Chapter 27 – A Framing In Whitechapel Part 2
~~~~September 29, 1888~~~~
Nikola snarled as he tried, in vain, to break his bonds. Apparently Helen had done her research, his restraints were vampire proof, at least for the moment. If he worked hard enough, maybe he could break free in a week or so.
James was hovering above him, acting like the doctor he was; Nigel was nearby with a gun full of sedative darts in case Nikola caused trouble.
"James, James! Release me, please, you know me, I would never kill anybody, please!" he whimpered, trying to get James' attention.
"As much as I would like to believe you, we simply don't know that," said James.
"I am in control, I have always been! I mean, occasionally someone cuts their self I get a little distracted by the scent, but not so much as to feed on anybody, much less kill them!" Nikola pleaded.
"The evidence is there, Nikola, you can't argue with that," James walked away to rifle through his notes and Nikola groaned.
This was a bloody mess, and he knew who was behind it.
John was growing more aggressive, from threats, to tossing him off balconies, to this, and no one would believe him, they all trusted John implicitly. Nikola, again, was the outsider.
He was in the main lab, strapped to an operating table of some kind, covered in rubber in case he tried to shock them, it was secured to the floor so he wouldn't be able to move it, and he was restrained from head to foot in the special material.
He had a forehead and chin strap to keep him from biting, arm and leg restraints to keep him from slicing and kicking, and 3 long straps over his chest, hips and thighs to keep him still.
John had really outdone himself this time.
He heard the door of the lab open and his vampiric senses smelt the man's horrendous cologne instantly.
"Well, well Nikola," said John, walking up to Nikola and leaning over him, a devious and cruel smirk on his face. "That wasn't very nice, upsetting the lady."
"John, why are you doing this?" Nikola glared at him.
"You are a danger, a threat that has to be stopped," John said, twisting it to sound like he was talking about the Ripper murders. "I will not let you hurt more."
Nikola growled low in his throat.
"You are wrong!" Nikola said, staying just as cryptic as John was.
"We'll see about that," John turned to James. "Is it all coming together?"
"Almost, there's just some things I need to know," said James who turned to Nikola. "What was the point in removing the uterus?"
Nikola shook his head.
"I don't know, ask the real killer!" he spat sardonically.
"Why did you remove 5 teeth from the mouth of Mary Ann Nichols? Was it because you couldn't feed on her?" continued James.
"I don't know who Mary Ann Nichols is, why aren't you listening to me?" Nikola growled with frustration.
"Yet you didn't remove the teeth of Annie Chapman, you instead tied a handkerchief around her severed throat, why?" asked James.
"I don't know! I don't KNOW! Why can't you hear me?" shouted Nikola.
John just watched with a sly smile.
"Why send us a letter?" asked James.
"I didn't, as I've been saying, I didn't murder anyone!" Nikola squeezed his eyes shut as he whimpered, trying to struggle.
"What is the importance of the uterus?" James asked again.
"I am not the murderer!" cried Nikola.
James slammed the folder down on the floor, his own frustration.
He grabbed Nikola's throat, squeezing.
"This is not a game, Nikola! You fit everything! Just tell us the truth!" shouted James.
"I didn't lay a hand on these women!" Nikola choked out.
"I made contact with Scotland Yard's American counterparts, looking for any similar cases in New York and the surrounding area, this is what they gave me!" James pulled out a file from the folder he dropped on the floor. "A young women by the name of Bianca Waller was found dead the weekend two weeks before the death of Nichols! The same modus operandi as these cases! How is that not clear?" shouted James showing Nikola the picture of the poor women disemboweled, her throat slit.
Nikola looked away, feeling the need of gag. He hadn't seen the poor girl since he turned her away from his lab after he had crawled his way back from being dropped out of the window at Westinghouse's estate.
"Oh god!" he gasped. "It wasn't me!"
"How can you say that, Nikola? You've been caught! Confess! I can promise your name will not be mentioned to the Yard, but I need the truth!" said James.
Nikola whimpered.
"I'm telling you the truth!" spat Nikola.
