Chapter 23 – An Electrical Charge Part 1
~~~~August 1888~~~~
Helen sat out in the garden of her London home.
The afternoon sun warmed up the air around her as she read through the paper. A mysterious murder in Whitechapel, it had happened nearly a few weeks ago, James was the lead investigator. Very few things flustered James but this creature did. James had caught many serial killers in his tenure with Scotland Yard, he said they were base and predictable, and when caught they were as readable as a children's poem. But this one was like an allusion, like he wasn't really there but the he left destruction in his wake. There were no prints, no marks, no evidence that another entity was in the area with this woman aside from the lascerations across the neck and the missing rib bones from their chest.
James sat across from her filing through all of his notes and the evidence.
To say he had become obsessed was an understatement.
"You're tea won't be drinkable if it is cold," she said to him.
"There is no rest for the wicked, therefore those who must catch them must not rest either," he said, jotting down something quickly into his book.
"Well you can't very well catch them if you pass out, now can you?" Helen pushed his cup of tea towards him. "You don't eat, you barely sleep, you don't even stop to have a drink with me James, this case is consuming your life, and the scary thing is that you've only been on it for a few weeks and this killer has already gotten under your skin."
"I can't read him! He stabs them but the way they are positioned is with such care…it's like he's battling two sides of himself," James groaned and ran a hand through his hair.
"What's going on?" John entered on to the veranda to join his fiancé and good friend.
"James is obsessed about catching this Whitechapel killer," sighed Helen, standing up to greet him. "How are you, darling?"
He kissed her chastely and smiled.
"I am very well, thank you," he took her hand gently and escorted her back to the table, pulling out her chair for her then sitting down in the chair between her and James.
"How is work, my good man?" James looked up from his papers to smile at his friend.
"Busy as always, I've been working late several nights," John poured himself a cup of tea. "I want to marry this one before she loses interest."
Helen laughed at the joke.
"Impossible," she placed her hand gently overtop his free one.
"If money is the issue, John, me and Nigel would be honored to help with the wedding, you don't have to be afraid to ask," offered James.
"I am grateful, but it's a matter of pride, Helen is quite self-sufficient on her own, I want us to be equals in this marriage," he grasped Helen's fingers and kissed the top of her hand lightly.
"Once he passes the bar we're going to go to create a business together, my Doctorate, his lawyering skills, you should join us James, Scotland Yard has benefited from your services for far too long," Helen smiled at James.
James sighed.
"As lovely as that sounds I can't leave Scotland Yard just yet," James looked back to his mountain of notes and newspaper articles. "Not until I solve this case."
He looked at a folder titled M. Tabram sadly.
John looked down to Helen's hand entwined with his.
"What if you can't James?" he asked calmly.
"Then I'll die trying, this girl may have been a prostitute but she was someone else's daughter, or mother, or friend, imagine if it was Helen, for goodness sakes! What if he kills again? A monster is a monster, and no one, I don't care who they are deserves to be murdered so coldly," John put a hand on James shoulder in a comforting pat.
"I'm sure he can't go on like this forever," said John.
"I hope your right John," James lifted up his cup and finally took a sip from it, then cringed as it had ceased to be warm about a half-hour ago. "Any news on our old friend?"
James changed the subject and now it was Helen's turn to be flustered.
"The only news I know of Nikola is what I read in the paper," sighed Helen. "My last encounter with him was…far from pleasant."
"You should've told one of us," said John.
"I know, but things have been so fragile between us, I thought if it was just me I could convince him to come back but he's…he's so stubborn," Helen let go of John's hand.
"So you dragged him further away by calling George Westinghouse?" asked James.
"It was the least I could do, he wasn't going to come back to London, he was going to rot in that mud-filled ditch until Armageddon!" Helen exclaimed. "I thought at least I could call in a favor and keep tabs on him; at least he's successful now."
"If you'd have told us we could've helped in convincing him," said James.
"And we could've saved money on traveling expenses," added John.
"He would've accused of being kidnappers and claim we've turned into pirates, as I said I wanted him back, not hating us until we die," Helen sipped her tea pointedly.
