Janus the Arrival (The Janus Trilogy Book 1) (8 page)

   
‘Oh Shit!’ he exclaimed, ‘Now I’ll have to
go back to work smelling like a bloody brewery.’ Mike stood up feeling a little
groggy still, but walked over towards the toilets. Once inside, he did his best
to clean up the mess as best he could. However, as he stood with the hand-drier
pointing down to blow hot air over the damp patch that still showed he casually
glanced over at the only remaining piece of mirror sited on the half tiled
wall. Mike was completely shocked and spun around as fast as he could, only to
find that he was alone in the room. He could have sworn he’d seen the stranger
who’d sat at his table, looking at him in the background.

Stepping
into the busy street a short while later, Mike screwed his face up as the
daylight hit his eyeballs full on. He still felt a little nauseous as he
strolled along the road in an attempt to return back to work. The events from
the pub were still a bit of a blur, yet it had all seemed so surreal. After a
while the fresh air made his head feel a lot clearer, but the memory of those
eyes still made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He then tutted and wondered
if he was maybe becoming a little too paranoid about the whole thing, as he
stepped up his pace. Entering the police building by the front entrance, rather
than messing around with the back door near the car park, which he usually
tended to use. He accidentally dropped his wallet, which just about summed up
the sort of day he’d been having. Mike looked on in despair as his credit cards
scattered in every direction while one of the receptionists looked on
unsympathetically. He wasn’t at all surprised as she was the one who thought
she was better than everyone else. Little Miss Snooty was the nickname he used
for her, and he knew it wasn’t just him. She wasn’t particularly liked that
much by most of the people he worked with, he was surprised that she even
worked there still, unless she were shagging her boss or something. Mike
eventually gathered up his belongings and placed his wallet back in his pocket
before looking back over at the reception to show that he was sorted. Both
women were busy on calls, so he simply packed up his pride and sauntered over
to the lifts. Mike stood alone in the lift once it had arrived but felt very
uneasy, knowing that something was seriously wrong. This wasn’t like him at
all. He wasn’t normally such a nervous person, so why was he so on edge? Just
then, the lights in the lift suddenly dimmed a couple of times before plunging
him into complete darkness. From out of nowhere, Mike heard a man’s voice
whispering something behind him. He turned instantly. His eyes tried to focus
on the darkened figure standing right before him, which couldn’t be possible,
because he knew he’d entered the lift alone. Yet standing right next to him,
albeit in darkness, was the stranger from the pub. In that same moment,
something above the lift suddenly snapped very loudly. The recoil of one of the
heavy cables holding the lift in place thudded worryingly against the side of
the carriage. Mike felt incredibly sick to the pit of his stomach as he
realised what was happening. His concern grew even deeper when he heard the
second cable give way, which caused the lift to tip to the left and sent him
flying. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, as his arms scrambled wildly in
thin air and he was sent sprawling to his knees. Mike looked up to see the
grinning face of the stranger peering down at him and wagging his finger as if
scolding him like a little schoolboy. The figure stood unwavering but then
disappeared right before his eyes, just as the lift suddenly lost all support
and began to plunge towards the ground. It feel extremely fast down the
concrete shaft. It caught the side walls a few times, but not enough to slow it
down in any way. The carriage shot past each floor like a speeding bullet and
shattered on impact once it hit the bottom. The force of the crash caused the
basement wall to cave in fairly easily. The construction had always been seen
as being fairly weak. It had then been passed off as a snagging issue, which
never quite got around to being resolved properly. As always, that had been
down to all the paperwork involved, along with all the insurances and suchlike,
with no one really wanting to take any ownership. Regardless of that, Don
Murray was killed instantly. One of the metal rods that normally supported a
section of the lift partition had entered his left shoulder and then passed
neatly through his body as the pressure kicked in. It eventually sliced into
part of his stomach lining and pinned him directly to where he stood. Due to
the sensitive nature of the work that took place in the laboratory, it had
always been deemed a very hazardous area. It wasn’t long before individual
fires had started to break out in a number of places. Some were beginning to
snake their way towards the large collection of gas cylinders that were
regularly maintained and chained up in accordance with the relevant safety
regulations. However, that would still not help in this situation, as they were
located in an open mesh storage area that stood totally exposed at the end of
the room.