"Enough! John!" James gestured to John, gathering his folder and walking out.
John pulled out a long knife and twiddled it in fingers.
"Now, old chum, let's see how fast you can actually heal…"
~~~~Elsewhere~~~~
Helen paced through the study, she couldn't watch, couldn't even handle the thought of what they were doing to Nikola downstairs, even more so she couldn't believe what Nikola had done to deserve it.
The whole situation had her skin crawling, something felt wrong; something didn't fit. She could still hear Nikola's desperate voice ring through her ears.
He had said something about John, something that stuck, hauntingly.
James came into the study.
"This is impossible," he muttered.
"What is it, what's wrong?" she came up to him.
"Nikola is stubborn, either he knows the truth but he refuses to tell, or he isn't aware of his actions, the vampire may have a mind of it's own, in that case then we have to find a way to release it," James sat down and rested and hand on his chin. "There might be something to Nigel's electric theory."
Helen sat down across from him.
"James, what if it isn't him?" she asked.
James sighed and handed her the file.
"Bianca Waller," he confirmed. "Who else could've done that?"
Helen looked away for a moment.
"You're right," she said quietly, "I guess I just don't want to believe it."
"No one wants to believe it, Helen, and the truth is we won't get any answer from Nikola unless we devise a way to lure it out of him," sighed James.
"I might have something that could work," said Helen. "But I'll be the one to use it, if Nikola truly is my friend he will not lie to me."
"I'm afraid of the possibility he doesn't realize he's lying, but Bianca is unassailable proof, I'm sure of it," James rested his head in the palm of his hand. He looked exhausted; this case was draining so much energy from him.
"I'll know," Helen said sternly.
James looked at her for a long moment then sighed.
"Alright."
~~~~Back in the Main Lab~~~~
Nikola cried out again as the sharp blade slid across his chest.
"You bastard!" he growled, in his unnaturally deep voice.
"I think it speaks more truth about you than you've ever spoken in your whole life," laughed John.
He had carved the words "I Am Jack" into the thin skin below his throat, right above his heart.
Water formed in Nikola's eyes from the force he was squeezing his eyes with.
"John that's enough!" shouted Nigel.
"I think we should give him the same treatment he gives women, don't you think so Nikola?" John smirked.
"Go to hell!" spat Nikola.
"I'll meet you there," John whispered to Nikola, bringing his fist down hard onto Nikola's abdomen.
"That's enough, John! We're not here to torture him!" Nigel pushed him away. "If he's guilty we will deal with him the proper way, but so far I have not heard any admission of guilt and we will not pressure it out of him!"
Nigel glared at John.
John backed away, taking out a handkerchief and wiping the blade clean.
Nigel eyed the words written on Nikola's chest.
"Was that really necessary?" asked Nigel to John.
John shrugged.
"You scare me sometimes, John," Nigel sighed and went back to his original position, his hand resting on the butt of his specialized weapon.
John smirked and looked back at Nikola.
"Just having a little fun with him," John tucked the knife back into his belt.
"I didn't think schoolmasters carried weapons," muttered Nikola.
"Oh we don't, this blade I reserved especially for you," John glared at him.
"Is this how you punish your students?" spat Nikola.
"Of course not," snarled John.
"He passed the bar, Nikola, he's going to be a lawyer now, just leave it at that," interjected Nigel, he was visibly uncomfortable with their fighting.
"Let me guess, criminal law?" Nikola laughed sarcastically.
"Stop it!" Nigel snapped. "Just stop it, please."
Nikola and John shut their mouths, but glared at each other with disdain.
The door to the lab opened and Helen came in, swiftly and quietly making her way over to Nikola.
"Helen," Nikola's face brightened slightly, seeing her come in. "Helen, I swear I haven't done anything."
"That is yet to be determined," Helen said coldly.
"Please Helen, you of all people know that I wouldn't hurt anyone!" he pleaded with his eyes, he didn't care if the rest of them believed him, but she had to.
Helen refused to look him in the eye.
"I'm here to give you your medication," she pulled out a hypodermic. "Hopefully this will help clear some things up."
