Disclaimer: 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' movie is copyright of 20th Century Fox. No infringement is intended.
PICKING UP THE PIECES
By Etcetera Kit
Chapter Sixteen: Vengeance
Tom sat on a bench in the lobby of the police station, ill at ease with everything. Beside him was Hasaan, sporting a large billfold full of enough of the correct currency to bail Skinner out of jail. Nemo, not wanting to go near the police for obvious reasons, had sent his butler and Hasaan, while keeping a neutral expression, would probably have preferred to let Skinner rot away in jail as it would save him some headaches once they were back aboard.
He did not know why he was so nervous about being here. He had not done anything that would lead the police to suspect him of anything. And yet, there was just a feeling of foreboding about the place. He had felt that way about police stations and jails ever since he was a little boy. The memory of Huck's father in the local jail in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Missouri had been permanently etched into his mind. The man had been raving drunk and cursing at Huck to give him his money. The money in question was rightfully Huck's and the only reason the sheriff had summoned Huck was because the lunatic was his father.
He almost wished for childhood days back. When he was little and had just met Becky, he had been 'engaged' to her. It was just a childhood amusement where someone would be infected with a deadly disease if they kissed the one they were 'engaged' to. She then broke off the game when she discovered he had been engaged to another little girl. They were only kids then and she ignored him for years until he began to grow up and was no longer running away to islands to be pirates with Huck. Things had been very straightforward and easy to understand then. There were others to play with, adventures to be had and never a small amount of treasure to find.
A police officer came through the lobby and gave the pair of them a suspicious look. He handed some papers to the officer behind the desk. The man behind the desk had been calling out the names of all the participants of the bar fight for the past hour, to see if anyone came to bail them out. And for some reason, he had called all the names but Skinner's like he was waiting out Sawyer and Hasaan to make sure they were really going to stay. The man gave them an arrogant look, like he had power over them.
"Rodney Skinner!"
Sawyer and Hasaan shot to their feet like bullets and crossed the small space between the bench they had been sitting on and the officer's desk. The officer sneered at them.
"And who are you?"
Tom furrowed his brow. Ordinarily, he would have imagined that the officer would have been happy to be rid of a prisoner. "Well, I'm Tom Sawyer," he started. "And this is-"
"Hasaan al Sharif," Hasaan picked up easily.
"And what relation are you to Mr. Skinner?"
"Well," Tom began again. "I'm his co-worker, you could say. And Hasaan is something like his… butler."
The police officer looked unconvinced. He shuffled some papers trying to look as important as he could. "Well, his bail is posted at two hundred pounds."
Sawyer knew that the price was much higher than anyone else had to pay. Hasaan looked completely unruffled and produced the amount in cash. The officer inspected the bills carefully as if expecting them to be forgeries. Sawyer fought the urge to roll his eyes and scream at the man to hurry up. The man scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to the officer who had previously walked in the room.
"Very well, fetch Skinner."
The man left and came back a few minutes later with Skinner in handcuffs. Skinner grinned and waved at them cheerily. "Good of you chaps to come!" he quipped as the officer took the handcuffs off him.
"Never mind," Hasaan said brusquely. "We must be off quickly."
Sawyer never thought he would be glad for the diminutive butler to take control of things, but this time, he was.
Mina looked at Henry lying on top of the bedclothes and for the most part fully clothed. She did not know what to think of what had happened last night. The entire reason for coming here to was to destroy the reason she became an insatiable vampire. She could not remember much of what had happened other than the pure fact that she had hit Henry. With nerveless fingers, she unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt and pushed it away from his skin. She ran her fingers delicately over his throat and was relieved to find no puncture wounds. Completely unbuttoning his shirt, she searched his entire torso for any sign that she might have hurt him beyond slapping him across the face.
She gently rested her hands on his chest, feeling the rhythmic moving up and down of his chest. It was almost as though she was trying to be sure he was still alive and he was not dead like Jonathan. Count Dracula had drained Jonathan to the point of death. She did not want to know that Henry died like that and she had been the cause. He sighed in his sleep and she could have cried for joy. She sat down next to him on the bed and laid her head on his chest. His arms came around her and pulled her completely on the bed so she was lying next to him. Closing her eyes, she sighed with relief as he held her close, not even sure if he was awake or if it was a subconscious movement in his sleep.
