Thank you for reviewing! Always thankful. Honestly, those reviews have gotten me as far as they have today. So really, just thank you! My gratitude can not express enough how much they have meant. Two translations at the very bottom. Other than that, Zoetic means living or vital and Zetetic is a search or investigation. Enjoy!
Chapter 25 - Zoetic Zetetic
"NO."
The word met Abby's ears from both males. Two entirely different reasons fueled the requests, but she already made up her mind.
"You said I could do whatever I wanted with him," she began, advancing on the surgeon. "I want to let him go. He's suffering enough and left alone with himself, he'll continue to deteriorate until there's nothing left."
"It was my belief that you planned to kill him eventually," Heiter hissed back. "Think of everything we've done to find him."
"I've thought it over," she nodded solemnly. "Actually, it didn't take until I discovered the truth for this decision to become clear. In this case, acting out on revenge also declares Ivan the winner. A release for him. He hates himself already. Just think of the turbulent life that'll consume him."
"Töte mich!" Ivan cried.
"Maul halten!" Heiter spat back, ignoring the man's request. "You cannot let him go. He will tell the police-."
"What? That two people kidnapped him? All we have to do is give them Luca's address and they'll find more than just my dad underneath those floor boards. It'd be simple to mention that Ivan participated in the murder spree as well. He has nothing against us, lest he wishes for us to reveal the truth. And considering he attempted to flee to Poland, I really don't think he wants any more to do with this country."
Heiter's frustration was evident. The grip he held on to the gun, tightened to the point where Abby was slightly concerned it'd accidentally go off.
"He is filth," he tried.
"I'm not disagreeing with you," she slowly protested. "Actually, every nerve in my body is urging me to rip that gun out of your hand and finish this. But I came here to gain closure. To figure out what happened to my dad. I did just that. Anything else is outside my realm of control."
"But letting your father's murderer go is not closure!" he insisted.
"Try to think of it this way. One of Jonas's children grows up and plans to investigate his murder. What he finds-."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Ivan harshly interjected. "Murdered? You, bitch, murdered my brother?"
"I killed your brother," Heiter answered back, eyes aimed on their captive. "And I enjoyed every minute of it."
Ivan straightened suddenly in his seat, eyes watering.
Out of all the men Abby had ever known, Ivan had the greatest cycle of tear production.
"You-!"
He cut himself off by attempting to break through the bonds. Unfortunately, the ropes dug in and had cut off a fair amount of circulation. This meant less of a blood flow and eventual invalid muscle use.
All he ended up doing was rocking back and forth a bit in the chair. Other than that, murder was left to glisten in his cold eyes.
When he was done, Abby continued.
"But this offspring of Jonas Kappel, finds you and inquires as to why you murdered her dad. By some divine miracle, you tell her. If guilt were eating away with you, you'd welcome death in a heart beat. You'd know you were deserving of it. But think if she kept you alive, constantly pondering over what you'd done. Letting your conscious eat away everything that makes you alive. Now that is real torture."
"You forget that I lack an ability to feel guilt."
"You felt guilty when I went through that phase of constant fainting. You knew you were the cause of it."
"That was hardly guilt!" he argued, having the audacity to cross his arms.
One corner of Abby's lip twitched up.
"Well...whatever it was, it led you to make a decision to help me. Anyway, Ivan's going to go through the rest of his life, understanding that it were his actions alone which led to the crappy existence he lives in now. That's kind of brilliant."
"That is sloppy and stupid."
"That is meticulous and ingenious."
"Abby-."
"I get it. I do. We chased this bastard down. Met countless dead ends, watched our links dissolve before our eyes. I let you have free reign of his mental condition for eight hours. But, I feel like this is the right decision."
"It is a clumsy and foolish decision."
"I've already heard your take on the matter."
"And yet you still insist on following your logic. He is dangerous. Or perhaps you have forgotten what he has done to your father."
She froze for a second, eyes narrowing.
"Heiter," she stated firmly, "I will never forget what he did. If you could see the images running through my head right now, it'd make you shiver. But...I want him to go back into the world and live with the life he created for himself."
"Perhaps you are wrong! He is actually happy at this moment. Once you let him go, he will spend money on his lavish lifestyle. Flee the country and start a new life."
