Hidden Danger Crouching Cat.
By Shannon Hearn
The characters of Dark Angel are owned by Twentieth Century Fox Television and Cameron Eglee productions. All other characters are of my creation.
***
Chapter 9: Pierpont Lempkin, bizarre stories, and whodunits.
For Pierpont Lempkin, business was business, and what he was hearing was not good for business. Sea monsters, Mermaids, tadpoles, these were not the things he wanted to hear. He expected results and he got results. The men that he had hired from the harbor patrol were just incompetent drunks. That little girl had seen enough of his deal to not only put him in jail for life, hell he personally stripped that girl's clothes off her body before he stuck the girl's feet into the quickcreet and added that extra level of sedative to her system to prevent her from moving. He knew that tracking down that girls parents would take time and the evident that her father had gathered from the information she had given him would ensure a conviction. From his sources within the police department Eyes Only was looking into this case. Knowing these incompetent fools, they probably drooped the child's body into the water next to the shore. If he found the girl, he would ensure that she was drowned in a tank of concrete and encase her young ass into some shore reef support. Maybe in few hundred years, they might find her young mummified body. Now it was time to find a lead on the girl and having these four fools put into vices and their head clamped down until they talked. It was time to go old school to get his results, and he was going to get a description of the divers that his men reportedly saw and he would personally go to that spot with video cameras to see the point of the "attack." If he saw anything else other than the body, that spot would be their burial mound.
***
Richard was enjoying a swim with his pod. Several dolphins starting swimming close to him and Lucy one of Nomalie aquatics was following up the rear of the pod. Searching the kelp garden for any other evidence to aid Hannah in protecting the air-breathing child they all saved. The wheer of a boat motor could be sensed by all around them.
Richard gave the order for the pod to slip under their dolphin and Orcas allies as they moved through the water. With gentle nudges and gentle persuasion, the aquatics pod shifted so they avoided the boat by several hundred meters. The sound that presented itself was similar to the sound heard days earlier when they found the girl. Richard and Lucy broke off from the group and took two of the dolphins with them. The hidden movements that they made allowed them to hide from boat's sonar equipment. The deploying of the remotely camouflaged marine recon drone known as the "Robo-Troute." The Fish-like remote probe moved with a minimal notice as its digital mirrored navigational cam scanned the area of the kelp field. The sensor capabilities of the probe moved into positions without being noticed by the local marine life.
As the pod of mutants and their marine allies were attempting to avoid the boat and its sonic equipment but the robotic probe caught the image of the entire group. Little Nani, who was coping with the sudden growth spurt in her entire body, saw Hannah's children group around her trying their best to stick to her narrow slipstream. Then Sharky sensed the electronic pulse of technology. That is when he saw the mechanical fish and told everyone to scatter. They needed to find a safe place due to their location had been discovered and they needed a safe place to stay. Richard knew that they needed to contact their land-based allies as soon as possible; their base of operations had been violated again.
***
Pierpont Lempkin had heard stories about the mutants from the Gillette Wyoming area. However, to actually see them was completely another. These creatures had gotten in his way, and given the fact that the girl was not with them, either meant one of two things, "a". The girl was dead and they buried her body, or "b" The girl was with others of her kind. Given the way that those mutants were moving, they would be heading for the shore. Now all he had to do was send a message to them that you did not mess with Pierpont Lempkin and live.
"Boys, you get to live another day." Lempkin said to his men. "Now comes the easy part, find one of their kind and leave him in a very public place. I don't care if the person that you bring in has gills, fins, fur or scales. Just make sure that you bring one in ALIVE." Lempkin said putting emphasis on the last word "Alive." "I want every priority on the street to change to finding one of these creatures, check with our sources in the police department."
***
Aspen's nightly surfing ritual had taken on a new purpose. Maintain contact with the aquatics. Life was getting complicated since this little quest of theirs had taken, Given the way things were going, in a few months they would have more of their kind to deal with than the could deal with.
Aspen's riding of the waves did not bring her any peace, but knowing that just beneath the surface some of her kind were moving around the waters were going about with their own lives without the hassles that she had to contend with being among Ordinaries. However, right now dealing with another "Ordinary" surfer was driving her crazy. Quinn... The middle-aged businessman, who was a wannabe hippie, began to push her Transgenic nerves to their very limits. Wanting to slam the jerk's head into his rectum was will within her means. However, out of practicality doing it would probably wind her ass in jail, then with White and his mutant hunters.
"Hey Aspen" Quinn said paddling to her on his surfboard. The grin on his face was sickening. Aspen knew that diving into the water was not an option due to Quinn's determination about asking her out on a date.
