Regenesis (Book 1): Impact (66 page)

“Are
you going to write down the blood type for that date too?” Felton asked him.

Detective
Felton’s question caught Bryce off guard, “Oh, I hadn’t thought to do that
actually…”

Felton
tossed him a blue ballpoint pen from Sage’s desk and suggested that he write it
down. The detective rubbed his eyes and told them they needed to talk with
Suzuki’s manager, possibly acquire copies of the security tapes for all of
Suzuki’s shifts from the time of Sara Knowles’ death until Suzuki’s death, and
talk to the boy’s parents to see whether he mentioned meeting anyone within
that four day period between the murders.

Chief
Johnson opened the door and with an exhausted look told the group they had a
visitor.

“What
do you mean?” Bryce asked.

“I
mean there’s someone here who claims he’s the next target of Cladis,” Johnson
clarified.

“Are
you kidding?”

“No
I am not, now let’s move.”

Chief
Johnson led them to one of their available meeting rooms where the man waited.
He introduced himself as James Resnik and waited for the five of them to
situate themselves. Resnik was in his early forties, stood slightly over six
feet tall, and wore jeans, a dark polo shirt, and a thick jacket.

Detective
Felton began by introducing himself and proceeded to ask, “What exactly makes
you believe you’re the next target?”

Resnik
revealed that he followed the case as closely as he could through REFOIA and
the local papers and presumed he was next. “I met Naoto Suzuki two days ago,
obviously before I knew he was the seventeenth victim, and now I’ve developed
an ability.”

“What’s
your power?” Maguire eagerly asked.

“I
can read any language and I see it as English,” he told them, “Japanese,
Spanish, or even random scribbles, as long as someone was trying to convey a
message.”

Bryce
looked at the group and asked what languages they spoke. “I can speak and write
in Spanish,” he told them.

“I’m
fluent in German, French, and Latin,” Felton admitted as he retrieved a pad of
paper and a pen from his jacket. He scribbled down a few lines before he handed
the paper to Resnik.

He
glanced at it and said, “Altogether it reads, ‘disaster is first step toward
immortality. Only afterwards can we truly live forever.’”

The
group looked at Detective Felton who nodded and said he was right. Maguire
looked quizzically at him until Felton told him it was a line from a book he’d
read recently that he was fond of.

Johnson
thanked Felton and asked Resnik, “How does your power work?”

“At
the start I see the writing like all of you do, then the words unscramble
themselves and I can read it as plain as day. Strangely, I still find it
difficult to decipher handwriting,” James explained.

“So
what’s next?” Mia asked the Chief.

“I
have no clue…”

James
laughed, “Of course…And now I’ve dragged all of you into this too.”

“Don’t
worry about that,” Johnson told their guest. “You probably saved us a bit of
time and a headache in searching for you. However we will need you to remain
here, so we can try to keep you alive until Friday.”

Murdock
turned to the Chief and asked, “Do you really think it could be that simple?”

He
shrugged, “We don’t have any other options at this point, so we may as well
start there. Cladis, or whoever this character is, seems to be extremely
adamant that the murders occur in his preset pattern. So my theory is that to
save Mister Resnik here, we’ll need to keep him alive past the intended date
Cladis has set to execute him. Perhaps it will disrupt his pattern long enough
for our team to locate him and take him down.”

“But
why do I need to remain here?” James asked them.

“It’ll
be easier to protect you here,” Felton explained to him.

“I
thought this guy isn’t going to kill me until Thursday.”

“He
won’t,” Mia stated, “But that doesn’t mean he won’t capture you and kill you
later.”

“Has
that happened?”

Bryce
shook his head, “No, but since you’re here and we know who you are, we’d like
to avoid losing this chance.”

“Chance
at what?” Resnik questioned him. “Are you all going to try to capture him?”

“Something
like that,” Mia muttered.

James
gave it a moment of thought before he agreed. “I would like to visit my wife’s
grave one last time before I’m supposed to die though. Is that too much to ask
for? I don’t mind if you feel like sending someone to accompany me.”

Chief
Johnson agreed and told him they would make the arrangement happen. “For now,
let us handle things as best we can. We’ll get a room set up for you to stay
in.” He asked Murdock and Bryce to see to it while Mia and Felton slipped out
of the room.

“What
do you think we can even do to keep him safe?” Mia asked Detective Felton. “We
didn’t exactly have a great success last time we harbored one of Cladis’
targets.”

Felton
admitted he wasn’t sure. “We could try to move him when we take him to visit
his wife’s grave. Maybe if we try to move Resnik out of the city earlier we’ll
have more success. But we have some time to formulate a plan, so let’s consult
with the rest of the team before we get too ahead of ourselves.”

