Then He Left - Part 6
Part 6: Watching
The Room:
Sitting in the darkest corner of the room, the woman watched the young man lying on her bed. Her thoughts whirled in her mind about what she had seen. He had been magnificent, he had torn through the gang like they were nothing, admittedly they were high and he took them by surprise but the potential in him. She could mould him to her needs. He would be hers. He needed training, physically and mentally she needed him at his peak.
After she had brought him home, she had done a search on the young man, "Jesse Kilmartin" his ID had said, trying to find out whom she was dealing with.
The information she found startled her, he was part of the renegade 'Mutant X' that had been operating in secret. She read the information various organisations had gathered, viewed clips of fights and operations that had clandestinely been gathered. She watched, her mind going into overdrive, this was good, but what had changed him, his fighting in the video was very martial arts, with similar moves to the more graceful members of the team, she wondered why he attempted to copy them. With his abilities, he should have stuck to a more brutal, simplistic style. She read about his past, which even the intelligence agencies had very little on. She almost laughed out loud when she realised that the team thought they were being a lot more secretive than they were. The leader, this Adam, would probably have died if he knew how much information was available about the team.
She had seen his actions, his motions during the incident, she knew something had happened to him but she didn't know what, she wondered why he had left his team the ring on his finger so visible in the videos with the light reflecting of it, conspicuous in its absence from his finger now. She shut down the unit she was viewing and set it down on the floor next to her as she heard the man moving.
From her relative obscurity she watched as the man's eyes opened. She saw him blink several times then he practically leapt out of the bed. She saw him look round the room, he didn't even register her sitting in the darkness of the corner as he scanned round the room. It was obvious he was trying to think where he was, how he got there.
Jesse:
He leapt out of the bed, unsure where he was, he looked round the room, trying to identify his surroundings, it wasn't Sanctuary or any building he was familiar with. It was a bedroom, a woman's bedroom if he was any judge. It was faintly reminiscent of Emma's room, he flinched at the comparison, unwillingly to think more about it. The room was darker in décor but was feminine at the same time, a dark cloak hanging on an door, functional boots of the floor nearby. Nothing screamed out to him as dangerous, but he was worried, how had someone got him here? Had he come here on his own free will? Would he remember if he had? His mind was confused, he was finding it hard to think straight, his emotions were too much for him to control.
Still looking around, he noticed himself in the mirror, the clothes he had been wearing were gone, nowhere to be seen in the room, a pair of dark jogging trousers replacing them. He ran his hand through his hair, he had been cleaned, he felt cleaner than before. He stumbled as the images of the fight came to him. The sheer horror of what he did almost knocked him off his feet. He saw in his mind as he ripped the eyes out of the man. He saw the light in another's eyes die as he was crushed under his massed form. He fell to one knee, unable to believe that he had committed such acts. The sheer brutality of it, the maliciousness that he felt, he still felt it, but also remorse, the opposite poles of emotions pulling at him. He saw the old woman lying broken on the ground, his heart in his throat at the image of the woman gunshots ripping her form apart. The rising anger came back, the fight went into fast forward as he saw it all again. Then the pain, he remembered the pain in his head then nothing. The next thing he remembered was waking up here.
He looked back in the mirror, he saw in the mirror a different man, a man who had killed. He watched in rapt fascination as a tear worked its way down his cheek, then another, the emotions on his face incongruous with this action. All at the same time he felt angry, sad, horrified, scared and strangely free.
The woman:
The woman watched, fascinating by the sight before her, the emotions playing across his face as he knelt on the floor. His thoughts almost tangible as the tears worked down his face, this was more like the man she had seen in the videos. So vulnerable, so open. She knew that he would be the one she needed, she had seen his anger drive him but this side of him, this side of him would allow her access to him, access she could use to mould and control him. He looked like he was broken, torn between everything in his life. She would offer him a safe haven, a way to regain a life, a life with her. Her thoughts brought a wry smile to her face, her plans were falling into place now, soon she would be ready.
For almost half an hour the two sat in the room, unmoving, one horrified by the vision in the mirror, the other watching in rapt fascination. Then he moved, he slowly rose, he shoulders slumped as though the weight of the world was upon them. He looked round the room again, as he turned to the old wooden door that served as an entrance to the room. She watched as slowly he moved towards it, his hand reached for the handle. As his hand touched the handle, she spoke.
Jesse:
"I do wish you would not leave quite so soon, young man" a soft, cultured voice cut through the air.
He paused, wondering where the voice had come from. He turned to see a woman emerge from the shadows of the room. He stumbled back into the door, how had she gotten in, was she here all the time?