She injected it into his arm and suddenly, like a wave, Nikola rippled into his vampiric form, baring his long pointy teeth.
Helen didn't even flinch just put the needle down.
"Now, did you murder Mary Ann Nichols?" she asked.
He growled loudly.
"No!" he said in his deep voice.
"Did you murder Annie Chapman?" she asked again.
"No!"
"Did you murder Martha Tabram?" she asked, her voice rising slightly.
"No!" he grew increasingly frustrated.
"Did you murder Bianca Waller?"
"NO! I am not a murderer! How many times do I have to say it? I AM NOT A MURDERER!"
Helen slammed her palm on the side of the table.
"Who are you planning to murder next?" she asked, raising her voice to match his.
"NO ONE!"
"YOU'RE LYING!" she shouted.
He snarled loudly, snapping his jaw.
"Is that the same anger that killed all those women? Are those the fangs you used to slit their throats, or did you use these claws?" she spat, grabbing his clawed hand.
Nikola whimpered in desperation, in frustration.
"I didn't murder them Helen, what ever he has told you or led you to believe it's a lie! I swear! You have to believe me!" Nikola cried, turning into his human state so he wouldn't accidentally hurt her.
"I can't believe a thing you say anymore, Nikola, not when there is five women in the morgue you have so obviously slaughtered!" she released his hand and headed for the door. "Leave him, this interrogation is getting us nowhere, Nigel stand guard, John will relieve you at midnight, James will take over the watch after that, then I will."
They all nodded.
"Please! Helen! You have to believe me! I didn't kill those women! I didn't! Helen! HELEN!" Nikola cried, his eyes following her.
John smiled slyly before slowly following Helen out. John after, then finally Nigel.
"Sorry, chap, I wish it hadn't come to this," Nigel said to Nikola, showing him a small amount of pity, possibly out of courtesy for their old friendship.
The door locked behind him, and Nikola let out an exasperated sigh.
He blinked away a small droplet forming at the corner of his eye.
She hated him, they all did, and he hadn't even done anything. They were so quick to assume he had done it. John was poisoning their opinions of him, all except for sweet Nigel, who seemed to teeter-totter between guilty and non-guilty.
Guilty until proven innocent.
Nikola whimpered slightly as the words marked on his chest healed, but the pain in his chest remained.
~~~~Quarter to Midnight~~~~
John stalked through the dark halls, keeping to the shadows, as if he were one of them himself.
He fingered the end of the blade hidden up his sleeve; he felt the slap of his gun against his thigh with every step.
He made it to his destination.
In front of the door was a tired Nigel, slowly falling asleep at his post.
"Surely you should get to bed, dear Nigel," he said, breaking the silence.
Nigel shook his head, his droopy eyes only coming half open.
"Oh good, you're here," Nigel yawned. "I thought you'd never show up."
"Go to bed, I'll keep watch of the vampire," John patted the young man on the back.
"Alright, I…" before the poor guy had a chance to finish his thought he dropped to the floor, completely unconscious.
John tucked the dart gun back into his belt.
"I'm sorry, Nigel, don't need you in my way again," muttered John.
John opened the door to the lab and creeped in. Nikola, who was still awake turned his head at the sound.
"What are you doing here?" he growled.
John didn't say anything but kept stalking forward.
"I know what you're doing, and you won't get away with it!" cried Nikola.
"They won't believe otherwise," John finally said.
"I'm not the murderer and you know it! But you do know who it is, and you are using them to frame me for lord knows whatever I did to you!" spat Nikola.
"Right on the money, dear friend," laughed John.
"What? You make a deal with the Ripper?" asked Nikola.
"Something like that," shrugged John.
"Why are you doing this? What do you want with me?" Nikola cried.
"You think I don't notice the way you look at her, the little glances you share with her from across the room. She is mine, Nikola, and I intend to keep her. If that means getting rid of all the men that threaten to take her away, so be it," said John stiffly. He hovered over Nikola menacingly.
"What are you going to do, slice me into little pieces and claim self-defense?" Nikola glared at him.
