Special (6/?)
Title: Special (6/?)
Word Count: 3,798
Summary: All over the world, people are waking up with extraordinary abilities. Not knowing how they got them or what to do, they will soon discover that they are not alone. They are all connected. They are all special. Super AU, various pairings.
Links to previous parts inside.
Disclaimer: I’m not making any money off of writing this story. It’s entirely fictional and based on the performances given in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and not the actual soldiers. Any ideas or phrases borrowed from the NBC show Heroes belong to the writers of that show, not me. I don’t own anything…so please don’t sue me. I wrote it for your enjoyment so…enjoy!
Links to previous parts-
Part 1-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/351591.html
Part 2-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/352546.html
Part 3-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/355060.html
Part 4-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/357484.html
Part 5-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/360418.html
George Luz, Brooklyn, NY
Upon opening his eyes, George felt like he was underwater. His eyes stung, his lids felt heavy, and everything was blurry and out of focus.
He blinked a few times and groaned as a wave of pain hit him. Lifting his hand to clutch his head he was restrained by a tube in his arm.
Oh…he was in a hospital. Why?
As he remembered the previous night he felt panic seize his stomach even though he gathered that he was safe now. Looking to his left he saw his son lying next to him on the small hospital bed and sighed.
A door opened to his right and he saw a familiar face peek inside.
Agent Christenson slipped in as quietly as possible when he saw Eli asleep and took a seat next to George’s bed.
“So I see you’re awake.” He whispered to Luz.
George smirked despite the pain he was in, “Excellent observation.”
Burton chuckled softly, “How are you feeling?”
“Like someone ran over my head with a tractor.”
“Yeah…you were in bad shape.”
Luz nodded and ran a hand through Eli’s hair, something he used to do to help his son sleep when he was even younger.
“So what’s the damage?” he asked the agent.
Burton sat up a little, “You lost quite a bit of blood, got a severe skull fracture but there wasn’t any damage to your brain, they patched you up pretty good. You have about 8 stitches on your forehead and some damage due to pressure on your windpipe. All things considered, you’re doing remarkably well.”
“You sound like a doctor.”
“I’m basically just repeating what he told me,” Christenson admitted sheepishly.
“Did you catch the guy?” He asked despite his severe lack of energy.
Burton looked at him with large eyes that conveyed his answer. But he said it anyway. “No…we didn’t. I’m sorry.”
George just sighed, not sure what to say.
Burton kept talking, “I know you probably aren’t ready to talk yet but….you’re the first person to survive this guy. If you tell us what you remember then maybe we can stop him.”
Luz just looked at him tiredly, “You won’t believe me.”
Christenson shook his head, “Why not?”
Luz would have answered, but he could already feel himself falling asleep.
Joseph Liebgott
He had considered not working today. After all, he was hyped up on coffee and Red Bull, hadn’t slept since the cops left and was feeling just a
little bit stressed what with being thrust into a ludicrous position with knowledge he didn’t want by a guy he didn’t even like! (Or so he kept telling himself)
Oh and he had a serial killer to think about too. He was too young for this shit. He should be out getting tanked at football games.
But instead he was driving his cab around the downtown area, because driving helped him think. And he certainly had a lot on his mind at the moment.
He saw a man waving his arm at him and pulled over. Checking the guy out in his peripheral he actually caught the man’s identity before he got into the
car.
It was the man from the Company.
Guarnere slid into the cab and shut the door.
Joe turned around to face him, “Do you actually need to go somewhere or are you just trying to creep me out? One stalker is enough thanks.”
Guarnere just smirked, “Take me to the airport. I’m heading back a little early and I’m going to need a decision from you.”
Joe started to pull out onto the street and remained silent. He knew he had to accept the offer but he really didn’t want to.
He couldn’t help but think that future David had made a huge mistake. Why tell Joe to go into the Company? Surely there was someone better suited for
this kind of thing.
They remained silent until Joe was pulling up to the drop off at the airport.
Sighing he glanced back at his passenger, “I’ll do it.”
Smiling Guarnere nodded, “I thought you would. Now get out of the car.”
Joe snapped his head to look at him, “Excuse me?”
“I’ve got a plane ticket for you right here. You’re joining the company? You’re doing it right now.”
“The Hell I am! I have things to wrap up here!”
Guarnere was out of the taxi and jerking Joe’s door open in a matter of seconds. Grabbing Joe’s arm he pulled him out of the cab.
“Not anymore. Look- I don’t trust you and I’m going to have to escort you anyway. You want my trust? You come with me to Philadelphia. Everything here will be taken care of. “
“What the fuck? How about I don’t trust you! I’m supposed to get on an airplane with you? You abducted me!”