"Why did you want him back? He decided long ago that he was too good for this team," asked James.
"I realized when John asked me to marry him that we would have a glorious wedding in the garden, the summer flowers would be in bloom, my father would be there, you and Nigel would be there, so many old friends and family…except one…Nikola is my family just as much as my father and the three of you, I couldn't get married without him there…or at least, that's what I thought. Nikola's always been stubborn and pigheaded and that's not going to change soon," Helen huffed in annoyance at the thought of the vampire.
"What happened there, Helen?" asked John.
"Nothing…it's just Nikola and his darned stupidity, now I wish to not speak of Nikola Tesla anymore!" Helen stood up and curtly excused herself walking back into the house.
John looked at James for a moment.
"It was probably a good idea for us not to come," said James after a while.
"Indeed, we probably would've kicked his teeth in," sigh John and James let out a small laugh in agreement.
Helen fumed at she walked into her study, slamming the door behind her.
She couldn't let John know the whole truth…she couldn't…that would be a betrayal…she kissed another man…almost slept with another man…and not just any man but Nikola! She was afraid of talking too much about her last encounter with him because surely soon enough James would read it in her face and confront her about it…then she would have to tell John. What a bloody bloody mess!
This whole mess with Nikola had her tied up in knots. She was going to marry John, she wanted to marry John, Nikola told her to marry John…then why was she wondering what it would be like if she married Nikola instead…she was always going to wonder what the reverse of this situation would be.
It boiled her bones.
She sat at her desk and rested her head in her hands taking a moment to regain her composure.
Something on her desk caught her eyes and she pushed away a papers lying on top of the object and she saw the edge of the photograph.
It was framed; it must've fallen over at some point.
She picked it up and her breath nearly hitched in her throat.
Nikola had seen a photograph camera at an exhibit and he swore he could make something smaller and more efficient that the huge paperweight this man was using. She had laughed because only Nikola would see a marvel in new technology and claim he could do it better. He was right of course. He made his own camera, almost half the size and for months he carried it all over, using any moment he could to take a picture of her and the rest of them. She had to admit his pictures were better than most of the professional ones. She had stolen a handful of them. She had five that she considered her favorites.
The first one was one Nikola had taken of himself. How? She would never know. She assumed it must've just gone off when he wasn't paying attention for he was too busy playing with a bird. It reminded her of his genteel side, the side that loved even some of the smallest creatures.
The second one was a picture of the Five of them, casual and relaxed, one of the few moments they just enjoyed each other presence.
The third made her laugh. It had been her birthday and the four of them had snuck up on her. John slung her over his shoulder and carried her out of the library to their surprise birthday celebration waiting in the garden for her. Nikola had captured her face in a moment of shock. The memory was always pleasant in her mind.
The fourth was a picture of James and John arm wrestling, which she had always found amusing.
The last, the one she was staring at now, was just her and Nikola. He had hidden the camera, she was sure of it. It was one of those moments they shared when no one else was around.
If John saw this picture a lot of questions would be raised…but it was all perfectly innocent, really.
Nikola was lying on the floor and she was kneeling above him looking into his eyes. His face mere inches from hers, she could almost remember looking into those blue-grey eyes and asking: "What are you doing on the floor?"
She opened open a drawer and shoved the photo inside.
Those days were long gone.
~~~~New York, Edison Company~~~~
Thomas Edison walked into the lab with a purposeful stride.
This was a project he'd been working on for almost a year or so. Its official purpose was for humane execution, but he had his own hidden ideas behind the invention. It was why he allowed his two employees access to his lab, his sources, he even openly supported them, but his support didn't come cheap.
He had a thorn in his side that needed to be taken out.
"Mr. Brown, how are things?" he looked to the first man in the room.
"Very good, Mr. Edison, the chair is working better than we could've hoped, all our tests prove positive, we're hoping to get a live human test subject from the county later on in the week, death row inmate, killed several children, awful man…his name was marked for this chair," Harold P. Brown beamed proudly. "I must say, Mr. Edison, your decision to use AC instead of DC has proven a wise move indeed."
"I have my reasons," muttered Edison, looking over the deadly chair, keeping his distance.