"No, I want you to run, run as fast as you can, because when we catch you I want you to have a good excuse for the blood on your hands," John removed the restraints, grabbing Nikola by the wrists, pulling him to his feet. "Show me your claws, Nikola."
Nikola felt a slight pinch and suddenly was overwhelmed as he vamped, his finger nails stretching out into long sharp talons.
Without a word John plunged the sharp claws into his side, his grip releasing instantly as he grunted in pain.
"Now run, Nikola!" he laughed, dark and evil.
Nikola watched wide-eyed terror and retracted his claws immediately.
"HELP!" cried John in convincing terror.
Nikola panicked and ran, the blood thick on his fingers, dripping on to the floor. He saw Nigel lying in the hallway and he leaned down to check if he was still alive.
John appeared behind him in the doorway.
"HELP! HE'S GONE MAD!" John cried again, pulling his gun out and shooting at him, the dart whizzed by Nikola's ear. Nikola got up, leaving Nigel and running, running to get away from Helen and James who would be arriving soon, he didn't want to be here when that happened. He could already hear them running down the staircase.
Nikola didn't have time to make it to the door so he smashed through the nearest window landing in a bush outside. A moment of disorientation slowed him down for a second but he quickly got up and jumped over the high wall of the Sanctuary and onto the cobbled stones of the street.
Helen heard John's cry and had grabbed her gun as quickly as she could, not even bothering to change out of her nightgown.
The scene in the corridor was clear. Nigel was lying face down, uninjured but it was clear that Nikola had attempted to finish him from the blood smears on his neck, right above the pulse point. John was lying in the doorway, gun in one hand and the other covering the series of four stab wounds going up his side.
"What happened?" cried James, coming down behind Helen.
"He escaped!" shouted John.
"Nigel, dear lord, what happened?" James knelt down by the man turning him over.
"He got hit by a sleeping dart," said James.
"That was from me, I missed hitting Nikola," said John, he winced in pain.
"Darling, are you alright?" Helen knelt by John.
"Just some superficial stab wounds Helen, I'm more concerned for who ever is out there," he grunted slightly as she checked the wounds. They were not dissimilar to the wounds that covered the body of Martha Tabram. "I stopped him before he could get to Nigel."
Helen nodded.
"How could he have gotten free?" asked Helen.
"I don't know, he's clever," groaned John.
"We tested those straps, they were meant to be completely vampire proof," said James.
"I don't know, James! Maybe Nikola has some tricks up his sleeve that we can't account for, all I know is when I got here to relieve Nigel, Nikola was free and going after Nigel as his next victim!" shouted John.
Helen noticed the shattered window down the corridor.
"He escaped down there," she pointed to the window.
"We have to find him, who knows who he'll kill next," said James.
John stood up shakily.
"Patch me up quickly Helen, I can cover more ground, you know I can, just stop the bleeding so I can get out there and stop him," John took her hand. "Please Helen."
She nodded.
"Come with me, I need two minutes."
~~~~Elsewhere~~~~
Nikola kept running, he had no destination in mind, he was just running, knowing soon enough he would have John and the others on his tail.
He saw a street post whiz by him and he stopped.
His unnatural speed had made the world mostly a blur but something about this sign caught his eye.
WHITECHAPEL DISTRICT
Nikola felt a wave of nausea come over him and his left leg threatened to buckle. John had given him something, something that led him here.
He traced the sign with the edge of a fingernail.
He was being framed, John was in kahoots with the Ripper, the two of them were in this together, had to be, it was the only thing that made sense. John offered Jack an escape goat, someone to take the fall for his murders, and in turn John got Nikola out of his way. It made perfect sense. Nikola just had to find Jack before John found him. Helen would get a real confession.
Nikola ran at normal human speed, sniffing the air for blood, aside from the blood on his fingers.
He sniffed for anything peculiar; anything out of the ordinary.
The air of Whitechapel was stale, infused with horse manure, and cheap beer. Their were small cheers coming from the pub down the street, a horse whinnied beyond that, he could hear the wheels of a pony-cart not far away either.