Guarnere tightened his grip on Joe’s arm and leaned in, “Do you want to understand what’s happening to you or not? We’re the only ones who can help you with that.”
Joe glared at him for a minute before nodding angrily, “Fucking fine! We’ll do this your way.”
Guarnere nodded, “Glad to hear it.”
Not letting go of Joe’s arm he pulled the cabbie away from the car and to the back where he grabbed his bag.
Shouldering the bag Guarnere steered him towards the airport doors. Joe tried to shrug off his hand but Guarnere didn’t budge.
This certainly wasn’t what he’d expected. He’d have to call Webster the moment he got the chance.
It felt like he was being abducted again.
Eugene Roe, New Orleans, LA
Gene didn’t think he was being stupid. Stupid was jumping in front of a train (which he’d done).
This? This was getting closure. This was finding answers.
“This is ridiculous.”
Gene glanced over at Floyd, who had been negating Gene’s idea at every step. “It’s not ridiculous to me.”
Talbert plopped down onto Gene’s bed and watched his friend pack for his impromptu trip to New York, “You don’t even know where the guy actually is! It’s too-”
“What?” Gene stopped packing and stared directly at his roommate, “It’s too
what? Too dangerous? That’s funny because the last time I checked- I can’t die.”
“You can’t just drop everything. You have a life here!”
“My life hasn’t been the same since she died. I need to do this. Both for her and for me. “
“What about your internship?”
Gene shrugged, “It’ll be here when I get back.”
“There’s really no talking you out of this is there?”
“No. Now why don’t you just tell me what’s really bothering you.”
Floyd paused and looked down quickly, “Well it’s just. You know I miss her too, but I always thought we’d have each other to get through it. But now you’re leaving.”
Gene sat down next to his friend and sighed, “I don’t think it’ll be for long. Besides… I got you a present.”
Floyd raised his eyebrows in disbelief, “You got me a present? What is it?”
Gene smiled, “Here’s a hint. It’s something you’ve been wanting for a long time, it’ll help stop you from being lonely and I’m amazed you haven’t heard
it yet.”
When Floyd still looked confused Gene stood up and gestured for Floyd to do the same, walking over to their small office Gene opened the door and watched in amusement as his friend’s reaction.
Curled up on a pillow under a desk was a German Shepherd puppy fast asleep.
Talbert just stared in shock, “You got me a…you are so my freaking awesome!”
Gene shrugged, “Now I’ll feel less guilty about leaving.”
“Yes well…see now I don’t care.”
Gene rolled his eyes as Floyd rushed forward to play with the puppy, his previous objections forgotten.
Oh Talbert was too easy….
Carwood Lipton, Los Angeles, CA
Sherry had practically had to be pried from his arms, she had been clutching to him so tightly. She hadn’t wanted to be released and he hadn’t wanted to let her go.
He had told her he’d keep her safe. How could he honor that if she wasn’t with him?
But then he started to see the looks of awe and confusion on the faces of the people around him, had time to let his brain catch up with his actions.
He didn’t have too much time to think before the two Agents he had seen outside were descending upon him.
“How the Hell did you know where she was?” asked the more disheveled looking man who had tried to stop him earlier.
Carwood shrugged, not understanding their confusion, “I heard her whisper. I followed the noise to where she was.”
The other agent-Speirs according to the badge around his neck- wasn’t buying it, “We’ve got a room full of law enforcement officers, you’re outside and you just heard her whisper?”
Lipton shook his head, “I don’t know what to tell you. I thought everyone could hear her. You guys couldn’t hear her?”
Speirs’ partner seemed to have sobered up quickly, and when he spoke he seemed like an entirely different person, “Cut him loose Ron. He got lucky and we’ve got more important things to worry about.”
The man turned on his heel and walked away quickly but Speirs kept his steely gaze on him and Lipton couldn’t look away. Finally the man looked back to his retreating partner before pushing a finger to Lipton’s chest. “Don’t you go anywhere.”
Lipton watched him walk away, not sure what was going on anymore.
Babe Heffron and Dick Winters, Philadelphia, PA
“Babe…is there something you wanted to talk about?”
Dick had been tapping away at his laptop for the past hour and Babe had been making quite of show of pacing around the couch, obviously wanting his attention.
The teenager sat down next to him and thought about the question for a moment, “Maybe…”
“Aren’t you supposed to be on a date?”
“That’s next weekend dude.”
“Okay….so what’s up?”
“I’ve been having these dreams…”
Dick stopped writing his latest mission report for the Company to give Babe his full attention, “What? Like nightmares?”
“Um…no…not really. They’re just really vivid recurring dreams.”
“That can’t be all they are. What’s different about them that make them special?”
Babe fidgeted for a moment, “I want to tell you…but I don’t want you to think I’m crazy.”
