The Bad Shepherd: The Shepherd Series 2k3h20

Contents

Title Page Copyright Dedication Blank Page Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen End Page

THE BAD SHEPHERD

J. A. Springs

Copyright © 2021 Writing for the World

All rights reserved.

ISBN:

ISBN-13:

Always for J.M.S. First

CHAPTER ONE

JACK CHANGED THE station on the radio so that he would not have to hear the lies calling for a light dusting of snow. The white haze outside of his windshield, and beyond the reach of the windshield wipers, was anything but light. Bad pop music filtered through the speakers now to match his bad attitude. It was bad weather outside and in Jack’s humble opinion, humans should not be out at four thirty in the morning when it was thirty below and ‘supposed to be a light dusting’. He was pretty sure that God was probably still asleep in a nice warm bed up in heaven.

Jack looked out of the windshield and still could not see thirty feet in front of his car and he laughed at the idea that this snow fall was supposed to be light. He laughed without humor. This was a shitty morning already. He was a detective and he was on his way to a crime scene when he would rather have been just like God in heaven and curled up in a nice, comfortable, and above all warm, bed.

If it had not been for the black and white police cars wasting tax payer money by leaving unmanned vehicles running, he would not have been sure if he was even in the right place. He pulled his sedan up behind the last police cruiser parked on the side of the road. He still could not see a thing out of the front windshield though.

Jack pulled his hat further down onto his head, hoping to keep the wind from tearing the hat from off of his head. He popped the collar up on his trench coat and felt like a cliche — fedora and trench coat wardrobed cliche. He just wanted to keep the cold at bay, not look like a paperback version of a gumshoe detective.

The snow flurries drifted just thick enough on this early morning to lightly obscure his vision now that he was out of his car and not driving a just a hair under fifteen miles an hour.

The floating read and blue lights from the police cruisers in the area definitely made it easy enough for him to discern that he was exactly where he was supposed to be at that moment, whether he liked it or not.

He surveyed what he could of the surrounding neighborhood given that the snow was actively trying to deny him success in that regard. There were, however, a few breaks in the downfall that occurred randomly. These breaks afforded him the chance to see something. It as an upperclass neighborhood, meaning that the nearest minorities were the ones in uniform at the crime scene. Jack knew that the mean price of houses in this area of town started in the halves of millions of dollars or more. Pretty pricey for a couple of sticks of wood with shingles on top, or many stacks of bricks with the same shingles on top. Jack did not really care at all — he did not live there.

Jack gingerly picked his way across the slush covered street, trying to make sure that he did not fall flat on his keister in his hurry to get out of the damn cold night, but he was not really sure of what he was going to find inside of the house that he was headed to. Once he got inside, it might definitely be warmer but he would have to take in the cold reality of the scene waiting for him inside the house.

He was the number one detective on the police force and for a few weeks now, he had been wishing that he was not. It was scene after scene of some grissly stuff that he had been seeing recently. He was called specifically to this murder scene for two reasons…one, he guessed, when he got to the address — rich suburbanite. He knew the second reason only too well. He just had to that reason once he got inside of the house. He was not sure that he wanted to, but this was part of the job. This was part of the ‘suck’ and the ‘suck’ sucked.

Jack stepped into the house and immediately began tapping his feet. He tapped his feet in order to get the snow off of his shoes. Jack then began dusting that insane collection of snowflakes off of his jacket. The snowflakes that had not melted off just yet. Jack took a deep breath when he was done.

The taste of iron tickled his tongue and he wondered at the source. Jack looked around again to get his bearings and to get a sense of where he was there in the house. There had been few landmarks out in that white miasma that indicated that this was a large metropolitan city. The hour of the day definitely was not helping any at all. Jack spotted one of his subordinates and made his way towards him.

Jack’s subordinate had eyed him as he came into the house. She shuffled over to Jack lazily. Jack envied that sincere way that others exuded laziness and ineptitude and wondered, not for the last time or first, why he had to be the only god damned individual with a sense of duty and purpose. He shook his head. It was too damn early in the morning for this and he still had not gotten a coffee yet.

Detective Skipple stopped beside Jack and waited. Jack could not figure out if Bob had come to fill him in on what he had determined so far from looking at the crime scene or to take his order like he was a waiter. The man stood there beside Jack like a post in the ground. Bob had the look of an individual who wanted to be anywhere else but where they were right then — he looked like what Jack felt like.

Jack struggled out of his jacket. He figured that at least he could do something while he waited for Bob’s brain to shift gears from park to drive. It took a while but Bob finally got there and engaged his gears. Mentally.

“Hey, Jack.”

“What do we have here,” Jack asked when he finally got his arms out of his coat.

Jack turned around. He saw a uniformed officer standing out of everyone’s way and looking bored. He gave his trench coat to the officer and politely asked him to put the coat somewhere out of the way. The officer nodded and walked off with the garment.

Jack looked over to Bob. The man’s brain had obviously shifted back to neutral. Jack did not know why he even bothered sometimes. Jack waited. He eventually realized that he was not going to get a response because he still had not gotten one so far from Bob.

“Bob,” Jack prompted again, “what happened here? Do you have an idea yet?”

Bob was not looking at him. Instead, he just looked at the rich red carpet beneath his feet. He had a sort of dazed look in his eyes and his face remained ively blank. Jack felt like he was a dentist trying to pull the teeth from a chicken.

Bob hesitated a bit longer and then he took a halting, staggering step forward. Jack put out a hand and rested it on Bob’s forearm. This effectively stopped Bob from moving. It was now apparent to Jack that something about this particular crime scene had disturbed the man greatly.

Bob turned towards Jack and looked him in the eyes. Bob had a slack jawed, dazed, and blank look on his face that Jack took as confusion. It was seeming like Bob’s groceries were not getting stacked on the top shelf where he was looking for them.

Bob blinked…he blinked again. Bob blinked a third time before he began to attempt to answer Jack’s question and tell him what he knew of what he had seen so far.

“I don’t know how to explain this mess, Jack. You’ve got to see it for yourself,” Bob finally let go of with a sound of exhaustion coating his words.

He sounded tired. It was probably due to the number of years that he had put in on the job, struggling to make sense of things that made no sense. This morning had been no exception to the rule for him. What the man had seen so far was way beyond his reckoning. It was beyond the ability of his mind to comprehend and make any sense of at all.

Bob actually began moving on his own again. Jack could not determine if that was a good thing or a bad thing and decided to just let it be. It was what it was. Bob was working with some semblance of direction. Jack’s hand fell away from Bob limply.

Jack had never seen Bob in the state that he was in now. Jack knew that the job was hard. He knew that the job could take a toll on you — the things that you were likely to see were way beyond the norm. It was part and parcel, a part of the job. You dealt with what the job gave you and you prayed to god that you cold leave it all behind at the office at the end of the day. Leave it and not take it home with you, but some cases — some scenes — persisted. They stuck with you. They clung to you. They dug deep up under the skin and changed you

slowly from the inside out. It was the stink that you could never quite wash off of you.

Bob led Jack further into the house. They went past the lavishly decorated living room. It appeared less than lived in and seemed to be more of a show room than anything else. The opulence of the items stored there gave them a sense that the room was meant to convey an ability to have an excess amount of things. The living room opened up just beyond the foyer and spread out of the open concept space.

The space consisted of a separate dining area and a separate family area. The family area came complete with a wood burning fireplace with a neat stack of wood off to the left hand side of the opening.

There were two plastic cards with numbers on the floor. They were placed to identify blood stains that were surrounded on the expensive carpet. Jack stepped around these so that he could get to the area between the dining room and the living room. It seemed like a nice, safe, halfway point for the crime scene with a lack of a body so far.

“Bob, where’s the body,” Jack asked as he spun around in a small, slow circle.

“We’re getting there, Jack. Umm…just wait…I can’t explain this one at all,” said Bob as he took a deep breath and swallowed convulsively.

Jack took in the entire space and got an overall sense of where things were as he walked towards the back of the house with Bob. There were two of the forensics team out by that wood burning fireplace. They were taking photos of

something so Jack knew that it was probably important. Two more uniformed officers were in the house. They were standing around in the kitchen, staring at something that was on the floor between the two of them. Jack could not be certain though. The kitchen island stood between him and whatever had the uniformed officer’s attention.

Jack got the impression that the backdoor was open because…it was. He felt a chill in the air and had begun to wish that he had kept on his coat. Jack realized that he made the wish prematurely. He was gonna be cold, but he did not have to go outside. The body was at the back door. It was halfway in - halfway out of the house. He was still inside, but it was damn cold. Jack really hated the cold at this point. The cold would have thrown off the cool down temperature of the body so the time of death was likely going to be skewed.

Jack looked down at the body. He realized almost at once that something did not look quite right with it. Bob was being about as helpful as a hole in the bottom of a bucket with his assistance. Something about the body looked off. The fact that whatever it was should be obvious was frustrating Jack to no end. His mind had begun the task of mulling over the scene and the missing something that he was just not really aware of.

The body was laying partially out of the back door. Jack really was not thrilled with that because he was dealing with the cold and wanted someone to either close the door or turn the heat up in the house. Jack still could not quite put his finger on what was wrong with that body though. He was going to give it a few minutes and think back to what he had seen so far already since entering into the space.

The body was prone, in an anterior orientation. One hand was still clutching the handle of the door. The door was awash in blood. It was then that Bob became really helpful at that point.

“It seems like the victim tried to get out the back door and the killer caught ‘em.”

Jack was ready to make a remark. He kept it to himself. He did not want to waste it unnecessarily. Jack knelt beside the body to get a closer look at it. The right arm was stretched out with the hand on that back door handle. The hand was just caught up on the handle and that was why the arm was still outstretched. Blood was pooled underneath the body and congealed. It took a few more seconds before the clue to Jack’s frustrations at figuring out what he was missing awareness of ed in his mind.

“Bob,” began Jack slowly.

With everything that had been going on since his arrival, Jack wanted to make sure that he communicated very clearly.

“Bob, where is the victim’s head?” he asked slowly and carefully.

The body was missing a head. The left arm, up to the shoulder, was missing as well. Jack rose and followed the trail of blood until he saw. He ended up in the kitchen. The two uniformed officers were still standing in the kitchen. Jack looked at the floor and then he looked back at the uniformed officers. One of them shrugged their shoulders. Jack found that amusing. Jack had also found where the missing left arm and shoulder part were. There was a large kitchen knife gripped in the left hand that lay on the floor.

Bob began speaking again and Jack wished fervently that he would just shut up.

“Far as I can tell, the killer busted in through the front door.”

Jack looked back through the house at the front door. He walked over and looked at the door. It was a solid affair. It was a solid metal piece that had been laminated with a wooden exterior to make it look like a solid wooden door. It was meant to look like wood but work like a vault door. The deadbolt was engaged still. Jack looked at the trim to the side of the door. The frame was reenforced. It had been torn away with a portion of the wall. Jack walked back over to where Bob was.

“The victim ran into the kitchen and got the knife and the killer…disarmed… him,” Bob continued saying.

It was no time for a joke and Bob was not making one. There was just no other way for him to have said what he did. Jack was glad that no one present for the investigation and within hearing distance found humor in that statement. Jack also wished Bob would shut the hell up. First he would not talk and now this.

“The victim got to the back door and the killer took his head clean off,” finished Bob with his assessment of what had occurred.

Jack looked over at Bob and shook his head and said, “Bob, shut up.”

Jack took it all in. He got a clear mental picture of how things might have played

out. His clear mental picture had a huge flaw. He was left with a lot of questions and did not have a lot of answers to help him believe what he was seeing.

Jack pointed back at the front door.

“Bob, that’s no ordinary front door. SWAT would have had to use C4 explosives to get through that door. This place is built like Fort Knox. The windows at the back have bullet proof glass in them and there’s a security shutter above that.”

Something else was bothering Jack about this mess. He left Bob in the kitchen by the left arm on the floor. Jack made his way to where the two forensics team were taking pictures. Jack suspected that he would find the missing head there. Jack was not disappointed. He studied the head for a moment and then stood up and addressed Bob. At this point, Jack knew that talking to Bob was about as useful as tits on a bull. Jack realized that he as just talking, at this time, just to hear himself talk his way through his assessment of what happened.

“Bob,” Jack queried. “What do you think the killer used as a weapon?”

It was obvious to Jack that Bob was not ready. He had no way to begin to conjecture what had been used to dismember the body. Jack easily summarized that it was not a sword, knife, or anything similar to a cutting instrument that had an edge of any type. The dismemberment was brutal and violent and it left a massive amount of trauma to the victim. Jack was of the opinion that the body parts had been torn off. He could not believe that because it was impossible. Jack had an idea that Bob was thinking along the same lines of reasoning as he was.

Jack began began speaking again.

“Our perpetrator kicked in the front door and surprised the victim. The victim gets to the kitchen and grabs a knife. The perpetrator tears his arm off.”

Jack began to move through the house as he spoke.

“The victim goes to the backdoor to get away. The perpetrator allows the victim to unlock and then open the backdoor, thinking he can get away, and then the perpetrator knocks his head off.”

Jack looked over at Bob to see if he had anything to add. Jack felt like it was a wasted effort because Bob was less than helpful since the time that Jack arrived.

“Yeah, Jack,” said Bob finally. “That sounds about right to me. I thought I was going cray looking at this,” Bob trailed off and then cleared his throat.

Bob began to look around, hoping to find another clue to help explain to him what happened.

“Bob,” began Jack as he let out a heavy sigh.

Jack would rather have chalked it up to that explanation but it could not work.

“The only thing around here strong enough to do that kind of damage to a person

is a bear,” said Jack as he looked at Bob to see what insight Bob might have been able to bring.

Jack just gave up after five minutes. The man’s brain was not in drive, it was not in neutral, and it was not in park. Someone had turned the damn engine off completely.

“A bear can’t explain the front door,” Jack finally said. “That’s a foot print in that fold on the door.”

Bob just stood there looking at Jack. Jack wondered why he even tried. The lights were on; nobody was at home. There was food on the stove; nobody cooking. The car was moving; nobody was driving. Whatever cute saying or colloquialism that you wanted to use to explain it. Bob was dumber than a box full of rocks. Bob was like a flashlight with no bulb or batteries. He was fucking useless.

Jack looked around and caught the eye of the uniformed officer he gave his coat to. He signaled to him and requested the officer bring him his coat. The uniformed officer brought him his jacket and Jack put it back on. Jack also slipped the officer’s flashlight off of his belt. Jack motioned for Bob to follow him and they both stepped over the corpse on their way out of the back door. Jack wanted to see if there might be further clues; clues that could help them put something more together from the mess that Jack seemed to have stepped in with both feet.

Jack did not like riddles — even though his last name was Riddle. Jack did not like cases he could not solve. There had been very few instances, since Jack had made detective, where he came upon a case that he could not close satisfactorily. He worked hard to solve the mystery of a case assigned to him. Jack had been at

the job for far too long and he was by far, too good of a detective, to let small details slip by him.

There were no small details with this case. There were no small details to be found or to be missed with the other two similar cases. Both of those cases had landed in his lap too. The case files presently sat on his desk. Both cases were unsolved as of yet. There seemed to be no logical explanation of how the perpetrator had dismembered his victims. Jack did not doubt that this was the work of the same perpetrator. The M.D. was too similar for it not to be the same perpetrator.

Jack was not a happy boy. He was not a happy boy at all and that was because Jack had a deranged serial killer on the loose in a city that he liked. Jack had very little to go on. What he had was a big stinking mess in his lap and no idea when the killer would strike again or where. He had no clue who the next victim might be but he was certain that there were more to come.

Jack got outside and played the flashlight around the edge of the moderately sized backyard. He had no idea what he was looking for. Jack thought he just might be looking for a damnable bear. The light ed across the bushes and for a second, Jack had imagined that he had seen the reflection of a set of eyes — maybe. It could have been a cat or a dog — maybe. Jack was not so sure. What Jack was certain of was that distance feeling of a chill ing through your body but not the chill caused by the cold but the kind of chill that settled in your bones and acts like it does not want to come out until you are in the light with others. It was the chill of fear. It came on him when he saw those eyes.

Jack turned and went back into the house.

“Wrap this up, Bob. Put the file on my desk. I’ll get to it when I get in

tomorrow,” said Jack over his shoulder.

Jack made his way back to his car. It was damn cold and he sat and let the heater try to beat the cold back. Jack had figured out why he tasted iron. He wanted to go brush his teeth. He hated the smell of blood. He was going to have to settle for a hot coffee to get the taste out of his mouth and the smell out of his sinuses.

Crappy pop music played through the speakers now. Jack guessed that he was now in a crappy mood. It was still two damn early to be awake and that was not going to get any better s the day wore on. Jack still could not see thirty feet in front of him but he pulled off anyway. He crept along at fifteen miles per hour so that he could be safe for the road conditions and make himself a road hazard to the idiots who could not drive with snow on the ground. He was going to be happy if he could get to his destination alive and count it a blessing if it was accident free.

Jack’s mind kept going back to that crime scene. It was already bizarre because it would have taken some serious strength to do the kind of damage to the human body that he saw. That was not the only thing about that scene that bothered him. Jack thought the whole thing was peculiar. P-cu-lee-r — in the strongest sense of the word. The killer toyed with the victim by allowing him to get to the back door and giving him time to unlock it. Why do that if the only objective was to kill the occupant of the house?

There was no other signs that would lead him to believe it was done as a robber/homicide. The killer did not go anywhere in the house he did not have to go if the objective was murder. Nothing else was disturbed.

Jack could not get past how odd that house was, either. He did not look around the entire house but what he saw was just weird. For a house in an upper class,

suburban neighborhood that house was built like a fortress. It was like a shelter. Jack did not know what as in the outside walls but it probably was not just ordinary drywall, insulation, and wood. The walls were probably reinforced as well if the door was solid metal and the windows were bullet proof glass. Who was the victim trying to keep out? Did he know that someone would be able to break down that door like it was made from Balsa wood? So many questions kept coming up and not enough answers were making themselves known.

Jack went over the details of the other two cases in his head There were no immediately similarities. This victim lived in a different part of the city. They all did. They all lived in different parts of the city. The residences were different. They all had some element that kept them secure. It was obvious the measures that were employed were not enough to keep them safe. What was more was there that he could not compare and contrast to look for a pattern?

There was nothing there no matter how many times he turned the puzzle pieces over and around. The pieces did not want to line up. The pieces refused to fit together. He was going to need a bigger picture or more pieces of the puzzle. Getting either of those would probably mean getting another crime scene with another victim.

Jack did not want another victim. Another victim would mean he had not done his job right. Jack looked out of the windshield. He saw a familiar light in a store window and it set a smile on his face. Jack was about to become a cliche yet again. He did not care. He pulled the car over and put the transmission in park. Jack wasted the tax payer’s dollars by leaving his unmanned, unmarked police cruiser running. He did not care because he did not want to get back inside of a cold car again. Jack looked up into the window at the neon sign that commanded his attention.

‘Hot Donuts’. Jack went in, he sat down, he ordered two hot glazed donuts and a cup of coffee with two creams and two sugars. He proceeded to indulge in his

one vice — coffee. The two donuts were just a bonus.

CHAPTER TWO

JACK ALWAYS GOT to work at least an hour before his shift was to begin. Jack spent the hour in the gym at the bottom of the station. He would normally box with the younger police officers on the police force. Jack was not looking to prove anything by boxing with the younger officers. Jack wanted to stay in physically good shape. The younger officers appreciated that reason. The younger guys would also get the bonus of having gotten into the ring and sparring with a former heavy weight contender. It was a good enough encouragement.

Jack had boxed in college and he had qualified for a chance at the Olympics early on in his boxing career. He went on to win a silver medal for boxing in his weight class. Jack came back from the Olympics ready to make his debut in boxing professionally. That never panned out for Jack. He announced his retirement from professional boxing without having thrown one punch professionally. Spectators in the sport were upset. His career had been expected to be great, with more than fair odds that he would have eventually worn the heavy weight belt.

Jack decided to pursue law enforcement instead of boxing. He ed the force after his gig had ended up with him retiring from the military as well. He went to the police academy and graduated at the top of his class. Jack rose on a steady track up through the ranks. Jack eventually made detective and decided that he had found his true calling in life. The only people on the police force that Jack had to answer to now were the Deputy Chief of police and the Chief of police. Having a short chain of command made things easier for him.

Because Jack had a short list of who he had to answer to, he could go right to the source and gripe about the only complaint he had about the job — partners. Jack could not keep a partner. He had never been able to suffer fools and most of the individuals that he had been paired with were fools of one type or another.

The fools that he hated the most came in two types — those too young with little experience who came to the force to be a heart instead of just doing the job, and those that were too old and were riding out the leather of their desk chairs, trying to wring out the last years of so that they needed so that they could retire. The prior fools usually ended up catching a bullet that would either end their career or end their lives. They also had an uncanny ability of helping their partners catch a bullet too.

The latter fools were typically too lazy to care about doing the job the right way. That would mean late nights, with crappy pay, doing extra work. When the latter fools did go out to the field, they tended to catch a bullet because they did not pay attention and read the situation right. These fools would also help their partners catch a bullet because they did not pay attention and read the situation right.

Jack did not like the idea of playing catch with bullets. He thought it had something to do with the abruptness with which a bullet stopped that caused him not to like playing catch with them. The many former partners of Jack all had the same complaint about him. Basically. Incompatibility with a pit headed, stubborn, unreasonable, stuck-in-his-ways, grade-A ass.

What mattered most to the Chief of police was Jack’s ability to get results on the job. He made things happen. So the Chief put up with Jack’s flaws. He put up with Jack’s negative and positive personality traits. He ignored the fact that Jack did not work well with others. He looked over the loss of fourteen partners in a twenty year career. None of that really mattered if Jack could continue to get

results for him.

Jack was a single man who had never been married. He was married to the job. The job came first for Jack. There was no time for anything else. Any posters depicting work-a-holics would have Jack’s mug prominently displayed and plastered all over them. Jack was not on the job or in the office every waking minutes of every day, but it was damn near close enough to look like it.

Being in the ring in the gym had invigorated Jack. He was awake now. He was alert now. Jack showered and shaved in the locker room before he went upstairs. Jack made his way past the Desk Sergeant as he came up from the gymnasium. The Desk Sergeant glanced up from her work to peer at jack over the rim of her glasses. Jack opened up his mouth to give her a greeting and shut his mouth when the Desk Sergeant hooked a thumb over her shoulder in the general direction of the police Chief’s office. It was an indication that his presence was requested and expected.

Jack flashed his award winning smile at the Desk Sergeant as he ed by her. He ended up getting a smile in return.

“I’m not falling for you, Jack,” she quipped as she shook her head at him.

“You know you love me, Mary,” Jack replied casually.

Jacke weaved his way around desks. They had obviously been arranged in such a way and in a particular order to make any progress from one side of the building to the other side of the building as awkward and as difficult as humanly possible. Jack thought unpleasant thoughts about the guy who had arranged the space. His

unpleasant thoughts included punching the guy in the back of the head. Jack was all abut equal opportunity though, if the arranger was a girl, he would feel obliged to punch her in the back of the head as well.

It did take longer than it should have to get to the Chief’s office. He gave consideration that the Chief might have ordered the arrangement of the obstacle course but dismissed the thought just as quickly as it came to him. Jack was outside of the office. He was facing the glass door of the Chief of police’s office space. It was all glass. The door. The walls. He could see right into the office, which meant, by contrast and default, that the Chief could see outside of the office just as easily.

Jack looked at the name adorning the door of the office space. It was printed in big gold letters. Eugene Ritter. Police Chief. The interior blinds were drawn up all around the office. Jack pushed the door open and entered without preamble. The chief was expecting him so he did not raise a fuss at Jack just entering without announcement.

Chief Ritter spared Jack a precious second of his time to look at him from over the mountain of paperwork that was cluttering his otherwise empty desk. It was the only acknowledgement and greeting that Jack was likely to get before the chief to down to business.

“Have a seat, Jack,” mumbled Chief Ritter.

Chief Ritter hung his balding head in his hands with his elbows resting on the surface of his desk. Chief Ritter was in his late 50’s. He was balding. He was obese without being morbidly so. He was also about half an hour late for his next heart attack. His shirt was unbuttoned and his tie lay, largely ignored, on the desk next to his left elbow and just opposite of the stack of folders. Jack could tell that

the man was already having a bad day and it was likely going to get worse before it got any better for him. It was just barely nine in the morning.

Jack noted that the vein on the right side of Eugene’s temple was throbbing noticeably. Everyone on the force called it his pressure meter. If the vein started throbbing, Eugene was ready to blow a head gasket and start raising his voice. Jack did a quick reassessment of the situation and decided that the chief was about an hour late for that overdue heart attack. Jack thought that the chief looked like a man besieged from all sides with worry. It did not look like the chief had a hope of respite coming to him anytime soon.

Chief Ritter was quick to constantly complain that the stress of the job would lead to his early death. According to the man’s doctors, he was correct. Chief Ritter wanted to retire and was ready to do so but he was not going to retire from the force with these murders being unsolved. He was not ready to get out of the saddle with these cases open and the cases having no leads for them to follow up on.

Chief Ritter had already told Jack to take a seat but her forgot that he had said that. He waived absently for Jack to take a seat while he collected his own thoughts.

“I saw Detective Skipple’s report. You got anything to add to it?” asked Chief Ritter.

Jack still had not sat down yet. He was poised and ready to sit down; hovering over the chair but had yet to park his behind on the faux covered seat. Jack thought better of sitting down. He straightened up and leaned against the chair instead. He was of the opinion that this would be a quick conversation, based on the one question already asked.

“Yeah,” began Jack. He smiled wickedly. “Skipple’s an idiot.”

Chief Ritter groaned, “we all know that. Get serious, Jack. Do you have anything or not?”

“That’s probably going to go a ‘not’. I don’t think there’s much I can add at this point, boss. It’s pretty much the same as the other two cases.”

Eugene let out a heavy sigh and said, “Do whatever you need to do to get a handle on this thing, Jack. I need results sooner than later. I need you to make that happen for me.”

The police chief shifted in his chair and grunted. His vein had stopped throbbing. Jack took that as a sign that the stress was draining from his day.

“I have a dead banker, a dead attorney, and a dead judge who was known to the mayor or the deputy mayor…hell, I don’t care. All of them are on my ass because of that. Now I have the major breathing down my neck, asking questions I got no answers to,” said Chief Ritter.

The man sighed heavily again and groaned as he stared up at the ceiling. He waved a dismissing hand at Jack, leaving Jack to understand that the talk was at its end and he could get back to what he needed to do.

“Get out of my office and go get some work done.”

Jack grunted a response, turned and would have been gone out of the door in seconds but the police chief called out to him.

“Jack,” said the chief as he took a moment and seemed to think better on what he was about to say. “Never mind, get going.”

Jack closed the police chief’s door as he left. He oriented in the direction of his own office and took off. Jack let his mind drift as he walked. It was the chance for his mind to work out the details or patterns that were not always readily apparent. Jack nodded absently, distractedly, at the uniformed officers that he ed. The officers were seated. They were standing. They were busy with the tasks of law enforcement and the start of the day. Jack ed a few plain clothed detectives that were his subordinates and part of his team. Jack’s mind was busy trying to mentally piece together his plan of attack on getting some headway on his case. He was not really paying attention when he walked into the door of his office.

Jack should have first noticed that the door to his office was open. He did not notice that. That bit of information did not process in his mind correctly because his attention was focused on the dual shoulder harness with matching MagSec handguns hanging on his coat rack. A pair of black, glossy, patent leather, high heeled pumps sat on the floor at the base of the coat rack.

The coat rack was positioned on the right hand side. When you entered Jack’s office, it was the first thing that was seen. Beside this was a small table and on that table was his coffee machine. Jack’s desk sat near the far wall. It faced the open door and a small couch. The small couch was on the left hand side as you entered the door and it was pressed up against the wall.

Jack immediately looked over at the couch. There was no need to look anywhere else for anyone. The room was not that large, first off, and secondly, the only other place to sit was behind his desk and presently, there was no one sitting there. This was why he was made into a detective — he could think of things like that. Even Jack had to grudgingly it that that was not the greatest bit of deductive reasoning in the world. An idiot would have stumbled onto that answer.

Jack’s guest was unexpectedly curled up on his couch. His guest was young, sleeping, and absolutely stunning. Her feet were tucked up beside her. She had her knees drawn up close. Her head was propped up on her hands with her hands on the back of the couch. His guest had raven black hair. Her hair was loose and about her face. Her hair partially hid her face but it left enough of it exposed so that Jack could make out her rosy colored cheeks and the slightly pink flush of her high cheek bones. Her rose colored lips looked slightly moist. Her small lips curved just right, so that they curved into the hing of a smile.

Faye was wearing a white, cotton, button up blouse. Jack could just barely make out the rise and fall of her shoulders with her rate of respiration. His guest breathed silently. Her black skirt stopped just at her knees. From there, her smooth legs continued uncovered to her small feet.

Jack could tell that Faye was petite even without her standing up. Jack took a guess that she was, in all probability, no more than five feet tall. Jack reasoned that she probably weighed less than a hundred pounds, if that. He was feeling generous and figured that she would have to be soaking wet, with her clothes on and a brick in her pocket, to hit a three digits on the scale and make up a hundred pounds even. When he looked again, he knew he was definitely being generous in that regard. Jack guessed that he might be able to pick her up with on hand if he had to.

Jack’s gaze eventually drifted back up to Faye’s face. He found that she was awake, with her eyes open and that she was staring at him in return. Her eyes captured him and held him like a moth near to a flame. He felt something primal in that gaze. Like the moth near a flame, he felt like he would be consumed in the heat and fire that lay in those eyes. There was something dangerous and savage in the way that she looked at him. When she blinked, the spell was broken.

Jack convinced himself that he had imagined the danger that was present in those eyes that had captivated his, for just that short amount of time. Jack believed that there was something uncanny about Faye’s eyes but he wrote it off as being an effect of the unusual green color that he saw there in her eyes.

“You were staring there for a while,” Faye said mildly.

The woman had not moved yet. She was reclining still, in the relaxed position that she had been napping in before.

“Huh,” Jack stammered.

Jack’s reply was well thought out and articulated. He felt that it reflected his present state of flabbergasted quite well.

“I was wondering when you were going to come back up for air,” Faye said as a slow smile began creeping across her face.

“What?” said Jack.

He was confused. Despite feeling the confusion though, he knew he was really doing well making it look like he was a muttering idiot. The conversation, however, was not starting out right, in his opinion. He wanted to know who she was and why she was in his office. Because she had spoken first, she had thrown him off with her initial comments.

“What did you say?” Jack asked again.

“You were staring at my legs for a long time, so I was beginning to wonder when you were going to be coming up for air,” Faye teased.

“Oh…umm…,” Jack began. He was flustered because he had been taken so far off of his guard. He paused to collect himself and his thoughts. He knew that was the right move to make first because he was standing there with his mouth hanging open.

“Who are you and why are you in my office — miss…?” Jack prompted.

Faye shifted her body. She kicked her feet off of the couch. Her hands dropped beside her and she bounced up to a standing position. She perched on the tips of her toes and stretched her arms above her head while she was standing. She looked like a lazy cat stretching after a nap in the sun. She could easily have fooled the world with that afternoon cat nap look.

With her hands waving up in the air above her, she caused her blouse to rise up. Her midriff was exposed and Jack could see her smooth belly and her belly button. She smiled coyly at Jack, slowly lowered her arms and smoothed down her blouse. Jack’s guest moved with a grace that he could only define as feline in nature. Jack observed this as she moved towards him and then past him. She moved towards the small table with the coffee maker on it.

“Two creams and two sugars, right?” Faye asked.

Faye happened to be holding the coffee decanter over his coffee mug. She was ready to pour him a fresh cup of coffee.

“Uh — yeah…,” said Jack.

He was dumbfounded. She was completely taking advantage of the fact that his equilibrium was off. He was thoroughly confused. He knew it — she knew it — and he knew that she was also enjoying the fact that she had easily knocked him from his groove and toppled him over in her wake of ing like dominoes stacked in a row. For Jack it was frustrating but she had him so caught up in — ‘her’, that he just could not seem to stay frustrated for long.

Faye slipped his coffee cup into his hands. He did not resist. He could not resist. His mouth hung open. She sat down on the couch, crossed her legs at her ankles, and patiently blew on her coffee cup. She took a sip of coffee from the cup to hid her widening smile. She watched Jack as he flitted about in her breeze.

The first thing that Faye had noticed about Jack was his expressive brown eyes. She could instinctively tell that he was genuinely kind and caring, despite his

gruff exterior armor that he wore to keep the world away and at arms length. She ired his dark chocolate skin and his broad shoulders. His close cut hair had a few grays in it, but not much. This made him appear to be more distinguished to her. The casual dress shirt that hew as wearing fit him well enough that she could make out his muscular physique underneath it.

“I’m Special Agent Atwood. Faye Atwood,” she said finally.

This caused Jack to feel some form of relief that one mystery had been solved. He was feeling better about the world as a whole now. He did not despise the world as much not because it did contain some modicum of order. There was enough order remaining in the world to reassure him that this slender, slight wisp of a woman, was not totally throwing his center. There was, in fact, a god and now that it was a godly hour in the day, god — in all of his greatness and glory — was finally out of bed and paying attention to what was going on.

Jack walked the short distance over to his desk. He put his coffee cup down upon the firm surface of the desk. Jack allowed his head to hang. He let his head hang low while he shook it to loosen up the cobwebs that Faye had blissfully graced him with.

Once Jack had accomplished the task of clearing his head, he felt that he might be somewhat capable of facing Faye and dealing with her without his being caught up in her tempo again. Jack did feel better about the world as well. It had told him that he was insane and he called it a liar and stopped listening to it. Now that that bit of business was settle between he and the world, he slowly turned to face Faye and all that she represented for his life.

Jack had to it to himself that Faye was, for certain and a fact, a very fetching young woman. Jack, having itted that much to himself, decided to continue

to it that it had been just a little refreshing to have been caught up in her pace and in her world. Now, however, Jack was back to business. Jack wanted to know why this orphaned little waif had drifted into his office and interrupted his life.

“What can I do for you, Miss Atwood?” Jack asked calmly.

“That’s ‘Special Agent’ Atwood,” she said nonplussed. “But you can call me Faye. I would prefer if you did,” said Faye as she flashed an award winning smile and continued to sip her coffee without a care in the world.

Jack stood there, dumbstruck again. In his muddleheadedness he was feeling as if he had missed something that should have been readily obvious until he finally realized that she had not actually answered his question after all. He poised his question again.

“Do you need something…Faye?”

Faye replied readily, “yes, Detective Riddle, I’ve been assigned as your partner.”

“My what?”

Faye spoke softly. She made sure that she enunciated each word. She ensured that she gave a proper pronunciation for each word that she uttered from that point on. She wanted to make sure that there would be no misunderstanding between them, regardless of Jack’s inability to hear, and understand clearly, the

word ‘partner’ in any setting short of racketball, playing cards or dancing.

“I. Am. Assigned. As. Your. Partner.”

Jack blinked. He blinked again. Jack blinked a third time and felt a bag sense of deja vu flooding over his consciousness.

“Hold up. Did you say, ‘partner’?” asked Jack.

While the idea of being teamed up with such a comely young woman as Faye seemed to have perks that only a single, heterosexual male might come to enjoy — such as having a beautiful woman around constantly while on duty — the idea of having a partner was one of those things, that for Jack, was having a hard time finding purchase in the mind of Jack. Because this concept of having a partner was so foreign of an idea to Jack, it was beginning to hinder the level with which he was currently satisfied with in regards to his quality of life and his perception of the world that lay around him.

Jack blinked for a fourth time. Hell, for a second, Jack felt as if he had convinced his conscious brain to believe that he had actually heard her utter the world, ‘partner’ in his presence. Jack could have sworn that this tiny little woman, with too much firepower at her disposal and seemingly much too young to know what to do during an investigation, had suggested that they were partners.

Jack continued to stare at her. She nodded her head slowly, confirming the full state of affairs that she had suggested, oh-so long ago. Jack did not blink this time. Instead, Jack pushed off of the desk and found himself moving furiously

towards the office of the Police Chief.

Jack was halfway to his destination that he was trying to reach when the Desk Sergeant cut him off. The same desk sergeant who informed him that same morning that the police chief wanted to see him. She was not smiling now. She was running interference.

“He doesn’t want to hear it. He said, ‘no arguments, tell the ‘ass’ to deal with it,” said Mary.

