It had taken Brium nearly twenty-five minutes to stitch up the handful of injuries that had needed that particular treatment.
The massive gashes on his chest, shoulder, and both sides (entrance and exit) on the puncture wound on his arm were the first candidates the be sewn up. Several smaller wounds had followed, though for the mass majority of his injuries he had simply applied some gauze and duct taped them up.
The gash on his forehead had a three inch strip of tape over it; Brium imagined he might've looked slightly ridiculous and/or insane. Either would work to his advantage with what was to come.
Brium now stood shirtless, looking like a badly damaged doll. This was the most, outside of the School, that he had ever been injured.
He noted with displeasure that the cloths he had been wearing were now utterly useless. They were now little more then tattered, blood soaked rags. The shorts he was still wearing were not as bad off, and they would last a little longer, hopefully. Until his next shopping trip which needed to happen much sooner than originally scheduled.
The three pack of socks was ruined, too; Brium had needed the extra two pairs to wipe blood off of the wounds that needed stitching; the socks he was wearing were badly stained with blood, and had been removed.
His shoes seemed quite well off, all considered; his socks had absorbed most of the blood as it oozed down his legs. They'd be fine for awhile, anyway.
Jeb was breathing softly a few feet away. He moaned every now and again. Brium had kicked him in the stomach several times to make sure the man stayed immobile, and had warned that similar treatment would be inflicted if Jeb didn't stay put.
Needless to say, Jeb hadn't tried anything.
Brium took a sizable gulp of his Power Aid that he had retrieved from the cooler, and he glanced around at all of the bodies; both the multiple Eraser's and the girl's.
Shortly after immobilizing Jeb, and before treating his injuries, Brium had retrieved his pistol and had proceeded to walk around and check each body making sure they were all dead.
Seven Erasers were only mortally wounded, and a quick shot to the head had finished them.
Brium had made sure that Jeb had watched the entire procedure; the man had looked on with complete horror. This had been the first time that Jeb had seen how far Brium would go would maintain his freedom.
If only he realized that Brium was still just getting started.
It was nearly six fifteen now, and within an hour the sun would set and light would be lost. Brium decided that Jeb had waited long enough with a sense of impending dread, and it was high time for some questions to be answered.
Brium drained the rest of the Power Aid, and picked up the cooler full of ice.
He still felt quite woozy; the immense blood loss was certainly affecting him. His body would utilize every milliliter of Power Aid, and new blood would soon begin replenishing his system.
So, barefoot, shirtless, and carrying the small red cooler, Brium moseyed through the bodies of Erasers, and arrived at Jeb's slightly moving form.
He set the cooler down, pulled his Harpy knife from his pocket, and let himself fall into a cross legged sitting position in front of Jeb. The knife was still dripping with some of Jeb's drying blood.
"So, where were we?" Brium asked, opening the cooler.
He already knew where they were.
There, in the middle of the ice sat Jeb's pinkie finger, which Brium had traded for the Power Aid a few minutes prior.
Jeb didn't answer at first, and that gave Brium time to glance at Ari to make sure the wolf boy was still unconscious.
He was; still pinned to the ground like an insect.
"Oh, I know," Brium said. And boy, did he "Question and answers. I'm going to ask some questions Jeb, and I'm going to receive the answers relevant to those questions. Do you think you can do that?"
Jeb looked up. It was evident he was fighting a look of fear.
"Don't do this, Brium," he plead.
"My dear Jeb, I've only removed one finger. If I get the truth delivered in a quick, sincere manner, I won't have to clip off any more."
Jeb didn't answer; he cradled his injured hand with his good one.
"Alrighty, Jeb. Again, I'm going to ask questions and every time I don't get the answer I'm seeking, I take a finger. If we get through all my questions with satisfactory responses, I'll give you your severed fingers back," Brium patted the cooler of ice. "I'm sure you have Doctors working for you that could reattach them in a jiffy…"
Brium raised an eyebrow. "Do you feel me, Jeb?"
Jeb just moaned slightly.
"Okay, then... Question one: How did you find me?"
"We found your ID number, and tracked your recent uses. Found the motel you were staying in." Jeb responded monotonously.
Easy enough. Brium noted he would need a new fake ID soon.
"How did you find that out?"
"We have numerous people out looking for you," Jeb said. "It was only a matter of time."
"Uh huh," Brium replied, satisfied with the answer. "Next question. What happened to Dr. Ruby Foster?"
Jeb made a sound; it wasn't an answer.
Brium held up the Harpy knife in front of Jeb's face. "Answer the question, please," he said softly. "And don't lie. Or I'll know."
"She's dead," Jeb whispered.
"How?" Brium asked.
"What do you mean?"
Brium lanced his arm out, grasped Jeb's left hand, pulled it free of the man's right and summarily cut his ring finger off.
Jeb gasped in pain; Brium let him pull his once again injured hand back. Brium dropped the ring finger besides Jeb's pinkie in the cooler.
"You know what I mean," Brium stated. "She was murdered, wasn't she?"
"Yes," Jeb gasped out.
Brium's smile faded. "Who gave the order?"