“Babe I already think you’re crazy, what harm could you do?”
However despite his joking attitude, Dick was almost sure he knew what was coming. They already knew about, or at least had an idea about, what Babe could do. But sooner or later Babe would find out himself.
Babe sighed, “A lot of them are just random things, and at first I thought I was just having déjà vu. But some of my dreams have uh…been coming true.”
And there it was, out in the open. Babe was having visions, just like Bill and Dick had anticipated.
“Why are you just now telling me this?”
“This last dream was different. It was just different. And I feel like it’s going to happen soon. I know that that’s impossible, but it’s kinda freaking me out. I was going to talk to Bill about it when he got back but…I just needed to talk about it now I guess.”
“Babe…what was this last dream about?” Dick asked, grabbing his coffee mug off the end table to take a sip.
“I dreamt I was flying.”
The sentence caused Dick to jolt forward and drop his cup to the floor. Babe jumped up as it shattered, but Dick didn’t even flinch.
“That can’t be...” he whispered mostly to himself, Babe just stared at him in confusion and concern.
“Dick? What’s wrong?”
Standing up, Dick shut his laptop with a shaky hand and stared at Babe for a long moment. “Babe, if you have any more strange dreams you tell me or your brother okay? But don’t tell anyone else.”
“Why? What is it?”
Dick just shook his head, “I’m going to get something to clean this up.”
In the kitchen he leaned back against a counter, his brain trying to grasp one the many thoughts going through his head.
If Babe had dreamt he was flying then he had to have met someone…but there was only one person Dick knew of who could do that. And she was dead.
He needed to know everything the Company knew about Babe’s past, but he wasn’t sure how to find out without raising Sobel’s suspicions.
He had to talk to Bill.
Ronald Speirs and Carwood Lipton, Los Angeles, CA
They had learned everything they could from examining the scene. And when he said they he meant himself. Lewis had split just moments earlier to catch a cab back to the hotel. He seemed…not himself. But that was something to worry about later.
Now Ron had to wait for Forensics to tell him what he already knew. That there were no finger prints or DNA samples.
It was frustrating to be sure. He didn’t understand how the murders were being pulled off. But these last two crimes were different.
The last two had left survivors. And each of the incidents told him something new.
George Luz had escaped with his life, largely due to the interference of the officers present. That told Ron that their killer in New York didn’t know they were on to him. Meaning he didn’t know about the abductions.
The theory was only further solidified here in Los Angeles. If the killers were choosing their targets based off of the FBI’s list of abductees then they wouldn’t have killed Sherry’s parents.
But Sherry was the intended target, of that he was certain. But what this case told him was that the killer hadn’t been. He wasn’t sure who to kill, so he had probably intended on killing them all.
They had to find the common factors amongst there abductees, before he started killing people that they didn’t know about.
The killings so far had been contained to California and New York, which told him that they were still fairly new to the murdering business. They were staying in their comfort zones….for now. The fact that the killer (or one of the killers) had gotten sloppy in New York only meant that he could be caught.
But these new developments weren’t the only thing troubling Ron.
As he watched Forensics take samples he went over in his head what he had learned about the cop that had discovered Sherry.
Officer Carwood Lipton, LAPD-incredibly well liked among his peers, and considered trustworthy by his superiors. However he had recently gotten a divorce, which meant that he probably had socio-behavioral issues and he had failed his detective’s exam twice now.
To Ron, at least for now, the man wasn’t a hero. He was a suspect. And since he couldn’t in good conscience question Sherry right now, he would do the next best thing.
“Officer Lipton, I’d like a word,” he called out to the lone cop, who was standing back outside where he belonged.
The man turned towards him hesitatingly, concern etched across his features. Speirs wasn’t sure if he found it endearing or suspicious. He decided to go with the latter since thoughts like the former had only ever gotten him into trouble.
Lipton bit his lower lip and crossed his arms, “Look I told you already, I just heard her. I don’t know how or why no one else couldn’t.”
Speirs ignored him, “So I’ve been asking around. It’s seems you taken the detective’s exam twice now, is that right?”
The officer nodded, “That’s right.”
“You really think you’re detective material?”
Lipton uncrossed his arms, offended, “Yes sir I do.”
“But you haven’t passed it yet.”
“No...”
“How does that make you feel? Honestly.”
Lipton would rather have not answered the question, but something in the Agent’s voice compelled him to …truthfully.
“I don’t know…embarrassed. A little angry.”
Speirs tilted his head and studied the man’s reaction, “Angry enough to do something about it? Maybe set yourself up to look like a hero?”
Lipton’s eyes widened, “Wait…what? You think I killed these people?”
