This story is written for entertainment purposes only. If you're under age, scram. And BTW, children's Internet use should be monitored by their parents, not me.
The Past is Present
Even at midnight the traffic still inched it's way through the streets. Car horns blared, people bellowed and storefronts buzzed with electricity. He stepped out from the shadows and the glow from the street lamps illuminated his tarpaper and roof decking stepping stones. It felt exhilarating to jump from rooftop to rooftop and he welcomed the opportunity to unleash the strength that he normally kept pent up. For a few fleeting moments he felt free and the confines of the warehouse where he hid from the world were forgotten. He hurled himself toward the next building, landing on two feet and bent knees with a powerful thud.
He stood and tossed back strands of hair that had fallen across his face and walked to the parapet where he made his way along its edge before kneeling down. Directly in front of him was the building across the street and he could clearly see the people behind the wall of glass. They were all impeccably dressed, with flutes of champagne in their hands and smiles on their faces. Even before he went into hiding these kinds of occasions made him uncomfortable, but now they seemed impossible.
There was only one reason to be there, her name was Catherine and she was the most beautiful woman he had ever known, but more than that, she made him feel like the man he used to be.
~o~
Catherine stole a moment to wander around the penthouse while Evan was busy chatting it up with Brooke, her father's fiancee.
She knew she should be the one talking to her and chided herself for being so rude, but she couldn't separate herself from the loop of images that played over and over in her mind. It wasn't their age difference or the fact that this marriage would permanently erase her mother's memory from her father's life that made her take refuge alone by the window.
It was what no one wanted to talk about and everyone wanted to put behind them. Her mother's murder was a wound that had never healed and nine years later she still wanted answers. The night it happened, no one could corroborate her story and she was only left with uncertainty. Now, after years of skeptical and sideway glances, she finally knew she wasn't crazy. He had saved her when she was in the woods, and now once again in the subway tunnel. She didn't know why he was there, but knowing he existed somehow validated who she had become. He knew things and she wasn't about to let him get away without finding out what they were. Her world had been shaken and as the pieces fell into place, everything looked very different.
Catherine tried to be enthused about her father's engagement party but felt uncomfortable and out of place in her cocktail dress and heels. She didn't belong on Evan's arm tonight. They were co-workers who flirted, not friends with benefits. Although she enjoyed his company, his good looks and wit, whenever the opportunity to take it beyond friendly banter arose, she shut it down. She could only think about Vincent Keller and what had happened to him.
Looking out into the lights that dotted the Manhattan skyline, a strange feeling came over her. Catherine told herself to stop. She was being ridiculous to think that someone was watching her. She sighed and walked back toward Evan and the people mingling at the party.
~o~
At twenty-five he was an emergency room resident at St Benjamin's Hospital in the Upper West Side. His life was on track with a promising future and he looked forward to becoming a good doctor. Then 9/11 happened, it devastated a country and crushed his heart and spirit when he lost both his brothers. He let his anger control him and acted impulsively when he enlisted in the army.
Once deployed to Afghanistan he was recruited to be part of a unique program. They told him it was his destiny to become a super soldier, a human weapon against enemy terrorists and a man who had the chance to avenge his brothers' deaths. They gave them injections, monitored their progress and conducted tests. As the soldiers progressed, they knew something was wrong. They felt it and witnessed it amongst themselves. When it became evident that altering their DNA had caused them all to become uncontrollable killers, one by one they were executed. It was only his wits, his resolve and the help of a lifelong friend that kept him alive.
Operation Murifield had erased all traces of their existence except in a set of covert files. Vincent Keller, doctor turned soldier had died a hero serving his country and had his name engraved on a memorial plaque. But on that same day, a man with a secret so horrible he was forced into hiding, was born. This was the man who ten years later walked the streets of Manhattan under the cover of darkness.
He kept his head down and his hood up. It protected him from the cold night air and from prying eyes. He had perfected the art of being dead and an expert on being invisible. That is, until fate bitch slapped him and redefined who he was. Instead of a human experiment that had gone awry and created a monster and killer, Vincent had come in from the cold and become Catherine's savior, and in turn, she gave him back his humanity, and became his.
~o~
He confided in her and she could only imagine the toll it took to be both dead and alive. A life of pain, fear and isolation. She sensed he was a good man whose life had been destroyed by the unthinkable and she felt an unyielding amount of compassion for him. She wasn't the only life he had saved, there were six others along with the murdered woman from her case. Catherine knew he wasn't a monster or a criminal, he was a victim.
Vincent couldn't let her believe she was to blame for her mother's murder, Murifield was the one responsible. He didn't know why, but they had been following her. This was the first new information she heard in nine years and she knew there was more to it than he was willing to say. She told herself this is why she had to see him, but in reality it was more then that. He was so beautiful, undeniably masculine without a hint of machismo and had a vulnerability that she found endearing. It was the way he looked at her, she saw kindness, remorse and the longing to be accepted in his eyes.
~o~
Like Murifield, he had been following Vanessa Chandler and the night she had been gunned down in cold blood, he knew it was only a matter of time before her daughter became a target. He believed that saving Catherine had been pre-determined in his life. Since that first night he had rescued her, he watched over her. He followed her through graduate school and the police academy and was duly impressed when she was quickly promoted to detective. Vincent knew where she lived, where she worked and the company she kept. Keeping tabs on Catherine Chandler had become a salve for his soul. At times he felt like a stalker but he always kept his distance and he never interfered with her life, until now.