Dave Sorbus finally arrived at the
building and immediately knew that something was wrong, the moment he heard the
alarms going off and saw people pouring from the building. Some looked very
confused, while others obviously thought it was just another fire drill at
first. Having attempted to get as close as he could to the building, without
much success, he eventually ended up parking on a grass verge on the opposite
side of the road. Dave instantly made his way towards one of the fire crews and
made himself known, having waved his badge as proof. It wasn’t long before he
was informed about the one thing he’d dreaded the most. It was not good news at
all. The basement area that contained his specimens as well as a large number
of staff appeared to have been destroyed from what he’d been told. It was
totally off limits for now, so consequently, he hung around for the next few
hours in order to help out. It was also his best chance of finding any possible
further information as it happened. Sadly, as time passed by, he realised that
his evidence had more than likely been lost forever, and having received some
appreciation for helping out, he finally started walked back towards his car.
Once he got closer to his vehicle, Dave swore out loud when he found another
bloody parking ticket attached to his windscreen.

Janus envied the
birds that flew in the sky around him. Clouds parted like waves as he sped
through the middle of them and felt a slight dampness to his clothing, which
brushed against his skin as he descended back towards the earth. His spirit
drifted over the treetops and houses of Clapham Common, before it eventually
passed down through the open skylight and re-entered the body that lay unmoving
in the candle lit bath.

A deep breath escaped
the lips, as the spirit became one, and the body suddenly jerked back to life.
The eyelids suddenly shot open and Janus murmured a few words in his mother
tongue, before standing up in the luke-warm water. He grabbed at the nearest
towel that hung on the radiator before draping it around his well toned body.
During his continuing study of the stones, Janus had discovered that he no
longer needed any sleep if he worked at it. This had been easily overcome by a
higher level of meditation that provided him with the capability of travelling
along the plains of enlightenment. This was something he had to understand
fully, as many of the tasks he had to perform in order to reinstate the
Dra-Na-Zee to their new homeland of the future, were now lying in his hands entirely.

Janus
had already gathered instructions about the next stage of the plan, but wasn’t
having much success in locating his contact, having stood at the bar close to
the entrance studying every person who’d entered the club within the last forty
five minutes. No one had given off the particular type of vibes he’d been
seeking, and so he’d sat and considered what to do next. Having decided to give
up for now and return back to the bustling streets of Clapham, he was walking
through one of the more desolate areas, when he was unexpectedly approached by
three rather scruffy looking youngsters.

   
‘If you know what’s fucking well good for
you pal, you won’t make a noise and you’ll do as you’re told.’ demanded one of
them, as he held a knife up against Janus’ throat. To everyone’s complete
surprise, Janus moved exceptionally fast and simply thrust himself bodily
against his attacker. This caused the blade to sink deep into the side of his
exposed neck and become embedded right up to the hilt. The attacker and his
henchmen all looked aghast at what had occurred. They momentarily glanced into
their victim’s face, only to sense their mistake a little too late. A blinding
beam of yellow light shot from the guys eyes with the tallest of the thugs
being the first to be hit and go down. The boy heard something pop as a feeling
of intense heat entered his head. It was the worst feeling in the world, and it
felt like a hot knife slicing through butter. His vision was lost in an instant.
His eyeballs had immediately begun to disintegrate, and his legs buckled under
him as his body dropped to the ground. Blood seeped heavily from the half empty
sockets, whose glazed expression peered blankly into oblivion. His senses still
remained intact enough for him to experience some additional pain as the force
penetrated his brain. This drained any remaining knowledge he’d had, before
evaporating the rest of his body, until the only residue left, consisted of a
few carbonated deposits lying on the pavement that he’d been standing on just a
short while earlier. The others looked on in absolute horror. Then, acting from
instinct, one of them hurled his body forward. He rolled with surprising
agility and sprung straight back to his feet, landing on the grassy embankment.
Unfortunately for him, Janus was already one step ahead and the youngster felt
an intense heat burning the back of his neck as it ate its way into his spinal
cord and immobilised him almost instantly. Another mound then appeared fairly close
to the first one, as Janus turned to find the third mugger making a pretty
feeble attempt to escape over a spiked railing that led into the adjoining
cemetery. Paul Malone had only just turned fifteen three weeks earlier. This
was literally his first attempt at any real sort of crime, since meeting the
other two and having eventually been persuaded to take part, with all sorts of
promises that were never likely to have happened. He was the only one who’d
been capable of showing any feelings, and he’d tried to escape the situation
shortly after it had arisen. The petrified youngster now prayed as he tried his
utmost to clamber over a spiked fence that stood like a monstrous,
insurmountable barrier before him. At first he thought he had a decent chance of
making it over, but an intense pressure took hold of his upper body and began
forcing his chest down towards one of the rusty points that protruded up from
the railing and started to impale him. He died in a lot of pain as the cold
metal pierced his fast, beating heart. A faint puncturing sound had escaped his
lungs during the exact moment of impact, while his body went all limp and just
hung there like some sort of trophy. Janus left the gruesome scene immediately.
Although he was totally unaware, that a young couple were huddled together in a
nearby alcove. They currently stood shaking uncontrollably, having just
witnessed the whole grisly scene.

