Dark Side Darker (32 page)

Karen spoke quietly. “Who do you think it is?” They all knew what she was thinking.

Ian grimaced. “Well, that’s what I’m gonna’ find out.”

As Ian left the kitchen, his mind was a swirl of anxieties. There were numerous possibilities about who could be waiting for him on the other side of his front door and few seemed good.

He un-slid the door chain and cautiously turned the lock, braced for the worse. He drew the door open in one swift motion, partly surprising the man who waited in his porch.

“Ian McCalister?”

Ian took the man in with suspicious eyes. Large and bald. Dressed in an expensive but inconspicuous black suit with a blood red tie. The whole effect reeked of intelligentsia.

Behind them sat a sleek black business car and inside sat another suit, his eyes locked onto Ian. The man spoke again. “Detective Ian McCalister?”

Ian nodded but remained silent. He was consciously aware of the closed kitchen door behind him and the scene it blocked. He wondered,
if
this man demanded entrance,
did he have the authority to deny him
? He thought all this but said nothing.

The man spoke again. “We have been looking for you, detective. For some days now. you’re a hard man to pin down.” He smiled but there was no warmth.

Ian nodded once more. “Aye? And you are?”

“Who I am and who I represent is of no importance.”

“I’m not in the habit of talking with strangers,” Ian said.

The suit laughed. Controlled and cool. “Habits can be a dangerous thing.” He paused. “I have questions.”

“And why the hell should I answer them? Without knowing who the hell I’m speaking to?”

The man largely ignored him. “Believe me, it’s very much in your interest that you do. The people I represent could potentially make life very difficult for you...” Another cold smile, laden with menace.

Ian folded his arms across his chest.

“I assume you
do wish
to return to work?”

Ian gritted his teeth. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The man calmly checked his watch, expensive white gold. “Merely a question,” he paused, looked Ian up and down with clear disapproval. “You look like shit detective!” he barked, his mood suddenly changing. “In no state to conduct an investigation.”

Ian spoke quickly. “I’m on leave.”

“I should hope so! Still, me and my colleagues are slightly concerned about how you are spending your free time. It seems someone’s been interfering with our work. Making enquiries. If that turned out to be you, it would be, very unfortunate.
Very unfortunate and very unwise
.”

Ian crushed his fingers into a fist and then relaxed them. “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about!”

“We understand, that you’ve seen... certain things,
things
, which defy explanation but no matter how curious,
how desperate
for answers you may be, you are not to continue any kind,
even an attempt
, at an investigation of your own. Am I making myself clear?”

Ian leaned up against the door frame. It displayed a calm he in no way felt. “Who are you?”

“As I said, that’s of no concern...”

Ian cut him short by smacking his hand on the flat of the door. “Damn it I want some answers! you think you can just come to my door with your pleasant threats and...”

The man took a step back and raised his hands in a calming gesture but there was no stopping Ian.

“What I saw that night was not of this Earth! And the only thanks I get is to be thrown off the case and told to shut the fuck up! Now they send some smiling cunt...”

“Detective...”

“Some smiling cunt! To tell me to mind my own business, well...”

“Detective, please restrain yourself.”

Ian shook his head. “No, damn it, I won’t! I’ve been shat on from on high, I can’t sleep and I’m at the end of my fucking tether! What the hell was going on in that house? I want some fucking answers!”

The man merely shook his head, that same superior smile resting on his lips. “You’ve got none coming, detective,” he told him firmly. A pause. “All I have are questions,” another loaded pause. “And advice.”

Ian managed to calm himself slightly. “I have no idea what you’re fucking talking about.”

“Cut the shit, detective! We know you’ve been snooping about.” After Ian’s outburst it seemed his visitor was also struggling to keep his cool.

There was no masking of his aggression when Ian replied. “And how do you know that? Whoever the fuck you are!?”

“Seems somebody we were questioning had been talking to an unknown police officer before us.”

“It wasn’t me!”

“Would have been very unwise don’t you think? Being suspended and all. Actually, as it happens, it wasn’t your name they gave; funny thing is, no one seems to have ever heard of this certain detective. Strange don’t you think?”