"Hi, Quinn." Aspen said grudgingly to weather the storm. She secretly hoped that a shark would come along to take a bite out of Quinn's surfboard and scare the shit out of him. At least then, he would leave her alone. "So what's up?" She said as she paddled her board so it faced perpendicular to him, ensuring that he could not come along side her and touch any part of her body.
"Nothing much Quinn, just communing with the water spirits after an annoying day with the mortal world." Aspen said shrugging her reddish mocha shoulders, as the longhaired weekend hippie looked at her amazonian-filliapino features.
"So, you're just clearing your head. I heard that you came to the mainland to get away from your folks after some arranged marriage deal." Quinn said not shutting his loud mouth.
"Quinn..." Aspen said giving him a stair that would have sunk the Titanic, Lusitanian, Bismarck, and the Queen Mary II in one fail swoop. "... Will you be quiet you asshole. I'm just trying to sense something."
"What..." Quinn said looking at her wondering on what plain of existence she was on.
"Danger..." Aspen said looking towards the open ocean more intently than she ever did. Then images of the fire and of death hit her full force. Something bad was coming their way, and it was moving fast towards them. Aspen quickly turned her head to Quinn and said several words that would give the want-a-be hippie a good sense that you should never mess with someone who could communicate with other realms of reality. "Quinn, I suggest that you move your ass out of here A-sap."
"Aspen, what does your spirit sense tell you. Something bad is about to happen to me." Quinn said as a large shark fin emerged from the surface of the water. The look of raw terror on his face drained the blood from his tanned face. The words "Oh shit." came out of his mouth like a Swiss yodeler-singing soprano at a rock concert. The poor idiot just would not move as brains and body were in complete information shutdown between running like hell and not moving. Then Sharky stuck his head out of the water and looked at Aspen directly. Between the gruffs, whistles, and clicks Aspen understood what had happened with the Aquatics. Quinn just looked out at the scene unfold before him. Aspen and the creature from the Black Lagoon on steroids talking to each other as if it was an everyday event.
Aspen started to move her hands around and hum something in a near mystical way. For several moments moved in a near possessed state, she communicated with the shark-man, then the creature returned to under the waves, which it came. For the longest, time afterwards Quinn just blinked at her. "Wa, Wa, Whaa at wass that???" He was able to stammer out of his mouth wondering what Aspen had done right before him.
"That was Sharky, and he is a friend of mine." Was all she said, anymore would have revealed what she was.
"So those other Realms that you see into are real?" Quinn said aghast of what had unfolded before him moments earlier.
"Yes. You just got a glimpse of what I see every day." Aspen said as matter-of-factly.
"Uh, ha." Was all Quinn was able to say as he nodded his head up and down.
"I would suggest that you don't mention this, I'm trying to lay low from my folks."
"I understand." Quinn looked at her wondering what would happen if he told. "If I told anyone this, they would not believe me. Even if they did given your powers you could probably send a couple of demons after me." Quinn said attempting to keep his sanity from the creature he had seen.
"Well not any demons, but I know twenty plus vampires, a couple of sea nymphs, a very neurotic werewolf, a technomage, a computer hacker, an Amazon warrior, and a serious kick ass Dark Angel." Aspen said leaning over on her board towards Quinn. "But what I am, you seriously don't want to know about."
"Oh," Quinn said. "I would hate to meet your family."
"Trust me, if they found out that you knew me you would be dead and not know it. Your death would be mysterious and if your body was ever found. It could never be identified from the pieces that would be found." Aspen finished before paddling her way back to shore. Leaving a very agape Quinn in her wake.
***
Phoenix was walking down the street to his new car, the orange and yellow Shark that he and his friends had stolen from the front of that old church which had been used as a group house for some former gang members called the T-Bloods. The car had just the right feel for the gang, mean speed with attitude to spare Carjacking the vehicle was simple for them, toss out the driver and the occupants and just take the car with the keys already in the ignition. Phoenix and the others like him called them selves the Followers of The Marrow from the man that gave them their powers.
Phoenix loved the newfound strength that he had. Since Marrow had found him in that alley and offered him that deal of "life to its fullest in a world gone Darwin," his life had been changed.
Now with his love Amber, being Vampires allowed them to live free from his parents. His parents were weak now compared to him and Amber. Going in to the house and ripping the safe out of the wall with his bare hands and opening up before his father made the point clear that he was not going to be dominated by his parents again from the abuse that they had dished out on him over the years after his mother had put him up for adoption. Little did he know that the power he had would be fleeting when he saw Amber standing by the car with a group of guys in expensive running suits. Amber's shortcut blond hair revealed her recently done barcode tattoo as it blew in the Seattle wind. The look of fear on her face demonstrated that this was a situation, which they could not get out of. As Phoenix headed over to the car, he saw that Amber struggling against one of the men in her attempt to break free. It was not until he saw the sawed off twelve gage shotgun shoved into her side that he suddenly realized the people that they were dealing with meant business, and doubted a twelve gage would do the same amount of damage to them as would a normal human.
