Natalya walked holding her laptop into one of the empty rooms of the house where she was told she could hook up her computer. Turkish was there as well, he was standing between a table and a window, on the table was a plastic case he was just opening.
The sound of the door closing brought his attention to her.
"I'm here to use my computer." she said, "There are no other working outlets in the house."
"Okay." he said, sticking to his laconic demeanor when not talking about business.
She sat at the corner on the wooden floor by the phone outlet and plugged in her laptop. Cross legged she sat establishing a connection, while the Turkish opened the plastic case which had hollowed segments where gun parts for a sniper rifle would fit. He took them all out, the scope, the barrel, the handel. He pieced them together in a rapid speed then inserted a clip of bullets. Natalya tried to ignore him and succeeded till she heard two consecutive pops that can be only come from a silenced rifle being fired.
She got up and walked over to him.
"What are you doing?"
"Practicing." said Turkish as he pulled the trigger.
"You're firing a gun in the middle of the day out the window in a well populated neighborhood!" said Natalya furiously.
Turkish simply ignored her and pulled the trigger again.
"You're going to kill someone!"
"Rock salt bullets, dear. They shatter on impact."
He gestured for her to use a pair of binoculars on the table, which she did.
"The Balcony across the street," he said, "Third floor. Petunias."
She looked at the indicated bowl of petunias; she then heard a pop following by seeing the bowl shattering and the flower and dirt falling to the ground.
"Now, if we use rock salt against a living target, say; a complete ponce whose mother loved him too much, who doesn't understand the meaning of the word no. Much like the one up the street."
Natalya looked up the street and saw a well dressed young man harassing a young girl as they left a cafe. She the heard a pop and the man fell to the ground, the girl hastily walked away, the man then got up in pain. He wasn't bleeding and only looked shocked.
"He just has a bad day."
"Please never do that again."
"Shoot petunias or ponces?"
"Both."
"That entirely negates the purpose of my presence here." he said, "But alright, I'll leave you alone now."
Turkish rested the rifle on the table and shut the window.
"I didn't mean I wanted you to leave. I'm just not too fond of guns."
"Neither am I." he said with a faint smile.
"A sniper who doesn't like guns?"
"Sniping is different, it's an art. It takes precision, dedication, patience. Besides, Its very much like my original profession."
"What is it?"
"I'm a photographer."
"Impossible!"
"That's what I say to myself sometimes."
Natalya smiled, the Turk was unusually social with her and was contrasting the loner image she had painted of him.
"We haven't been properly introduced, I'm Natalya."
"Turkish." he said as they shook hands.
"I've heard them calling you that. But what's your real name?"
"It's ... Not very interesting, why don't you call me Turkish for now."
He head to the door, saying, "You better get to the kitchen soon, or McGregor and Logan will be done with all the food in the house."
--------------------------------
McGregor walked into the kitchen where everyone was having lunch, dressed as a homeless man, his face smeared with dirt and smelling like a week old fish seasoned with vomit.
"Here ye go, Comrade!" he said with another of his mad-man chuckles as he slapped a small notebook before Natalya, who couldn't swallow the mouthful she had because of it.
"What's that?" she asked, trying to keep her food down.
"I hit the League's dumpsters and came up with a list of all computer parts they've used recently. It's your problem now."
"Thank... you." she said then left her place at the island and went to the washroom.
"Welcome, and that's the last time anyone asks me to get into a dumpster!" said McGregor with new gained fury.
"Who the hell asked you to do that? All I said was 'McGregor, Help Natalya'." protested Skinner.
"Christ, I smell like a day old haggis after it's been through a particularly sick elephant!"
"McGregor, we believe you, take a bath now!"
"Seriously, I farted a while ago and it sounded like me arse was saying, 'Frig...in...hell...he...sme...lls!"
------------------------------------------
"We need a break." said Jekyll as he was pouring himself a nightcap.
