Chapter 26 – The Vertical Drop
Oxford, London. 7:54am, 8th November 2032.
Even in this age where technology has an iron grip on the world, with it's flashing screens and easy access to just about anything on earth, Alex still reserves a place for the sunrise. There is always something so beautiful and magical about seeing the glowing orb of constantly fusing hydrogen exactly one astronomical unit away rise from below the horizon, regardless of the place. Seeing the darkness turn to light so gradually that you couldn't figure out if and when the brightness changed or the shadows moved positions, it just seemed to happen. This love of this particular sight is easy for someone of Alex's qualities to experience. When he was a child, it would be from the top of a pine tree when he was separated from the concrete jungles of the world. Now, he finds the tallest building nearby and sits on the roof much like this morning. Having gone to the top of Erin's building and with his sleeves drawn to their maximum length, he's now sitting against a central heating system and using it's warmth to help him ward off the old as he stares out into the distance.
"May I join you?" Matt asks. Somehow he just knew he'd be up here on the roof of all places. Maybe the raccoon has vertigo, he thinks.
"Why are you up here?" Alex asks softly, like he doesn't want to disturb the sun, or himself.
"Why are we here? Why is everything …out there?" Matt asks, purely to have some fun.
"I don't know." Alex answers, even though Matt wasn't intending for an answer to be given. "Maybe…"
"I, didn't want answer. I was just messing around." Matt replies before sitting himself down on a vacant section of the roof cross-legged.
"I tell you, I've seen the sun rise at least, 100 times and it never gets old. Each time is as mesmerising and as spectacular as the last. The high up I am, the better it looks. The absolute best, best time I've seen it was in the middle east, in Abu Dhabi. It was from the very top of a skyscraper that was under construction. It must have been about 500 metres tall at least. I climbed so many sets of stairs I can remember the pain of it all in my legs. I got to the highest level but the sun was about to rise, so I was about to sit down and then I saw the crane, which went even higher. So, even though my body said no, I pushed on to the very tip of the crane, to the absolute highest point and the view was that much sweeter for it. Being that high up, all of the cars, and the traffic, and the noise all seemed to evaporate before it even got up to me. That was until some construction workers spotted me… but that's a different story." Alex recounts.
They both stare across the town, over the countryside, and across to where the colours go from orange at the horizon to light blue and to darkness behind them. It all feels wrong now for Alex, that something is just not right about the situation; something in the ambience around him has changed for the worse.
"I should go inside." Alex says, suddenly feeling disinterested in the sight. "I haven't eaten yet."
Matt doesn't say anything, but his mind is probing for a reason. He wonders if he has violated some sort of sanctity that Alex has or perhaps he simply wanted to be on his own. In any case simply follows him back down to the cramped apartment where the floor had become the bed for Matt and Tyson.
"We should head off to the US soon if we want to figure out what Le Paradox is up to." Matt explains as they both walk down the stairs. Alex doesn't respond, but Matt can tell what he's thinking from the look on his face. It's a dejected, almost defeatist look which Matt wants to snap out of him. Unexpectedly, he pushes the much taller and stronger Alex against the wall.
"Don't you see what he's doing to you?!" Matt explains harshly. "He's breaking you down, crushing your spirit, and you can't let that happen! He wants to have us under control this way. We, and especially you, have to prove that he's wrong. You're not going to make it this easy for him. You will prove that, for all of his money, for all of his power and for all his guards; they're worthless because you have something which can defeat them all!"
There is silence as Matt waits for Alex to hopefully complete the sentence; but he's lost, confused in it all.
"Hey!" Matt says, snapping his fingers in front of the racoons face. "It's you! They can't stop you from being Alex Cooper."
"They could if they brainwashed me." Alex comments. This infuriates Matt, it's the negative attitude which hurts him the most.
