Chapter 11: {Pale}Shades
"Ah, the informant Alwin Berkeley," I said as the casually dressed young man walked impatiently into my office. I had kept him waiting rather longer than necessary.
"It's Al-dus. Come on man, I've been feeding you tons of dirt on these new mutants for a while now," he said, gesturing arrogantly. That was always the problem of using contractors, they tended to lack the respect for me that I demanded from my employees.
"And you've been well compensated for it, I might add," I said. I no longer needed the neck brace, but that did not mean the pain was gone. I turned back to my screen to avoid having to look up at him. "What do you want now?"
"I'm sick of being on the outside looking in. It seems to me I deserve a steady gig," he said.
"Do you expect me to provide this 'steady gig'?"
"Well, I've got some information on the disappearance of a valuable piece of Mutant X hardware."
"Mild interest at best," I said, continuing to look at my screen.
"Ripped off from Mutant X by an invisible thief," he emphasised.
I finally looked up at him again. My neck twinged in pain. "Invisible?"
"According to my sources this thief had stealth abilities," he said.
"And where is this stealth mutant now?" I asked. Stealth was a rare and sought-after power. Their gifts were unfortunately genetically linked to a predisposition to a shorter lifespan. A new mutant with such abilities would have such potential as a GS agent.
"That I couldn't tell you. But maybe you give me a shot, and I'll find out."
"Your information has always been dependable, Mr Berkeley. Talk to Mr Kellett in Personnel about getting you outfitted."
Mr Berkeley gave me a thumbs up, a poorly judged gesture. In his favour, he quickly left my office. I had no other meetings scheduled for this morning, so it was high time for me to take some painkillers.
Mr Berkeley had the bad fortune to come back to see me after the painkillers had worn off. He marched into my office with considerable pride, and placed what was allegedly Adam's sequencer on my desk. I stood up to avoid having to move my neck to look up at him. "I thought I made myself clear, the device is of secondary interest to me," I said.
"You want the stealth mutant, right? This is phase one," Mr Berkeley said with a carefree shrug.
"And when can I expect phase two?" I asked. I was starting to feel the familiar pessimistic feeling that I had once again put my faith in someone undeservedly.
"She slipped by us, but we'll get her."
"A woman?" I said. I had suspected so, but I had not dared to hope I might be correct.
"Yeah. Named Danielle Hartman," he said.
I took a sharp intake of breath. That was a name I had not heard in so very long, but it still affected me like an ice-pick to the heart. I turned my negative feelings towards Mr Berkeley, who was surely deserving in the circumstances.
"You failed to detect her presence even equipped with infrared goggles?" I said.
"We didn't have goggles that time," he said. Had he picked up any equipment at all, I wondered. He was after all still dressed in exactly the same clothes as he had been wearing earlier.
"I think it is time to reassign this case to a more experienced squad leader," I said as I approached him. It was nice to see him squirm.
"You need someone as connected as me on your team," he said, backing away from me.
"It seems to me your connections only get you so far. After that, competence, or lack of it comes into play," I said.
He hit the wall, and could back up no further. I had been particularly reluctant to go near to anyone since Lieutenant Longstreet injured me. It was good to see my anger had chased away that fear.
"Please, Mr Eckhart, just give me a shot, I'll bring her in."
"You are aware of the consequences if you don't."
"I hear it all out on the street," he said.
"Just don't harm her in any way. Am I clear, Mr Berkeley?" I said.
He swallowed nervously. "As a bell."
I turned and walked away.
Danielle Hartman. That woman's name brought up emotions in me almost as complex and negative as Adam's did. The whole situation had been a mess. It had almost ruined everything, years before Adam had the chance to deliberately ruin everything.
Someone with stealth powers was always going to be special. But Danielle surpassed our expectations in so many ways. Adam had been simply obsessed with her. The amount of hours he spent examining her and analysing her genome bordered on creepy. But she actually seemed to enjoy the attention. Well, she was young and foolish back then. Now she was older, perhaps she would realise that it was I who was on the side of right, and Adam who was deluded and wrong.
I decided I was going to walk around until the nausea subsided, and then demand some more painkillers from the medical staff. Others had pleasant memories of their past. Not me. But sometimes it was necessary to recall the lessons of the past to solve the problems of the present.
"Come on, man, we staked out her place in case she comes back," said Mr Berkeley, who had made the unwise decision to follow me after unwisely reporting his failure.
"The clock's ticking, Mr Berkeley," I said without slowing down or looking back.
"Hey, there's a new development. She's got a daughter," he said, trying to catch up with me.
Honestly, the things people told me that they thought I'd find interesting. "Does the daughter have stealth abilities?" I asked.
He shrugged. "It's possible. We didn't see her," Mr Berkeley said. He handed me an ID card. "We found this in a backpack with some textbooks. She's fifteen, man."
"Danielle is nearing the end of her short but unhappy life. But her daughter? This girl could be the key to the kingdom. Make her your priority."
In the end, it was Danielle who contacted me. I found myself smiling as I heard her voice, and I tried not to think too much about why that might be. I took a deep breath before answering her.
"Danielle, lovely to hear your voice. It's been too long," I said.
"Hello Mason."
"To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"When I left Genomex, Adam was still working on my problem," she said. Of course, Adam would be at the forefront of our conversation. How stupid of me to think he might not.
"Something about your premature mortality, wasn't it?"
"Yes. He never solved it."
"Now you're feeling the effects of his failure?" I said. There was a small mercy.
"And I was hoping you could help me."
"Well, why don't you and your daughter come in, and we'll see what we can do to help you out."
"How do you know about my daughter?"