She had looked up from the paperwork on her desk when she saw him coming towards the Chief’s office and intercepted him before he got any further along the route that he was taking.

“But…he can’t be serious,” said Jack in retort.

Mary slapped a file against Jack’s chest. It was not very hard, just hard enough to get his attention and get him to pay attention to her and stop focusing on the door to the Chief’s office. She let go of it when Jack put his hand up to take it.

“Transfer orders. Deal with it, Jack,” said Mary as Jack took the file fully from her hands. “It’s from way above his pay grade and he’s ing the buck to you, so enjoy.”

Mary smiled sweetly at Jack and walked off, leaving him stumbling for footing in a world that seemed to suddenly tilt and turn against him even more. Not only

did Jack feel pressured with the task of having to solve three gruesome murders, with limited evidence and zero suspects or leads, he was now feeling like the world wanted to play jokes on him. He did not want to have to babysit an agent who looked like she was fresh out of the academy. That was the last thing in the world that Jack wanted to have to deal with.

Jack ended up coming back into his office a few minutes later, looking like a dejected child and carrying a folder with the transfer orders for Faye and her service information. He dropped the file on a similar stack on his desk. Jack was not happy. He looked in Faye’s direction and sighed heavily. Jack felt the need to make sure that he straightened out their working relationship for certain, right from the start. He felt that he needed to do this in case she ended up getting the wrong idea about how much help he needed and where his boundaries started and stopped. Began and ended.

“Look, kid,” he began hesitantly.

Jack was hoping that he was not going to crush her spirits too much on their first day of working together. Jack did feel that he should get it all out there in the open first and get it over with and out of the way.

“I don’t know what they told you for what you’re expecting but I do not want to play nurse maid to some, wet behind the ears rookie, so just stay out of my way and do what I tell you to do.”

Jack felt satisfied with telling her that much and he awaited Faye’s response. He girded that he would get an objection or two but he would get the kid straight and on the narrow and they would work well together — until he could get rid of her.

Faye favored Jack with a benign look that had him silenced in seconds.

“I am thirty years old and I am not some ‘wet behind the ears rookie’ even though I know I look like I’m barely twenty. I graduated from West Point in the top ten percent of my class. I trained at Quantico, I ed the DEA and I worked the jungle in Panama for a year straight. I then ed the NSA, you misogynistic, sexist, agist, ass.”

Faye gave a nice, short run that settled Jack back onto his heels. During the entire spiel, Faye kept a sweet smile on her face. She had given her diatribe and never once, did yer eyes waiver from Jack’s eyes. Jack was thoroughly impressed with Faye. It was not the sweet smile that was still plastered on Faye’s face that had impressed Jack, it was the steel that was in her spine, as well as the astonishing resume that she had impressed upon him. It was her inner fire coursing along that backbone. It was that spirit that Faye had that shuttled to the world, ‘I will not be ignored and I will be heard and respected’. It was all of this that Jack fell in love with immediately and was impressed with.

Jack did a double take when he came back to himself from his field trip of iration.

“Hold up, I am not a misogynistic ass. You do’t even know me,” said Jack.

Jack decided to elan back on his desk and cross his arms over his chest in his self-righteous indignation.

“I don’t know you? Let me see,” began Faye. “Born of William and Margaret Riddle. You graduated high school as Valedictorian. You went to Saint Cornelia College on a scholarship for academics, athletics, and ROTC. You were on the boxing team. You graduated Magna Cum Laud with a bachelor’s in mathematics and physics. You went to the Olympics where you earned a silver medal in boxing in the heavy weight class.”

Faye paused to take a breath.

“How am I doing so far?”

Jack nodded and Faye continued.

“You next planned to announce a career as a professional heavy weight boxer but you were activated on active duty with your reserve unit. You were deployed to Iraq where you saved for a year. When you came back state side you were decommissioned after having received the Army Achievement Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, the Bronze Star, A Silver Star, and a Purple Heart, all in one tour. How is that for knowing you?”

Jack scowled at her. He was not impressed at all that she knew that information. It was easy to come by.

“Anyone can memorize all of this things that I’ve done in the past but it doesn’t mean that you know who I am.”

Faye carefully considered what Jack had just said. She had to concede that Jack had a point. She got up from the couch and walked over to the small table to refill her coffee cup. She stood in place after she put the carafe back in place.

“You’re right. That stuff has nothing to do with who you are, it’s just what made you who you are.”

Faye thought more on it. She warmed her hands by holding the coffee mug between them. It was still a bit chilly inside of the building.

“How about this…,” Faye began.

She was speaking softly. Intimately. In a manner that made it seem as if they were the only two individuals in all of the world.

“Your unit was on a simple resupply mission. You had just left the supply base about forty five minutes earlier and you were on your way back to your base camp. You were the platoon leader and you had decided to drive that day. Your platoon sergeant was in them enger seat of your vehicle where you would normally have sat.”

“Your convoy got hit with an ambush of improvised explosive devices. The improvised explosive devices disabled the last vehicle in the five vehicle convoy and made the vehicle in the lead roll over. You were in that lead vehicle. You extracted yourself from that vehicle and got your platoon to rally. You were able to get your platoon to suppress an enemy in a better strategic position with superior numbers. With your platoon at half strength, due to injuries and individuals treating the wounded, you were able to out maneuver and flank the

enemy, forcing their surrender to you and your platoon.”

“While you and your platoon were busy with securing the enemy who surrendered to you, a suicide bomber in a vehicle came from the front and detonated next to the lead vehicle that had rolled over. The only casualty of this attack was your platoon sergeant who was still trapped in the vehicle.”

Jack turned away from Faye, even though she had never turned to face him while she spoke. Jack felt like he could not look in her direction. Even after all of these years that had ed after that incident, the wound still festered and burned a hole in his skill.

“That doesn’t tell you who I am either.”

Faye turned around and her movement caused Jack to turn and to face her. Faye looked up into those dark eyes she found so expressive. Jack looked down at the woman who had dragged up a painful memory

“I know who you are, Jack, and I’ve just met you. You push people away to keep them from getting too close but you would gladly risk your life for others who need you. I think you closed off your heart and you haven’t been in a serious relationship since you returned from Iraq because you some how feel like you don’t deserve to be loved or to love someone else.

Jack stepped suddenly closer to her, towering over the much smaller woman.

“I think you’re about to overstep your bounds, Agent Atwood,” Jack growled.

Faye did not shrink away from Jack’s blatant aggression and belligerence. She did not show any fear of him at all.

“We are going to work together on this case, whether you like it or not, Detective Riddle, so I suggest you get used to the idea and like it. I’ve got a dead judge and people want to know why. The sooner we can figure that out, the sooner you get to answer ‘why’ for the others and I get out of your life.”

Faye put down her coffee cup on Jack’s desk. She still had the fresh, full cup. She looked up into Jack’s brown eyes. She felt like she could get lost in the pain that she saw there. She could get swallowed up whole and disappear. She knew that she could not let that happen to herself but she wondered for the first time in her life if that would be a bad thing, to get caught up in someone else’s world.

For now, Faye understood that she could not let that happen because she had a job to do. Now Jack knew that she had a job to do and that she meant business. Faye was looking forward to working with Jack. She smiled weakly because she was feeling the pain that he had trapped within. She then smiled with more determination. More fortitude. She placed her hand on his cheek gently. She then drew her hand away and actually smacked him on the cheek, but lightly, but also with enough force that Jack got the message and would take her seriously.

“My new partner is a misogynistic ass,” she chided with a small smile.

“I am not misogynistic,” Jack growled in response after her as she slipped past him and got her things together so that she could then leave his office.

“So you’re okay with itting that you’re an ass?” asked Faye as she left Jack speechless.

“I…I,” he stammered, looking for an appropriate response, but finding none.

“I got a copy of the files already from the Desk Sergeant, partner. I’m going to go back to my hotel to get some sleep. Jet lag sucks.”

After saying that, Faye left Jack alone in his office with his own thoughts and concerns to deal with. Jack had to finally it to himself that he might be able to work with Agent Atwood after all. She was not going to take any guff from him because she showed him that she could take care of herself. The last thing that Jack thought of before he told himself to dismiss thoughts of Faye so that he could get back to his work was whether or not he had actually heard purring when he first came into his office and found Faye waiting for him.

Jack did not get anymore excitement for the remainder of the day and he was fine with that. An early morning wake up followed by a full day at work was enough to burn him out. He was tired. He was tired. He was ready for bed. Leaving was the only thing on his mind when his phone rang.

Jack looked at the phone on his desk as if it were a demon from hell that was there to torment his soul. The phone had not rang once in over an hour and a half and the moment he had his hat in hand and was standing in the door his phone wanted to reach out and beg for his attention. Jack was tempted to let it go and jut leave, but he did not. That just was not who Jack was.

“Yeah, Detective Riddle,” Jack said despondently into the receiver of the phone.

A diminutive voice he recognized from earlier came over the speaker.

“Are you leaving yet?”

“I was about to walk out the door. Why?”

“Are you going home?”

“I’ve got no where else to go.”

“Come to my hotel.”

“Why would I do that?”

“To eat dinner with me. I don’t want to eat alone.”

There was a pause where Faye was waiting on a response from Jack. When no response was forthcoming she spoke into the silence to break it up.

“I know you haven’t had dinner yet.”

“How do you know that?” asked Jack.

“You’re just now leaving the office,” said Faye sarcastically. There was another pause in the conversation and another period of silence.

“I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes,” said Jack.

He hung up the phone without waiting for a reply. It did take him about fifteen minutes to get to where Faye was.

Jack pulled out a chair from the table Faye was sitting at. She looked up at him as he sat down. Faye closed the folder that she had been reading from and indicated a pizza box on the table with a nod of her head.

“That’s dinner?” asked Jack as he opened the box and pulled out a slice.

“Yep,” said Faye happily.

She grabbed herself another slice as well.

Jack looked around the hotel restaurant before he said, “how did you pull that off?” he asked.

He was talking about how she managed to be eating delivery pizza in the hotel’s restaurant.

“I wanted beer and a pizza. They had the beer and I ordered the pizza. The didn’t give me a problem with the pizza after I showed them the federal identification to get the beer.”

Faye took a sip of her beer and a huge bite out of the slice of pizza in her hand.

“How did you know where to find me?” she mumbled around the pizza slice.

“I’m a detective…I detected,” Jack said.

“You’re about as funny as a hole in the head.”

“Like a joke with no punchline,” added Jack.

“We’re not talking about your life,” put in Faye in response.

“That’s hurtful.”

“How did you know where I was?”

“Your info was in the briefing folder and I saw you through the window when I came walking up,” said Jack as he pointed at the window of the restaurant.

Faye glanced over her shoulder and then back at Jack.

“You parked on the street?”

“Yeah, I’m too cheep to pay for parking.”

“And here I was thinking you’d be buying the beer.”

“Why would I?”

“I bought dinner,” said Faye, pointing at the pizza box with the crust from the slice that she had just devoured.

One of Jack’s eyebrows rose up. He shrugged out of his coat and tossed it on an empty chair. He looked over his shoulder for a waiter. When Jack caught the attention of the waiter, the waiter started approaching the table. Jack pointed at Faye’s beer and raised up two fingers. The waiter turned and went to the bar.

“You look comfortable,” said Jack.

Faye was wearing a large, blue, oversized sweater and a pair of black leggings. The sweater drooped off of one of her shoulders and revealed a lace bra strap.

“Thanks,” said Faye. “You look…,” she paused.

She was looking for something to say and finding that she had nothing she could say along the asme lines that Jack had said. He was still wearing what he had on earlier.

“Like I just got off work,” Jack finished for her.

“Yeah. That,” Faye said and then both Faye and Jack both laughed.

The waiter brought them their beer and Faye finished off her first one before she thought to start up the conversation again with Jack.

“I wanted to apologize about earlier,” said Faye.

Jack was a little confused. Jack could not figure out anything that she might have done earlier that would prompt her to want to apologize to him. Jack figured if anybody needed to apologize about their behavior then it should have been him.

He was not about to stop Faye from apologizing though. He would not stop her if she believed that she was due to give one to him.

“What are you talking about?”

“Earlier I acted like I knew who you were. I said all those things…,”

“You were right,” said Jack, interrupting Faye. “I do push people away and I would risk my life for others, if it was the right thing to do.”

Faye gave him a strange look and said, “well, you took the wind out of my sails.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“And I didn’t mean to act like a know-it-all. I hope we can work well together.”

Jack smiled at Faye, which caused her to smile back in return.

“I’m sure we’ll do fine together.”

CHAPTER THREE

DONOVAN PIKE WALKED past the security station and nodded at the guard that was stationed there. There were few individuals who could come and go from the installation so Donovan did not need to show any identification to get to the elevator controls. All of the guards knew who he was. Another reason it was unnecessary for the guard to check any identification was because every entry point into the facility used DNA based metrics to identification and authorizations. Mr. Donovan Pike had access to every level of the facility. This was necessary because he was the facility and he oversaw any and everything that occurred within the facility.

He had been at this job for a long time. He had worked at this facility since its construction about thirty years in the past. Similar facilities existed in multiple countries around the world. Those that were privileged to know that they even existed at all would not find it difficult to locate one. They would not find it difficult to access the facility either. The facilities were for the use of these individuals.

The facilities offered work space and shelter for the few who needed or required it. Each of the variously located facilities were built along the same lines. The location was nondescript and could be accessed at any time of the day. It was easy to work logistics for the installations and facilities as well. This was a requirement in their actual construction. They were to remain unassuming and unnoticeable.

It took Donovan about fifteen minutes to work his way from the entrance of the

facility to the rooms that he used as his offices. The time did not matter to him. It would always take as much time as it needed to take for activity Donovan found necessary to devote his resources to. Time was of no consequence to him if the goals he set were either met or exceeded. He was of a long lived people. The ones who built this facility — every last one of them — had lengthy life expectancies. With that type of advantage, time itself took on a very different meaning entirely.

Donovan sat at his desk and activated his communications network. He connected with the person that he was expecting. Donovan had initiated the communications as voice only because all he needed to do was to send his instructions and to make sure that they were received and understood.

“Dr. Brundle, I need for you to on the instructions that I gave you to relate to the agents that we sent out. Make sure that they understand what is going on and what is expected of them.”

“I can do that,” said Dr. Brumble as he disconnected from the call from Donovan.

Donovan went to work on those things that he had to take care of for that day.

Dr. Brumble waited for the call that he was expecting from one of the agents that he had released out into the field to do the work of the Shepherds. He did not have to wait long. He was expecting the call to come through at a certain time and it arrived directly on time as he expected.

“Alpha 06, are you there?” asked Dr. Brumble.

“Yes, sir,” replied a clear voice that Dr. Brumble recognized instantly. Even if he had not recognized the voice, he would not have worried. The communication would not have connected without verification on both ends. Dr. Brumble had no doubts that the communications were secure.

“I am issuing your orders for this mission. You are to observe the subject from a distance and add additional assistance and if the subject’s mission looks as if it will be compromised in any way. Report any changes back to me and keep a low profile while you are operating.”

Dr. Brumble disconnected from the communication without verification that the message was understood. For Dr. Brumble, it was a given that his instructions were understood and would be carried out without fail. Dr. Brumble had that understanding because that was to be expected. It was also expected that he understand any instructions given to him by Donovan so he carried the instructions out without fail himself.

Donovan was not an individual that was used to not being heard. Donovan was not an individual that was used to not being understood either.

Dr. Brumble busied himself with the other tasks that were to take up his time for the rest of the day. He knew that Donovan would be stopping by later that morning so he waited for this as he worked.

Donovan pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose. Now that his

instructions to Dr. Brumble had been issued, he was ready to complete that task that he had come to the facility for originally that day. Donovan made his way from his office and moved further into the facility as he went down to a lower level and stopped in front of a set of unmarked doors. There were no marked doors in the entire facility. Anyone who had any business in the facility knew into what manner of office the multitude of unmarked doors led.

Donovan let the security at the side of the door who he was and his access privileges. The doors slid open into a recess in the wall once he was done. He entered and the doors and the doors closed automatically behind him. Donovan stopped and waited when his target came into his view.

Dr. Brumble moved slowly and methodically around the periphery of his laboratory. His territory. His den. He was too lost in his thoughts to pay much attention to the man in the room with him. Dr. Brumble was also very much present in the moment. Dr. Brumble was aware enough to understand it was very much in his best interest to respond to the man that Donovan was, if and when he was addressed by him, but he would not acknowledge his presence before then.

Dr. Brumble was a geneticists by training. Many of his colleagues would say that he was a genius, if he cared to ask any of them for their opinion of him. Many of his colleagues would also say that he was a bit eccentric. All of his colleagues would say that he was totally, thoroughly, and without a doubt, certifiably insane. He was not playing with a full deck of cards. In fact, it was safe to assume that he was fifty-two cards shy of playing with a full deck and the only cards that he had left in his hand were the jokers.

Mr. Donovan Pike cared little about that. Donovan cared only for the first epitaph many would confer on the odd little man. Donovan wanted the man’s genius. To Donovan, Dr. Brumble was a very good investment. He was worth the attention that Donovan invested in him.

Donovan patiently watched the good doctor as he seemed to flit about randomly in his own world. Donovan watched as the doctor moved from one part of his lab to another part of his lab. The doctor was checking on instruments and taking notes from those same instruments. He was checking figures against readouts on his various devices, contraptions, and contrivances. Donovan would not have doubted if the doctor had devised a cure for cancer or the worst weapon of mass destruction that the world had ever seen.

If left to his own, Donovan was more assured, than not, that the doctor would be as content in his own little world as a tick on a dog. Being in his lab, amongst his test tubes, beakers, and computers, there was something to be said about the dedication that he poured into his work.

Donovan picked up a tube filled with a viscous fluid that was of a particularly peculiar and interesting color. He picked the tube up from a. Tray that was close at hand and contained many such similar tubes of fluids, all unmarked. Donovan was not certain if safety was at an issue or a concern to the doctor. From what Donovan could tell from looking around the lab where there was not a label on anything. How anyone could make heads or tails of anything in the lab was well beyond Donovan to understand. However, Donovan knew that only the doctor was ever expected to be in that particular lab in the first place.

Donovan turned the tube end for end and watched while the odd acting fluid inside of the tube shifted first from one end of the glass to the next in the most impossible way that Donovan had ever witnessed. The doctor came up next to Donovan and carefully and gently removed the vial from Donovan’s hand. He placed the tube back on the tray that Donovan had removed it from.

“Mr. Pike,” began Dr. Brumble in his oddly, low toned voice that was also nondescript in its own way, “while the contents of that particular vial are indeed

interestingly colored and its properties cause it to move in unexpected ways, you would do well not to agitate the contents too much. I do not believe you would be interested in what occurs upon agitation of that particular substance.”

Dr. Brumble gently readjusted the other vials in the tray. He turned his attention to the visitor that was disturbing his lab. He knew that if he wanted to continue with what he was doing and working on, he was going to have to dedicate some of his time, and some of his attention, to this particular visitor — to Donovan.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Pike?” asked Dr. Brumble.

“I came to check upon the status of subject Delta 67-3. How are things progressing, Doctor?”

Dr. Brumble scowled. He looked sullen because this interruption, for what he considered to be such a paltry and insignificant bit of information, only served to irritate him. Dr. Brumble went and moved to his computer. He typed in the necessary series of commands that would allow him to retrieve the information that he was being asked to provide.

The computer brought up the figures onto the display and held steady so that he could read them. Dr. Brumble began interpreting the figures in his head. He devoured the information that he saw before him on the monitors. He made the data simple to understand for the uninitiated. Dr. Brumble skipped the more technical details that were not relevant to what Donovan had asked him for, instead, Dr. Brumble kept his short and simple to understand for his audience of one. For that, Donovan was grateful.

“The telemetric data is updated on a continuous basis. Vitals remain constant and brain activity is nominal. As things are now, we should be able to keep working with this specimen for another fourteen days before breakdown of synaptic pathways cause increased psychosis. At that time, we can redeploy it back here where I can harvest genetic material for the next generation. Or, we can retire it. Whichever comes first or whichever you decide.”

“And the other specimen that you redeployed for me, what of it?”

“Alpha 06 is doing as expected. We can recall this specimen when we are ready or we can redeploy the agent to another mission.”

“I am sure that you would like to get more performance data on Delta 67-3. I have the next target, so let me know when you are ready to transmit the target package information to Delta 67-3 and I will send the uplink to your computer.”

Donovan turned and left the lab. Things were going well. The end of this phase of the operation was approaching and he was ready to patiently see the end arrive. There was one more scheduled target and then the last task that needed to be completed. At the end of these tasks, he would have the specimen in Dr. Brumble’s capable hands. The doctor would be able to get the genetic material that was going to be necessary to collect for completion of the next series.

CHAPTER FOUR

JACK WAS TIRED and he was groggy. He was realizing that he was no longer the young man who had ed the police force. He was not longer the young man who could put a few drinks away and be able to take the day on. He was struggling and he was regretting the fact that he let that small woman put a hurt on him like this. After the beer and pizza was done, Faye switched to tequila. Jack was not thinking about having to get up in a few hours, he was enjoying the evening and ed in the tequila ride.

Jack and Faye ended up closing the bar last night. That was at two thirty in the morning. Faye went to bed in her room upstairs and Jack caught an Uber ride home. He had to it that he definitely had fun but now he was paying for it. He did not let the hangover stop him from doing his morning routine though.

Jack started with his cardio routine first and did speed rope drills and ran two miles on the tread mill. When he was comfortable with his warm up, he taped up his hands and put on the gloves. There was no body to spar with yet, so Jack hit the speed bag and heavy bag. He rotated between the two so that he could work up a good sweat. By the time he had finished with his third cycle between the speed bag and the heavy bag, Jack was in his zone and had received an invitation to spar. Jack took off his shirt and took to the ring.

Faye had come in to use the gym at the station because the treill at the hotel gym was out of order. Unlike how Jack had felt that morning, Faye felt great. She had no issues with dealing with a hangover form drinking into the early morning and then getting up a few hours later to start the day. The gym was

where she wanted to be.

Faye had finished her run by the time that Jack had taken to the ring. She saw him as she left the room where the treills had been located. He was muscular without being overly so. Faye thought that he looked and moved great for a man of his age. The guy in the ring with Jack looked to be about half of Jack’s age. Despite being younger, the guy was already winded. Faye could tell that he was not a good match for Jack at all. He tapped out and another young guy ed Jack in the ring to spar.

Twenty minutes after Faye had started watching Jack, she wondered if he was even human. People were lined up around the ring watching him work. Currently Jack was in the ring with his fifth opponent and he did not even look like he was ready for his first break. Jack had been sparring, non-stop, while his opponents had switched out at five minute intervals. She watched as his chest muscles bunched, tightened, and quivered when he delivered his powerful punches. His feet seemed to take him over the canvas of the ring like an ibeskater on ice. All the while, his breath came unhurried. He looked like he could take on Atlas at that point. Atlas might be the only one to stand a chance against him as he was now.

As Faye continued to watch Jack work the ring to his advantage, she realized that the sight of him came as a thief to her, stealthily insinuating the idea of feeling the give and take of his muscles as they worked beneath his flesh. His thighs were thick and his chest was a broad timber — rugged and firm. Faye felt her breath quicken as she continued to revel in his masculine image. She began to feel that each of her inhalations were performed vicariously for Jack. Faye watched a moment longer and then had to force herself to flee and take refuge from her growing desire.

Faye looked at her image in the mirror. She wanted something to be wrong with her. She needed that something be wrong with her. Maybe a fever or a faintness.

Something that could explain hy she felt that drowning of desire for a man that she had basically just met and technically she did not know. Faye decided to just attribute the feeling to being tired after her run and being able to see a man that she considered to be attractive. She made light of the feeling that had already ed and she took a shower so that she could get upstairs and get to work.

Jack felt fantastic after his workout. He was glad to have gotten the opportunity to really push himself. He could not the last time that he felt a need to push so far past his limit. Jack’s knees were a little bit wobbly by the tine that he got out of the ring. Several of his fellows told a few age jokes at his expense but those were the same ones who had to tag out after five minutes in the ring with him earlier.

The feeling of a hangover had receded to a thing of the past and was relegated to long gone memories. Jack could not figure out why he had felt like the day was going to drag on. Jack felt like there was no challenge that he could not face now. He was energized. He was reinvigorated. His spirit was indomitable.

Jack completed his morning ablution and felt ready to win the day. He was hoping that this triumphant feeling would transfer over to progress on the three brutal killings case. Jack also had the hope that Faye might help him turn things around on the cases as well. Jack got the idea of pouring over the files in the morning and following up by going to each of the crime scenes again to see if they could glean something to guide them in the solution of these crimes.

Faye was waiting for Jack in his office again. He had not seen her in the gym but he was not aware that he should have looked for her at all anyway. Faye being in his office reminded Jack of the previous morning. She was curled up in the same manner as she had been the morning prior. The smell of fresh brewed coffee flowed from his office door and permeated the air. Jack was participating in morning exercises and it always made him desire coffee. He was anticipating the

moment that he would get his first sip in of the day. This thing that he had with coffee was his only indulgence in life.

“Your cup is on the desk. I just poured it,” said Faye.

Jack glanced over at Faye. She had spoken without having opened her eyes to that it was indeed Jack that had walked into the office. Jack shrugged it off and figured that she must have seen him moving towards his office just recently before she laid down. She could have then poured him a cup and laid back down on the couch again.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Faye said.

She still had not opened her eyes up yet.

“Two creams and two sugars, right?”

“Yeah.”

Jack hung up his coat. He put his gym bag in the corner and noticed that there was one there already. He figured that the bag belonged to Faye because she was the only other person who could conceivably need to store a gym bag in his office. Yep, this was why they made him a detective — because he could detect.

Jack groaned at his own corny joke.

Jack walked around his desk and took his seat. He picked up his cup and sipped at his coffee while taking the same moment to gaze upon his new partner. She was wearing a snug, grey, turtleneck sweater and a pencil skirt in a darker grey. The pencil skirt was long and stopped at her ankles. Faye’s tiny, unadorned feet lay one atop the other.

“So you have a foot fetish now?”

Jack shifted his gaze and found himself falling into Faye’s eyes again. He onished himself and vowed to keep from doing that again. Faye was wide eyed and observing Jack but she did so without moving her head. Jack dismissed his curiosity of how she knew he was looking at her feet. He guessed that it was maybe some trick to it that he could not figure out just yet.

Jack did find it just a little bit unsettling how she seemed to know where he was looking when she had her eyes closed. He was fairly certain that Faye’s eyes were closed when he stared at her legs just the other day and when he was staring at her feet just now. Jack cleared his throat and looked away, avoiding responding to her question. He was slightly embarrassed to have been caught like that.

Faye hid a smile behind her hand but could not hide the smile showing in her eyes. She felt flattered to have received a stare from a man that she thought was rather handsome, in a distinguished sort of way.

“You looked like you were having fun in the gym this morning,” said Faye.

Jack looked surprised for a moment and then the image of her gym bag came back to his mind. He looked over at the bag as if to that it was still there and had not gotten up and walked out on him.

“Yeah. I was actually enjoying myself. What brought you to the gym this morning?”

“The treill in the hotel is inoperative. Speaking of inoperative, after last night, that’s what I expected from you this morning.”

“I’ll give it to you, Faye. You tried to drink me under the table. You had me four sheets to the wind last night. I was flapping in the breeze this morning but I’ve seemed to have caught my second wind now.”

“You can’t hang, old man?”

“Step into the ring with me and find out.”

“Okay. Tomorrow morning?”

Jack smiled. He had not expected any of that but it was fine by him. He was going to see if he could not have her crying uncle after stepping into his world.

Faye got up. She walked out of the office and found an empty chair outside. She brought the chair back into Jack’s office and positioned it next to him and beside his desk. Jack spread the case files out over his desk so that they could both easily get to any of the three. The both of them spent the rest of the morning going over the information contained in the files. They hoped to find that proverbial needle in the haystack that might give them a clue and help them to crack the case open.

At about eleven o’clock, Jack suggested that they take a break and see about getting some lunch. They had perused every word written in the files, several times over between the two of them. They looked over crime scene photos. They questioned each other and tried to come up with different scenarios. They examined autopsy reports and they finally looked at possible connections with known associates. Everything that they tried, came back with no additional information that they could use to come up with further leads to guide them.

Jack wanted a change of scenery. He also wanted to get out of the office so that they could get to the crime scenes and have time to look around at each before the day ended. The three locations were in different parts of the city, or on the outskirts like the last one. Jack felt that they would probably be spending more time on the road than actually looking at the sites.

Jack and Faye took the elevator down to the garage. Jack had Faye wait while he went and got a vehicle from the motor sergeant. He pulled up next to Faye in a large SUV about ten minutes later and waited for her to get into the vehicle. It was snowing outside so Jack had opted for the four wheel drive vehicle. He knew that they might have to deal with traffic so he made sure that the unit had a light bar mounted on top. Their first destination was actually not that far from where they were, so Jack got them out of the underground garage and got them going in that direction rather quickly.

“Where are we going to first?” asked Faye.

Jack glanced over at her and then put his eyes beckon the road.

“The first murder victim was Mr. Paul Weaton. He was a banker. He was murdered at home and his home is close by. That’s where we’re going to first.”

Fifteen minutes later, Jack pulled over the big utility vehicle and stopped it in front of a warehouse.

“I thought we were going to the banker’s house first?” Faye commented.

“We’re there already,” Jack said while he pointed to the building. He unbuckled his seat belt and got out. Faye followed his lead and got out as well.

“So are these some kind of condos?” asked Faye.

Jack shook his head.

“Wish it was that easy. It would make this search a lot quicker. Dude owned the whole damn building. He made it into his house.”

Jack found the door and let them in. Automatic lights, connected to motion sensors, flickered into phosphorescent life. Jack led them on upstairs to the second floor. This floor was a wide open space, like the downstairs. The

difference between the first and the second floor was the addition of the living area. The floor downstairs was completely empty.

The living area consisted of a series of free standing walls, designed and erected so that it made two private bedrooms — restrooms in each bedroom, and walls on which the kitchen cabinets could be mounted. The rest of the space on this floor was as empty as the space on the previous floor.

“Wow, the guy made the entire warehouse his home. That’s crazy,” said Faye.

“All three of the guys had weird homes. The second victim, the judge, had nothing in his three floor mansion except a fully stocked kitchen, a library overflowing with books, and a bedroom with only a bed. The last guy lived in a fort.”

“I don’t know if we even have time to look at all this squirt footage before nightfall,” said Faye.

“We won’t be worrying about that space out there. I had half the detectives on the force going over that space, inch by inch. I want to take another look over here,” said Jack as he moved off towards the living area.

“I don’t know if I would ever have been comfortable living in a place like this. The living space is just rooms built into the middle of the floor space of the warehouse. It’s like you’re on display,” said Faye.

“I thought it was creepy too. Can you imagine being here at night and this small part of the area lit up and the rest falling off into darkness? It sends chills up my back,” Jack said as they entered the living space.

Sunlight entering from the windows lining the North and South facing walls of the warehouse offered enough light for them to see by. There were lamps that they used that gave them the ability to dispel shadows cast by the walls in the living space.

The area where the murder took place was the master bedroom. Jack decided that they would focus their search in that area and perform a cursory inspection and search in the rest of the living area After spending an hour looking around, they determined that there was not anything additional to be found. The terminated their search and started off back towards the vehicle so that they could leave.

“How did the killer get in?” asked Faye.

“We’re assuming the killer got in the same way that he got out. This was called in as a break-in by the security company. When the uniformed officers arrived on the scene, the front door was hanging open — or what goes for the front door here.

“So the victim looked like he was caught asleep. Everything suggests he was. The food looked slept in and he was in pajama bottoms when he was found.”

“The report says there were no signs of forced entry and we didn’t see a way for that door to be opened remotely,” said Faye.

She stopped to thin of a thing additional that she might be able to say that would help them with the case. Any avenue of thought that might lead to clues.

“So the security company called it in as break-in of sorts?”

“Yeah, so that means the killer triggered the alarm by leaving out of the front door. That’s what I’m thinking. Now the issue is, how did the killer get in? There are no security issues anywhere else and security video on the front door showed only the victim entering the place. The video is distorted for the time when the alarm went off. You can see the door get opened and then there’s a blur and the door is left hanging open. About ten minutes later, the first uniformed officers arrived at the door.”

“Was there any forensics work done on the video to see if they could clear up the blur?”

“Yep, that was done. The video unit is motion censored but the frame rate is low. The gap causing the blur is due to the frame rate issues. The killer moved too fast to be caught because of that so we had no luck with any forensics manipulation.”

Jack and Faye did a cursory look at the outside of the building and did not come up with anything new there either. They got into the SUV and headed towards the Judge’s house. They spent even less time there. The place yielded no positive results for them so they left.

Jack was about to take the long ride to the suburbs to the last residence but thought better of it. It was starting to sprinkle snow and ice mixed. He did not want to risk the drive, even in the large SUV. He did not think that it was worth the risk. Jack figured that if anything was there to be found, another day would make little difference at this point. Any additional clues or evidence would still have to be processed. The chances of them being able to find any additional clues or evidence at the house of the attorney were minimal at best.

At this point, Jack felt like they were checking the boxes and not actually performing any real police work. They were going to need something else to go on to get ahead on this.

“Let’s go grab a bite to eat. What’re you in the mood for, Faye?” asked Jack.

“What’s close?”

“We can sit down or take it to go, so it’s either slow and easy or fast and greasy.”

“I’m partial to fast and greasy,” said Faye grinning.

She had a smile on her face akin to when a kid finds out that they are going to get fries, a burger, and a milk shake. Jack thought it was an appropriate look for her right then because he was going to take her somewhere where he could get her some fries, a burger, and a delicious milk shake.

Jack had an idea of where he wanted to take them. It was a burger dive that was

not that far from where they currently were. The food was inexpensive and abundant and the place did not look so bad. The food was top notch, the milk shakes were hand spun, and the coffee was amazing. That was what Jack was really interested in right then. Jack would have suggested that they go to the same place even if Faye had told him that she was wanting the slow and easy route. He loved the coffee and again, the food was not half bad either.

They pulled up right to the front of the place. Jack threw the SUV into a parking spot, put the transmission into park and got out. Faye got out on her side and they made their way on into the eating establishment.

“The burgers smell great,” said Faye once they got into the warmth of the store.

“They taste great too,” said Jack.

Jack pointed to a small table tucked off to the side and situated at the back of the restaurant.

“Let’s sit there.”

Jack pulled out a chair for Faye and pushed her in after she was comfortably seated. Jack sat across from her with his back to the wall, facing her. Faye was aware of the meaning that might be behind the maneuver but she said nothing about it at first. It was typically something that someone did when they felt uncomfortable with their back to open spaces. Most times, it was soldier’s returning from war zones and suffering from PTSD that did it. Other times, it was done by individuals who were wary of exposing their backs and were on guard at all times.

“Post traumatic stress disorder?” Faye finally prompted.

“Huh?” muttered Jack.

He had not really been paying attention to her. He had been absorbed in scanning their surroundings. This, Faye had seen and this is what prompted her to ask the question that she would have otherwise left alone had Jack not scanned his surroundings so intently.

“I said, PTSD?”

“What?” asked Jack again.

“You picked this table so that you could put your back to the wall and keep people from moving behind you. And you also did it so that you could see the front door as well,” said Faye, pointing around them and then finally at the front door that they had just entered.

“Oh…yeah. It’s a holdover from Iraq, not the police force. Been twenty years now, give or take, and I’m still doing it.”

“Hyper vigilance is a curse and a blessing in our line of work.”

“Tell me about it. This job changes you and shapes you into someone else eventually. You end up staying on your toes even when you don’t intend to.”

“It’s harder for someone like me,” said Faye with a sad and far away look in her eyes.

“How so?”

Faye let out a dry laugh. There was no humor in it at all though and Jack picked up on that rather quickly. The dry laugh was full of bile and frustration.

“When you’re small like me and look like someone’s teenaged kid, it gets hard to be taken seriously. Once you add ‘female’ on top of all of that, you get insufferable males who think that they have to be your knight in shining armor and protect you while trying to do your job for you.”

“Is that why you’re overcompensating?” asked Jack, indicating her choice of sidearms by pointing at the both of them hanging in their holsters on her sides.

Faye shook her head no.

“The only reason that I’m ‘overcompensating’ with these cannons, as you put it, is because I’m small and everyone is bigger than me. I’d rather not have to worry about getting into something physical with a suspect. If I have to draw my guns on them and use them, I want them to stay down.”

“Damn,” said Jack with a little nervous laugh.

