~Prime Target~ Minyadagniriel
Ch 23: Disaster
Lakota rolled over, pulling the sheets with her. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand, 5:22 pm. Oh shit! She meant to call her father three hours ago!
Near still slept along side her, his face emotionless. She wanted to stay in bed with him but it was dusk and her dad would kill them both if they were out all night without checking in.
Her bag was pushed to the floor before they got started so she needed to slide out of bed without disturbing Near to get to it. Carefully, she tugged the sheets with her as she dropped her feet to the floor. She wasn't as stealthy as she hoped; Near's hand grasped hers, "Where are you going? Stay here, keep me warm…" he smiled.
"I have to call home."
"It can wait until later." Near let go of her hand.
Lakota got up off the mattress and picked up her bag. She stumbled forward a bit, her legs felt like jelly and there was a minor ache between her legs. "My legs don't want to work."
"That's to be expected, mine aren't in any better shape," he said, "You may also want to shower before we leave." Near pulled back the comforter, a small red stain appeared on the white sheets.
"Awe…shit…I'm gonna have to replace the motel's bedding. She reached down and touched the skin of her thigh, dried blood layered around the area. "Great…that means you need a shower too."
Near lifted the blanket and looked down at his body, "Yup."
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"There has been a new string of deaths. Please see the attached images and this time a video card was left with one of the bodies. We have also gathered fingerprints, but no matches were found in our system."
L typed his response, "Please forward all images and the card to me immediately, thank you director."
Moments passed and the email arrived, labeled: Urgent. L opened the folder and for the first time he almost closed out of the image files due to nausea. The bodies were mangled and shredded, it was so grotesque, L wondered if his son or Near would be able to view them.
L then opened the video and waited for the loading bar.
"Hey dad," Gabe said as he joined his father in the living room, "New case material?"
"Yes. This time our killer sent a video message, I'm waiting for it to load. Has Kat said anything else?"
"No, I put her to bed. She hasn't said a word since last night. I did a search on the surrounding schools and pulled every male profile. Near and I singled out all of the blonde haired, pale students. There's so many, five hundred thirty two of them, including from Wammy's."
"The director has good news for us, a set of fingerprints have been found. However, they have no matches in the police files."
"Let me guess, you want to gather every single student's fingerprints without rousing their suspicion?"
"Something like that…"
"Dad that could take weeks…"
"We'll have to come up with a plan fast then. Apparently Kat's escape has riled up our killer and now he's on a-"
The video file finished loading and music blared out of L's computer, startling them both. The heavy metal shot through the house, loud enough to wake the dead.
Push me again
This is the end
here we go, here we go, here we go now
One - Nothing wrong with me
Two - Nothing wrong with me
Three - Nothing wrong with me
Four - Nothing wrong with me
One - Something's got to give
Two - Something's got to give
Three - Something's got to give
Now!!!(you can't hurt me!)(you can't hurt me!)
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the
Floor!!!
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Let the bodies hit the floor
Skin against skin blood and bone
You're all by yourself but you're not alone
You wanted in an' now you're here
Driven by hate consumed by fear
L and Gabe were stunned; they looked at each other in disbelief.
"I think we really pissed this guy off," Gabe said.
"We are dealing with a sick individual." L picked up his teacup and took a sip.
"After what happened to Kat, I wonder if this is a message to us directly."
"I did get the feeling that this student knows us personally, that's probably why the police could not match any fingerprints. Our killer is getting sloppy; leaving prints behind is a stupid mistake. Refine our search; pull out all Wammy student profiles with Kat's description."
L hoped it would not be so…another Wammy pupil with the same sick mind as B? Could it be possible?
*beep beep*
"Oh that's me…" Gabe pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, "Hello…"
"Hey Gabe it's me, why is dad's phone off?"
"Lakota, I have no idea…"
"I just tried calling him three times; can you tell him we're on our way home?"
"Suuuure…"
"Later!"
Gabe closed his phone and pocketed it, "That was Lakota, she says their coming home and wants to know why your phone was shut off."
"Must have forgotten to charge it, I'll put it on the hook in a minute."
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"We'd better hurry, it'll be dark soon."
"Yeah, let's just leave the key on the desk. I'm sure the clerk will find it."
"By the way Lakota, where did you get that credit card to pay for the room?"
She rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the question.
"You swiped it from your dad didn't you?"
"Maybe…"
"Won't L be happy when he finds out his daughter is a thief," Near laughed. He closed up the motel room and locked the door.
"Not if he doesn't find out." She emphasized her point by giving him a dirty look.
"Alright I promise I won't tell, just stop giving me such an odd look. He'll probably figure it out for himself anyways."
Near and Lakota left the keys on the desk, the clerk had fallen asleep in his chair so they didn't bother disturbing him. The rain had let up; no need for an umbrella now.
7:46 p.m.
They took their time getting back, mostly talking about Kat and the case, though Near didn't think it a good idea for Lakota to get too involved. The last thing he wanted was for her to be taken away.
Gabe greeted them at the door, "Hey."
"Hey…" Lakota said and passed her brother. Near followed close behind. Both of them went directly upstairs without saying a word to L.
"Huh…no biting my head off or anything…impressive," Gabe said and sat down on the couch next to his father.
"Lakota has other things on her mind," L responded, "This is a good thing, it means Near reached her. Look how they spend time together now."
"Yeah I suppose so."
10:23 p.m.
"So…let's review the new list. There are only twelve students who match the physical description, but we don't have any print records. I may have to contact Roger and ask for fingerprints from all of them. Somehow I believe he will reject because Wammy's students are supposed to remain anonymous." L flipped through the new pages. "What is even worse…my other heir fits the description. I know he is rough around the edges, but to commit such a heinous crime…I just can't see him doing that."
"Who is it?"
"Mello."
"Ah, I think I met him once when I first got to the school. He took off from Wammy's around fifteen didn't he?"
"Yes, but he eventually came back after a seven year absence."
Gabe took the sheet from his father's hand, "Still, he matches and we need to investigate him." Mello's profile was extremely short, "Maybe we should contact him?"
L sighed, "Yeah…why don't you contact Roger for Mello's phone number." He closed his laptop and stretched out his legs, "I'm gonna go up and check on Kat. She may have another piece of information now that she's calmed down." He pulled himself up from the sofa, "I'll be right back." L left the living room and made his way up the staircase.
The second floor corridor was quiet, Near and Lakota settled down, probably for the night. It didn't bother L so much that his daughter had a man sleeping in her room. She was old enough to make her own decisions. Allidia kept to herself in the guest room; she didn't make many appearances and L was having her transported back to Wammy's tomorrow to be with Eve and Karissa under heavy guard.
Rachel was also in their bedroom; most likely reading before sleep. L passed his room, he could see the light streaming under the door, he was right, she was reading. Kat's door was nearby and he pushed the door open gently, expecting her to be asleep in bed or curled up on the floor, wrapped in a blanket. He turned on the small lamp nearest the door, making sure the light didn't disturb her.
L looked around the room, her bed was empty and there was no sign of her on the floor either. He quickly lifted the blankets off the bed, she wasn't curled up underneath them and he scrambled to the floor to search under the bed. Nothing…
He noticed the window was partially open and approached it. The sill was damp from the rain, which picked up again. He stuck his head out, searching the side yard, hoping to see Kat. Raindrops plopped on his face and ran down his skin, wetting the collar of his shirt.
There was a drain pipe on the side of the house; this must be her way of escaping. So that's how she managed to get to the Lion's Eye without being caught.
L turned tail and sped down the hallway, there was no time to get Rachel and the others… Kat needed him now! He practically skipped half the steps down the stairs. How long had she been missing?
A confused Gabe stared at his father as he began spewing out instructions, "I managed to get Mello's…" he started, but L interrupted.
"Stay put, I'm going out to find Kat!"
"What?! She's missing again?!"
"This time she ran away…I'm afraid she's overly traumatized. Stay here, continue working on the case…if anyone asks where I am, tell them what happened. If I'm not back in thirty minutes, send the police to search the city for her. I have a feeling she's wandering aimlessly somewhere." L shoved his shoes on and ripped his phone off the charger, "I'll call if I find her."
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Two hours outside…
Her feet dragged along the cement walkway, cut and bleeding from the pebbles and assorted particles scattered here and there. Her mind was filled with thoughts; memories from a week ago…first capture…
The street lights were out, due to power outages in the area. The old fashioned lamps do not have backup generators. She fumbled around in the dark, not knowing why she was heading 'there' again. Her mind fought with itself, tearing at her with images of her kidnapper. She wanted closure, perhaps if she did something about him…the nightmares would go away and her life would be normal again.