From what James had described to him and from what he had read in newspapers, Jack The Ripper went after prostitutes. Nikola could start there.
Nikola ran down to the pub, his eyes scouting for anyone Jack The Ripper would target.
He slowed himself down to a walk and tried to cover his hands to the best of his abilities.
"Lonely tonight, gent?" came a voice and Nikola spun to it.
"Uh…yes…" he said, blinking at the woman. Her dress was ratty and frayed her teeth were a placid shade of beer-stained yellow. Not his usual taste, but then again, he was not looking for her company.
"My rate is three pence, but for a good-looking chap like you I'll lower it to two," she grinned.
"I assure you it's unnecessary," he took her hand. "Come quickly," he dragged her into the closest alley.
"Easy gent! You haven't even paid me yet!" she cried and Nikola smothered her mouth with his hand.
"Shhhh! Listen to me!" he whispered, holding her still.
"You're in danger! You have to get off the street, or he'll kill you.
"What? Wait! You're him, that ripper fellow that's been killing girls the last few weeks."
She pulled away from him.
"No, no, I'm not!"
"Is that blood on your hands?" she cried, horrified.
"No, you don't realize…"
"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" she screamed suddenly.
Nikola grabbed her hand trying to calm her down but she ended up screaming louder.
"IT'S THE RIPPER!"
Nikola realized pulling her into a dark alley, may not have been the smartest move.
He released her and ran out of the alleyway, running before anyone came to her rescue.
"I heard shouting!" a tall man ran up the road to where he had heard the ladies distress.
She stumbled out of the alleyway frightened and wide-eyed.
"He went that way!" she cried pointing in the direction Nikola had gone.
"Are you hurt?" asked the man.
"No, I screamed before he had a chance to lay a hand on me," she sighed with relief.
"What is your name miss?" asked the man, politely.
"Elizabeth…Stride," she said, looking at the man.
"Well, Elizabeth Stride, my name is John Druitt, and I am going to make sure no harm comes to you," he led her away down the street, the hand at the small of her back as he opened the gate to a yard.
"You should be safe here, until I apprehend the perpetrator," he said calmly.
"Thank you kindly, Mr. Druitt," she shivered slightly.
"If you survive you should tell the cops exactly who you saw," he reached into his belt carefully.
"Pardon me?" she turned around only to collapse unconscious on the ground, a sleep dart embedded in her shoulder
~~~~Elsewhere~~~~
The carriage was moving too slow for her, too slow for the horrors some poor woman could be facing at the hands of The Ripper.
Even though the evidence clearly pointed to Nikola, there was something that didn't add up, something that didn't click completely. Every ounce of logic told her that Nikola was the Ripper, but there was something in her heart that just couldn't accept it. Not until she heard it from him.
James was besides her, rifling through every single one of his notes.
"I think I know why he chose Whitechapel, most murders there are considered gangs fights, gang rapes, young boys with no present or future, or moral compass. Murder a whore or two there, no one notices, except for me, and he knew that. Looking at Scotland Yard's case file for all murders committed there in the last few years I noticed a spike in activity shortly after you returned from New York…the trip when you and Nikola…had a little bit of a heart to heart," James said knowingly, trying not to tip off Nigel, who wasn't really listening anyway.
"How shortly?" she asked.
"About a month maybe two," said, James. "The first attack being in February, some girl known as Annie Millwood, she survived it only to die about a month later of a sudden pulmonary failure, but what's interesting is the similarities from this case to the case of Martha Tabram. Close to the time of Annie's death there was an attempted robbery turned stabbing of an Ada Wilson, all in progression of violence and method, then Martha, a full-fledged stabbing."
"He's been practicing for quite some time," said Nigel, finally tuning in.
"Seems like it, and it is all stemming from after his visit with you, Helen," said James.
"I rejected him…and he's taking it out on others," she bit her lip. The evidence was piling up against Nikola.
"It looks that way," he sighed.
"What? Rejected him? When?" asked Nigel, they had forgotten that he'd entered the conversation.