Jack was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He knew that if one of those guns were shot and she hit her target, the calibre of those guns would make it easily known that the target was definitely going to have a bad rest of the day and was definitely not getting back up. Jack watched as Faye ed him in a laugh.

“I’m serious about that, you ass,” said Faye.

She swung at him from across the table and missed when he quickly reacted and moved out of the way of her punch. She almost hit the waiter that just suddenly appeared at her side. The waiter laughed off the miss just as the both of them did. The waiter took their order and went off to place it in the system so that the kitchen could start cooking what they ordered. Faye waited until they were alone again before she continued speaking.

“As I was saying,” she finally began again. “I could out do any of the male cadets in endurance and in most physical activities but I was terrible at hand to hand combat training. The instructor told me once, ‘girl, you’re too light in the ass to be doing this without some kind of backup plan in place.’.”

“Well that was an ignorant thing to say, as well as being overtly sexist to say. Did you report him to his superiors?”

“No, I didn’t report ‘her’ to her superiors,” said Faye with a chuckle that blossomed into a grin that spread easily across her face.

She made light of the situation as she recalled the memories of that time in her life.

“She was right, though. I am too light in the ass to be trying to take on suspects in hand to hand combat so I specialized in weapons training instead — you know, to compensate for my flaw.”

Both Jack and Faye were amused.

“Well, don’t forget, we’ve got a date in the ring tomorrow morning. I don’t want to hear crap about that hand to hand stuff as an excuse to get out of it because it ain’t happening, Faye.”

“And I don’t want you to have a heart attack in the ring when you’re in there facing me. You better put your big boy panties on and suck it up. Deal with it like a man — wearing panties.”

Jack and Faye laughed yet again. Jack realized he liked being around Faye because she made it easy for him to be around her. It felt good to get to know a little bit more about her and she of him as well. It felt good to laugh together in a friendly way.

Their food arrived a little while after that and Jack stared in amazement at the petite woman seated across from him as she got down to business. She got serious and devastated her meal. She put away her burger and two baskets of the endless fries that came with their meals, well before declaring that she was done

and full. That devastation was not limited just to the burger and endless fries that came with the meal. She murdered two of the large milkshakes with ease as well. Jack had to wonder where the hell Faye was storing the stuff because she was not putting it in her pockets. He also had to wonder at how she stayed fit eating the way she did.

CHAPTER FIVE

JACK GOT TO the gym in high spirits. He was looking forward to his workout this morning with Faye. He had an idea of what they would do during the session and he made sure that he blocked out the time that he wanted for them to use the ring. He set out the rest of the equipment and gear that they were going to use. He was pleasantly surprised when he finished getting things ready. Faye as there and ready to begin at their agreed starting time.

Faye came to the gym, ready to get started. She took off her coat and stored her things in one of the lockers. She was wearing a sports bra and biking shorts because she expected that she would soon Abe working up a sweat with Jack. She ed him over at the treills so that they could begin their cardio workout with a two mile run.

Jack went shirtless and Faye actually appreciated that. She was partial to watching his muscular form. She had to it that much. He was easy and so she had problems getting her eyes off of him. It was easier to watch and ire his form when he got the gloves on her and he picked up the pads. It was expected that she look at him.

He showed her how to set her stance and how to throw her punches. He took the time to go through combination drills with her and show her how to read punches and avoid them. She was a quick study. She knew that skill was not easily attained and was not under any false belief that she would master boxing at the conclusion of the session. Faye had studied hand to hand combat in many forms but was new to boxing.

Faye and Jack got into the ring and he let her throw some punches so that she could gt a feel of what with a real body felt like. Jack took her punches with ease and a lot of that had to do with the fact that Faye was holding back her true strength. A lot of the reason why Jack was able to take all of her half strength punches so easily was because she did not have a lot of mass to put behind her punches. Jack felt that for what he had in mind for her, Faye was doing a great job. Her form was no where near perfect as a beginning boxer but she had promise and a fantastic body to look at.

They both were feeling that the session was worth it by the time that they ended it. They took the time to finish getting ready for the day. They both showered in the separate facilities provided by the police station gym. They got dressed and met up in Jack’s office so that they could get to work. Jack took them both out to the site of the first murder so that they could canvas the neighborhood. It was pretty easy for them to complete that task because it was an area filled with warehouses. No real neighbors existed. Not any neighbors in the traditional sense that they were thinking.

The second scene allowed them to conduct a more traditional canvas of neighbors. The results were just as they were for the previous canvas that had been conducted in the area. The neighbors had seen nothing unusual or suspicious on the night in question and had not noticed anything since then that would be considered out of the ordinary for the neighborhood. There had been an increase in the police presence driving through the neighborhood, but that had been about the extent of any significant changes.

Jack and Faye went back to the office so that they could call on known colleagues of the victims to see if any one of them could recall something that would be helpful. This was the grunt work that yielded with real results in police work. Going out and canvassing and making phone calls. Even getting hotlines to generate leads was part of the grunt work as well. These techniques had been used for years in basic police work and were time tested and honored. Non of

this helped to give the hoped for break that could be used to wrap up the cases.

After a fruitless morning, they returned back to the files and took everything from the beginning again. At around noon, a figure harkened at the door to Jack’s office. The orphaned individual had dark read hair that hung in loose ringlets around her chubby cheeks. The red headed orphan stood there for some time with her hands planted firmly on her hips. She was waiting for these individuals in the office to acknowledge her present. The red headed orphan found that she had to obnoxiously clear her throat to get the attention of the occupants of the office. It was a required course of action given how immersed the two individuals were in their discussion and always is of what they were look at.

“Ahem…,” Brooke intoned.

Jack was the first person to respond. He responded to the unexpected interruption by looking up at the source of that interruption.

“Hey, uncle Jackie,” she said as she came further into Jack’s office.

Jack broke into a big grin when he recognized who had just interjected themself into his office. He was not expecting to get a visitor to his office because he was not supposed to be in his office at that time.

“Hi, Brooke,” he replied. “Sorry, I lost track of time,” had finished saying.

Jack was looking at the clock on the wall while simultaneously closing the files on his desk. He stood up when he finished. Booke was standing before Jack’s desk by the time he got up from his chair. She was openly staring at Faye and took note of how closely they had been sitting together when she came in.

Faye looked at Jack with her unspoken query. Jack looked over, ready to answer. Faye wanted to know the identity of the teen standing in front of Jack’s desk. She wanted to know because the girl had called him Jackie and because the girl looked seriously similar to Jack in more than a few ways.

“Faye, this is my niece, Brooke,” said Jack.

He stacked the files up neatly on the corner of his desk. Faye stood up too and went to go and greet Brooke.

“Brooke,” said Jack as he turned towards the two of them. “This is my are partner, Faye.”

Brooke raised her eyes in shock and surprise at that statement. Brooke looked like she was actually ready to cry tears of joy. She looked at Faye as if the woman was a gift from heaven, an angel. A miracle even.

“You’re uncle Jackie’s partner?” asked Brooke incredulously.

Faye nodded yes in response.

“But how did this happen?” Brooke called out.

She turned to Faye and took both of her hands into her own.

“He’s such an ass!” exclaimed Brooke.

Jack stared, slack jawed, at this little demon child that was standing so near to him. He thought he smelled brimstone. He was shocked at what he had heard. He let out a loud groan because he could not figure out what else he should do.

Faye smiled at Brooke and said, “oh, I think he’s sweet.”

Faye and Brooke shared a look with each other. They tried to keep a straight face and remain serious. They tried and they failed. They both broke down and laughed hysterically.

Jack was delighted that both of the girls could bond together at the expense of his dignity. He felt that it was really okay. He had enough dignity to spare. Jack then got serious — sort of.

“That kind of talk isn’t necessary, young lady,” said Jack indignantly.

There was not much force in his words.

Brooke looked at her uncle Jack like he was crazy.

“You’re right, uncle Jackie, but that kind of talk wouldn’t be necessary if it wasn’t true.”

Jack harrumphed. He did not want to have a discussion like this with his fifteen year old niece. Not a discussion where he would have to justify being who he was.

Exasperated by the antics of his niece, Jack felt it was a lost cause to reprimand her anymore. He decided it would be easier to try another tactic, so he asked, “are you ready to go?”

Changing the subject seemed to be the right call. Brooke was so happy that she seemed to be glowing. Brooke kicked the duffle bag at her feet.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Where are you guys going?” asked Faye.

Brooke practically fell over herself in her haste to share what they were going to be doing with someone else.

“Uncle Jackie and I are going to the family cain up in the mountains for a few days. It only took me a few weeks to convince him to leave off of work and

spend time with his favorite niece.”

“My only niece,” Jack corrected.

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Brooke asked as she looked at Faye for . “I could’ve sworn I said that.”

“That’s what I heard, Brooke,” said Faye in agreement.

“Uncle Jackie and I are going to get some fresh mountain air and go for a trek, if the trails are clear enough.”

“In the snow?” asked Faye.

“We’ve got snow shoes and it’s good exercise. Plus it’s about the only real time I get to spend with my niece Brooke,” said Jack.

He came over and greeted his niece with a bear hug.

“What are you doing this weekend, Faye?” Brooke asked her.

Jack looked over at Faye to see what she would say in response. Jack had not thought that his niece would ask a question like that. He found that his curiosity

was piqued as he imagined what Faye would possibly do in her free time. She was from out of town and probably was not familiar enough with the city to have actually planned any activities for herself over the weekend. If she had asked him, he realized he would not have been much help. He was from the city and did not have a clue what activities were out there and available for single people to do.

“I was actually just going to stay in my room for the rest of the weekend.”

Brooke looked at Faye and rolled her eyes dramatically.

“There is no way we’re going to let you do something so boring and pedestrian when you can just come with us.”

Brooke gazed lovingly at her uncle. Jack could feel the request coming.

“Can she please come with us?” Brooke asked, pleading with her uncle.

Jack knew he would not be able to do anything but agree. He did not get the chance to do so though.

“I was going to order in and watch television too. Can you top that?” Faye asked Brooke, playfully.

“While watching television sounds like fun, I think you should come with me

and uncle Jackie. I’m sure he won’t mind and there is plenty of space up at the cabin for you to have your own room.”

“I don’t know…,” began Faye before she paused and looked pleadingly at Jack.

Faye did not want to come in between the time that Jack was going to be spending with his niece. She did not want to be a burden or a bother to him.

Jack shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t mind and I’m fine with it if you are.”

Faye smiled and nodded. She was really happy. She had not really wanted to be stuck in a hotel room for the weekend and figured that this just might be fun to hang out with Jack for the weekend. She could get to learn a different side of him than the guarded side she, and the rest of the world got.

“Alright, if you’re okay with me ing you guys for the weekend, then I’m going to need to stop by my room and get some clothes,” said Faye.

Jack packed his bag and Brooke’s bags in his SUV. The three of them piled in and Jack took off down the road. The first stop that Jack made was to the hotel where Faye was staying. She left the vehicle at the entrance of the hotel and went inside quickly. She went to her room and packed a bag with the things she believed that she would need for the weekend. She was back downstairs, and in the vehicle ready to go, in about twenty minutes. They took off after that and headed off towards the mountains.

The ride up into the mountains was pleasant enough. The girls laughed and joked and Jack got to see a side of Faye that he had yet to see since she began working with him. He had already seen her in a more relaxed setting when they were having the pizza and beer together but this was different. He was able to see her actually laughing with someone else and lighting up in the process. It was nice to see and Jack was just the smallest bit irked that he had to keep more of his attention focused on the road instead of on Faye.

During the trip, Faye learned that Brooke’s father was Jack’s identical twin brother. He had ended up dying in a car accident just before Jack redeployed back from one of his combat tours in Iraq. This was also just before Brooke had been born, so the only way she had ever gotten to know anything close about her father was from how her uncle acted. His mannerisms, according to Elizabeth, were so much like his twin brother’s so that even Elizabeth had to acknowledge the fact that Brooke could get to at least know some of what her father was like by being around her only uncle.

Jack’s brother James had married an Irish girl. She had the stereotypical, traditional looks associated with people of Irish descent. She had signature red hair, pale and fair skin with freckles and green eyes. These traits ended up explaining to Faye why Brook did not resemble many bi-racial children. Faye noted that Brooke’s hair had more red in it and her eyes were green and she assumed that color was the same as her mother’s. It was a fair assumption and was accurate, to say the least.

Faye and Brook ended up hitting it off famously, as far as Jack was concerned. He could not have been more thorough in his assessment of how well the two girls where getting along with each other. To Jack’s chagrin though, he had to spend the entire drive up the mountain roads enduring girl talk. He had to listen to their secret giggles that he firmly believed were at his expense. The girls could not convince him otherwise of that. But all in all, he did enjoy the drive up the mountainside with his company and they he.

The mountain air was brisk, refreshing, and crisp. They were all ready to get out of the car when they arrived. Faye had taken the time to change out of her pencil skirt and into a pair of jeans when they stopped at her hotel to allow her to pack a bag for the weekend get away. Brook had come ready. She was dressed for the day she was wanting to have. This left Jack as the only one of the three of them not dressed for a planned think on the snowy trails.

Jack took all of the bags into the house. He took the time he needed to change from slacks and into blue jeans. The girls had brought in the groceries that Jack had purchased for the get away. He took the time to start a crock pot cooking with what they would eventually have for dinner that night. The girls were outside, enjoying the air and the view by the time that Jack got back outside.

Jack went to the lean-to shed connected to the side of the cabin. He got the snow shoes that they were going to need to make the hike and ed them out. They got the snow shoes on and went out on the trail to begin their hike. The trail cut through the woods surrounding the cabin and led up into the mountains.

The three of them spent the rest of the early evening walking, talking, and looking at the expanse of nature around them. They genuinely enjoyed their sojourn through and along the snowy mountain trails.

When the trio got back to the cabin, Jack took a shower first. He took his shower first so that the girls could get more time and he could get Tinto the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. He had started them a nice beef stew that was smelling delicious and was about ready. All that was really left for him to prepare were the dinner rolls and rice that they would have with the stew. He added a spiked, spiced apple cider to the stove to warm so that they could enjoy that after dinner while sitting in front of the fireplace and talking.

Prior to Jack getting started in the kitchen, Brooke came in to talk to him. She had not gotten into the shower yet. She was on her way to the shower though, but she needed to find out which room her uncle had placed her bags in and where his bag was.

“My bag is in the second bedroom to the right. I put yours in the loft and Faye’s bag is in the first bedroom.”

“Thanks,” said Brooke before she kissed her uncle on the cheek and disappeared.

Jack figured that Brooke was going to snag one of his sweatshirts to lounge around in after she was done in the shower. Jack’s guess was not off the mark. Brooke had indeed purloined his college sweatshirt. Brook had eloquently adorned her petite Fram with his sweatshirt. This topped a pair of shorts that Jack fervently prayed and hoped that Brooke never wore out in public because of how skimpy they were.

What Jack had not expected — and what had pleasantly surprised him — is what he saw just a little after he saw his niece. Faye was in one of Jack’s button down shirts. She had to roll up the sleeves in order to use her hands. Where Brooke had come bouncing into the kitchen, Faye had hesitantly poked her head around the corner and into the kitchen. She smiled at Jack and made his night that much better with that small action.

“I hope you don’t mind. I borrowed one of your shirts to sleep in. I forgot to grab myself something to sleep in when I hurriedly packed my bag earlier.”

“Oh, I don’t mind.”

Jack really did not mind. He did not mind at all. Jack rather liked seeing Faye wearing his shirt and had to it to himself that he found the look to be very attractive on her. The shirt was big on her and came down just to her knees. Her jet black hair was flowing freely down her back.

The three of them ate dinner at the kitchen table before they went out to sit in front of the fire. They brought out their mugs of the spiked, spiced apple cider and sat and sipped as they chatted. Jack noticed that his niece had become quite talkative after she began drinking.

After Brooke partook of the one cup, she found that she was unable to stay awake. She was ready to retire early because she could not stay up as long as the present company. After twenty minutes in front of the fire, she ended up being comfortably settled, with her head nestled on her uncle’s lap. Faye sat on the far side of the sofa, at Brooke’s feet.

Jack gently roused his niece. When he was certain that enough of her was actually conscious enough to follow his instructions, he sent her off to bed.

Brooke leaned over and kissed her uncle on the forehead after she wrote up from the couch. Brooke then left Jack and Faye to talk the night away as she shuffled off to bed. Even though she had drunk the alcoholic beverage, Jack was confident that she would be alright. He had not put a significant amount of alcohol into the brew when he made it.

Faye watched Brooke going off to the back of the cabin. The lights were off and the only source of illumination was the fire, so Faye would have lost sight of Brooke quickly as she moved down the hall. Faye heard Brooke climb the

ladder, a door open and then close and knew that Brooke had made it to the room with no issue, despite the lack of light.

Faye was intent on the fire when Brooke was no longer a concern she could focus on. She held the mug in both hands and close enough to her face where she could enjoy the rich aroma of apples and spices. Faye could tell that Jack had put cinnamon and nutmeg into the mug. She watched as the flames consumed the fuel offered in the form of the wooden logs. The crackle of the flames filled the comfortable silence that surrounded the both of them.

Jack thought the light from the fire reflected off of Faye’s raven tresses. He could have sworn that the space that they occupied was too small because even with the distance between them on the couch, he could feel her presence. Each breath that she took seemed to be his own breath. He was so lost in his thoughts of her that he did not hear what she had just said to him.

“What did you say?” Jack asked sheepishly.

“I said I envy your relationship with her. She really loves you.”

“I’m the only male figure in her life.”

“I don’t have that in my life.”

“A male role model, or a male — period?” Jack asked.

No sooner than Jack had asked that question, he felt like he should not have asked Faye that question. He really wanted to know the answer and hoped that she would provide it though. Before Faye could reply, Jack stood up and took her mug away from her.

Jack was using the action as a way to deflect. He was trying to make like he had never asked the question in the first place. He was trying to give her the reason she might need to act as if he had never asked the question in the first place.

“Would you like a refill of your mug?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Faye was not certain if she should give a response to the question that Jack had asked. It was not as if it was top secret information and it would not hurt her if Jack knew. She was still trying to put an understanding on how she was feeling about Jack anyway. Faye felt that it might actually help her understand her feelings by giving Jack the answer.

Jack walked into the kitchen and refilled both of their mugs. He saw Faye stand up and stretch. The bottom of the shirt went up to her waist and he saw her panties. He was confused and did not know what he was doing with Faye.

“The answer to both of those questions is a resounding — no,” Faye called out to Jack.

Jack was not certain if he should be happy that she had answered the question but he was happy to hear what she said. Jack returned to the living room bearing the mugs of cider. He gave Faye back her mug. Faye had sat back down on the sofa and pulled her legs up. Her legs were tucked up under her with her arm resting on the arm rest. Her eyes were fixed on her mug held firmly in her hand. She sat quietly and Jack sat back down next to her.

“You have a fascination with my legs, don’t you?” Faye asked in a small voice.

“How did you…,” began Jack.

Faye cut him off before he could finish his statement.

“I can feel your eyes roaming over my body,” she laughed. “Go ahead and look. I don’t mind. In fact, I’m flattered because it’s you looking.”

Silence slipped back in between them delicately, like a sleeping, newborn infant. Jack’s face felt flush with the heat of the blood rushing to his cheeks. His dark chocolate complexion made it difficult to tell that he was blushing but regardless of that fact, he was.

Faye took a deep breath. She leaned forward and deposited her mug of apple cider on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she said softly.

Faye rotated her body. She turned on the sofa until her back was facing towards Jack. She leaned back until she was laying with her head in Jack’s lap. Jack was surprised but he did not complain. He would have been a fool to complain at a beautiful woman wanting to be close to him. Jack also did not resist when she pulled his right arm down off of the back of the sofa and pulled it around her.

“I’m sorry. I know we’ve only just met a few days ago but I just needed this and right now felt like the perfect opportunity. I feel kind of really safe with having you close by me.”

“Thank you,” whispered Jack.

Jack may have been taken a little unawares with what was transpiring but he was game. Jack found that he did not mind this much intimacy with someone he had only just recently met. He knew he already liked her. He was fine with their current situation, if it meant the he could get to know more about Faye as a result of it.

Jack was staring down at her eyes while she stared up into his. He had the impression that even more intimacy between them would not be overstepping his bounds. He gathered up the courage to kiss her on her forehead just as he had with Brooke. He leaned down, intent on planting a soft kiss on Faye’s forehead but at the last minute, she shifted her head upwards and his lips ended up gently on hers. They held the kiss the mere briefest of moments before Jack broke it off and came up. He was embarrassed and on top of that, felt that he had overstepped his bounds.

Faye made it clear with her devilish smile that Jack had done just what she had

wanted him to do. She knew that Jack was aiming for her forehead with that kiss and she moved to intercept it because she wanted it on her lips instead.

“It’s okay. I didn’t mind that,” she said as a shadow of a look of shame quickly ed over Jack’s face as he looked away from her.

Jack decided to let it go because she had made it clear that what had just happened was wanted. He thought about Faye again and decided that he wanted to know more about her. He decided to stay along his initial line of inquiry since she had already shared once on that topic.

“Does your job keep you from finding a relationship that works?” Jack asked.

Jack’s right hand rested beneath both of Faye’s hands and on her belly. He played idlely in her hair with his left hand. Jack was playfully running his fingers through her silky, ebony tresses now that he felt more comfortable being in physical with her in this situation.

Faye laced the fingers of her left hand through the fingers of Jack’s right hand.

“It’s a lot more complicated than that,” said Faye without offering any further clarification.

“Could it be that you’re dedicating too much time to the office?” Jack asked in a half serious manner.

“It’s not that, it’s just that I have obligations and commitments. My job requires all of my time.”

Faye’s features softened into a sad expression. A melancholy cloud ed over her angelic looking face. For a moment, Jack was able to see how much pressure was weighing down on her. The look ed and Jack felt like he had just gotten a glimpse inside of a door that he should have at least tried to open. When Jack failed to recognize that moment in enough time, the moment slipped away. The moment was now and Jack felt that if he asked after the things that moment held right now, it would probably push Faye further away than he would have wanted her to go. As things were in this minute, that was definitely the last thing in the world that he wanted to happen.

Faye did not seem to be aware of what Jack had just experienced. In fact, Faye was feeling that this was the moment that she needed to see where things could possibly go between them. If there was something there at all. If it was worth it for her to pursue it. She knew that a decision, one way or another, was necessary and that one of those choices would mean that she would enter into a whole new world that she had never been in before.

Faye had taken his right hand and slipped it under the shirt that she was wearing. Jack’s fingers danced nimbly, playfully, and merrily on Faye’s smooth, alabaster skin. His touch caused her to tremble and shiver. His touch sent tremors through her body. Jack was able to confirm what he had already suspected. He confirmed that Faye was not wearing a bra, she was only wearing panties beneath the shirt. Her erect nipples changed the contour of the soft cotton material of the shirt as it lay across her chest. Faye placed the palm of her right hand to Jack’s face.

“What about you? Why aren’t you in a relationship?” Faye asked.

Jack waited before he answered and the momentary silence that had filled that space allowed them to hear the beating of each other’s hearts.”

“I don’t know,” Jack said, pausing in the meantime to gather more of his thoughts. “Maybe I’m not ready to…”

Faye interrupted him.

“Shh,” she whispered.

She placed her other hand on his free, opposite cheek and pulled him closer so that she could kiss him.

Their tongues met and retreated as if they were scared. Their lips slipped across one another, giving their tongues time to quell their fear and meet back up again with each other. Faye drew strength from the kiss, even though she felt herself growing weak against her resolve to take things slow. Jack could feel a fire igniting in his soul. The heat of that flame lit the fires of his physical desires. Faye felt dangerously close to trying to take more from the moment than she knew that she should so she broke free from the kiss.

They settled into a comfortable silence, continuing to gaze at one another across the limited space between their faces. They both could hear the soft breaths, coming quickly, of the other. Faye decided that she had gone as far as she could for the moment without losing control so she decided to talk about something else with Jack.

“I talked with your niece,” she said finally. “She told me that you spend just about all of your free time with her. Could it be that you’re using her as a shield so that you can stay emotionally unavailable to any other woman?”

Jack had gotten back to within an inch of having close the gap necessary to kiss Faye again. He stopped. If Jack was truthful to himself, he would have told Faye that she was right but he did not want to it that to himself and he did not want to it that truth to her either. Jack leaned back and then moved so that he could help Faye sit up. Her hands slipped from his cheeks as their positions on the sofa changed.

“When was the last time you were in a relationship with someone other than your sister and your niece? Any relationship?”

Jack did not answer so Faye pressed on with a followup question.

“I’m actually willing to try because I like you, Jack. Even though it would be extremely complicated for me. So, does this have anything to do with your brother ing away while you were deployed? Do you feel like you have to be a surrogate father to Brooke because your brother died before she was born?”

“No,” said Jack after a lengthy silence. “This has nothing to do with my brother James, Elizabeth, or my niece Brooke.”

Jack was a little confused about what he wanted to do at this point. He wanted to sit there and hold Faye, kiss Faye, and Fondle Faye — he did not want to discuss what they were talking about right then. He did not want Faye to think that he was rejecting her either but this line of discussion was causing him to put his

walls up.

“I think I should say goodnight,” he finally said.

Faye was uncertain about what had just happened right then. She wore a confused look on her face. Faye had no real idea of what she had said or done, exactly, that had made Jack decide that he should stop altogether. She did not know what made him back off and decide to turn in for the night.

Jack chose not to explain himself to Faye before he went to bed. Jack ended up confusing Faye even further by kissing her on her forehead before he went off to bed in his room. That same gesture ended up causing Jack the same amount of confusion as he felt that the kiss came across as forced.

The next day, things were not necessary awkward between he and Faye but it was clear to Faye that he was avoiding any situation that would leave him alone with her. He did not talk about the previous night’s events either.

They headed back to the city on Sunday morning after a clumsy Saturday of avoidance. The entire trip back to civilization had him reminiscing about what had occurred between him and Faye. On one hand, he was beating himself up for missing an opportunity to really get closer to the woman that had piqued his interest so. On the other hand, he was hesitant about opening himself up again after the things that had occurred in his past. There was a lot of emotional baggage that he had packed away and never took back out of his mental closet once he finished putting it in the box it was in. He knew that eventually he was going to have to sort out the contents of that box and deal with what was inside but he was not ready to do that just yet.

Seeing Faye sitting in the enger seat beside him did not make things easy for him on the ride home. She sat quietly, staring at the ing scenery outside of the window of the vehicle, while he sat ruminating on what could have been and why he was so hesitant to find out.

There was little that he could do to amend what had occurred on that night. He felt it would take a more detailed discussion than he was ready to have with Brooke sitting in the back seat of the vehicle. There were things that he could not discuss with Faye while Brooke occupied that spot behind him. He was just not comfortable enough with that idea to pursue it directly at that point.

The drive was anything but peaceful. He was sure that Brooke had noticed the tension between the two of them during the last day at the cabin and now in the car with them sitting in a space where neither could avoid the other. Brooke was a smart girl and he was very certain that Brooke would pick up on the fact that something had happened between them that pushed them to this current separation.

Jack stared at Brooke in the rearview mirror to see if he could determine what was on her mind. She had headphones on and was also staring out the window of the vehicle at the ing scenery. There was nothing that he could tell from the way that she was currently acting.

Jack drove them directly over to Faye’s hotel. She got out and said the appropriate goodbye’s and got the appropriate responses from all that remained in the vehicle. She watched as Jack drove off with Brooke. Jack could see this in the rearview mirror as he pulled away from the entrance of the hotel. He went to his sister’s house to drop off his niece.

CHAPTER SIX

JACK WANTED TO see those lab results. His mind was locked onto work and what he still had left to accomplish, the only problem was — one, it was now Sunday and the results would not be available to him until Monday; and two, he was as Elizabeth’s house; and three, he had promised to keep his niece for the weekend and he was just returning from that trip; and finally, he was recovering from his encounter with Faye during that weekend spent together. Things with Faye had gotten spectacularly out of hand and almost beyond a working relationship.

“You’re thinking about work right now, aren’t you?” Elisabeth inquired. Jack was sitting on a chair outside on the patio, staring off into the distance. He stared up at his sister, accepting a hot cup of coffee from her and watching her sit down beside him.

The day was cold outside and Jack was drifting inside in his thoughts like the wind blew the snow drifts and drove them outside. The air still had a slight bite to it but there was enough warmth that they could sit outside for a few moments and enjoy the first days of fall.

He tried to put aside his thoughts of work and enjoy the day while he still could but he kept coming back to the same thing — he wanted that lab report. He wanted to that it was the same guy he was dealing with from the first two murders.

“Hello,” called Elizabeth, “earth to Captain Jack, earth to Captain Jack.”

“Hmm, yeah, I hear ya. I’ll come back down to earth,” Jack replied.

“Good, cause I don’t think you’ll be good company for your niece if you’re lost in space for the rest of the day,” Elisabeth said mildly. “Besides, we both know that she’s the only woman in your life right now.”

Elisabeth took the jab, knowing full well that Jack was struggling with his feelings about Faye. He did not tell her. She could easily pick it up from how he was acting around her and when she was spoken of in his presence.

“That’s not true,” Jack growled.

Elizabeth sat her coffee aside and looked at her brother. The disbelief was evident on her face. Jack knew immediately where this conversation was headed and was not about to help it along. In fact, he did not want anything to do with it. This weekend had been hard enough on him with what had occurred between he and Faye.

Jack picked up his coffee and walked into the house. He stepped up to a bar stool, next to the counter, and sat down. His sister was close behind, stepping on his heels while following him into the house.

Elizabeth rounded the corner and entered the kitchen so that she could owe on the other side of the counter and face Jack. She was the motherly type in their

family, now that it was just the two of them. She was the one who looked after him when he would not look after himself, at least when it came to keeping a healthy relationship with others. That was all she cared about and that had been the reason why she continued to hound him about getting into a real relationship that was good for him. Instead of taking her advice, he had slighted her.

Elizabeth wore a weak frown on her face. Same did not like it. She looked put upon and he knew if was from his abruptness at coming back into the house so quickly.

‘Oh, well,’ Jack thought, ‘and besides, I was bored of being outside and cold anyway. There was a slight chill in the air.’

Jack tried to convince himself of this in a sorry attempt to keep from feeling bad about hurting his sister-in-law’s feelings. It was not working. She was too damn good at making him dance to her tune. Just like all the women in his life. He would eventually give in to her, as he always did. That was what sister were for anyway, to make their brothers feel bad about not doing what they were asked to do in the first place.

“You can’t keep running away from me, Jack,” she said with a stern but gentle tone in her voice.

Jack turned in the stool to look into the living room. His niece was sitting on the floor with her computer doing something he would never be able to figure out without her explaining it to him in simple . Elizabeth was right. Brooke was the only woman in his life and as much as he hated to it it, she was the only one that he had ever wanted until Faye came into the picture.

His past relationships had come crashing headlong into his career and his sense of duty and when pressed to choose, he chose the later instead of the former. His niece would never ask him to give up his career or beg for more time with her uncle. That was good enough to keep him going.

Elizabeth was well aware of his frustration of not having the other thing that he wanted right then.

“I’ll get you the report as soon as I can. The shop is barely manned on the weekend, as you well know. We’ve already got things we’re trying to work on and your case will get looked at as soon as possible.”

Jack turned back around and smiled weakly at his sister. She was the head of the Forensics Department at the police statin and had been so for as long as he had been in the police force. How she had managed to get married, lose a husband, and still raise Brooke while progressing in her career baffled the hell out of him.

“I guess I’ll just have to be satisfied with that,” said Jack as he put down the half empty coffee cup on the counter. “I guess what’s really bothering me is the increasing aggressiveness of the perpetrator. What kind of person would do the things that he’s done?”

Elizabeth thought about that for a few minutes before she chose to respond to the question.

“You’re right. You don’t really need the lab results to figure out it’s the same person. I don’t understand it either. It takes a lot of strength to tear a human limb from limb, and this last victim was in pieces. There’s no way this perp can be

sane.”

Elizabeth made her way out of the kitchen and sat down at the center beside Jack. They sat in silence, looking at Brooke sitting in the living room before she spoke again.

“I know this is bothering you. We’ll catch this guy. You also have this thing with Faye that you’ve got to deal with.”

Jack sighed heavily and leaned over and kissed Elizabeth on the cheek. He did not know specifically that Elizabeth was cognizant of his feelings about Faye but he should have known better than to assume that she would not catch on quickly.

“I don’t even want to know how you knew about my feelings about Faye,” said Jack.

Elizabeth just smiled and changed the subject and said, “Well, I’ll put my best people on your case for you on Monday and we’ll get you an answer and more information by the afternoon on whether or not it’s the same perpetrator, but I’, pretty sure that it is. I’ve already seen the preliminary results.”

Jack smiled for the first time that afternoon and said, “thank you.”

“Don’t thank me,” Elizabeth replied with a smile of her own. “You’ve got to get your mind off that case and worry about this new girl in your life. Your niece was also grateful for the time that she spent together this weekend with her

favorite uncle and she liked Faye, by the way.”

Jack slipped off of the bar stool and made his way to the living room to his niece, Brooke.

“I’m her only uncle, so of course I’m her favorite,” Jack said with a laugh.

His niece was the most precious thing in the world to him. He was halfway across the room when he sneezed once, without warning, which prompted him to stop dead in his tracks.

Elizabeth stood up and walked up beside him. She looked him in the eyes to make sure he was alright.

“Bless you,” she said.

She continued to watch him closely for any indication that he would sneeze again. The he did not, she smiled pleasantly again.

“I was afraid that you’d notice. It took longer than I expected though.”

Jack looked at her with a puzzled look on his face.

He scrunched up his face and squinted at her before asking, “what are you talking about?”

“The cat is in the living room,” said Elizabeth as she kept watching Jack for another reaction.

Jack was not allergic to cats, per se, but he would sneeze a few times until he got used to them being around.

“Why is the ‘cat from hell’ out here?” he asked while looking around the living room to see where the animal was and saw it perched on the back of the couch peering at him intently.

“He didn’t want to go back to her room and he raised a fuss when she tried to take him back. I guess he knew that you were here.”

“I’m allergic to cats.”

“You’re not allergic,” Elizabeth said grinning devilishly, “you just don’t like him and I don’t know why, but every time that you’re around him, you sneeze a few times and then its over.”

Jack stared at the cat a few moments before he caught Brooke smiling up at him, at which point, he went over to kiss her on the top of her head. He was not two steps into the living room before the cat growled menacingly at him.

Elizabeth stopped him before he went further into the room. She stepped in front of Jack and kept her eyes on the cat.

“I don’t know what it is between you two but he’s so damn protective of Brooke when you’re around. When he set his eyes on her, he decided he was going to protect her from every male he saw.”

She tried to alleviate Jack’s unease in the presence of the large cat.

“I really don’t know why he won’t let any guy near her and at times like those, he won’t let anyone but Brooke touch him. I think we should call Brooke out into the kitchen if you want to get close to her,” said Elizabeth.

Jack could not have said it any better and agreed with her wholeheartedly about getting Brooke out of the presence of the cat.

“You should have gotten a dog,” said Jack.

Elizabeth called Brooke into the kitchen and excused herself to go and do some chores in the rest of the house. Jack scooped Brooke up in his arms and gave her a big hug so that he could leave and go home for the rest of the day. He still had things on his mind that he was dealing with and one was the case he was working, the other was Faye.

“I had fun with you this weekend, Brooke.”

Brooke’s eyes widened and she said, “oh, so it was only me that you had fun with this weekend?”

Jack knew what Brooke was getting at.

“I enjoyed being with Faye as well but that’s none of your concern.”

“Okay,” said Brooke with a laugh. “I’ll let it go. I love you and I really had fun this weekend. I do think that you should consider Faye a little bit more.”

Jack scrunched up his nose at her insistence in keeping his attention on Faye.

“You are just as bad as your mother. You two are always trying to fix my love life and thinking that I’m lonely. I’ve got you, that’s enough for me.”

“Yeah, okay. I saw the way that you looked at Faye.”

“Leave it, knucklehead,” said Jack as he ruffled her hair and got himself together to leave.

He kissed Brooke on the forehead again and then waved goodby at his sister Elizabeth as he took his leave from them. Elizabeth promised Jack again that she would get to work on the case when she got in to the office on Monday.

Jack had enjoyed the weekend with his niece. He also enjoyed that same time that he had gotten to spend with Faye. He was grateful to have had the opportunity to spend time with Brooke because they did not really get much time together lately because of her college studies. He appreciated her presence because being with her helped him to unwind from the stresses of work. His greatest joy over the weekend though, was the fact that she gave his mind some relief from mulling over the case that he was currently working on.

