Flutter (35 page)

The four Ezekiels outside of the hospital were thrown to the ground. They were completely stunned and temporarily out of commission. Roger loaded up a sniper rifle and took them out, one by one. They didn’t have the strength to run and couldn’t see where the shots were coming from. They were rendered helpless from the blast.

Jason Dewey smoked a cigar as he sat in a car hidden in a dark corner across the street. He yelled to the driver, “Get out of here now!” He was utterly disgusted with the fiasco brewing outside.

As soon as Abigail’s feet touched the floor of the room, she was attacked; but her attackers were no match for her. They were a mixed group of Ezekiels from Project Flutter experiments and a few soldiers. She moved very quickly. The few bullets that did hit her bounced off the suit. She unloaded her weapons on the attackers, twisting and turning with inhuman speed.
Deer.
In hand to hand combat, she hissed at the men, fighting and thrashing through them, ripping them to pieces. All was quiet again on the roof. She took out a cigarette, lit it and confidently walked to the door that led to the stairwell.

Finch saw Duffy leave his post to take the phone call. She knew that her body was too weak to outrun him. She laid there for a moment, hoping that Abigail had received her message. Then the lights had gone out and explosions and gun fire erupted.
They’re here!
Meghan’s knees quivered and her hands were jittery as she tried to get out of the bed. She was extremely nervous. The lights going out, explosions and the gunfire meant mayhem.
Maybe I’m putting too much faith in Abigail! She’s not coming. I can’t lie here and wait for them to kill me. Maybe Brown is on his way.
She wasn’t sure, but she knew that she had to guard herself. She slipped her arm out of the sling. It was too restricting. When her arm dropped, a pain shot up through her left side and rested in her collarbone. She bit down on her teeth to shield the yell she wanted to release. Finch was extremely weak but managed to drag herself to the door and lock it behind the nurse who had left. She closed the shades to the room and turned off the lights. She ducked down in the corner on the other side of the bed. 

Duffy returned and tried to open the door. It was locked. He banged on the door and yelled, “Open up, Finch! It’s me, Duffy.”

Finch ignored the request. She clutched her gun in fear in the corner of the room. He continued to bang on the door and yelled, “I just want to help you.”

Meghan’s silence alluded to the fact that she must be on to him.
How did she figure me out?
Duffy thought.
No matter now.
He loaded his gun as lights flickered all around. Finch was almost in tears. Suddenly her floor filled with ten Indigo agents. Behind the pack was Saul. Abigail reached the floor on the opposite side. Roger had entered from the ground level and ran up the stairwell taking out the few Ezekiels he saw in the halls. The agents shot and charged toward Abigail. She took out the knife Frankie gave her.

Abigail spoke into the wire in her ear and said, “Roger get your ass up here!”

Roger was out of breath but responded, “Coming up now, Elvis.”

The men shot at Abigail and approached her full force. The bullets were no match for the suit. Any that hit her slid off to the side. She quickly moved around them. The men were close. More hand to hand combat was required. She threw the knife, hitting one Ezekiel in the throat. She had killed him. She fought another. Before the man with the knife in his throat could hit the floor, she took the knife out of his throat and used it to slit another agent in the throat. They were no match for the suit. Her movements were fast, slick, strong, and precise. Saul approached. She had taken out all of the agents and dismembered most of them. She tossed the knife around in her hand as Saul got closer to her.

Saul said, “So you have a suit after all. And here we were looking for just the plans.” Abigail didn’t respond. Saul was even more frustrated and said, “You don’t give up, do you.”

She smiled and said, “Taurus.” Then she spoke softly into her wire, “Roger, get Finch.” Saul charged in, and they fought. 

Roger reached the room on the 7th floor. He saw Duffy trying to break into the door. Duffy turned and saw Roger, and he immediately fired. Roger pulled back behind a corner. He and Duffy shot at one another. Their bullets flew past Saul and Abigail. Eventually Roger was shot in the arm, but his last shot was a deadly blow to Duffy. Duffy hit the floor, and his body bounced one time. Abigail and Saul continued fighting, and Abigail was winning. Roger kicked Finch’s door. He needed to get it open. Finch sat on the other side of the room with the gun pointed directly at the opening.