"Henry?" she asked tentatively, not wanting to wake him if he truly was asleep.
"Hmmm?" he replied sounding as though he had just woken up or as though he were still half-asleep.
She smiled. "Are you all right?"
He gave a kind of half-chuckle. "I'll be all right. Shouldn't worry about me." He paused. "I should have known what was going to happen."
Mina laughed having an image of them being married and trying to make up after a fight- they would both take the blame and try to clear the other of guilt. In a way, that would be infuriating after some time, but in another way, it would be good to know that both of them were willing to take responsibility for their actions. She smiled.
"It's over now," she whispered.
There was no answer. She supposed that he had already gone back to sleep. The sun was just coming over the horizon and there was work to be done at Castle Dracula, but it would wait. The moment was perfect, just lying in his arms and feeling the overwhelming relief that she had not fed on him. In fact, now that she thought about it, the place where they supposed Dracula had his crypt did not look like it had been disturbed in a long time. Either the powerful vampire would know someone had disturbed his lair and come looking for them or he had been in some kind of hibernation. Perhaps the more powerful the vampire, the longer they could sleep and go without blood. She didn't know. Even though she was a vampire, she was not an expert on the subject.
She listened to his breathing for several more minutes before she sat up and pulled several large hairpins out of her hair. The reddish brown locks tumbled down her back in a straight cascade and she felt the momentary release of pressure against her scalp. Standing up, she quickly unbuttoned her blouse and slid it off her shoulders before she began to take off her corset- she hated that particular undergarment, but it was required for proper society. And she did not think that Henry would have any problems with her state of undress.
Drawing in a deep breath, she laid down next to him once again, running a hand over his exposed abdomen. No matter how much he appeared to be a weakling because his skin was so pale, he did have muscle definition on his chest. Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes and let sleep overtake her.
For the first time in a long while, he had a dream that did not disturb him. He was in a townhouse in London. The place was elegantly and practically furnished- everything in rich colors that appeared warm and vibrant to the eye. He could hear laughter that sounded as if it were coming from children. It seemed like a dream never to have, something he had hoped and prayed for his entire life. He had dreams of settling down long ago and, although he and Mina were going to be married assuming everything here settled down, he was not entirely sure that either of them would want to have children. Perhaps they should marry first and then decide what they wanted children wise.
As he slowly woke up, he kept his eyes closed, trying to remember and savor the last of a dream. Perhaps he could set up a small practice in London and they could live in a townhouse close to the office. He could take on a young partner willing to make house calls for those that might require it and he could spend more time at home. They could be happily married, an elegant childless couple or a young family with small children. It didn't matter- he would take any sort of peaceful bliss at this point in time.
He slowly opened his eyes. The sun was sinking beyond the horizon. Pushing himself up, he rubbed his eyes. He had slept for much longer than he had ever intended to. And Mina was no longer beside him. Heart pounding with slight anxiety, he looked around the room frantically.
"Quit worrying about her," he reprimanded himself softly. "She doesn't need anyone's help or protection. She can take care of herself." But that did not stop him from worrying.
"She's probably gotten away from you like any smart person would have done!"
Henry rolled his eyes. "Shut-up," he growled.
"I'm just stating the obvious truth."
"Hyde, someday I am going to be rid of you."
There was hooting laughter in his head from Edward Hyde. He chose to ignore it and quickly got dressed. As he was reaching for his pocket watch on the nightstand, he saw a quickly scribbled note. He grasped it with trembling fingers.
Henry-
I've gone back to the castle. That trap door had not been disturbed in years and it is highly likely that I will be able to kill him while he sleeps. Just stay at the hotel and wait for me.
Mina
"Oh God!" he sputtered aloud. What in heaven's name had given her the idea that she could go after the count when it was almost sunset? He rummaged through the scattered luggage on the floor and grabbed up his rosary, a crucifix and the Host and holy water. Mina had taken the stakes and saw with her. He shoved the items into a remaining saddlebag and then picked up the Winchester and silver bullets. Trying to steady his hands, he loaded the gun and shouldered it. His eyes briefly flashed to the vials of the formula he had brought.
"Would you protect her Hyde? Kill a vampire for her?"