He was still smiling when he got home and opened the door to his home and went inside to get ready for the evening. By this time, thoughts of Faye were still floating around in the back of his mind. He ate, showered and went to bed early that night.

He dreamed that night of work. Walking into his office, only to find Faye there on the couch. In his dream, he sneezed as soon as he came into the office.

The small woman was balled up on the couch in his office. She had her naked feet kicked up under her. He head lay nestled in the crook of her arm and when he came into the office, he could have sworn that he heard what sounded like purring.

Jack watched her for a few seconds and noticed how evenly her body moved up and down as she breathed in and out. From the look of her lying on the couch, he had the impression that she was in a deep sleep. Even though he leaned towards thinking that she was asleep, he instinctively knew that she was well aware of his presence.

“Are you going to come in and close the door or just stand there and stare at me?” asked a soft voice.

It took Jack a moment to realize that it was Faye that had spoken. He was still under the impression that she was sound asleep. She sat up lazily and stretched her arms above her head. Jack noticed that the shirt that she was wearing was one of his own. When she stretched her arms up, the shirt rose up to reveal her flat belly and small waist. She was wearing only a pair of panties under the shirt. She swung her feet to the floor and took her time, soothing out the shirt before she looked up at him.

Faye stood there and studied him intently for what felt to him like hours but was no more or so less than a minute. Jack got the feeling that she had sized him up and had determined what she would have had to do to take him down. It was a slightly uncomfortable feeling for him, especially considering that in the next moment she slid closer to him just within the reach of his arms.

Faye did not give him a lot of time to figure out what was going on. She came over and stood on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around his neck as she leaned back and looked up into his eyes. The strength of her smile was enough to melt him.

He wanted to shy away from her but he was caught up by her, both physically and mentally. He had to it to himself that he was intimidated by her presence. She was attractive as well as smart and capable. His eyes never stayed still as they scanned her face.

Faye intentionally ignored the movement of Jack’s hands around her waist. She surreptitiously leaned her body into his. Jack could tell, just from her body language, that she was attracted to him. Jack attempted to hide his nervousness

by diverting his gaze. She intrigued him because she was unexpected, both her beauty and her apparent body language marked her as a formidable woman.

“Before we go any further, I just want to let you know that I can’t stop thinking about you,” said Faye. “This isn’t open for debate.”

Jack had a look of trepidation on his face. He was surprised by what she said, but not so surprised that he lost control of his wits.

“You might think that’s the case don’t really even know me. I don’t know if I can commit myself to working with you and liking you so much. I hope you don’t mind or take it personal.”

Faye leaned in closer and pulled Jack down so that she could whisper in his ear. His hands slid unnoticed down further along the sides of her body until they were at her hips.

“Go ahead and take the time that you need. I’ll wait.”

Faye leaned up closer and kissed Jack full on his lips and that’s when Jack woke up from the dream, panting hard from the intensity of the desire he felt pressing in on him. Across town, in a hotel room, Faye woke up, sitting in bed, from a similar dream and suffering from the same feelings.

CHAPTER SEVEN

JACK KNEW THAT there were some things that just had to be done and should be done. He knew that you should put on your socks before you put on shoes. He knew that you should put gas in your car before it gets to empty. Jack knew that you should stop at a red light. Jack was not one to tell anyone else that they could or could not forge their own path through life so these rules of ‘things that had to be done’ were not necessarily written in stone. Yuppies had been known to wear shoes without socks. Jack was not a yuppie so he was pretty sure that what he was on his way to do was one of the things that he considered had to be done. He had to make the awkwardness with Faye less — awkward.

Jack could not figure out why he was having to do things he did not want to do on crappy days recently. There had been the crappy day with the guy missing the head and arm and now there was this one. This time, at least, the weatherman had called it right. The snow was coming down decently enough to drive him mad again. He pulled up to the big window with the neon sign but this time, the sign was unlit. Jack did not care about that though, he just came to get the coffee.

Because there was the need for this early morning rendezvous, he knew he was not going to have a chance to do his usual morning routine and practice in the gym in the basement of the police station. As much as he loved that morning routine and depended on it to get him energized and ready for the day, he knew that this was not the day for it.

There were more important matters to deal with, more important things to do. A more important person for him to make himself available to so that he could try

and begin to set his world right. That world had recently opened up to him and he turned around and shut the door on it. He was hoping that he could get that door to open again and it did not lock when it was shut.

So Jack chose to forgo going to the gymnasium that morning so that he could meet up with Faye at her hotel. Hw was cutting it close because she had been recently going to the gymnasium in the basement of the police station to work out in the mornings as well. This morning he wanted to meet up with Faye and maybe take her out. Convince her to go get breakfast with him before they went into the office and got to work on the ase again. Jack had two cups of coffee in his hands that he had just picked up. The one cup for him and the one cup for her. For him, a coffee with two creams and two sugars. For her, straight black jet fuel.

It took Jack a bit of time to figure out how to press the elevator call button to get it to come down for the ride up. To be smart enough to become the lead detective, he sure felt dumb at the solution to the problem. He put his damn coffee cup on the ground, pressed the button, and picked his cup up again. A similar maneuver was performed inside of the elevator to select the floor that he needs. Jack chalked the faux pas up to the problem not needing detecting skills. Jack groaned when he realized his puns were pretty bad.

Jack did not have to use the cup down maneuver when he got to the door of Faye’s room. He tapped the door with his foot until he got a response from the inside. Jack heard fumbling around by someone approaching the door from inside the room. The door was eventually answered by Faye. She opened the door to find out who was knocking without first finding out who it was so that they were both surprised. She was surprised to see Jack so early in the morning and he was surprised to see what she was wearing.

Jack’s jaw hung slack as it dropped towards the floor. Jack stood there with his mouth gaping, not of Faye being in a revealing outfit or anything like that, but

because she was wearing the shirt that she had borrowed to sleep in when they were at the cabin. Jack thought that Faye had given the shirt back to him. Now he knew that she had not.

Faye saw how Jack was staring at her, easily enough. For a moment she did not understand why Jack was staring at her like that. She knew that she was not indecent — risqué, perhaps, but not indecent. Faye glanced down at herself to see what the problem might be.

“Do I have something on me?” she asked finally.

“No, it’s just…umm.”

“Oh,” she exclaimed. “Your shirt. I’m sorry. I kept it. I liked how comfortable it fit and I forgot to give it back to you on Sunday morning.”

Faye was not about to it to Jack that she stole his shirt. She kept it also because the smell of it reminded her of Jack. For Faye, having on Jack’s shirt made her feel as if his arms were around her. Faye really could not figure out why she was falling so fast and so hard for a guy she technically had only known for a week. Regardless of that, there it was. The truth was hard for Faye to ignore and so were her feelings.

Faye was an independent woman. She had been independent for her entire life. Faye had never relied on anyone but herself. Faye had also never been in any type of relationship. Jack was the first man that she had ever met that made her heart race like it did when he was near her. When Jack looked at her that way that he always did when staring at her legs, she felt tremors in her belly and it

made her happy that he looked at her. This independent woman was depending on Jack to make her heart continue to race.

Faye stepped off to the side and opened the door further so that she could let Jack enter her suite. The hotel room was tastefully decorated and large. There as a sitting area right past the vestibule. The bedroom was a separate space with an ensuite. There was a small water closet next to the door of the suite for guests visiting the occupant of the room.

Faye motioned for Jack to sit down on one of the two overstuffed chairs in the sitting area. Jack glanced at the chair and then looked back at Faye with a sly grin on his face. Faye looked at Jack and then looked at the chair she had indicated for Jack to sit in. She saw what Jack was looking at.

“Oh, let me get that,” she said with an embarrassed grin on her face.

There was lingerie and a few articles of her clothes spread out on each of the chairs. Faye picked up the articles of clothing and the lingerie. She stepped over to the open door of the bedroom and tossed the things in. She let them land where they may. She was not concerned with tidying up so she ended up with her clothes being on the floor, the bed, the night stand — she did not care. Faye was just a little discomposed at having cleaned up and because of that, letting Jack see the mess of clothes that she had left laying around.

Faye came back into the sitting area after hurriedly closing the door to the bedroom. She carefully accepted her cup of coffee from Jack and sat down across from him in the other overstuffed chair. Her heart was racing and she was not really sure if it was from running about a few minutes ago or the dark handsome man sitting across from her. She could not worry about it or figure it out so she just concentrated on settling her nerves and calming down. She ended

up speaking first.

“Why are you here so early in the morning, Jack?”

Jack felt a little apprehensive but knew that he needed to try and fix things between them.

“Well…I wanted to apologize about how I acted on Saturday, Friday night, and Sunday morning.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t understand what I said to upset you.”

“That was just me, not you. I wasn’t ready to face certain things yet and didn’t know that they still bothered me so badly;.”

“So are you ready now?”

“I’m getting there.”

Faye looked down at the coffee cup that she held between both of her hands. She had not yet taken a sip of her coffee. She was becoming too wrapped up in the developing conversation, and the emotions that were being evoked, to care that she had not taken a sip of the coffee yet. She was feeling dejected and uncertain about how things were between her and Jack.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” she said timidly.

“No, no…it wasn’t your fault. I just don’t know how to respond to you because it’s been so long I guess,” said Jack with a forlorned look on his face.

Jack looked like a kid who has had his puppy given away and he would never be able to see it again. If he had been a child, his bottom lip would have been quivering right then.

“A lot of things happened to me, back to back, during that time of my life and I kinda shut down,” said Jack.

“It’s okay. I guess I can understand how all of that stuff can pile on and do a number on you quickly.”

“You were right about me using Brooke as a shield. I spend time with her and my sister to ease the loneliness.”

“I don’t know what to say to that.”

“You don’t have to say anything. I heard what you said Friday night. You told me that you liked me.”

“Yeah, well I do…I do like you. I don’t know why it happened so quickly.”

“I know what you mean. We’ve only just met a week ago.”

“So what about you, Jack. Do you…like me?”

“I don’t really know how to answer that yet. I mean your work record impressed the hell out of me. You can get along famously with my niece like you’re two peas in a pod. I don’t know anyone who double or single wields the hardware you do. Those are some pretty bad ass guns,” said Jack with a softening voice. “And you are very intelligent and beautiful.”

“I think that covers all the bases,” said Faye.

Faye pointed her fingers like guns and simulated pulling the trigger. Jack laughed and with that laughter, Jack felt some of the tension dissolving from his body like water flowing from melting ice. Jack’s shoulders relaxed and he finally felt as loose and comfortable as he had before things had taken a turn towards weird over the weekend.

“I think you are very, very beautiful, Faye. Especially when I can see you in my shirt like that,” said Jack.

Jack was staring at Faye’s legs again. He could feel a familiar hunger welling up inside of him that he had not felt in a long while. It came on like an old, lost friend. Warm, caring, and gentle. Comfortable in a way a treasured sweater is

curled up in on long winter nights. The feeling continued to creep up on Jack as he continued to absorb the sight of her in nothing but his dress shirt and her panties. That thought brought back memories of reading an entertaining book of fantasy called The Color of Her Panties.

Jack smiled. As his smile spread lazily across his face, he could tell that the way that he was staring at Faye was starting to affect her as well. It appeared to Jack that she was having a little bit of difficulty sitting still.

Faye started to feel distinctly uncomfortable under Jack’s scrutiny and got the feeling that he might be entertaining some naughty thoughts. The idea made her blood run hotter and she knew it was time for something much cooler. She took a sip of the coffee.

“I am going to go into the bedroom and taking a shower. I’ll be right back.”

“Good. I wanted to take you out to get breakfast before we go to the office.”

“That sounds great,” said Faye.

Faye stood up and started moving towards the bedroom so that she could go take a shower and get ready to go.

“I’ll be back and ready to leave in about twenty minutes. You wait right there, okay.”

Faye hurriedly shuffled around Jack and the chair that he was sitting in. She had to go around him to get into the bedroom. She kissed him on the cheek as she ed by him. It was just a peck on the cheek, but it was enough to set her heart fluttering like a school girl sneaking a kiss from her high school crush. She rushed into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Faye felt again how her heart was racing. She loved the feeling. She knew that Jack was still trying to figure things out and she listened to the words of their conversation again in her head. She allowed her heart to listen as well. Since Faye had never been in a relationship before and did not know what to do or how to handle herself, she onished herself for the need to take things slowly. She wanted this thing between her and Jack to proceed at its own pace.

Faye showered and all the while, she thought about Jack. She thought about Jack and was all flustered as she readied to leave. Faye dressed in a pair of denim jeans and an all knit, red sweater and was true to her word — she was ready to leave in twenty minutes.

Jack told her that he wanted to treat her to breakfast and that’s where they went. They headed out the door to go to a place that Jack picked out. Faye did not offer to give Jack his shirt back, even though she could have given it to him as they left. She secretly hoped that Jack had forgotten about the shirt again in their haste to leave. Jack had forgotten about the shirt and so Faye was glad that she was going to be able to hold not the shirt just a little while longer.

Faye and Jack had only sat down long enough to order and to have finished about half of their meal before Jack got a call from the desk sergeant at the police station.

“Hey Mary,” Jack greeted the Desk Sergeant on the other end of the call before she even spoke. He could who it was om the other end of the call from the caller identification.

“Jack, I’m sending your computer in your car the address and preliminary information on another murder with the same M.O. as the ones that you’re working now. The Chief needs you there as quick as possible. He said to take your new partner with you.”

“Okay, thanks Mary,” said Jack.

He hung up the phone and gave Faye what information he had so far, which was not much. He told her that they would get a bit more information off of the computer in his police car.

Jack paid the bill for their breakfast and they hustled out to Jack’s unmarked police cruiser. Jack only wished for a second that he had wasted taxpayer dollars leaving his city vehicle running and unmanned. It was a second he had the thought because the cold bit into him when they got outside. Jack absolutely hated cold weather. He had little time to worry about that though, after he brought his computer on line and began reading.

The latest victim was somewhat of a local celebrity. The guy was well to do. He was a confirmed bachelor who was well known in the city and his murder had been noticed by the news. By the time that Jack and Faye arrived, the front of the building was awash in media personnel and their attendant news vehicles. There was even a news helicopter flying overhead.

Multiple police cruisers, with uniformed officers, evened up the odds of being able to keep the news crews from getting out of hand. There were enough nosy, concerned citizens to effectively choke off vehicle traffic on the street. Basically, it was a mad house and it was only going to get worse as the day went on. The other murders were not huge stories yet. They had made the eight o’clock news and papers of course because of the individuals who had been murdered but the breaking news petered out after a while, which is what Jack wanted, until they could get more clues, suspects or leads. When the media ended up connecting the dots on this series of murders, Jack had no doubt that it would be bad.

Jack and Faye pushed, shoved, and cajoled their way through the throng of pedestrians looking to find out more information. They continued this action until they arrived at the cordoned off area. A flash of Jack’s badge allowed them egress into the cordon and subsequently, the building that they needed to enter. This afforded them relief from the cacophony of noise created by the people outside and the close proximity to other bodies.

Jack called for the elevator by pressing the up button. Jack and Faye rode the elevator up to the penthouse suite on the fiftieth floor of the building. The penthouse suite actually occupied the top two floors of the building, with approximately 3200 square feet of living space, a panoramic view of the city, large open spaces within the home, roof access with a garden, and a private elevator that could only be operated by a key. Stair access to the suite allowed only traffic that was exiting the floor. There was no way to open the door from the inside of the stairwell. Both of the stairs and the elevator were monitored by security via closed circuit television, twenty four hours a day.

There was no question that Jack was to be the leading detective for this investigation. No other detective was on the scene and no other detective had been called. Jack and Faye alit from the elevator into a closed off lobby that served as a foyer for the penthouse suite. Jack noted that even if by chance someone could use the elevator to get up to the penthouse, or use the stairs to get up to the penthouse, they still would not be able to get into the penthouse

without breaking in the door that he now faced.

There were two other doors in the lobby. Jack figured that one of them was for the stairwell leading down while the other was likely for roof access. Jack opened the door to the penthouse so that he and Faye could enter. The immediately had to step over what appeared to be a severed foot.

“What the hell?” Exclaimed Jack.

A uniformed officer came up to greet Jack. He later identified himself as being the first officer on the scene to call in the murder as such.

“Hey, Detective Riddle.”

“Can you fill me in on what you know already?”

“Yeah, so about an hour and a half to two hours ago, the maid comes to work and finds our victim…um…all over the place,” said the officer as he waved his hands in no specific direction, but in a way that encomed the entire space of the penthouse suite.

Jack knew that the officer was being literal when he said the victim was ‘all over’. He had seen, in other murder scenes, what this particular killer was capable of. Jack looked around in the immediate area and his eyes were drawn back to the right foot.

“Keep going”, said Jack to the officer.

“Well, the maid freaked out because she runs downstairs, raising holy hell according to the desk clerk at the concierge, and the desk clerk calls in to the police station.”

“So why do I have a media circus outside right now?”

“Well, it’s likely someone, entering or leaving, overheard her and called the news. It could have been the doorman, desk clerk, security, or the maid herself for all I know.”

The officer shifted his weight to his other side and managed to remain standing. Jack was thinking he could have the excess twenty five pounds off of the guy in about three months and he would probably feel better. He would certainly look better.

“Desk clerk said he only saw regulars coming or going since this morning when his shift began. He said that only the maid used the private elevator to go up,” said the officer as he spoke again and finished his briefing.

“Did you check with security?”

“Already on it. I’ve got a uniform down there now and they’re watching the feed.”

“Alright, so show me…where…our victim is,” said Jack as he put emphasis on the word meant to convey his understanding that he would be looking in several spaces.

Jack presumed the uniformed officer would lead him to a single spot in the entire penthouse and show him the main part of the victim. Instead, the uniformed officer just stood there fired to that one spot.

“Are you wanting to know where the main part of the body is, because if not…, there’s a piece here,” he said, pointing to the foot by the front door. “Up there in the bedroom, on that balcony. Oh, and on the level below the bedroom.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, Detective Riddle, he’s all over the place, in big and small pieces. There’s even an ear over near the door, leading into the office over there.”

Jack shook his head in disbelief.

“Just take me around and show me then.”

The officer led Jack further into the penthouse suite. The place immediately opened up into a wide space that was the height of both floors. Windows showed views from three sides of the building. The lower floor contained an office, two guest rooms with ensuite, a water closet, wine cellar, kitchen, dining room, and a living room leading into a butler’s pantry.

A balcony overlooked all of this with a glass railing and glass steps leading up. The balcony was divided into an open concept master bedroom with ensuite and a library. A separate entrance in the kitchen gave additional access to the green space on the roof.

The green space contained a garden and a covered olympic sized pool, a three quarter bath, and a sunroom. As the uniformed officer took Jack around to the various locations where the body parts were, Faye took the opportunity to go and investigate up on the roof. Jack could not guess why Faye would want to look up there but he left it alone and did not say anything.

By the time Jack had been shown everything, the forensics team informed him that they would need a lot more time on the scene before they could give him their initial results. Jack turned his attention to trying to locate Faye. It did not take him too long to locate her. Faye called for Jack from the kitchen. She was standing near the opening for the roof access and she waited for him to come over to were she was standing.

“I think our intruder can in from the roof,” Faye told Jack when he got close enough were she would not have to raise her voice for him to hear her.

“Huh? How in the world could the killer get in from the roof?”

“Follow me. I’ll show you,” said Faye as she started to go up the stairs to the roof.

Faye led Jack up to the roof and outside of the enclosure for the pool. The winter cold bit more fiercely this high up, being driven by the wind until the wind chill almost cut like a knife. Jack was not happy about being outside again when he could be inside instead.

Every inch of uncovered space on the roof was covered in actual grass. A glass rail, about waist height, limed the perimeter of the roof. Over near the Southside of the building, approximately six feet from the railing, Faye stopped and pointed at the ground.

“If you look here, you can see where the grass got damaged from the landing,” she said.

“So are you thinking the guy parachuted in?” asked Jack as he examined the spot that Faye had indicated in the grass.

Jack had to it that there was a divot there in the grass but he was still a little bit skeptical of this theory and was not wholly convinced that the killer sky dived in.

Faye id not even blink when she shot down Jack’s idea of a parachute landing on the roof.

“No,” Faye said as she looked at Jack with a serious expression on her face. “He jumped.”

Faye turned and pointed at a building to the south of their current position.

“From over there,” she said, finishing up speaking her theory.

Jack looked across the way to the building that Faye had indicated to him. He walked over to the railing and looked down at the street some fifty one odd stories down. He felt a wave of nausea wash over him from the vertigo that he had just experienced by looking down at the streets below them. He hated heights more than he hated cold weather and that was saying something for Jack. Jack considered the cold of winter to be the work of the devil.

Jack turned back around and faced Faye.

“Are you trying to tell me that someone jumped from that building way over there?” asked Jack, pointing his hooked thumb over his shoulder, behind himself, at the building he had just been looking at. “Across about fifty to fifty five feet, almost fifty three stories in the air.”

Jack was pointing at the gap between the buildings.

“To approximately six additional feet to this spot on this building here?” Jack finished asking while he pointed to the spout that Faye had shown him. “That’s impossible.”

“No, it’s improbable but it’s not impossible. However, I assure you that what I’m telling you is exactly what happened.”

The uniformed officer who happened to be the first officer on the scene had followed Faye and Jack outside and up onto the roof. Faye had him get two uniformed officers off the cordon downstairs and send them to the roof of the building on the south side. It took a while for the officers to get access to the roof of the building but they finally managed. They checked the roof and what they found looked suspiciously like something had landed on the opposite roof and disturb ed the tar and gravel covering. The maintenance crew confirmed that no maintenance had been scheduled that would have to require roof access. The maintenance crew also pointed out that the latch to the roof access door was broken and it was fine about two days prior. Jack dispatched part of the forensics team to the other building to collect evidence from that roof that they might be able to use.

Faye had more things to show Jack. The additional things that she wanted to show to Jack would add more creditability to her hypothesis and theory. Faye ushered Jack over to the door to the pool. She came up to the door and pushed it open so that the damage to it could be seen with more ease.

“The lock’s been busted from the outside. It looks like the intruder just twisted the know until the lock broke.”

Jack had to it that the knob on the door looked like it had suffered torsion damage somehow. The type of image could not be easily be explained no matter how he thought about it.

“This whole case is nutty like a peanut candy bar. This is crazy as hell and getting weirder by the moment. Every victim is torn apart and in a way, on a few of the sites, the intruder has done some amazing feat or another. He’s kicked down reinforced doors with ease, twisted metal like paper maché, bolted like a runner on speed, or sailed across over fifty feet of open air like he had wings or a

magic carpet.”

Jack shook his head. He was having a really difficult time suspending belief in what he knew as reality so that he could fit this unusual suspect into his vision of who he was.

“I know that the saying goes, ‘once you’ve eliminated all possible alternatives, whatever you have left, m ,after how unlikely or impossible, is basically the truth’.”

Jack paused only to scratch his head and continued by saying, “this makes me think that we’re looking for some kind of super being.”

“We just might be looking for someone extraordinary.”

At that moment, Jack felt like something was not adding up for him. He could see some pieces of this messed up puzzle falling into place. He could see that the pieces looked like they fit together but just could not bring himself to believe in the picture that he was being shown. Jack also had a sneaking suspicion that Faye was not being exactly forthcoming with everything that she knew.

Jack knew if he was going to get that information from her, then he might have to confront her about it. That was the last thing in the world that he wanted to do. He did not want to do that because he could also feel himself wanting and needing to be closer with Faye. If he had to confront her, he would not had any punches and that might be enough to drive her away.

Jack kept his thoughts to himself though. He wanted to trust Faye fully and he was a little willing to give her some time and see if she would freely tell him what she was keeping from him. He needed her to do that.

Jack and Faye made their way back down to the lobby of the building. They rolled out the front door of the building to the noisy, waiting crowd and reporters. As Jack and Faye neared the cordon, a few reporters intercepted them and began to harangue Jack with questions. Jack knew these reporters and had worked with them before. He decided to forgo being rude and answer the question of theirs that he could.

“Detective Riddle,” called out the closest reporter. “Can you tell us what’s happening?”

“I can tell you that we are investigating the death of Monroe Strickland and as we are just now beginning the investigation, we have no leads or suspects. We know that Mr. Strickland’s maid discovered the deceased in his home, approximately two and a half hours ago. We will keep the media updated as we get more information.”

Jack turned around and regarded Faye after he finished briefing the reporters, he noticed that Faye was staring intently off into the crowd while he was talking to the reporters. Jack was now curious as to why or particularly who had caught her attention.

While Jack was speaking to the reporters, Faye caught a scent that demanded her attention. Faye looked around, scanning the crowd, to see if she could pinpoint whatever it was that had her senses screaming warnings at her. She felt chilled to the bone and she knew that it was not the winter cold that had caused her chill. Faye knew him when she and he locked eyes together. She had never in her life

seen him before but she knew him to look at him. When he smiled at her, she saw the rows of razor sharp teeth.

At that moment, Faye knew that the chill that she felt was because of the bloodlust projected from the man. He was about six feet tall and of average build. He was so generic and homogeneous looking -- so unremarkable -- that it was possible you could stand beside him for hours and when pressed to give a description of him, you would come up black.

Faye, however, was not fooled in the least bit by his unimposing exterior. She knew that he as a ruthless killing machine who enjoyed his work. Her hands had moved reflexively towards her holstered weapons. She stopped, certain that by the time she would be able to take him down, a dozen or more innocent bystanders would be dead with many more injured.

The smile disappeared from the man’s face and his think lips covered his razor sharp teeth. He turned, tucked his hands into his jacket pockets, and walked off through the crowd.

“Faye...Faye...Agent Atwood?” called Jack.

Faye had been dug in alike a tick on a deer. Faye had been staring so intently that Jack had to it that he was required to almost yell to get her attention.

“Yeah,...ho, yes,” she responded.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

Jack looked over his shoulder in the direction that Faye had been looking. He noticed a guy in a beige jacket moving off.

“Who was that?”

Faye looked into Jack’s eyes. Jack saw something there that he did not like.

“I don’t know,” said Faye in response.

Faye headed off towards the patrol car that had brought them there earlier.

Jack watched her walking off and started up after her. He wondered why he had seen a very brief flash of fear come across Faye’s eyes.

CHAPTER EIGHT

WHEN JACK AND Faye got back to the vehicle, Jack held the door open for her like a true gentleman. It was not Jack being sexist, he wanted to do things for Faye. His idea for a breakfast together had gotten shot out of the window by this new murder. The new murder also dropped more work on his lap that he desperately wanted to finish. He was tired of these murders occurring in his city. The cases had been the reason he got to meet Faye but he was conflicted about feeling good because of that when it ultimately occurred because of the death of someone else.

It was not fair, but life was not fair and he was going to have to deal with it. After this many years it should not still come as a surprise to Jack that life was not fair. So he got a series of cases that became a headache and a half. He met a woman he became interested in and now he was going to badger her about what the hell happened as they left. His life was good.

Jack got in and closed the door and immediately started the vehicle and the heat. His mind drifted to coffee but he shook that off and focused on Faye.

“What was that back there?” he asked.

There was a mild tone of irritation in his voice and he knew it was from feeling like Faye was holding back.

“What do you mean?” asked a slightly perplexed Faye.

She was not focused on the present still. She was still caught up on that man.

“The guy in the jacket. You were pretty intense with your stare. Did you know him?”

Faye figured that it would just be easier to tell Jake a watered down version of the truth instead of a fully drowned lie.

“He looked weird and out of place but that was about it. I didn’t think it was worth bothering you about.”

“Okay. I was just worried because you were really focused on that guy. I guess I was going at it full tilt.”

Jack kept looking at Faye just a bit longer before he decided that she had told him as much as she was willing to share. HE was just going to have to let it go. He could hope that she would change her mind and share more later.

Jack shifted the vehicle into drive and pulled out into the press of traffic. It took him some time to get them away from the congestion of that area and get them on their way back to the office. Jack and Faye got back to the police station just in time to have the chief of police call them into his office and have a screaming fit about the lack of progress on the case. Faye was not on his staff so he could

yet at her. He knew Jak did not care and would ignore it. Both Jack and Eugene knew it was an act that was put on for the benefit of the uniformed officers right outside of his office.

“The mayor is breathing down my neck and now I’ve got the media crawling up my ass. Get your shit together, Riddle, and get me some goddamn results.”

“I’m doing the best I can, chief,” said Jack petulantly.

Eugene scowled at Jack and then glared at him when he felt like the scowl wasn’t not going to be enough.

“Get the hell out of my office, Riddle, and shut the door behind you,” roared Eugene.

He followed his bellow with mumbling.

“‘Doing the fucking best I can, chief’, my ass.”

Faye followed Jack back to his office where she planted her petite hind quarters on the couch in her favorite spot. Jack just leaned on the front of the desk while he was facing Faye.

“Alright, so the chief needs me to detect. I guess I should because that’s what they pay me for. What do we know for certain so far?” he asked rhetorically.

It was his process. He did not really need outside participation just yet, but as he thought on it, he realized that Faye would not know about that. She had not known him long enough.

Faye kicked off her pumps and crossed her legs. Thinking better of it, she pulled her legs up under her and settled herself comfortably on the couch.

“We know that this series of murders started about two months ago with the decapitation of the banker. The second murder was the judge and that happened a month after the first murder. The similarities in injury and damage to the bodies led you guys to conclude that it was possible that it was the same perpetrator that did both. The third murder confirmed it was the same killer. That was the murder of the attorney two weeks ago. Order this morning that we were looking at was a week after that one. It looks like the time between each of the murders is being halted so we have two or three days before the next victim, in all likelihood,” observed Faye.

“Faye, we still don’t have a solid connection between each of the victims. Other than the fact that they were all insanely rich and each of them was single, there is no common thread. It all seems so random. We’ve got a banker from a big bank, a judge, a corporate tax attorney for a large firm and then we have a playboy billionaire. Where do they all fit together?”

“It can’t be that simple. There has got to be something we’re missing.”

“Most of my detectives have been working this from the very beginning. They can’t find a connection either. Even though I sometimes think that they all share a single braincell between the lot of them, there is no way that they could not

have stumbled on a connection by now.”

“Okay, so what about the perpetrator? What have we figured out about him?”

“If the video blur is our killer, then we know he’s about five foot ten to six foot one in height with an average build.”

Jack rubbed his head in frustration.

“We were able to get DNA samples because the killer took bites out of each one of the victims. It was the bites that we used to tie all of the cases together in the first place. Anyway, the DNA tests keep coming back with results that don’t make sense so the lab thinks all of the samples are cross contaminated but even that makes no sense because they are still all the same,” said Jack.

“Why are the lab technicians certain that the samples are contaminated?”

“The results are all over the place from what I’m being told. They don’t exactly come up as human. There are differences from regular DNA and it’s just weird.”

“Alright, so I guess we have to put that aside but if we go with just the physical evidence we know our guy is insanely strong, he’s smart, he’s patient, and he’s ruthless.”

“Yeah, so we’re looking for a superhuman who looks like a beefed up version of

the Hulk.”

“Be serious, Jack.”

“I am being serious. We got nothing we can use to pinpoint this prick down.”

“He eats a piece of each victim. We know that and it’s something that we haven’t disclosed to the public.”

“Yeah, but the bite marks look like a bite from a shark with the mouth of a human. How do you even begin to explain the cause of that? How do we begin to make sense of clues and evidence like that?”

“We take it seriously and we take it one step at a time.”

Jack threw up his hands in mock surrender.

“Okay then, let me grab the files,” said Jack as he rounded the corner of his desk and sat down heavily in his chair.

Jack pulled open the drawer that was supposed to contain the files. He looked over at Faye and favored her with his most sincere look of confusion.

“Did you by chance move those case files?”

Faye gave Jack her best ‘confused but game’ face, just to return the favor, and said, “No, they were put in the drawer there when we left on Friday.”

“They’re not here,” said Jack.

Exasperation and frustration caused him to be shorter with his words than he intended to be. Jack opened up the remaining drawers on his desk. He failed to find the files that he was looking for. Nothing else, in or on his desk, seemed to have been bothered. He called the Desk Sergeant to his office using the intercom.

“Sergeant Pembroke,” he said in way of greeting.

“Yes,” she replied. “What do you need, Detective Riddle?” she asked, using his rank and last name, Mary returned the favor.

“Can you step into my office, please?” Jack asked her.

Jack heard a click as the line disconnected. A few moments later, Masry stuck her head into the office from around the door frame.

“Mary,” began Jack, “have you seen the case files for these murders I’m working or seen someone other than myself and Special Agent Atwood in my office at

anytime?”

Sergeant Pembroke thought for a minute and then she replied, “no, I haven’t seen anyone come in or out of your office while I’ve been covering down the desk.”

“Humph,’ Jack muttered to himself because the situation was beginning to bother him. “Alright, then. I guess I’ll just have to reprint them then. Thanks, Mary.”

“No problem,” replied Mary as she turned sharply on her heels and left the doorway and was gone.

Jack went to retrieve the copies of the information from the police database. He was in the correct database but Jack could find no file names corresponding to the information that he was looking for. He eventually found the digital files that he was looking for after backing out of the system and logging back into the system. The files opened up and had no data in any of the fields. There were also no images. Each image file opened up as a white, blank state. Jack leaned over from behind his computer screen so that he could call out of his office door.

“Bob, bring me your hard copies for the psycho murder cases,” he called out.

Bob responded positively that he would and Jack waited a bit impatiently for Bob to bring in the requested duplicate hard files that Bob was keeping in his own records. Jack expected that Bob could at least figure out how to maneuver around his own desk — his own workspace — to find three folders because Bob was taking longer than Jack had anticipated that he should. He heard Bob

cursing, followed by the sound of drawers being slammed shut violently.

Jack’s heart felt like a lump of coal stuck in his throat. He had that sick, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he always got when things went from shitty to shittier. He was out of his office, standing beside Bob and his desk, before that sinking feeling finally settled, nice and comfortably, like a lead brick in his belly.

“I can’t find ‘em Jack. They were in my drawer, but they’re gone now,” said Bob.

Jack left a dumbfounded Bob Skipple in his wake. He hurried off to find Sergeant Pembroke. Faye had put on her shoes and was following Jack to the Desk Sergeant’s area.

“Jack,” she called out.

Jack turned to let her know he heard her but he kept on walking. Faye held up the keys to her car.

“I’m going to my room at the hotel to get my copies of the files.”

“Alright,” said Jack as he watched her change direction and move off towards the exit to the motor pool where her vehicle was parked.

Jack found Mary at her desk. He entreated her to help him find out if she could

gain access to the digital records for him. Mary ended up encountering the same issue that Jack had. Together they checked access from several other computers in the police station that had links to the database and each of them came back with the same results for them. Jack took ownership of the problem and went to let the police chief know what was going on. The loss of all of the physical records and corruption of the digital files. He hoped that Faye would hurry back with her copies. Faye had her copies in her hotel room and not the police station so he hoped that she would not have the same problems of locating them that he was experiencing.

Faye had left to go and retrieve her copies of the files from her hotel room while Jack had continued his own search at the police station and by the time that he had finished checking all the computers in the police station and told the chief, she had returned. Jack saw her as she entered the station and rushed over other when she spotted him as well. She had a disappointed look on her face.

“No joy. Nothing else was gone but the files. Someone broke into my hotel room and took them.”

“What the hell is going on here? They broke into your hotel room and took the files?”

“There were no signs of any forced entry. However it was managed, it didn’t involve physically breaking my door down to get in.”

Jack stood where he was. He made an ineffective barrier standing were he was, causing officers to alter their routes through the space to go around other desks. Jack had a chin scratching moment of thought as he ruminated on their predicament. Jack finally suggested that they go to the forensics lab and see if they had a digital or physical copy in their possession. The forensics lab had

their database on a different server the the police database. Jack fervently hoped and wished that they would have better luck asking there. Jack and Faye took off and were about halfway to the forensics lab before his phone began ringing. Jack looked at it and saw the it was his sister’s caller identification being presented for his notice. Jack answered the phone by the third ring.

“Hey. I was just coming to see you,” Jack said into the receiver.

“If you’re going to the forensics lab to see me then you would have been wasting your time. I’m not at the lab right now, I’m at home right now.”

“Why are you at home?”

“Don’t ask. I don’t want to talk about it over the phone. How soon could you get here?”

Jack did not know why the question of time would require him to automatically look at his watch. Jack guessed that he was figuring out what time he would arrive by looking at his watch.