"Two problems. Number one, I'm pretty sure if left alone in a room with you for eight hours, he's feeling anything but happiness. In fact, I'm guessing his psyche is permanently scarred thanks to you. Number two, he's bankrupt. Or at least going that way. The cash you found on him? Enough to hop from hotel to hotel for awhile. The rest of his money is now being stashed away somewhere in a Frankfurt bank. Only it's not his money anymore. So I assure you, his life will not carry the lavish requirements it once did."
Obviously unhappy, Heiter threw another glare at Ivan's struggling, red-faced form.
"I have watched you make decisions," he started. "Decisions I may not have supported in the beginning, but found myself thankful I let you continue. Your ability to work around human emotions is beautiful. Your insight and ability to analyze objects could easily earn you a great career in the justice department. Despite all this, you decide to keep this man alive. I do not understand this."
"I've tried explaining it as best as I could. I don't know what else to say."
There was an uncomfortable pause between the two, and Abby briefly wondered how smart of a decision this was.
Ivan did atrocious things to my dad. That warrants some sort of torture. But I don't think I could carry it out, especially when he's so willing to die.
"Have something to eat first and think it over," he suggested, eyes falling back to her.
"It's not going to change my mind."
"At least eat something," he ordered.
"Okay...but there's no way in hell you're staying down here with him."
"Fine."
With an uneasy peace, the two turned on their angry captive and ventured toward the stairs.
"Get back here!" Ivan screamed, voice reaching an unbelievably high pitch. "Tell me what the hell you did to Jonas!"
The two simultaneously ignored the request and ascended back upstairs.
APHAPHAPHAPH
"Abby."
Sighing, the blonde pushed away her grilled chicken. It was only half eaten, even though the taste was sensational. Jakob had a variety of spices to choose from and cooking for herself again made Abby far more at ease.
Unfortunately, her stomach still didn't feel like ingesting large quantities of food.
"I haven't changed my mind," she informed.
They'd been upstairs for an hour, both in a silent deliberation. She was quite aware of his need to make her see that a dead Ivan was the ultimate form of closure. But this couldn't displace her own sense of reason.
"I understand this."
Surprised, Abby glanced up to find Heiter staring at her. His plate was clean and she was sure he'd went through five glasses of water already.
"I want to know what time you are leaving."
"Oh," she said, momentarily forgetting about everything that was packed in her bedroom. "I guess I'll call Jakob after Ivan leaves. See if my visa has been renewed. If not, there's the US embassy in Berlin. If anything, I'll get deported back to my country because of an illegal residential stay from an expired passport. But however I get home doesn't bother me."
Heiter nodded slowly, processing in the information.
"Your mother is dead."
"Yep."
"As is your father."
"That too."
That realization still swam around inside, but she understood that the real heart ache would most likely hit when she returned. So, she tried not thinking about the final days of her dad too much. Instead, she marveled at his ability to have set up an intricate web of clues.
"You have no boyfriend."
Smiling, she shrugged.
"Not that I'm aware of. You never know, though. Maybe in a month or two, I'll come back and visit Klaus."
"You have no friends."
"Some," she argued lightly. "I guess we kind of broke apart after I dropped out of college. Maybe we'll reconnect."
"So you are only going back for the possibility of starting a new life?"
"Isn't that enough?"
Her eyes were glued to the kitchen table, attempting to hold back tears. The longing to go home was ferocious and unwavering.
She was tired.
So, so tired of her ordeal. Of seeing people die without any ability to stop their deaths. Of constantly chasing after something out of reach.
Tired, tired, tired.
"Who wouldn't want to walk away from this?" she asked softly.
Understanding reflected back at her when she glanced up, and for a moment, Abby realized the man sitting across from her would be thrust back into his old life. Of isolation and murderous intentions. Perhaps even allowing his mad idea to guide him again.
I can't do anything about it. I really, really can't.
The longer she stared, the less aware she became of her surroundings.
I could tell someone. An authority figure about what Heiter planned on doing. I know it'd eat me up if I let this man continue on with his experiment on some other unfortunate victim.
But this thought was met with firm resistance.
The least I should do is not say anything. Think of everything he's done for me. He is the reason I am getting closure.
There was no clear answer to her dilemma. Staying mute could put future people at risk of going through everything she and her companions had.
And that was when his victims had gotten away. Imagine if he completed his experiment.
Alerting someone made her feel guilty and deceitful. Like the trust they'd built with each other had been doomed from the start. And the parts of himself he'd put on display for her, parts she was sure had been hidden from the world for a long time, seemed sincere and sparked a potential change inside the man. Like there was really someone with a beating heart beneath the cold, inhuman exterior.