"Kill a vampire? Sounds like great sport. I suppose their blood gushes when you drive a stake through their heart. It might look different…"
Henry took that as an affirmative answer and shut out all of Hyde's musings on killing a vampire. He shoved the formula in the bag as well and ran outside to where the horses they had hired were stabled.
In no time, he was on the horse with all the supplies and the gun and riding off in the direction of Castle Dracula. As he rode, a million thoughts passed through his mind, each one as grotesque and horrible as the next. He imagined his beloved Mina either lay dead in some horrid manner from the Count or that the more powerful vampire had completed the transformation. If the latter were the case, then there would be no reasoning with her and he might as well try to kill her right there. But even if that was the prospect, he was not sure he could go through with it unless some glimmer of the Mina he loved came back and told him to and that was unlikely. If the former were true… well… he did not know if he could endure losing another person so dear to him.
He pulled his horse to a stop as he approached the courtyard. The walls of the castle were now black and the sun had completely set. The moon was full and shone brightly. For that, he was grateful because he had forgotten a lantern. He quickly jumped both the walls and ran to the shed. The trapdoor had been thrown open and muffled noises were coming from inside. There were steps leading downwards from the door. He put his rosary around his neck and shoved the crucifix in his pocket. The formula, the Host and holy water he shoved in his jacket pockets along with extra ammunition. Clutching the Winchester to his chest, he crept down the stairs as quietly as he could.
And the scene shocked him. A male vampire, presumably Dracula himself, had Mina by the throat and was holding her up about a foot off the floor. She was struggling mightily, but Henry could see that she would soon lose consciousness if this continued. He was only using one hand to hold her and his other unnaturally white hand was dangling at his side. Henry aimed the gun and fired, hitting the vampire squarely in the back.
Dracula turned, dropping Mina on the floor in a heap. His eyes were burning red and he bared his long sharp fangs. Henry felt his throat constrict with panic and fear. Taking a deep breath, he swallowed the panic and fear and aimed again as the vampire came slowly towards him.
Sawyer stood on the deck of the Nautilus, feeling the cool sea breeze ruffle his hair. Skinner, Nemo and Hasaan were all on the deck as well. Nemo had invited Hasaan to sit with them for a while, but it was obvious that the butler was ill at ease. While he had no problem attacking people for making his job harder and harassing people while in the line of duty, he obviously was not used to being treated as an equal by Nemo. Either that or he did not want to be treated as an equal.
They were on their way back to the rendezvous point with Mina and Henry. It would appear that all was well- they bailed Skinner out of jail even though they had absolutely no necessity to, he had met the infamous Abby and found out from her why she thought Skinner was dead (and he had said as much) and they were all back on the ship, alive and well and on their way to collect the rest of their company.
"Scotch, anyone?" Skinner asked as another crew member brought out a silver tray that had a decanter of Scotch and four glasses on it. Sawyer suppressed a smile, remembering the stories of what he had said when the League first met Dorian Gray.
"Please," Sawyer replied as Skinner began to pour the alcohol and hand out the glasses. After all that had happened, he supposed that everyone would need a drink.
"Captain."
A crew member, not the same one that brought them the Scotch, came out onto the deck and bowed respectfully to Nemo. The captain nodded to show that the crew member had his attention.
"There appears to be a vessel following us."
Nemo furrowed his brow. "Impossible. There is no ship as fast as the Nautilus."
"Forgive me, Captain, but we are not at full speed."
"Then send orders to the control room to go full speed." Nemo held his hand out and the crew member gave him a pair of binoculars. He scanned behind them with the binoculars.
"What is it?" Sawyer asked.
Nemo shook his head. "I can't be sure. But we will lose them; they are already growing smaller as we speak."
"Could they know where we're going?" Skinner mused.
"Unlikely," Nemo replied. "Unless I have a traitor on my ship." He paused. "And I know that is not the case. I do not know why anyone would have a reason to follow us."
Sawyer shook his head, straining his eyes on the horizon. He could barely make out the black form a small ship- it looked like it might be able to make good time for being small and light. However, that would be good time for a normal ship. The Nautilus had gotten them from Paris to Venice in three days and he had no doubts that it could get them away from any potential threat that followed them now.To Be Continued...