Dave
had wondered what sort of depraved individual he was possibly up against. He’d
already made up his mind about the results from the carbonated deposits that
had been found at the Clapham incident. He knew without a doubt that they’d
show up in the tests as human remains. The full description of events provided
by the terrified young couple had made it sound like a case of self-defence,
rather than murder at first. The fact that the guy had allegedly taken a
certain amount of pleasure from the act of killing, hinted that he was
obviously very adept at what he did. The fact that he also had ownership of a weapon
that looked to be capable of evaporating people was also something that would
have to be looked into very carefully. He’d never come across anything like it
in all his time in the force. Yet, fully confident in his ability, Dave felt it
was only a matter of time before he and this mystery man eventually came
face-to-face. Then he’d gain some sort of closure to the unanswered questions
that had accumulated in his head. Local hospitals and emergency units had been
alerted to keep an eye out for anyone requiring attention for a knife wound.
Dave never rested his hopes on such things, he knew from experience that
someone like that would have sought someone private out, someone who worked
under the radar. A nagging instinct told him this latest incident was related
to the Vicky Newman case in some way, but what could someone like her have
possibly done to upset the killer. She certainly wouldn’t have tried to mug him
that was for sure.

Dave
was sitting at his desk three days later when they first approached with his
boss tagging close behind. You could tell their kind straight away, because
they all looked the same. Dickheads dressed in black, wearing dark sunglasses
and never alone. What the hell did guys like this want with him? Reluctantly,
Dave stood up as the introductions took place.

   
‘Hi! I’m agent Kyle Hurst and this is agent
Lee Casey, said the first man pointing to the one standing just behind. Lee
nodded his acknowledgement to Dave but the man never even bothered to speak.

   
‘We’re normally based in Quantico,
Virginia, but we’re working on something that started many, many years ago,
somewhere around the Chinese-Tibetan border. We understand that one of the
cases you’re investigating may be linked in some way, and so I took it upon
myself to come over to confirm where you’re at and to get some additional
information.’ Dave knew he had no real say in the matter, as the jurisdiction
of these people seemed to rank much higher under certain circumstances. It was
common knowledge that the FBI were a law unto themselves, and they certainly
wouldn’t be there without approval from the very top. Yet looking at it from
the positive side, at least he’d been told they were around, which was more
than he’d usually have been told. However, right at this moment he was far more
intrigued with the case of
The Ray Gun
Killer,
as the papers had dubbed the Clapham incident. So the feds would
have to wait for once.

Standing
annoyed in the bathroom, Janus observed his reflection in the oval shaped mirror
above the sink. The knife still protruded from the side of his neck, so he
calmly grabbed the handle and pulled it free with one swift, clean jerk.
Unsurprised at the absence of blood, he placed his hand directly over the open
wound and concentrated extremely hard. His mind focused right in on the damaged
area and pretty soon he was able to visualise it very clearly.
 

   
Rotating images of the Stone Disks appeared
almost immediately, once the image had formed, and with each turn he felt his
strength returning as the wounded area began to heat up and heal. On removing
his hand a short while later, Janus gave his reflection a wry smile. He was
very impressed at the final result. All signs of the puncture mark on the outer
skin had completely vanished. He knew it would be the same for any internal
tears to his neck tissue and he looked as good as new. Janus had also caught
sight of something else happening during one of his communications with The
Elder’s, and he was a little disturbed at the image of men dressed in black
having appeared in his thoughts. He knew this was a warning that he’d need to
take very seriously, although he had been warned that this would happen.
Therefore he considered what the best course of action might be under the
current change in circumstances.

