Regenesis (Book 1): Impact (20 page)

“So
that guy’s gonna try to kill me?” he asked Sage.

“Probably.
But now that we believe you’re the eleventh, you’ll be under twenty-four hour
surveillance, for your protection. And if he doesn’t show and someone else is
murdered, you’ll be free to go and we’ll pick up the investigation from there.
If, however, he does try to break in and kill you, we’ll stop him,” Sage told
Evanston.

Evanston
nodded cautiously and muttered that might be more secure in another state if
they were that worried. Sage apologized and told him they would try to be as
accommodating as they could be. They left him with the rest of the paperclips
and started toward Sage’s office.

Johnson
let out a heavy breath as soon as the door closed and they were in the hall. He
asked, “So what sort of ability would you classify that as Sage?”

He
scratched his head, “Most likely state of matter manipulation… y’know, ice to
water to vapor.”

“What’s
our next step then?” Felton asked.

“Excuse
me,” a thin Asian man interrupted them, “But before the three of you take off
in separate directions, I’d like to ask you all something.”

The
three found an Asian man dressed in a white collared shirt with thin black
pinstripes on it. He wore a black tie and a dark brown undone overcoat, with
well ironed black slacks, shined black shoes, and gloves on his hands. His
thick black hair was well groomed and the man stood a few inches shorter than
Detective Sage.     

He
flashed a badge and introduced himself, “Agent Ryuzaki Miyaza of the Bureau.
I’m here to question a man you have detained here, named Mario Evanston, for
his connection with the case you’ve been working on, what you’ve classified as
the ‘Cladis investigation,’ if I’m not mistaken.”

Johnson
frowned, “We haven’t even added that to the report yet,” he crossed his arms,
“How come you’re here so suddenly?”

Miyaza
smiled. His eyes flashed and he told the man, “I was here in Baltimore on
personal business when I was asked to look into this case by my section chief.”
He looked at Felton, “That’s why I’m here without any partner, to answer your
next question.”

“I
wasn’t going to ask that,” Felton told the agent.

Miyaza’s
eyes gleamed and his smile flickered, “I’ll have to take your word on that…” He
looked at the door, “Time’s an issue my friends, so if you’ve no more
questions, I would like to answer mine.”

The
Asian man didn’t hesitate to push past Ryan and into the holding cell. To
Ryan’s relief, Mario had stopped manipulating the paperclips when the agent
entered the room. Agent Miyaza greeted Evanston frankly and retrieved a black
pen and a pad of paper from within his coat.

Felton
stood at the door, with Sage on the right side of Agent Miyaza, and Chief
Johnson near the metal table where Mario Evanston sat. Agent Miyaza asked
Detective Felton to close the door and once his request was met, he asked his
first question, “You drive a taxi, is that correct?”

Evanston
looked at him blankly. He slowly answered, “Yeah…Why the hell’s a fed asking me
if I drive a taxi? Isn’t that obvious?”

“Thank
you,” Miyaza said as his eyes flashed and he scribbled notes down on his pad.
He continued to fire questions, “Did you ever meet Angela Walsh before the
accident?”

“No,
and you can’t really call it meeting her, as she died in my arms.”

He
nodded, “Of course not…And when she swerved off the road, how did you react?”

Evanston
cautiously answered, “I hit the brakes.”

“She
did swerve, right?” Miyaza nearly cut Evanston off as he asked.

He
hesitated, “Yes…”

Miyaza
frowned, “Are you certain? You’re sure another car didn’t push her into your
lane?”

“No.”

The
agent scribbled more into his notepad. “Did she hit the brakes?”

He
shrugged, “I-I don’t know…maybe?”

The
man’s eyes illuminated briefly, “I’ll trust your knowledge of the event, don’t
worry too much Mister Evanston.”

Mario
watched the man continue to write and asked, “Why are you writing so much? I’m
hardly sayin’ a thing, yet you’re writing a lot.”

Miyaza
nodded, “I’m just writing mental notes, formulating hypothesizes and such.”

“Okay,
well why are you asking me these kind of questions?”

The
agent looked up and asked what he meant.

“You’re
questions are…basic. These guys could have asked me these by now, they did in
fact, but why are you just rattling off the same things? Shouldn’t the FBI be
askin’ me tougher questions?”

The
Asian man nodded. He flipped the top of the notepad over his notes, stowed it
and the pen away in his coat, and replied, “I could ask you the questions I
really need answers to…like how Cladis was able to stand by the side of the
road and push Angela Walsh’s car into yours, how not a single soul could see
him, and why there are suddenly a vast number of ‘super powered’ individuals
throughout this city.” He glanced at the chief and two detectives and calmly added,
“You need to stop looking at this case like it’s just another routine
investigation. For starters, you have a serial killer, something none of you
have experience with, but more importantly, this isn’t a traditional mass
murderer. As such, this case is something new to all of you and to most, if not
all detectives in your shoes.” The agent turned his attention to Detective Sage
and continued, “You’re missing clues because you’re not thinking abstractly
enough. Nothing is quite what you think. This isn’t a simple investigation,
your target is not a rational or typical serial killer…and I am not a federal
agent.”

All
of the men froze where they were. Sage felt his heart race faster than it ever
had. All three of the officers reached for their weapons but the Asian man was
far too fast for them. He rushed toward Felton, struck him in the throat with
the flat of his hand which preceded three decisive blows to his head and a
swift knee into his gut. Felton fell to the floor though Miyaza already dealt
with the chief of police before Felton hit the ground. Miyaza used the table to
boost himself into the air where he kicked Chief Johnson square in the forehead
and brought him down. Sage hardly moved for his gun before the man seized his
hand, broke his grip, took the gun, and slammed the side of the weapon into the
side of his head. It didn’t leave him unconscious, but his head rang as the man
removed the safety and aimed it at him. Before Evanston could make a sound, a
second gun from Agent Miyaza’s coat came into Sage’s blurred vision and marked
Evanston.