Ian shook his head. “Look I’m not saying anything more until you tell me who you represent. I want to see some credentials.”

“You’re not in any kind of position to ask me for anything. Quite simply, we want to know everything you know.”

Ian grunted out a half-laugh. “Won’t take long.”

The man frowned. “Have you found them, detective?”

Ian returned the fuck-you-smile. “Found who?” he asked innocently.

The man slowly shook his head. “I’m not at liberty to say. Can I come in?”

“Got a warrant?”

A low laugh. “Detective, if we truly wanted to come in, we wouldn’t need a warrant! So am I to take that as a no?”

Ian nodded. “I didn’t know I was going to have visitors. I’d hate for you to see the mess the house is in.” Ian half growled. He in no way liked being threatened at his own door.

The man glanced over his shoulder and seemed appalled. “So I see...” There was a long pause while the suit seemed to weigh out his options.

He spoke the instant his mind was decided. “This isn’t over, detective; you will be watched, and if you so much as take a step somewhere...” He paused and smiled. “Well, as I said it would be very unwise, to say the very least. This is infinitely bigger than you can imagine and your interfering with our investigation can only fuck things up for everyone.” He paused and his glare grew harder. “And for some more than others.”

Ian smirked. “I’ll bear that in mind. Fuck you!”

Again he shook his head. Clearly this man was unused to being treated with such disrespect. His steel grey eyes struggled to contain the fury he was clearly feeling. “I don’t think you can imagine the consequences of your actions! Drop whatever investigation you have going now!”

“
Investigation
? Consider it dropped. It’s been a pleasure talking to you.”

For a second it looked as if the man might lose his cool. His eye twitched, then the corner of his mouth, but in the end he merely smiled, forced and stretched across his skull till his teeth showed like knives. “This isn’t over, detective,” he said cooly and walked away to the parked car.

Instead of getting in he lifted a tiny cellular phone to his ear and in a matter of seconds an identical car pulled up.Having given Ian a wave, the suit disappeared into the passenger seat before being sealed away by black glass.

Ian was left frowning into the glaring eyes of the driver of the first car, who sat smoking with his window down.

Ian gave him a wink and closed the door.

BEHIND DARK GLASS

“HOW DID IT GO, SIR?”

The man lit a cigar and inhaled deeply. “About as well as you’d expect.” He paused to exhale smoke. “The man’s desperate for answers.”

“As you’d expect,” said the third suit in the back of the car.

The driver spoke again. “Did you find out anything?”

The first frowned. “No. He denied everything. Still, we already knew it was him who spoke to the Dean. All that bothers me is how he got to him in the first place. We’ve clearly got a leak at the station.”

“We’ve tried to initialize a total blackout.”

He waved him away. “That doesn’t matter right now.”

“Do you think the Students were with him sir?”

“I don’t think it matters too much. I fail to see what real damage they can do. Having said that, they may have the girl, and she needs to be contained.” He paused. “And I’d like to find out what they know. However, on the greater scale of things, we have the site contained and they are only a bunch of kids.”

He breathed out a heavy screen of blue smoke. “All that really worries me is this unknown man who was with them. I think we may have to seriously consider that our quarry may now be on to us. However, I am bothered by a number of factors. Why would they abduct that girl from the hospital and why would one of them be going around with a bunch of students in the first place? No I think we may have a rogue element and that bothers the hell out of me! And the fact he’s shooting at our people bothers me even more.”

“Hmmm,” said the man in the back. “Do you think he may be a Casendrull operative?”

“
Working against us
? Seems unlikely.”

“I’ve never trusted them,” said the driver.

The first laughed. “You should watch what you think!”

“So what’s our next course of action?” asked the voice in the back.

“Same as before—continue to monitor the site and wait for the Casendrull strike force.”

“MAY CAUSE PARANOIA...”

AS IAN OPENED THE DOOR to his kitchen, he was met by three pairs of anxious eyes.

“Who was it?” Rufus blurted out. Ian went to the window and pulled down the blind. “Whoever was shooting at you just threatened me at the door. They’re watching the house.”

Rufus looked panicked. “Oh shit!”