"You've GOT to stop this!" Matt instructs. "Where was that guy who appeared on top of that roof last night? Where was that guy running across London rooftops with ease? He was much better you because he was happy, he was skilled but most of all, he believed that he could do whatever he wanted. It's really surprising…" Matt says before he begins to walk down the stairs, when he gets to the bottom, he finishes his sentence.
"…he looked a lot like you!"
Alex takes a deep hard think at himself. He's got all of these people around him who want him to succeed, but he's slowly shifting away from that group. His inaction is now impacting deeply on the one's closest to him, those one's who believe he can reach into all of his potential and become the best. How many motivational speeches does it take for him to snap out of this rut he's put himself in? Not enough.
He's right…I know he's right but… I'm not going to be the best. I'm not going to be better my dad or even anyone before that. They're all legends… infamous in their own right. Dad saved the world at my age, and I'm just a kid who can't even save himself.
"Then when does it stop?"
He didn't realise that he said that out loud.
Maybe Antonio has answers, if he's the expert; and where's he been anyway? He probably doesn't care as much as he says.
Alex trudges slowly down the stairs, lumbering with every downward stride absent of the more traditional lightness of feet he would usually display unconsciously. He thinks about contacting Antonio, wondering why he hasn't got back to them about the location of Le Paradox. Where are the diamonds he promised or the rise to the top he inferred at? Just like himself, he thinks, he is a let down. Alex gets halfway down the last flight of stairs before he halts, he doesn't want them to see him in such a poor mental state; if anything it gives him a reason not to allow himself to viciously implode and give away all of his ability, talent and promise that his friends hope he can use. One reason is enough to stop him from doing so. He forces his way to the door… but he can't open it. Not because it's locked, but because… he just won't allow himself inside in such a state. He's so frustrated that he can't stop it himself that he wants to punch a hole through the wall; he wants to shout so loud that everyone is woken up; but he is forced to internalize all of his anger, frustration and rage for the opposite reason. He will not allow himself anymore to get other people to be adversely affected by his actions.
There is nothing more that he would like than to find a dark corner where no one could see him and just hide in it; but he can't settle for more than to lie down on the floor and face the wall and look at how the paint on the walls is of a higher standard than he is. He reaches out with his ungloved hand and feels the subtle texture of the plasterboard wall, because… it's the only thing he can do. Reduced to nothing but a blithering and blubbering mess. He doesn't know how long he lay down on the ground for; doing it makes it feel like an eternity. It could easily have felt like it was an hour or even a whole day when it's only about 2 minutes. The only thing that gets him up is when the door to Erin's apartment opens and Tyson walks out and nearly trips on the unseen obstacle being Alex's legs. Tyson uses his feet to feel out where Alex is.
"He's out here." Tyson says to inside the apartment.
"That didn't take long." Erin comments from inside the flat.
"Come on." Tyson says, bending down to carry him inside by the ankle. "Let's get you inside."
Alex is dragged in effortlessly by the tiger, both because dragging Alex is a minor workout for Tyson and the fact that Alex doesn't put up any resistance. Tyson drops his leg once he's pulled him inside.
"This'd make a great mime." Tyson comments, but the other are not too keen on taking the funny side of it.
"Alex?" Matt asks. Alex doesn't respond and Matt instantly fears the worse. The hard thing for the rat is to figure out where all of his body parts are, there's nothing for him to aim at. It's like trying to find someone in the pitch black darkness. Matt bends down with outstretched arms and touches down on his torso before feeling upwards toward his neck to feel for a pulse, which to his relief he finds.
"Alex, speak to me." Matt says with worry, he hopes that he hasn't gone into such a poor state because of what he said; it would definitively crush the rat.
Meanwhile, Alex is going through the permutations in his head of doing something which he never considered an option throughout all of his life. Something so… weak and cowardly it would surely cement his place amongst the dustbin of thieves.
"I can't take it." Alex says weakly, like a combination of being half asleep and lethargic. He wants to say those next three words… he so desperately wants to say those next three words. With the three people staring down on him, it silences Alex momentarily. But he has to do this… it's the only step he thinks he can take. In one brief moment of defiance, even if he is defying himself, he makes known his next intention.