“You tell me.” If not you then the guy from New York…and I don’t see that one being possible.
Lipton heard the stray remark and it was out of his mouth before he could stop it. “I didn’t kill these people! It was the guy from New York!”
Ron froze, “How the Hell do you know about that? You don’t have that kind of access to information. Only four people at this crime scene know.”
Lipton wasn’t sure how he knew…hadn’t he been meant to hear that?
“I heard it…from you.”
Speirs just shook his head, grabbing Carwood’s shoulder he spun him around and shoved him against the side of the house.
“Then hear this. You’re under arrest.”
Bill Guarnere and Joseph Liebgott, Somewhere between San Francisco and Philadelphia
As he started drawing up a report in his head, Bill wasn’t sure whether or not to count this mission as a success.
The Company had had its eye on Liebgott ever since one of the scientists in New York had identified him as what they called a “mimic”. Meaning that he could replicate any action he saw and remembered any information he learned in perfect detail.
He would be an excellent field agent…if he could be controlled, which Bill knew he couldn’t.
His original mission had been to track David Webster in the hopes that his future self would try to contact him again.
Webster had been a time traveling pain in the Company’s ass for awhile now. They had hoped to sway him before his powers manifested in the present, but his future self had beaten them to the punch. Now he was too dangerous to bring in.
Liebgott was important in another way. He was leverage against the time traveler, at least as far as Bill was concerned.
Liebgott might have been persuaded by the opportunity to get answers, but he wasn’t going to be easy to keep as an employee.
Bill knew that despite what Liebgott had said about not caring for Webster, he trusted the time traveler more that he would ever trust the Company. And trust bred loyalty.
In that aspect he and Liebgott were much alike. Neither of them would ever be loyal to the Company. Because they had people on the outside who they cared about…who they wouldn’t betray.
Bill glanced to the side to see that the young cabbie was still staring angrily out the window. He had stopped cursing at Bill once they got on the plane but he hadn’t stopped being hostile.
The kid had spunk, Bill would admit. Yet he wasn’t sure what angle Liebgott was going to try and work in the Company.
He’d keep his eye on the mimic for now…at least until he determined whether he was a threat or a possible ally.
Jonathan, Los Angeles California
Getting out of the crime scene had been too easy. He was actually disappointed. Ron didn’t even seem to care or notice about the changes in his lover, he was far too interested in that useless cop.
Something that Jonathan needed to remind Lewis of.
But his speculation on Speirs would have to wait. The man may not be worth their time to Jonathan…but he was to Lewis. And that being said…
There were still loose ends that needed to be tied up.
Jonathan walked into the mostly empty bar and scanned the establishment for the back door he knew would lead him to a mid-day poker game…and one of the witnesses that needed to be taken care of.
He had ditched the suit at the hotel and picked up the P2000. Now that he looked less like a Fed he could blend right in.
He smiled at the bartender, the only other person in the bar at this time of day.
He spotted the door he was looking for and headed toward it; on the way he passed by a mirror. In it-Lewis gave him a furious glare.
Checking to make sure the bartender wasn’t watching, Jonathan approached the mirror.
“It’s not so fun being trapped in there is it?”
“You can’t do this, this is my body!”
“See that’s where you’re wrong. It’s our body now. And I can do whatever I want.”
With one final smirk at Lewis he walked away, ignoring the shouts only he could hear.
Pushing open the door he walked down a darkened hallway, following the sounds of drunken laughter.
He slowly took the gun out of the holster under his shirt. He didn’t feel like getting his hands dirty today, not to mention that Ron was no idiot and would notice traces of blood on their hands.
He stopped outside another door where the laughter was coming from. He checked the handle.
It was locked. Probably a dead bolt.
With a smile he kicked the door swiftly, sending it flying off of its hinges and crashing into the four men surrounding a poker table.
“What the fuck?”
“Who the Hell are you?”
As the men shouted and reached for their guns, Jonathan spotted the man he had come for, lifted his gun and pulled the trigger.
The bullet hit between the eyes and the man went down.
He quickly shot the two men who had been reaching for their weapons. He hit one in the throat, one in the gut.
Three down…
The last man tried to lunge at him and wrestle his gun away.
Irritated, Jonathan grabbed the man’s wrist and pulled his arm around-breaking it.
When the man screamed Jonathan put a hand over his mouth, and gripping the man’s jaw-snapped his head to the side, breaking his neck.
He stepped back and let the fourth and final man’s corpse drop to the ground.
That was one liability taken care of.
He looked at the door lying in the middle of the floor and laughed.
“Super strength sure is handy. Lewis never did realize that.”
Checking his gun, he walked calmly out of the room and back towards the stairs.
Unfortunately for the bartender, he had seen Jonathan’s face.
