Chapter 8: A Destiny Revealed
Gabriel Bowman sat at his laptop, his eyes staring at the screen with his intentions clear. He was going to win this auction for Daniel Jones' guitar, the one he played on the last tour date of Savage Garden's "Affirmation" world tour. He only had a couple of minutes left, and already the auction was up to nearly $10,000, with him having the higher bid.
The only other bidder was a rich psycho fan of Savage Garden with the screen name "Savage_Freak_2002." He couldn't help but laugh at the "creativeness" of the name. After all, it fit the bidder perfectly. Nobody in his or her right mind would spend that much on a guitar even if it were played during the last concert before the band broke up.
Gabriel had to evaluate his own motives for wanting this guitar. After all, he did have the highest bid, which made him just as crazy as Savage_Freak_2002. For him, it was the thrill of acquiring something new for his lucrative company, Talismaniac.com, which specialized in the acquisition and sale of rare artifacts.
'Hey, if it sells for this much on Ebay, then it's probably gonna make me ten times the amount if I sold it privately,' he thought. The bid went up another grand, leaving only about a minute left before the auction was over. To his left, Gabriel could hear the door open and someone walk in. "I'll be right there!" he yelled, his eyes glued to the screen as the seconds counted down.
"Gabriel, I never pegged you to be a Savage Garden fan," Sara said as she walked up behind him, almost startling him out of his chair.
"Hold on, Chief. I've got a few seconds left," Gabriel replied as he typed in his final bid, $15,000.
"Fifteen grand for some guitar!" Sara exclaimed. "Gabe, you must be crazy."
"I'm not crazy. This is a great investment. Look how much people are willing to spend. Tack on one more zero, and you've just made yourself a pretty penny." He pressed the send button just in time. The auction ended with his $15,000 bid. "I am now the proud owner of the guitar Daniel Jones played at the very last concert of the 'Affirmation' world tour."
"How ya gonna pay for that? Visa or MasterCard?" she asked.
"Visa, it's everywhere you want to be," he recited the well-known slogan. "So, what brings you here tonight? Lonely? Bored? Need information? Need a date?"
"Actually, I need some information," Sara said just as her cell phone began to ring. "Hold on." She turned and looked down at her called ID. "What Vic?" she asked.
"Got the results back from that metal. It's bronze, from nearly two thousand years ago. It came from a region just outside of Rome. Pez, we got one weird psycho on our hands. I hope you find him before he strikes again," Vicky said as she hung up.
"Let me guess, another one of those strange cases?" Gabriel said before Sara could tell him.
"Yep. There have been two decapitations in the last three nights. And just now I found out that the metal I found at one of the crime scenes is nearly two thousand years old."
"What kind of metal?"
"Bronze."
"And where were the heads severed?"
"Between the first and second vertebra."
"Then you're probably dealing with someone skilled in Roman gladiatorial warfare."
"How do you know that?" Sara was nearly dumbfounded that her friend knew so many from so few clues.
"Well, I've been digging around the Internet looking for more information about the Witchblade and found an interesting little article about a woman named Achillia. She was a female gladiator, a gladiatrix. She, too, had worn the Witchblade. But that's where all the similarities with the other wielders end. She had mastered the Witchblade and was able to wield it like no other woman had done before her and would do after.
"With the amount of power she had, Achillia was the woman every man was after, including the future emperor of Rome, Domitian. He even had arrangements with her father, a senator, to marry her. Now, this really pissed Achillia off. Her heart already belonged to a young gladiator named Sebastian.
"Sebastian had won his freedom in the gladiatorial games and was now making a living fighting. He was rich, he was famous, he was well liked by almost everyone, but he wasn't of noble blood, which made it impossible for him to marry Achillia. Their love flourished, though. Through secrets meeting and arrangements, they kept seeing each other.
"To symbolize her love for Sebastian, Achillia did what no woman had ever done, she allowed him to wear the Witchblade. And contrary to popular belief, the Witchblade actually accepted Sebastian as its only male wielder.
