Chapter 31, Does The Devil Have A Soul? (or Vengeance, Part 1)
Jeb walked the streets of Central City with a heavy heart. The symbols that he had seen in the tavern and sketched for DG and Glitch were not in the history books that they took from Dr. Addison's office. We didn't take them, we stole them. He shook his head. He was supposed to help uphold the law, not break it.
She invited him to supper but he declined. He told her that he wanted to see his father, try to visit Jill again, and then head to Samantha's. They agreed that he would be back in the morning. They were going to go back to the Royal Academy.
He climbed the steps leading to the 9th Street Precinct. Unfortunately it was an all too familiar walk by now. Get patted down, go past the reception desk, go through some twisty hallways, and get patted down again, and arrive at the prison wing.
Through the bars, a very bored guard on duty looked up from his newspaper and asked him, "Can I help you?"
"I'm here to see Wyatt Cain," he replied.
The guard put aside his newspaper and looked at the clock on the wall. "Visiting hours is nearly over," he said as he pulled a clipboard off the near wall. He pulled off the pencil that was attached with a string and used it to help keep his place as he read over the names on the list.
"Sorry. He's not allowed any visitors," the guard said. And then he put down his clipboard and grabbed his newspaper again.
Jeb put his hands on the small shelf that jutted out from the barred window. In a frustrated voice he demanded, "What do you mean that he's not allowed to have any visitors?"
The guard, with the same bored expression answered, "'Cause he's in solitary. Get in to a fight around here and its five days in the box."
Jeb sighed with dismay. His concern that his father's reputation would precede him and that he might get in to some sort of trouble because of it came true.
"What about Jill Wilkins?"
The guard rolled his eyes. "You need to find some different friends boy," he told him as he reached for his clipboard again. "She's not allowed any visitors either."
Jeb frowned at him, ignoring his chides. "Is a reason listed there?"
"No." The guard was ready to put down his clipboard but then stopped in mid-motion. "Any other friends you want to check on before I put this away again?"
Jeb glared at him. "No, I'm done."
The guard grunted in acknowledgment, put the clipboard away, and returned to his newspaper.
He stormed off. He was going to find Costello.
Jeb reached Sergeant Costello's office. He did not bother to knock on the door, he threw it open.
Costello looked up from his paperwork.
"Why is my Father in solitary?!" Jeb demanded of him.
Costello looked at him. His eyes did not have the same raw intensity as his father's, but the passion was there nonetheless.
He answered in his deep voice, "He got in a fight with another prisoner. It doesn't matter who started it. Rules are rules."
"Over what?" Jeb demanded of him again.
Costello stared back at him. "Do you really have to ask that question Jeb? Once they found out your father, an old Tin Man was in there, it was just a matter of time."
Jeb angrily walked over to the window. He no longer wanted to look at his father's friend. "I still can't see Jill either. What's the answer for that one?"
With the squeak of Costello's chair, Jeb realized that he had gotten up. Costello stood beside him, looking out the window over Central City. "Jeb, you need to understand that I'm trying the best that I can, but I need to work within the confines of the law. You all of people should understand that. You work for the Deputy Provost Marshall."
Jeb crossed his arms and replied, "It still doesn't explain why Jill's been cut off from the world. The law's the law but it isn't draconian."
For a moment Costello did not answer. Then he said quietly, "Petey Staggart, Jill's public defender Kinan Tiber, Judge Marcus Saxton, and a whole host of other tin men and military police are dirty. There's no proof other than my observations and a few others though. We're having trouble getting solid evidence." He turned and walked over to his desk. Jeb turned to watch him as he heard the creak of a drawer opening.
Costello reached in to the drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Here," he said as he handed it to Jeb. "It's a list of suspects. It might give you something to go on."
Jeb took the paper and read it in the fading light. Some names he recognized and others were strangers. As he folded up the paper and put it in an inside pocket he said, "Damn it Costello, why didn't you say something earlier?"
Costello ran his hand through his hair and then looked at him, "None of us expected it be this freaking big that's why."
Jeb angrily and sarcastically answered him, "Really? Just how big were you waiting for it to get?" Without waiting for Costello to answer he said decisively, "I'll get you your evidence."