And that was unacceptable.
Word Count: 3,798
Summary: All over the world, people are waking up with extraordinary abilities. Not knowing how they got them or what to do, they will soon discover that they are not alone. They are all connected. They are all special. Super AU, various pairings.
Links to previous parts inside.
Disclaimer: I’m not making any money off of writing this story. It’s entirely fictional and based on the performances given in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and not the actual soldiers. Any ideas or phrases borrowed from the NBC show Heroes belong to the writers of that show, not me. I don’t own anything…so please don’t sue me. I wrote it for your enjoyment so…enjoy!
Links to previous parts-
Part 1-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/351591.html
Part 2-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/352546.html
Part 3-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/355060.html
Part 4-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/357484.html
Part 5-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/360418.html
George Luz, Brooklyn, NY
Upon opening his eyes, George felt like he was underwater. His eyes stung, his lids felt heavy, and everything was blurry and out of focus.
He blinked a few times and groaned as a wave of pain hit him. Lifting his hand to clutch his head he was restrained by a tube in his arm.
Oh…he was in a hospital. Why?
As he remembered the previous night he felt panic seize his stomach even though he gathered that he was safe now. Looking to his left he saw his son lying next to him on the small hospital bed and sighed.
A door opened to his right and he saw a familiar face peek inside.
Agent Christenson slipped in as quietly as possible when he saw Eli asleep and took a seat next to George’s bed.
“So I see you’re awake.” He whispered to Luz.
George smirked despite the pain he was in, “Excellent observation.”
Burton chuckled softly, “How are you feeling?”
“Like someone ran over my head with a tractor.”
“Yeah…you were in bad shape.”
Luz nodded and ran a hand through Eli’s hair, something he used to do to help his son sleep when he was even younger.
“So what’s the damage?” he asked the agent.
Burton sat up a little, “You lost quite a bit of blood, got a severe skull fracture but there wasn’t any damage to your brain, they patched you up pretty good. You have about 8 stitches on your forehead and some damage due to pressure on your windpipe. All things considered, you’re doing remarkably well.”
“You sound like a doctor.”
“I’m basically just repeating what he told me,” Christenson admitted sheepishly.
“Did you catch the guy?” He asked despite his severe lack of energy.
Burton looked at him with large eyes that conveyed his answer. But he said it anyway. “No…we didn’t. I’m sorry.”
George just sighed, not sure what to say.
Burton kept talking, “I know you probably aren’t ready to talk yet but….you’re the first person to survive this guy. If you tell us what you remember then maybe we can stop him.”
Luz just looked at him tiredly, “You won’t believe me.”
Christenson shook his head, “Why not?”
Luz would have answered, but he could already feel himself falling asleep.
Joseph Liebgott
He had considered not working today. After all, he was hyped up on coffee and Red Bull, hadn’t slept since the cops left and was feeling just a
little bit stressed what with being thrust into a ludicrous position with knowledge he didn’t want by a guy he didn’t even like! (Or so he kept telling himself)
Oh and he had a serial killer to think about too. He was too young for this shit. He should be out getting tanked at football games.
But instead he was driving his cab around the downtown area, because driving helped him think. And he certainly had a lot on his mind at the moment.
He saw a man waving his arm at him and pulled over. Checking the guy out in his peripheral he actually caught the man’s identity before he got into the
car.
It was the man from the Company.
Guarnere slid into the cab and shut the door.
Joe turned around to face him, “Do you actually need to go somewhere or are you just trying to creep me out? One stalker is enough thanks.”
Guarnere just smirked, “Take me to the airport. I’m heading back a little early and I’m going to need a decision from you.”
Joe started to pull out onto the street and remained silent. He knew he had to accept the offer but he really didn’t want to.
He couldn’t help but think that future David had made a huge mistake. Why tell Joe to go into the Company? Surely there was someone better suited for
this kind of thing.
They remained silent until Joe was pulling up to the drop off at the airport.
Sighing he glanced back at his passenger, “I’ll do it.”
Smiling Guarnere nodded, “I thought you would. Now get out of the car.”
Joe snapped his head to look at him, “Excuse me?”
“I’ve got a plane ticket for you right here. You’re joining the company? You’re doing it right now.”
“The Hell I am! I have things to wrap up here!”
Guarnere was out of the taxi and jerking Joe’s door open in a matter of seconds. Grabbing Joe’s arm he pulled him out of the cab.
“Not anymore. Look- I don’t trust you and I’m going to have to escort you anyway. You want my trust? You come with me to Philadelphia. Everything here will be taken care of. “
“What the fuck? How about I don’t trust you! I’m supposed to get on an airplane with you? You abducted me!”