Detective Brown pulled up to the hospital seeing the disturbance. He pulled out his gun. He entered the lobby where a few late workers were hiding. He tried the elevator but it was not working. He began running up the stairs. Roger kicked Finch’s door repeatedly. He yelled, “Detective Finch, It’s me, Roger. Open the door so I can get you outta here.”

She was relieved to hear his voice. She hobbled over to the door but couldn’t get it open. She yelled back, “I can’t open it. I jammed it.”

“Back away from the door,” Roger said. He had an idea. Roger backed away and shot the lock off the door. He entered and picked up Finch and backed out of the room. He leaned her against the wall.

Saul knew Abigail had the upper hand. He retreated, running quickly toward Roger. Roger was holding Finch. Abigail took the knife Frankie had given her and threw it. The knife zipped through the air, piercing Saul in the back of his neck severing his spine. He was about six feet away from Roger when it happened. Saul’s body plunged forward knocking Roger over and Saul exhaled his last breath into Roger’s face. Saul’s possessive spirit fluttered into the air and entered into Roger’s air passage. Roger inhaled. The timing was fateful. Roger coughed and coughed grabbing at his neck. His body jerked. Abigail watched in awe. Roger couldn’t breathe at first, but when he opened his eyes, they were blazing blue. Abigail reached forward, touching his face. Roger growled. She picked him up, setting him on his feet. They grabbed the guns on the floor and Abigail retrieved the knife from Saul’s neck.

Brown reached the 7th Floor and shouted, “Drop your weapons!” Brown was stunned when he realized the last two men standing were the two youths from Frankie’s Pub. “What the...?” He was confused, “Drop ‘em NOW or I
will
fire!”

Finch yelled “NO! They are okay. They saved me. They saved me.”

Brown was confused, but didn’t care. His heart was broken when he saw the love of his life had been badly injured, yet was relieved that she was still alive. He put his gun aside to help Finch who had slid down the wall. He immediately held and kissed her. She kissed him back without a second thought of who may be looking. Once he was satisfied that she was ok, Brown looked up, but Abigail and Roger were gone. They had both slipped out of sight. Exiting through a window, they climbed down the side of the building. Abigail had to help Roger a little; he was slipping. Once they reached the ground, they ran with superhuman speed into the darkness. Abigail had to slow down. Roger didn’t have a suit to run as fast as she could. They got a few blocks away and covered their heads with hoodies from a bag they had stashed. They backed away into a dark corner and disappeared. 

It was early morning. The sun emerged from behind the building tops, drying up the night’s moisture and warming the air. Frankie was downstairs cleaning tables at the bar. He looked out the window and saw Abigail and Roger coming towards the bar. Abigail walked in first with a battered Roger struggling behind her. She dropped the knife and keys to the truck on the bar. Frankie smiled and continued wiping. Abigail and Roger went upstairs to the apartment. Although Abigail was exhausted she stayed alert as she observed the new man before her.

Roger’s body ached. He had never felt this way. He felt his skin crawl, something was living inside. Abigail knew that he and that possession were going to have to learn to live together; but until then, Roger will seem almost bipolar, frantic, paranoid and schizophrenic. She laid him down on the bed and tucked him in. Roger was going to need rest for the inner spirit to settle down in its new host. Roger lay down and slept for eight hours without waking. Occasionally he growled and moaned in his sleep, but nothing too loud or worth worrying about. 

Abigail sat in the room the entire time. As she sat there, she reviewed Dr. Paltee’s notes. He outlined his method of possessing humans in great detail. Abigail took notes until she saw Roger wake. 

Frankie knew the two youths were upstairs. He was so busy downstairs, working the bar with Marty and Frita that he hadn’t thought to bother them with questioning. By 9:00 pm, Frankie decided to close down and pay them a visit. As he ascended the stairs, there was a soft buzzing sound coming from the room. He was familiar with the sound of a tattoo gun. Frankie stepped into the room to see an interesting and striking scene. Roger had cut his hair into a stylized Mohawk. He sat backwards on a chair with his arms folded over the back of the chair. Abigail was giving him a tattoo.
Lion.