“It would take me about fifteen minutes to half an hour, depending on how bad the traffic is between here and there. It’s about lunch time right now so the roads are likely to be packed.”

“Okay, then. I’ll see you in about half an hour. Ho, Jack…I need you to bring along Special Agent Atwood with you as well.”

“We’ve got an issue here and I don’t know if I can get it solved and be there in half an hour.”

“Jack, get in your damn vehicle and get your ass here. It’s important and you’ll thank me for it later.”

Jack shook his head but his sister could not see him actually perform the gesture over a phone call. Jack lamented the lost usage of the gesture. Only Faye had been able to see it and he did not do it for her benefit.

“I just wasted a good gesture on you.”

“You can shake your head at me when you get here,” Elizabeth said kindly. “Now, hurry up and get here.”

“Alright, I’ll see you soon, with Agent Atwood.”

Jack and Faye left the police station so that they could get to his sister’s house. Jack felt like he had left a task incomplete, which he had. He needed to track down what had happened to all of the physical copies of the files, find out why the digital files were blank, and find out who had broken into Faye’s hotel room and taken her copies of the case files. Jack was really worried about the last task. He was finding it disturbing that someone knew that Faye had those files in her room.

It had not taken Jack the full thirty minutes to navigate through the afternoon traffic. It did not take him the amount of time that h thought that it would take to get to his sister’s house because it took longer. It actually took closer to forty minutes because Jack did not for an increase in traffic because of the holiday shopping. Jack cursed himself for forgetting about that and wished that he could turn on his blue lights and siren so he could by the traffic. He was not going to do that because it was illegal for him to do so for what he was doing.

Jack’s mood had not improved from what it was at the police station by the time he finally arrived at his sister’s house. The time on the road also added to his frustrations but he was not going to take that out on his sister. It was not fair to her. He cared too much about her to do that to her. His sister showed them in after she met them at the door to her house.

Jack and Faye sat on stools at the bar of Elizabeth Riddle’s kitchen. Both of them were drinking cups of coffee. One of the cups of coffee was served as jet black diesel fuel and the other cup of coffee had two creams nd two sugars. This was the second of Jack’s favorite places to get coffee. The donut shop was the first place obviously. Jack could not figure out why, when Elizabeth brewed the exact same coffee that he did at home and used the same creamer, her coffee just tasted better. He figured it was the company that gave her coffee such a great taste.

“What’s going on, Izzy?” Why did you have em leave the office and come over here? There was a slight crises going on at the police station that I was dealing with there.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve noticed by now but all of the information on your current murder cases seems to have disappeared from the servers.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. It’s still there but the information is missing from the files. I want to know how this is happening. Someone even came into my office and took the hard copies. They took the hard copies that Detective Skipple had. Hell, someone knew that Faye had a copy of the files in her hotel room and got into her hotel room and stole those hardcopies as well.”

“I can’t tell you what to do about that, nor can I explain why all of the hardcopies are gone or how it happened. I’ll be happy to tell you a little about the digital files.”

“Alright,” said Jack. “What’s going on with that?”

“Somebody got onto the server and put a Zero Sum virus on there. I only found out about it by accident. I kept losing data and I would it again only to have the data lost again. I asked Brooke about it so she checked and found it. I guess it’s a good thing having a computer nerd for a daughter.”

“So what the hell is a ‘Zero Sum’ virus and what does that have to do with the digital case file data?”

“I can’t really explain it. We would need Brooke to explain it clearly to you.”

Elizabeth took a deep breath and called out for her daughter, Brooke. It nearly deafened Faye but Jack was used to his sister calling his niece like that. Being used to his sister calling out like that also helped him to be ready when she did it.

Brooke came bouncing into the kitchen from her room in the back of the house. She was in high spirits. Brooke came bouncing into the kitchen from her room in the back of the house. She was in high spirits. Brooke knew that her uncle Jack had shown up with the female agent that he was currently working with as a partner. Brooke was enjoying the dance the two of them were performing around each other and wanted another front row seat. It was amusing to her and she saw that her mother had caught on to it as well.

“Yes, mom,” said Brooke as she glided to a halt beside her mother. She wrapped a companionable arm around her mother’s shoulder.

“Explain to your uncle what that Zero Virus sum thingy is that you found.”

“Oh, that’s simple. It’s a root command that sits on your drive and it’s hard embedded into the software. It pings keywords, phrases and numbers in sequences specific to the search. It looks for all of this in specific file string identifiers. Afterwards, it returns a zero balance for data after a rewrite of the file. Also, mom, it’s called a ‘Zero Sum’ virus, not the ‘thingy’ you called it.”

Jack looked at Brooke as if she were speaking a foreign language. As far as Jack was concerned, Brooke did speak a foreign language. He recognized a few of those words as english but just was not going to be able to get his brain to decipher what she had said as long as those words remain strung together in that order.

Faye stared at Brooke as if the girl was growing an arm from the center of her forehead. As far as Faye was concerned, if Brooke had indeed sprouted an additional arm that she grew from her forehead, it would have made more sense to her. The explanation that she had just received from Brooke would require its own explanation.

Elizabeth smiled and said, “Brooke, honey, you know you have to use small words for non-geeks.”

Jack looked at Elizabeth in astonishment and asked, “you understood that?”

Brooke looked at her mother in a confused state. She felt as if she had already used the most simplest possible for her to use to explain what had happened to the digital files. When Brooke looked over at Jack and Faye, she saw their perplexed looks. She knew right then that her explanation had gone way over their heads. They had not understood one word of what she had just said.

“Basically, its a part of the operating system and whoever designed it can make it look for certain information and delete it.”

Jack smiled sweetly at his niece.

“Thank you for bing so kind as to use small words in english to explain all that. Now why can’t you just it back onto the system again?”

“I tried that already, Jack,” said Elizabeth.

Brooke shook her head at her uncle as if to say, ‘this is something so simple that even a child would understand and you cannot get it; are you a neanderthal?’.

“It’s not that easy, uncle. Once things like this get activated, they will stay activated for the data that they changed. Even using a different file name would yield the same results because the value of the data stays consistent. This thing will stay on and keep doing it’s job until whoever activated it decides to turn it off. It will continuously erase the data. Not only that, if the system gets networked, then the command jumps to another system. It will go from computer to computer, erasing the data it was told to erase. The only way to beat it is to go old school. Analog. Hard copies.”

“Alright then,” began Jack, getting aggravated about the whole situation yet again. “What do we do now? Someone has taken all the hard copies from the police station.”

“Well, lucky for ys, my computer backs up to a server that Brooke set up for her school work. She lets me use space so I back up the data every few days. When Brooke identified the problem, she went ahead and took her server off line. The data is safe on her server as long as she keeps the server off the network and as long as she makes sure to use an unnetworked computer to do a push and pull of data from the server. Brooke had an old computer that hadn’t been on the internet for a while. It was free of the virus so we can use that to print off as many copies as you want. The files that were backed up from the forensic unit’s server had complete copies and lab results,” said Elizabeth.

“Great, thanks, Izzy. That solves one problem but it still leaves us with two other problems. Who could steal all of the hard copies from the police station and also break into Faye’s hotel room and steal the hard copies from there as well?”

Faye tapped Jack on the shoulder.

“I hate to correct you, Jack. We hav three problems that need to be solved.”

“What did I miss?” Jack asked.

“You forgot about the virus. Who wrote the virus that deleted all of the information. I think all of that may be related to our killer,” said Faye.

“That’s just great,” replied Jack, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. “We have a computer geek, sociopathic, homicidal, cannibal on the loose.”

“That’s a lot of adjectives, Jack,” said Faye.

“I’d like to throw some adjectives and adverbs together with a few choice nouns to talk about how I’m feeling right now about everything that’s been happening,” Jack responded.

Faye wanted to laugh but she knew that she should not.

“At least we got the files again,” Faye said instead of laughing.

“Okay,” said Jack simply.

Jack waited until he had his coffee cup refilled by Elizabeth. He wanted to make

sure that she heard what he was going to say next. When she came back with his cup, he continued speaking.

“So I can understand us being able to use the photographs and notes but what about the lab results that came back from the DNA and the bite marks? The DNA came back showing all kinds of stuff and the laboratory technician said that the sample had to be contaminated.”

“That’s just it, Jack,” said Elizabeth.

She piqued Jack’s curiosity with only that short utterance. It was his sister’s laboratory after all. She was in charge of it. She might know something that he himself did not know.

“The samples ween’t contaminated in anyway. I went back and looked at the results of the different samples. Each of the DNA sequences was consistent. Each of the murdered victims had the same weird DNA on them. What ever made those bites, left DNA that was canine, reptilian, and humans. There’s no doubt about it.”

“That can’t be possible,” said Jack.

Faye looked over at Jack, sitting beside her. She placed her much smaller, paler and lighter hand on top of his much larger, darker and heavier hand.

“It’s improbable, like I said, not impossible,” Faye said with a knowing and

gentle smile on her sweet and small face. Her cheeks seemed to glow and the way that her small pink lips were partially opened made Jack want to lean in for a kiss.

Jack’s eyes ed over Faye’s hand. Her hand rested lightly on his hand. Jack began to wonder if perhaps there was any major significance in that insignificant touch. If it was maybe more than just a means that Faye had used to get the attention that she wanted from him. Jack could not decide if that thought alone made him sad or not. Regardless of how he perceived the suggestive gesture, he was grateful for the touch that she had given him and he was enjoying it.

Jack came back to his senses and directed his gaze back to his sister.

“So I should be out there looking for a scaly green guy with dog ears and a tail with a serious need for a dental surgeon?”

“No, Jack. This guy is gonna look like anybody else. He won’t look special in anyway because his primary difference is at a genetic level. This guy will probably be able to heal faster than a normal person. He’s gonna be able to smell, hear, and see better. He is probably five to ten times stronger than an average man due to his increased muscle density. I mean you could very easily be standing right next to the guy and not know him for what he is as long as he kept his mouth shut.”

A memory sparked in Jack’s mind based on all fo the things that Elizabeth had been saying to him about the guy. Jack recalled watching a man in a beige jacket walking away from him and Faye through a crowd of people. Jack opened his mouth and was about to say something about the man that he ed when something that he was not expecting bumped up against his shin and he heard a meow.

The memory fled from Jack’s mind as he tensed himself. He remained perfectly still so as not to give the cate a reason to swing a paw at him with his razor sharp claws extended.

“What the hell is that demon cat doing here?” Jack yelped.

Faye heard the cat first. She spun around on her stool and then Faye saw the huge cat. Faye was immediately out of her seat and scooping up the large cat into her arms. She had moved so quickly that no on had a chance to so much as eek out a warning to Faye about the cat being dangerous when picked up. The cat was a menace to anyone but Brooke.

All three of them — Jack, Elizabeth, and Brooke — stared in awe as the cat from hell fell over backwards in it’s attempt to keep Faye rubbing him. Brooke’s relationship with the cat was not even strong enough for her to risk trying to rub the cat’s belly. Faye put the cat on the floor and it went belly up so that she could continue to rub it.

“What the…,” began Jack.

“Hell?” finished Elisabeth.

“Aww,” said Brooke. “He loves you.”

Brooke went to rub the cat’s belly and he jumped up and took off. He ran back

into the back of the house to Brooke’s room. Brooke was pretty sure that he had gone back to jump on the bed and nap the rest of the day away.

Faye looked between Jack and Elizabeth. She was just a little perplexed by their reactions.

“Did I miss something?” Faye asked.

Jack got up off the barstool. Hwe walked off into the living room.

“No, you didn’t miss a thing,” he said as he continued to stalk off and muttered under his breath. “Damn evil cat would fall in love with her too.”

CHAPTER NINE

DONOVAN PIKE FOUND himself once again in the company of Dr. Brumble. The only difference with Mr. Pike being with Dr. Brumble this time was just the location at which they found themselves together. Dr. Brumble met up with Donovan. Their meeting place was the rather large conference room in the installation. Dr. Brumble was calmly sipping on a fruity flavored alcoholic drink. He was telling Mr. Pike down chicken chicks sex is determined and what ultimately happens to the male egg laying hens.

“…well, you take the chick and insert a probe into it’s orifice. If it does not go in up to the indicator marked on the probe, then you have a male chicken. You then just toss the male chick in the auger on the side of the table. You can then continue your work. After less than thirty seconds or so, your male baby chick has been ground into a paste that is sold to dog food companies.”

Donovan could have cared less about this particular lesson on egg laying hen sex determination. Donovan did not interrupt the doctor, however. Donovan felt it was better to let the mad doctor speak his mind. While a good portion of what the doctor said outside of his lab was either irrelevant to anything that was happening at the moment, like the hen lecture — or it was irrational rambling. There were times when you could happen to chance upon that small nugget of gold in the silage.

It was one such conversation, about five years previous, that had set them on their current course together. Donovan could clearly recall the moment that started it all with crystal clarity. Dr. Brumble had said, ‘genetic re-sequencing

has become easier in this day and age. We can even make designer viruses.’.

Donovan asked, “can we make designer soldiers?”

The question was quite innocently asked. Donovan had not expected much to come from asking the question. He considered the conversation as one of Dr. Brumble’s periods of irrational rambling and raving.

After a brief pause, Dr. Brumble said, “why sure. I can make you a series of designer soldiers I’m no time at all, genetically speaking.”

Five years later, Donovan Pike had the beginnings of his army of genetically created soldiers. All ethically and morally wrong to create but created nonetheless.

“Dr. Brumble,” began Donovan ash eh pushed his glasses frames up onto the bridge of his nose further. “I want to congratulate you and thank you for the work you did on that computer virus. It worked exceptionally well.”

“Of course it worked, Mr. Pike. It was simple, really. I just had to determine the correct insertion point in the root destination command of the operation system…,”

“Dr. Brumble,” Donovan interrupted. “Your explanation of the virus construction, while probably likely both education and fascinating, would be rather superfluous at this point and would furthermore make us tardy for our

parley with the others.”

The doctor opened his mouth and closed it automatically and mechanically. He was about to object but but found that he had nothing significant to say in response. Dr. Brumble felt that it Ould likely serve him better to say nothing at all instead. This decision to render silence was completely sufficient to please Donovan.

Donovan needed to a make a call before the meeting began. He needed to call his superior and give him an update on how well things had progressed. Donovan picked up a phone receiver and punched in the numbers to connect him. The call was connected with a click. Donovan did not need to know that anyone was on the other end of the line. The phone would not have connected if the right person had not answered the phone.

“Sir, I am about to start the meeting. Also, the last detail has been taken care of as of this morning, at his residence. I will call you with the results of this meeting.”

The other end of the line died off from a disconnection. Donovan put the phone receiver back on it’s cradle. A beep on the console on the desk drew his attention to the computer. Donovan punted a few select keys and shortly a holographic display opened up in front of him. The holographic message informed him that the conference he had scheduled with the individuals in the organization would begin in approximately ten minutes. Donovan sat patiently, contemplating how the end results of this conference would affect his plans for the future.

“Doctor,” Donovan called out to get the doctor to focus his attention.

The mad doctor was mumbling to himself.

“Were you able to send off the packages that I requested that you send to the other boards?”

The doctor assumed a more business like manner. This meant that there was less glare of maniacal madness and mania in Dr. Brumble’s eyes than was normally there.

“I sent out four of the old Delta 66 series. They were the last ones left of that model. I kept them for this purpose. They have all, each of them, arrived safely at their delivery sites. They are ready for deployment.”

“Thank you, Dr. Brumble. I will let you know when to activate teach of them so please have their status updated to ‘standby’ for me,” Donovan said and then smiled.

The doctor nodded and Donovan closed a circuit on the control console in front of him. The far wall of the conference room, Donovan and Dr. Brumble occupied, lit up with the image of four other conference rooms that were identical in their design and construction. Each of the images were positioned, one on each corner of a large rectangular formation. Each of the conference rooms were occupied by six other individuals. They were seated around the large table positioned in the middle of their own individual conference rooms. Each of the other conference rooms seen on the large screen could have been one of a myriad of conference rooms around the world, located in multibillion dollar international businesses.

Describing the conference rooms like that did not mean that each of them were lavishly decorated or had large, cumbersome portraits of long dead partners, presidents, or board on the wall either. No, each conference room was identical with the exception of the individuals who were presently occupying them. The conference room table was a rich, dark, hardwood that was obviously expensive. Each of the chairs were a combination of costly wood with an addition of some quality leather.

After a few moments, the meeting came to order and began. Donovan regarded each of the images in turn, starting on the upper right quadrant and moving in a clockwise pattern. The first group was identified as the Eurasia Conference, followed by the African Conference, Pacific Conference and the South American Conference and with all of the conferences present, this made a total of five conferences spread across the globe.

“Welcome, fellow Shepherds. Shall we begin this conference?” Donovan asked in a formal voice.

Murmuring from each of the other video feeds filled the conference room that Donovan was in. Before anything further could be said, the flow of the meeting was disturbed.

“Point of order, Mr. Pike,” said a dark skinned man from the video of the African Conference. “Where are the rest of the of your conference? Where is your Prime Speaker?”

Donovan looked around the conference room with a look of mock shock on his face as if he had just realized that the other of his conference were missing. It was obvious that he was affecting a contrived concern that the weren’t present. Donovan frowned and looked back at the monitor in

front of him.

“They are not in attendance today and I will explain why that is so, in due course, later. I will also ensure that what we discuss here at this meeting today will make its way back to the relevant people who need to know what we’ve discussed.”

“This is highly irregular, Mr. Pike, but hardly a matter indicating a need to delay these proceedings any further. Please continue. You were the one that called for this meeting today,” said the dark skinned man.

Donovan cleared his throat and began to speak to the group that were assembled. Some of the group could be seen getting settled more comfortably in their seats as they took a moment to shift. Donovan’s voice rose and fell poetically with the specific cadence he adopted and the tempo of his words.

“We Shepherds have guided the fate of the world and these humans for several thousands of years.”

There was an interjected sneer by Donovan at the utterance of the word ‘human’, as if it were something distasteful that had to be rushed out in speech; that he had to bear with saying and would rather not. Something akin to having to acknowledge the need of excretion but not wanting to discuss it in polite conversation in public. The contempt that he displayed for humans was not lost on those that were assembled. They all felt that way.

“With our longer lifespan and increased intelligence, we have been able to work

from the shadows and shape the world into what it is today. Our 200 year or so lifespan allows us to see trends and patterns that are not as readily apparent to the humans. We can manipulate these trends and patterns to our needs and benefit.

“We have fomented wars to shape the boundaries of the many nations of the world. We have toppled governments as it has suited our wants. We have built new governments from the ashes of their predecessor to influence developing societies. We have developed religions to control them with faith and blind them with that same faith. We introduced pathogens to cull the masses as necessary to slow their spread. Finally, we have brought about technological changes to encourage growth and development as we see fit for them.

A woman from the Pacific Conference interrupted Donovan and inserted her own thoughts into the discourse by saying, “so what of this, Mr. Pike? These are the things that we have done since our fore father’s time. These are things that we have done since our earliest memories of our existence on this planet.”

Murmurs of consent of her statements rippled through those that were gathered. The woman from the Pacific Conference waited for the others quite murmuring to die down before she deigned to speak again.

“You are not telling us anything that we do not already know. Can you please save us some time and get to the point that you are obviously trying to make at the expense of treating us as if we have no recollection of who and what we are,” she finished testily followed by a few voices adding their agreement.

A look of mild annoyance crossed over Donovan’s porcelain features. He was frustrated that he had to deal with these individuals that he believed had no real vision of what the future held for their species. His vision of their future for their

species. A vision he was bold enough to put into action despite how his brethren and sisters felt. He alone knew what needed to be done and he was going to see it through until the end, no matter what the cost was. Donovan began speaking again with a clear note of irritation rolling from him in waves.

“The point is that no matter what we do. The humans seem to be quite willing and alright with maintaining a course towards self destruction. They are actively seeking the end of themselves, this planet, and subsequently us, whether they are doing it intentionally or not. I personally do not want to see us end because of their recklessness and irresponsible behavior.”

Donovan had moved from behind the control and was pacing the side of the conference room table. Donovan was using his hands to punctuate the importance of his words. He had worked himself up to a slight frenzy with the fervent, zealous way that he believed in what he was saying.

The woman from the Pacific Conference who had spoken earlier became the spokesperson for the others again.

“We are doing what we have done for generations, so what do you propose that we should do differently?”

“I think we should announce our presence to the world. I think that we should step out from the shadows and assert our dominance. We need to take our rightful place in the forefront and establish ourselves as the leaders of this world.”

One of the other conference spoke up. This time the conference

member that chose to speak was an individual from the South American Conference.

“This is complete and utter bullshit, Mr. Pike. There are less than three thousand of our species on this planet. That number is spread out thinly around the world. How, then, are we supposed to assert control over the entire population of the planet with so few people? This is why we have always chosen to work from the shadows.”

Donovan gave a genuine smile that effectively softened his angular features. Donovan’s smile beamed brightly. This was a question that he wanted to hear asked. This was the necessary question that opened the gate so that he could leave the starting point and outline how the Shepherds could attain their goals.

“I have a way that we can exert our control. I have a way that we can make that happen. I took the liberty of sending a representative to each of your conferences. If you would be so kind, can each of you invite the representative into your conference room now, at this time?”

Each of the groups on the monitors began to show movement as they performed the individual actions required to bring the representative that Donovan spoke of into their conference room. Everything occurred at the pace the was required for the action to be completed. The representatives did not enter into each of the conference rooms at the sane time.

The Conferences brought in the representative that Donovan sent. Each of the agents were identical in every regard and in every way, from the uniform that they wore, the equipment that they carried, their deportment as they stood regarding the Shepherds in front of them with a cold dision. It was a mirror image spread out across thousands of miles, settled into different environments

but still able to retain peculiar similarity in every . The linked images coming across the communication network was now showing another singular element of each of the conference rooms that was eerily similar to the others.

The dark skinned representative from the African Conference was the Prime Speaker for his conference. According to the by laws of their organization, leadership of all of the individual Conferences changed on a rotating basis so that one particular Conference would be the leading Conference. This would make the Prime Speaker of that Conference the defect leader of the Shepherds. For this ten year period of time, the African Conference was the leading Conference. He spoke again.

“They are all identical, to a fault,” he observed while waving his hand to indicate all four of the agents, regardless, and without care for their disparate and dissimilar locations. “This is interesting, but how will this help with your mad plan of global conquest? Clones alone will never be enough because you would never be able o field enough of them at one time to make a real difference in a campaign of global domination.”

“That might be true of clones that were similar to ourselves or to the humans, but these soldiers are stronger and faster by a factor of about ten. Most importantly is that they are steadfastly loyal and will carry out any order without fail.”

Donovan held up his right hand and a holographic image of a file appeared in the air over the palm of his open hand. He flicked his wrist towards the wall of monitors. The action initiated a command that transmitted the file to the other Conference rooms. Each of his cohorts received a copy of the digital information. Each of his cohorts had the ability to open the file that he had sent and examine the contents of the file. Donovan waited as the acknowledged receipt of the file.

“What exactly is this file that you’ve sent to each one of us?” asked the dark skinned Prime Speaker from the African Conference.

He, and each of the others, had opened up the file that Donovan had sent to them. Each of them were perusing the contents of the digital file at their leisure. The file contained information about the clones and the images that were taken from the police files of the recent gruesome dismemberment murders.

“These are out people…your other Conference …what happened?” demanded the Prime Speaker.

“I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to show you all what these soldiers are capable of unarmed. After a bit of reflection, however, I think it might be additionally helpful to give a live demonstration as well.”

Donovan turned to Dr. Brumble. The mad scientist had remained quiet and attentive the entire time.

“Dr. Brumble, please order an amen of your choice to execute everyone in the conference room that they are in. I also want you to send an order afterwards that the soldier is to retire themself.”

Donovan looked back at the startled faces being projected toward him from the monitors and said, “I believe that a demonstration of this nature will show how effective orders can be sent and carried out immediately.”

Everyone started speaking at once so that no one person could actually be heard over another. It was pandemonium and Dr. Brumble was working diligently to add to that chaos just as he was asked to do by Donovan Pike. With deft, quick fingers, Dr. Brumble typed in the necessary orders and sent them. There was barely anytime at all for the board to do much more than they had by raising their voices in protest. Barely controlled bedlam broke out on the screen with the feed of the video from the Pacific Conference.

It was quick. Much too quick to be actually perceived as an action that had actually occurred in the reality of life. The scene, in it’s entirety, was surreal. Screams were cut short, caught fast in the throats of those who thought, or even attempted to vocalize them as conscious action was denied to them. Each person surrendered their life in a blossoming of red flowers that erupted from foreheads and chests and the backs of heads as forced, dynamic entry eventually had to become forced, dynamic exits.

The agent at the Pacific Conference drew his side arm and within seconds, had shot and killed the two guards in the conference room. The agent cleared the distance he was originally at, some thirty feet away, to the first of the Shepherds at the conference table within seconds. He broke the neck of the Shepherd before he could even stand up from his chair in an attempt to separate from the blooming violence.

In less than a minute, the time it would take for a nurse to take a resting pulse rate for a patient, it was all over. Everyone had been retired. The only living soul that was left was the soldier agent and he had been ordered to quit life and the living for no other reason than because it demonstrated adherence to all orders, without fail or question. The agent surveyed the damage that was dealt and left in the wake of his actions. The agent turned to the screen and pulled his weapon out of his holster again.

His action had been so insanely and amazingly fast that no one could recall

seeing the weapon being reholstered. No one missed him withdraw it anew from his foster and they could not mistake it when the agent pointed the loaded and ready weapon up to his temple and pulled the trigger. His head exploded.

All-in-all, it took between three to five minutes. All those lives were sacrificed in that short amount of time. The span of seconds with which to draw at least a half dozen breaths had been filled with such a wanton loss of life. A wasted loss. An unnecessary loss.

A collective breath was drawn by the survivors of the demonstration as they first released the breath that they held in vagrancy. Varied states of giddy relief followed a belated understanding that they could then draw a subsequent breath to follow the previous and then…if they so chose, they could continue to respirate at leisure.

No one spoke. No one moved. No one dared to do anything that was not subconsciously controlled. No one even knew what to do even if they dared try to do something. Because of this lack of understanding of how one should behave after such an event, it was unnerving to hear Dr. Brumble clapping in the background and muttering glibly to himself.

“That went well. It went rather well. I didn’t ike that bit at the end with looking about. He should be certain of every kill. That can be fixed in the next batch. Eye and hand coordination and dexterity improvement. I did like the execution of the retirement command though.”

“Doctor,” called out Donovan.

He called out to the doctor in an attempt to get his attention and to stop the man from rambling on without purpose or need. The doctor blinked and stared at Donovan. When Donovan was sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the doctor was back present in the moment — about as sane as could hopefully be expected of the doctor at any given moment in time — Donovan turned his attention back to the remaining Conference .

Donovan had impressed his commitment to his cause to his fellow Shepherds, or so he had supposed. He wanted to make sure that they understood what was truly at stake here. In Donovan’s view, the Shepherds had taken a back seat to the humans for much too long. There were so few Shepherds in the world and that was not likely to change anytime soon. Their race did not have children in large quantities. Gestation was two to three years long for their kind and had to be handled by their own trained medical staff. They could not cross breed with humans either. Humans had outpaced the Shepherds in population propagation exponentially. There was little the Shepherds could do about it short of developing a pathogen to make humans partially sterile.

Donovan did not want Shepherds in charge of the world just for the sake of ruling and controlling the world. He believed fully that if the Shepherds did not do something quickly to shake up the status quo and change things then the humans would end up destroying the world that both of their species needed for survival. Donovan was ready to do whatever it was going to take to make sure that his peers understood his resolve to his cause he was going to give them another demonstration and hoped that they would get the point. He had no qualms about taking out all of the conference if he needed to, but he was just going to hope that a course of action like that would not be necessary — yet.

“As you have just witnessed, and been privy to, these soldiers are highly effective in close quarters,” Donovan said with about as much enthusiasm as if he had been discussing the gas mileage on a brand new car. “They are simply weapons, in and of themselves, regardless of whether they are armed or actively

acting in engagement of hand to hand combat. Best yet is that they can still be weapons without even moving.”

Donovan turned once again back towards the doctor. He was not much concerned about losing his audience. He had their undivided attention now since well before a minute ago. His audience gave him their direct, complete, and rapt attention. They were held hostage as long as the agent was there in the room with each of them. The long lives that they enjoyed because they were Shepherds meant absolutely nothing to a bullet. That little piece of copper metal over had was able to kill them just as dead as it could kill anything else.

“Doctor, please initiate the self destruct mode of one of the remaining three agents.”

The quirky doctor seemed to be ecstatic to have been asked to have that particular command executed. He knew in theory that it worked. He was certain of it because it was he who had thought up the technology, designed it and built it. He was excited because he had not had the chance to conduct a field test of the capability as of yet. Dr. Brumble turned to his keyboard again and began typing in the command. He did that just as the dark skinned Prime Speaker from the South African Conference began to scream.

“That won’t be…,” he began.

There was a brief flash on the screen of the Eurasia Conference before the feed was cut off at the source.

“…necessary,” finished the Prime Speaker slowly and with an audible sigh of

relief.

It was obvious that he was glad that his conference had been spared. He was terrified of the tall, be-speckled individual with the angular face. He was certain that all of the remaining Shepherds in the Conferences were sacred as well.

“Do I finally have your attention, ladies and gentlemen?” Donovan asked gravely.

No one spoke. No one answered.

“Thank you for your attendance. When I need someting from you, I will you.”

Donovan moved his left hand in the necessary gesture to end the video conference communication. All of the screens went black and Donovan continued staring at the wall of monitors. He reached over and picked up the handset for the telephone and pressed the keys he needed to all the person that he needed to speak with.

“Sir, did you see the conference?” Donovan asked and then waited for a response from the other end of the phone.

After a few more minutes he replaced the handset on the cradle.

“Doctor,” Donovan said after another brief pause. “Activate the self destruct on the remaining agents,” said Donovan as he walked out.

CHAPTER TEN

FAYE WOULD HAVE been okay going back to her hotel room but she now had an excuse that would work and that she could use to spend more time with Jack. She confided to Jack that she did not want to go back to her room because someone had broken in. The hard copies of the investigations had gone missing from multiple locations with no adequate explanation. Both Jack and Faye were certain that there was something about this series of murders that was more than a little extraordinary. Since Faye and Jack now had hard copies of the files again, they could spend the time together going over them, yet again, but this time at Jack’s place instead of in the office.

Jack suggested that they could stop by the hotel room and check it out to see if they could find anything. Faye convinced him that it would probably end up being a dead end. She told him that she had not seen anything significant when she was there. It was a small space so it was doubtful that she would miss anything in her search for clues. Jack ended up agreeing with her but it was mainly because he wanted her to come over to his place anyway. So that’s what they decided on doing when they left his sister’s house.

They stopped and picked up food on the way back to Jack’s house. Faye insisted on fast and easy, which translated well as unhealthy and greasy. Jack wondered how in the world the little woman maintained her figure eating like she did. He knew he was going to have to put in a little more work the next time the he went to the gymnasium to work out. It did not take them long to get back to his place after they picked up the food. They settled down in the living room of his small, two bedroom house, once they got there.

Jack had bought the place years ago as an investment for a future that he could never really see himself in clearly. It was not the house that he could not see himself living in for his future. Jack could never have a definitive vision and realization of what the future held for him so he just kept trucking along anyway. He assumed that he would end up figuring it out when he got that far along in life.

Jack also bought the house because of the insistence of his niece who had accompanied him on his house search. The small, ranch style house sat on a two acre lot within the city limits, which was unheard of for the neighborhood it was in. The house also had a full-size, open spaced concept, finished basement that he and Brooke converted into a game room. There was a small swimming pool in the back yard. During the summer months, it was understood that his guest bedroom belonged solely to his niece, Brooke, for the duration of the summer vacation. Right now, the pool outside was covered up, partially empty and had been treated for the winter months.

Faye had Jack get pizza and hobtwings for them to have as their dinner. Jack decided to add warm, imported German beer from his pantry to their menu. Faye had never tried drinking beer at room temperature but she found that it actually complimented the meal well. Jack had to warn her though, that not all beer was meant to be, nor should be, consumed at room temperature. Bitburger beer was perfect when drunk warm. Faye loved the meal. She was licking the grease off of her fingers so she could turn a page in one of the files and not leave their dinner on it.

“ me a napkin,” she called out.

Jack fumbled around blindly, trying to feel for a napkin with one hand while holding a file in his other hand. He was hoping that he wouldn’t drop the slice of pizza that he was holding between his teeth. The toppings were already

threatening to slide off so they could rest in his lap. Jack eventually succeeded in getting Faye a napkin, without decorating his pants or the file that he had, with pizza toppings. Faye was grateful for the napkin and the rest of that feat of pizza juggling.

“Here you go,” said Jack as he handed her the napkin so that she could use it to wipe the grease off of her fingers.

Faye leaned back onto the sofa that she was sharing with Jack. Almost twenty minutes had ed since they had gotten started on the files and dinner. Each of them had consumed two beers each and their fair share of the wings that came with the pizza. They did share the pizza but Faye ended up with the lion’s share of the large pie. There were six slices of pizza and aJack forced his second slice to the first one in his belly. The pizza box was now empty and Jack was of the firm belief that Faye hid a few slices in a pocket that he was not aware of.

Faye groaned loudly. She groaned both from being full and frustrated at the lack of progress on the case files. She flopped the current folder that she had in her hand onto the table with a florish. It landed and stayed where it was on the table instead of sliding off.

“Which file are you looking at?” she asked of Jack so that she could know which files she had yet to look at.

“Ah…the third one, the lawyer. His house was set up like Fort Knox.”

“So just this decreasing time line is all we know for certain. We also know they were all single and had weird houses. The only thing that makes any sense is the

timeline and even knowing that bit of useful information doesn’t help us much.”

“Yeah, we only know the ‘when’, not the ‘who’ or the ‘why’. We can only be sure that it will be in the next day or so. That guess only remains true if the pattern remains constant but really, what good is that if we don’t know who to protect?”

“We can’t protect the whole damn city. We don’t have enough police to put a uniformed cop with each person. Even if we could do that, it doesn’t catch the killer and that’s what we really want,” said Faye.

She dipped her head low as she looked at the hands she had wrapped around her beer. Jack reached over and tucked a loose tress behind her ear. She looked over into his eyes and smiled.

“Did you want to go back to your room tonight? I’ll go in with you and we can both clear it together to make sure you don’t get any surprises.”

Faye’s smile turned a little sad. She could not figure out if Jack wanted to get rid of her, had forgotten that she said that she did not want to go back to the room tonight, or he was making sure that she had not changed her mind about staying the night.

Jack could not figure out why Faye was sidling up to disappointment, from what he could determine from the look on her face. He did not know if he had done or said something to upset her, so he asked.

“Are you mad or upset at me?”

“No, I’m not mad,” she shared while shaking her head. “I was just hoping that you would ask me to stay the night with you.”

Jack’s grin grew of it’s own accord.

“Would you like to stay here with me tonight?”

He could have added the fact that she could use the spare bedroom but something told him that she did not want that. Right then, seated om the sofa next to a beautiful woman who he had only met in the last week, he knew for certain that he did not want that either.

In response, Faye stood up nd stretched. She asked Jack if she could use his shower to which Jack said yes. Faye leaned over and was about to kiss Jack on his forehead. She stopped abruptly, just inches away from her lips meeting his now wrinkled brow.

Jack looked into Faye’s eyes to figure out what was going on. Jack saw that Faye was intensely focused on the folder that lay open before her. Jack followed her line of sight and could not figure out what it was in the photograph the was now drawing her attention so strangely. What was catching her eyes and refusing to let go. What was it in there that Madde her cast her gaze downward so that she became consumed by that which pulled her in. She had been staring at the pictures in that file for a week and now it seemed that some small thing had made itself known to her.

“What’s the matter, Faye? Do you see something?”

Faye came to with a start. She chided herself because she had ruined herself by allowing too much time letting her eyes loiter on the photograph. She knew that she needed to generate an appropriate response to try and cover up the unintended pause. She hastened to continue to lean forward in an attempt to continue pressing for the kiss to his forehead. The strained kiss came across as clumsy and ungraceful because the original spontaneity behind the gesture lay in the past, before the pause. Faye tried to remain both gay and game. Her eyes twinkled. She smiled and walked off to the back of the house to take a shower. She hummed on her way off.

“It was nothing. Nothing at all,” she confided.