Guarnere tightened his grip on Joe’s arm and leaned in, “Do you want to understand what’s happening to you or not? We’re the only ones who can help you with that.”
Joe glared at him for a minute before nodding angrily, “Fucking fine! We’ll do this your way.”
Guarnere nodded, “Glad to hear it.”
Not letting go of Joe’s arm he pulled the cabbie away from the car and to the back where he grabbed his bag.
Shouldering the bag Guarnere steered him towards the airport doors. Joe tried to shrug off his hand but Guarnere didn’t budge.
This certainly wasn’t what he’d expected. He’d have to call Webster the moment he got the chance.
It felt like he was being abducted again.
Eugene Roe, New Orleans, LA
Gene didn’t think he was being stupid. Stupid was jumping in front of a train (which he’d done).
This? This was getting closure. This was finding answers.
“This is ridiculous.”
Gene glanced over at Floyd, who had been negating Gene’s idea at every step. “It’s not ridiculous to me.”
Talbert plopped down onto Gene’s bed and watched his friend pack for his impromptu trip to New York, “You don’t even know where the guy actually is! It’s too-”
“What?” Gene stopped packing and stared directly at his roommate, “It’s too
what? Too dangerous? That’s funny because the last time I checked- I can’t die.”
“You can’t just drop everything. You have a life here!”
“My life hasn’t been the same since she died. I need to do this. Both for her and for me. “
“What about your internship?”
Gene shrugged, “It’ll be here when I get back.”
“There’s really no talking you out of this is there?”
“No. Now why don’t you just tell me what’s really bothering you.”
Floyd paused and looked down quickly, “Well it’s just. You know I miss her too, but I always thought we’d have each other to get through it. But now you’re leaving.”
Gene sat down next to his friend and sighed, “I don’t think it’ll be for long. Besides… I got you a present.”
Floyd raised his eyebrows in disbelief, “You got me a present? What is it?”
Gene smiled, “Here’s a hint. It’s something you’ve been wanting for a long time, it’ll help stop you from being lonely and I’m amazed you haven’t heard
it yet.”
When Floyd still looked confused Gene stood up and gestured for Floyd to do the same, walking over to their small office Gene opened the door and watched in amusement as his friend’s reaction.
Curled up on a pillow under a desk was a German Shepherd puppy fast asleep.
Talbert just stared in shock, “You got me a…you are so my freaking awesome!”
Gene shrugged, “Now I’ll feel less guilty about leaving.”
“Yes well…see now I don’t care.”
Gene rolled his eyes as Floyd rushed forward to play with the puppy, his previous objections forgotten.
Oh Talbert was too easy….
Carwood Lipton, Los Angeles, CA
Sherry had practically had to be pried from his arms, she had been clutching to him so tightly. She hadn’t wanted to be released and he hadn’t wanted to let her go.
He had told her he’d keep her safe. How could he honor that if she wasn’t with him?
But then he started to see the looks of awe and confusion on the faces of the people around him, had time to let his brain catch up with his actions.
He didn’t have too much time to think before the two Agents he had seen outside were descending upon him.
“How the Hell did you know where she was?” asked the more disheveled looking man who had tried to stop him earlier.
Carwood shrugged, not understanding their confusion, “I heard her whisper. I followed the noise to where she was.”
The other agent-Speirs according to the badge around his neck- wasn’t buying it, “We’ve got a room full of law enforcement officers, you’re outside and you just heard her whisper?”
Lipton shook his head, “I don’t know what to tell you. I thought everyone could hear her. You guys couldn’t hear her?”
Speirs’ partner seemed to have sobered up quickly, and when he spoke he seemed like an entirely different person, “Cut him loose Ron. He got lucky and we’ve got more important things to worry about.”
The man turned on his heel and walked away quickly but Speirs kept his steely gaze on him and Lipton couldn’t look away. Finally the man looked back to his retreating partner before pushing a finger to Lipton’s chest. “Don’t you go anywhere.”
Lipton watched him walk away, not sure what was going on anymore.
Babe Heffron and Dick Winters, Philadelphia, PA
“Babe…is there something you wanted to talk about?”
Dick had been tapping away at his laptop for the past hour and Babe had been making quite of show of pacing around the couch, obviously wanting his attention.
The teenager sat down next to him and thought about the question for a moment, “Maybe…”
“Aren’t you supposed to be on a date?”
“That’s next weekend dude.”
“Okay….so what’s up?”
“I’ve been having these dreams…”
Dick stopped writing his latest mission report for the Company to give Babe his full attention, “What? Like nightmares?”
“Um…no…not really. They’re just really vivid recurring dreams.”
“That can’t be all they are. What’s different about them that make them special?”
Babe fidgeted for a moment, “I want to tell you…but I don’t want you to think I’m crazy.”