"Come again?" said Skinner.
"Natalya says that to have a remote chance at hacking into the League's mainframe, she'll need a state-of-the-art computer that isn't available in England."
"Where is it, then?"
"She says she can get one in Italy. And I don't think she should go by herself, you know?"
"Whose going to go with her?"
"I was thinking I would. Besides, there is a researcher in Rome who keeps detailed records on all known Immortals, I figured he might be able to tell me how to defeat Gray."
"Italy, huh? Are you sure you want to go?"
"Yeah, why not?" says Jekyll with a smile, he knew what his old friend meant, but still enjoyed forcing him into discomfort.
"Oh, no reason."
"We'll need funds," said Jekyll, "For the computer and bribes to the custom's officers."
Skinner was half ignoring him, as he was watching his friend as he was sipping away hastily at the whiskey in his hands.
"Jekyll, can I ask you a question?"
"What is it?" said Jekyll as he poured himself another drink.
"Do you... Nothing. Forget about it, I'll tell McGregor to make arrangements for you two."
-----------------------------------------
Petra tou Romiou, Cyprus
The tall handsome man lit himself a cigarette as he called for a receptionist at the Grand Hotel he was staying in.
"Yes sir?" asked the receptionist.
"I need to send these papers to London." he said as he lay a Manila envelope on the counter.
"It may take some time to arrive, sir. Wouldn't you rather I faxed it?"
"That's no problem, you may send them by mail."
The tall man then smiled at an attractive tourist as she called for the receptionist herself.
"Do you travel often?" he asked.
"Quit frequently, and you?"
"Oh, I try."
-------------------------------------------
Logan lit a cigar and took a sip of his bear as he sat by his open window at night, the windy climate helped him think calmly, taking him back to the years he spent in Canadian small cities where he used to engage in Cage-brawling to make money. Skinner was making calls in the study, Natalya and Jekyll had already left to Italy, McGregor was eating as usual, Turkish was no where to be seen.
He looked intently at the picture of Dorian Gray in his hand, the silky dark black hair, the mischievous shadow of a smile, the fountain of arrogance erupting from the eyes below the trimmed eyebrows. He tried hard to conjure a memory of ever being in the League, but couldn't. He never could force a memory to return, as it would usually happen in the form of dreams or after a serious blow to the head; but that didn't stop him from trying.
He inhaled the smoke ravenously, the truth was he was feeling guilty about abandoning his family back at Xavier's. He couldn't really bring himself to truly socialize with most of the students, but he certainly felt protective over them. He started to imagine a thousand scenarios of how things could wrong back home, while he was here trying to destroy something he was supposedly involved with in the past. He started to think this was all a bad idea, running off with a group of strangers just because they told him what his real name was.
"James." he mumbled to himself, he was sure it was his real name, the psychological power of suggestion had nothing to do with it. As he mumbled his own name he casually gave the briefest of glances to the Picture of Dorian Gray.
Like a cloud, the moment in the past was clear in his hand. He saw himself and Dorian in some Hotel room. Their clothing and the furniture suggested it was the late fifties.
Logan's claws were extended for some reason, and Dorian was looking at him in anger and confusion.
"J-James, w-what are you doing here?" asked Gray with a stammer contrasting his usual arrogant confident self.
There is something he can't make out, something right in front of him, something with all the significance, but he'll never know it because he had lost his footing in his own mind and was unable to remember what happened next or what happened before that. He just realized it could make all the difference if he found out.
Even though he know it is useless, he still tried to wreck his brain trying to remember they following and preceding and full circumstances and nature of that moment of his past, minutes passed as he squeezed his gray brain cells and finally ceme up with a verdict.
"I need a bear."
-------------------------------------------
Two lovers with pale skin and red hair, oblivious to the world around them, lay on a bed in each other's arms, naked under the sheets.
"Forever?" asked Mina.
"What?" asked Henry.
"You will love me forever?"