One of the men came over with a large caliber nine-millimeter hydro gel composite glock pistol and said to him in a near whisper. "Get in the car son or you and your lady friend over there will get it." As Phoenix was being led to the car, the man added to his sentence. "No funny superhuman crap okay, we will be in a little convoy to where we can have a conversation."
All Phoenix could do was nod and get into his stolen car and drive it off with the men that were holding them. Marrow would be pissed. Little did he know that in a few hours he would be dead.
***
"Hey Janney, come back here." Asha said as she chased the ten-year-old girl through the old Seattle cannery. Joseph "Doc" Steinbeck watched the scene unfold before him as he started to work on a large acrylic tank with Hannah. The multi-sectioned tank that he was setting up in one of the old holding tanks was mainly for him to hold his marine samples that he collected and sold to various universities and to the local school district. Watch Hannah before him showed that his old pal Logan Cale had gotten involved with a very eclectic group.
If a year ago, Logan had told him that he would be bringing a real live mermaid in to him to keep an eye on, he would have scoffed at the thought. But since the entire Manticore fiasco had unfolded months earlier the creatures that place would have cooked up for military purposes, he shutter at the thoughts of what these poor kids had to endure now with all the deformities they had.
"Janney Kyla." Doc said looking down at the young girl as she came to a stop as she came to a stop from dodging a very exhausted Asha. Doc liked the idea of there being people around to talk with after his research project on environmental changes and the use of new technology to reclamation toxic land through natural means. Beings like the Transgenics could, if society accepted them, would be able to take places the Terminal City and Lakes Field contaminated by years of toxic waste and make them habitable.
Hannah and her kind could make a living cleaning up beaches and coastal areas, and Max and her kind could clean up the land. Between both groups, the planet would be returned back to an environmental save level. Mutations such as the Transgenics would after a few generations have blended into the human genome and after a few generations all that could be noticeable of their kind would be their glowing green eyes at night.
"Kyla, you know that we adults cannot move as fast as you, you're just too dang quick on your feet." Doc said crouching down to her eye level. The child with the clothes borrowed from the young Transgenic that lived with Shadow and Aspen fit her well. The hair of the girl was bunched up as she made her ponytail with the scrunchy that Max had given her to keep the hair out of her active face. Asha understood that the social understanding of humans and Transgenics was radically different, but for Transgenics the gifts that they gave tended to be functional or memory based of an event that happened in their lives. Nevertheless, the orange and white scrunchy Max had given Kyla been functional and new. The young girl was moving over towards Hannah to touch her on the back so that she could get Hannah's attention. The light tugging on the edge of Hannah's large gray sweatshirt that she wore and turned around to look at the little angel before her. Kyla started to use the Transgenic sign language that Hannah had taught her over the past few days. Asha had picked up some of it. Mostly the words "come," "go," "help," "friends," "Stay," "Run," "High," "Low", "Hot" and "Cold." Simple enough to make a crude sentence, but effective enough for communications about personal actions to be performed.
Kyla was worried that Hannah would have to go, but Hannah trying her best to vocalize words with the clicks and squeals she knew of her "language" "I'll stay." The little girl started to cheer up and hugged the nymph as tight as she could. Then Asha saw something that she knew was of heartbreak and of homesickness. Hannah wanted to be with her children. Asha knew that even Transgenics had families and that they missed them. Little Kyla with her folks out there worried about her. Max worrying about her missing siblings that she had escaped with back in oh nine. Asha would be with Max tonight as word got in about what Logan had dug up about the girl's parents.
Then Kyla went over, looked at Asha, and said, "Do you have lines on your neck like Max's." The bluntness of the question threw Asha back. Asha just looked at the little girl with awe. Ever since Max's friend Sketchy made the comment that if he was making transgenic mutants he would make them all look like her. Even if a child was making the connection like this. Hell all she needed was to put a barcode tattoo on the back of her neck and wear an exo-skeleton like Logan's and start acting like a superhero. Well she might start getting the tattoo, heck if Alec was uncomfortable about dating an ordinary girl, why not look like a transgenic. She might land him in bed.
"Kyla, I don't have a barcode. I'm like you." Asha said taking the girl's hands into her own. The look of confusion grew on the girl's face like a contorting drain. "I'm Human like you, Max and Hannah are different due to them being born Chimera."
"So if they're Chimera, do they have Mommies and Daddies?" The question that the girl had put forth pointed towards that the idea that the girl had taken up a safe point in her past. So moving her forward towards the events of the present would take time and why Lempkin wanted her dead was hidden in the back of this girl's mind. Answering the girl's question would open up a two-way street of what she knew.
