I got my first bad review. It was from some psycho out there who said that he/she hated my story and it was revolting that I had put Sara and Jake together. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Isn't that sweet :::sarcastic tone:::
Pal, I got a few words for ya. Well, more like a symbol :P :::blows them a raspberry:::
HA!!!!!!
Thanks for all the great reviews, aside from the afore mentioned person. I was extremely flattered by several of them.
Artsy? I don't get it.
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XXVI. A Cold Winter's Night
To be totally honest, it had completely surprised Him that no one had seen him sitting here laughing to himself. He had thought of some pretty funny things. Language was a riot. It had been hard to stay still, though. Several people who were special had passed him by. But, no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't leave his spot. She would be here tonight. His Lady Detective, would be coming.
His smile grew wider.
He had to do this perfectly. She would appreciate it more in the end. Everything would be perfect: her picture, the Partner's death, and the rest of his work.
The white-haired man had had made sure that things had moved as smoothly as possible. He was such a nice man. He needed the Lady Detective. He needed something she had, but she wouldn't give it to him. Even though it had belonged to him first. The white-haired man said that once He had helped her, she would understand. She would be happier. He got the impression that Lady Detective was sad a whole lot.
It was too bad. She looked pretty when she smiled.
By tomorrow night, she wouldn't have to worry about being sad anymore. She would learn that she could live without the Partner. She would learn that there were others who were more worthy of her time. She would learn that the others needed her to be with them in the batter place.
He checked his supplies again. He had everything to make her picture. As for the other, he would use his training to take care of him. He would give the Partner the honor of a quick death. He could make the Lady Detective smile, he had to be worth something if he could do that. However small that something was, it had saved him from a very slow end.
He would still enjoy it, but it wouldn't be as satisfying.
He could live with it.
* * * *
It was lunch time.
Sara Pezzini wasn't overly hungry at the moment. The mere thought of food wasn't sitting too well with her at the moment. It wasn't helping that the smell of Lubin's meatball sub had permeated the entire floor. She felt like she was going to be sick.
"Jake, I need to go outside."
"Are you all right?"
"The smell of Lubin's lunch is making me queasy."
"I thought you used to always half his lunch with him?"
"Yeah, but my stomach's still doing flips from earlier this morning."
"You want me to come?"
"Nah, I'm just going to stand outside the door."
Jake raised an eyebrow at her. She knew what he was asking.
"I'm not going to take off on my own. I wouldn't want to."
"I'll be right here, in the vortex of paper."
She gave him a small smile. He was lying through his teeth.
"I'll be back."
She left him to his 'vortex' and stepped out the side door. It had gotten even colder. Whoever controlled the weather needed to make up their minds.
"I wouldn't bother, Pez. It's only going to get colder."
She smiled again. Danny had been gone when the vision ended.
"Where'd you go?"
"Oh, you know. To do dead guy stuff. Scare a little kid here, break a glass or two there. Nothing big."
"Cute Danny. What happened to the I'm not a ghost thing."
"I'm not. That's what you call me. So that's what I'll be."
"So, if I tell you that you're my rent check that's what you'll be."
"Nope. You know, intangible and all that. Besides, being a piece of paper is no fun."
Sara stepped of to the side to let an officer pass. It seemed that no one noticed her talking to herself. It was amazing what people overlooked in this city. Its how so many murders were never even known about. People just don't want to get involved. Most of the time, if a person is witness to a crime, they tended to push it to the back of their minds. Have to get home, to the kids, don't have time to stand around and wait.
It also made for easy talk. Chances are, everyone just thought she was crazy. And she could live with that. After all, was anyone really sane to begin with?
"What can you tell me about my vision, Danny?"
His face fell. Oh boy, this was one of those 'I can't tell you any thing but don't worry I've already told you everything' deals, wasn't it?
"Pez, I-"
"You know what, forget it Danny. Its only my life, it's only Jake's life, it's only whoever else this guy goes after. Damn it, Danny! Tell me something, bend the fucking rules, would ya! One way or another, we're gonna meet this guy! And one or both of us will die! Tell me something! Anything! Danny, I . . . I need help. Don't let it happen, please."
She kept her eyes focused on the snow beneath her feet. After a while she thought that Danny had disappeared, but when she looked up he was still there. Staring at the traffic that was whizzing by.
"You now what one of the things I miss about being alive is, Pezzini? Surprises. Seiji was right. there are infinite possibilities for everything. But they've all been . . . written, that's the best word for it. The cool thing about you being who you are now, is that you have more freedom to make those choices than the normal human. You see, they say yes or no and then they follow down whatever path was laid out. In that way, they control their destiny to some degree. But not you. You have to make yes or no happen, you have to use the very few points that are set in your fate to find your way to the next one. If you want both of you to live, Sara, make it happen. And there a huge possibility that it will. The reason that Seiji would only see versions of the future where you or McCartey are dead, is because that's all you think can happen. Determination is a powerful thing. He tried to tell you that, he may have been a bit too subtle though."
"Where'd that one come from, more Confucius?"
"No. Closer than you think. It's my quick version of something that Iceani girl told Jake when he asked her 'why'. He knows it by heart."
"So, a la Disney, if I believe it will happen."
"No."
"But you just said-"
"Belief is part of it. There's a lot more to it. I can believe I'm alive all I want, but that doesn't make it so. The closer it comes, the narrower the options get. Just be prepared, Pez. You know who Mollard is, you know what he's capable of, you know why he want's the both of you. You have that much less to worry about."