"Here's where things get a little twisted. Achillia's half brother and the sworn protector of the Witchblade, Amadeus, found out that there was another woman who was seeking Sebastian. Her name was Amazon, and she was another female gladiator. She was ready and willing to fight Achillia over him. She challenged Achillia to a battle in the gladiatorial ring not knowing that she had the Witchblade. Achillia accepted Amazon's challenge.
"During the battle, Achillia got the upper hand and managed to kill Amazon by severing her head from her neck between the first and second vertebra, but not before Amazon vowed to return and avenge her death.
"As fate would have it, Achillia was challenged again, but under different circumstances. This time, Domitian had hired someone to kill Achillia because he had found out about her love for Sebastian. In the heat of battle, the Witchblade had slipped off Achillia's wrist. Sebastian had seen it fall to the ground and desperately tried to reach Achillia to warn her, but his warning came too late. Her opponent had gained the upper hand and sliced through her neck with her sword as Sebastian watched in horror. Sebastian swore that he would never love anyone other than Achillia then killed himself," Gabriel explained.
"Oh, my God. It's Romeo and Juliet," Sara whispered, putting two and two together. "What kinds of swords did they use during these games?"
"Bronze," he simply replied.
Sara pulled out her cell phone and dialed Jake's number immediately. "McCarty, get a background check on all the women that are working for Darren Hayes. I want to know everything down to their shoe size. Got it?" she ordered.
"Yeah, Pez. Just one question, why?" he replied.
"Because I've got a hunch. Now do it!" Sara said before she hung up. "Thanks, Gabe," she added as she hurried out of his place.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" he yelled before she was out the door.
"I'm going out with someone tonight," she called.
"Pez, you got a date?" Gabriel replied.
"Yeah, why does everyone find that so strange? Can't a girl just go out with someone and not be harassed? Besides, if my other hunch is correct, then I think I've found Mr. Right."
The door slammed before Gabriel had time to ask another question.
Gabriel Bowman sat at his laptop, his eyes staring at the screen with his intentions clear. He was going to win this auction for Daniel Jones' guitar, the one he played on the last tour date of Savage Garden's "Affirmation" world tour. He only had a couple of minutes left, and already the auction was up to nearly $10,000, with him having the higher bid.
The only other bidder was a rich psycho fan of Savage Garden with the screen name "Savage_Freak_2002." He couldn't help but laugh at the "creativeness" of the name. After all, it fit the bidder perfectly. Nobody in his or her right mind would spend that much on a guitar even if it were played during the last concert before the band broke up.
Gabriel had to evaluate his own motives for wanting this guitar. After all, he did have the highest bid, which made him just as crazy as Savage_Freak_2002. For him, it was the thrill of acquiring something new for his lucrative company, Talismaniac.com, which specialized in the acquisition and sale of rare artifacts.
'Hey, if it sells for this much on Ebay, then it's probably gonna make me ten times the amount if I sold it privately,' he thought. The bid went up another grand, leaving only about a minute left before the auction was over. To his left, Gabriel could hear the door open and someone walk in. "I'll be right there!" he yelled, his eyes glued to the screen as the seconds counted down.
"Gabriel, I never pegged you to be a Savage Garden fan," Sara said as she walked up behind him, almost startling him out of his chair.
"Hold on, Chief. I've got a few seconds left," Gabriel replied as he typed in his final bid, $15,000.
"Fifteen grand for some guitar!" Sara exclaimed. "Gabe, you must be crazy."
"I'm not crazy. This is a great investment. Look how much people are willing to spend. Tack on one more zero, and you've just made yourself a pretty penny." He pressed the send button just in time. The auction ended with his $15,000 bid. "I am now the proud owner of the guitar Daniel Jones played at the very last concert of the 'Affirmation' world tour."
"How ya gonna pay for that? Visa or MasterCard?" she asked.