"Kyla, Hannah is a mommy. I'm not so sure that she knew her mommy or not, but given that she loves her children so much. She hopes that one day that you can play with them." Asha said to the girl as Hannah looked at the woman with the look of I can live with that. However, I'll wait for my kids to at least be able to walk on the ground first. Then Max walked into the room with Aspen. Asha felt that being around Max and others of her kind would give her some more insight of how Alec ticked. All she had gotten out of the deal was babysitter to a traumatized kid. Nevertheless, the progress that had happened since that first night that the found the girl was astonishing. Hannah was very gentle and caring. Though on one occasion Hannah had come into the bathroom as Asha was coming out of the shower and had caught her naked. Hannah had been fascinated by Asha's Gaelic tattoo on the base of her back. However, on one occasion Kyla had attempted to copy the symbol off Asha's back and tried doing a sloppy job of doing a rub-on tattoo on her back. Instead of the tattoo going on straight it had wound up on her side. Asha and Hannah had freaked thinking that it was some internal injury that had surfaced but fearing that Kyla would copy Hannah's. Hannah had taken steps to cover it up with her long black hair when she was out of the tub when they were at the hotel. Now Max and Aspen were there to give them an update since Logan had relocated them with His Marine Eyes Only contact. Doc had loved the company that he now had.
"Hey Asha" Max said coming into the room with worry on her face. Something was wrong.
"Hey Max." Asha said getting up from the floor as Kyla moved just far enough away to not to bump into Asha. "What's wrong???" The words that followed would change everything. Doc was getting some more guests to stay in the tanks that he was building.
***
Melfina had spent the night down at the T-Blood's church. Rain and the rest of the T-Bloods felt that after the events of the past few days that having a "full blood" around would make them feel safe. The look of the gothic pictures and materials that were strewn around the church gave the feel of some monster layer. Dracula would have freaked at the sight of this place but Lestat from "Interview with a Vampire" and Spike from "Buffy" would have felt at home with their mini-television and large boom box. The mini-fridge full of blood would have been overkill in a place like this. Melfina felt that it was very comforting. Kind of like the barracks, she had grown up in as a child. Though seeing Zoë, one of the T-Bloods with a major chip on her shoulder naked had put her off. However, the tiger stripes on Zoë back reminder her of one of the "Stripes" that she had a crush on at Manticore. However given the circumstances of what had happened to the hybrid transgenic that was killed had scared the crap out of everyone.
"Hey Mel," Rain said as she came over to the cot she was sleeping on. Rain's oversized black Ozzy Osborn t-shirt that said "Dysfunctional Family" concealed her figure. However, Mel wondered what it was like to have parents. The other T-Bloods looked at Mel like she was their savoir, but Rain had put it that thought out of their minds.
"Yeah, what is it Rain." Mel said turning around on the cot and leaning up to look at Rain in the eyes. At that moment, Rain caught a look at Mel's eyes.
"Oh, shit... Your eyes.... there... Their...." Rain Stammered out as Melfina blinked for several moments at her Vampire friend.
"What is Rain is there something in my eyes?" Rain just stammered for a few moments until she was able to get the words out of her mouth.
"Yes, there is something in your eyes. They're glowing." Rain tried to put it toward her Transgenic friend.
"So..." Melfina said as she looked at Rain with the "duh" look.
"They're GLOWING..." Rain exclaimed waving her hands around.
"Yes, they glow. All Transgenics eyes glow in the dark. It's the way we are."
"Oh..." Rain said looking back at Melfina as the weirdness of the green glow started to calm her down.
"So, Rain. What did you want to tell me before you freaked and found out that I have night vision."
"Well I heard that since everything that has happened. Maybe that you could contact Eyes Only or maybe Lady Chimera." Rain said looking down at her friend. "Well since you know all that Military computer stuff..." the line was to come was almost priceless. "Call him or her up."
"Rain, Eyes Only or maybe Lady Chimera might be interested in learning about what happened to the T-Blood that had been killed. He might be even on the case already." Melfina had completed saying to Rain. "Listen I have to go to work tomorrow and I have to do a rush delivery, so how about we meet somewhere to talk about how to communicate with Lady Chimera or Eyes Only."
"Okay, Mel." Rain said seeing Mel's glowing green eyes twitch as she grinned back and Rain moved back to her bunk and slipped under the covers to go to sleep. Melfina looked at her friend's breathing as she turned around in her bed and went to sleep.
Melfina's dreams took on a weightless feel as she swam through the water before her. Mel's gills took in the oxygen form the water and expelled the waste carbon dioxide from her system. The black tube top and spandex shorts she wore clung to her frame as she navigated through the weightless environment, then she slammed into the data reality of cyberspace.