"I…give up."
The traditional simile to describe what they felt next would be something akin to a car crash, but that is not adequate. If all of the nuclear bombs went off in the world, the sun went supernova and the universe imploded; we'd only be part way there. Winning roulette 100 times in a row, tossing a coin and getting it correct a million times in a row was more probable in Erin's mind than hearing what she just heard.
Her initial reaction is simply that she doesn't accept it. He's just acting off, that's all.
"Say it again." Erin challenges, she wants to hear him affirm his decision before she takes any further action. When all she hears is silence, she decides to act. What she does next is about as improbably out of character as what Alex has just done. She lashes out at her own brother or of sheer anger, not even Tyson can hold her back. She is utterly offended by what she has heard.
"Get up!" She shouts at Alex as loudly as she dares. "I'm going to punish you until you regret that decision!"
"Get! Up!" She repeats. But she can't hear him or see him. She kicks him again, and again, and again. The abuse would have continued until she had petered herself out had she not been defied by the weakest person in the group.
"Stop!" Matt shouts, his voice packed with desperation, pointing his Taser gun at Erin in the cramped apartment room. "I won't let you do this to him! He may not be able to stand up for himself, but I will! You hit him one more time and I'll shoot, I won't hesitate."
If there ever was loyalty, look no further.
"Okay… put the gun away." Erin calmly asks, composing herself back to normal.
"How could you do that? To your own brother?" Matt asks, still pointing the Taser at her despite most of her anger being gone.
"Being a master thief is his dream, I won't allow him to give it up so easily. He'll be wasted if he's chained behind a desk, because he is a natural born thief and that's what he's best at. I did it for his own good." She explains. Matt slowly holsters the pistol into the pocket of his pants and looks around for what to do next now that the dust has somewhat settled. Matt understands the reasoning behind the harsh tone that Erin has adopted in dealing with her brother, so he decides to take a similar stance with a much more docile attitude.
"Food." Alex says weakly.
"Alex, I know you're hungry, it's your responsibility to get it for yourself, which means you'll have to get off the ground."
"I'm calling your dad, and I'm going to tell him that you'll be accepting his job offer." Matt explains. Alex doesn't react because he has gone to sleep from being invisible for too long, which also brings him back to normal sight.
"Did he hear anything I said?" Matt asks.
"Doesn't matter, you did everything you could." Erin complements, whilst at the same time realising that Alex could not have done anything to stop her. This makes her instantly regret her abuse, however she needs to hide and bury it as deep as possible so they can now help Alex. The time to apologise is not now.
"We'll deal with Alex first, it's too cramped in here for us to use this as a hideout for all of us. Tyson, you're going to pick him up and take him downstairs into a taxi, you'll go with him to his dad's house and put him inside. He's asleep because he got drunk, got it?" Matt instructs.
"He got drunk… fine with me." Tyson agrees.
"Alex doesn't drink, or even party that much." Erin notes.
"Any better ideas?" Matt asks as he dials up for a taxi.
"He got drugged?" Tyson contributes.
"Let's stick to drunk… wait, because of those pills. Yes, that's it." Matt says, sure he's got the right excuse now.
"So… he got ruffied?" Tyson says.
"No, just stick to drugged. The walrus is a doctor; he's going to know the difference." Matt explains before calling the taxi.
"I should go with him." Erin says. "To make sure he actually follows through."
"Hold on." Matt says, trying to listen for the person on the other line. "Yes I need a taxi as soon as possible."
"On it's way."
Matt hangs up and puts the phone down, going straight from task to task, not realising who he actually spoke to.
"Now, Tyson, you take him down now. Once that's done, I'm hoping that we could go after your possessions." Matt explains to Erin.
"I'd wait, just until Alex is okay and sorted before we do anything else." Erin insists.
"Okay…" Matt says, seeing that Tyson already is carrying Alex over his shoulder and about to walk out of the door. "…let's do this first."