Jeb didn't answer, and Brium made a quick fake move to grab Jeb's hand again. Jeb flinched away.
"Who... Gave... The order?"
"The Director."
Brium nodded, "I thought as much. I won't ask you where our Madam Director is; I doubt you'd know that. I'll find her myself soon enough."
"Brium, you can still stop this," Jeb was trying again. "Please…"
But Brium wasn't going to stop now.
"And go back with you?" Brium shook his head once. "Moving on… Where is Mikhail? I'm sure you know where he is; he works directly for you."
Jeb was very nearly in tears, it seemed, "If I tell you, I'm afraid you'll kill him."
"If you don't, I'm afraid I'll kill you."
Brium held up the bloody knife once more, "Tic tock, Jeb."
"He's at the School," Jeb whispered, knowing he had probably condemned Mikhail to death.
He had.
"Thank you," Brium said, eying Jeb's distraught expression. "Oh, don't feel bad, Jeb. Mikhail's not exactly a prime example of a good man. I don't believe he'll be missed very much."
Brium glanced at the body of the girl, a few feet away. "Speaking of, he trained her, didn't he?"
"Yes," Jeb confirmed.
"Hmmm. She was good, that one. What did you do to her?"
Jeb had lost two fingers, and wasn't in the mood to play games. "We genetically engineered her to be stronger, faster, smarter-"
"Obviously," Brium cut him off. "What was her name?"
"She didn't have one," Jeb said, rolling over, still cradling his hand.
"I thought not. Well, nor do I, really. 'Project Equilibrium' isn't exactly something you put on a birth certificate." Brium raised an eyebrow and looked to the sky, "Though I don't believe I have one of those, either…"
"Please stop this, Brium."
"Oh, I will. Sooner or later, depending on how you respond," Brium sighed. "So, what's with this 'flock' I keep hearing about?"
Jeb moaned, and Brium mentally counted to ten.
"Okay, then." Brium quickly cut off Jeb's middle finger, adding it to his collection.
Jeb gave a slight scream, cut off by Brium punching him; fairly softy, actually.
It still had to hurt.
"Enough of that. What's the story behind this flock?" Brium repeated. "I'm going to grow tired of asking, and you're going to grow tired of having fingers removed."
And Jeb told him all about the six individuals that comprised the flock. Brium asked for names, physical descriptions, the works.
He got it all.
He was most surprised at Fang's mention. The kid was alive.
It was good to know.
"How did they escape?"
Jeb smiled slightly, bleeding from his head a bit, "I helped them."
"Did you? And what angle were you playing when you did that?"
"It's a test. To see how well they survive."
"Ah," Brium nodded. "Are they proving satisfactory?"
Jeb laughed; he actually laughed. "Well Max is doing what she can. Fang's being a little more out in the open then we'd like."
Brium returned the laugh, thinking of the football game "I suppose so."
"You remember Fang, don't you?" Jeb asked.
"I do. And reminding me doesn't help your situation. You set that little match up, if I'm not mistaken."
That wiped the smile off Jeb's face.
"Speaking of setting things up…" Brium whispered. "Los Angeles. August sixteenth, 2004. Did you mastermind that? Did you give that order, Jeb?"
Jeb looked really scared now; he didn't answer.
Brium grabbed Jeb's shirt collar and pulled him close until their faces were only several inches apart.
"Did. You. Give. That order?" Brium hissed.
"Yes," Jeb whispered. "I did."
Brium released Jeb, and stood up from his cross legged sitting position. He swapped the Harpy knife to his left hand, and pulled the pistol from his right pocket. Every move hurt to do; Brium had an extraordinary threshold for pain, but everything simply hurt to do.
He still had three rounds left in the pistol after using the other seven on various wounded Erasers.
"Then you are, of course, aware that they killed her?" Brium whispered.
"They weren't suppose to," Jeb whispered back. "They were only supposed to-"
"Capture me?" Brium finished for him.
"Yes."
"Ah," Brium pointed the pistol at Jeb's right leg. Jeb tried to flinch away.
"Don't move, Jeb. If you move, I might shoot you somewhere else, an artery for instance. That would be bad. If you let me do this correctly, it'll hurt, yes, but it won't cause any… 'permanent damage'."
And Jeb stopped moving. He closed his eyes and waited.
Brium fired one round into Jeb's right calf muscle.
Jeb cried out in pain.
"She was sixteen years old. She didn't know anything about you, or your operations. She didn't know who, or what I was, Jeb. She was innocent."
Jeb was now cradling his leg, writhing around on the ground.
"Okay. We'll take a quick recess," Brium said. He moved back o where he had hidden his things, picking up the shotgun from under the Eraser with a broken neck.
Brium retrieved his backpack and jacket from the bushes (he had decided that the blood left on his body had dried enough) He put the jacket on.
He walked back to a moaning Jeb with the shotgun in one hand and the backpack in the other. He set the backpack down, and once again sat cross legged in front of Jeb.
Brium put the empty shotgun in his lap, and pulled out one of the five shells he had in his pocket.
"So, what possessed you to come after me today? I mean, obviously you wanted my capture, but why now?"
Jeb breathed out hard.
"And you mentioned that I'm more important to you than you knew. How am I important?"