The woman:
As she approached him, her eyes took in his scared expression, inwardly she laughed, "He is scared of me, how delightful" fully knowing that if he tried to escape she would be unable to stop the young mutant.
"Don't be afraid" she spoke in a soothing voice as she stepped in the centre of the room. She held out a hand to him, beckoning him to come to her. "I'm not going to hurt you"
The man was so confused, the emotions in him so turbulent, the images of the fight so foremost in his mind, he blindly obeyed, taking some comfort in the woman's soft voice. Her eyes never leaving him as he cautiously walked forward. She grasped his hand, leading him to the bed, sitting him down with her next to him.
"Do you remember what happened?"
He nodded numbly, the tears shining in his eyes, his voice quiet, "yes, I killed them, all of them, I could not stop"
The tears fell freely now, his voice fading off as she watched his lips moving, saying everything and nothing unable to accept what had happened.
"You tried to save the old woman, who was she? Your grandmother?" she asked innocently, one hand smoothing his hair away from his face.
She saw him inhale as her hand passed over his face, knowing that her faint perfume would only add to the calming effect she was having.
Jesse:
'Her perfume, so faint, yet so tantalising, sweet without being sickly.' He thought as he inhaled the scent, revelling in the simple kindness she was showing him, how could she be so calm about him? He was a killer, a monster to be hated.
"No, I didn't know her" he answered.
"Yet you still tried to save her"
"I didn't manage it, I was too slow, it was my fault, she wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for me" the tears had intensified, he realised he was right if it hadn't been for him, she probably would not have been in the position to be killed.
The woman:
She watched as the tears returned in force, listening to the man berate himself about the happening of the previous day. She gently gathered him into her arms, drawing him towards her as she rocked him back and forth, whispering to him, getting him to calm down, building an initial connection with him, a connection she would need later.
"Everything will be okay, I'm going to help you, we will get through this, we can fix it, we will fix everything" she whispered to him, knowing that in a short time, the man she held would be hers, totally and completely, willing to die for her, willing to kill for her. Jesse just clung to her, unwilling to let go of the source of comfort he so badly needed.
Sanctuary:
"Adam" Brennan shouted from the main computer console, panic in his voice, "we have a problem, a serious problem"
Part 6: Watching
The Room:
Sitting in the darkest corner of the room, the woman watched the young man lying on her bed. Her thoughts whirled in her mind about what she had seen. He had been magnificent, he had torn through the gang like they were nothing, admittedly they were high and he took them by surprise but the potential in him. She could mould him to her needs. He would be hers. He needed training, physically and mentally she needed him at his peak.
After she had brought him home, she had done a search on the young man, "Jesse Kilmartin" his ID had said, trying to find out whom she was dealing with.
The information she found startled her, he was part of the renegade 'Mutant X' that had been operating in secret. She read the information various organisations had gathered, viewed clips of fights and operations that had clandestinely been gathered. She watched, her mind going into overdrive, this was good, but what had changed him, his fighting in the video was very martial arts, with similar moves to the more graceful members of the team, she wondered why he attempted to copy them. With his abilities, he should have stuck to a more brutal, simplistic style. She read about his past, which even the intelligence agencies had very little on. She almost laughed out loud when she realised that the team thought they were being a lot more secretive than they were. The leader, this Adam, would probably have died if he knew how much information was available about the team.
She had seen his actions, his motions during the incident, she knew something had happened to him but she didn't know what, she wondered why he had left his team the ring on his finger so visible in the videos with the light reflecting of it, conspicuous in its absence from his finger now. She shut down the unit she was viewing and set it down on the floor next to her as she heard the man moving.
From her relative obscurity she watched as the man's eyes opened. She saw him blink several times then he practically leapt out of the bed. She saw him look round the room, he didn't even register her sitting in the darkness of the corner as he scanned round the room. It was obvious he was trying to think where he was, how he got there.
Jesse:
He leapt out of the bed, unsure where he was, he looked round the room, trying to identify his surroundings, it wasn't Sanctuary or any building he was familiar with. It was a bedroom, a woman's bedroom if he was any judge. It was faintly reminiscent of Emma's room, he flinched at the comparison, unwillingly to think more about it. The room was darker in décor but was feminine at the same time, a dark cloak hanging on an door, functional boots of the floor nearby. Nothing screamed out to him as dangerous, but he was worried, how had someone got him here? Had he come here on his own free will? Would he remember if he had? His mind was confused, he was finding it hard to think straight, his emotions were too much for him to control.