The three of them go down the stairs, not caring about anyone who may think about this weird situation when they see it. They get to the ground floor, but a taxi is not waiting for them. It's the chauffer with his luxury car gleaming in the morning like it's been buffed to within an inch of it's paint. He stands holding the rear door open with perfect posture.
"Cool taxi." Tyson exclaims as he walks towards it.
"I didn't ask for him." Matt says.
"Nevermind, just get him inside." Erin says. Tyson takes the raccoon off his shoulder and places him gently into the rear seat.
"So, I'll go with him?" Tyson asks for clarification.
"We can't lift him out. Erin you'll go as well. I'll stay here and set up for the heist to find the skunk and get your stuff back." Matt quickly explains, but he's thinking at a much faster pace than either of them. He's already running back inside to the apartment to make sure that his stuff hasn't been stolen since they were outside. Erin goes into the front seat and Tyson sits in the back next to Alex. The first thing he notices is a cool looking VR kit hooked onto the rear seat. Erin is more concerned that Alex doesn't have a seat belt attached as the car pulls away.
"Put his seat belt on." Erin commands. Tyson grabs the buckle and tries to pull it out but it catches because he pulled too hard. He tries to pull it softly but still it catches. Next, he goes in the opposite direction and yanks it as hard as he can, which offer no help.
"It's stuck." Tyson says.
"Pull it softly." Erin instructs.
"I've tried that, it still won't work." Tyson says. However, the chauffer presses one button in an electronic menu and the seatbelt begins to move by itself, reaching around Alex's body and clicking into place, before automatically tightening itself to a comfortable tension.
"That's freaky." Tyson exclaims, Erin is mildly surprised. The chauffer continues driving as if nothing had happened, always with his eyes facing forward regardless of the situation and yet he can see everything happening the in vehicle at any one moment. Now that everything has calmed down, his attention turns back to the gizmo hanging innocently on the back of the drivers eat which he's sitting behind. He looks at the headphones + ski goggles combination and puts it on but all he sees is everything in a darker tint. He takes it off, looks on the VR system for an on button switch and finds it on the side of the headphones. Now that it's working, he places back on his head. The only new thing it shows, floating just behind the front seat in white 3D text stacked one on top of each other is 'Call, Recent, message.'
There is no instructions on how to use it, but the text is so mesmerising and unnatural in how it floats in the air, and stays fixed in it's position inside the car regard of how Tyson moves his head. He can see the sides and on the top or below, and it still floats in the exact same spot. Like a fly approaching a fluorescent lamp, he wants to touch it in order to put his hand through it. He reaches out slowly, just in case it might shock him. When he does touch a word, 'recent' it turns green like a traffic light. The other two disappear and the main word goes to the top before revealing all of the recent messages and calls made, including their identity, length and time. The significant bulk are made to Antonio Regazzoni, but there are some outliers which Tyson doesn't bother to look at, he just remembers that the name rings a bell. He reaches out to the name and touches it, prompting the system to call. The list of recent calls goes away but the single name remains and floats magically over to the centre console along with the jarring aural sensation of a dial tone. There is no picture, but he does hear a voice.
"Sir, with all due respect… no… no... Can't you just overpower them instead of all this hiding? Get it done with quickly… yes… yes of course… everything else is ready... The location of the vault is all that is needed… sorry sir… I'm terribly sorry sir… I'll forfeit some of my portion… you're too kind, really… right you are sir… 24 hours? Make it 12… sorry, 24 it is then."
Tyson doesn't know who this voice is but he was making some other phone call without realising that there was another one in progress.
"Oh… sorry to keep you waiting, that was all part of something unrelated. I am Antonio's personal assistant Rasmus." The broad chested husky explains. "Antonio is not available but I can service your needs in any way."
"Um, who are you again?" Tyson asks.
"I'm Antonio's assistant Rasmus, anything you need I can get."