Brium loaded the shell into the shotgun and reached into his pocket for another.
"How am I important, Jeb?"
Jeb still hadn't replied. Brium loaded the second shell; he put the shotgun aside and pulled out the Harpy knife once again.
"Jeb?" Brium said, "You have one finger left on that hand. Then you're down to the thumb."
"The Director wants you dead," Jeb said. "This was the last chance she gave me to bring you in alive. After this, they'll be out to kill you."
"Ah," Brium sighed.
"So please, stop this now and come back with me. I'll explain everything to you if you just come with me." Jeb said, trying to sit up, and grimacing in pain at the attempt.
Brium checked Jeb's blood loss and noticed it wasn't as severe as it seemed at first glance. Jeb would be just fine after a few days recovery.
"You're trying to give me an ultimatum?" Brium laughed. "I'm giving the ultimatums, Jeb. And my ultimatum to you is you tell me why I'm so important or I take that pointer finger."
Jeb looked physically tired. "I didn't think you were capable of something like this, Brium."
"I told you you'd say that again… When you're pushed, Jeb, you can do anything," Brium informed him. "And I've been pushed. So very far."
Jeb was more than likely bluffing with Brium on how important he was. Jeb simply wanted him back, so by feeding him a story like that, it would make him more inclined to believe Jeb.
As if.
Brium closed his knife, and pocketed it. He pulled out the pistol once more. He ratcheted the slide back, ejecting a live round, and he swiftly caught it. He held in between thumb and forefinger in front of Jeb so Jeb could see it.
"You see this, Jeb? This is your life I'm holding right now. Notice that the bullet, the shell and the gunpowder are all in one place, and the primer is intact. It's all right here."
Jeb's eyes flashed from Brium's face to the 9MM bullet and back.
"Now, if you were dead, Jeb, the primer of this round would be discharged, the gunpowder would be burnt away, the shell would be laying around here somewhere, and the bullet would be lodged in your brain." Brium took a breath. "All of the components of this round would be strewn all over the place, and it would signify your loss of conscience existence in this world."
Brium looked Jeb right in the eye and knew he had the man's complete attention.
"Since the components are all still together, you're still alive."
Brium could tell he had lost Jeb completely. He needed to clarify.
"In short, Jeb, right here in my hand I hold your life," Brium dropped the bullet on top of Jeb's fingers in the cooler. "Your life, right at this moment is mine. I can do with it what I wish. And now I'm giving it back to you. On certain conditions."
Jeb looked at the 9MM bullet, laying on top of one of his severed fingers.
"Pay very close attention, Jeb. I'm only saying this once, and there's no going back for you if you fail to follow." Brium still had Jeb's undivided attention.
"If you ever come after me again, I'll kill you," Brium didn't break eye contact. "If you ever send Ari after me again, I'll kill him, and then I'll kill you. In fact, if anyone comes after me with the intention of taking my freedom, I'll kill them… Then I'll come for you, Jeb. And then you'll have to work excessively hard to prove that you weren't involved, and then work even harder to stay alive."
Brium stood to his full height and looked down. "Can I make that any more clear?"
Jeb shook his head, wincing in pain. "No, Brium… You can't…"
"Good…" Brium sighed again, and looked around, glancing at Ari to make sure he remained still.
He went to great lengths to keep that kid alive. It would be so much easier to just kill him.
"I won't again ask why I'm important to you, Jeb. Being important to you and being important are completely different things."
Brium slung his backpack on; he still held his knife.
"Give me your hand, Jeb. The left one."
Jeb looked up with a pleading stare.
"Do it, or I'll take it and maybe not give it back," Brium said quietly.
And Jeb slowly raised his left hand, with three fingers missing.
Brium took it, flipped it palm up and carved a huge X across the entire palm. Deep enough to leave a large, permanent scar.
Jeb flinched once again, but didn't make a sound.
"So you remember what was said today," Brium said, letting Jeb's hand go. "I'm giving you your fingers back, too. Thank you for your cooperation."
He leaned down, closed the cooler and picked up the shotgun, noting how much it hurt his entire body to do so. Brium straightened back up, and prepared to leave. He was going to walk to a field nearby and fly away.
It was time to go to Dallas.
It was time to meet the flock.
Brium turned to leave.
He only got a couple of steps when Jeb spoke.
"You loved her, didn't you?" Jeb said from behind him. "That girl in Los Angeles. You loved her?"
Brium didn't move. He didn't blink. He didn't breath.
"Yes," he finally said, not turning around. "I loved her. And you took her from me… So, Jeb, I feel compelled to inform you… that I'm capable of anything."
Brium turned back to face the man who had been integral to his creation.
"I'm capable of everything."
Jeb nodded. " I hope so... I really do, Brium… Because you're supposed to help save the world."
Author's Note:
This is the longest andbest chapter so far, I'm sure, and it'll take a lot of work to outdo this one.
Again, does anyone know the date that Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports takes place in? Any help would be great!
And thanks again to you all for your consistent support. This story probably wouldn't be continued this fast (or even maybe at all) unless the massive support from you handful of people didn't support it so much.
Thanks to you all!