Mathematical fractal equations formed into virtual statues and archaic landscapes. In the water, Melfina saw a young girl hovering near a woman with gills holding each other. The feeling of love and caring filled her heart as she felt wonder of what the world was. Mel wanted to reach out and touch the girl's face but something grabbed at her and dragged her away with incredible force. The effect of her screams went unheard as another image came into view as she slammed into the floor of an art gallery full of paintings. The paintings had a cartoony signature in the lower right hand corner. "Joshua."
Mel got up off the floor to walk around then she witnessed another figure nearby. It was a young woman curled up in a ball rocking back and forth. The blond hair was short and the back of her neck was revealed a barcode. A Transgenic, Manticore series barcode in all its infamous lined glory. Then as Mel was about to tap the person on the shoulder an face of an older "Ordinary" with an evil grin reached over and grabbed her with both of his hands and said the words that sent fear down to the very core of her being. "Hello my lovely, now it is time for you to die."
That moment Melfina shot up out of cot, she was on like a speeding bullet. The roll of cold sweat on her body had saturated her bedclothes and her heart was beating so heard that her breastbone was about to be forced out of her chest. At that moment one of the T-Bloods named Aura, who was wearing the total black dress of her Bruja witchcraft heritage, came to Melfina to comfort her.
"Mel are you alright?" Aura said as her raven black hair flowed down her head like a black shawl. The Black Ski cap she wore made her look like the Blair Witch incarnate. Mel just held herself trying to shake the images that she had just experienced in her dream.
"Yeah, I'm Okay Aura. Just had to deal with the fact I had a funky dream." Mel said looking up at the young witch.
"Do you want any herbal tea or something?" Aura said looking at the shaken Transgenic.
"No." Then Mel thought about it then considered the offer as Aura slowly walked away. "Wait... I would like to have some of that tea."
"Okay, I'll make some." As Aura walked slowly away, she suddenly stopped for a moment as and turned around to look at Mel waiting for her to reconsider the offer she had made. "Uh, Melfina. The dream that you had... I mean I heard that your kinds have mental powers... was the dream like a vision or something that you have to do?" The words were the eerie to what Mel had experienced.
"Yes. It was a vision. It has to deal with what has been happening over the past few days."
"Does it have to deal with the others like us?"
"Yes... However, the images are non-coherent. I won't know what they mean until they fall into place."
"So in other words, only time will tell whether or not it is true."
"Yes."
For the next several hours, Melfina rested as she enjoyed the tea as she looked out the old church's window to the city. What did the images mean? Something about the girl and the art gallery, it was important and it had to do with the girl that Hannah had found several days earlier. Something major was going to happen and it was tied to art.
***
The night had gone well, and morning had come up with a happy smile. Melfina had hated it. She would have to go to work, the thoughts of the dream she had were swarming through her mind. The bike ride through the sector checkpoints had made her wonder about this mystery that had been unfolding of what was going on. Mel rolled into Jam Pony, moved over to the front desk, and punched in her time card.
OC walked over to Melfina and looked at her, the look on OC's face was that of concern. Mel still felt that OC was a creature that gave her the creeps, but she started to trust the Lesbian Nubian with more frequency. Right now Mel needed someone to talk to. Rain and her friends had left Melfina fearful of what had happened. There was a dead T-Blood and Melfina had used her tablet computer to dig through the files that she had dug up off the police computer mainframe and off Logan's computer from the informant net. This Matt Sung individual who Logan was talking to about the case they were involved in might help them out. Kyla's dad happened to be an internal affairs officer who was looking into Lempkin's control of high-ranking police officials. The Kyla, from what information Logan had dug up on her was unsettling. She was listed as being in the middle of a custody dispute between her parents and that her mother was leaving her dad for someone less inclined to be in dangerous situations. Whatever the reasons Kyla was old enough to understand that she was not the center of the trouble with the family, but Lempkin had turned their peaceful lives to dog food.
Melfina wanted to talk to Matt Sung about what was going on with the case with Kyla and the murdered T-Blood but how would she say it. "Oh, I'm a Transgenic mutant who thinks that the murdered gang member that was dumped in front of the police station might be connected with the disappearance of a child of an internal affairs officer." The idea sounded almost startling to her. She needed to talk with Logan about this. How did the guy keep his life as Eyes Only separate from his life as a journalist without being in conflict about what came first?
The lives of Ordinaries were a mystery to her. She needed an X5 to talk to about what was going on. Then reality of working hit her hard as she was tapped on the shoulder by Alec.