---*---

5:43
PM

Bothell,
Washington

Drake
spent his afternoon building a massive domino line that ran through his entire
house. He spent two-hundred dollars for a large quantity of the game pieces and
bought out three local stores of the item. His domino line started in his
bedroom and ran out into his hallway, down the stairs, through his living room,
under his couch, into his kitchen, and at the last domino was designed to
trigger a small fulcrum with a marble on one end that would, if Drake’s
planning was successful, flip the marble into a small water filled water
bottle.

His
phone rang as he finished the project and normally Drake would have cursed his
luck, as the phone was at the opposite end of his home, but he simply stopped
time, minded the line of dominoes as he dashed to the phone, grabbed his phone,
returned to the start of the line, and finally allowed time to return to its
natural course.

Drake
paused for a moment to ensure his masterpiece hadn’t been disrupted before he
answered his phone. “Hello?”

“Sho.>”

“up?>”

“when you asked me to dig up some more information about David Moore and his
relationship to Regenesis?>” Sho paused for Drake’s confirmation and then
proceeded, “”

Drake
sighed and knocked the first domino over, “”

“he’s been dead for a few years. It was cancer, I guess.>”

“just to recap, David Moore, Mark Ross, Victor Jacobs, and my father are the
only ones we know to have worked on the project and all of whom are dead.>”

“David Moore wasn’t killed by anyone,>” Sho added.

“we have nothing to go off of now, right?>” Drake asked while he watched the
dominos quickly fall and carry out his plans. “they worked on the project for?>”

“The only person who might know anything and is still alive at this point is
Jonathan, which means it’s the only avenue we really have left.>”

Drake
followed his domino trail through his house and debated whether confronting
Jonathan was truly the next step. “could manage to uncover on our own?>”

Sho
said he didn’t know what they were even looking for. “only option if you ask me. He knows what really happened, what was involved,
and why he wanted it to be a secret.>” Sho hesitated to continue, but asked
Drake if there was even a chance that Jonathan was truthful and that Regenesis
wasn’t anything threatening at all.

Drake
admitted that it was a possibility, but added that he still felt convinced that
there was something more to it. “nothing.>”

“So, when do you want to ask him about it?>”

Drake
admitted he wanted to wait until he felt there were no other options but to
include Jonathan. “I’ll go to him and he won’t know you’re involved, okay? Just to be safe.>”

“you think that’s necessary?>”

“don’t know, and I’d rather be overly cautious than careless and full of regret.
But there is one last thing I’d like you to look into if you don’t mind.>”

“what?>”

“want to know where they met for all of the work on Regenesis. There has to be
something left behind and I want to find it.>” Drake followed the dominoes
into his living room. “notes, there has to be something.>”

Sho
told him he’d take a look into it and hung up just as the final domino flipped
a small blue marble into the water bottle without any complications.

Drake
set his phone down and stopped time to clean up after himself. However without
realizing it, or intending to, he found himself in Japan at a small wedding
reception. The bride and groom sat at a small table, smiling like crazy while
every one of their friends and family congratulated them and wished them well.

He
walked over to one of the tables near the entrance and found a book with the
names of the bride and groom embroidered on the cover.

A
microphone screeched for a brief moment before a man apologized and cleared his
throat. “” he
chuckled along with the crowd, “Kazuhiro and Yoshiko for years and I’m sort of surprised it took them so long
to tie the knot.>”

Drake
tuned out the rest of the speech and laughter as he wandered through the crowd
and over to the happy couple. He looked at them, hands together, fingers laced,
and completely serene.

He
blinked and found himself back in his home. Drake let out a breath and slowly
started picking the dominos up and sorting them back into their many cases.

---*---

Chapter
24

September
26th, 2029

7:10
PM

London,
England

“Alright
Jason, hurry up and slip into it already. I’m dying to see it.”

Audrey
sat cross-legged on their bed with her eyes fixated on the bathroom door. Their
room was in shambles from her two week long project. Scissors, tape, needles
and thread of all sizes, staples, pins, concept art, and piles of snippets and
intact fabrics and plastic based material lay strewn about their hotel room and
the need to keep her project a secret barred housekeeping from thenceforth
(though both agreed early on to keep housekeeping out of their room). The mess
didn’t incorporate their laundry, shoes, her purse and his wallet, dishes,
trash, and their other personal items scattered throughout the floor, counters,
and bed. Both Jason and Audrey were normally clean and tidy individuals, and
even though all the untidiness and clutter was for a just cause, both
anticipated the move into their new home at the end of the month.

She’s
going to be distraught.
Jason finally emerged but did not wear the outfit. He held
the black pants in his hand and frowned while he apologized, “I’m sorry Audrey,
but they don’t fit.”

He
watched her heart sink. “Oh…Well are they too big? Too tight or short?”