The twin suns had set by the time that Jeb reached Samantha's house. The street lights had just started to warm up and cast their soft glow up and down the street. The street was quiet since most people were now at home for the day and were sitting down for supper.
As he approached the house the familiar glow of the lights in the windows greeted him. He rang the door bell and he could hear the traditional chimes from within.
No one came to the door.
He rang the door bell again and waited anxiously. He turned around in the street and saw no one. His hand drifted down to his side. Then the door opened.
Samantha stood in the doorway with tears in her eyes.
"Sam, what's wrong?"
She opened the door further, reached for his hand, and led him in to the foyer.
She took a tissue and dotted the tears from her eyes. Her voice trembled as she spoke. "Go ahead and hang up your coat Jeb, then come with me in to the sitting room."
Jeb's eyes shifted to the black cat that had walked out from the kitchen. It purred as it weaved in and out of Samantha's legs. He innocently asked, "When did you get the cat?"
She kicked it out from underneath her and it jumped high in to the air and landed in between her and Jeb. It arched its back and hissed at her. Its green eyes glared with hatred.
"What the hell Sam?" Jeb asked as the cat darted in between his legs and hid behind him. He nearly stepped on it in surprise. He looked back up at her, "What's going on?" He was filled with anxiety and he had a bad feeling in his gut.
Samantha's eyes started to mist again and she dotted them again with her tissue. "Please Jeb, please just come in to the sitting room," she begged of him.
Samantha walked in first and headed towards one of the large formal chairs. Jeb stood a few steps in the archway and found Mr. and Mrs. Poulton sitting on the settee. All seemed normal to Jeb except that the lights were dimmed and that they were holding hands. But their hands were not in a loving embrace; they were clenched tightly together.
He heard the draw of metal on metal too late.
With one long swipe Kogarashi deftly sliced in to the back of his right knee and through his hamstring. He yelled in pain as his leg gave way and he collapsed to the floor of his hands and knees.
Samantha cried out "JEB!" and started to rise from her chair. But she sat back down as the dim figure in the corner motioned with his gun.
Jeb rolled on to his back and reached for his gun. As he held it outstretched, ready to fire on the figure standing in the archway he pushed himself further in to the sitting room with his good leg.
POP!
Jeb yelled and rolled on to his side in pain. He dropped his gun and he grasped his hand that had held it. The bullet had gone through it and hit the far wall.
The figure emerged from the corner and picked up Jeb's gun.
Jeb rolled over to where Samantha was sitting and with a heavy groan pushed himself up to a sitting position. By now both Samantha and Mrs. Poulton were openly crying. Mr. Poulton, with an expression of hatred on his face, sat still. He slowly clenched his fists together. His wife had released his hand when the tears started to run down her face.
As Jeb's eyes grew adjusted to the light he recognized the figure standing before him.
His voice was almost inaudible. "Zero."
Zero returned his hand gun to his holster. Then he took Jeb's gun, emptied the bullets from the chamber on to the hard wood floor, and then dropped the gun. It landed with a heavy thud.
Then he pulled his hand gun back out of his holster and held it up for Jeb to see. "Do you recognize this type of gun Jeb?"
Jeb stared at it for a moment. Then he responded with almost a whisper, "No." The pain throbbed from his knee and all the way through his leg. His right hand burned all the way to his shoulder. He felt weak but he held on, his adrenaline being fueled by seeing Zero alive and standing before him.
Zero pointed to the end of the gun. "This little device is called a silencer. It works rather well wouldn't you agree? Not even the neighborhood dogs started to bark when I fired it."
Out of the corner of this eye Jeb saw the woman in the archway adjust her stance. After seeing her long twin swords, he understood that it was she who had sliced open his leg. Her green eyes glowed in the dim light.
He motioned with his head, "Is that the cat?"
Zero grinned. "Yeah, that's the fluffy purring kitty Blackie," he cruelly answered.
Jeb shifted slightly and found his head resting against Samantha's knee. Without seeing, he knew that she was sitting at attention. With authority he said, "You have me. Let them go."
Zero laughed. "It doesn't work that way."