Erin turns back to see Tyson wearing the virtual reality set before turning back to face the front with caution.
"Um, can you get me… a million pounds?" Tyson thinks, like making wishes to a genie.
"That is something I can't give without his express approval."
The glove box opens automatically in front of Erin thanks to the chauffer, which reveals a set of wireless headphones that will allow her to listen in on the conversation.
"Um… what else can you do?" Tyson asks, confused as to what he should do.
"I can get equipment, locate jobs… anything except handing out free money." Rasmus explains. But Erin seizes upon the opportunity.
"Ask him where Erin Cooper's gang is hiding." Erin instructs.
"Where is Erin Cooper's gang hiding?" Tyson asks.
"Let me check, it may take a bit of time so just wait." He explains. After less than 15 seconds, he comes back into view with an answer. "They're in Central London, Threadneedle street."
"Thanks." Tyson says before he hangs up.
The car continues on into the city, with Erin occasionally looking back apologetically at Alex in his slumber to make sure he is okay, she's lucky that she can't see any bruises on him since Tim will begin to ask questions which she won't want to answer. After some time in the traffic, they arrive at their destination. The chauffer remains as solid and unaffected as Erin gets straight out of the car and helps her sleeping brother out of the car by putting his arm around her shoulder. Tyson comes around more slowly to prop him up from the other side whilst he holds Alex's backpack by the cane. Erin knocks on the door with her free hand whilst she thinks of an adequate way to surround Matt's brief idea in some believability. Some time passes but he's not there, so Erin takes it upon herself to open the door. She looks for a place where a spare key could be found, but Tyson is looking at something more important.
"Look." He says, seeing the cars roll in down the street. Erin turns her head as well and feels the sheer annoyance of what she sees.
"Someone has to get rid of him soon." Erin remarks. His repeated unannounced visits are driving her insane. The two cars pull up to right outside the house with the rear window wound down. As soon as the car stops in the middle of the road, he opens the door and gets out.
"Get him inside, we'll take him someplace safe." Jeremy instructs, moving towards them both. He looks like he genuinely wants to help them out, but Erin doesn't want to take a chance with him.
"Stay away!" Erin scowls at him.
"Please, just get him inside quickly, and I'll take you to your gang." Jeremy offers.
"We already know where they are." Tyson says casually, but Erin wants to stop him from saying it, fearing it would reduce their advantage over the skunk. "You don't need to tell us."
"Don't you want to see your friends?" Jeremy asks. "I thought…"
He underestimated the bad blood between them badly, he has barely enough time to step back away from the two of them. He doesn't see exactly what happened until she stopped moving. She holds the cane which used to be lodged in Alex's backpack in front her, whilst holding her brother up, thrusting it at the skunk to make it back away.
"Go away! Last chance." Erin shouts in desperation, swinging the cane again to show her hostility towards her. The skunk's presence has twinged all of her nerves, almost as much as the nerve she thinks this skunk has to come here at this sensitive time.
"Don't do this, you don't know what you're doing." Jeremy warns whilst he timidly puts his hands up in front of his body to prove how powerless he is in this situation.
"Run!" Erin shouts, she would to beat him to a pulp if she wasn't holding up Alex. "Don't ever come back!"
"I'll come back another time when you're not so angry and when Alex is a bit more awake." Jeremy says more casually as he turns his back on Erin to walk back to his waiting car.
"Hold him." Erin whispers to Tyson as he pushes Alex's arm across to Tyson before turning to sneak up on Le Paradox to send a painful message. She readies the cane and swings it at him as hard as possible, coming in from the side. Even as she swings it the skunk has not reacted, so it with a great surprise that Jeremy has stuck out a hand without looking and grabbed the hook of the cane before he could be struck. He stops momentarily like a statue, with Erin in total surprise, and twists around to face her. Weirdly, he's smiling at her.