"Mr. Kennelly, show him the data!" said Brown to his associate.
"Sure thing, Harry," Arthur Kennelly moved around the desk and maneuvered over wires and cables over to Brown and Edison in a timely fashion and handed over a folder to Brown who then handed it over to Edison.
Edison accepted it wordlessly and flipped through the pages.
"Excellent work," he said, smiling slightly. "And you can forget the death row murderer, I have my own test subject I would like to test this on."
"Who sir?" asked Kennelly.
"Someone who rightly deserves it, I assure you," said Edison handing back the folder. "I will make the arrangements, when can you set up the test?"
"Uhh, as soon as you like, sir…we just have to adjust the current flow, then we'll be all set," said Brown.
"Great, have it ready for me at the end of the week," nodded Edison dismissively and he walked out of the lab just as briskly as he had entered into it.
"Of course, sir, right away," said Brown, turning to Kennelly and smiling with pride. "We are so getting a raise."
Kennelly nodded in agreement.
Edison marched into his office and sat down taking the receiver from his personal telephone.
Being rich had its advantages, so did being a visionary.
"It's Edison," he said into the receiver. "I have a job for you…I want him by the end of the week, do it or you won't get paid…I'll pay you by how quickly you get the job done…I don't care what it takes…yes, his name is Tesla, Nikola Tesla…goodnight."
He hung up and then scrubbed a hand over his face.
He reached over and took a paper from one of the stacks that rose around his desk and started reading the reports, a hint of a smile crossing his face.
Nikola Tesla, his electrical rival, the thorn in his side…a week from now he was going to be found in his lab, electrocuted to death by his own invention. AC power. No one is going to want to use something that killed it's own inventor, Westinghouse will fall to the ground in cinders and ash and The Edison Company will rise back to it's original and rightful spot.
~~~~Tesla's Lab, Downtown New York~~~~
Nikola tinkered with the small device in his hand.
"Nice lab you've got here, Nikola," a tall, longhaired brunette woman stepped through the door. "It's impressive. I've always wanted to see the inside of a lab."
"What do you want Bianca?" he didn't take his eyes off the device.
"Isn't it obvious? I want to see the great Nikola Tesla work, see what makes him tick…see if I can be of any assistance," she grinned and walked up behind him. "Genius does look good on a man."
Nikola sighed at her more than obvious flirting. Every so often he's attracted one of these predatorial women. Strong women who know what they want, and more often then not, when they break into his lab…they want him. Bianca seemed like a panther among pussycats.
Her long arms came around his waist and across his torso, pulling him up to full height.
"I'm working, Bianca," he sighed.
"You told me once that you liked strong intelligent women, what's changed Nikki?" she teased, her long fingernail running across his cheek.
"It was one night, not a daily invitation…and certainly not a welcome wagon to my lab…and don't call me Nikki," he huffed as one of her hands softly kneaded the muscles on his chest.
"Oh, even geniuses need breaks," she continued to play with his ear.
"Is there a sign on my door that says "We're open for business?" because I don't remember putting it up."
Her hands slithered away.
"One little tour of the place and I'll be out of your hair," she grinned and he knew for a fact that was a lie.
"Maybe some other time, don't you have a play to rehearse for?" he turned back to his work.
"We opened last Thursday, I was hurt you didn't attend," she walked around the lab eyeing all the strange inventions and tools sitting around.
"I have been busy," he sighed.
She laughed and spun a gear on some strange device.
Something caught her eye and she went over to his desk in the corner to lift up a lone picture frame on the desk.
"Who's she?" asked Bianca.
Nikola turned and looked. His eyes coming in contact with the photograph Bianca held in her hands. The blue eyes, the blonde curls, the bright smile, he knew it on sight.
"She's no one," he turned back to the workbench and made a note in his book.
"Then why is she on your desk?" asked Bianca.
"She's no one of your concern," he clarified.
"She's pretty," Bianca changed the subject.
"She is," said Nikola.
"Is she the one you're spending 'a night' with now?" Bianca looked at him, arms crossed.
"No, she is a friend," he sighed; he was never going to get any work done at this rate.
