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Episode 137 |
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“When you absolutely,
positively, got to kill every motherf&$ker in the room, accept no
substitutes.” Ordell Robbie, Jackie Brown The elevator doors slid open,
revealing Alan staring at the office with wide-eyed wonderment. Alex stepped around him and walked
inside. “Jin,” he called to the
computer tech who was staring in muted awe at the knight. “Could you show Alan around for a second?” “I…uh, I…” Jin tried to start
before Alex slipped inside Assif’s office. The chief turned around to Alex,
Sarah standing at the corner of his desk, her arms crossed. “Okay, let me start,” he said, holding his
hand up as he shut the door. “You start,” Assif added. Alex froze. His mind raced for a moment, then he
glanced at the door, able to see the outline of Jin and Alan walking around the
main office. “I didn’t really think
you’d…” He sighed in surrender. “I got nothing.” “What in the name of Hell
possessed you to bring an outsider into this case?” Sarah yelled. “Much less a civilian, much less a damned
knight!” “He has the book,” Alex said. “He said he wanted in on the operation and
he wouldn’t give us the book without letting him.” “That’s why we tail him,” Sarah
said. “We get the book from him when
he isn’t looking.” “Sarah, this man is a knight,”
Alex said in a condescendingly slow tone.
“You don’t just trail a knight and sneak in his kitchen window when he
isn’t looking. There is a long history
of people getting killed that way. A
lot of people.” He looked past Sarah
at Assif. “We need help. We’re cut off from all our UN
resources. It stands to reason for us
to employ whatever talents we can find.
And this guy is a knight, after all.” “Alex,” Assif said, turning in his
chair to face him more fully. “The
problem with your plan is that we don’t know if this man is truly operating
without coercion or other influence from this group, or whoever is behind
it.” “If he was, he would have given
them the Ivers’ book by now,” Alex said. “Assuming he’s aware he’s working
for them,” Sarah said. “Be that as it may,” Assif stated
with finality. “Knights are
notoriously unreliable. Their
loyalties have a strange way of shifting at the worst possible times. And while their courage and prowess is
well, well, documented,” he said with emphasis, “it does not change the fact
that we know nothing about this man, about his agenda, about anything.” “We don’t even know what kind of
magic he uses,” Sarah added. “Or had
you forgotten that little puzzle?” Jason’s eyes fluttered open. He stared up at the dark ceiling above him,
covered in posters of different rock bands.
He inhaled deeply, the scent of lilacs soothing him. He nestled back into his bed, preparing to
resume his nap. His eyes snapped open, the smell
of lilacs waking him up. He started to
move, but felt a brush of warm breath against his neck. He looked down to see Emma’s head on his
chest. Nuzzled up against him, she was
wrapped up in the blankets of his bed, the darkness encloaking them both. Jason sighed and rubbed his
face. He laid back on his pillow,
breathing hard. He closed his eyes,
working to find sleep. Next to him,
Emma shifted in her deep sleep, but stayed close. The door to the conference room
opened and Assif stepped inside. Jin
and Alan both stood up from the seats.
Jin immediately scrambled for the remote, rushing to change the
channel. The giant screen in the wall
shifted from a sports network’s recap of the past week to the BBC news. Assif gave Jin a look, then turned
to Alan. “Sir Vick,” he said,
extending his hand. Alan smiled and reached
to take Assif’s hand. “Your sword,
sir,” Assif said firmly, stopping Alan before his hand reached him. Alan looked taken back. He stood up straight, a confrontational
look in his eyes. “And you are?” “Assif Salem,” the chief said,
unflinching as he kept his hand extended, waiting. “I am the man in charge.” “And you want my sword because…” Assif paused for a moment, his
eyes not coming off of Vick’s. Even
though the knight was half a head taller, the Middle Eastern man did not back
down. “As a show of trust,” Assif
finally said. Alan stared at Assif for a moment,
then reached into his black trench coat.
He drew out a sheathed cutlass with a brass handle and tip on the
scabbard. Alan extended it to Assif,
but when he took hold, Alan didn’t let go.
The two stood before each other, both gripping the sword. “For trust,” Alan said with emphasis,
finally letting go. “Sir Vick,” Assif said, handing
the sword to Sarah. “I must ask that you
indulge our paranoia and allow our doctor to examine you, as well as our
mystic and psychic.” Alan’s eyebrows went up, taken by
surprise. “Mystic…and psychic?” he
asked. Assif nodded. “Um…” he began uncertainly. “Yeah.
Sure.” “Good,” Assif said, stepping to
the side, extending his hand towards the door. “Alex will take you down to meet with Dr
Jones.” Alan looked to the door and
headed out, nodding back to Jin before he left. Sarah stepped aside to allow him out, then
came in, shutting the door behind her.
She leaned on the side of the table as Assif stared at the door. “What do you think?” he asked quietly. “My gut tells me we can trust him
to do what he says,” she said, “but no more.
He’s got a…not an agenda, but…his priorities are not going to line up
with our own. He will do what he feels
is right, no matter what. And if that
involves burning us, I have no doubt he’ll do it.” “But we can trust him?” Assif
asked. “I wouldn’t reveal to him the
slightest bit more information than is necessary,” Sarah said, “but yes. I would say we can trust him, for this
operation.” Assif nodded, then turned around
to Jin. “Any progress?” “Um,” he stumbled, hiding the
remote behind his back. “I’ve, a, I’ve
got some programs running. They’re
taking up most of the computer’s…I need to wait for them.” Assif nodded. “What do you think of him?” Jin shrugged. “I think he’s a typical “Should we contact any local
knights?” Sarah asked. “No,” Assif answered quickly with
something of a laugh. “No, one knight
is enough, more than enough. This is
already getting out of hand.” He
turned and leaned on the table. “Alex’s right, though,” Sarah
said. “If push comes to shove, having
a knight on our side will be a very welcome advantage.” “I know,” Assif nodded,
troubled. “But something about this
boy is troubling. Not his
trustworthiness or anything. Just,
just him as a person.” He headed out,
but paused at the door. “I can’t help
but think he’s got some evil days in his future,” he added before stepping
out. Jones stood at the lab table,
staring at a vial of blood as he injected it into a beaker of a blue
liquid. He bent down, watching the
reaction with great interest. As he
did, Alex leaned inside. “Hey,” he
called. “Oy,” Jones answered, mesmerized. “Any word?” Alex asked, coming in. “Aside from the fact that I wish I
had abs that would grate steel like his, no,” the doctor said, still watching
the reaction. “He’s human,
completely. I don’t know if that was
in doubt, but it’s at least confirmed.”
He stood up. “What’re Jason and
Emma finding out?” “I don’t know,” Alex said. “They were taking a nap together. I had to wake them up and get them some
coffee.” “Together, huh?” Jones speculated, looking back at the
reaction. “Yeah, weird, huh?” Alex said, glancing away. “I knew they were close, but I didn’t think
they were that close.” “They weren’t,” Jones said, pouring the vial into
another one. He tossed it away, then
turned to Alex. “Emma was, for all
intents and purposes, reborn. And like
all newborns, she’s attached to what she first saw.” He began to organize the papers and
materials on the counter in front of him.
“Because she isn’t an infant, it’ll pass, probably pretty soon. But for the next couple of weeks, at the
very least, I wouldn’t expect to see them too far apart.” |
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