Every Day is Exactly the Same
Chapter Six: One Step Closer
"Why are you here?"
"Why do you have no desire to be normal?" the question was answered with a resounding crunch as the fist connected with his face. His head jerked sideways. He spit blood from his mouth, the taste of iron coursing over his tongue.
"Why are you here?"
His eyes shot up to theirs, bright blue shining in the dim light, staring up at shadowy faces.
"I thought I didn't know who I was."
Wesley woke to the feeling that he was being stared at. He kept his eyes closed, kept his body as still as possible, tried to keep his breathing slow and even.
"We need to talk."
Wesley sighed. He considered ignoring him. He considered burrowing back under the covers and going back to sleep. It was Saturday damn it. His cracked open his eyes to stare at the glowing clock. And it was three a.m.
"What do you want Lucien?"
"The FBI agent is in over her head," Lucien replied from his place in the shadows.
Wesley rolled over and sat up in bed, rubbing his hands through his hair and over his face. "Is this what you woke me up for? To tell me that some FBI agent that tried to kick my ass is in over her head?"
Lucien cocked his head to one side slightly. "What are you going to do about her?"
"What do you mean?"
It was Lucien's turn to sigh. "She knows who you are Wesley. If she were to actually arrest you it would put a damper on our plans. All the Fraternity needs is to get you in a holding cell. You would be dead before morning."
"She doesn't know anything."
"She knows your face and name."
"I've fallen off the radar-"
"We found you," Lucien interrupted.
Wesley glared at him. "You were Fraternity trained."
"It doesn't matter, Wesley. She has all the resources of the American government. It is only a matter of time before she finds you. What will you do then?"
Wesley contemplated his answer. "I'll figure it out when I get to it."
Lucien was silent. Wesley knew Lucien was watching him, judging him, perhaps even regretting the decision to bring him into their plan to take down the Fraternity.
"You are just like your father," he finally replied. "Thinking no one can touch you. Where did that get him Wesley?"
Wesley was across the room before he realized it. Lucien's back slammed into the wall, his head jerking back as Wesley's arm pressed against his throat. Lucien's calm expression never wavered. He showed no sign of distress, no sign of fear.
"Do not talk about my father." Wesley seethed through clenched teeth.
"Temper, temper, Wesley. Your anger will cloud your judgment."
The next thing Wesley knew, he was sprawled on his back across the floor, his chest throbbing. Lucien hadn't moved. He still stared at him from across the room, his arms still crossed over his chest, resting against the wall that he had just been pressed into.
He lifted a hand into the moonlight, staring at his nails as if he were bored with the conversation. "Don't you see, Wesley? You are not as infallible as you think," Lucien said, almost as if he were bored with the conversation. "You still allow your emotions to think for you, despite what you may think. You may hate the Fraternity for what they made you do, but they did not make you as much of a monster as you think."
Lucien walked toward the still sprawled out Wesley, stopping just at his feet. "The agent knows about the Fraternity. If she learns any more she could get in our way. Do something about her or I will do something for you."
Wesley glared up at Lucien. "What do you expect me to do?"
Lucien pursed his lips and shrugged. "You'll figure it out when you get to it, I'm sure," he replied, throwing Wesley's own words back at him.
Before he could blink the room was empty.
No one saw it coming. The blood was in the water before anyone noticed the woman falling to the side. The screaming started soon after the body sank into the water. Long blonde hair fanned out around an upturned face, blood quickly seeping out from a wound in her forehead, mixing with the chlorine and water. The lifeguards blew their whistles, signaling for everyone to leave the water.
The ripples caused by the frightened swimmers spread the blood through the pool, caused the now limp body to bob in the water. Terrified children clung to their parents, panicked adults made frantic calls for help. Life guards dove into the water, swimming as fast as they could to the unmoving woman.
Lifeless eyes stare up at a burning sun.
The punching bag swung from the force of her punch. She was angry, pissed off even. Nothing more had come from her search for the Fraternity. Or her search for Wesley Gibson, for that matter. And it was pissing her off. After the mysterious man had left her apartment two nights before she had done nothing but search for any clue to this secret society. At least that's what she guessed it was.
Two people had now mentioned the Fraternity to her. From what Matt had told her, Mouse had looked terrified when he mentioned the Fraternity and the man from the other night had hesitated when she mentioned them. He had known something. He had known something and yet told her nothing.
The only thing Evie had to go on was that the man had warned her to stay away from Wesley Gibson and had flinched at the name of the Fraternity. That could only mean one of two things. Wesley Gibson and the man were in league together with these murders or else they were both part of the Fraternity, whatever that was.