   
‘So!’ He said to himself, seemingly happy
with the flash of inspiration that he’d just had.
  

   
‘You’ve finally decided to turn up at long
last. Well I’m certainly game if you are boys.’

Friday
night was clubbing night for Debbie Green and her friends. It was the end of
the working week and a good excuse for exorcising any frustrations that might
have occurred in the days beforehand.

Tall,
blonde and voluptuous in places, although she outwardly displayed the image of
a Bimbo in some people’s eyes
,
she
was actually quite intelligent. She was also very well respected by those who
knew the real her. Debbie never noticed how intensely the stranger had stood
staring at her from the shadows, until later in the evening, when the
music had finally slowed down for
couples to take to the floor. He’d suddenly taken her by complete surprise,
having swept her off her feet and taken her with him. Under normal
circumstances Debbie would have protested quite strongly, but feeling
unthreatened at this juncture, and having become strangely excited at the
prospect of finding out a little more about her unexpected partner, she’d
happily agreed. It wasn’t as if this was an everyday occurrence for her.
Receiving a few anxious glances from her friends, a quick thumbs-up soon
dissipated their fears, before they gradually turned back and continued
talking. Debbie and the stranger appeared to look as if they’d known each other
for years, as they both tried to out dance each other. Yet after a series of fast
moving tunes, they finally collapsed exhausted onto one of the seats in one of
the partially secluded alcoves.

   
‘My name is Janus, and I’m completely at
your service.’ said the stranger. Debbie had never believed in love at first
sight until that exact moment, having peered into the most amazing set of deep
blue eyes and fallen for his charms. She was completely besotted, and they both
knew it. So, when the time eventually came to leave the club for the night,
Debbie swiftly sought out her friends and put their minds at rest, before
bidding them farewell.
 

   
When she eventually awoke the next morning,
Debbie simply lay back thinking about the most exciting night she’d ever
experienced in her whole life. Janus had been an extremely passionate and adventurous
lover, having satisfied her well beyond her wildest dreams. Glancing around the
room and taking in her surroundings for the first time, she took in the Chinese
style that Janus seemed to have adopted. This told her quite a lot about the
man she’d just spent the night with, and he obviously maintained a high level
of intelligence. This, combined with the strange amount of mysticism that
seemed to hang around him, only served to heighten her interest in this guy all
the more. As if on cue, the bedroom door suddenly swung open, and Janus entered
whilst holding a towel around his waist. Watching very carefully, as if trying
to gauge her reaction, Janus then took his hand away. He then let it fall to
the floor before diving onto the bed beside her.

   
‘Right young lady, lets carry on where we
finished off shall we?’ He smiled, knowing full well what the answer would be.

Janus
Storm had accomplished another vital part of the Dra-Na-Zee plan and made
contact, literally. It was something he was starting to get quite good at, and
honestly enjoyed doing what needed to be done. In some ways, certain aspects of
her behaviour reminded him of Amanda a little bit. This young, unreserved woman
called Debbie Green was just the type of person he needed for the time being.
She would certainly more than serve his purpose for now.

After
a weekend of prolonged lovemaking, Janus decided to travel up to Sheffield for
a few days of consultancy work. He’d managed to gain all of the required skills
he needed from the Stone Disks. He found this acted as a good cover, plus it
also allowed him to blend in with a wide selection of businesses without
drawing any unwanted attention to himself. Having set off earlier and already
tackled the North Circular Road system, it was whilst driving along the M1
motorway that another driver really annoyed Janus. The guy had upset him by
driving far too close for comfort, and although he’d tolerated the idiot’s
erratic behaviour initially, he finally went too far when he overtook him on
the inside. Janus watched in frustration as he literally pulled in front of
him, and then slowly started applying his brakes, thereby causing Janus to do
the same. At the last minute, he must have slammed his foot down hard, as he
almost stopped dead. Instinct immediately took over. Janus was forced to swerve
to avoid a collision, which left a fresh set of tyre tracks dotted along the
middle lane. Having regained his composure and deciding exactly what to do,
Janus immediately sought out his tormentor. He was absolutely determined to put
an end to this man’s stupidity once and for all, and nothing would persuade him
otherwise. Of all the people he could have chosen to mess with, this man had
definitely made the biggest mistake of his life.