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XXII. Silence
He had surprised her by beating her to her apartment. Jake McCartey couldn't help but laugh at the look on his partner's face when she found him leaning against her door. Hey, the police siren was a fun toy. But Sara had gotten him back. The minute her door shut, she had jumped him.
Hell, they almost didn't make it to the bed.
And he had forgotten the coffee.
He didn't care too much at the moment. Right now, he was focused on the woman moving above him, and the fact that the room was sweltering. How long had they been doing this? His head snapped back as another wave ran through his body. He had the urge to say something, but Sara cut off any possibility of that when she pulled him up for a kiss.
He could live with this.
Jake pulled them back down to the bed, and buried his face in the curve of her neck. His mind was beginning to get hazy. It was briefly interrupted by a quick pain when her nails pierced his back for the fourth time that night. Her breathing became even more labored and she tensed underneath him.
He had no choice but to follow.
* * * *
The room was dark. Or, at least she thought it was a room. She couldn't see any walls or a ceiling. Was she even standing on a floor? Where ever she was, it was creepy. But at the same time, it was familiar. In a Twilight Zone kind of way. And she wasn't alone either. She turned in a circle to came face to face with a tall, blonde, violet eyed youth.
"Hello Detective Pezzini." His voice seemed to echo.
What was this? She was with Jake. She couldn't be dreaming. Could she?
"Oh, this isn't a dream, Detective."
What? Did this guy read minds or something?
"Yes, Detective. I can."
"Who are you?"
"Me? My name is Date Seiji. I'm the guy that Iceani and Sirous are looking for."
"Really," she edged away from him, "Why don't you tell them where you are?"
"Unfortunately, due to some really complicated medication, I can't. But Drew will feel this, so it will bring them that much closer."
"Why . . . How?"
"I'm a telepath. Well, that's half true. I'm a psychokenetic. Basically someone who it both a telepath and a telekinetic. There are a few things that go along with being me, but those are the main points."
"I didn't think that was possible."
He laughed.
What was so funny?
"You saying that. After everything I'm sure you've been through with the Witchblade, It's just . . . funny."
"What are you doing in my head?!"
"About two months ago I felt an odd presence. I . . . I couldn't place it. It was animalistic, but at the same time child like, in the human sense. Also, it was in constant flux. And in my confusion, I was subdued. I woke up in a strange place, with all my 'sending' abilities cut off. Everything was working on the receiving end, but all communication with my armor and with the others had been cut off."
"Who took you?"
"The man you're looking for."
Her eyes widened.
"But, he's only going after people who-"
"He didn't make a mistake with me. Now, he did with that Jon Zumbrota kid, but not with me."
"He killed the kid?"
"Yeah."
"Do-do you know where you are? Can you-" She rushed on before he cut her off.
"No, I don't. I haven't seen sunlight in two months. And there's this weird block . . . I think it's the guy. He's been tweaked."
"Tweaked?" Odd choice of words.
"He," Seiji stopped for a moment to search for the words, "He can tell, somehow, which people have psychic ability or the potential for it. But, it's not natural. Something was done to him. Not only that, he's regressing. I've been able to find out what I can about him because he's practically forgotten about me, or he can no longer recognize when someone touches his mind."
She held up her hand for him to pause.
"Why are you telling me this now? I don't even know you. How do I know you're not something conjured up by this guy?"
"I'm telling you now because I've gone through enough withdrawal from the drugs he was giving me, that I can speak with you. I already told your ex-partner this part. I would have told McCartey, but I put too much energy into fixing him once to try and pull it off again. You know him, he'll go and try to end this by himself."
Ex-partner? Danny. How did he tell Danny anything?
"I told you, He didn't make a mistake when he found me."
"You know Jake?"
He hesitated before he spoke, "I . . . healed him. In Japan."
"You don't seem too happy about that."
He reluctantly continued.
"What really happened to him in Japan, is . . . it would take too long to explain. When it does come out; when he remembers what happened, it's not going to be the prettiest thing to watch. I will tell you this, he and Iceani go way back. Further than he knows. Further than he remembers, and Jake will take what she didn't tell him very personally. I really can't predict what will happen."
"So this is the whole 'you've always known me thing'?"
"Yes. I'm not here to delve into that. I'm here to tell you what Detective Woo could not."
Sara stared at him for what seemed like a long time. What was all this? She checked the stone on her wrist. It was doing that humming thing it had done before; when those two kids crashed Irons' office.
"I wouldn't rely on the Witchblade too much, Detective. It's not a solution to everything." He spoke softly.
Was he genuine? Or was he fiction? She stayed silent.
"Whether or not you believe me is your choice. Hopefully, there will be some sort of confirmation that this is not pretense. But, will you listen?"
The stone's humming grew.
She nodded her head.
"Good." He smiled. "I've already told you part of what I know. And, yes, there are holes. But being drugged up doesn't help, and I've been saving my strength to pull this off. Normally, this wouldn't even wind me, but I think I'll be taking a nap after this."
"Whatever you say."
