Chapter 30

A Meeting in the Woods

"How is he looking?"

"Owen's alive," Noah said simply in response to Jason's question. Jason was standing at the end of Owen's bed where the young man was sleeping, his head wrapped neatly in bandages. The three harsh blows on the way down had caused three different cuts under his hair, his left ankle was broken, and a potential fracture in his wrist. It was impressive to watch the doctors of Hearthome at work – Noah himself having been treated by Jason's doctors – and it was at least a positive reminder that there were people in Hearthome who did their best. It was perhaps the only glimmer of positivity though, as Owen may have been alive but the damage had been done. "He thinks Oscar is gone. Dead."

Jason nodded as if he had been expecting this answer. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Noah shrugged. "This is the list. We both know this is how it works. Save who we can. Continue when we don't."

"I never really experienced the list like this," Jason said quietly. "By pure coincidence I was away from everybody else. It was only because I was looking into the DSI at the time that there were people around to question me, and then they saved me, else I would have died without even knowing what was going on. I never experienced the sensation of saving others. I just simply wasn't involved in that side of things."

"It's not a position I would recommend," Noah said.

"I'd guess not. How are you holding up, Noah?"

"Fine." Noah shrugged again. He meant it when he said it. Yes, there was sadness and disappointment at what had happened, but in times like this you simply had to move on. Focus on what was next.

"As always, if you need to talk to Johann then I can set that up."

"Did you tell Johann about what we talked about in the cupboard?" Noah asked, the professor's name prompting the question to leave his lips quickly.

Jason stared at Noah, his green eyes filled with complex emotions. Finally, Jason crossed his arms and simply said, "No."

"How did he find out?" Noah asked. "He apologised on your behalf for the mission you gave me."

"Did he now?" Jason stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well, Johann is one of the smartest men I've ever met. I wanted him to help you patients for a reason, after all." Jason dropped his hands back down. "You think he's one of the masked men?"

"I told you, I don't care about that."

"If you didn't care, you wouldn't have raised the issue," Jason said lightly. "Look, Johann is a survivor of a list. It cost him his arm. If he was part of that group, he wouldn't need to have interrogated John or taken Ollie and Imogen."

"You told me not to trust anybody."

"It's true. But don't presume people are guilty either. Professor Schneider is trusted by the highest members of the DHP. That means we can be pretty certain he's not somebody to worry about. I'm not sure how he knew what we talked about, but as I say, he is a smart man and has a habit of knowing what people know just by talking to them."

"…Do you know about Gareth watching me from afar?"

Jason sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I do. Why do you know that?"

"Johann brought Gareth with him. To let me know that Gareth would be always watching."

Jason glanced out one of the windows above Owen's head. "Well, when I told Johann I wanted to keep it from you, he objected. I guess he felt like you deserved to know. I'm not sure I'm happy with him disobeying me, but then again, he doesn't actually work for me in that regard so…" Jason looked back at Noah. "Look, I think I need to have a conversation with Johann. Are you going to stay here?"

"For now," Noah said. "I might go find Robyn in a bit, she's got her head full of books recently."

"Understood. Oh, and Noah. It was nice having a proper conversation. Take care." With that, Jason left the medical bay, letting the door close behind him. Noah stared after him, realising that he had spoken a little more than usual, more similar to how he would speak to Robyn or Doctor Evans. Was he growing comfortable in his present, or was he just playing ignorant? Unsure of the thoughts slowly starting to swirl in his mind, he sat back down at Owen's bedside.

Jason walked swiftly through the corridors and up the stairways that led to the administrative room that had become his haunt during his confinement at Hearthome. What Noah had told him had worried him. While Johann Schneider was almost certainly not one of the masked men, the fact that he was acting on his own especially using Jason's own men was a mystery Jason did not particularly need right now. Johann was a good man, though, Jason knew that, so it was less of a worry and more simply a peculiarity.

"You know, I usually know what Gerald is thinking. You're a much harder read."

Walking at his side was Lily, hands in her pockets as if she were casually strolling to a park. Her presence was extra strange for Jason. Seeing phantoms was not unusual but Lily seemed much more… human… than the phantoms he had known. Maylene had appeared to him often in the last clothes she wore and the marks about her neck. Lily's head was completely in tact, no sign of the fatal injury that had caused her death, and she was wearing all her clothes; including the black leather jacket that had been taken from Lily's resting place underneath the TRSI building in London.