"Did you really need to do that?" Jeremy asks disappointedly before having a tiny laugh. Erin tries to tug the cane out of his grip but she discovers his hand is as strong as a vice; he will not let go. "I offer to help you out and all you can think of is violence? If you show violence, then I'll respond with violence; bad, sickening, deathly violence."
His tone reeks of disappointment at such an uncontrolled outburst.
"Now I'm going to let go, okay... and you're not going to try the same thing again." Jeremy warns. He spreads out his fingers, releasing their grip on the cane which Erin slowly retracts back. "I want to help. That's why I came. Please, get in the car… and we can clear the air and sort everything out."
"We don't have to be enemies." Jeremy announces. "We can work together and…"
He can hear the door opening from inside their house, so he stops his little speech and waits, hoping he can add a new dimension to his argument.
"Sorry Erin I was…" Tim begins to explain before he sees the full extend of what is happening right outside of his house. A large tiger holding Alex who appears to be asleep and Erin squaring off against a very wealthy businessman. "What is going on out here?"
"Sorry about that sir." Jeremy replies as he reaches into his jacket pocket. "Minor quarrel, nothing to worry about."
The skunk flings a business card in her general direction before turning around to enter into his car before he is whisked away from the scene like he was never there. Erin picks up the small white piece of thick paper, which contains the address of where he is along with a simple message.
'Come by 1800 if you want in'
She wants to tear it to bits but decides against that, the information may help them out later.
"What's happened with Alex?" Tim asks to Tyson.
"He got drugged." Tyson answers.
"Why didn't you call an ambulance?" Tim asks. "You're lucky he's not sick."
"I'm sorry." Erin apologises.
"He's not going to die Erin, he doesn't look that bad." Tim reassures Erin to make sure she won't exaggerate. "Can you um… carry Alex inside and I'll examine him?"
"Okay doc." Tyson remarks as he lifts the raccoon inside along with his backpack and places him on a bed whilst the others follow inside.
"I'll leave you to it." Tyson says before leaving.
"He's not unconscious, but he's deep in REM sleep." Tim says he opens Alex's eyelids to see that his eyes a moving rapidly around randomly.
"Has he been asleep all night until now Erin?"
"Um, no. I think he was up about an hour ago but I don't know." Erin replies, she's thinking it's only a matter of time before Tim realises that what he's seeing does not add up to the explanation he received.
"He's not drugged or poisoned. I don't know why your friend said that, but Alex is asleep… in a very deep sleep if he can't hear us and is not waking up." Tim explains. "When exactly did he go to bed?"
"About 10 last night… but he was awake this morning, he's only been asleep less than an hour." Erin says nervously.
"That can't be right, a person can't go straight into REM sleep… there's various stages he has to go through…" Tim continues to explain… unaware that Erin is getting something out of Alex's backpack. An envelope to explain it all.
"Here." Erin says, holding out the brown paper envelope whilst struggling to make eye contact. "Just read it."
'What's this?" Tim asks.
"We've lied to hide this from you, I hope you will understand why." Erin says, looking back at her sleeping brother half in fear that he won't like this decision and half thinking that this is for the best. "Please don't tell anyone about this, please… please don't tell anyone."
The walrus takes out the first page, Bentley didn't make it easy for anyone to instantly discern the meaning of this paper since it's titled 'Biological removal from the visible EMS'. He scans through it quickly, looking for the word REM, in order to figure out what is happening with Alex.
"The subject will go into instant REM sleep after prolonged period of EMS removal, the time period of the sleep and invisibility vary in proportion to each other but the precise correlation in unknown." Tim reads out. Erin was expecting some huge reaction from her adopted father but he gives none. He could tell that Erin was afraid of a reaction and dealt with it accordingly by staying unchanged; something he's gotten used to in the medical practice when having to tell patients of the various ailments they have contracted.
"Well… the only solution is time." Tim says handing back the papers to Erin. "Right… well, I've got to head off to the clinic now. You keep watch of Alex until he's awake, and when he does, call me."
He leaves the room, leaving only Erin to stay with her brother; lying there on the bed, sleeping…