Several blocks away from the house, wearing naught but her flannel bottoms, tank top, and a black oversized sweater she moved on. She didn't care that the storm continued, though her clothes were wet and feet cold.
Kat touched her face, feeling the length of her scar. It almost healed over; the stitches nearly dissolved. The skin felt swollen and tiny amounts of puss still drained in some areas, thankfully the rainwater washed it away. The embarrassment of having this injury finally began to sink in.
The dizzy spell she carried was creeping to the surface again and an assortment of panic and stress overtook her. Delirium…then hallucinating. Headlights?
She squinted through her good eye, a set of lights speeding down the street. Kat blinked several times, the rain distorted her vision. The car was approaching quickly, but seemed to slow when it got closer to her…then it stopped just short of her position on the sidewalk.
The car remained running and the driver side door opened. A tall figure emerged and slammed the door shut again, a tall…blond…figure. The headlights reflected against his long hair, long as in past his shoulders. Kat cowered in this person's presence, he looked so much like 'him', but this guy was a bit older, maybe in his early thirties.
She took a few steps back.
"Don't panic, I'm not gonna hurt you," he said. He slowly took a step towards her, "People are lookin for ya you know."
Kat was too skeptical to trust him and his entire outlook frightened her. She backed away from him further.
He extended his hand, "Take it easy…" With his other hand he reached into his leather jacket and flipped open his cell phone. Pissed off that he was getting soaked, he planned to let the receiver know his irritation, he dialed a number without taking his eyes off of Kat.
"Yeah hey…I found her and I'm gonna kill you for making me go out in this weather. What do you want me to do?"
With a confused look, he pulled the phone away from his ear and offered it to her, "He wants to talk to you."
Kat stared at the phone and shook her head many times, still too afraid to come near. It was odd, this man somewhat looked like her attacker but he wasn't silent, he didn't jab her with a needle, and he didn't force himself on her. She knelt down on the ground, her clothes were already wet so the sidewalk adding water to her pants didn't make a difference.
He returned the phone to his ear, "She's not taking the phone; I can't get near her without her getting nervous. Alright, I'll try to…" He hung up and pocketed the phone again, "So…I guess it's just you and I until backup arrives. You don't have to move or do anything, but I would like for you to get out of the rain before your dad kills me."
To her surprise, the man gestured to his car and calmly waited for her to respond, in which she tried to but her words were inaudible. She kept shaking her head and quivering.
"You're cold, c'mon…hop in the car," he said.
She didn't move.
"I promise I won't injure you." He approached her and crouched down. He gently touched her shoulder, at first she trembled…but warmed up to him when he draped his leather coat over her. He then picked her up and carried her to the car; she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face into his neck.
She heard him open the passenger door and he set her down on the seat. He then shut her door and rounded the car quickly to get in the driver's side. He shook his head to remove some water from his hair.
Kat peered outside the car window, looking in every direction as if completely paranoid. She peered down the long street, from the opposite direction which this man came. That 'place' was only a few miles that way.
"What are you looking at?" he asked.
Kat pointed in the other direction.
"That's the countryside. It stretches for miles until the next city." He plucked his cell phone out of the coat. She flinched from the contact but relaxed when she saw him take the phone.
She crouched down in the seat, pulling the coat over her head.
He dialed a number again and waited, "Hey, she's safe in my car but…clearly shaken by something. I'll wait till your arrival; I'm located at Cache and Basin road…"
Thirty minutes later…
A car pulled up to them and out of the driver's side popped L. He jogged to the other car where his daughter currently resided and the driver lowered the window.
"Mello, glad to see you, thanks for finding her," L said gratefully.
"You've got to fill me in on this. All I got was a call from your kid, he said your daughter was missing and started asking me random questions of her whereabouts. I haven't seen her since she was five. Luckily, Wammy's had one current picture of her and this is where I picked her up and now she's passed out in the seat."
"I'll explain the situation when I get her home, follow me back to the house."
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To be continued…
Sorry for the late update, duty called on several occasions! I'm setting work on the next chapter already. Happy reading!