"Hey Mel, I need you to make a delivery for me in sector 15." Alec said as he moved towards Normal to pick up a package earmarked to a completely other side to the city. "Normal wants me to do all my deliveries on the other side of town and I have favor that I have to do for Joshua. Could you take this down to the Iconographic Gallery and drop it off, the woman will give you an envelope. Take it and deliver it to Josh for me. Okay." Alec finished as he moved out the door; the large boxed package that was lying by her feet was the size of her bike.
"Alec..." Melfina screamed at the blond Transgenic walking out the door leaving her with a package, which she needed some help with. Then she looked at Cindy who was standing before her. "Cindy, could you help me get this down to where it needs to be delivered."
"Ya' Shockley." OC said towards the Asian Transgenic. "I won't mind, but I just want to know what is in the package when we drop it off for Mr. Cruzin' there."
"Alright, but afterwards I have to meet a friend of mine. Okay." Melfina said looking at OC as the lifted the ungainly package between them and put it on one of the Bike Trailers that the company used from time to time to carry large items. Within a few minutes, the two girls had left the building to make their delivery, but not before Melfina had made a phone call to Rain to meet them at the Gallery where they were going. Little did she know that the events of her dream were about to unfold with blurring clarity before her.
***
Amber was scared to be anywhere alone after what she had seen done to Phoenix. Those men had taken the both of them to some warehouse and started grilling them about where was some girl. The repeated question was: "where are the others of your kind". We want to talk with the ones that have the girl. The picture of dark-haired Spanish Scott girl that they were both shown did not register with the either of them. After three hours of questioning, one of the Grunts had started up on Phoenix with a pair of iron knuckles and started beating him to a pulp.
She had seen Phoenix's pride be torn down, as with every blow given when he did not give them the correct answer that they wanted. Then what had happened next was too horrifying to talk about. The image of them cutting the flesh off the back of his neck and gouging the arteries by his neck in front of her had made her puke her guts out. Then a man in the shadows ordered the men to take her and the body of her lover somewhere public and leave them.
Amber had expected them to kill her when they got to the local where they were to be dumped. However, they left her alive to deliver a message to her kind. They wanted the child or more of them were to die if their demands were not met. That was several hours ago and she had made her way to this art gallery. There were a lot of people here and for some strange reason the proprietor of the establishment had just let her be. It was as if the proprietor who was watching over, her knew about some great secret about what she was. She just sat there crunched up onto a ball in the center of the gallery. However, she was waiting for the right time to talk with her about what was scaring her so badly. Amber had spent the past hour sitting before the same painting by some guy called Joshua titled "Little Fella in Chair." The image brought her very little peace. All Amber could remember was the last time she and Phoenix had held each other passionately in that rich guy's apartment and the mess that both of them had made in the kitchen with the leftovers from the fridge from their food binge.
The warmth of being in each others arms and the feeling of invincibility that they had in taking what they wanted when they wanted at any time. Now all she saw before her was the nightmare her life had become. She prayed to God for deliverance from this hell she was in. However, she hoped that everything she had done in the past three years would be taken away and she would be given a second chance at life. Little did she know that fate was going to send help in the form of a girl with friends in very high places.
***
Mel hated the traffic, the cart that was behind her was moving like a drunken bull in a china shop. The sooner that she got this package delivered the sooner she would have to get rid of this dangnabbit contraption and ride her bike normally again. As she made the corner with OC right behind her, the large art gallery showed up before her and she thought that no structure other than the main training complex at Manticore was that big. As she and OC entered the building, the ungainly package behaved like a blind elephant on Valium towards the door. Alec would owe her big time for this trip even though it was for Joshua. Then her lie as crap was changed to something better when she saw Rain. The appearance of her friend changed everything for her, in the crappy day that she was now having was to be changed to something that was at least tolerable.
"Hey Melfina, I got your call about meeting you here." Rain said moving up the steps as Melfina and Original Cindy chained their bikes up to a cement street guard. Melfina looked at the clothing Rain was wearing and noticed that it was more relaxed than what she usually wore in the urban ready combat garb or the Gothic street clothes. However, Rain's garb was a simple flowing dark blue full-length skirt and a white button up close form top, The feelings of connecting with the rich and the "middle class" as it were pointed towards blending in.
Rain just looked at Melfina for several moments as they went over to each other and hugged each other. Then OC butted in when she realized whom it was Melfina was hugging.
"Well, well, well, isn't it little Miss vampire." Cindy said looking at Rain with growing interest. "It looks like you have toned down on the Gothic and gone professional." Rain took a step back realizing whom it was talking to her. It was Max's roommate Cindy and given the way, that they were talking Mel and Cindy knew about each other.
"Yeah, it's me OC, I've done some growing up since we last met." Rain said looking at Cindy. All their lives had changed for them all now given the stress over the past few days. Meeting with Mel would at least put her emotions at ease and allow a temporary escape from the pain of the death of the Transgenic Blood humanoid.