That's selfish of me. To not say anything and endanger someone's life just so I don't feel guilty. Think how much guilt there would be if he did get away with his cruel experiment. Three ruined lives right there.
"You are thinking of turning me in."
Widening her eyes, Abby shook off her brain's protests of answering.
"Yes," she admitted. "I am."
"It is a struggle?"
"More than you're aware of. I've got to know, though. When you first let me have all of that freedom inside your house, did you think in the back of your mind that I'd really stay quiet?"
Scratching at his chin, Heiter set his head upon his open palm.
"Honestly, I am more surprised you are thinking it over. I would have thought the answer to be clear."
"I did too," she murmured stubbornly. "You are dangerous. If I say nothing, I can only think of the horrors I'm putting future lives into."
"Always thinking of others," he mused with a shake of the head.
"This isn't about me," she determined. "My ordeal, while excruciating and terrifying, has passed. I've found new people to haunt my dreams. New words to replace my veins with ice. But you're still the same, I think. Are you?"
"It would appear so."
"And you still want to perform unethical experiments on innocent people?"
He didn't respond immediately. In fact, his eyes journeyed down to the same table he'd slapped.
"The past few months," he finally said, "have forced me to resort my intentions."
"Really?" she asked in concealed amazement.
"You are not the only who has had revelations."
The bitterness couldn't quite edge out of his comment in time, but Abby's awe didn't disappear. Could it be possible that his interaction with people made him realize humans weren't perishable?
"There were some good times," she admitted after a silent second. "Even in the midst of the turmoil."
"Such as?"
Abby cleared her throat, index finger running across the table. She closed her eyes, parted her lips, and let loose an uneven voice.
"I know your eyes in the morning sun. I feel you touching in the pouring rain-."
"Please, stop."
She edged open one eye and nearly followed his command, if he hadn't been attempting to contain his smile.
"-and the moment that you wonder far from ME, I wanna feel you in my arms again. And you come to me in a summer breeze, keep me warm in your love and softly leave. And it's me you need to show. How deep is your love," she sang brightly, notes stumbling all around the place.
I should have just tortured Ivan with my singing voice.
When both eyes sprang open, Abby had to cover her mouth or else a demented laugh would spill out.
"What band sings that song again?" he asked.
Using her palm like an oxygen tank, Abby said, "Bee Gees."
"Let us keep it that way."
The laugh blasted out like a jack-in-a-box, forcing her hand away and her eyes to close back up. Her entire face turned a tomato red and she had to keep her legs crossed or else she'd pee her pants.
"I don't know how many times I've said it," she mentioned, neutralizing her laughter, "but you are a bastard."
"And I do not know why you find this amusing."
"Because you make me laugh. The stern surgeon with little empathy for others, making a joke. Something strange inside me likes that."
Her smile didn't waver even when his expression turned solemn.
"Will you be telling others of what I had almost accomplished?"
The thought sobered her. But...she did have the answer.
"No. I know I could come to regret this decision, but a part of me trusts your supposed revelation."
"That is good."
He said this with a relief, but Abby noted the way his eyes stayed on her a second longer than normal.
"Trust me like I've trusted you," she offered, holding out a hand.
For a moment, she was sure he'd simply let it hang there for the rest of eternity.
"It won't bite," Abby promised.
Finally, he brought his pale arm on to the table and grasped her hand. The grip was tight, but assertive.
They shook once before releasing.
"Alright...now we've only got one last business to take care of," she announced.
Töte mich! : Kill me!
Maul halten : Shut up!
Lol, I've actually got one more chapter left to put up. Some of you thought this was the end, but if you look up, this is Chapter 25. The English alphabet has 26 letters. But now you're thinking to yourself...wait...we're in the letter Z. What the hell? Well...I actually skipped a letter and that letter will be the title of the last chapter. Now you're all probably going to go scanning through the story, trying to figure out which letter I skipped. Maybe some of you realized it, but didn't mention anything. It was intentional, don't worry. Oh, and StrangeKindofMirror, as I was writing the last chapter, I made the exact same connection you had. Like I mentioned previously, making Ivan in love with Abby's father was completely a last minute choice. So as I was writing how in love Ivan was with Gregory, I thought of Gregory's daughter - Abby, and her situation with Heiter. I'm not saying whether anything is there or not, but it is most definitely an interesting concept of something so irresistible within the father-daughter that others become enthralled against their will toward the pair of them. Anywho, let me know your thoughts in a review!