"Visa, it's everywhere you want to be," he recited the well-known slogan. "So, what brings you here tonight? Lonely? Bored? Need information? Need a date?"
"Actually, I need some information," Sara said just as her cell phone began to ring. "Hold on." She turned and looked down at her called ID. "What Vic?" she asked.
"Got the results back from that metal. It's bronze, from nearly two thousand years ago. It came from a region just outside of Rome. Pez, we got one weird psycho on our hands. I hope you find him before he strikes again," Vicky said as she hung up.
"Let me guess, another one of those strange cases?" Gabriel said before Sara could tell him.
"Yep. There have been two decapitations in the last three nights. And just now I found out that the metal I found at one of the crime scenes is nearly two thousand years old."
"What kind of metal?"
"Bronze."
"And where were the heads severed?"
"Between the first and second vertebra."
"Then you're probably dealing with someone skilled in Roman gladiatorial warfare."
"How do you know that?" Sara was nearly dumbfounded that her friend knew so many from so few clues.
"Well, I've been digging around the Internet looking for more information about the Witchblade and found an interesting little article about a woman named Achillia. She was a female gladiator, a gladiatrix. She, too, had worn the Witchblade. But that's where all the similarities with the other wielders end. She had mastered the Witchblade and was able to wield it like no other woman had done before her and would do after.
"With the amount of power she had, Achillia was the woman every man was after, including the future emperor of Rome, Domitian. He even had arrangements with her father, a senator, to marry her. Now, this really pissed Achillia off. Her heart already belonged to a young gladiator named Sebastian.
"Sebastian had won his freedom in the gladiatorial games and was now making a living fighting. He was rich, he was famous, he was well liked by almost everyone, but he wasn't of noble blood, which made it impossible for him to marry Achillia. Their love flourished, though. Through secrets meeting and arrangements, they kept seeing each other.
"To symbolize her love for Sebastian, Achillia did what no woman had ever done, she allowed him to wear the Witchblade. And contrary to popular belief, the Witchblade actually accepted Sebastian as its only male wielder.
"Here's where things get a little twisted. Achillia's half brother and the sworn protector of the Witchblade, Amadeus, found out that there was another woman who was seeking Sebastian. Her name was Amazon, and she was another female gladiator. She was ready and willing to fight Achillia over him. She challenged Achillia to a battle in the gladiatorial ring not knowing that she had the Witchblade. Achillia accepted Amazon's challenge.
"During the battle, Achillia got the upper hand and managed to kill Amazon by severing her head from her neck between the first and second vertebra, but not before Amazon vowed to return and avenge her death.
"As fate would have it, Achillia was challenged again, but under different circumstances. This time, Domitian had hired someone to kill Achillia because he had found out about her love for Sebastian. In the heat of battle, the Witchblade had slipped off Achillia's wrist. Sebastian had seen it fall to the ground and desperately tried to reach Achillia to warn her, but his warning came too late. Her opponent had gained the upper hand and sliced through her neck with her sword as Sebastian watched in horror. Sebastian swore that he would never love anyone other than Achillia then killed himself," Gabriel explained.
"Oh, my God. It's Romeo and Juliet," Sara whispered, putting two and two together. "What kinds of swords did they use during these games?"
"Bronze," he simply replied.
Sara pulled out her cell phone and dialed Jake's number immediately. "McCarty, get a background check on all the women that are working for Darren Hayes. I want to know everything down to their shoe size. Got it?" she ordered.
"Yeah, Pez. Just one question, why?" he replied.
"Because I've got a hunch. Now do it!" Sara said before she hung up. "Thanks, Gabe," she added as she hurried out of his place.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" he yelled before she was out the door.
"I'm going out with someone tonight," she called.
"Pez, you got a date?" Gabriel replied.
"Yeah, why does everyone find that so strange? Can't a girl just go out with someone and not be harassed? Besides, if my other hunch is correct, then I think I've found Mr. Right."
The door slammed before Gabriel had time to ask another question.