"So, Rain, Mel, shall we enter so that we can make the delivery." OC said unstrapping the package from the back of Melfina's bike and handing the package over to Mel. With that the three of them entered into the gallery little did they know that they were about to encounter a link that would tie a murder to an attempted homicide.
When the three girls entered into the gallery the immense size of the place had caught Mel off guard by the idea that people would dedicate part of their lives to create something of a symbolic nature of their emotional state. The trip over to the main front desk was sort of not out of the ordinary with the dropping o of the package. It was not until Mel got the signatures filled out by someone named Rita that something was different about this person. As Mel was about to walk over to Rain to say hello, the woman who had signed the form took a look at the package that she had delivered and had asked her and Rain to join her.
"It is amazing that Joshua's more recent works have demonstrated this amount of emotional strength." The Nuevo-rich Nubian said as she examined the imagery of the painting. Mel and Rain were not prepared for what they saw displayed before them, it was an image of Melfina in some sort of bottle or tube, which she was fighting against. Behind it, someone was attempting to pull Melfina out of it, was a figure in black that was dripping in blood. Then there was the mystic that was standing on a road for the characters to walk on. The painting was so biographical in how it pointed out Mel and Rain's connection to each other. "The strength of these two girls that are by the bottle represented someone attempting to break free of her past while connecting to someone who is cover in blood. Some of the imagery is dark though. What do you think?" The way that the questioning was done, it was as if a part of her wanted to perform a full escape and evade from the premises at that moment. However, it was something that kept her from moving. "I don't know. Ma'am. I'm not a critic, I just do deliveries."
"So, How is Mr. Smart doing?" Rita said looking at Melfina.
"He is doing well considering that he has been doing a few side businesses on the side." Melfina said looking at the woman who was exploring the piece of art.
"So, How is Joshua doing?"
"He's doing well considering what has been going through in helping others out. " At that moment, Mel realized that she had been tricked into talking about Joshua. How much did she know about him? Then she gulped so loudly that it was probably herd in China.
"I apologize for intruding, I know that your people do not seek attention but Joshua's talent demonstrates your individuality." Rita said looking at the young Asian Transgenic then Rita looked over towards Rain to the see the barcode on the back of her neck.
"Listen, I know that Joshua is different from the rest of your people and that you know him." Rita paused for a moment as she looked more intently at Cindy as she walked with Rain looking at the exhibits. "Listen there is one of your people here and she looks pretty rattled."
"You know what I am, and you are not afraid of me." Melfina said attempting to figure out what this woman wanted from her.
"I know because I met Joshua several weeks back. He came in through the skylight to get back Joshua number two. I confronted him and he revealed who he was and what he was to me."
"You called Joshua, the One and Only Joshua and said that he had found his muse in himself, and you said listen to it. He has." Mel said glancing around and trying to figure out what Rita was trying to tell her. "So tell me about this member of the community that you said was here other than me and the friends that I cam in with?"
Rita looked over and studied Melfina's physical appearance. This was one of Joshua's people who was getting concerned about finding another one of her people in such personal distress. "Ms. Rita, Ma'am. Could you tell me about the Chimera that you found, You say that she is scared?" Melfina said attempting to gather information about the Transgenic she was about to meet.
"Well the "Chimera" as you call her has been sitting in one of the main galleries just staring at the same painting for several hours now." Rita started to move away as she started to lead Melfina to one of the galleries that held many of Joshua's paintings that he had done over the past few months. "The strange thing is that it is as if she wants to be someplace public as if she is afraid to be alone." Melfina just tagged along as she noticed that OC and Rain were moving with them as well. "Your friends seem to be interested in not letting us be alone." Rita added in seeing a black Nubian woman and a pseudo-gothic woman trailing them with growing suspicions.
"Yeah, it is just the way we are given the situation we are about to enter."
"Oh. I understand. Well here she is. She has been sitting her since we opened this morning." Rita said gesturing towards the blond curled up into a ball staring at Joshua's picture of "Father". The steps that Melfina took towards the blond were eerily to the ones that she had taken in her dream the night before. She decided to take a different approach to meeting this X-Series by walking over to her face first. The similar scar on the face to that of Rain stated that the girl was a T-Blood and Mel decided to signal over Rain to handle the situation.
"Rain, I think I need you to come over here and take a look at something, I believe that it is important?" Rain walked over to where Melfina was standing and saw the girl's face she knew that their problems were just beginning.