"Nothing," said Helen.
"Look, if Nikola is going to go crazy and attack you, Helen, I want to know! I don't want a repeat of the night he was vamped," said Nigel honestly.
"Lets hope it doesn't come to that, Nigel," she smiled gratefully at him.
They reached the Whitechapel District.
They saw John on the street, the front of his shirt was bloodstained.
"John what happened?" asked Helen.
"Found his most recent victim, the police should be here soon," said John.
"Are you hurt?" asked Nigel.
"No, this was from the body, there was another found not half hour ago, identified as Elizabeth Stride, this girl is apparently named Eddowes, Catherine, Nikola can't be far, she was killed not a few minutes ago, I just missed him," said John.
"Two women in one night?" asked James.
"He's on a rampage, we need to find him before he kills another," said John.
Helen nodded, any idea where he went?" asked Helen.
John pointed down the road.
"That way, I'm sure I saw him down that way," said John. "And James, Eddowes ear has been cut."
James growled.
"That bastard," he snarled. "Following his word to the letter."
"Can you teleport to try and catch him?" asked Helen.
"I can try," nodded John.
In a flash he was gone.
"Faster!" she said to the driver.
The carriage picked up speed and Helen held on tight as the wheels went over the cobbled streets, bumpy and rough.
Nikola ran at human speed, hearing the carriage not far off his trail. He looked behind him to see if her could catch a glimpse of his tail. He could just see the bobbing heads of the horses pulling the carriage.
Nikola froze for a moment, wanting to make it easier on him, if he let them capture them he could plead his case, but then again, they already thought he was guilty.
He turned to keep running but a voomf sound and in a puff or red-orange John stood in front of him.
"Haven't you been busy, Jack," said John, smiling slyly.
"I-I haven't done anything," Nikola sucked in a ragged breath.
"Tell that to Helen," said John.
John teleported again, only a few feet so that he was right beside Nikola; throwing his arms around Nikola and holding him tightly.
Nikola squirmed and struggled.
"It would be of more benefit to you not to struggle," said John.
Nikola didn't listen to him and used his vampiric strength to push him off and throw him across the street.
"I can't go back! You have them all convinced! You'll lock me up, no matter what I say," Nikola whimpered.
"Indeed, but you won't be killed instantly if you cooperate," smirked John.
Nikola felt another pinch and suddenly his claws and fangs stretched out, he was looming over John, teeth bared, looking ready to strike. He tried his hardest to control himself.
John just smiled more.
The carriage came slamming down the road and to a screeching halt.
Nikola stood over John menacingly.
Helen jumped out of the carriage, gun pointed at Nikola. James and Nigel followed, also armed.
"Nikola, stop!" she shouted.
Upon seeing her Nikola stopped and garnered enough control to reign in his vampire traits.
"Helen!" he looked at her. "You don't understand, please Helen, listen to me! It wasn't me!"
Helen fired, the shot landing in his shoulder.
"No, Helen!" he gasped falling to his knees. "It was John!"
"Shut up!" she strode over and used the heel of her boot to lower him to ground. The sedative was running its course through his system, effectively weakening him. "I can't believe you anymore."
She shot him again and his eyes squeezed shut.
"I didn't do it, Helen, please," he whimpered groggily. "It was John…John set me up…I'm framed!"
Helen brought her hand up and slapped him across the cheek, her heel digging into his shoulder.
"Enough!" she cried and shot him again and his eyes finally rolled back into skull and he lay unconscious.
Helen went over to John and helped him to his feet.
"Good work, John," she said.
John nodded pulling out a handkerchief and wiping the blade of a knife he had up his sleeve.
Helen eyed the knife curiously.
"Why didn't you use your gun?" she asked.
"I didn't have time to reach for it, he attacked me before, the knife was the only thing I could grab in time, in self-defense," said John easily; Helen watched his eyes as he spoke.
"At least your safe," she smiled weakly looking over at Nikola. "Nikola, unfortunately, is too dangerous to keep alive."
She looked down sadly.
"We can't hand him over to the police…we'll have to kill him ourselves."