"Yeah. I've already helped you once, actually. I sent out an impulses, an urge, of sorts that I hoped would find one of two people that I knew. That's how I found you. After I learned that my little warning had reached Jake, I tried to find him again and I did. With you."
"So, you're the reason he just had to go to the park?"
"See, I knew Drew was here. But I wasn't too sure about Jake. I thought I had seen his name in the paper somewhere. I was searching for someone familiar. You have Woo to thank for you being near there. But since then, I've made it a point that you are the first person that I find. The Witchblade makes it very easy to do so. Uh, you might want to do something about that. And our guy, it helps him find you. I don't know if you were born with any mental abilities or if the Blade gave them to you. Either way, you are his next target. He's put off 'helping' anyone else, until he had sent you along to the others. He intends to make his move soon. I'd tell you to be careful, but the confrontation is unavoidable."
"How do you know? Maybe I-"
"I have 'seen' several ways that this thing plays out. So far I have only seen one in where you and your partner both walk away from this. You or he will be taken by this man, it is just a matter of time. Now, you know why he wants McCartey and you sort of know why he wants you."
She raised an eyebrow, "Sort of?"
"Well, uh, he's not working alone. There is someone else. He calls him the white-haired man. This . . . benefactor, if you will, has aided him and given 'fatherly' encouragement. And this man wants something from you. I don't know what."
"You said that neither of us will live?"
"No. So far, I have seen either both or one of you dead. And all of them start out the same way, but then people and places get switched and it gets complicated. You see, very rarely is the future set in stone. But there cane be greater possibilities out if the infinite choices that exist. Typically, they are the ones that 'play' themselves the most. And I have only seen one where you both live. That doesn't meant it's not possible, but . . . "
"How does that one end? The one where we both live?"
"I kill him."
"What about the others?"
"In one, you are able to incapacitate Him with help from an outside source. But it won't be in time to save McCartey. In another, he uses the Witchblade against you. You are run through with your own weapon, and McCartey ends up breaking the guy's neck. There's one where you both die, and Iceani kills him. I mean the possibilities are endless. But maybe we can make it go our way."
"How much do you know?"
"About what: you or him?"
"Both."
"I can tell you that the dreams you've been having are trying to warn you and teach you. It's showing you that each of the wielders was unique and at the same time, they were all alike. They were either strong or weak in their communities. That was what the origin dreams were about. The middle dreams were meant to show how the Gauntlet has been used and abused over time. The pretender thing was a warning."
"What about the others?"
"A lesson. That no one is totally invulnerable. They each had a flaw that refused to acknowledge. And it was their end. It was also a bit of foreshadowing."
"To watch my back."
"Pretty much."
"Part two: Him. I know that he knew Xanus. And he knew James Broody, who he killed for his unworthiness. Our guy was in the same unit as the other two. He was also part of the same test. And as you can tell, he did not come out as expected. His mind has slowly slipped further and further out of any sense of normalcy. And his power is growing. I know that his little romp in New York is not his first. He did away with his family first, then he moved on. One day, when the tranquilizers began to wear off, I woke up and heard him reciting a list of names. I asked him what he was doing, and he told me he was remembering all the people he had helped and all the people who weren't special that he had gotten rid of. But he couldn't remember how to count the names, so he decided to say them instead. I asked him when he had started saying his names. He told me he had just started."
"How long did it take?"
"All afternoon and most of the night."
"I don't think that-"
"It's easier to get rid of a body than you think."
She eyed him. His response was to raise an eyebrow.
"So, Jake's hunch was right. He was a SEAL."
"Apparently he was very good at what he did. Well, we can see that in what he does."
"How do you-"
"I am Wisdom."
"That's supposed to explain everything."
He laughed.
"No, but it goes a long way."
"How do I make it so that both Jake and I live?"
"Basic rules of combat. Know your opponent. Do not underestimate him. Rely on your mind and body, not on a tangible Weapon. It will will help you if it can, but don't expect too much. And pay attention to what the Blade tells you before you encounter Him, what it shows you may save both of your lives."
The room began to fade. The darkness was receding. It looked like this was going to end soon. Before . . . where ever she was, completely vanished she heard Seiji wish her luck.
* * * * *
"What was that?!"
"What was what?"
Drew Newell hushed his friend and listened for it again.
"Drew?"
"Quiet, Melissa."
No. It wasn't outside. It was in his head. He got up from his place on the hotel room couch and looked out the window.
"What is it?"
"Seiji."
"What?!"
"I heard him. He was talking to someone."
"Do you know where he is?"
"No, but it just got narrowed down to about twenty square miles."
"Which way?"
He pointed out towards the new hole in the New York skyline.
"Do we leave now or at daybreak?"
"We'll wait. Try and get some rest, Drew. It's going to be a long day."
"They're all long days."
She looked up at him.
"I know."
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I am stuck here in Atlanta. So I was able to get this together.
My heartfelt sympathies go to the people of the City of New York, our nation's capital, and the people who's lives were lost on flight 93 that crashed outside of Philadelphia.
This was a yellow, cowardly act that not only insulted our nation but the rest of the world. I hope that the those who perpetrated and funded this operation will be brought to proper and final justice.