“They’re
a bit tight,” he admitted regretfully.
I would have torn them to shreds if
I’d pulled any tighter.

She
frowned and asked for them back. “I knew I should have worked a belt into it,”
she sighed. “I’m sorry honey, I’ll get these done as soon as I can.”

“Alright,
but,” he hesitated, “They’re tight in the thighs too dear. But the rest fits
wonderfully.”

Audrey
already tuned him out and fixated on the pants. She muttered to herself and
decried her foolishness in neglecting to leave additional room.

I
wish they fit but I would have ruined them, and I know that she would have been
heartbroken if I’d done that. I only hope she knows how much this means to me.

He
checked the time and told her to put it off until tomorrow. “You’ve already
worked so hard; please don’t exhaust yourself on my account.”

She
relented and reminded him, “This isn’t just for you Jason.”

I
know I know, the people of London, the masses huddled beneath my saving grace
and all of that bullocks.
He agreed and mentioned he had already begun his heroics.
“I’ve looked into that string of murders, the ones where the victims turn up
missing blood and organs and such.”

“Really?
What have you found so far?”

“Nothing
substantial,” he admitted. “I’ve really just done some fact checking around the
victims and their deaths, but I believe I’ve discovered a common link between
all of them, something this killer is looking for, something he wants. But I
can’t be sure until I get a bit more information.” Jason took a moment to divulge
his rendezvous with Suzy and added that she was now a confidant of his. “I’m
sorry I didn’t speak to you about this first, but I feel that I can trust her,
and I need her help, I still do.”

Audrey
beamed and walked over to him. She hugged him and told him she was happy he
felt comfortable enough to trust her sister. “I know my family can be
overbearing and wears on your nerves, but I’m glad you feel close enough to
Suzy to trust her.”

I
don’t feel like I had much of a choice in the matter. She had the answers I
needed and there wasn’t anyone else I could trust or ask. But I guess I do feel
like I can trust her, unlike her brother or mother. Honestly, all of the
Castell family are unable to keep secrets, even Audrey, but I think both of
them know how vital it is that no one else knows…and I know Suzy knows how to
keep her mouth shut.

Jason
walked back into the bathroom to retrieve the rest of his costume when he heard
a voice. “Jason? I hope you can hear me.”

Suzy.

“I
wanted to let you know I found the information you wanted. The first girl,
Nicole, had O positive blood and Sasha had A positive.” There was a pause.
“She’s dead Jason. Some girl in my American Literature course found her dead
and missing half a kilogram of skin, mainly taken from her stomach, as well as
a part of her scalp and half a liter of blood. I managed to figure this out by
talking to the girl who found her, though I really feel like shit doing
something that unseemly.” She stopped and he could hear her fumble for a
cigarette and promptly light it after two tries. She blew the smoke out after a
long draw and continued, “I think you’re right though, these killings are only
getting closer…and I’m scared Jason. Is there any way you or Audrey could come
and get me?”

I
thought as much. This answers my questions as closely as I can guess right now.

“Audrey,
what type of blood does Suzy have?” he asked her.

She
thought for a moment before she gave an answer, “I believe it’s B positive,
why?”

He
smiled and told her he had the answer he was searching for. “I think I’m making
some progress dear. But I need to call Suzy to tell her something, what’s her
number?”

Audrey
looked it up in her phone and relayed it to him. She asked while he dialed, “Do
you think she’s in danger Jason?”

“She’s
going to be fine…Suzy? This is Jason.”

“So
you heard me then, I gather?”

“Yes.
Let me ask, what type of blood do you have?”

“B
positive.”

Jason
let out a sigh of relief and told her she would be fine. “This killer won’t
harm you. I found out that blood is the connecting factor in these murders.”

“Jason,
they don’t have–”

“I
know, I know, they have different blood types, but that doesn’t matter. This
villain is hunting down people who have O positive or negative and A positive and
negative blood types.”

“Why
though?”

Should
I really tell her? She probably suspects it already though…

Jason
took an uneasy breath and told her he suspected the murderer was harvesting
organs and vital fluids. “They’re either selling them for profit or using them
for their own survival or for someone else’s. But assuming these thefts are for
himself, he has A positive blood, and the four blood types I told you are all
compatible with A positive blood types.”

Suzy
swore under her breath and asked how Jason thought the killer discovered which
people to snatch. “He wouldn’t just guess.”

“I
gave that some thought. Maybe the killer really was a doctor at one point. I
haven’t been able to confirm anything, but perhaps the victims were all
patients at the same hospital and he managed to glean their information and
whether they had any diseases he needed to avoid. But it’s my guess that this
killer is very knowledgeable about his victims well before he captures them.”

“Fantastic,”
muttered Suzy. “Does any of this help you get closer to finding this guy?”