"And apparently you're going to ignore me like he sometimes does as well?" There was good humour in her question, no offense visible on her face.

"Sorry. Just thinking how different you are from phantoms that I know."

"That's 'cause I'm special."

"I can't deny that. I mentioned before how you're a very special case," As Jason walked, he made saw to speak quietly and to check up and down the corridors. He didn't need anyone seeing him talking to the air. Lily was an ideal asset and he wanted to keep her a secret as much as possible.

"So are you worried about this Johann guy?" Lily asked.

"Not in a way that is of particular urgency," Jason replied. "No, I'm more worried that I might be falling into a trap."

"A trap?"

Jason came to a stop and looked at Lily. "I've split my force. I believe it's necessary but it is also risky. Berlin. Barrett. Rhino. Wasp. I've known three of them my entire duration in the DHP. I personally selected Barrett to join my squad. The five of us together make a particularly foreboding team. In fact, there is only one other team that can give us a run for our money and those guys have the bonus of practically having superpowers. I mean, I can see dead people. It's not quite the same as shooting fire out of your hands or being able to teleport."

"These… abilities… right?" Lily cocked her head, curious. "You mentioned them before. The world seems a crazy place."

"More crazy than you might realise. A lot more has become publicly known since your time."

Lily frowned. "You make me sound old."

"What I mean is that the supernatural part that the DSI tried to keep hidden for so long kind of exploded in on us. When people started…" Jason suddenly stopped. He narrowed his eyes at Lily. "You seem to have a good habit of making people talk to you."

"Must be my charm," Lily grinned. "Despite his best efforts, Gerald would always end up talking to me a lot as well. Anyway, Jason, I have a question about these abilities you mentioned."

"What about them?"

"Who can get them?"

Jason shrugged. "Anyone at anytime. I'm not much of a scientist but it's to do with DNA and bloodlines. The stronger the blood, the stronger the power. At least, that's what I remember hearing at one point."

"Do you think I am the way I am because of an ability?" Lily asked.

Jason considered her face for a moment and saw she was being completely serious. In that case, she was owed a serious answer. "If I had to give an educated guess, I don't think so. Everything about you matches up to what I know of phantoms. People can't see you, hear you, or touch you."

"So why can Gerald hear me, even if he can't touch me?"

"That, I don't have a guess."

"I know you talk about phantoms, but I can't really, truly be dead, right? I mean…" Lily took a long breath. "I remember that night. I remember what she did to me. I know where I sit now. But… I don't feel any great calling. I don't feel some God talking to me. Or is it like this for everyone who dies, and the world is just full of ghosts that can't see each other?"

It was Jason's turn to take in a long breath. "People move on when they die. Their souls leave their bodies to head out into wherever. That's not a theory, that's simple scientific – or I suppose, supernatural – fact. It's a reality many of us in the last year have had to come to terms with. The question of what comes after death has been a great mystery to philosophers and worshippers alike. So when that question got answered, well… it shook people. Lily. I suspect you are here just like Maylene, my ex, used to be for me. Your connection with John is keeping you grounded."

"What if that connection is severed?" Lily asked quietly.

"Well, from what I've seen of the two of you that's not going to happen. You two are far too entwined. But… it's not like you'll suddenly disappear if something were to happen. You still have to make a conscious choice to move on. When Maylene and Ellie did that for me… it was the saddest day of my life. It was like experiencing their deaths all over again. But it allowed me to move on."

"That's not particularly comforting." Lily frowned. "What if I don't want to move on?"

"Then don't," Jason shrugged. "Just note that you've lost your body and that body is one part of what makes a human. You're a soul and that means that there's somewhere else waiting for you, somewhere else that chances are will be better for you. No one truly knows but… well, let's just say you're talking to the one person who has been able to talk to those who have been there."

"Man, you don't hold back punches do you, just outright saying I'm not human." Lily chuckled dryly.

"That's the point, Lily, and I don't mean to upset you but I need you to understand. You're not human in the physical sense. This interaction you have with me – as soon as Hearthome is done, I will leave – and you will have to go back either to following John and talking to him, or wondering off elsewhere but never being talked to or interacted with again. That sounds sad if I'm being honest."