When his fingerprints were found at a crime scene she was working, it consumed him with worry and regret. He knew he had opened a Pandora's Box when she and her partner showed up at the warehouse and questioned J.T.
Murifield must not know he was alive. If they did, he had to make sure J.T. wasn't caught in crosshairs meant for him. Now there was Catherine to care about and he would never let anyone hurt her and he could never walk away.
The Crime
"Cat? Have you even heard a word I've said?" Tess narrowed her eyes and waited for the startled look on her partner's face to pass.
"Yeah, of course. I was just thinking about this case." She said apologetically. She wasn't ready to admit how distracted she had become.
Tess shrugged. "Just keep your eye on the road." She knew her partner was in another hemisphere, it had happened more than once in the last few weeks. She could only hope it had to do with a man.
The two detectives were on their way to a crime scene. Catherine drove while Tess read through the notes from the responding officer.
"Stephanie Lee, Asian female, early twenties, found unconscious in the alley behind the Kiss and Fly in the Meat Packing district. Blunt force trauma to the head. She was beat up pretty bad and by the way her clothing was torn, there's evidence of an attempted sexual assault."
She looked up and at her partner. "You know this club has a thirty five dollar cover and twenty dollar well drinks? It caters to Europeans and Middle Easterners with money." Tess commented before going back to her notes.
"The dishwasher called it in just after midnight, he said someone was pounding on the back door. He told the responding officer he witnessed a man running away who sprinted out of sight in what seemed like a second."
The information made Catherine's heart skip a beat. "That's weird, it doesn't make sense. How many perps do you know decide to stop in mid-attack and alert someone for help?"
Tess nodded as they pulled up to the curb. "Let's face it, if it made sense, she'd probably be dead. I'll take weird."
The neighborhood had gone upscale in the last ten years and was filled with restaurants, boutiques and high-end nightclubs. The Kiss and Fly was a cocktail lounge and dance club. At night it was an expensive and hip place to be seen. In the daytime, it was just this side of gaudy and looked cold and uninviting.
"I guess mood lighting is for real." Catherine said under her breath when they walked in. Tess stifled a smirk.
A door next to the bar opened and a well-dressed woman in her fifties emerged. She was immaculately coiffed and wore a black sheath dress. She held an air of sophistication, and looked at the two women suspiciously. "Can I help you? I'm the owner." She asked with a slight accent.
"NYPD" Tess said in a commanding tone and held up her shield. "This is Detective Chandler, I'm Vargas, we're here investigating the assault and attempted rape of Stephanie Lee. And you are?"
A troubled look crossed the woman's face. "Simone James. You don't think it was one of our customers? Our clientele is comprised of foreign nationals, they're legitimate business people." She appeared nervous and avoided eye contact.
They both sensed the woman was hiding something. "We're not here to accuse anyone of the assault, but it did happen right outside your club. May we take a look around?" Catherine asked politely.
"The police were already here and looked in every corner and under every chair. What do you expect to find?" Her demeanor became defensive and icy.
Tess gave her partner a knowing look. "It's part of our job. We'll be out of your hair before you know it."
The club owner shrugged. "I have nothing to hide." She stood aside and gestured for them to come further into the building.
Tess looked toward the ceiling above the bar and zeroed in on a surveillance camera "May I look at your security footage."
The bar owner looked at her haughtily, but nodded her head and led Tess toward the door she had come out of.
Catherine walked toward the kitchen. "I'm going to check out the back entry." She said over her shoulder before disappearing behind a set of swinging double doors.
The kitchen was neat and well scrubbed and she paced around the perimeter looking for anything unusual, but nothing caught her eye. The back door was closed and locked with a deadbolt.
She took another sweep of the room before stepping outside into the alley. She looked toward the street, first east than west looking for any clue, any idea on what may have happened.
"Is she okay?" Vincent stepped out from behind a dumpster. "She had a head injury, her pupils were dilated and her breathing was shallow."
Catherine took a breath. Having him appear out of nowhere was still disconcerting. "She's been put into a medically induced coma. We hope to be able to interview her in a few days." She couldn't take her eyes off of him and he stared back at her.
He nodded. "They do that to relieve intracranial pressure." Vincent muttered and gave her troubled look. "I let him get away."
"What do you mean, you let him get away?" Catherine asked.
Vincent looked at her intensely. "I was concerned with the girl. I could have gone after him, but I thought about how you'd feel if I killed... if I hurt him."
She looked relieved. "What happened here? Did you find anything or see anything that could help us?" Catherine asked.
"I was down the block, but I heard her crying, she was begging him not to hurt her. When he spoke, I think it was Greek, I heard him saying things to her, I recognize some of the phrases from when I was in the army. He saw me coming towards them and took off."
Catherine furrowed her brow ever so slightly. "Thank you, that helps. You did the right thing, helping her instead of hurting him. Catching the perp is my job."
Just then, Catherine heard Tess call out. She looked at Vincent and said in a hushed tone, "You better go." She turned to the open door behind her and yelled. "I'm out here." When she turned back, he was already gone.