They finally explained to Frankie what happened from start to finish. She explained the tattoos, the possessions, the Ezekiels, but the suit she left for Roger to explain. It was his baby. Frankie was dumbfounded. They talked that entire night until the sun rose again the next day. Frankie couldn’t believe that fate had brought these two into his life and brought them together. 

Samantha Callahan came on TV a week later with breaking news. Larry’s body had been recovered from a ditch a week after the fiasco at Mass General Hospital. The media swarmed the area, taking photos and live footage of the murder scene. At the time they had no information about the body. No ID was found on or near the body. After scanning his prints, the body was identified as belonging to Larry Crawford. Frankie was extremely upset. He cried for a week, thinking about his best friend being shot in the head and left for dead. He wondered who would have done this and why. Abigail and Roger made it point to break into Larry’s house and confiscate whatever they could find, including his computer. After studying his records, they realized what he had done. Larry was the reason the Ezekiels knew where to find her, but now Larry was dead and that’s all that mattered. Frankie held a grudge. Vengeance was all he could think of; and so he, too, was determined to make Indigo pay.

Now, it was Frankie’s mission to help them. He thought about the closing of the fight club and had an idea for a new routine. In the day, they would work at the bar. After midnight, they would train. The former fight club was converted into a lab for Roger and a training gym. The lab had all types of equipment Roger could use, including two computers and a total of four monitors. Abigail helped him with his projects. Frankie promised to find a better space in the future. Frankie invested in free weights and a few exercise machines and replaced the mats on the floor for combat training. Abigail used it daily to teach Roger and Frankie the defense and attack moves she remembered from her training. 

Frankie spent his spare time refurbishing a used car he purchased for Abigail and Roger. The truck wasn’t good enough for them, Frankie figured. Once a rusty mess, the used car was transformed– completely redone, painted and polished black with silver pinstripes on the hood and silver stripes on the sides. It was an all black 1967 Ford Mustang. They named it Terry. It was Frankie’s baby.

And Roger had a baby of his own. When Roger was not working the pub or training in the gym, he was in the basement with Abigail, working on his next project — another suit. It took him three months to complete the second suit. This suit was just like Abigail’s, but it had gunmetal gray accents on the sides of the legs, under the arms and around the neck. It was larger to fit his body. He showed Frankie how to monitor the suit’s activity on his iPad and gave him a wire to communicate with them as well. Some nights, Abigail and Roger would put on their suits for outdoor training, climbing up buildings, leaping from roof to roof, and dashing through streets at lightning speed. 

Occasionally Meghan Finch and Sydney Brown stopped by to visit. Finch hadn’t quite explained the entire story to Brown, but he hadn’t pressured her to do so. He figured she would explain things to him in due time. He didn’t ask many questions about it. The incident at MGH was classified as an act of terrorism by unknown assailants. It sparked a media frenzy and public outcry for more gun control. Chris Duffy was dead and labeled a hero to avoid further speculation. Robert Benson’s body was never recovered.

Rewinding time back to the day the arm was discovered. Sam Petit, the guard from the office, left the building after his interview with Finch and Brown. He was extremely hot and exhausted by the hours of questioning that had resulted. He didn’t feel well and needed to get out of the office. He finally got away and sent out a text message, “I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE.”

He received a quick response, “COME NOW.” 

Leaving the building was a dizzying experience. The rooms were caving in around him. People looked like zombies. He felt everyone was looking at him. The patterns in the rug spiraled in circles around his feet as he took each step.
Sinking sand?
He thought he was sinking into the floor. He was convinced everything around him sought to swallow and devour him. His ears clogged as if water was rising over his head. He couldn’t breathe.
Panic Attack!
He had to get out of there.

He eventually made his way to the main floor, shuffling his fumbling feet over the marble tiles. He tried his best to stand upright, but his stomach cramped. He wanted to vomit. The sour stomach acid sat at the back of his throat. He left the building through the side door entering the garage where a black Escalade awaited him. He entered into the truck. He sat in the back, breathing and sweating. He tried to calm himself down. He looked over to see Mr. Dewey who was in the car, smoking a cigar. Saul was in the passenger seat in the front, and Ben was the driver. The guard removed a facial disguise and took off his jacket, revealing a prosthetic arm. He said, “This better fucking work.”