"She's just a friend who you happen to have a picture of on your desk?" Bianca's words were sharp and pointed.
Nikola dropped what he was working on and went over to her.
"If I give you a tour of the lab will you leave me so I can get some work done?" he asked.
"Not a chance," she challenged. "I want to know who this broad is, or so help me Nikola, I will plant my butt on this desk and sit here singing Yankee-Doodle, until you do," she shoved a bunch of papers out of her way and sat on his desk.
"You seemed so nice at that dinner party," sighed Nikola.
"I am nice, you have first hand experience of how nice I can get, but right now I'm angry," she crossed her legs.
"Her name is Helen," sighed Nikola.
"And…" coaxed Bianca.
"And…she is not important right now," he put his hand on her knee and uncrossed it, allowing himself to step closer to her. "What is important right now, is you."
He placed a kiss on the corner of her mouth.
"You do care," relented Bianca, her hands wrapping around his waist.
Nikola wordlessly trailed kisses along her jaw and down to her neck.
"As much as I would love to…I have rules about my lab…" he said between kisses and she gasped lightly as his human teeth nipped at the soft flesh of her throat.
"Do you have somewhere in mind?" she teased.
"My place later tonight…I'll make up for my rude behavior," he said slyly.
"I like the sound of that," she smirked as he pulled away. "What time?"
"Late…think early morning," he said.
"Working late, huh?" she hopped off the desk.
"Only if I can help it," he chuckled.
"Fine, I'll see you then," she kissed him, quickly running her hand through his hair.
She winked at him and then sauntered out of his lab back on to the street.
When she was gone he rolled his eyes, scrubbing a hand across his face and fixing his now mussed hair.
He was low…to sell himself to keep a secret…maybe if he worked late enough she would fall asleep in wait for him then he could spin a story of how she was so drunk that she just forgot the whole evening, pat her on the head then send her on her way…she'd still kick him in the nards.
She seemed so intelligent at that dinner party…he thought he had made his intentions perfectly clear, but obviously he hooked himself an intelligent-looking silly girl who now thinks he's courting her. He should be smarter than this.
He picked up his picture of Helen and pulled out his handkerchief to wipe it clean.
He placed it back gently on the desk and looked at it.
"Oh Helen," he whispered to the face in the frame.
He looked in the reflection and saw something moved behind him. It wasn't Bianca, he knew that; he could sense it was something far more dangerous.
He stood up slowly.
A hand came around him, a cloth soaked with chloroform in its palm.
His superhuman strength kicked in and he threw the arms off of him and spun quickly kicking him hard in the chest.
The guy went flying crashing into one of the worktable, taking all the inventions, papers, and tools with him. Another one attacked from his left, and another came from his right, Nikola fought the urge to morph into a vampire. The two grabbed his arms and he tossed them off effortlessly.
The first one stood up and took out his revolver clipping him in the leg, the force knocking him to his knees.
The other to rebounded and grabbed his arms again. He was shot in the other leg, the pain temporarily disorienting him. It was enough for them to roughly slam him onto his desk and cover his mouth and nostril with the cloth again. He had no choice but to inhale. He felt glass cutting into his cheek, and blood trickled down his leg to pool on his sock.
The face in a photograph caught his eye, and the faint smile comforted him slightly as he slowly lost consciousness.
"He's out!" cried one of the men.
"Good! Hog tie him!" cried the leader of this group. "Edison better be paying us double for this."
"Someone must've heard that," said the other one.
"It's a lab…they'll just think an experiment escaped from it's cage, get him in the bag."
The two nodded as the leader pulled a cigarette out of his case and lit it.
The three of them carried Nikola out in a large bag, right out the front doors.
"I heard a crash up there, is everything all right?" asked a man on the street.
"Yeah, the guy up there just had a lab rat get loose, knocked over something…we're just cleaners," stated the leader to the man.
"Oh, okay," the man looked at the group of them a little unsure.
"Have a good day," the leader tipped his hat and the three of them shoved the bag into back of their wagon, the leader got in the front with the reigns as the other two climbed into the back and they rode off.
The man looked up at the building then shook his head, deciding it was none of his business.
He walked on, as if nothing had happened.