Unfortunately
no.
Jason told her he wasn’t any closer, but he at least understood the killer’s
motive and methodology behind who he targeted. “It won’t be too much of an aid
immediately, but it will help to weed out any confusion when someone else
vanishes.”

“Then
what you’re saying is that you have to wait for someone else to be abducted?”

Jason
told her he didn’t have another option. “There aren’t any missing persons that
we know about in that area, Suzy. He could be relocating as we speak and
searching high and low for him throughout Roehampton won’t help us at all. And
I don’t have the ability to see through walls, so sadly I don’t know where to
begin searching. And since I don’t have any suspects I wouldn’t be able to tell
the killer from anyone else. I’ll keep you informed as things progress.”

“And
you can continue to expect help from me, assuming I find anything.”

They
said farewell and hung up. Jason rubbed his eyes and told Audrey there were six
victims accounted for at that moment.
I don’t know where to go from here. I
don’t even know who I’m looking for. I’m grasping at straws trying to be a hero
and I’m failing. I can’t do this. I can’t do this at all. Joshua Todd? A name,
nothing more, nothing else. There are only cold trails and dead ends. I can’t
figure this out. I can’t find anyone until I know someone else is taken.
There’s nowhere else to go from here.

---*---

11:40
AM

Seattle,
Washington

Rachel
followed Vladimir through the streets near the University of Washington. Their
search over the past few days gained them nothing and because of that they were
both irritable. It didn’t help that Rachel refused to search day in and day out
for Cipriana, (as she felt having dinner with her aunt and getting a good
night’s rest were just as vital to their progress as the search itself). Since
they needed to restart their search each morning the areas they covered
couldn’t be deemed exempt and everywhere they went needed to be rechecked.
Truthfully, Vladimir felt the entire process was a waste of time.

“Why
aren’t we in school?” Rachel asked him.

Vladimir
simply told her the matter at hand was more important than attending her high
school classes. “Would you rather sit through classes until two in the afternoon?”
he asked.

“No.”

“Then
please stop complaining.”

After
a bit more walking Rachel asked how they were supposed to find her. “We can’t
just leave this to chance can we?”

“Not
if we actually want to find her,” he muttered.

“Then
why are we wasting time like this?”

Vladimir
said he was unsure himself and doubted they were truly sent out to encounter
Cipriana by happenstance.

“Then
what are we doing out here?”

“Again,
I do not know.”

Vladimir
led her into a small field of grass between two roads and stopped underneath
the shade of a maple tree. He crossed his arms and remained quiet while cars
drove past.

Rachel
looked at the college campus and even though it was the middle of the school
day plenty of students were out enjoying the morning or traveling to and from
classes. She took a seat in the grass and looked at an intersection nearby as
all of the cars flowed past one another like various streams or rivers. Their
island of grass and maple trees wasn’t anything but a brief blip on the maps of
travelers of the world.

“Is
Constantine really that much of a threat?”

“Yes,”
Vladimir flatly told her. “If he was not we would not have to stop him.”

“Can
he really destroy everyone?”

“I
believe he cannot at this moment otherwise he would already have done so.”

“But
he’s going to find a way?”

He
nodded, “Unless we stop him.”

“How
can you be so sure?”

Vladimir
let out a sigh and asked why an angel would waste his time if Constantine
wasn’t a threat. “Pyotr would never have become an angel if Constantine was not
a danger to mankind.”

Rachel
looked away from him and asked why he wanted to stop him. “Why do you feel like
it’s your job to stop him?”

Vladimir
rubbed his eyes and reminded her that Constantine was his friend. “I should
have noticed the change in him and done something to either stop him or comfort
him and curb his desire for destruction.” He asked what she would do if one of
her friends took up a bad habit. “You would want to help them, right?”

She
admitted that she would and apologized. Rachel waited a moment before he asked
how close he was to Cipriana and the others, but Vladimir only told her they
were friends for years before Constantine rebelled and their lives changed from
what they would have been.

“Cipriana
was a lovely young woman,” he started. “She was very affectionate, honest, and
loyal. We attended the same school and I can recall many evenings where she and
I and our friends would sit out and watch the stars and name all of the
constellations we could remember. Her family moved to London, which is where I
am from as well, though I was born in Romania,” Vladimir stopped himself and
returned to his comments on Cipriana, “Her parents left Italy during that
nation’s reunification after the Napoleonic rule and ended up in London in
eighteen-thirty. I remember her father’s home, how he had a wonderful library
filled with strange and beautifully bound books I had never heard of. He was
the one who taught me to read and speak Italian, though I must admit I am quite
poor at the language now, since I haven’t needed to use it since the end of the
Second World War. Cipriana was an only child, as many of our friends were, and
that may have been why we were so very close. We were all surrogate siblings in
one way or another.”

He
let out another breath and told her they should move on and started off without
her.