“Could someone please untie me!” pleaded Josh.

“What are we going to do?” asked Karen.

“Nothing for now. Lay low, keep away from the windows.”

Rufus was peering through a gap in the blinds. He looked back over his shoulder. “We can’t just hide here forever.”

“No, you’re right lad, we can’t, but we’ll work something out when it comes to it. For now I want to try my man Callum on this drug angle.”

“
Can someone untie me
?” Josh asked again, this time slightly less desperate.

Ian walked to the phone, pressed a button and lifted the receiver to his ear. He paused and looked back at the room. “Do you think they’ve bugged my phone?”

“You think they might be listening in?” Karen asked.

Ian stroked his chin. “Jesus, I don’t know.”

“Well, do you want to use my phone?”

Ian shook his head. “No. I got the impression they were looking for you too. If they’ve got that kind of power I’m sure they’ll be monitoring your mobiles.”

“They can do that?”

“There are ways, yes.”

“So what now?” asked Rufus.

Ian was quiet for a long time. Finally he shrugged. “Shit your pants and dive in, I guess!”

He lifted the receiver and dialled. Ian wasn’t sure but he might have heard a click, either way it was enough and he hung up.

“What’s up? Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know, I thought I heard something.”

Josh groaned. “
Guys
...”

“Yes, in a second Josh!” Karen snapped, then she turned back to Ian who was now pacing about the room holding his chin. “Are they listening?”

“I don’t know. I thought I heard a click... Shit!”

“You could use a pay-phone,” Josh said.

Karen looked at him. “Yeah, but won’t they follow him?”

“What are they going to do? Arrest him for making a phone call?”

Rufus was again peering out of the blinds. “Shit! I can’t believe this shit! I’m a fucking student!” He looked back a Josh. “Jesus man, how the fuck did you get me into this!? Fucking mutants and, and,
and you fucking stabbed me man
!!!
You fucking stabbed me
!”

“Look I’m sorry! It wasn’t me!”

“Look,” said Ian, “everyone just calm down. This isn’t helping.”

“Hmmm,” started Karen. “Maybe you could go to him in person.” “No, the nicks swarming with them. I’d be spotted in seconds.” The room settled into silence. It was Josh who broke it. “What about a neighbour? you could tell them it’s an emergency... pay them if you have to. They couldn’t set up a wire tap that quick. At least I don’t think so.”

Ian nodded. “Capitol lad! There’s an old chap across the road I’m quite friendly with. Look I’m going to go now, you lot just stay here and lay low. Oh and someone better check on the girl.”

SHORT VISIT

AS IAN OPENED HIS FRONT DOOR the watcher in the car instantly turned on him. As Ian paced down the path the darkened window slowly slid down. “Going somewhere detective?” came the voice.

“Yeah, I’m going to see a friend of mine.”

“I’ve got orders to follow you.”

“Go ahead. It’s just across the street.”

The lock clicked and the door was flung open. “I’d rather you didn’t!”

Ian reached his gate. “Fine lad. Then you’re going to have to arrest me.”

The man fell silent for a moment. “Fine, but if you’re not back in half an hour, I’m coming to the door.” The man watched him go and once Ian was safely inside his neighbour’s house, strolled to Ian’s own front door.

Karen was half-way through untying Josh when they all heard the heavy knock on the door.

They jumped.

“Oh shit!” said Rufus. “It’s them!”

“What should we do?” asked Karen.

“Let them in,” said Josh sarcastically, and was ignored by both.

Karen looked at Rufus. “What if it’s Ian?”

“Why would he be knocking on his own front door?”

“Then ignore them,” said Josh. “
Ignore them and untie me
!”

Outside the suited man checked the house’s windows and when he was satisfied there was no one looking out, raised a cell phone to his ear. He pressed a button and waited.

“Yeah?” came the weary sounding response.

“Are you still watching the back?”

“Yeah.”

“Any activity?”

“No none at all.”

The first guy nodded. “Okay, our guy’s left the house. He’s gone to a neighbour’s, I can see it from here but I’ve got a feeling he might try to slip out the back, so I’m gonna’ go watch it. ”