“Babe I already think you’re crazy, what harm could you do?”
However despite his joking attitude, Dick was almost sure he knew what was coming. They already knew about, or at least had an idea about, what Babe could do. But sooner or later Babe would find out himself.
Babe sighed, “A lot of them are just random things, and at first I thought I was just having déjà vu. But some of my dreams have uh…been coming true.”
And there it was, out in the open. Babe was having visions, just like Bill and Dick had anticipated.
“Why are you just now telling me this?”
“This last dream was different. It was just different. And I feel like it’s going to happen soon. I know that that’s impossible, but it’s kinda freaking me out. I was going to talk to Bill about it when he got back but…I just needed to talk about it now I guess.”
“Babe…what was this last dream about?” Dick asked, grabbing his coffee mug off the end table to take a sip.
“I dreamt I was flying.”
The sentence caused Dick to jolt forward and drop his cup to the floor. Babe jumped up as it shattered, but Dick didn’t even flinch.
“That can’t be...” he whispered mostly to himself, Babe just stared at him in confusion and concern.
“Dick? What’s wrong?”
Standing up, Dick shut his laptop with a shaky hand and stared at Babe for a long moment. “Babe, if you have any more strange dreams you tell me or your brother okay? But don’t tell anyone else.”
“Why? What is it?”
Dick just shook his head, “I’m going to get something to clean this up.”
In the kitchen he leaned back against a counter, his brain trying to grasp one the many thoughts going through his head.
If Babe had dreamt he was flying then he had to have met someone…but there was only one person Dick knew of who could do that. And she was dead.
He needed to know everything the Company knew about Babe’s past, but he wasn’t sure how to find out without raising Sobel’s suspicions.
He had to talk to Bill.
Ronald Speirs and Carwood Lipton, Los Angeles, CA
They had learned everything they could from examining the scene. And when he said they he meant himself. Lewis had split just moments earlier to catch a cab back to the hotel. He seemed…not himself. But that was something to worry about later.
Now Ron had to wait for Forensics to tell him what he already knew. That there were no finger prints or DNA samples.
It was frustrating to be sure. He didn’t understand how the murders were being pulled off. But these last two crimes were different.
The last two had left survivors. And each of the incidents told him something new.
George Luz had escaped with his life, largely due to the interference of the officers present. That told Ron that their killer in New York didn’t know they were on to him. Meaning he didn’t know about the abductions.
The theory was only further solidified here in Los Angeles. If the killers were choosing their targets based off of the FBI’s list of abductees then they wouldn’t have killed Sherry’s parents.
But Sherry was the intended target, of that he was certain. But what this case told him was that the killer hadn’t been. He wasn’t sure who to kill, so he had probably intended on killing them all.
They had to find the common factors amongst there abductees, before he started killing people that they didn’t know about.
The killings so far had been contained to California and New York, which told him that they were still fairly new to the murdering business. They were staying in their comfort zones….for now. The fact that the killer (or one of the killers) had gotten sloppy in New York only meant that he could be caught.
But these new developments weren’t the only thing troubling Ron.
As he watched Forensics take samples he went over in his head what he had learned about the cop that had discovered Sherry.
Officer Carwood Lipton, LAPD-incredibly well liked among his peers, and considered trustworthy by his superiors. However he had recently gotten a divorce, which meant that he probably had socio-behavioral issues and he had failed his detective’s exam twice now.
To Ron, at least for now, the man wasn’t a hero. He was a suspect. And since he couldn’t in good conscience question Sherry right now, he would do the next best thing.
“Officer Lipton, I’d like a word,” he called out to the lone cop, who was standing back outside where he belonged.
The man turned towards him hesitatingly, concern etched across his features. Speirs wasn’t sure if he found it endearing or suspicious. He decided to go with the latter since thoughts like the former had only ever gotten him into trouble.
Lipton bit his lower lip and crossed his arms, “Look I told you already, I just heard her. I don’t know how or why no one else couldn’t.”
Speirs ignored him, “So I’ve been asking around. It’s seems you taken the detective’s exam twice now, is that right?”
The officer nodded, “That’s right.”
“You really think you’re detective material?”
Lipton uncrossed his arms, offended, “Yes sir I do.”
“But you haven’t passed it yet.”
“No...”
“How does that make you feel? Honestly.”
Lipton would rather have not answered the question, but something in the Agent’s voice compelled him to …truthfully.
“I don’t know…embarrassed. A little angry.”
Speirs tilted his head and studied the man’s reaction, “Angry enough to do something about it? Maybe set yourself up to look like a hero?”
Lipton’s eyes widened, “Wait…what? You think I killed these people?”
“You tell me.” If not you then the guy from New York…and I don’t see that one being possible.