Then he pointed the gun at Mr. Poulton's head and pulled the trigger.
POP!
Mrs. Poulton screamed in horror as her husband's head snapped back and his blood splattered on her. She started to wail controllably. She grabbed a hold of his head and pulled it towards her, "Richard!" she screamed. "RICHARD!" She held his head and stared in to his blank eyes; as though by her will alone it could bring him back to life.
"Papa!" screamed Samantha. She jumped out of her chair and tripped over Jeb, causing her to stumble on to the floor. She crawled over to her parents and hugged her dead father's leg. She screamed out "NO! NO! NO!" and then she began to wail as well.
"You fucking bastard! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE THEM ALONE!" Jeb yelled at him. His face furled in anger and he met Zero's stare with fury. He struggled to stand and Zero watched him with amusement. He placed his left hand on the edge of the seat and pushed himself up. He was nearly in the chair when
POP! POP!
Samantha's head snapped around to look in Jeb's direction and she screamed again. She saw Jeb's body slump and roll on to the floor.
Jeb's breath came in ragged tired gasps. His stomach churned as he realized that Zero was toying with him, his love, and her family. He would continue until they were all dead and there was nothing that he could do about it.
"Samantha. That's your name isn't it?" Zero said to her. She was still bawling.
He angrily marched over to her, grabbed her hair and jerked her head back. He repeated his question, "I SAID!" He paused then added, "ISN'T YOUR NAME SAMANTHA?"
Samantha could only mumble her positive response to his question.
He released her. He said coldly, "Relax, I only shot him in the shoulder and his other leg."
It was at that inopportune moment that Mrs. Poulton's material instinct kicked in. "Leave my daughter alone!" she hollered. She lunged for Zero.
Jeb yelled out "NO!"
But it was too late.
POP!
Samantha screamed and crawled over to her mother laying prone on the floor. The blood oozed from the bullet wound in her forehead. She began to wail. She looked over to Jeb and saw that he was still slumped on the floor.
She wiped her nose with her hand and looked up at Zero. He was smiling. She gave him a fierce look and in a trembling voice demanded, "WHY?! WHY US?! WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!"
Zero grinned. "Oh, but your lover knows, don't you Jeb?" He walked over to Jeb and pulled him roughly in to a sitting position. Jeb gave out a loud groan but his eyes still burned with hatred.
He knelt down in front of Jeb. "You were wrong to listen to your father. You should've killed me instead of locking me in that fucking suit."
He stood back up and walked over to Samantha. He grabbed her hair and made her look at him. She screamed from the pain and then started to cry. "I vowed that his father would feel…. and carry…. the same pain that I have for annuals and annuals. He turned around to look at Jeb. "His father never told you what happened at the academy, did he?"
Jeb said nothing but continued to glare at him in defiance. Beads of sweat started to form near his hairline and trickle down his face.
Zero left Samantha go and then popped out the clip of his gun. He retrieved another clip from his belt and inserted it in to the gun.
"He killed my sister."
The only sounds that filled the room were Samantha's sobbing and Jeb's ragged breathing.
"No, that's not quite right. They killed my sister. Your father led the chase and the group of men that eventually killed my sister." He said quietly as he looked at his gun.
He kicked a stray bullet from Jeb's gun and then walked back over to him and knelt down on one knee.
"My sister was a normal human. Every bit as normal as me and we were close, so very close. Did you know that we were twins?"
He stood back up and walked over to the window. He pulled back the curtain slightly to check outside. There was no one. He turned back around and leaned against the settee with his arms folded across his chest. He relaxed ever so slightly. He knew that Jeb was not going anywhere and Ko still stood steadfast in the archway.
"I still remember the day that it happened. We were in the lake country, vacationing at the summer house. We didn't know it but a loup-garou was running around. We were arrogant and didn't mix in with the locals. If we did then maybe we would've known and even may have joined in the hunt. Edalene was alone in the garden when she was attacked." He stopped and looked over at Samantha. The sobbing had stopped and she stared at him with tear stained eyes. For a brief moment he thought that he saw Edalene staring back at him. He shook off the feeling and continued.
