Chapter 12 – Release
St. Pancras International Terminal, England. 10:07am, 4th November 2032.
The train pulls away at precisely the correct time, moving slowly at first as it moves through the mass of possible railways leading in and out of the station. His two items of baggage rest in the small baggage area near the door of the carriage, both of which were given back to him by the chauffer as he left the apartment. The Labrador had offered his services to take him to the train station, but he refused and told him to take the others to the airport instead, Alex meanwhile took the underground. This service is even quieter than the one he used yesterday, and definitely quieter than the underground, at least in the carriage he is travelling on. He can't help but realize that he travelled on this line yesterday; it seems like such a long time has passed in between with all of the events happening. Now, he has to condense those experiences down into a more explainable one, something he can put into words. He has his phone resting on the tray table in front of him, ready to be used with the desired contact ready to be dialled. It's the only one he'd consider talking to about such personal and difficult problems, well, that's not exactly true. It's the only one he can talk to, the others being his imprisoned parents.
Why not Tim? Sure, Alex respects him for what he did to both of them and Alex can't be any more grateful for not being thrown into an orphanage. It's not that he isn't a bad parent or a bad influence; he's done everything he thought a father would do for their kids. It's not that he isn't untrustworthy, he works as a doctor, and confidentiality is something that the walrus deals with everyday. Alex can't put any blame on him for doing his best, but it comes down to a simple fact: Alex and Erin Cooper are not normal kids. There were always subjects that Tim, for all his intelligence about fixing people to a healthy condition, would not be able to fully comprehend. When he first asked about canes and the book he'd always find them both pouring over in their spare time, he'd get deflected answers. And when he tired to ask them questions about it, even the most basic of questions were met will replies of: 'you wouldn't understand', and yet they were 8 year olds reading through a very thick tome with scribbled writing across it's pages.
Alex dials the phone, there is no one sitting near him so he feels like this is probably the most private setting he can get whilst being contained on the train. He waits for the video call to answer, he hopes for all hope that she picks up. The screen turns to black, her name and picture fade away and are replaced with a live video coming for Erin's own phone, walking through the university. She's changed her hair since Alex last saw her. Her natural light blonde hair, which is even lighter than her light tan skin colour become longer with her hair going down to just above her shoulders. What's most striking for Alex is her fringe going over her forehead with the hair to the left of her right eye; it flows down to just above the eye so it doesn't block her sight. There is no fringe above her right eyes, as that hair is drawn back around her ear. Below her blue eyes and her really pleasant smile is only the top of a sky blue shirt.
"What's up?" She replies. She's wearing earphones, therefore Alex doesn't have to worry about what he's saying becoming overheard by passers by.
"Can you move to somewhere, more private?" Alex asks, he hopes it's no too much trouble for her.
"This is a good as you'll get." Erin replies.
"Doesn't matter." Alex replies. "Anyway, um… I've had a… very, very difficult day these past 24 hours and I just want to, um, I don't know how to say it."
"Is this about work?" Erin asks.
"Yes, it is, and it's been, so… so, painful. Not like physically, but in here." Alex explains as he points to the brain inside his skull.
"In what way, have you found a job now?" Erin asks kindly.
"Yeah, um… not a job, but a series of jobs." Alex corrects.
"Pay well?" She asks.
"Extremely." Alex replies gladly, perhaps it's the only reward he can see that he has earned so far.
"Better than before?" She asks cheerfully.
"Certainly." Alex replies.
"Well, I'm glad you're finding your way now, getting some employment." Erin congratulates.
"Yeah, but it's… I want to talk to you about it." Alex says, wanting to release all of his concerns.
"Talk away." Erin replies. Alex then spends the next 15 minutes describing the details of what happened in the past day. With each little detail he tells, he feels much better about himself in that worries just evaporate from him like a pool of water in the blazing sun.
"How bad was it?" Erin asks.
"It doesn't matter, that's not what I'm worried about. What am I worried about is, whether it'll be like this every single time." Alex answers, taking a deep breath in between. "And then there's the issue of… my condition, it's like I've been violated. It's not just you that knows about it now, this private investigator knows about it."
"Anyone watching you, looking suspicious around you, following you?" Erin asks.
"But I didn't find out about this on my own." Alex continues without acknowledging the previous question, still in disbelief at how it happened. "This… person just shows up at my doorstep, picks the lock to get inside, slams Tyson to the ground and whispers to me…just out of the blue… that she knows and I'm like… it's not possible, but it is and I just broke down."
"It's really that bad huh." Erin comments.
"You won't know, you don't have to live like I live, you don't have what I have." Alex retorts.
"I know, I never said I did. But you're the only one who can keep yourself, not just your condition, but also your behaviour. I'm always here for you as I hope you can do the same for me; but nothing I can do can change who you are. The physical side is easy but the mental side is what gets everyone." Erin explains.
"Speaking from experience?" Alex asks jokingly.
"Just look at everyone passing by." Erin says, turning her camera to show various people walking through the paths of the university as she sits on a bench near a tree. "They've all got problems, unfinished work, more study to do, assignments to submit; it all adds up."
"Those problems aren't like my problems at all." Alex comments.
"My point is, it's how you get past them that counts. There's no doubt that problems and issues are everywhere, but there is a solution out there to them, it's up to you to find it and use it so that you come out better than you were before." Erin explains.
"Okay, tell me how to stop a crime lord from destroying me bit by bit." Alex commands, trying to poke holes in her logic.
"I wouldn't call him a crime lord, more like… your arch enemy." Erin corrects.
"That sounds lame." Alex replies. "Besides, arch enemies are for heroes in comic books. I'm like, as far away from that as possible."