She caught me off guard for a moment. "Simple background check," I said. "When can we expect you?"
"Why don't we get together for dinner, and talk this over?"
I found myself smiling. This reminded me of better times. "A lovely idea. I remember you were always fond of Gaetano's, wasn't it? Let's say eight o' clock?"
She hung up the phone without answering, and I took this as an agreement.
Sure enough, Danielle arrived on time. She was a little more mature in her looks and manner of dressing, but I recognised her immediately.
"Danielle," I said. "You're looking well."
"Mason? Oh, it is you," she said with a smile. It was true, I looked a little different than when she last saw me.
She took my arm, and I let her. It was likely she did not know about my condition, and this was not a conversation for now. She seemed tense as we walked into the restaurant.
"I sent the kitchen staff home and brought my own personal chef in for the evening," I said. "My dear, I hate to say this, but on closer examination you don't look well at all."
"We always knew this stealth thing would eventually catch up with me," she said.
"I'm here to help, Danielle. All of Genomex is at your disposal," I said, pulling a chair out from the table for her. She sat down, and so did I.
"So tell me, where did life take you after your stay at Genomex?" I asked her, pouring out glasses of Chardonnay for us both.
"I moved upstate and got a job with a shipping company. Kept my new mutancy a secret until I couldn't control it any more."
"And then you came looking for help."
"I still had a few contacts in the underground. That's how I found out about the genetic sequencer. I figured if I could get my hands on it…"
"A stopgap measure at best," I said. She had not immediately gone to Adam. Good.
"But it might keep me around a little bit longer. For Catherine."
"Your only family. Well then by all means, we'll bring her to Genomex too," I said, taking a sip of the Chardonnay.
"Right now, I need to take care of me, Mason."
"We'll take care of you Danielle, but it's important that you have the emotional support-"
"Just me," she said firmly.
"I'm torn, Danielle, between the feelings we once shared and the exigencies of the work that has been thrust upon me. Unfortunately, today's realities preclude yesterday's romances." I took another sip of the wine, feeling Danielle's eyes bore into me.
"Adam was right," she said.
My men entered the restaurant. Danielle eyed them suspiciously, but was evidently too weak to attempt an escape. Just what had Adam said about me? It would be interesting to hear. I would ask her later.
"Whatever you do, don't let go of her," I said as two of my agents took her arms and led her away.
Mr Berkeley slouched in. "Sorry I'm late, Mr Eckhart," he said.
"It's about time you got here."
He looked over his shoulder. "What about the daughter?"
"Where the mother goes, the daughter follows," I said, and he just looked at me blankly. I inclined my head, indicating for him to leave. And he did. "Gently, Mr Berkeley. We need her in the best condition to serve as bait."
He nodded, giving me a thumbs up on his way out. Some people really did not know how to deal with their betters.
Unfortunately, all did not go to plan. Adam showed up with his two thugs. They were outnumbered, but they soon began to gain the upper hand in the fight. Afraid of getting pulled into violence again, I turned and walked away.
My martial arts experts and Mr Berkeley's feral abilities were not enough to stop Adam from taking a woman who he clearly still viewed as his. They made short work of incapacitating my team. I returned to the restaurant to see the mess they had left behind. My team were picking themselves up, avoiding my eyes.
I had blown my chance to secure Danielle and her daughter. I should not have agreed so readily to her suggestion of dinner. But the sentimental part of me had thought that would be a classy way to deal with this. I thought I had a chance of bringing them back to Genomex willingly. But Danielle had always been so stubborn. Her relationship with Adam had been fiery from the start. But she always went back to him, as she had now.
Rage boiled up inside me. Old rage that had lain dormant for years. I contemplated the myriad ways the universe treated me with utmost unfairness. And how so many of those were connected with Adam.
I considered my options. I could send more of my men after them, but after Mr Berkeley had shown me his true, useless nature, using him was out of the question. And it was far too late to select and brief a new lieutenant.
I would find a way to destroy Adam and all that he stood for. The man had half-way destroyed my life already. If I had to destroy myself to get recompense, so be it.
I was under no illusions that Danielle had contacted me for any reason other than to use me. Adam was intelligent, but he could be a fool at times. Perhaps he believed that she returned because she still loved him, and not just to steal from him and use him. Perhaps he'd be crushed when she inevitably dropped him and disappeared again. I could dream.
I still had sole use of Gaetano's for the evening, and my chef had food prepared, so I invited Mr Berkeley to come and join me. He seemed a little worse for wear, and rather reluctant to eat.
"Eggs, bacon, cheese and cream, Satan's four major food groups," I said, winding spaghetti around my fork and eating it. "I don't know what's going to kill me first, the nitrates in the bacon, the fat in the cheese and cream, or the cholesterol in the eggs. But we only live once, don't we?" I looked up at Mr Berkeley, who failed to comment. "You haven't even touched your dinner, Mr Berkeley."
"I'm actually not that hungry."
"One thing you should know about me, I don't like to eat alone," I said. I was growing quite tired of his refusal to fall in line. That was exactly why I had not offered him a job previously. That was why I had to remedy the situation now.
Mr Berkeley looked down at his plate, then stabbed his fork into the food and shoved some of it into his mouth. I drank my wine as I watched and waited. A panicked look crossed Mr Berkeley's face, and he put his hand to his throat. Then he appeared to try to get up from his seat and then fell right over it onto the floor.
I glanced down at him, then raised my glass. "My compliments to the chef," I said
With that, my rage finally began to subside. But the pain in my neck made itself known once again. I did my best to enjoy my meal, and since neither Danielle nor Mr Berkeley had helped me with the wine, I had the whole bottle to myself.