"She shouldn't have lived and we should've killed her. But she wouldn't die and we were nothing more than cowards."
Jeb interjected, his words barely a whisper, "She turned didn't she?"
Zero said quietly, "Everyone loved her. I loved her."
There was another pause. Ko finally made a sound and shifted her stance. Jeb glanced over and saw that even she had relaxed. Her arms hung loose at her sides. He was in no shape to take advantage of it though. He was going in to shock and he knew it. He forced a few ragged deep breaths and tried to keep his focus on both Zero and Samantha.
"My family lived near the academy. Hell they even donated some of the ground for some of the buildings. Obviously I was expected to attend and rise rapidly through the ranks, which I did. That didn't preclude me from mixing in with some of the lower class. For someone like myself that liked his liquor, they made the best drinking buddies."
Samantha finally understood the connection. In a trembling soft voice she asked, "You were friends with Jeb's father weren't you?"
Zero looked over at her. His compassion disappeared and he sneered, "You picked a smart one Jeb."
Samantha grew angry and no longer caring whether she lived or died, stood up and marched over to the small piano that set along the far wall. She ripped off the light fine sheet protecting it from the dust. Zero just watched her as she walked back over to where Jeb was laying. He grinned as she struggled to tear it. As it finally gave way she knelt down and began to bandage Jeb's wounds.
"Stop it," he told her in a weak voice.
In a soft voice that still trembled with fright she retorted, "Shut up." She sniffled and tried to blink away the tears that were forming again.
"Sam, get away from me and sit back down," he weakly implored her again.
Zero had had enough. He walked back over and grabbed Samantha by the hair again. As she kicked and screamed he told her mockingly, "Yes, Samantha, do what he says and leave him alone." He shoved her over to the front of the settee. She started to cry again.
He held the gun and aimed it at her head. As he spoke to her, his voice rose in anger. "We protected Edalene the best that we could. If anyone asked we told them that she was at finishing school. Then one day one of the servants left the door unlocked. She turned and got loose. I led the search party. We chased her as fast as we could but it was too late. She was spotted by security guards working for the academy. All of the cadets were summoned to assist in the search and guess which group found her? Wyatt Cain leading Paul Costello, David Spencer and a few other nobodies. I screamed at them to stop but the shots still rang out."
He heard Jeb try to move but he paid him no attention. He knelt down in front of Samantha and took his free hand to force her head up to look at him in the eye. He said softly, "She didn't have to die. My family was rich; we could've shielded the world from her. When she didn't turn she was the same old Edalene we always knew and loved."
He turned to look back over at Jeb. "Do you know that she turned back and died in my arms as your father, Paul, and David looked on?"
In a broken voice Samantha said, "Forgive them."
He looked back at her. He shook his head. Samantha was sniffling. It was then that he realized that she did not say anything. His mind was playing tricks on him again.
Jeb tried one last time. "Zero, let her go," he said with as much strength as he could muster.
Zero stood up and pointed the gun at Samantha's head again. "Father killed Mother and then turned the gun on himself. They couldn't bear to live without their daughter. They were too selfish to think of the pain that I would bear though. My friends, my friends who were supposed to be so fucking close to me. They fucking killed her. They saw me die with her and did nothing."
Samantha looked at him and stared at his eyes. An expression of resignation transcended her face. She knew that she was going to die.
POP!
It was over.
Jeb screamed "NO!!" He was dying again and the same emotions that he felt when his father was locked in the tin suit came rushing back with a vengeance.
Zero walked over to Ko. "Give me one of those."
Her eyes narrowed. He demanded again, "I SAID TO GIVE ME ONE OF THOSE!"
She glared at him and said nothing. She stretched out her arm and handed him one of her twin swords.
He angrily grabbed it out of her hand and marched over to where Jeb laid.
Jeb looked up at him with glassy eyes. He was sweating profusely and his breathing was shallow. He whispered defiantly "This isn't over and it's not going to take away your pain."
Zero hesitated. Then he answered, "It's over Jeb. And I swear to the gods themselves that it will add to your father's."
And with that he ran the sword through Jeb's gut.
Author's Note: Sincerely, thanks to all who continue to follow along...