Lily nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Which is weird to say. But… one more question…"

"Yes?"

"If I were to be able to pick up something. Say like a… pencil or a pen… what would that mean?"

"Lily. I'm not going to give you foolish hope. You will never be able to interact with the physical world." As soon as Jason said those words, Lily broke out into a grin that was most disquieting, especially considering the nature of their conversation. "What?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." With that grin on her face, Lily just smiled sweetly, leaving Jason to wonder just what was going on in that mind of hers.

John found what he was looking for after about an hour of walking through damp mud and leaves. His shoes and hem of his trousers were coated in mud not that John minded. In fact, being out in the woods surrounding the Hearthome hospital, a place where no resident was allowed to go, feeling the breeze rustle his hair and tickle the part of his face that actually still had nerve endings was wonderful. Not having Lily next to him, talking into his ear, was wonderful in its own way as well, although John had to admit that it was a little disconcerting being away from her for so long.

Instead of the talkative Lily, he instead had the pleasure of the two mostly silent soldiers called Rhino and Wasp, whose whispered conversations on the edges of his hearings was perhaps even more annoying than Lily's constant commentary. Those whispers started up again as John came to a stop in a clearing about the size of a tennis court, the grass long enough to touch the back of John's kneecaps.

"If you're going to talk, talk to me," John finally got fed up of the whispers and turned around to look at his two guards.

Both were wearing their uniforms that made them part of the DHP. Rhino was tall – nearly as tall as John himself – but unlike John he was broad with thick shoulders and meaty arms. Wasp was perhaps two foot smaller than the both of them, peering through yellow goggles that she had put over her eyes as soon as they had left the gates of Hearthome in the van – smuggling John out as if he were a piece of cargo. The van had been parked at the tall, closed gates of the Hearthome grounds and it was from there that John was told to find Conner Shepherd and that Rhino and Wasp would follow him. He couldn't remember the real names Jason had introduced them as, but John didn't particularly care about that.

It was Wasp who replied to John's words, looking around the clearing. "We were wondering what your plan was."

"Then why didn't you just ask me?"

Rhino scoffed light-heartedly. "You're not exactly talkative. You've not spoken a word since we left. We weren't sure whether you wanted us to talk to you or not."

"Better you talking to me than murmuring around me like children," John sighed. "Anyway, I've just completed my plan."

Wasp and Rhino exchanged glances. John didn't need to be able to see behind those yellow goggles to see the doubt in the small female's eyes.

"Look, I've been tasked with what I suspect to be a near impossible task. To find Conner Shepherd. If you guys can't find him, and if the orderlies can't find him, then what makes your boss think I can find him? Well, your boss is a smart guy, and he knows that I'm a smart guy." John walked into the centre of the clearing and looked up to the white puffy clouds in the sky. "So here's my plan. I'm not going to find Conner Shepherd. I got no clue where he is. I don't care where he is."

Again, the duo exchanged glances. "So…" Wasp started. "If you think you can just try and run away from us, we're here not only as your guards, but to make sure you do what you've been asked. You've been given a very special oppo—"

John interrupted her with a long sigh and a roll of his good eye. "Save me the speech. You see, he and the girl went to my room looking for me. Looking around. Looked at my notepad. Wanted to solve a crime in my room. The guy's curious about me. The guy wants answers on what happened. And when somebody like him wants answers, he'll stop at nothing to get it. So no, I'm not going to find Conner Shepherd. Conner Shepherd is going to find me."

"That's thinking awfully highly of your value," Wasp said with a frown, clearly not pleased with John's tone. "You've got me and Rhino with you. To say Conner does not like us would be a big understatement. With the two of us here, he's not gonna suddenly emerge."

"And we're not going to leave you. So perhaps you ought to come up with a better plan. Jason seems to think you'll be able to find him so find him, not wait for him," Rhino continued.

John smirked, staring straight ahead. "Do not underestimate curiosity."

At the spot John was staring at, there was a rustle of leaves and bushes. A moment later, a figure appeared, covered in mud, knotted hair, but sporting gleaming eyes and a wide grin.

Conner Shepherd did not look away from John as he walked out from the bushes. Rhino and Wasp were silent, watching in shock, amazed that it had been this simple for Conner to appear. Conner came to a stop in front of John, staring up at the taller man.