Miyaza
smiled, “Now, I’ve got the answers I needed so I can get out of here before
anyone realizes what I–” he looked at Evanston and his eyes flashed, “Don’t
even think about it!” he barked. “You might be able to turn metals into
liquids, but you are not fast enough to stop bullets…and if you were I’d just
snap your neck with my hands, so save me the trouble and sit quietly.” Miyaza
returned his attention to the wounded detective and muttered, “I’d take a closer
look at those security tapes if I were you…and look at the rain, very closely.”
He took Sage’s gun, removed the clip, took the weapon apart, and dropped the
pieces on the floor. “And don’t bother trying to find me,” he told him while he
walked to the door and moved Felton out of the way, “You won’t.”

Ryuzaki
Miyaza stowed his weapon away, opened the door, and let the heavy metal door
slam shut behind him after he escaped.

---*---

11:13
PM

London,
England

Jason
lay wide awake in bed with Audrey, who slept soundly beside him.
I can’t
sleep at all…I never can though and it makes me wonder why I even bother
anymore.
Their room was only lit by what little light crept in between and
around the drapes at their window. When Jason could sleep he needed it dark,
just as Audrey did, so they didn’t keep a television in their bedroom either,
not that Jason wanted to pass the night with infomercials and syndicated
television. In actuality Jason was quite limited to what he could do to pass
the hours.

I
could get up and find Audrey’s digital reader and download a book. I have
wanted to read
The
Iliad
and
The Odyssey
again. And who knows? Maybe the culture and
written form will make more sense given my studies…Not to mention it will give
me a chance to see how rusty my Greek is…Yet, we do need more eggs and bread
for the morning. I could just run and get it and return to bed and start on
Homer’s epics then. He
stared at the ceiling and let out a sigh.
I need
to get out of here soon anyway or I’m going to lose it.

Jason
quietly rose from bed and found his clothes without rousing Audrey. He did run
across some trouble locating his shoes though, and just as he believed he’d
found them Audrey turned over and sleepily told him the pair he’d selected were
hers.

“Yours
are near the door,” she mumbled.

He
thanked her and told her to go back to bed.

“You’re
heading out then?”

“Yes.”

She
frowned and told him she wished he would stay. “You know how I hate that. You
tell me how dangerous this city is and I worry about whether or not you’ll be
here when I get up in the morning.”

Again?
“Audrey, I always
return and I’m always unscathed.”

She
pulled the covers up close to her and glanced away from him.
I’m not going
anywhere except the damn store and we need milk and eggs and bread for breakfast.
I’m only going to be out for a moment anyway.

They
both retained their silence while Jason put his shoes on. “I’ll only be out for
a quick minute.”

“Where
are you going?”

“The
store a few blocks from here.”

“Why?”

“To
get some things we need for breakfast.”

Audrey
studied him and asked why it couldn’t wait until the morning.

It’s
for breakfast Audrey. I need it in the morning and I’d rather not have to race
over to the bloody store and back all for a hot meal I can guarantee tonight.

“I’m
already up honey; just go back to sleep.”

She
sat up and watched him put his shoes on and waited until the laces were tied
before she whispered, “You always leave in the middle of the night Jason and I
hate it.”

“I’ll
only be gone–”

“I
don’t like it Jason,” she told him flatly. “Why can’t you stay here with me
and–”

“I
can’t stand lying awake for hours on end each and every night Audrey,” he cut
in. “Do you know how long each night is? I mean without any rest or sleep at
all? There’s nothing to make the minutes, the hours pass by any faster, and all
the while you know how damn tired you’ll be the next day? It’s horrible Audrey.
I need to get out and occupy myself somewhat.” He paused a moment to find her
through the darkness and added, “It isn’t enough to just read a book or watch
films for seven or eight hours each night. You get restless real quick. Do you
understand?”

She
nodded silently and allowed him to gather some money from his wallet on their
dresser near the door.

“I
hate sleeping alone Jason,” she confessed. “I take comfort knowing you’re
beside me whenever I turn over at night.” Audrey looked him in the eye and
asked him to stay.

He
kept quiet for a moment before he told her he would be back in a moment and
promised to stay beside her from then on.
I need to stretch my legs and get
some air. And I’ll be back before you know it Audrey.

--          --          --

Jason
wasn’t alone. London, like many other metropolises throughout the world, always
had someone awake at every minute of the day.
It’s not too late, so I’d
guess these people are all out for parties or what have you. It’s difficult to
imagine that Audrey and I once lived that life too. I can’t even recall the
last time I stepped foot in a nightclub, though I would assume I’m too old for
all of that now. Call it adulthood or growing old too quickly, but I doubt I
could enjoy it now anyway.

The
night was clear, though there weren’t any stars to show for it. Out of all the
things he hated about the city, the lack of starlight topped his list. He never
planned on living there for his whole life, but school dictated where they
lived and then work followed. Audrey loved London though, and as such Jason
held a suspicion that he’d never leave.

We
have another dinner with her family in a few days just before we take off to
Greece for a week. Enduring more of Jack’s accomplishments of his firm and
criticisms of living in the city and of my job. I’m not even sure I want to go
but there’s little sway my voice holds in such matters. I know it’s different
for her though, she’s close to them and they have one another, but I’m
just…just not the family type. That’s as best I can put it I guess.

Jason
walked with his eyes low and fixed on the sidewalk before him. The city around
him became lightless and soft, with all sound muffled against his thoughts and
introspection; the shop Jason planned to stop by sat idle as he passed it and
on through London.