"Forewarned, Forearmed, huh?"
"Yes my child."
She laughed.
"You know all that sounds like a load of shit."
"Yeah, but it true. Besides, you have to pull through this alive. I don't know if I could stand to have you around me all the time on this side."
"Whatever."
"Good luck tomorrow."
"What?"
She looked over her shoulder to not see Danny.
She needed to find a away to put a bell on him.
It was time to go back in. She needed to talk to Jake.
* * * *
Kenneth Irons checked his watch. A few more hours and He would have her. It was time to prepare.
"Ian. It is time."
"What will you do if He fails?"
"Try another way. Though I would loathe to send you after our Fair Lady. But do not worry. It will not come to that."
Yes. Nottingham had become somewhat protective of Ms. Pezzini. Irons didn't know if he would be able to carry out the task if he sent him out to . . . subdue the Detective. He would have to make sure that the emotional error would be corrected if Ian ever met with an accident.
"What should I do, sir?"
"Wait with me. Help me prepare should our man accomplish his goal."
"Of course."
Irons laid his watch out on the desk in front of him. It no longer told the time. It was only right twice a day. But 11:11 was all that mattered to him. Everything important in his world happened at 11:11. Tonight would fall victim to that time slot.
He stood and let his ward lead him to the small shrine room he had in his home.
There was a slight bounce in his step.
* * * *
"Thanks, dude . . . no problem . . . really? . . . freaky . . . nah, we'll be heading out soon . . . sure . . . just have it sent over when it's finished . . . give it to Smitty . . . no, he'll make sure it gets to us and not lost in the squad room . . . Thanks again, man . . . later."
Detective McCartey hung up the phone them moment his partner came back into the office.
"That was the lab guys, they'll sent the results over when the tests are through."
"Good."
"What'd Vicki have to say?"
"Looks like Mollard uses a power saw to hack up his bodies, Unfortunately he does such a good job that she can't identify what kind of blade was used."
"Ow."
She wasn't doing too well. That vision she had was really eating at her. She had seemed a little better when she came back inside earlier. He had gone through as much of William Mollard's medical history and what few documents that related to the test project that he was a part of in hopes of finding something new. He had found something, but it hadn't made Sara overly happy, if anything it made her mood even worse. Mollard had been discharged on the recommendations of a psychiatrist, who happened to have been hand picked by Kenneth Irons. Oh joy. Jake had a fleeting thought a few moments ago. What if Irons was helping Mollard? As a way to get to Sara. He would put it past him. The guy was out of his mind. The entire time they had been at his office had made his skin crawl.
He didn't get the feeling from Nottingham. He really couldn't hold much against the guy. Irons was the only family he had ever known. He was doing his job, and protecting the closest thing he had to a father. But did he have to be so damn scary about the whole thing? When Jake had confronted him on the roof, he had had been proud of himself for not showing how afraid he was. Jake knew what Nottingham was capable of. Afterward he had banged his head against the door jamb for being so stupid. But still, he had to know Irons' goal, his plans. He was protective of Sara, that much was obvious. So if he knew his employer was up to, why wouldn't he try to warn her? There was something else between Jake and Nottingham, he just didn't know what it was. He didn't have time to think about it right now.
There were some weird people out there.
He looked at the clock. It was getting close to 9:30. It was time to go.
"Sara."
"Hmm."
"Come on, let's get out of here."
* * * *
Neither of them had any food worth trying to eat at their place. Sara guessed that with all the running around, both of them had forgotten about some little things. Like grocery shopping. At least Jake hadn't forgot to pay his gas bill. It had slipped her mind. It was a good thing she didn't have any pets, or they would have frozen by now. She had done that once. She thought her pet goldfish would like to play in the snow when she was four. Well, Goldie didn't take too well to sub zero temperatures, neither did his water.
They had gone out to eat. Jake had offered to foot the bill since she was having trouble keeping the heat on at her place. He wouldn't let her live it down. In retaliation, she had smacked him upside the head. He still didn't stop laughing after that. It was kind of funny, but it had gotten old.
"Man, it's cold."
"You missing that warm California sun, McCartey?"
"Oh yeah. I should take you out there sometime. I think you'd enjoy yourself."
"Perhaps."
"Maybe . . ."
"What?"
"I could get you on a surfboard." He finished quickly.
She stopped walking.
"No."
"Aww, come on Pez. It's fun."
"No."
"What if I ask nicely?"
"No."
"I'll give you a shinny nickel."
"As tempting as that might be, I'll have to pass." She spoke in a sarcastic tone. He had been like this all night. She knew why he was doing it, and it had worked. She had almost forgotten about the vision she had earlier.
"Hold on a few, Jake. I'll be right back."
"Sure thing."
She stepped inside the store. And made her way to the bathroom. She opened the door and plucked several paper towels from the dispenser. She needed to wash her face to wash away all the tear streaks from earlier. She hadn't laughed that hard in a long time, and the joke that Jake had told was so stupid.
What time was it?
11:09.
They had been out for a while. She eyed the emergency exit. Well, she was a police officer. And it would be quicker than going through the store again.
Why the hell not. Whatever happens, happens. Right?
She pushed open he door and turned towards the street.
She didn't see the man sitting on the stairs. All she would later remember was a hand grabbing her wrist, and the bracelet being torn from her arm with no resistance: and thinking how stupid she had been before her world was swallowed by darkness.
11:11.