Lipton heard the stray remark and it was out of his mouth before he could stop it. “I didn’t kill these people! It was the guy from New York!”
Ron froze, “How the Hell do you know about that? You don’t have that kind of access to information. Only four people at this crime scene know.”
Lipton wasn’t sure how he knew…hadn’t he been meant to hear that?
“I heard it…from you.”
Speirs just shook his head, grabbing Carwood’s shoulder he spun him around and shoved him against the side of the house.
“Then hear this. You’re under arrest.”
Bill Guarnere and Joseph Liebgott, Somewhere between San Francisco and Philadelphia
As he started drawing up a report in his head, Bill wasn’t sure whether or not to count this mission as a success.
The Company had had its eye on Liebgott ever since one of the scientists in New York had identified him as what they called a “mimic”. Meaning that he could replicate any action he saw and remembered any information he learned in perfect detail.
He would be an excellent field agent…if he could be controlled, which Bill knew he couldn’t.
His original mission had been to track David Webster in the hopes that his future self would try to contact him again.
Webster had been a time traveling pain in the Company’s ass for awhile now. They had hoped to sway him before his powers manifested in the present, but his future self had beaten them to the punch. Now he was too dangerous to bring in.
Liebgott was important in another way. He was leverage against the time traveler, at least as far as Bill was concerned.
Liebgott might have been persuaded by the opportunity to get answers, but he wasn’t going to be easy to keep as an employee.
Bill knew that despite what Liebgott had said about not caring for Webster, he trusted the time traveler more that he would ever trust the Company. And trust bred loyalty.
In that aspect he and Liebgott were much alike. Neither of them would ever be loyal to the Company. Because they had people on the outside who they cared about…who they wouldn’t betray.
Bill glanced to the side to see that the young cabbie was still staring angrily out the window. He had stopped cursing at Bill once they got on the plane but he hadn’t stopped being hostile.
The kid had spunk, Bill would admit. Yet he wasn’t sure what angle Liebgott was going to try and work in the Company.
He’d keep his eye on the mimic for now…at least until he determined whether he was a threat or a possible ally.
Jonathan, Los Angeles California
Getting out of the crime scene had been too easy. He was actually disappointed. Ron didn’t even seem to care or notice about the changes in his lover, he was far too interested in that useless cop.
Something that Jonathan needed to remind Lewis of.
But his speculation on Speirs would have to wait. The man may not be worth their time to Jonathan…but he was to Lewis. And that being said…
There were still loose ends that needed to be tied up.
Jonathan walked into the mostly empty bar and scanned the establishment for the back door he knew would lead him to a mid-day poker game…and one of the witnesses that needed to be taken care of.
He had ditched the suit at the hotel and picked up the P2000. Now that he looked less like a Fed he could blend right in.
He smiled at the bartender, the only other person in the bar at this time of day.
He spotted the door he was looking for and headed toward it; on the way he passed by a mirror. In it-Lewis gave him a furious glare.
Checking to make sure the bartender wasn’t watching, Jonathan approached the mirror.
“It’s not so fun being trapped in there is it?”
“You can’t do this, this is my body!”
“See that’s where you’re wrong. It’s our body now. And I can do whatever I want.”
With one final smirk at Lewis he walked away, ignoring the shouts only he could hear.
Pushing open the door he walked down a darkened hallway, following the sounds of drunken laughter.
He slowly took the gun out of the holster under his shirt. He didn’t feel like getting his hands dirty today, not to mention that Ron was no idiot and would notice traces of blood on their hands.
He stopped outside another door where the laughter was coming from. He checked the handle.
It was locked. Probably a dead bolt.
With a smile he kicked the door swiftly, sending it flying off of its hinges and crashing into the four men surrounding a poker table.
“What the fuck?”
“Who the Hell are you?”
As the men shouted and reached for their guns, Jonathan spotted the man he had come for, lifted his gun and pulled the trigger.
The bullet hit between the eyes and the man went down.
He quickly shot the two men who had been reaching for their weapons. He hit one in the throat, one in the gut.
Three down…
The last man tried to lunge at him and wrestle his gun away.
Irritated, Jonathan grabbed the man’s wrist and pulled his arm around-breaking it.
When the man screamed Jonathan put a hand over his mouth, and gripping the man’s jaw-snapped his head to the side, breaking his neck.
He stepped back and let the fourth and final man’s corpse drop to the ground.
That was one liability taken care of.
He looked at the door lying in the middle of the floor and laughed.
“Super strength sure is handy. Lewis never did realize that.”
Checking his gun, he walked calmly out of the room and back towards the stairs.
Unfortunately for the bartender, he had seen Jonathan’s face.
And that was unacceptable.