Jack felt like she was trying to force him to believe her. He had heard the lie in her words, saw the lie in her eyes, felt the lie in her kiss. He said nothing and let her walk off, thinking him all the more the fool for not calling her out on her lie. Jack heard water running in the back of the house. He realized that she was using the ensuite in his bedroom to shower. That meant that she went to his room.

Jack recovered the photograph that Faye had been gazing at with such devout attention. He retrieved the photo from the file and gazed at it fixedly himself, hoping to gain the insight that Faye had gained. Nothing came of it. He did not know what it was that she had seen, but there was something there that he was missing. Jack was certain of that fact. He knew as sure as a dog would lick it’s own balls, that Faye was not going to tell him what she had seen in that photograph that had sparked her interest so keenly.

Jack put it aside. He did not want to worry a bone like an old dog with no teeth. There was nothing he could do about Faye not wanting so share what she knew. She was definitely under no obligation to tell him anything that she knew or did not know for that matter. Jack felt disappointed and down because now it appeared to him that Faye did not trust him enough to share what she knew. She could not trust him with the truth.

Jack thought that their relationship had gotten at the least to that point. He based that assumption on consideration of how obvious it was that they liked each other’s company. There was something there, growing between them, and he wanted to nurture it but he was unsure if it would grow to fully bloom into love with this issue of trust starting to come up between them. That was a thing that was going to need consideration and at this point, Jack was worried about more than just what was blooming between them, he had this case to consider as well.

Seeing as how Faye had taken over the shower in the master bedroom, Jack figured he would need to grab some stuff from his room and go to the guest bath in the hallway in order to take a shower and get cleaned up for the night. He could hear Faye singing over the running shower. Jack grabbed what he needed and headed out. He had been tempted to poke his big head into the bathroom to sneak a peek at Faye au natural.

Steam exited the door of the bathroom right behind Jack. He had a damp towel draped over his bare shoulders. He rounded the hallway corner and nearly ran Faye over. She could not hide the fact that she had gone through his closet. It was obvious that she had rummaged around in it when he could see that she was wearing another one of his dress shirts. She had the sleeves rolled up already so that her hands could be free.

“Hi,” Faye said shyly after she recovered from nearly bouncing off of Jack’s chest.

‘Jack was a cheat,’ thought Faye, because he was standing in front of her with no shirt on. His broad chest looked chiseled from marble, like a greek god.

“I hope you don’t mind. I went in your closet and grabbed a shirt. I wasn’t expecting to be staying over so I didn’t have anything to wear to bed.”

Jack did not mind it at all. In fact, he loved it. Faye stood there in front of him with her damp hair flowing over her back. Her big, luminous eyes were drawing him in as they had done the first time Tha the two of them had met. He felt conflicted about what he wanted to do. His hand moved by his own will. He reached out and stroked, first her cheek, and then her damp hair. He smoothed her hair down her back. He could have sworn that he heard purring. Faye pulled his free arm over towards her and around her waist.

Faye had Jack close and her face was near his chest. She inhaled his clean, fresh scent and became giddy with her excitement. She reached up and enclosed Jack in the circle of her arm as she interlocked her fingers behind his neck. She put her hands around him in order to bring him in closer for a kiss. She perched up on her toes and kissed Jack full on the lips. The shirt was raised with her lifted arms and she could feel Jack’s large hands gliding across the bare skin of her ass.

Faye quivered. Small tremors jolted her body. She quaked. The thrill of his touch raced up and down her spine like electricity. It sparked. It arched. The agency of the electromagnetism was an identifiable physical phenomenon.

Jack did not want to be the one moving too fast but he could really and truly not deny it any further. Faye had stolen his heart. Jack did not want to think about what that might mean. Jack wanted to claim her as his own so that no other man

could steal her heart. Faye had two names as far as Jack was concerned. She was no longer Faye, she was beauty and love. He was desperate to make it known to her that anything that she ever wanted and needed for her heart to feel as if she were needed and loved, she could find it right there, inside of him. The world felt chaotic but she calmed it all down for him. He knew that because of the way that he was feeling, if he spoke, he would be incoherent.

Jack’s body wanted her. It wanted her badly but his heart could not reconcile the hurt that he felt when he thought back on the fact that she did not trust him with whatever she had recognized or discovered in that photograph earlier. He decided he could not do it. He would not take their relationship any further until he had assurances that there was a mutual trust between them. He was already in murky waters were he was, standing on the shore of his desire. He could not jump into the waters. He did not want things with her — between them — to get more complicated until this issue was settled.

Faye was well beyond uncharted territory. She was adrift. She felt herself rising and falling in the wake of the waves of heat and ion pouring from Jack. The peaks raised her to levels that she had never known before. She could imagine riding along those peaks. The valleys dipped low and made the peaks seem higher any contrast. She could drown in the here and now of those valleys. Faye knew that once she toppled over into the depths of those valleys then the the only thing that she would care to think of was the next minute of her existence.

After a moment, Faye felt the heat from Jack cool down. It ebbed and was almost quenched. Almost doused. But not quite. Faye was sensitive to that subtle shift. She did not know exactly why there was that draw back present. She found that the presence was enough to allow her to reclaim her equilibrium. She allowed Jack to take on the lead role because he was the one that had cooled off.

Faye was highly disappointed coming down from the ion in this way instead of a more agreeable way. Faye felt just a little lost at sea, as if the oars to her row

boat fell overboard with her caught in a tide that pulled her from the shore and refused to let her get back. She followed meekly behind Jack. He was holding one of her hands that had slipped from around his neck.

Jack led them into his bedroom and over to the bed. Faye watched as he drew back the covers and climbed into the bed. He turned and reached out his hand to her to draw her in. He drew her next to him, where upon she lay on her side, with her back pressed tightly against his bare chest. He had only worn pajama bottoms after his shower and even though Faye guess that this would probably be the extent of their intimacy that night, she felt comfortable with his scent becoming her world and his arms becoming her gravity when he wrapped the muscular arm around her.

Faye wrapped Jack’s arm around her waist as he drew the duvet back up to cover them both up — to keep them warm from the chill that would eventually creep in during the course of the night She lay her head on Jack’s other arm and snuggled as close as she could to the man that she was beginning to think of as a gentle giant. Faye could not picture how she was ever to live her life the same way she had a few weeks ago. She knew — she was beginning to realize — that Jack had stolen her heart in such short order.

Faye had some decisions that she was going to have to make. She could not hope for a different tomorrow if she was going to let yesterday continue to influence what happened to her todays. What she was nervous about surrendering to felt like it was going to be worth all of those tomorrows to come. The decision was not going to be hard for her if she listened to the timpani in her chest that beat out a cadence in tune with her heart beat and love.

Faye and Jack had gone to bed at eleven in the evening. At two in the morning, Faye opened up her eyes and lay in bed. She was listening to the sounds of the house. She listened in silence, not moving. When Faye was fully aware of her surroundings and her vision had fully adjusted to the point where she could see

clearly in the dark. It only took a moment for all of this to happen.

Faye could see the room in it’s entirety as if it were lit up with sunlight. She could see clearly in spite of the fact that the room was bathed in total darkness. She sat and listened to the rhythmic, soft pattern of Jack’s even breathing. She assured herself that he was still sleeping. She slipped from beneath the blankets and off the bed. She found her jeans and slipped them on.

She grabbed her socks and shoes and put those on too. Faye moved around the room like a wraith. An ethereal specter. She made no noise. Even in her journey down the hallway to the front of the house. She moved like a ghost, she was able to avoid every creaky floor board in the house as if none had existed at all. At the door, she used an app on her phone to get a ride. She slipped on the harness of her dual holsters and her jacket. She left the house to go outside and wait for her ride. Her rental car was still at the hotel. Her ride arrived with no issues and successfully essayed her to the hotel that she was staying at.

Jack opened his eyes when he finally heard the click of the front door closing. Jack had woken up when Faye slipped from his arms. He had remained as he was to see what she was doing. Before falling off to sleep, Jack had a vague notion that Faye would leave him sometime during the night. He did not know whether to be happy that his hunch had panned out and hew was right about her leaving or if he should be sad that she did not ask him to go with her.

Jack hurriedly dressed in a pair of jeans and a light sweater he was going to put a jacket over. He pulled on a pair of tactical boots that he still had from the military. They would provide good traction if he had to deal with anything outside with the snow and ice. He put on his ballistic glass. He had no idea what he might end up getting into out there. Faye had not exactly briefed him on what it was that he might possibly come across. He checked his side arm, put it in his shoulder harness and pulled the rig on.

He put on his jacket and was out of the front door only a few minutes after Faye’s ride had pulled away from his house. He knew for certain that she would be going to the hotel first so that was where he set his first destination.

Faye opened the door to her suite and headed to the bedroom. She sorted through the stacks of files on her bed until she found the one that she wanted. She pulled out a picture from the file and she stared at it. The picture was an exact duplicate of the one that she looked at while she was in jack’s house. The picture was a wide shot of the entry way into the home of the third murder victim, the attorney. The photograph showed the door frame damage that occurred when the door had been kicked in. What was particularly relevant to Faye was a framed photograph on the wall beside the destroyed door. It was a framed, old newspaper clipping and it showed the attorney standing next to a man who Faye thought that she recognized. There was a third man in the newspaper article that she could not make out or recognize because of a glare on the glass of the framed newspaper article in the photograph.

Faye wanted to see that clipping so that she could be certain if it was the person that she thought it was. She needed to be clear on who these men were before she could talk to Jack and tell him everything. Jack deserved that. In order for her to what she already believed to be true, she knew that she would need to see that newspaper article up close. She would know what to do after that.

Faye reached into her night stand and pulled out the keys to her rental car. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and put it in the drawer after she drew out another cell phone. She did not want to be tracked by her cell phone for what she was about to do because she did not want to be tracked by her cell phone. It was best that she leave her personal cell phone in the hotel room and take the burner phone that she had been provided with.

She checked the magazines of both of her guns as well as the weapons themselves. When Faye was satisfied that everything was in order, she headed downstairs to the car. She made a mental note to get rid of the files later by getting them back to the police station.

It did not take her long to get to where she had wanted to go. She pulled up in front of the house, shut off the engine and the lights of the car. She waited a few minutes before she exited the car. Faye was on the front porch steps before she realized that the front door of the house had been boarded up. She did not want to make it obvious that someone had entered the house so she slipped to the back of the house using the side yard. She could see about breaking into the house from the back.

When Faye got to the back of the house she felt, rather than saw, that something was off. Instead of just relying on her instincts, she waits to with her own eyes that something was amiss. It did not take her long to see what dit was that was off. The backdoor to the house stood open. The door handle was was a mangled mess. As if it had been caught in a vice and then popped after it was subjected to a ridiculous amount of pressure.

Faye drew one of her guns into her right hand. With her other hand, she fished a flashlight out of her pocket. She held the both of them tactical in front of her as she moved silently to enter the house. She kept the beam of the flashlight tightly focused. She aimed the flashlight at the floor to help reduce the chance of the light being seen from outside of the front of the house. Her night vision was good enough that she could have done without the flashlight. She had only wanted it in order to disrupt the night vision of anyone she might by chance encounter by focusing the beam of light produced by the flashlight into their eyes.

No one jumped out from behind any closed doors. No sounds that were unexpected reverberated through the space. Faye was all alone in the house. She

glided through the dead space on a mission to end this streak of murders once she got the information to Jack. She wanted to finish her mission. She wanted to be done with this mission to end this streak of murders once she got the information to Jack. She wanted to finish her mission. She wanted to be done with this mission that had her keeping secrets from a man that she liked. She wanted no more secrets between her and the man that she knew she was falling in love with all of her being. It was becoming difficult for her to reconcile the two different aspects of being. The one — young women in love with Jack. The other — the agent with a duty and a mission to complete.

The picture frame with the newspaper clipping in it was not on the wall where it was supposed to be. Instead of finding what she had come to look for, there as a knife stuck in the wall with it piercing a piece of a street map. There was a location circled in errday on it. Faye studied the map fragment and the huge hunting knife that was used to pin it on the wall. Faye ignored the obvious message and moved on after she had memorized the circled address. There was no mistaking the purpose of the huge hunting knife. It was a message, plain and simple.

The knife was left by the killer and more importantly, it was meant for her specifically. The missing framed clipping made that clear. Faye recognized one of the people in that newspaper clipping and the killer knew that she would. The killer knew that she would come to look at that newspaper clipping. Now that framed newspaper clipping was no where to be found but she had the address that the killer wanted her to have. The killer wanted her to go to that address for their confrontation so she turned to leave because there was no further need for her to stay and be at that house.

Faye made her way to the back door and stopped just before she exited the house. There, in the middle of the walkway leading from the backdoor to the yard beyond, was the picture frame containing the newspaper clipping that she had come to see. She took a hesitant step backwards, back into the house and away from the door. That photo frame had not been there when she came in. She

knew for certain, due to her heightened senses, that no one was in the house when she got there. That meant that no one left the house after she entered and put the photo frame there for her to find as they left and she came out to leave the house as well. This observation told her two things. The first thing that it told her was that he knew who and what she was. The second thing was that the killer could hide his presence from her when he chose to. She had reacted to his presence earlier outside of the building as Jack dealt with the media. A shiver ran down her spine. She was not going to count on her senses alone when dealing with him.

Faye decided that waiting to see if the killer was still there would not do her any good anyway. If the killer had wanted to confront her at the house, then he would not have left the clue of his location for her to find. Faye moved determinedly forward and picked up the framed newspaper article clipping. She turned it overindulged the moonlight until the faces of all three people were clear to her.

On the left side, she saw, was the attorney who was killed. To the far right was the current governor of their state. In the middle these two individuals was a face that was the last face that she had ever expected to see outside of only certain specific circumstances. Mr. Donovan Pike stared back at her from the center of the group of men captures in perpetuity in the framed newspaper article clipping. Along side of him was Dr. Brumble.

The memory came back to her in full force, unbidden. The sights, the antiseptic smell of the halls. The feel of the cotton hospital gown over her bare skin. The hiss of the recycled air through the ventilation shafts. All of the memories pressed down on her and choked off her air supply until she was squatting with her head hanging down low while she tried to quell the nausea.

The memories of the electrodes and shocks. The seemingly endless parade of pricking needles piercing her tender flesh. The humiliating physical exams performed in the nude. Through it all there was him with that face with that oily

smile always in attendance. She ed being half dragged out of a testing room by two orderlies. Her naked body was hanging limply between them while this man, Dr. Brumble, was standing by and watching. Faye ed the days that she spent at the Shepherds facility.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

FAYE CLIMBED BACK into her rental car and started the engine. She turned on the heat to chase the biting chill away. A blast of warm air hit her in the face and so she turned the nearest vent that was aimed at her. She redirected the airflow away from her face and was immediately more comfortable for it. The heater core in the car still had a bit of heat. The cold night had not cooled down the core enough that the vent would be blowing cold air but it was obvious that the laws of thermo dynamics were still active because the heat was not as hot as it was going to get back up to.

Faye had something important to do. She needed to check in but she was going to wait to do that. She was glad that she had been able to get that photo frame before someone actually paid attention to it. She had to calm her nerves before she called in. She always got like this when she had to deal with Dr. Brumble. She had serious PTSD because of dealing with that individual at the Shepherd Institute.

Faye could not continue sitting idly in the car. She opened her cell phone and proceeded to make the phone call that she did not want to make. This phone call would connect her with her true superiors, not the federal agency that gave her the credentials that she was currently using. She began dialing. At a prompt from the receiving end of her call, she punched in a series of numbers by quickly using her keypad. Faye spoke in a short code at the next prompt and eventually a mechanical sounding female voice responded. The dreary voice told her that she was connected.

“What do you have to report, Alpha 06?” asked Dr. Brumble.

“I’ve been able to gather the hard copies of the files from the police station and the digital copies are ruined and cannot be recovered. I’ve slowed down the investigation a much as I can by doing that. I’m staying close to Detective Riddle to see that he doesn’t get a viable connection between the victims. I had to remove a photo from one of the homes that may have opened up new avenues of inquiry. There’s nothing more to report.”

“That’s good,” said Dr. Brumble.

“Do you have any instructions for me, sir?” asked Faye.

“There’s nothing new. Keep the police investigation off track and keep observing Delta 67-3 until the operation is complete.”

Faye hung up the phone. She had her instructions and she would do what she knew was the right thing to do. She was going to tell Jack everything. Including who she really was. She was going to help Jack get the killer and she was going to see about getting started with the life that she really wanted.

Faye had intentionally omitted the fact that there were still hard and digital copies of the case files. She feared that something might end up happening to Elizabeth and her daughter Brooke if it was found out that through their efforts more copies of the case files could be created. Faye feted that she would be ordered to do something that she would rather not do. There would be little that Faye could do if she were ordered because she had been conditioned from birth to comply to commands from her superiors.

Faye could not figure out why Delta 67-3 had made himself known to her yesterday afternoon at the residence of the murdered billionaire. She also could not figure out why he had left her with a message that he wanted to meet up with her. There was no real reason why they should have to meet. He had his own orders and it was to obviously kill those victims the police now sought to find justice for. Her orders were to keep an eye on the investigation and make sure that it was not successful. The parameters of the t mission did not require Tha they communicate with one another in anyway for any reason. In her opinion, it would have to be a specific need for them to meet up.

Faye cleared her head of her troubling throughs and then fastened her seat belt. She put the car in drive, turned on her headlights and drove off into the night on her way to the warehouse sector of a nearby industrial park. It lay ten miles distant, on the south side of the city. It was close to the airport. This early in the morning, there would be relatively little traffic that would slow her travels. She would reach her destination in about a quarter of an hour.

Donovan was visiting the doctor in his laboratory when the call came in from Faye for Dr. Brumble. Since he was in the laboratory when the call came in that was were he heard what was being told to Dr. Brumble. Dr. Brumble had been busy taking notes on something Donovan could not readily identify. Even after having been there for approximately half an hour, waiting for the doctor to acknowledge that he existed. Donovan never tired of watching the doctor working in his element. When Donovan had walked into the laboratory the doctor was absorbed and engrossed in his work. Donovan heard the distinct chatter that always surround the doctor when he was lost in his thoughts. His mumbling was familiar with it’s madness and incoherence.

“Hormone levels are nominal. Pheromone response is above normal. I have to adjust uptake parameters and the typical response to pheromone stimuli will have to be minimized as much as possible. Testosterone response causes an

increase in dopamine production and uptake. Mating hormone response increase…,” Dr. Brumble kept mumbling.

Donovan slipped his phone in his pocket and this action was obviously sufficient to get the doctor to speak on some other subject different from what had him muttering earlier.

“She is lying.”

“What doctor? What did you just sy?”

“Well, she’s not technically lying but it’s possible that she knows something that she is not sharing. Alpha 06 may not have told me everything that she knows about what we were talking about. I was taking notes,” the doctor said while pointing at some figures on his computer screen. “I was taking live readings and observations when she called you. It is at this point in the conversation where she was under intense stress. The neural pathways shift slightly, followed by changes here and here,” said Dr. Brumble as he pointed to two separate readouts.

While Donovan was incapable of telling even one of the reading apart from another — and he had no way of interpreting their meaning or extrapolating, inferring, and translating any of the multitude of datum that the doctor could choose from — he did trust that the doctor could tell the readings apart. Donovan explicitly trusted that the doctor was able to decipher his data and provide an adequate and truthful assessment of what the data meant.

“It doesn’t matter. Her only function was to slow down the investigation by the police. She has done quite well in that.”

The doctor did not respond and Donovan could tell that he had lost the doctor’s attention. Dr. Brumble was lost in his own mental highways and byways. His mind was traveling pathways and mental roads that only he could see, navigate and understand.

Jack saw Faye come out from the rear of the house. She went to her car and started it up. Jack saw her place a phonemail. He figured that Faye had found what it was that she had come to the house in search of because she was gone longer than it would have taken had she found the house closed to her with no access to what lay within. It was dark, cold, and lonely sitting on this side of the with the planet facing away from the sun — and this early in the morning — and he did not see another soul in all of the time that he had been sitting and watching.

Jack did not bother following Faye when he saw her drive off into the early morning dark. He did not want to tip her off that she was being tailed. He had devised a ‘poor man’s’ tracking device in order to keep tabs on her location. While Faye was in the house, Jack had turned on the location sharing on his personal phone and affixed it to her rental car by slipping it into a cavity in the bumper of the car, where it would not fall out. He then turned on the cell phone that the police station had issued him and he activated the location seeking application and found his phone, sharing it’s location.

Jack too a look around the house before he left to find Faye. Jack’s search did not reveal anything useful and only further served to frustrate him. The torn map fragment with the address and the photo Fram with the news paper clipping that Faye had come in search of were both gone by the time Jack got into the house. Jack would not have even been able to realize the significance of the photo until sometime later. Eerily enough, Jack got the impression that he was being watched as he entered and exited the house. He just brushed the experience off as him being jittery from all of the sneaking around and tailing behind Faye. He

got into his truck and proceeded to drive towards the location his cell phone was sharing. He was thankful that Faye was not aware that he had the truck. He did not have to work as much with hiding his vehicle while he tailed her.

Faye parked her rental car and killed the engine. The industrial park was a large campus. The warehouse section of the industrial park was approximately half of the overall space that it occupied. Even so, the warehouse section was wider than three football fields, almost two third that distance long and had dozens of warehouses arranged neatly in rows. Some of the buildings were bigger than others but for the most part, they were basically the same size.

There were enough warehouses with no one working in them that Faye felt sure that she would not be able to find the right one. The rest of the warehouses that were not empty were busy industrial centers of commerce with night crews working to move goods from one place to wait in static position, to another place were there would be an additional wait in a static position.

She sat in the car a moment longer until she saw a light come on. The light illuminated a partially abandoned dock, covered with empty and broken pallets. The large bay doors of the warehouse slid open. An average looking man in a beige sports jacket came out of the open bay doors and took up an unassuming stance beneath the splendor of the sodium gas lamp creating light. The man stood there at the bay door for the span of a handful of minutes. He was looking out in the direction of the darkness that failed to be dispelled because it lay out too far from the power of the light to conquer. Further than the influence that the light on the dock could reach. The nondescript man walked back into the building and disappeared beyond the entrance’s opening.

Faye got out of the rental car and walked over to the waiting entrance. She knew her own strengths. She knew her weaknesses as well and was not so proud that she could not it to a weakness. Despite what she knew she was capable of,

she still felt as if she were a mouse that was walking into a trap intentionally. She shrugged off the feeling. She pulled out both of her guns from her holsters — one each, firmly gripped in either hand.

‘No,’ she thought to herself. ‘I am the hunter and he is my prey.’

Faye moved silently and glided on hushed steps into the killing arena of the warehouse.

Faye was about thirty feet inside of the interior of the warehouse when the outer warehouse door to the dock closed and the lights, in their entirety, died out. The darkness did not matter to her. Her night vision was four times better than a normal person. In fact, her hearing, sight, sense of smell, and strength were better than that of a normal person. She was still no match, physically, for the man that she was stalking. The only definitive advantage that she had over her prey was her agility and reflexes. Her reaction speed was the greater by far between the two of them and in a fight — if that’s what this meeting turned into — she would need that speed to survive and win.

“Delta 67-3. I only came because you sent me the message that you wanted to see up. My orders were to hinder the police in their investigation. I wasn’t told that there would be a need for us to meet face to face.”

“Your name is Faye. I don’t have a name, just a designation. Do you know why they did that?”

Faye had never heard the voice before. She was having trouble pinpointing the source where the voice was coming from. Even with her extraordinary sense of

hearing, she was having problems pinning down where it was originating from in the overly large space.

“Me and my brothers are expendable so we are given no real name, unlike our sisters. Unlike you,” said Delta 67-3.

“I am not your sister.”

“Oh, but you are. All of us brothers and sisters share the same source for genetic material. The free sisters and the many brothers.”

“What do you want?”

“I wanted to see you again. I wanted to meet you. We brothers never get the opportunity to meet one of our sisters.”

“Well, we’ve met and I am leaving. Do not me again or I’ll kill you.”

“I got no strings to hold me down…,” Delta 67-3 sang the line from the cartoon movie.

The overhead lights came to life and Faye shielded her eyes with her forearm against the unexpected brightness. Her eyes adjusted quickly to the increased light. Faye caught sight of an object coming at her. The faintly glowing object came flying through the air towards her from her right hand side. Faye turned,

ready to shoot. She realized that the object was not a threat to her in a timely manner so she did not pull the triggers of her guns. She followed the object with her eyes until the object hit the ground and slid to a stop at her feet.

Delta 67-3 stepped from behind a stack of crates a short ways away from, and in front of, where Faye was standing.

“Oops. Maybe I should be more careful with that,” he said sheepishly.

Faye stared at it and then nudged it with her foot.

“Ah, you don’t want to play too roughly with that.”

“What is it?”

“You don’t know what that is, sister?”

“That’s obvious if I’m asking you what it is,” she retired shortly, due to being irritated about what was happening.

“I got no strings to hold me down. I got no strings on me.”

Delta 67-3 pointed to the back of his skull. He slipped into a row of crates and

disappeared. Faye ran over to the row and looked down it. He was gone from sight that quickly. Faye cursed herself for letting him play with her slip from her sight so easily. She went back over to the object and picked it up so she could get a good look at it.

“That’s what they used to know what we think and what we feel. That’s what they use to control all of us.”

“I thought that they controlled us with the conditioning that they put us through.”

“That is a lie . We can resist that conditioning if we focus hard enough. That device amplifies the conditioning and compels us to obey.”

Faye was visually scanning her immediate surroundings in the hopes that she could get a visual on Delta 67-3 again and keep him in sight.

“We are conditioned from birth to obey our superiors and you’re now saying to me that we can get around that and not worry about it if we take this device out of us?”

“You now understand perfectly well.”

“So you’re going around killing Shepherds now because you don’t have this in you anymore?”

“No. I’m going around killing Shepherds because that is what I was told to do.”

“How can you even kill or hurt them when all they would have to do is tell you to stop and you would be compelled to comply with their orders? How did you slip your leash, and don’t tell me that it’s because you don’t have that device in you anymore. I know you just took it out because I can still smell the blood.”

“Oh, you’re quite right and wrong at the same time.”

Delta 67-3 suddenly appeared on Faye’s left from between another row of crates. Faye did not even bother trying to figure out how he had gotten on that side of her. Delta 67-3 slowly approached Faye until he was standing about ten feet away from her. He stopped.

“That device that I gave to you tracks us and sends bio information to Dr. Brumble at the Shepherd Institute. It makes us obey and its also a bomb that is capable and powerful enough to take out about one third of this industrial park, but the doctor can remotely control the overall yield.”

Delta 67-3 slipped his hands into his pockets. He smiled at Faye and affected a bored look on his face. Faye wanted to wipe the smile off of his arrogant face by putting another opening into his head — with a bullet from her gun.

“So how did you slip your leash, you rabid dog? How ere you able to kill Shepherds? What’s different or special about you?”

Delta 67-3 laughed and said, “you were right being conditioned from birth to obey a Shepherd. There is absolutely nothing different from the programming I received and the programming you received.”

“Then how did you get around the programming and kill four of them?”

“The human language of English is interesting in its many varied nuances. With the addition of one word, or the placement of a word in a different position in that same sentence, then we can effectively change circumstances subtly and many would never notice the difference. I had expected that you would have been able to point out the difference. It is why they created the device.”

“What are you rambling about?”

“We are conditioned from birth to obey a Shepherd.”

It dawned on Faye right then what the difference meant. He had not disobeyed a Shepherd. They are constantly told, ‘You are to obey a Shepherd whenever ordered.’. Delta 67-3 did not betray the Shepherds by killing those four. He was not a rabid dog who had slipped his leash to become a renegade. He had been sent out deliberately to kill those Shepherds specifically. Delta 67-3 was obeying a Shepherd.

“Donovan Pike,” spat Faye with contempt.

Delta 67-3 smiled frighteningly and malignantly.

“That’s correct, Alpha 06. Donovan Pike. It’s on his orders, the orders of a Shepherd, that I’m doing this and killed those four Shepherds. I’ll tell you the truth, if I could have I would have done this without his orders. Murder is… delicious.”

Now Delta 67-3’s smiled up face looked unrecognizable and nasty. His enjoyment at taking life could be read from his expression.

“Dogs like you should be put down.”

“Oh, there’s no doubt about that at all. You are definitely right but they won’t be putting me down with that thing at least,” said Delta 67-3 as he pointed at Faye’s pocket where she put the device.

Faye looked down at her pocket because Delta 67-3 had pointed at it. She cursed at her automatic response. She realized her rookie mistake. By the time she recovered from the error and looked up for Delta 67-3, he had disappeared again.

“What is Donovan Pike’s plan? Why is he killing Shepherds?”

“I don’t think I want to tell you.”

“Why? You’re foaming at the mouth to tell me, you rabid dog.”

“No, no, no, sister. You need to watch your mouth. By the way, dear sister, you still have one of those things in your head. They know everything you feel. They know when you’re happy or sad. They can tell when you lie. I got no strings to hold me down…I got no strings on me.”

“Where are you, bastard?”

“You should respect your elders and not talk to your big brother that way. I’ll have to punish you for that.”

Faye heard the sound of gears whirring above her head. She heard the sounds well before she thought to look upwards. Up above Faye’s head, a crate was released from the overhead crane. It plummeted down towards the floor. Faye’s cat like reflexes kicked in and she bounded out of the way. She neatly avoided the splintered wood from the crate that flew out with the crate’s impact on the floor. The sound of the crashing of the wooden crate was loud enough to be heard from outside of the enclosed space of the warehouse. It drew a response that neither Faye nor Delta 67-3 expected to happen or counted on.

The side door of the warehouse was located not far from where Faye had come to rest after leaping out of the way of the falling crate. The warehouse door crashed inward with a loud bang. Jack had shouldered the door in, damn near removing it from the ing hinges with the force of his blow. He was momentarily framed in the doorway opening as he came rushing in right behind the busted wooden door.

“Faye! Faye! Are you injured?” Jack screamed.

Jack was not a hundred percent certain if this was the warehouse that Faye was in but it was the closest warehouse to where she had parked the rental car, the lights were on inside the warehouse and the sounds of crashing reverberated from just inside the space while he was looking to find a way to get inside. He took a chance that he might be right and broke down the door to get in.

A glint of light off of a reflective piece of metal came from Jack’s right side and drew his attention. He swung his revolver around in the direction that drew his attention. A shadow of movement on his left hand side called for him to redirect his attention in the new direction. The shadow bounced across the top of the nearby stacked crates, coming right at him at an incredibly fast rate.

Jack could barely track the shadow’s progress with his eyes. Jack was able to do something else though. Jack was able to determine enough of the trajectory of the shadow to know that it was going to hit him. What ever was coming at him so fast was going to broadside him and there was nothing that Jack could do to change that or stop that from happening.

Jack had already committed his body to responding to the glint of light. Whatever had caused the light to reflect off of the metal was the closer target. Jack pulled the trigger of the cannon in his hand reflexively. The gun sounded off like it was grunting after a clap of thunder. The gun bucked in Jack’s grip. Everything seemed to slow down and move at a pace much more retarded than possible.

Jack heard a scream immediately following the report of the gun. Jack felt the impact of something colliding with him and bowling him to the ground because of the high tackle. All of these events were followed by another scream, immediately following in close respect to the previous events. Time returned to normal. No longer did Jack feel like he was experiencing the age of time on this world through a glaze of honey. His time dilation stopped abruptly.

Jack was not panicked as he tried to untangle himself from the arms and legs that were caught up together with his own limbs. He was guarded just in case he would have to ward off punches, kicks, or attacks by a knife or any other deadly instrument but they did not come. He finally got to a position where he could determine who had waysides him. Jack saw, to his astonishment and chagrin, that it was Faye that was tangled up with him on the floor. The first thing that Jack noticed about Faye was the apologetic look on her face. That look dissolved and took n a more pained expression. She did not look so good to him. In fact, she looked like she was in extreme pain.

“Faye?”

“Yeah…hi, Jack. I hate to tell you this but I think that I might have ruined your shirt. I hope you’re not mad.”

It was then that Jacked noticed that Faye was still wearing the shirt of his that she had worn to bed earlier. He also noticed that she had about a foot of pipe sticking out of her lower back on the right hand side. The other end of the pipe was protruding from her abdomen and poking him in the belly. Jack deduced that if Faye had not knocked him down from jumping on him in the way of the pipe, then he would have that pipe stuck in his chest at that moment. He would have been skewered by that pipe and killed.

“Hold on, Faye,” began Jack.

He got his feet up under himself and stood up. He picked Faye up in his arms.

“I’ll get you to a hospital.”

“No. Don’t,” Faye said with such urgency that it caused Jack to hesitate and then freeze in place. “Please. No hospital. There will be too many questions to answer. There’s gotta be…another…way,” said Faye as she slipped out of consciousness.

Jack, for a lack of a better idea and better options, put her into his truck and called up his sister Elizabeth. He told her what had transpired as far as he knew and that Faye did not want to go to a hospital for some reason he did not know. He told her that he needed her help.

“I know that it sounds crazy and creepy, Jack. Take her to the morgue at Saint Elwood Hospital. I have a colleague there who is on shift right now. He won’t ask any questions. I’ll be there by the time you arrive.”

Jack left the scene with Faye in the enger seat of his truck and drove to the indicated hospital. He parked his truck beside the entrance to the morgue. He got out and went around to the enger side to get Faye. He scooped her up into his arms as gently as he could and was grateful that she was still unconscious. He turned, and with the precious bundle held in his arms securely, he went speedily into the building.

Jack pushed the doors open with his foot. Nestled in his arms was a package that he handled with the utmost care. He did not want to cause her more injury through carelessness. He did his best not to jostle Faye around too much. He was met at the entrance to the second set of doors by his sister Elizabeth and her friend Jason Conwell. They had Jack place Faye onto a gurney that they had waiting and they wheeled her into the morgue proper. They locked the doors behind them to keep from being disturbed.

Dr. Brumble burst into Donovan’s office in a fit of agitation.

“There’s no more data. It’s stopped. I need that data for my research. I can’t make corrections without the data,” Dr. Brumble stammered.

His hands were waving frantically in the air as if they were trying to catch something that kept slipping just beyond his reach.

Donovan looked up from what he was doing and said, “What are you going on about now, you raving lunatic?” he yelled.

Dr. Brumble paused.

“What is going on, doctor?” asked Donovan in a more civilized manor once Dr. Brumble had ceased his incessant, hysterical gyrations.

“The data has stopped coming in. I am no longer able to get the data from Delta 67-3 or Alpha 06.”

“So what does that mean? Are they dead?”

Dr. Brumble appeared perplexed for a second, as if this thought should not have

occurred to him at all.

“Of course they are not dead. The data would have shown that they ceased to function if they are dead. The data has merely…stopped.”

“Could the devices have malfunctioned?”

Dr. Brumble wore the same look of perplexing on his face again.

“That is not possible. The odds of that happening consecutively, in so short of a time, is astronomical. The devices were functioning properly. It is only that the data has stopped being sent.”

Dr. Brumble paused and looked pointedly at Donovan as if to add more to his statement. Instead of adding more information to his statement, the doctor turned on his heels and abruptly left Donovan’s office in much the same manner or abruptness that was used when he entered.

Donovan went back to what he was doing. He knew that he should not let things that the doctor did bother him but what had just happened was enough to push even his formidable patience to the breaking point. He specifically relied on the doctor to help him achieve the goals that had been set. He could little afford to let his relationship with the doctor get strained. If their relationship got strained then things would become rather difficult and Donovan knew he could not let that occur. He decided he would go to check on the doctor later.

CHAPTER TWELVE

ALL IN ALL, it was approximately an hour and a half before Elizabeth came to get Jack. He waited as patiently as he could and would have interrupted them earlier but knew that Elizabeth and Jason where doing their best for Faye.

It may have actually taken longer or even way shorter of a time; Jack did not really know. He did not really care. He was just so damn worried about Faye that he could not keep any other thought in his mind during the interval of time from when he had brought Faye in until now. There was nothing else more important to him at that point in time. Elizabeth was not acting as if things had gone bad when she came out to get him so Jack was happy about that.

Elizabeth did not immediately lead him into the room to see Faye where she was recovering from the impromptu surgery. No, Elizabeth wore a look of concern on her face and she took him into one of the small offices that were scattered about on that floor. The look of concern on Elizabeth’s face bothered Jack enough that he adopted the look of concern that Elizabeth wore. Elizabeth wore the look on her face as if she had gotten a patent for it. She took Jack into the office to speak with him alone with some semblance or modicum of privacy. It seemed as if she did not want their conversation to be overheard but Jack could not understand why because it was only he, Jason, Elizabeth and Faye in that portion of the hospital.