Her shin connected with the bag as she kicked up. God damn it. Could nothing go right with this case? Music pounded in her ears from her headphones. Her punches and kicks began to be timed with the music. Evie could feel her mood darken as her thoughts kept going over the case. Her boss was riding her to get answers and yet she could get nothing. Why would she ever have thought that this was going to be easy?
A noise behind her startled her. She pushed off the bag, thrusting backwards. She pivoted on one foot, stopping directly in front of the person that had attempted to sneak up on her, her fist raised.
Zack stared at her, wide eyed, his hands upraised in a symbol of peace. "Whoa. Take it easy Agent Thomas. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."
Evie dropped her arms, her breathing labored. She blew hair out of her eyes as she pulled the earphones from her ears. "Sorry."
Zack shrugged. He pulled the strap of his computer case higher on his shoulder. "S'okay. I have something you might want to see though."
Evie sighed and ran a hand through her sweat soaked hair. "You couldn't have just called me?"
Zack peered up at her from over his glasses. "I did. When you check your phone you'll notice at least four calls from me. One of the other agents said you were down here."
Evie grabbed a towel from the bench and sat down, wiping the sweat from her chest and neck. "What do you have for me?"
He sat next to her, pulling his laptop from the case. Zack opened some reports, pulling two up on the screen. Evie recognized the pictures as the two victims from the week before.
"What am I looking at Zack?"
Zack gestured at the screen, pointing at two transactions. "What we're looking at, Agent Thomas, are two withdrawals, one from each of the victims, to the same company. Both are high dollar amounts. Going back, I noticed the same amount pulled from the two accounts every month for at least a year."
Evie paused, the towel clutched in her hand. "What company?"
"Not entirely sure. The bank statements say Weavers' International. And before you ask, yes, I looked it up. There's nothing anywhere about this company." Zack paused. "Anywhere."
Her eyes narrowed. "So you're telling me that both of our victims were paying a company that doesn't exist?"
"Near as I can tell." He replied, nodding.
Evie blew a wet strand out of her eyes again. "So we're no closer to finding a killer then we were before."
"Well, no, but at least now we've found a connection between the two."
"Good job," Evie said as she stood. "See if you can find out anything, and I mean anything, about this imaginary company. Find out if it's a dummy company for something else. They have to have been paying someone for something. We've got to figure this out; we've got to figure out what exactly they were paying off."
The door slamming open pulled Evie's attention away from the computer. Matt stuck his head in. "Evie! We have another one."
Wesley stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at the tall building, the sunlight glinting off of the mirrored windows. Wesley squinted behind his sunglasses at the people walking past. He was standing nonchalantly; his hands resting in his pockets, his tie hanging loosely around his neck, the top button of his shirt was unbuttoned.
It was six o'clock on a Friday evening and the sidewalks were crowded. And yet he was invisible. The crowds flowed around him, spreading out to walk around him, their shoulders coming within inches of him. Not one person seemed to take notice of him. He was like a shadow on the wall.
The sunlight moving across an opening door drew his eyes in front of him. A man exited the building first, holding the door for the woman who walked out next. The man made a mock bow to her, to which she did nothing but scowl. Wesley could, however, see the amusement hidden underneath the scowl. He chuckled to himself. She was interesting, this FBI agent. She put on a tough front; a front that would intimidate most people. He was sure it worked on her suspects, on the people she was questioning.
Wesley watched her for a moment. Watched how her hair swayed in the knot at the nape of her neck. He was pretty sure she'd had it styled like that when he first saw her. Wesley felt the hair on the back of his neck rise seconds before an arm wrapped around his shoulders.
"What are you waiting for?" Adam asked, his gaze following Wesley's. "Oh. Never mind. I see. So who is she?"
Wesley shrugged. "Couldn't tell you."
Adam chuckled. "Whatever. Come on. Let's go. I hear drinks calling my name!"
"Witnesses say that the victim was just taken down. One minute she was playing with her son, the next she was face down in the water," the officer paused as he glanced out into the now empty pool. "Figuratively speaking."
"No shooter?" Evie asked.
The officer shrugged. "Not that anyone saw."
"Awesome," Matt muttered. He was staring into the pool, the blood having all but dispersed through the water. He turned his attention to the tarp covered body lying next to the pool. He knelt next to her and lifted the cloth.
Golden hair shone in the dying light. Well, what wasn't matted down with blood. A single bullet hole nestled into her temple, the wound still fresh. Her brown eyes stared up at him. Stared at him as if it was his fault that she was laying there; that it was his fault that they hadn't caught the bastard doing this. I'm sorry.