"Yes, beyond both of our lives, till after the last star is extinguished. I will love you forever."
She laughs, he kisses her, they make love as they stay in that little Inn in Rome. All is right in the world for brief moments. But bliss lasts for only so long before horror takes over. There is a sickness in the air. And Henry finds out that he has lost what he had held most dear.
Jekyll sat up from bed, gasping for air, tears streaming down his face. Instinctively he looks to his side, in a vain hope that she'll be there, Undead and Sleeping.
Those were the worst dreams, when you dreamt you had everything you ever wanted, then woke up to realize you didn't. It was worse than a hundred nightmare about a thousand demon.
He climbed out of the sheets, crawled in the dark to the fridge and cracked open a bottle of Scotch, then drank from it hastily. Minutes passed. He stoped crying, he starts to calm down and starts to forget about the dream. He continues drinking. An hour and a half later he passed out on the floor.
---------------------------------------
Natalya looked at Henry as he sat beside her, hung-over and very cranky. He didn't know her enough to tell her about how his dead wife made him happy beyond all imagination shortly before she was taken away from him by the vicissitudes of fate, so she simply assumed that was the kind of person he was.
They had dealt with the matter of the computer that Natalya needed the day before, they sought out the supplier, purchased it and made arrangements to be held in the cargo hold of the same plane they would be on board when they would return to London. So all they had to do was seek up the researcher in hopes he would have anything on Gray.
By late afternoon, The taxi stopped in front of an old office brick-building on the outskirts of the city. It reminded him of the hospital he used to work in the time before he created Hyde.
He had a brief of thought abut how he missed Hyde the laughed it off, no sane person would ever miss Hyde. It was simply that Hyde was around when things were better. And his departure didn't ease everything else that happened.
They walked into the building and walked up the stairs. It was mostly empty. Save for a few offices with doctor's and the such.
They reached the destination, an office door read:
Paulo Ceniza
Storico
Which in English translated to: Paulo Ceniza, Historian.
They walked in, a bald of his sixties man with a moustache and a pair of glasses was reading an old book.
"Mr. Ceniza?"
"Yes?" he answered with an Italian accent.
"I'm Jack Harding, this is my associate Miss... Nina Simms." said Jekyll, pausing in the middle of his sentence to come up with an alias for Natalya, who appeared to be uncomfortable with that act.
"I need some information."
"Regarding what?"
"A certain individual" said Jekyll, "An Immortal, Dorian Gray."
Ceniza nodded in understanding.
"I'm familiar with that name, had a portrait-"
"I'm already familiar with how he got to become immortal, I'm more curious on his current status and how he is able to go on, years after he supposedly died."
"Well, there has been much speculation, but it's probably still linked to his portrait. I had met him many years ago and he mentioned the portrait is still in his possession. I have some articles written by numerous experts, I'll get them for you."
Ceniza walked into a room and locked the door behind him, leaving Jekyll and Natalya alone.
In the privacy of his office, the Historian dialed a number hastily and waited till a gruff voice answered.
"Prunto?"
"Ceniza. Coda 1-9-3-6-I-H-V."
"I'll patch you through." said the voice in Italian, a clicking sounds was heared followed by someone saying,
"Ceniza, What is the matter? Have any of your charges died?"
"No, a Shadow Operative is in my office."
"Are you sure it's a shadow?"
"Yes, he's asking about Dorian Gray. He says his name is Dr. Jack Harding, most likely an alias. I don't remember his real name, but I'm sure I saw his face in one of the Shadow bulletins."
"Alright, try to stall. A unit will arrive within a few minutes."
------------------------------------
Skinner gathered his compatriots and issued his orders as certain factors caused him to decide to start operations instantly.
"I have Jobs for you," said Skinner who then turned to Turkish and Logan, "I need you two to do a hit."
"What is it?"
"A White-collar League Employee, It mustn't look like an assassination."