***
Matt Sung was sitting at his desk going over the information that Logan had given him about the missing person case. Whatever Lempkin had on Kyla's father was starting to worry him. Logan said that he would bring in a friend of his to look at the guy's computer system to get the information out of it was of key concern. Whatever information was on Gene Turner's computer could show where the guy had fled to with his wife. That little girl could be a key piece in bringing Lempkin down for good. Then his phone rang.
"Hello, Detective Matt Sung, Robbery Homicide, who may I ask is speaking." He said over the phone line.
"Detective Sung. This is a friend of Eyes Only, Lady Chimera. I need to meet with you tonight, your pal Logan will be with me. I have information about the person that was killed and dumped in front of one of the precincts a day or so ago." The voice said with unetching clarity, Matt just shot out of his chair as if he was hit by a hot poker.
"How do you know about me and Logan?" He said looking around the room for hidden microphones.
"Detective Sung, I have accessed Eyes files on you and Logan with his permission and they were an interesting read." The voice said putting the facts to him in an almost musical way. "Listen, when you next speak to Logan tell him to tell you about T-Bloods, what they are, how they were made, and about the mess they get into. Once you hear it, you will understand the witness that we have found. Oh, one more thing, I am talking through the police automated switchboard so tracing this call will impossible."
"Why should I trust you?" Matt said attempting to figure out who was one the line.
"Because you helped Logan's friend Max out on several occasions and I have a high respect for her, and she has a respect for you as well."
"So contact Logan if I want to meet with you."
"Yes."
"I'll see about it." Matt said has he hung up the phone and looked at it for several moments. He needed to contact Logan about this Lady Chimera. If she was involved, were the Transgenics that Eyes Only had talked about months earlier starting to get concerned about what was happening in Seattle. Then he remembered something about the crime scene that was not put into the papers. The person that was dumped had a section of his flesh cut off of him. If the person killed was a Transgenic, then why use Logan to contact him? This was turning into an interesting situation to be in. That is when he made the decision to call Logan. If Chimera was right, then Eyes Only was getting information from the Transgenic community about their kind being missing, then what were they given him in intelligence.
***
Logan was checking out his contacts from his various Eyes Only sources about what Ames White was up to and where he was. After the death of Wendy Olson and the discovery of the Breeding Cult, that White belonged to were more dangerous than any threat that Eyes Only had faced. Well taking steps to keep an eye on where White was at became of priority concern. As Logan was checking up on his latest intelligence from the Informant Net, the phone rang. In clear Black and Grey numbers and letters stated it was Matt Sung's Cell on the line.
"Hey, Matt its Logan, so what's up?" Logan said from his chair.
"Logan, does Eyes Only know about Lady Chimera accessing his computer files because I had the weirdest call made to me." The voice of the detective was stressed and worried.
"Yeah, I know about what Chimera has been up to. Eyes let her have access to some of his files as a sign of good faith. She is helping us out in following up leads about this disappearance case."
"Well, I got a call from her today and she said that she had a lead to the case that we are working on." That perked up Logan's attention.
"Tell me Logan, how is she involved in the case? How the heck did Eyes Only and Lady Chimera start to working together?"
"Some of Chimera's people found Turner's kid when a few of Lempkin's men attempted to kill her. Subsequently several of Eyes Only's informants within the Transgenic community contacted me about it and it has been a sort of joint operation to sort out this mess."
"Well Logan, she wants to meet with me and you will be there with us."
"What!!!" Logan yelled into the phone, causing Matt to pull the phone away from his ear. Then there was a beep; it was his other line calling in. The phone number was of Shadow's apartment. It took him a moment to get off the shock and knew it was Melfina making the call. "Uh, Matt give me a moment to talk to Lady Chimera, she is on the other line."
"What the..."
"You heard me right Matt, I think I was the last person to be informed here. I call you back in a moment." With that Logan disconnected the line from Matt's cell phone and switched to his incoming call that he took with a not so pleasant attitude. "Melfina, I know that it is you, and when were you going to tell me about you contacting Matt Sung about a lead that you had dug up." The words that came out of Melfina's mouth were such that that she had a lot of explaining to do.
TBC
***
Author's note:
Bruja are seen in Chicano literature as being individuals of power and respect. Though as being seen as connected with the "dark arts", there are good Bruja and bad Bruja the same way that there are white witches and black witches. The manner which a Bruja uses their powers for others around them and for themselves is how they are judged to be good or evil.
Oh, the character of Aura, is a reference to a Bruja that is mentioned in a Carlos Fuentes Novel "Aura" as a Bruja that could change into young girl and a black cat so that she could reclaim the soul of her dead husband who has come back in another body.
Be warned, I'm an English lit major with a background in history. So keep your eyes open of stuff that is on the strange but true side in the chapters to come.
***
Chapter 10: Meetings, Big Trouble, and Asha Barlow Skinny-dipping and Max at the beach.