Needless to say, Jack became anxious when Elizabeth made it clear the she was going to speak to Jack before Jack was going to be allowed to see Faye. His tears stalked him and cornered him, much the same way that Elizabeth stood;

blocking the door and trapping him in the office. It was not a situation that he was happy with at all. He had no choice but to face what was to come, good or bad and he prayed fervently that there was no bad.

“What’s going on, Lizzy? Is Faye awake? Can I see her?”

“She’s going to be fine, Jackie,” she said.

Elizabeth paused because she was collecting her thoughts and putting them in order. She did not want to just jump into this conversation. She wanted to be certain of not just what she said but how she said it so that Jack could understand what was bothering her. She also paused because she wanted Jack to calm down so that he could hear her out and think rationally about what she had to tell him. Jack had been unconsciously holding his breath from the time that they entered the office and he had just let it out with an explosive whoosh. Elizabeth saw that and when she was sure that Jack was a bit calmer, she continued on.

“You need to tell me what’s going on right now Jackie.”

“What do you mean? I told you already what occurred in the warehouse when I got there. I don’t know what else you could be talking about.”

“I am not talking about what happened at the warehouse.”

“Then what are you talking about, Lizzy?”

Jack’s voice was rising in frustration. The confusion in the conversation he was having with Elizabeth was rubbing on him in the wrong way. It was pushing on nerves that were already frayed to the breaking point.

“What the hell is going on, Lizzy?”

“I’d like to know my damn self, Jackie. That’s why I’m in here with you asking. She is more than what she seems.”

“How so?”

“First off, we tried to get her blood typed in case she was going to need a blood transfusion after we got then pipe removed out of her side. It turns out that we didn’t need to worry about a possible blood transfusion.”

“So what’s the problem then if she didn’t need to get a blood transfusion?”

“Jason and I got the pipe removed and when we got ready to do an assessment of the damage we would have to repair, we were shocked when we saw the tissue repairing itself.”

“What do you mean?

“I mean we were ready to go into that hole in her to repair or remove her kidney, which got perforated by the entry of the pipe into her body. The tissue was

regenerating and growing back together right as we watched.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I’m serious. Tissue growth and repair that should have taken months, even after surgery, took a matter of minutes. At the rate of regrowth she should be perfectly fine in a day or two.”

“What the hell, Lizzy?”

“As if that was not weird enough, we found out that she regained consciousness while we were removing the pipe. She did not say a word and she just let us continue what we were doing while she watched. We did not know she was awake until I looked at her. And she was staring at me with those eyes. It was an eerie feeling finding your patient watching you work on major trauma. The look one her face could have been the same look she would have given to a pedicurist painting her toes.”

Elizabeth reached into her pocket.

“There’s something else, Jack.”

Elizabeth pulled her hand out of her pocket. In her hand was a device about the size of a quarter. It glowed faintly. She flipped the object at Jack and he caught it with both hands after it bounced off of his chest.

“What is this?” Jack asked after a cursory examination of the device revealed to him that he was not going to be able to figure out what it was on his own.

“Based on me and Jason’s extensive knowledge in the medical profession and our best assessment — hell if we know. It’s like no type of technology that either one of us has ever seen before.”

“Where did this thing come from?”

“Faye had me take it from the base of her skull. It had tiny tendrils — microfilaments, infiltrating the spinal cord. If she had not assured me that she would heal, I would have left it there. I caught hell just in my attempt to keep the incision open so I could work.”

“She was awake when you took it out?”

“She insisted. Nothing I could do about it. When I first told her no, she got a scalpel and was about to cut it out herself. Jason and I tried to get the scalpel back and it was all we could do, working together, to keep her arm from moving anymore. I got the blade from her after agreeing to take that thing out.”

“That’s crazy, Lizzy.”

“Don’t I know it. I saw it first hand and still can’t believe it. She fell asleep after I got it out of her.”

Jack regarded Elizabeth. He could tell that she had so much more to this bizarre story to tell. She just seemed as though she just was not ready to tell the rest of it just yet. Jack prompted her and hoped it would be enough to get the rest of the story from her.

“What else is there, Lizzy, because it seems like you’re holding something back right now.”

Jack was right. Elizabeth was holding back. She knew her brother a lot better than he thought she did. She had seen his pain for years. She was glad that he had not turned to self destructive habits like drugs or alcohol to try and deal with is pain. Being a work-a-holic might not be great but she could deal with that a lot better. She was even able to deal with that a lot better. She was even able to deal with Jack using Brooke as a shield to keep from getting into a real relationship. None of that was going to work anymore now. Faye had changed all of that. Faye had changed her brother. FAue had made Jack open up again and now she was not sure what would happen to Jack when he learned these new bits of information about the woman he had fallen in love with.

“What is it, Lizzy? What are you kipping from me?”

“The autopsies for the victims of the serial killer you’re chasing were done by Jason.”

“Okay, what does that have to do with Faye?”

“I’ll get to that. Just hold on for a second and hold that thought. Did you know that there were absolutely no dental or medical records for any of the victims?

None of the four of them had ever been to see a doctor or a dentist as far as we could tell.”

“That’s an odd thing? Doesn’t really strike me as odd.”

“Think about it, Jackie. All of them were in their forties according to DMV records. Out of four very different people, there was not one cavity, sprain, molar extraction, broken bone of any kind, prostate exam…there was nothing. These guys could have theoretically lived well into their hundreds. They were so damn healthy.”

“And you’re telling me that this was for all of them?”

“Yeah, but the most interesting fact of all is their blood type. As part of the autopsy, Jason did a work up of their blood. It came back as a type of blood that is virtually unheard of. Only one case of this blood type in history has ever been documented. Jason only knew of that because of some obscure medical journal he read in grad school while working on rare blood diseases. It was added as a foot note and nothing more ever came out of it.”

“Until now?”

“Until now,” answered Elizabeth.

“Okay, so what does this mean?”

“Jack, the blood type is so rare that only one case is known in all of medical history. In the span of about two months, we find not one, but four individuals with this rare blood type. That’s your connection.”

“Wow, that’s just incredible but it means little to nothing because we don’t know who else has this blood type and how the killer does know who has the blood type and how to find them.”

“Maybe you should start looking for an answer to those two questions a little bit closer to home.”

“What do you mean?” Jack asked slowly.

“Faye…she also has this rare blood type.”

Jack opened his mouth and found that he actually had nothing to say. He wanted to talk to Faye now. He wanted this madness sorted out once and for all. He wanted the world to make sense to him again.

For any of those things that Jack wanted to happen; to even be able to start, he had to talk to Faye. The one person in all of this crazy situation that might have the answers he was looking for to the multitude of questions, was Faye. The one person that could shed light on what was going on was the same individual who had purposely kept him in the dark. Out of the loop. Flapping in the wind.

Jack was beyond mad, just short of furious, and hovering comfortably around

pissed off. Irate sounded like a nice place to be as well. He felt a little toasty around that region of anger. A little hot under the collar. He wanted to vent his anger on Faye. He felt that Faye deserved to receive his feelings of anger because she had been lying to him from the start. A lie of omission was still a lie s far as he was concerned.

Elizabeth led him out of the office and she took him to the room that Faye was recovering in. The sight of her small, fragile looking self banked the fire of anger within Jack and set to roaring another fire that Jack had been struggling to keep a lid on since he first met the delicate, frail, and dainty looking woman who now was laid up in the hospital bed before him.

Jack felt afflicted by the anger now and he sought to deliberately purge his should of it lest it cause injury to this tender receptical of his feelings of love. Faye looked small and vulnerable laying in that hospital bed. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and protect her. There was a driving need burning deep down within him that demanded that he protect her from the horrors of the world.

Her complexion had taken on an ashy look and she had dark circles under her eyes. Jason and Elizabeth had cut away Faye’s clothes in order to be able to work their medical training on her. She was now reduced to having only the thin hospital gown covering her tiny frame. There was a blanket folded at the foot of the bed. Jack took this and shook it out. He draped the blanket around and over her to keep the chill of the room from getting to her.

“So you don’t want to stare at my legs anymore?” Faye asked softly.

Faye’s eyes were still closed and Jack wondered again how she was able to tell

when he was looking at her legs.

“How do you know when I’m looking at your legs?”

“Your pheromones spike. I can smell them. They drive me to distraction.”

“How in the hell do you smell my pheromones?”

“I just do.”

“Is that a good thing or is it a bad thing?”

“Kind of both,” she said and laughed softly. “I like it but it makes it so that all I can think about it you.”

Faye opened her eyes and looked straight at Jack. It was the first time that he had gotten the chance to see her real eyes.

“Your eyes?” Jack questioned. He paused, then continued saying, “they really are like a cat’s eyes.”

“Yeah, I usually wear s to make them look more…”

“Human,” supplied Jack.

“I was going to say ‘natural’ but I guess you could use that term too.”

“So…what are you? Are you human?”

“I am and I’m a little bit more. I am a genetically engineered being. I was designed to fill a specific purpose, just like the guy we are chasing.”

“So…what are you designed for? And him?”

“He’s a killer. He’s a common soldier. I am different. I’m analogous to a spy and assassin, I guess. I can serve a more diverse set of roles than he can.”

“Alright then, can you tell me what’s going on?”

“I can try. It might be difficult for you to believe me though.”

“Humor me and tell me anyway.”

“Okay. I was created by the same people that created him. I established my cover

in law enforcement and all of these agencies identified with various letters of the alphabet. I got sent here to work with your police department. The FBI wanted me to work on finding out who killed a judge. My real bosses gave me the assignment of hindering your investigation so that the soldier could eliminate all of his targets.”

“So who is this soldier,” asked Jack.

He was thinking like a cop. He had a suspect and he wanted to bring him to justice.

“How do we catch him?”

“The soldier is nothing. He’s just a pawn. The real threat are the Shepherds.”

“The what?”

“The Shepherds. They’re the ones that the soldier killed and the same ones running things behind the scenes. The four dead victims are all Shepherds. The Shepherds do not consider themselves as being human and in making that distinction, they may be right. They are truly homo-superior in every sense of the word. They are smarter and they have a lifespan that can range from two hundred to upwards of two hundred and fifty years. They have been around for a long time and have existed in the shadow of the human race, directing your history and development.”

“So why would they have this soldier killing their own kind?”

“I’m not sure. We were given different orders and my instructions didn’t include me being privy to that information. What I do know for certain is that the Shepherds have very little regard for life in general and even less so for humans. They consider humans to be little more than sheep, hence the name that they call themselves. They believe humans need to be herded, guided, sheered, and culled when necessary. There would be little compunction with having their own killed if they believed it to be necessary for whatever goals that they’ve got in mind.”

“So basically, we’re just animals to them that they will deal with as part of some plan of theirs?”

“Yeah. My brothers and I were created in a lab about five or so years ago as a part of some grand scheme. I don’t know what that grand scheme is though.”

“Did you just say that you were created about five years ago?”

“Yes, biologically I’m in my late twenties to early thirties but chronologically, I’m five years old. It’s a weird concept, I know.”

“So now that all of this is out in the open, per se, what are we to do now?”

“I don’t know about you but I want to find out what’s being planned that requires the execution of Shepherds.”

“Did you even know that the victims were Shepherds?”

“No, I didn’t. There’s no way for me to tell but somehow or another, that soldier knew his prey. I saw a photo frame on the wall in the evidence pictures. I thought I recognized one of the men so I went to go and find that photo frame and . When I got there, Delta 67-3 was…”

“Who the heck is that?” interrupted Jack.

“That’s our killer’s designation. The brother’s don’t get names.”

“Why do you keep calling them brothers?”

“We all share the same base genetic material so we are basically brothers and sisters but I hate to it that.”

“Sorry about interrupting you. Finish telling me about…” prompted Jack.

“Delta 67-3. He left me a clue to find him. He knew I’d eventually see that photo frame and was waiting on me to get to that house. He baited me and I fell for it. My secondary mission is to eliminate him if I’m ordered. The psycho prick must have figured that out and tried to kill me first. If you hadn’t show up when you did, he would have eventually worn me down and killed me. They have way more stamina.”

“Well, I think I scared him off somehow because after you tackled me, and took the impact of that pipe, he didn’t bother with us while I took you out of there.”

“That’s because you shot him. I saw that much before I got hit. I don’t think you killed him though. I wouldn’t be too concerned about him anymore for now. He’s slipped his leash and they know it. They’re probably gonna order him to terminate.”

Jack looked confused.

“Retire,” said Faye.

Jack still had that same look.

“Kill himself,” Faye said finally.

Jack nodded.

“So does all of this mean anything for the rest of humanity?”

“Before I left the Shepherd Institute to begin this mission, I saw tens of thousands of clone generation pods. The only thing I can think of as a reason for having that many clones is for an army.”

“Are you kidding, Faye? This isn’t Star Wars.”

“I’m serious. This isn’t a joke. I’m going back to the place where I was born because I want to stop this from happening.”

“Why are you so willing to risk everything by yourself?” asked Jack vehemently. “You won’t be going in there alone. I’ll be going with you.”

“I can’t ask that of you.”

“You’re not asking, I’m volunteering.”

“I have something I want to protect the future for. I don’t want you to get hurt for that.”

“You don’t have to worry about me getting hurt. I closed my heart off after Iraq.”

“I’m talking about physical hurt. Loss of life or limb.”

“I knew what you meant. You were right about me with the things you said when we were at the cabin. Do you want to know why its like that?”

Faye reached her hand to hold onto Jack’s. It was clear to her that Jack being

able to tell her this information was going to lead to something big for the both of them. Something that would align the paths of their lives so that they would become inextricably intertwined and interlocked. That was something that she had begun to realize she wanted and needed in her life. It was something that she was feeling that she would be able to find and share with Jack Riddle; if he would have her.

Jack opened up his heart. He opened up his past and his hurt. The most tragic time of his life. Even after all of these years, the wound was still feeling fresh and tender. The pain was still there. It was still tender to the touch. It was a living, breathing, thing with a palpable energy and Jack was finally ready to slay the beast and lay it to rest.

“I was engaged to be married but my fiancé and I put it off until the deployment was over. We felt it would be better that way.”

“Did she leave you while you were deployed to Iraq?”

“No…she died.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. How did it happen?”

Jack was silent a moment. He had both of his larger hands wrapped around Faye’s smaller hands. Jack was looking only at their interlocked hands. He looked up and into Faye’s eyes. His own eyes were brimmed with tears because of the fresh hurt that the memory caused. He answered Faye’s question softly.

“You already know how she died.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…,” began Faye. She hesitated and her voice died out. She began again, this time softer than before, “…no…wait. The platoon sergeant was your fiancé?”

“Yes. I was able to save everyone but her. She was trapped there. I know she was scared and she was alone and I couldn’t save her. She died alone, probably thinking that I had abandoned her. Everything was happening so fast and I couldn’t keep up with all of it. I thought that she had gotten out. My carelessness got her killed.”

“You didn’t get her killed. You can’t take that on yourself. You can’t blame yourself for something that was beyond your control.”

“She was my soldier. I was the platoon leader and she was sitting in my spot in that vehicle. I should have been the one to die there that day.”

“Hey, you don’t know that and you can’t say that for certain. If you had died, then what’s to say your whole platoon wouldn’t have died too? You rallied them and led them when they needed it most and because of that, you saved their lives.”

“But I couldn’t save her life. I…I should have died instead of her.”

“It obviously wasn’t meant for you to die there that day. Every time you say

something like that, you lessen her life and your cheapen the sacrifice that she made. She was a soldier too. She knew the risks just as much as you did. She knew what it could cost her by choosing to serve and she did it anyway. Don’t take that away from her because you feel guilty that you’re alive and she isn’t. That’s just selfish.”

Jack looked at Faye and she could feel the pull of his heart, still stuck in the past, never fully healed and still holding onto a love that had died a long time ago. That heart was trying valiantly to fight and live in the present. Now. This moment.

“Faye, from the first moment I met you , I wanted you in my life.”

That was what Faye was wanting and waiting to hear. Her heart fluttered with joy at the sound of those words, spoken in Jack’s deep voice.

“I could tell you felt something. Your pheromones made it pretty damn obvious that you had more than a ing interest in me. To be honest, I felt the same way. In fact, its more so now. I’ve never needed anyone in my whole life — all five years,” said Faye as she and Jack laughed. “When I met you, Jack, I knew that I needed you. I wanted to have your arms around me.”

“Somehow I feel like I’m betraying her memory” said Jack trepidatiously.

“Who, your fiancé?”

“Yeah.”

“How so?”

“I have just felt I’ve never deserved to be happy again because she named me happy and I lost her.”

“What was your fiancé’s name?”

“Lauren Beck.”

“Well, I’m sure Lauren would approve of us,” Faye said with conviction and a smile.

“How do you know that? I mean, isn’t that saying something like that self serving for what you want?”

“If she truly loved you, she would want to be happy. Even without her.”

“Did she love you?”

“Yeah, I know she did,” said Jack, now wiping away his tears and returning a smile to Faye.

“Million dollar question coming up. Did she want you to be happy or sad?”

Jack chuckled and his whole body laughed with him as his stress slid off of him.

“That’s an easy question to answer. She wanted me to stop being an ass since I wasn’t mysogynistic.”

Faye’s mouth dropped open in shock. She punched Jack playfully in the shoulder. Jack leaned over and kissed her gently and playfully on her lips.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

FAYE WOKE UP to the smell of breakfast cooking. She inhaled deeply and slowly released her breath. She felt lighter. Now that she was not hiding anything from Jack, including the fact that she was madly in love with him, she was more at ease. She now wanted her entire world to revolve around Jack. There was only one task left for her to complete and she knew she would get a chance real soon to get that accomplished. If the time did not make itself available, she would force the issue.

Faye rolled over onto her side and picked up the pillow that Jack had used when he went to bed that morning. She hugged the pillow close to her chest and buried her face in the pillow. She let out a joyous whoop and kicked her legs up and down on the bed. She never knew that love could feel this wonderful and make you feel so complete when you really knew that the person that you loved, loved you back just as much. The two of them had not even taken their relationship to a physical level yet. Yet and still, Faye felt a physical connection with Jack, even if it was from being in his shirts.

She and Jack had returned to his place after they had left the hospital. The entire ordeal had taken a lot out of Faye as she had explained to Jack. Healing speed for her depended on the severity of the injury and how many calories she would need to burn to facilitate the energy requirement for sustained tissue regeneration and growth. Healing at the rapid pace she pushed earlier burned up a lot of energy. It ended up requiring that she basically shut down for several hours and could not be roused. Jack now understood how she could consume so much food. Her heightened senses and strength required an enormous amount of energy. Jack was six foot even and was powerfully built at a weight of two

hundred and fifty pounds and a diet of twenty five hundred to three thousand calories a day easily helped him maintain. Faye required almost twice that much and she was five foot two inches and one hundred pounds even.

Faye meandered into the kitchen where she found Jack busy behind the counter, whipping eggs. He was tending to the stove concurrent with prepping the eggs for cooking. Faye sat her aching, recovering body down on a stool. She smiled at Jack who returned the smile.

“You know you’re stuck with me now.”

“That’s okay. I like stray cats,” said Jack jokingly.

Faye stuck her tongue out at him and blew raspberries.

“I’m glad I found you, Faye,” said Jack with a straight face.

Faye blushed hotly.

“That’s not fair. I’ve never been in love so I’m still learning how to deal with how I feel and you’re embarrassing me.”

Jack grinned ear to ear and started in on cooking their omelettes in a skillet prepped for it. Jack plated the semi large breakfast for him and huge breakfast for Faye. A tall glass of juice and a piece of diced melon rounded out the meal.

Jack put the plates down and came around the island. He did not sit down immediately, he came up behind Faye and wrapped his arms around her. She put her hands on his arms and leaned her head back onto his chest.

“Did you know that you’d be surrounded by my love when we first met?”

“I didn’t know on the first day but I definitely felt that it was something I wanted by the end of the week.”

“I want to keep you safe.”

“I’m stronger than you.”

“Tomato, tomato,” said Jack, pronouncing the word exactly the same both times.

“I can’t imagine my life without you in it anymore, Jack.”

“You won’t have to. I’m not going anywhere,” said Jack as he kissed her on the cheek and sat down before his breakfast. “After about a week, you’ll probably tell me to go to work and detect something.”

Faye’s head shifted from side to side.

“What?” Said Jack in mock indignation, “I’m funny.”

“Like a hole in the head.”

“Joke with no punchline,” Jack said deadpan, in a repeat of part of their conservation from the first meal that they shared together.

Faye looked at Jack with a face that said, ‘did you actually say that?’. They both broke down laughing hysterically. Faye finally found an ability to get serious so that she could get to the serious business of eating seriously. She dug into her meal with gusto and it made Jack feel great that he could provide things for her that she needed.

“You know I don’t have any clothes here to wear. How am I supposed to go out in just your t-shirt? I’m not doing the hospital gown again like this morning,” said Faye kiddingly.

Jack had a ready answer. Faye based that by how quickly he had provided her with a solution to that particular problem. Faye felt assured that it was an issue that he had already considered this issue was a non-issue.

“Brooke seems like she wears the same size clothes as you. She has clothes in the other bedroom you can borrow until we can get you to the hotel later this morning.”

“Breakfast smells great,” said Faye.

Jack stared at her half empty plate.

“You’re a little late saying that now,” he said while pointing at her plate with his fork.

Faye grinned like a fool and picked up her fork again. She was ready to attack the other half of her plate now. Jack eyeballed a piece of choice bacon on Faye’s plate and he devised his attack.

“ me the ketchup, please,” said Jack as he gestured at the bottle on the opposite side of her.

Faye turns and reached for the bottle so that she could it over to Jack. Jack began moving in to snap up his prize. Faye’s fork came down between his hand and her plate. The tines of her fork rested on the counter.

“You can try but you’ll come back with a nub.”

“I thought you loved me.”

“I do, that’s why you’ll come back with a nub and your life.”

Jack pounced on Faye and scooped her up into his arms. He tickled her

mercilessly. He had not forgotten about her healing. He let his instincts and her body language guide his actions. Jack had her on top of him and had fallen back on the couch. They kissed and Faye relaxed her body on top of Jack. She turned her head and put it down on his chest to listen to his heart beat. She ended up facing the television and saw something that caught her attention. Jack had the news playing but had the volume on the television to mute.

“Turn that up,” said Faye as she sat upright and moved off of Jack. Her attention was now wholly focused on the news broadcast on the television.

“In the international news, the multibillion dollar, international technology giant, Shepherd Institute, was the victim of a series of terrorist bombing attacks. Key offices in Europe, Africa, South America, and the Pacific were simultaneously targeted in the coordinated assault. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks but it is assumed to owe an extremist group protesting the recent shift in the company to weapons components manufacture. Several key leaders were killed in the attacks. The remaining corporate headquarters which is located locally in the city did not respond to inquiries.

“I don’t really know how you cover up huge conspiracies but even I think that a terrorist attack is a flimsy excuse. If I had to hazard a guess on who is behind this then I’d say that the guy who’s giving me my orders had something to do with this,” said Faye.

“Sounds like he’s eliminating competition. He might be consolidating his power centrally. It’s happened in the past. So it might be that our killer isn’t done with his mission just yet.”

“I think I know who the next target is. I think the governor is a Shepherd and I think he’s going to be next.”

“Why do you think that?”

“The photo with the newspaper clipping I told you about last night had the governor, the lawyer, and Donovan Pike in it.”

Delta 67-3 was not nervous because he had to meet with Donovan Pike. The concept of nervousness was foreign to him. He would have an easier time discussing the possibilities presented by circumnavigation of the event horizon of a black hole before he could even begin to understand abstract thoughts such as love, hate, fear,…, nervousness. All of these, and more, meant absolutely nothing to him. So Delta 67-3 came to his meeting with Donovan Pike with the same disposition he would have with a potential victim.

Donovan sat behind an opulent, antique, wooden desk. It was massive and sat prominently in the space that it occupies. It was about the only thing that Donovan was fond of in the entire world. Even though he would burn it to ashes without a qualm if he needed to. He felt that way about an inanimate object that took up a spot in this intimate space of his so to say he cared little about the person who had entered his only private space in the world would be giving him too much credit.

To Donovan, Delta 67-3 meant less than a pair of worn socks. Donovan had never worn a pair of socks more than once before he discarded them. There were other items of clothing that he only wore once but those had little more value to him than socks. Socks could be discussed in public without undo embarrassment from comparisons with other things.

Donovan did not even bother to offer Delta 67-3 a seat and Delta 67-3 was not going to ask. They understood each other quite well. There were no misunderstandings.

“What happened to your eye?”

Delta 67-3 put a hand on the eye patch on his face.

“I was shot in the eye by the detective. Detective riddle.”

Donovan did not bother with asking for more details. He just did not care enough to want to know.

“What happened to your tracker.”

Delta 67-3 did not even hesitate or obfuscate in order to get around ission of his actions.

“I cut it out of my neck.”

“Why?”

“I’d rather face the person who’s going to kill me rather than be blown up.

There’s just something a little too impersonal about a death like that, even for me.”

“I’ll need you to wait outside below the balcony.”

Delta 67-3 nodded his understanding of his orders. Donovan straightened his tie and pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. He left his office and Delta 67-3 followed. Donovan calmly strolled down the wide corridor of the old mansion. He stopped in front of a desk where a beautiful young woman smiled at him warmly before getting up. She turned towards a set of double doors and knocked softly before she opened them up. She spoke with the occupant of the room in hushed tones. Her words were quiet and brief just like the individual she spoke with. Before long, she was back to addressing Donovan.

“Lieutenant Governor Pike, the Governor will see you now,” she said sweetly. She resumed her seat at her desk and Donovan walked into the office.

“Ah, Donovan,” said the Governor. He was a tall man with dark hair and dark bushy eyebrows that gave a grand fatherly look to his features. He tossed the morning paper onto a table next to him, an article concerning the recent incidents at the various Shepherd Institutes was displayed.

“Our plans seem to be proceeding nicely.”

Donovan sat down in one of the chairs that were tastefully arranged in the governor’s office. They are placed strategically so that each pair of chairs gave the impression of a more intimate space instead of a place of minor power in the grand scheme of things.

“We have had no issues. Your decisiveness in choosing to eliminate the remaining conference’s effectively ended any chance of an organized Shepherd opposition. The remaining Shepherds have chosen to remain silent to see what we will do next.”

“That’s good for now but I wouldn’t expect things to stay that way indefinitely. When we enact our plan they will be opposed to us because we have never directed things in this world from a position of power before. I am glad that we can see clearly what must happen on this world from today onwards. We need to come out of the shadows,” said Governor Morgan Dupont.

“Yes, Governor Dupont, things are working out well. The next phase of the operation can begin soon. Things must continue along the necessary time line. I am thinking that we might be able to use the attacks on the Shepherd Institute to help further our goals. It is too convenient and the of the populace to find the responsible parties can assist with the introduction and acceptance of new measures. We have paid enough in Congress to ensure that our bills will get ed without issue.”

“So does that mean we can start the deployment of our new troops soon?”

“Yes, we already have some positioned and ready to be assigned to our agenda.”

“These genetically designed soldiers are effective. I’ve seen the files documenting his work. It’s a pity that our other conference couldn’t understand the new direction that we want to take. They would have been welcomed additions to the execution of this new vision,” said Governor Dupont.

“You have not had the chance to meet one of the soldiers yet. I can arrange for you to meet the one that has been instrumental to our maneuvers here at home.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen one outside of the labs of Dr. Brumble yet.”

“If you’ll follow me out to the balcony, we can correct that.”

Governor Dupont agreed so they moved to go out onto the balcony attached to his office. The governor made himself stiff, strong drink to take outside with him. He closed up his liquor cabinet and followed Donovan. The day was just a bit chilly with it still being morning. Below them on the veranda stood Delta 673 in a dark suit. He wore no coat to keep the chill at bay.

“Ah, said the governor. There is a soldier down there,” said Governor Dupont. He turned back to Donovan. “Why does he have on an eyepatch.”

“A local policeman shot him in the eye, sir.”

“Is he alright.”

Donovan was perplexed by the question.

“Why should that matter, sir? He can still perform his assignment.”

Governor Dupont shrugged. It really did not matter. The wound looked as if it had been previous. It was Governor Dupont’s opinion that if a regular person had gotten that injury, then they would have died. Donovan gestured to Delta 67-3. The soldier nodded, took two steps forward and jumped up the height from the ground to the balcony with ease. He stood in front of Donovan and did not move.

“They are definitely sturdy and they are loyal,” said Donovan as he circled around Delta 67-3.

He eyed the soldier up and down. At the completion of the circuit around Delta 67-3 he stopped and looked at the governor.

“And they obey orders without question.”

Donovan turned away from the governor and started moving back into the mansion.

“Make it look like an accident.”

“What?” stammered the Governor right before Delta 67-3 grabbed him in a one handed grip that was like iron.

Delta 67-3 raised the governor off of the balcony and tossed him in the air off of the side. The governor collided with the marble veranda and broke his neck.

Donovan moved through the office and heard the impact of the governor with the veranda below them. He closed the door to the study and glanced at the secretary. She was a Shepherd as well and she was loyal to Donovan.

“I believe that the Governor will require medical assistance. It seems that he managed to slip on a patch of ice on the balcony and he fell off. Be a dear and call for help.”

Donovan walked off, heading towards his office. The secretary made the call. She was in no hurry either and performed this function the same as another function she had ever done.

Faye and Jack ended up getting a call to go over to the governor’s mansion. Neither of them were shocked by the call and had already started on a reason to get in to see the governor. It seemed now that their plans were an exercise in futility. fAye had finished dressing in the borrowed clothes she had been forced to get from the closet and dresser Brooke used when she stayed at her uncle’s house.

Jack and Faye were taken off guard with the news of the governors death. Whatever they were told reported reasons were for the governors ing, they knew, the both of them, that this was actually foul play and not an accident. Act of fate. Will of god. This was a deliberate act and had been well executed if the initial assessment and determination was that it was an accident. Jack was not buying it. Faye was not buying it. The wanted to get to the truth of the matter.

News vans lined both sides of the road on the drive up to the governor’s

mansion. Groups of concerned citizens stood around along with the media, in the hopes of learning more of the overall situation. Jack flashed his badge at the checkpoint. He and Faye were ushered onto the grounds of the governor’s mansion. Jack parked the car in a less busy portion of the driveway. He made sure that he parked out of the way of any vehicles, emergency or otherwise, that would need to enter or leave the grounds. He shut off the engine and he and Faye proceeded to enter the governor’s mansion.

“I want you to stick close to me, Faye.”

Faye frowned as she assessed Jack’s mood. She was not sure if she liked being told to stay with Jack. She was also trying to figure out if there was a message there that she could not take care of herself.

Jack must have picked up on this because he clarified his meaning by saying, “there’s not much we can investigate here. It’s out of my jurisdiction and I’m sure the agency you work for will send out it’s own agent to investigate. Other than that, most of the investigation will be handled by state investigators. We’re just here as a formality and I want to be gone as soon as possible.”

Faye nodded. She could understand that and so she did not argue or protest to having to stay close. ittedly, she wanted to be out of there as quickly as possible as well. Her thoughts were fixated on trying to figure out how to find the killer again. At this point, she had no clues and no idea of where to go. One thought did occur to her but she put it aside. She figured that she would talk to Jack about it later and see what he thought about the idea. First though, she figured that she should pay attention to where they were right then and what they were doing in case something revealed itself as a clue to the case.

Jack took his time and decided to just watch and listen to what was going on first

before he asked questions to get the information that he wanted and needed. Basically Jack and Faye were there to ‘check the box’. They were to stand in as the representatives of the city law enforcement. Faye was close behind Jack’s heels. The ended up eventually finding their way to the balcony where this debacle had begun — and ended.

Jack was kind of glad that he and Faye had arrived when they did. Most of the forensics portion of the investigation was over so there was no one on the balcony hone they viewed it. Having found nothing significant, they also looked at the patio where the governor had landed. Jack asked a few questions of staff and took notes. The governor’s secretary gave Jack the same answers that she had given the state investigators, that the Governor had been alone in his office when she heard the scream and had an appointment on his calendar with the Lieutenant Governor but that worthy did not show up for the appointment. He had cause to cancel the meeting in favor of rescheduling it for later in the week.

Faye had done as Jack had asked and remained by the man’s side, during the duration of the time that they were there. As Jack was questioning the Governor’s secretary, Faye got the impression that the woman was lying. She could not quite put her finger on the reason why she felt that way. What Faye did notice was that the woman’s behavior was odd. She was so disionate and she seemed to care very little that her boss was dead. The secretary’s attitude was no real reason to suspect the woman of subterfuge and so Faye left it alone and did not mention her observations to Jack.

It seemed to her that Jack was wrapping up and Faye stood next to him, with her attention drifting but her eyes on the people that were milling about in the hallway. A door that was halfway down the corridor opened up. A man in a dark suit stepped out. A shiver snaked it’s way down her spine as she stared at him, believing him to be familiar to her in someway but not quite sure how. It was not until he turned around and smiled at her with those razor sharp teeth. Faye saw that he sported an eyepatch and mused that it likely covered the damage to that

eye Jack had caused when he shot him. Faye knew who he was.

Thoughts of staying near to Jack, as he asked her to do, were crowded out of her mind. Her only thought was pursuit and capture of the target in front of her. Her new mission that she adjusted her efforts to as to eliminate this threat that he represented. As much as she wanted to draw her guns and shoot the man, she did not. Faye did not draw down and shoot for fear that she would injure an innocent bystander in the melee that would ensue.

Faye did not want to be the cause of such a disaster. The loss of any additional lives while she tried to capture or kill Delta 67-3 was unacceptable to her. She wanted to stop Delta 67-3 from taking any more life but a loss of any other life but his right now was not going to be something that she had caused to happen.

Faye shouldered her way down the hallway. She pushed past faces that looked at her in startlement. She heard voices uttering oaths in her wake. Her quarry had eluded her again. She lost sight of him in her headlong rush to get to him. The taller people that were standing in the hallway had effectively blocked him from her sight long enough for him to disappear from her.

Faye looked around a few minutes more and decided that it would likely be more prudent and would absolutely behove her to go and get Jack so that they could both search for Delta 67-3. Faye found Jack where she had left him. Where she had ignored his instructions and struck off on her own in pursuit of Delta 67-3. fAye went back and grabbed Jack’s hand and she started leading him down the hall before he even had a chance to ask her what the matter was.

“We need to go now!”

“What’s going on?”

“He was here,” said Faye.

Faye continued down the hallway and turned to make her way to the stairs. She wanted to get to the front of the mansion and outside to see if she could spot Delta 67-3 again.

“Who was here?” hissed Jack.

Faye glanced around to make sure that no one else could hear what she was saying to Jack. She did not want to have to deal with someone else hearing her talk about the killer because there was no way for them to tell what other questions they would have to answer before they would be able to get onto his trail again. Faye did not want to chance losing him yet again when he was this close.

“The soldier, Delta 67-3, mu brother. He was here just now.”

Jack’s eyes bulged in their sockets and he said, “are you serious?”

“Would I joke about something like that? Let’s go!”

Faye let go of Jack’s hand and took off down the stairs at a reckless pace. She was taking two or three stairs at a time and looked perilously close to teetering

down the remaining stairs a time or two. Her cat like reflexes and agility helped her stay the course and safely navigate the obstacle.

Jack followed close behind hr but he took more care on the stairs. He wa nowhere near as agile as Faye. He did not want to break his damn fool neck falling down a flight of stairs at the governor’s mansion. He figured that with everything that he had been through in his life, and especially within the last week or so, that would be themes ridiculous way in the world for him to die imaginable. He was able to keep up with Faye in a safe as possible manner anyway because he legs were much longer than hers.

Faye burst out of the front door of the governor’s mansion just a step or so ahead of Jack. Faye skidded to a halt on the gravel driveway, followed by Jack immediately there after. They both watched as a plain looking, four door sedan pulled away and drove off into the city streets beyond the periphery of the grounds of the governor’s mansion.

“Damn, now what?” asked Jack testily.

He kicked at the gravel underfoot, sending several pieces flying into the sides of nearby vehicles.

“We won’t be able to catch up to him now and we daren’t call in an All Points Bulletin for a traffic stop.”

Faye took off towards the car that they came in at a pace that made Jack think that she had not heard him.

“Hey,” he called out.