"Well, well, well… If that isn't a look that suits the Enigma, Bridge," Conner said. His eyes were playful, excited, almost beaming with pleasure.

John crossed his arms. "As your look suits you, like a filthy animal. Suited for the Ripper."

"Well now, for a first meeting, that seems a little rude," Conner chuckled. "What, pissed off that I know who you are?"

"Who I was. My name is John. You need to come with us."

Conner glanced to Wasp and Rhino who were watching from their distance. He gave them a small wave. "Getting right to the point? I've got so many questions I need to get answers to. Let's not rush this."

"I'll rush this all I like. Jason is the one who wants to talk to you. He just needed me to find you."

"So he used you as bait," Conner nodded. "Sounds like Jason."

"And yet the little guppy took the bait."

"You don't seem to like me much."

John leaned down so he was looking Conner in the eye. Conner did not waver from the withering gaze. "I do not like you. In fact, I despise you. If it wasn't for the favour I am doing, I wouldn't have anything to do with you. You are the worst kind of human being. Murdering innocents, hunting them down. The atrocities you've committed should have put you in the chair years ago. I don't like many people. I actively hate a few people. You? You are a stain on the name of what it means to be human. The way Robyn talks of you, you come across a knight in shining armour. That armour was rusted and broken the moment you murdered innocents. She is naïve. Young. Doesn't see past that façade you are putting on."

"Façade?" Conner's eyebrows shot up. "Says the man who doesn't even know what his name is. John, Bridge, Gerald… Pick something and stick with it why don't you. What gives you the right to act so high and mighty? Some washed-up superstar who has a hero complex? Why do you give a crap who I am. My past means nothing to you. I was given my pardons, I am living my punishment. So get the fuck off your high horse. I'm not the guy I was back then. I'm not claiming I'm an angel but I've changed."

John sneered. "Scum like you cannot change."

Conner's mouth twisted back, the two of them head-to-head like dogs of opposing yards. "You can't just pick and fuckin' choose. If you can change and call yourself John and be a different person, then so can I. If you can't change and I'm who I was, then you better change your name back to Gerald Ryoushi!"

John's fist hit Conner square in the stomach, a hook from a blind spot. Conner doubled over, clutching his stomach, coughing.

"You and I are fundamentally different. I do not kill innocent children, I do not take people's futures away from them before they've even got started!" Each syllable was pronounced and full of venom. It was rare for John to feel such anger but for somebody like Conner and the things that Conner had done, every ounce of it was well deserved.

Conner slowly straightened up, one hand on his stomach. His face showed no sign of pain though. Instead his eyes were gleaming dangerously, his smile sharp like a knife. He stepped one step closer to John, never taking his eyes from John's own. John did not waver and stared down at Conner, their faces mere centimetres from each other, John looking down, Conner looking up.

"Go on," John goaded. "I know you want to hit me back. I can practically see the blood-lust in your eyes. Come on, killer. I know what Noah saw in his vision. I know he saw you murder all of those innocent folks. So come on, Ripper, come on!"

The gleam disappeared from Conner's eyes at John's words. He sucked in a breath through his teeth, lowered his shoulders, and took a single step back.

"Look at you, Uncle Freddie would be so disappointed," John's words were mocking and full of ire. Conner threw his head forward so fast that the last word had barely left John's mouth before Conner's forehead connected with John's jaw. The blow was so hard that both men tumbled down to the grass – John fell to his back and Conner to his knees.

From their vantage point, Rhino and Wasp both winced in unison. Wasp went to move but Rhino put a big hand on their shoulder. He shook his head slowly. Wasp nodded and stayed back.

Still on his knees, Conner panted, his forehead split open from the sharpness of John's jaw. A sliver of blood beaded its way down his left eye, trailing a crimson path down the side of his face. John slowly crawled to one knee, the dry skin of his burn split open just under the teeth, raw skin exposed underneath, already welling with blood.

As the blood dripped past his lip, Conner narrowed his eyes. "I am not a killer anymore… but if I gotta beat some fuckin' respect into you, I'm game."

John put one hand against the open wound on his burn scar and pulled away his stained fingers. "You deserve none of my respect, Ripper. Let's see you take on someone bigger than you for once."