"You're not like that, You're like… somewhere in the middle. Not a hero, not a villain. It's like we're in the grey area, the perfect place to hide." Erin explains.
"So you're in this as well." Alex replies
"Think about it. Was dad as bad as the police said? Was mum as good as the police said? I think they were in the middle area too." Erin explains.
"That explains why they got together." Alex comments.
"And why we're like that as well." Erin adds. Just the act of talking is making Alex feel better at the situation he's facing. They watch each other in silence, Alex doesn't want to hang up, even with the impending signal stopping channel tunnel up ahead.
"Well, I guess I'll talk to you later." Erin says. "See ya."
"Bye."
Alex switches the phone off and 30 seconds later, the cabin of the train loses all natural light and the sound becomes amplified as it descends through the depths underneath thousands of tonnes of seawater and earth. The only thought on his mind is how long will this take until he can call again. But after another 10 minutes, the desire to talk some more just goes away, he hadn't forgotten about it, but rather he focused more on trying to think about his own problems and how he could combat them inside his head. The tunnel ends and the trains cabin lights up again, becoming too bright for some passengers who shield their eyes from the sunlight. Alex is reminded to call Erin by the sudden change in luminosity; he gets his phone out again but stops just as he is about to call. Alex realises that he has to change himself just like Erin had suggested.
Paris, France. 2:21pm, 4th November 2032.
A bitterly cold day has the weasel hiding under several layers of clothing; a long sleeve shirt, then a jumper and a thick trench coat to ward off the winds that are channelled by the buildings flanking either side of the streets. His leather-gloved hands are stuck inside the pockets of the trench coat, the right hand holding firmly onto a set of keys, the left onto a briefcase. He's walking quickly to get out of the wind as fast a possible, it's not the temperature itself that is the problem, but the wind's icy chill is penetrating without the right clothing. He fumbles the key out of his pocket and swipes an electronic tag against a reader to get inside. With all the clothing on, each step is weighty with all of the clothing he has on, even if it's only one story he has to climb. He unbuttons the coat in preparation of hanging it on a hook he has near to the door, along with other to hold other items such as his keys. He unlocks it and opens the door, to which he finds something peculiar hanging on one of the hooks.
Meet in the living room, don't surprise me.
The weasel takes his overcoat off and reaches for his gun, magnetically powered of course in this age, which is holstered on his waist. The living room is just to the left in his apartment, with a deep purple coloured wall only 3 metres long being the only thing separating their view from each other. The weasel sneaks up against this wall with his gun in front of him, the barrel pointed to the ceiling. Once he reaches against the wall, he listens out for any rustling that might indicate this intruder's position. He then turns around the wall and points the gun at an armchair in the far right hand corner of the room, but there is no one sitting on it. The weasel then looks for other places an intruder could be hiding, including behind the armchair itself, but there are very few places to do so. He suddenly feels a force pulling his gun, it makes him loose grip on it before it simply vanishes into thin air.
"I said, don't surprise me." A voice says from right in front of him.
"Who's there?" The weasel asks, trying to be brave but inside he's petrified, putting his hands up.
"Sit down."
"Who are…?"
"Now, if you please."
The weasel goes and sits in the armchair, wondering what's in store for him today. It's definitely more intriguing than the incidents of missing pets or finding people having affairs. A figure emerges from the room opposite the armchair.
"Remember me?" Alex asks, holding the gun in one hand and the cane in the other.
"How could I forget? The only free person who can turn invisible." The weasel responds. "How's your sister? If I may ask."
"University, but not because of anything you did, that's her choice." Alex replies.
"Good, one Cooper is hard enough to handle, two would be an impossible task." The weasel adds. "So, I guess you didn't break into my apartment just to have a chat."
"How many people know? About, me and disappearing?" Alex asks. "You made a file about me 10 years ago, saying that it was possible that I could do it. Well, recently that file was leaked, someone broke in and copied it. I need to know that there has been no one else that knows about this file."
"It wasn't you then who broke in?" The weasel asks. "If not, do you know who? May I get up and show you the file?"
"I've seen it. A fox, large ears, white tan fur, same build as me, about 20 cm shorter than me, similar age. You're an investigator, you should be able to solve it with that information." Alex replies. However, the weasel knows exactly who he is describing.
"I'll look into it." The weasel replies casually, but still uneasily due to the way he's been cornered in his own apartment.
"So, does anyone else, know?" Alex asks with a slightly more escalated voice.
"Of course not, I had no use for it. Now… I might need to keep it in an easy to access place." The weasel says.
"Okay." Alex replies, calming down. He looks at the gun and tosses it into the weasel's lap; he tries to catch it before it hits him in case of an accidental discharge. "Do that, but it won't help."
Alex begins to walk towards the front door to leave the apartment, knowing that what he set out to achieve has been completed.
"I hope I don't need to meet you again." Alex replies before he turns the corner down the corridor towards the front door.
"Why? Don't like having to empty my gun?" The weasel retorts as Alex walks out of the apartment. He doesn't know why he did this; it's not that much of a financial inconvenience for him since he has the correct permits. The weasel could tell just from the weight of the gun whether or not the magazine was empty, which was confirmed after he separated it out from the main body. Did the raccoon really fear for his own safety? It must be the only reason he thinks, he's didn't act confidently or cockily; he didn't take out each bullet in front of him just to taunt him. In which case, this must be the optimal time to track him down and catch him in the act. But that job won't fall to him, going after Cooper is a monumental task which he's had way to much experience at first hand. He's content with doing his own little bit by not disclosing the fact that the exact person he was describing was the same junior agent he gave the same profile to only yesterday.