"Do we have an ID on her?" he asked.
He heard papers ruffling behind him. "Pool attendant pulled the locker key from her chair. Said she came here every week when the weather's good. Name is Meredith Ventura."
Matt's eyebrows furrowed. "Why do I know that name?"
"Meredith Ventura, aged thirty-two, mother to Brian Ventura, wife of Alexander Ventura."
Matt turned to him, dropping the tarp. "Owner of Ventura Motors?"
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you." He turned back to the body. "What would you be doing in a public pool?" he asked.
Matt walked up to Evie. She was standing poolside, staring down into the rolling water. "Have forensics found the bullet?"
She shook her head. "Not so far. They're going to empty the filter. Hopefully it's in there."
"Tell me how this makes sense," Matt started. "We have the owner of a clothing store, an office worker, and the wife of the owner of a car dealership. What do any of these people have in common?"
Evie flipped open her phone, hit a button and placed the phone next to her ear. "Hey, Zack. Listen, do me a favor. Pull the financials for a Meredith Ventura." She paused. "Yes. That Meredith Ventura. Pull her financials and see if that same company pops up. Okay. Thanks."
"Care to share?"
Evie turned from him, making her way past the yellow tape blocking off the crime scene. "Zack found a common name in each of the victims' records. It's a company that doesn't seem to exist and yet each of the victims paid the same amount every month for the past year or so." She paused again. "Something doesn't add up, Matt. I have a feeling this is all tied into that company. I'm going to find Mouse, see if he can enlighten me a little more on this Fraternity."
Matt nodded. "I'll stay here to do some interviews. Someone has to have seen something."
The night had started out great. He was out with Adam getting some much needed beers after another long, boring day at the office. There were girls; always girls. No man in his right mind would turn down a woman that was coming on to him.
The night had been going great and then he came along. And now here he was, being slammed into a brick wall, the breath whooshing from his lungs. He ducked as the kick swung over his head but failed to dodge the fist that slammed into his right temple that followed seconds later.
The bass from the bar thrummed against his back, causing his entire body to vibrate. His heart began to beat in time to the vibrations. Wesley used the hum to clear his mind. His eyes snapped open as the man's fist flew at him again.
Wesley dodged right as the fist neared his face. The hand slammed into the brick wall, causing a satisfying crack to sound through the alley. The man grunted, refusing to allow a cry of pain to escape his lips. That would show a weakness that he couldn't allow.
Wesley ducked behind him and grabbed the man's arm, pulling it straight out. He thrust his palm into the man's elbow, effectively breaking the joint and then kicked him in the back. The assassin stumbled forward and turned around, catching his footing. Wesley took the opportunity and launched himself after the would-be killer.
Wesley punched and kicked, aiming for any place the man left open for attack. He landed one last kick to the man's side before he heard the familiar click of a switchblade and then the sting as the blade bit through the skin of his chest right below his ribs.
Wesley grabbed his attacker's good wrist and pulled it away from him. The blade flicked away from him, little droplets of Wesley's blood spattering across the concrete.
Wesley twisted the man's arm in, pushing the blade toward his attacker. He felt the knife sink into the man's chest, felt the blade bury itself into the thick flesh. The assassin's eyes bulged as he fell to his knees.
"Who sent you?"
The assassin's eyes turned up to meet Wesley's. He sneered and spat at him, the fluid coming out red. Wesley stared down at the stain on his shirt. Damn it. He loved that shirt.
"Tell me who and maybe I'll call some help for you."
The sneer didn't leave the man's face. He yanked the knife from his chest and sung at Wesley again. Wesley ducked and slid behind him. Grabbing the would-be assailant's neck, he twisted.
It still bothered him. The sound of the cartilage and bone in the neck snapping; the sound of one more person's life slipping away. "You made me this way," he whispered as the body sank to the ground. "This is all because of you."
"What the fuck."
Wesley twisted at the voice. Adam stood behind him, half of his body hidden behind a slowly closing door.
"Adam-"
Adam turned before Wesley could finish. He was down the alley before Wesley could even move.
AN: Tadaa! An update! God it has been forever. I've had this chapter finished for awhile, it just needed to get edited, but I got a little bit distracted. Work sucks and with it being retail during the holidays, I don't get much time to even sleep. This is my first day off in almost two weeks.
But I really wanted to get this out to you guys today as a holiday gift to you. Thank you for being so patient with my late updates. I'll respond to reviews in a couple hours!