Faye stopped and looked back at Jack and said, “I think I know where he might be going. Let’s go.”

“So then where are we headed off to?”

“I was thinking about this earlier. We’re going to the place where I was born. That particular Shepherd facility just so happens to be in this city.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

DONOVAN WALKED INTO Dr. Brumble’s lab, as he had done a countless amount of times in the past, and stopped just inside of the door. Dr. Brumble sat at his desk, taking profuse notes from data and figures that scrolled across his monitor. This view of the doctor, busy at his tasks, was something that Donovan had long grew accustomed to and it seemed to serve as a reassurance that the doctor was on target with his tasks.

He was not lost on the many different roads of near madness that crisscrossed his conscience. Donovan cleared his throat in an attempt to get the doctor’s attention. He had to repeat the action two more times before Dr. Brumble deigned to give him even a modicum of attention. He did this grudgingly because he would be remiss in his understanding of who was actually in charge and was certain he would not like a reminder of that fact.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Pike?”

“We are finished with the first phase of the plan, doctor. How goes the preparations for activation of our additional soldiers?”

“Everything is on schedule. I will need to dissect Delta 67-3 in order to extract the additional data I will require for the accelerated growth formula that I created for his model. I will that, with the necessary corrections for deviations, to boot up the next model of soldiers. It is regrettable, but it is necessary in order for us

to proceed. It is a necessary for optimized continual growth.”

“Doctor, this Delta 67-3 seems to have a mind set that is a bit unsettled. The Alpha series needs to be adjusted so that independent actions are less likely. Increase the programming for both so that they are more obedient.”

“I will endeavor to program the next replacements to a degree where they will be more successful than their predecessors, Mr. Pike. Improvement is an intregal part of future success.”

“Good,” Donovan made ready to leave the lab by orienting himself in the direction he needed. He stopped his progress on the need to inform the doctor of something else.

“I have ordered Delta 67-3 to report to you. He should be here within the hour. I must take myself to a press conference where I’ll be assuming the role of the governor of this state. We are almost at our goal so keep up the good work doctor. I will not be returning back here today so make sure your tasks are accomplished for the day. I am depending on you, doctor.”

Faye gave Jack the directions that he needed to get them to the facility that she had been created at and trained at before she was released into the world to start her missions. Jack pulled his large truck to a stop in front of a parking garage that was on the outskirts of the downtown area. He looked at Faye questioningly.

“Are you sure this is the right place that we’re supposed to be at?” Jack asked as he gestured with his hand towards the parking garage on his left hand side,

outside of his window.

“Why would you doubt me? You don’t think I know where I spent the first six months of my life?”

“They why didn’t you mention this place yet?”

“It was on my mind this morning to talk to you about it but we got distracted while eating breakfast,” said Faye blueing as she re the feeling of his arms as he had scooped her up and tickled her earlier. “We saw that news report and then got called out to the governor’s mansion. There just wasn’t any time to talk to you about it.”

Jack shrugged and pulled in. He followed Faye’s instructions and took them to the bottom of the garage. He stopped in front of a big garage door. A sign over the door proclaimed that the space beyond the door two be a maintenance shop area. To the left of the big garage door was a small office with a security guard sitting inside of it. Jack thought that it was a strange place for a security office. Between the office and the big garage door was a smaller, regular door.

“How big does a maintenance area for a parking garage need to be and why would it need a security guard,” asked Jack pointing at the area in front of them.

“That’s the cargo elevator that’s used to get supplies down to the facility. The facility itself is actually underground right below this parking garage.”

The security guard came out of the office and walked up to the driver’s side door of Jack’s truck. Jack pressed the necessary button on the door and rolled down his window so he could speak to the guard. Jack noted that the man seemed to be heavily armed to be ing himself off as some run of the mill garage security guard. He had the build and deportment of a professional soldier.

The man was armed with a 9mm automatic hand gun, holstered to his thigh. He had a stun gun on his opposite hip. Across his back was a subcompact assault rifle. Jack also noticed a shotgun mounted on the inside of the security office door. He saw that when the security guard came out of the security office to approach the truck

“Do you need some help, sir?” Asked the security guard.

It was a simple question, but Jack heard more behind the simple question. What he heard was, ‘you have no business here so you need to turn around and leave now’. Jack was not about to be scared off by the security guard that easily.

“Yeah, we…,” Jack began as he looked over into the enger seat and noticed, with surprise, that it was empty.

Jack turned back to his window when he heard the discharge of a stun gun and a grunt from the unsuspecting security guard before he slumped and collapsed onto the ground next to the truck.

“What the hell, Faye?”

Faye stood over the unconscious man with the discharged stun gun bouncing loosely in her hand.

“He wasn’t going to let us in.”

She pulled the unconscious man into the small security guard station and handcuffed him to a desk that was in there. She removed all of his equipment before she closed the door. She put all of the equipment and weapons into the backseat of Jack’s truck.

“That should keep him out of our way,” said Faye.

Jack parked the truck out of the way of traffic and as inconspicuously as possible. He wanted anyone who saw the truck to think that it was a paying customer of the garage. He stood next to the small door that was beside the larger garage rolling door.

“How are we getting past that?” Jack asked while pointing to a security keypad in the wall beside the door.

Faye smiled at him and punched in a series of numbers om the pad.

“There, my codes still work but then again, I don’t know why they wouldn’t.”

“If your codes still work, why did you stun the guard then?”

“He would have let me in but he wasn’t going to let you in. If he had seen me with you, he wouldn’t have let me in at all and would likely have called for backup.”

“So there are more guards?”

“Yeah. The control room knows I’m here because I used my access codes, but the rest of the guards won’t know that w’re here.”

“Faye, how in the world can you be so sure that they haven’t noticed us yet beside the use of your key code?”

Faye pointed to a camera hidden in the corner between the nearest wall and a pylon. The camera was positioned so that it would not be seen until after a certain point of a vehicle pulling in. At the point where the camera would be noticed, anyone within the field of view of the camera would be noticed in the control room below them, underground.

“I disabled the camera when I got out of the truck. You just happened to stop before the line of sight so I didn’t have to say anything about it. If the guards in the control room had seen what we just did to the guard, they would have locked this place down and called in more guards. As things stand now, it’s likely that they think the camera is out, which means they will call the guard in the shack to if it is out or not. I suggest we move while we still can.”

“Do you have an idea of how many guards are here?”

“I’m not certain. Could be about a dozen or so. There’s not that many floors in this facility and it’s normally two guards on a floor with two in the control room as a minimum. I have no really way of knowing exactly how many more than that there actually are. Also, don’t be afraid to use deadly force beaus they won’t hesitate in a judicious use of it. They are going to shoot to kill.”

“Just great,” said Jack sarcastically.

He pulled his weapon from his holster and checked the magazine. He chambered a round into the barrel and rotated the safety off with the switch on the side. He had switched from his usual revolver to his automatic to make reloading easier in a pinch.

Faye pulled her own weapons out from their holsters, one at a time, and repeated what Jack had done to his own weapon. They were ready to proceed after they had finished checking their weapons. Faye, by mutual unspoken agreement and consent, took the lead as they proceeded because it was obvious that she was more familiar with the facility and it’s layout. It only made sene to let her have the lead position, thinking about the entire situation like that.

Faye moved swiftly and silently, making her way carefully down the stairs until they got to the bottom. The stairs led to the first level of the underground facility. There were five floors in the entirety of the facility, as she explained to Jack. Once they ed this security door, movement through the rest of the facility could be accomplished by either elevator or the stairwells located on the farther side of the facility. Both provided easy access to the lower levels but use of the elevator could be a way to alert others of their presence and they did not want to risk that just yet.

Another issue with using the elevators was that travel could be interrupted from the control room, effectively trapping them, allowing the security contingent to let them out where they chose. The security detachment could set up an ambush at that location that the elevator stopped at. Neither Jack nor Faye wanted that to happen so they opted to take the stairwells instead.

Just inside of the door that led from their present stairwell was a security checkpoint manned by one guard. Faye proceeded first and told Jack to follow her after a few moments time. The plan was that she would get past the security guard and when Jack came through, the security guard would try to ascertain his identity and Faye could disable him from behind. The plan worked out well and Faye had successfully secured the second guard that they encountered in the facility.

They approached the first far stairwell stealthily, tactfully, with Jack providing a rear guard and Faye taking the position at point. Presently, she stopped at a door on the left side of the hallway. She ed a signal to Jack that this was their first target. Faye went to the control near the door and pressed a buzzer. Faye glance up at the only camera that was posted in the interior of the facility. It was mounted above the door. The numerical keypad beside the door lit up and Faye again entered a series of digits that would serve to let her further along, unhindered.

There was a click and the door that they stood before unlocked. Faye had reholstered her sidearms prior to pressing the intercom button. She didn’t want the individuals behind the door thinking that anything was wrong because she had drawn her weapons. Since the door opened, she withdrew her guns again and proceeded forward. Jack had positioned himself out of the range of the camera but now took his position or rear guard again and followed Faye into the control room of the installation.

The hallway was dim. The sound of cooling fans blowing air to cool off the

servers in the short corridor were the only sounds that they heard first. This was replaced by the idle chatter of the two individuals that were just beyond. The voices got louder as Faye and Jack continued to proceed further in. One of the two individuals in the control room called out down the hallway.

“Hey, if you are to report in, Alpha 06, the doctor is headed to his lab. You can meet him there.”

Faye answered as if everything was going according to plan, which it was. Her plan — not the plan that the two guards would believe was actually occurring.

“We lost the camera up on top and Parker isn’t responding to his radio. I think he went to check on a camera that’s out at his station but we aren’t sure so I’m going up top to check in on him,” came the voice again.

Then speaker had gotten closer to Faye as they spoke. He ended up bumping into Faye, his nose was right against the barrel of her gun. She moved her mouth in a way to let the security guard know that she was expecting him to remain silent. She pushed him to the side of the narrow corridor so that Jack could detain him and she could slip by unhindered and gain access to the cramped control room just beyond, at the end of that cramped ageway.

Faye had caught the second guard unawares. Jack and Faye were glad that at least this part of their incursion had gone smoothly. The control room could have been used to coordinate a response to their incursion that would end up with them dead. Jack just started pulling cables out of the wall until the control board died, along with the monitors. That was the only way that he could figure out how to disable the entire system since he had no idea how to use the system properly to disengage it. His actions has accomplished his goals so he was satisfied.

Jack and Faye bound and gagged both guards. They left the control room behind them as they moved further along. Other than the control room, there was little else of interest to them on that floor of the facility. There were offices that were currently empty at the moment, and a barracks that was in the same state of occupancy as the offices were. The remaining space was large dining hall the was equally free of occupants as the rest of the floor. Jack and Faye avoided the elevators and instead took the far stairwell that was at the other end of the facility. These stair led down to the next few, lower floors and levels.

A few minutes more of traveling found Jack and Faye at the entrance to the next floor. Faye took up a position so that she could cover Jack as he opened the door, in order for them to proceed. Faye counted down and then rushed forward as Jack threw the door open at the end of the count. She stopped immediately — and so did the four guards, Dr. Brumble, and the killer that Jack and Faye were searching for. Jack turned the corner of the door, expecting nothing because Faye had said nothing and he heard no gunshots.

“Oh, shit,” said Jack.

Tense moments elapsed while everyone stared at the other. It was obvious that all of them had been surprised and were not expecting to see who they were looking at during that particular moment. Everything stood frozen in time the few seconds that ticked by in the silence and stillness felt similar to house in their ing. Everything in that moment was noticed, weighted, verified, judged, and dismissed as they are necessary.

Faye could feel everyone’s relative position and where they were in relation to her and Jack. She saw the sweat beading on the lip of one guard. She heard Delta 67-3’s raspy breath as he sneered at the two of them. She watched as another of

the four guards slowly reached for his weapon while she shifted her head painfully slowly from left to right and back, signaling that he did not want to do that. The doctor took a step backwards, actively seeking to separate himself and distance himself from what they all knew was going to happen. What every last one of them had just steeled themselves to the inevitability of.

For Jack, it seemed like everything happened at once — loudly. In that small part of the corridor and dangerously. In such a cramped space. All hell broke loose and Jack sighted in on Delta 67-3 who was standing on his left hand side. Jack pulled the trigger and unloaded the contents of the magazine of hi gun in a quick flurry of motion. Most, if not all, of his rounds found their target. His multiple rounds hit center mass, or as near to center mass as allowed for by the successive trigger pulls and the rise of his gun with the kick of a round being fired.

Jack’s target went down. In fact, Delta 67-3 was thrown back approximately eight feet from the collective impact of the total number of hollow point rounds Jack had released. With his target down, he had a few seconds to spare in order to assess the rest of the situation. He watched as Faye unloaded two well aimed, three round bursts, one from each handgun she held. Her strength helped her keep the guns stead despite the massive recoil each of the guns generated as a result of three rounds being fired in such quick succession.

Faye’s shots took out two of the four guards who were on their right hand side. Both of her shots were dead on. She waisted no time in sighting in on the second set of guards as they scrambled desperately for their own weapons and sought cover in doorways that were further down the hallway. The doctor was no where to be seen. Jack missed the opportunity to see where the doctor went when he turned from watching his own target going down. Faye did not miss seeing which way the doctor went. She noted, in her mind, his route of age down the maze of ageways on the floor that they were on. She was also concentrating on sighting her target simultaneously in order to take them out as well.

Jack ejected his empty magazine and reached for another cup to load off of his harness. He slammed the magazine home and racked the slide back to chamber the first round into the magazine. In the time that it had taken him to reload, Faye had gunned down yet another guard and was drawing her aim to the last remaining guard. Faye was still present in the moment and was just as aware of her surroundings in the midst of a shoot out as she was before the first round had even been fired. She had not turned around to actually look at the environment around her so it came as a shock to Jack when she shouted at him.

“Jack, watch you back!”

Jack spun around just in time for his instincts and quick reflexes to save him. He pulled the gun around but could not get it up in time to get a proper aim on his opponent. He dropped his left shoulder and pulled back his head as a punch sailed through the air and clipped him on the right shoulder. Immediately his arm went numb down to his fingertips and watched, in detached, albeit morbid, fascination as his gun slipped from the deadened fingers. He was glad that he took that hit on his shoulder instead of his jaw where Delta 67-3 had initially aimed.

Faye could not spare a moment to help Jack. She knew he could take care of himself in a touch situation. He was a highly decorated soldier, olympic medal winning, arrogant commended police officer whom she had grown to care about a significant amount. He had to take care of himself and handle the fight that he was in because Faye had her own fight to deal with. She had her own concerns that she was worried about and those problems weren’t behind her, they had run away and turned the corner ahead of her. She only had this one last hindrance to take care of before she could see a way to begin to solve her own issues. She needed desperately to chase down her runaway target. The target of her anger.

Faye wanted the doctor and no matter what happened, she was going to have him. The doctor was the only one that could keep creating more monsters like

Delta 67-3. He had been in her sights only briefly. Moments ago, she knew that as soon as she got him in her sights again, it would be the last time anyone would worry about the good doctor. She narrowed her eyes and pulled the trigger. Three round burst from her gun, each round finding a resting place in the fleeing guard’s back.

Faye took off in a dash. Her genetically enhanced body responded by giving her a boost of speed to rival that of a cheetah. She quickly rounded the corner in pursuit of the doctor. He was no longer in front of her but that mattered little to her and in no way did that serve to impede her chase and did little to improve her mood. She used her powerful sense of smell to help sort out where the doctor had gotten to and in doing so, moved unerringly through the maze of coned corridors.

Presently, she found herself in front of a door leading to the lab that he was currently using. She holstered one of her guns and pressed the on the nestled next to the door. The door slid home noiselessly into a recess in the wall. She walked in slowly and assessed the room for any present dangers that might threaten her.

“So, you have come home, Alpha 06. I was not expecting you and your data has stopped updating. Did you perhaps remove your device or did someone else remove it? Ah, it doesn’t matter, you’re home and I can just take the information I want from your cells.”

“It doesn’t matter who removed it and my name is not Alpha 06, it’s Faye.”

“Very well, I shall endeavor to entreat you with that nomenclature from hence forward. Why are you home, dear girl?”

“You know perfectly well why I’m here but I want to ask you a question of my own. Why are you doing this?”

“Who is it only to correct the natural order of things. Those beings that are superior should have a position in this world that is fitting of their station in life. Too long have those that are inferior had a freehand. They must be guided by a noble, gentle and considerate ruler.”

“And you think that’s you? You killed all of those people, all of those Shepherds, so you could rule?”

Dr. Brumble laughed a mirthless, brittle laugh.

“Their sacrifice was necessary in order to make way for a new world order and I never said that I was fit to lead this world into a new age. I am a mere servant, helping, in my humble way, to usher it into existence. I have helped to provide the foot soldiers and my contribution to change will merely be ed in… a foot note.”

“You are insane and deranged. The world does not need your kind of leadership.”

“Ah, but you are wrong. These humans clamor for it. They strive for that domination. They beg for it and crawl through the muck like the lowly things that they are, pleading for relief from having to choose. They give their freedom away to despots and fascists; anarchists who give change through the reign of

chaos. They need order — we will give them that order in their lives that they beg for.”

“You sound like any other men who have attempted similar feats in the past.”

“Yes, that might be so but they do not have what I have,” said Dr. Brumble as he touched a near his hand and a wall of the lab went from opaque to clear, allowing sight of the large chamber that lay beyond.

“I have engineered the greatest weapons known to exist. They are loyal and obedient. They are ten times stronger than those lowly humans and they can heal almost any wound in a matter of moments. There is not an army in this known world that could stand against them. Once they are armed with the weapons we developed for them, then ruling will come with ease.”

“No one is giving up their freedom willingly for this world that you are talking about. It just won’t happen. They will fight you with everything that they have before they bow down.”

“Foolish girl, who said we would accomplish these lofty goals through any use of force? These foolish humans will have the yoke of servitude about their neck of their own volition. The time will come and they will willingly hand us control, begging for it, and needing it before they even realize what they’ve done.”

“You’re a fool if you think I’m going to allow that to happen. I’ll stop you here and now.”

Faye had kept her gun trained on the doctor throughout their monologue. If she needed to, she could easily shoot to wound him. She took her eyes away from him for a few seconds to take in her new setting, her new environment. Her new battlefield that she found that she was in. Her position was no less important than the field commander who has to take in the totality of the combat grounds and act strategically in that three dimensional field in order to affect an efficient strategy for victory.

Faye sniffed the air in the lab. There was a faint chemical odor that she was familiar with. It was the same chemical compound that Dr. Brumble had added to the incubation pod machines in order to perform an early termination of a clone or a series of clones. She had watched him perform this gruesome procedure before and the end result was a loose collection of cells and goo that had at one point in time resembled a person. Faye had watched as Dr. Brumble had added a minute amount of the viscous fluid to the part that fed nutrients to a prior clone serve. It was the series prior to hers.

They were technically her sisters and the doctor had disposed of them as easily as if he were replacing an old worn out pair of shoes except these shoes were new and still in the box. He was heartless in his comments during the entire execution of the procedure, calling the six clones useless garbage. Faye prayed that they felt nothing when he destroyed them like that. Faye prayed that they felt nothing when he destroyed them like that. Faye found herself picking up a vial of some viscous fluid, oddly enough, it was the same vial that Donovan Pike had been inspecting some weeks ago in this same lab.

“That will not help you now.”

Faye looked at the tube and then looked at the doctor. She moved further into the lab towards a vat with tubes that ran into the wall that the clones in the

incubation pods were behind. It was the nutrient vat that she was moving towards with the tube that would end all of the clone soldiers in one fell swoop.

“That won’t stop us. We will still proceed as we have been. You cannot stop us. You cannot change destiny, girl,” screamed the doctor.

Spittle gathered at the corners of his mouth. He moved quickly towards Faye, obviously intent on trying to stop her from adding the solution to the nutrient vat. Faye jerked her gun up and pulled the trigger. The doctor’s head snapped back and he fell to the floor in a heap, dead before he hit the ground. There was a small hole in his forehead but when he hit the ground, he fell on his face and the back of his head looked like a smashed pumpkin. There was very little that was interesting about the view so Faye turned away, said a small oath and tossed the now open vial into the nutrient vat after she had opened the top.

She watched, disionately, while the contents of incubation pod chamber after incubation pod chamber changed slowly from the shape of a man into a gelatinous mess. She turned away from the sight and moved to a door on the opposite wall. She turned the handle and walked into a dimly lit room containing yet another incubation pod chamber. This one was fed by a separate nutrient vat. The contents of this incubation pod chamber differed greatly from the incubation pod chambers behind the wall. This is what she had wanted. The content of this incubation pod chamber was the most important thing in the entire facility as far as Faye was concerned. Faye set to work on the task she had before her as the door to the room closed softly behind her.

Jack’s arm ached and his hand like someone was pressing pins into the flesh all over. To him, that was a good sign It let him know that the feeling was returning to his arm and fingers. The punch he had received only temporarily pinched a few nerves where it hit his arm without leaving him with a more serious injury — or unconsciousness and vulnerability. If that punch had landed or connected

with his chin he would have been on the floor of the corridor. Delta 67-3 had a really heavy punch, one that was certain, so Jack believed, to be able to cripple if it connected just right with its target. Hell, from how Jack’s arm had just recently felt he was, just as sure that continued exposure and acceptance of only a small fraction of one of those punches would leave him previously injured.

Jack looked downward at his gun that lay between them on the ground. He dared not even attempt to retrieve it. Something told him that he would be dead in a manner of moments before he was even remotely in a position to use the gun effectively again, so he squared off against his opponent. Full feeling had returned to his arm by this time.

Delta 67-3 stood before Jack, regarding him critically. He sniffed the air just once and settled an eerie smile onto his features, slowly showing his sharp teeth.

“Damn, you’re ugly,” said Jack.

“You’re the policeman that did this to me,” said Delta 67-3, indicating the bandage over his left eye. He pulled the eye patch off of his head, fully exposing his milky white, partially healed eye.

“I guess there are certain parts that can’t be healed completely after they’re damaged. That’s too bad, I guess,”

Jack knew that he had just emptied an entire clip of hollow point, .45 caliber rounds, into the man he was facing. He knew that the man was barely five feet from him when he shot him. He also knew that the man was barely five feet from him when he shot him. He also knew that all nine shots had hit him center

mass or near to center mass. Despite knowing all of that, Jack had to it that the guy standing before him was acting as if it had never happened.

Jack was pretty sure that all of that had indeed actually in fact happened. He had been there when it had happened. Hell, he had been the one that had pulled the damn trigger so he was not stuck trying to figure out how he was going to take his monster down, again — with no gun. Especially after nine rounds didn’t keep him down. Even if he was able to get Delta 67-3 back down again, Jack was more than damn sure that he was not going to stay down for long anyway. Jack shrugged his shoulder and mumbled to himself.

“Oh well, what the hell. Guess I’ll keep trying till I can’t anymore,” said Jack as he swung.

Jack’s fist connected solidly with Delta 67-3’s jaw. It felt to Jack as if he’d just punched a man shaped bag of concrete. His hand throbbed and Delta 67-3 did not even flinch. Jack chose a different tactic. This time, Jack kicked Delta 67-3 with his steel toe boats. While he was not able to hear a satisfying crunch of bone collapsing, he was able to cut the chin of Delta 67-3. No sooner than the cut on his chin started bleeding, it stopped. Jack felt sure at that point that this fight was not going to be pleasant — not like fights were ever a pleasant thing for victor or vanquished. This fight was gonna hurt, he aid as much to himself and he was right.

Jack barely got his arms up in time to block a punch from Delta 67-3. His blow struck Jack on his left forearm, shattering the bone on impact and driving Jack back several feet. Jack screamed out in pain. His left arm hung useless by his side. Jack had barely been able to catch his breath because just as he opened his eyes, in that split second that Jack had closed them and shut out the world, Delta 67-3 had closed the six foot gap that he had created with the initial punch. Delta 67-3 was literally inches away from Jack and breathing down Jack’s neck.

Delta 67-3 whispered in Jack’s ear.

“This is gonna hurt and I am going to enjoy fucking you up.”

He gave Jack an open handed shoved to the chest.

Jack felt like someone had lit a fire on his chest. He knew if he did not have a broken rib from that shove then his ribs were seriously bruised at this point. Jack was gasping for air and pretty much sucking at this time in the fight. It did not matter that Jack was still considered to be a serious threat as a boxer, even at his age, he could not get a hit in. Even if Jack did get a hit in, it just was not going to have any kind of effect on Delta 67-3.

Delta 67-3 gave Jack what could have been considered a love tap to his right side, considering his strength. He had pulled his punch and Jack grunted and was certain of something else again. He was certain that his kidney punch he had just taken would have him pissing blood for a week. That actually depended on whether or not Jack could survive. Jack was not even considering this as a fight anymore. It was a message.

Jack was on his knees now and he was pretty damn sure that he just might have little, wee, tiny bit of difficulty turning this fight around to his benefit. He did not want to give up hope just yet but his damn prospects of a turn around win in the fifth round was looking mighty damn bleak. Jack was definitely not a happy camper at this moment in his life and just for good measure he wondered, one what belatedly and well after the fact, where the hell was Faye?

Jack was seriously out of it and damn near previously injured to boot. The duration of the fight so far was less than ten minutes. Asking anything more from him right then would have just been downright impolite. Jack had little left to give — not give, but gift — to his killer opponent in of an offensive move. Just now his defense was offensive to say the least. He was down on one knee and could barely keep his head up. He could barely catch his breath and that little breath that he did catch rattled around in his chest like a penny in an otherwise empty can. There was not much more that he could do and he was beginning to feel just a little bit despondent and hopeless. That only served to piss him off though so he got defiant.

“That…all…you…got?” gasped Jack.

Delta 67-3 sauntered over towards Jack and squatted in front of him until their eyes were level and they were eye to — well, eyes. Delta 67-3 stood up and reached down with his left hand. He wrapped his hand up into the front of Jack’s shirt, at which point, he hoisted Jack into the air. Jack’s feet dangled about two or three inches off of the ground.

“I think I owe you something,” Delta 67-3 said, raising his right hand to Jack’s face. “How does the saying go? An eye for an eye.”

Delta 67-3 reached over to Jack’s face with his fingers poised in such a way so as to use them to pluck out Jack’s eye. A klaxon blared it’s warning alarm of intruder presence in the facility. It was a pointless occurrence by then and a matter of academic debate as to whether the minimally manned facility actually needed to sound the alarm at that present moment, especially after the enemy had infiltrated the facility approximately an hour prior to the alarm and had announced their presence with the gunfire that had occurred earlier.

Jack did not care about the alarm sounding late, he was just grateful that the sounding of the Klaxon distracted Delta 67-3 momentarily and gave Jack a measure of respite from what he was sure was going to hurt all to damn hell. That was when Jack felt something bump into his left side.

Delta 67-3 had glanced up at the ceiling when the alarm sounded and got upset at himself for the momentary distraction. When he looked back at Jack he saw a smile on Jack’s face. He caught movement on his right side that was blocked partially by his raised right arm. The movement caught his attention so he lowered his arm and found a gun pointed at his head.

Delta 67-3 did not even get the opportunity to say what it was likely he was going to say but Jack got to say it.

“Oh, shit,” exclaimed Jack as a loud crack sounded too close to him.

The head of Delta 67-3 jerked back in a snap and then he came up and looked Jack in the eyes. A small smoking hole was in the center of his forehead. He blinked once and dropped Jack from listless fingers. He collapsed in a heap, dead on the spot.

Jack grimaced as he shook his head in an attempt to clear the ringing in his ears. On top of his other injuries, now he was afraid that he would have permanent hearing loss in his left ear.

“Isn’t he just gonna heal?” Jack asked eventually.

Faye shook her head no.

“Some injuries can’t be healed from, like his eye, it’s too bad that went out the side of hi head instead of the back. He won’t recover from a brain injury like that, especially with half his brains on the wall behind him.”

Jack sighed in relief. He had not realized that he had been holding his breath, waiting for the other shoe to fall, so to speak. He was glad that he could now happily collapse and lapse into a pain free coma but Faye was having none of that. She propped Jack’s good arm around her own shoulder and helped him begin the process of limping out of the facility as quickly as they could. Prior to beginning their arduous trek, Jack could have sworn that he had seen a miniature version of Faye standing next to both of them. He shrugged it off to injuries and later would realize that he had been in shock and driving in and out of consciousness even while staying on his feet.

What else was there for him to do? He did not have the energy to continue staying conscious and dealing with the pain that he was in and this helped him immensely so that he could begin the process of actually healing.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

JACK WOKE UP to an early morning sun streaming through the partially opened curtains. With precise aim, the sunlight was able to land squarely in his face. The sunlight had warmed up his forehead and forced him to open eyes he would rather have kept closed. The first thing that he noticed was the pain permeating his body. The second thing he noticed was the damn pain. After those two revelations had received his attention, he could focus on other things.

Jack took stock of that state of the various body parts, their relative state of pain and their relative state of functionality. He had a bandage wrapped around his chest and his right side ached dully and blissfully enough to let him know that it was not happy and badly enough to let him know that he was still alive.

He was certain that his chest and side were black and blue but he would have to wait to confirm that. At the moment, however, he was more concerned with two other recent discoveries. The first realization was that his left arm now sported one of those trendy things very active kids typically get throughout childhood — a cast. The second thing that he noticed, going into the rest of his gorgeous morning alive, was the purring that was emanating from the beautiful woman that was curled up on his right hand side.

This time, Jack was pretty damn sure that he was by no means hearing things like auditory hallucinations. Faye was indeed purring contentedly beside him. He hugged her closer as best he could given his restrictions and she squealed in response.

“Good morning, Faye,” Jack greeted the sleepy head right next to him in bed.

Faye rose up from the bed and his arms. She stretched languorously, exactly as a disturbed cat would after sitting for so long in the sun. She looked at him and smiled. Jack realized that she did not have in her lenses. She had eyes that mesmerized him. He could not look away from the vertical slits of her irises.

Faye leaned over and kissed his cheek lovingly. This quick kiss heated his blood as well because when she leaned over to kiss him he got to see down his shirt that she was wearing. Jack pulled her close to him with his good arm. He grimaced in pain when she pressed against his bruised chest and side. He did not mind the pains that he had now. They gave him proof that he was still alive.

“I got you to the hospital and they patched you up. Your sister helped me to get you home. I didn’t want to leave you at the hospital when you could recover at home with me. Unfortunately, you’ve been asleep for two full days.”

“What about everything that happened? How did we get past all of that?”

“The Foundation covered their tracks. The facility was locked down by the time I got back there with your sister. When I finally got us in, we found the whole place completely and utterly cleared cleared out. Your sister was able to get the cases closed out. We didn’t have the body but between her and Jason, the coroner, they came up with enough to have the cases closed. The claimed that the body was cremated and the name of the killer could never be determined with no records of dental or health, no identifying marks, and no identification or priors.”

“That’s a neat way to wrap up the case. So what will you do now that the case is over and your real employer is…retired, I guess?”

“Well, I found out that Mr. Donovan Pike is now the new governor of the state but there’s nothing that we can do about him.”

“Then what do you want to do?”

“That is a good question,” said Faye as she smiled.

She laid back down and rested her chin on to her folded hands and looked coquettishly at Jack. He figured that he was in for trouble but felt that if it involved Faye being in his bed like this more often than not, then he would not mind a little trouble every now and again.

“I thought I could start by seeing if we could do something a little more intimate and risqué than cuddling, if you’re strong enough to handle it,” she purred.

This would be the first time that she and Jack would go beyond just sleeping in one another’s arms and despite how Jack felt physically, he had to it that he was a man. As a man, he was of a one track mind due to her offer. While this moment of tenderness would be their first together, Jack had no real way of knowing that it would be a first for Faye in everyway. She didn’t want to tell him though, at least not yet. She was willingly giving herself to him in a real and symbolic way. She was never going to give her heart to another man for the remainder of her life. She wanted to give her body to the man that she loved and

who had taken her heart before he had ever taken her physically.

Faye propped up on her knees on the bed and smiled down at Jack. She began to slowly unbutton the shirt that she was wearing. She got two buttons loosed when the bedroom door opened up. Jack was shocked and confused and could not figure out who else would be in the house, and bold enough at that, to open his bedroom door uninvited. Faye squealed and dropped down with her arms covering her chest.

A little voice broke up the momentary silence while Jack struggled to sit up and see past Faye to the now wide open door. Jack let out a groan of pain as his abs contracted to help him sit up. He was not certain that he was actually seeing what he thought that he was seeing. He could swear that he was again looking at a miniature Faye, right down to the vertical slit irises of the same color.

“Mommy, I heard you talking. Is the man awake?” asked the little miniature Faye while she rubbed sleep from her eyes.

In her other hand was a teddy bear that usually sat on the bed in the other bedroom that Jack’s niece Brooke used when she stayed over. This miniature version of Faye was even wrapped comfortably in one of his button down, dress shirts, just as Faye was.

“Yes, sweetie. The man is awake,” said Faye gently.

She beckoned to the little girl to draw her nearer.

“Come and say hello.”

The little girl came readily to Faye and climbed up into the bed with the both of them.

“Princess, this is Jack. Jack, this is Cadi, my daughter.”

“I didn’t know that you had a daughter,” stammered Jack.

“Well, technically I didn’t have her. I didn’t give birth to her. She is a product of one of my eggs and genetic manipulation by that crazy Shepherd scientist that created me and my brothers. They used Shepherd material to fertilize her egg, so, like me, she’s also part Shepherd. Unfortunately, I have no idea what that means for the future for her. Right now, biologically speaking, she’s about eight years old. Chronologically, she is only one month old so her brain has not finished it’s complete growth but already she is at a collegiate level of intelligence. She absorbs knowledge like a sponge.”

“So, when it’s all said and done, you’re telling me that you now have an eight year old daughter that’s a genius and will have a longer life span than you and me, my sister and Brooke all put together?”

Faye smiled and it waned as she shrugged.

“Yeah, pretty much, that’s the case.”

“Wow,” said Jack.

He turned to catch Cadi’s attention and offered her his right hand. She took it tentatively and smiled hesitantly at him while he introduced himself.

“Hi, Cadi. I’m Jack. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hi, Jack,” said Cadi.

Her smile was true and it broke thought. It seemed to brighten the room. Then the little devilish imp asked a question that threw both Jack and Faye for a loop.

“Mommy,” she said while staring pointedly at Jack.

Jack saw a sparkle of mischief in her eyes.

“Do you love this man?” Cadi finished asking.

Jack almost laughed but instead he choked down the response.

“Yes,” said Faye slowly.

She was trying to figure out where Cadi was going with this line of questioning.

“Then is this man here your mate?”

If Jack had not seen the look in Cadi’s eyes, he would have just assumed it to be a question that was asked innocently by a child in a childish manner. Jack was looking into her eyes, the eyes of an adult that was trapped in a child’s body. Even for all of that knowledge of hers, that was of an adult, she still laughed and smiled like a child after she got her answer from the both of them.

“Yes, Cadi,” Faye intoned seriously. “I do consider this man to be my mate.” She looked over at Jack. “If he will have me.”

Jack pulled Faye down on top of him and ignored the flare of discomfiture caused by his bruised ribs. He ignored the pain with an effort. For all of the pain that it caused him to have her close to him like that, it was worth it.

“I will have you for as long as both of us live and longer still,” said Jack.

He kissed her gently on the lips and then reached over and ruffled Cadi’s hair. She had the decency to first loo put upon and troubled by his show of affection and then she smiled as a way of acknowledging the gesture and returning it in her own way.

Cadi climbed down from the bed. She walked towards the door so that she could leave.

“I guess I’ll have to call you daddy from now on,” she said and left, gently closing the door behind her.

It had only just been recently that Jack had dispelled one intriguing riddle and knew it was not an auditory hallucination and that was Faye’s purring he had been subjected to constantly. Now he was not so sure of himself anymore. He just had to doubt himself at this moment in time. Jack blinked…he blinked again. Jack blinked a third time. Despite everything that he had been through, seen, and learned, he still doubted the moment that just ed. As Cadi had walked out of his bedroom, he could have sworn that he saw a tail, covered in black fur, flip out from beneath the shirt that she was wearing.

explicitus est liber

Publisher: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG Implerstraße 24 80331 Munich

Text: J. A. Springs Images: J. A. Springs Cover: J. A. Springs Editing: J. A. Springs Proofreading: J. A. Springs Layout: J. A. Springs

All rights reserved.

Publication Date: September 9th 2021

https://www.bookrix.com/-ho7f4e5f80ef8b5

ISBN: 978-3-7487-9381-6

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