Still looking around, he noticed himself in the mirror, the clothes he had been wearing were gone, nowhere to be seen in the room, a pair of dark jogging trousers replacing them. He ran his hand through his hair, he had been cleaned, he felt cleaner than before. He stumbled as the images of the fight came to him. The sheer horror of what he did almost knocked him off his feet. He saw in his mind as he ripped the eyes out of the man. He saw the light in another's eyes die as he was crushed under his massed form. He fell to one knee, unable to believe that he had committed such acts. The sheer brutality of it, the maliciousness that he felt, he still felt it, but also remorse, the opposite poles of emotions pulling at him. He saw the old woman lying broken on the ground, his heart in his throat at the image of the woman gunshots ripping her form apart. The rising anger came back, the fight went into fast forward as he saw it all again. Then the pain, he remembered the pain in his head then nothing. The next thing he remembered was waking up here.
He looked back in the mirror, he saw in the mirror a different man, a man who had killed. He watched in rapt fascination as a tear worked its way down his cheek, then another, the emotions on his face incongruous with this action. All at the same time he felt angry, sad, horrified, scared and strangely free.
The woman:
The woman watched, fascinating by the sight before her, the emotions playing across his face as he knelt on the floor. His thoughts almost tangible as the tears worked down his face, this was more like the man she had seen in the videos. So vulnerable, so open. She knew that he would be the one she needed, she had seen his anger drive him but this side of him, this side of him would allow her access to him, access she could use to mould and control him. He looked like he was broken, torn between everything in his life. She would offer him a safe haven, a way to regain a life, a life with her. Her thoughts brought a wry smile to her face, her plans were falling into place now, soon she would be ready.
For almost half an hour the two sat in the room, unmoving, one horrified by the vision in the mirror, the other watching in rapt fascination. Then he moved, he slowly rose, he shoulders slumped as though the weight of the world was upon them. He looked round the room again, as he turned to the old wooden door that served as an entrance to the room. She watched as slowly he moved towards it, his hand reached for the handle. As his hand touched the handle, she spoke.
Jesse:
"I do wish you would not leave quite so soon, young man" a soft, cultured voice cut through the air.
He paused, wondering where the voice had come from. He turned to see a woman emerge from the shadows of the room. He stumbled back into the door, how had she gotten in, was she here all the time?
The woman:
As she approached him, her eyes took in his scared expression, inwardly she laughed, "He is scared of me, how delightful" fully knowing that if he tried to escape she would be unable to stop the young mutant.
"Don't be afraid" she spoke in a soothing voice as she stepped in the centre of the room. She held out a hand to him, beckoning him to come to her. "I'm not going to hurt you"
The man was so confused, the emotions in him so turbulent, the images of the fight so foremost in his mind, he blindly obeyed, taking some comfort in the woman's soft voice. Her eyes never leaving him as he cautiously walked forward. She grasped his hand, leading him to the bed, sitting him down with her next to him.
"Do you remember what happened?"
He nodded numbly, the tears shining in his eyes, his voice quiet, "yes, I killed them, all of them, I could not stop"
The tears fell freely now, his voice fading off as she watched his lips moving, saying everything and nothing unable to accept what had happened.
"You tried to save the old woman, who was she? Your grandmother?" she asked innocently, one hand smoothing his hair away from his face.
She saw him inhale as her hand passed over his face, knowing that her faint perfume would only add to the calming effect she was having.
Jesse:
'Her perfume, so faint, yet so tantalising, sweet without being sickly.' He thought as he inhaled the scent, revelling in the simple kindness she was showing him, how could she be so calm about him? He was a killer, a monster to be hated.
"No, I didn't know her" he answered.
"Yet you still tried to save her"
"I didn't manage it, I was too slow, it was my fault, she wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for me" the tears had intensified, he realised he was right if it hadn't been for him, she probably would not have been in the position to be killed.
The woman:
She watched as the tears returned in force, listening to the man berate himself about the happening of the previous day. She gently gathered him into her arms, drawing him towards her as she rocked him back and forth, whispering to him, getting him to calm down, building an initial connection with him, a connection she would need later.
"Everything will be okay, I'm going to help you, we will get through this, we can fix it, we will fix everything" she whispered to him, knowing that in a short time, the man she held would be hers, totally and completely, willing to die for her, willing to kill for her. Jesse just clung to her, unwilling to let go of the source of comfort he so badly needed.
Sanctuary:
"Adam" Brennan shouted from the main computer console, panic in his voice, "we have a problem, a serious problem"