect the innocent, blissfully ignorant, normal citizens of Kendrick from the monsters that inhabit the city and the surrounding areas. Are you still willing to do so?" "Of course I am." "Then you need to stop cherry picking who is the enemy and who is not. They all are because they all will eventually use their powers and abilities against the very people we are trying to protect. I don't care how enlightened and altruistic they appear. It's just the way it is. You need to think about that." He looked at his watch. "And since our time is up, we'll speak about this again tomorrow. For now, I want you on a one week paid suspension. I don't want anything distracting you from this conversation. Go home, think about it - especially Karen Wilson - and be ready to talk to me tomorrow." Impotent to do anything else, David stood, nodded and left the doctor's office without a word. Dr. Mercer made a few notes in David's file and then made a phone call. "This is Dr. Mercer. I want Detective David Hauberk under surveillance for the next 72 hours. I need to know who he calls, who he sees and where he goes. Yes. Code 3B. Thank you." *** "Any luck finding the Abbot?" Mason asked. "You asking me as the mayor, as a friend or as a friend of the Abbot?" John responded. "Yes." John sighed. "Not yet, but we're working on it. Not yet, but we've got something going. Not yet, but we're hopeful." Mason blew out a worried breath. "That's a lot of 'not yet's', John. That's not good. That's really not good." "You sound like you know something that I don't know. All I know is that some big bad spirit wants to pass through to this side and affect the world. To do that, the Abbot needs to be sacrificed on Halloween." He paused, took a drink and looked Mason in the eye. "What do you know?" Mason met his gaze. "The same. I wish I knew more. The oracles keep passing out whenever they try to look. Their explanation is that there are still too many ways this could all go. I need you to help more. I need to you find the Abbot. I know you can do it." "I'm doing what I can but I can't help if you know more than you're telling. Look, anything you know could help." "Don't you have a card that can help you find someone or something like that? The Todari deck could be really useful right now." John came to attention at the mention of his obsession. "Maybe, but I try not to rely too much on them. They," he paused, searching for the right words, "are all like the Major Arcana. Once they're in motion, little can stop them." "Finding someone won't hurt anyone, right? Abbot Peter is already sick and injured. Who knows where he is? We've got to find him and keep him from being sacrificed!" "Why? What is it you're not telling me? What makes this ritual so much more important and dangerous?" John stood. "Mason, I've known you for a long time. You're holding back on me. What has you so terrified?" "A change is coming." His voice took on a bleak tone. "If we cannot save Peter, then I won't be able to do anything about this change. I won't be able to control it. I won't be able to do anything but be swept up in it. Me, my family, Kendrick. I'll have to protect my family. I won't have a choice in the matter." "How do you know?" "I know." John stood in anger. "How?!" "I just do." "That's not good enough." "It has to be for now. I can't say anymore." "You're not doing a lot to generate any trust with me." John frowned at him. Mason shrugged and said nothing. "Dammit." He walked towards the door. "Until you have something more to say, I think our relationship has hit a plateau." "John." Mason said, but John Corso continued to head for the door. "John!" More insistent now. He paused with his hand on the doorknob. "What?" He did not turn around. "What would you do if your entire collection of Todari tarot cards up and vanished one day?" "I'd go insane." He said to the door. "It's something like that but only with me and my family. Please, help us find the Abbot. By any means necessary." John sighed. "I'll try." He opened the door and left Mason's office. *** Elsewhere... Corelli walked into the Children of Anu's main warehouse, escorted by Sam, the more pleasant of Reggie's seconds. She had not had a lot of time to prepare for this sudden meeting and was left with only her red hot cinnamon candies and lip gloss as protection. She knew she would need the latter for this conversation. She hoped she would not need the former. She had never tried to set an entire warehouse on fire before. She waited until Reggie finished talking with Vicki and approached her. She nodded and, instead of the normal greetings, her mouth started with getting to the point. "You called and said it was time for the Order of the Sacred Eye to repay its debt to the Children of Anu." It was always a struggle not to fight against the magic she placed on herself. She forced herself to relax and let the magic do the talking. "It is." Reggie said. "You are aware of who Karen Wilson is?" "Yes." "She's looking for someone. She must be stopped by any means at your disposal." "Why?" "Not your concern, Corelli." Reggie said with a dismissive gesture of his hand. "She can't be allowed to continue her search or be allowed to find this person. You need to deal with it. I don't care how." "Stop Karen Wilson from finding the person she is looking for then our debt is settled?" "Yes." Reggie started to turn away then turned back to her. "If she finds who she's looking for, the Children will take the debt the Order of the Sacred Eye owes us out in blood. Your blood, your Order's blood and those associated with you. Am I clear?" "Clear. Karen Wilson will be stopped. All debts owed by the Order of the Sacred Eye will be paid." Reggie offered his hand. Corelli took it and gave it a firm handshake. When Reggie started to show his strength by crushing her hand in that handshake, her smile did not falter and she let the heat of her skin flare. He let go of the handshake first. He gave her a respectful nod. "Sam will drive you to where you need to go." Corelli nodded her good-bye and turned her back to Reggie as he turned his back to her. She gave Sam a half smile, "Let's go." Sam turned his gaze from the teenage girl in the back of the room to Corelli. "All right. Where to?" "The Colonel's Park, please. I'll walk from there." "Suit yourself." Story by Jennifer Brozek, Copyright 2007 |
| Last updated on 1/3/2008 9:11:40 PM by Jennifer Brozek |
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| Other documents at this level: 01 - Caller ID: Unknown 02 - Eye of the Engraving 03 - Arbiter 04 - Forgotten School Days 05 - Sacrificium Memoriae 06 - The Inspiration of Insanity 07 - The Running Feeling 08 - Afternoon Tea 09 - Sins of the Brother 10 - Burning Bridges 11 - Betrayal 12 - Warfare & the Rite 13 - Beginnings and Endings 14 - Heart's Desire 15 - Burn 16 - Many Happy Returns 17 - Many Unanswered Questions 18 - Concessions 19 - Blue Moon Revelations 20 - First Blood 21 - Transcript 23 - Ultimatums Part Two 24 - Too Little Too Late |
Karen sat on a sidewalk bench just outside of the Camden district. It was close enough to see the territory claimed by the Children of Anu but not close enough to draw too much of their attention. 'All right, Sebastian, are you and the others ready?' She thought.