Chapter 11: The Darkness Beneath Part 3

The front door is open to Lannis' house. A steady stream of somber mourners arriving with a parade of homemade dishes being carried into the house... and then a frozen entree, the plastic wrap still on it, fresh from the market. John is among them. No trench coat, he enters with his head bowed, less out of respect and more to avoid drawing attention. John shuffles into the house with the others.

Mourners cluster in small groups, paper plates in hand. Keeping his head down, John makes his way toward the stairs. Along the way, John passes a cluster of old framed family photos. Generations of miners. Haunted eyes peeping out from coal-masked faces. John lingers on these photos a moment, drawn to his own past. Then he spots yellow tape across the entrance to the hallway, with Beth's handwritten note: PRIVACY PLEASE. Glancing around to make sure nobody is watching, John ducks under the tape and heads down the hall.

"Smooth" Snart commented.

As John enters the bathroom, he spots a coal handprint on the door frame. Curious. John steps into the room and grimaces. The shower area shows the devastation of the flaming nozzle. Smoke damage on the walls and ceiling. John eases closer. The shower floor is horribly scorched, except to outlines where Lannis' bare feet stood. John considers this, then turns his head to look up at the showerhead. As he watches, a single drop of black liquid rolls out. It quickly dawns on John that this may not be the smartest move, and he wisely pulls his face from the nozzle's path, just in case.

"No, don't move. It's such a good idea, staring into a flamethrower shower head."

John studies the nozzle from the side. He gingerly unscrews the showerhead, lifts it away, and runs his finger over the screen inside of the pipe. Comes away with a dark sludge on his finger tip. Looking around, John grabs an aspirin bottle from the counter, pours the pills down the sink, scrapes the sample of slurry from his finger into the bottle, and caps it.

"Disgusting."

"Find what you're looking for?" Beth says from off screen. John swings around, startled. Beth stands in the open doorway, holding a glass of red wine, another faint coal handprint on her forearm.

"As a matter of fact, no. My name's John Constantine. Philly Inquirer. I didn't see you out front with the others."

"I've been hiding back here. Wishing you'd all go away."

"You've got some coal... on your arm there." John hands the widow a washcloth. She dusts her arm off.

"There's no escaping it around here. The soot. The grime. It seeps into every pore and fiber."

John points towards the shower. "This doesn't make any sense. If you don't mind my asking... what do you think happened?"

"Does it matter? Lannis is gone."

"Yes it matters."

"If you help me, maybe I can write a story that celebrates his life."

"Because our life was just one big celebration."

"I'm sorry."

"You're sweet."

"That's something I very rarely hear."

"What?"

"John Constantine and the word sweet in the same sentence."

"Oh"

"I've heard rumors there's something not... natural down in that mine. Your husband ever talk about that?"

"You want a story? Okay I got one for you. It's about a Romani girl from Wales, whose father loved her just a little too much. But she got letters from America. From a rich man who wanted to marry her. Make her his queen. Said he was a captain of industry. Failed to mention it was coal. The teenage girl moved to America and grew old and barren in a clapboard house, but... she was the queen of coal. Now, will that story sell papers?"

"Probably not."

"We can talk at a later date."

"Why? I'm free now." Beth sets down her wine. She grabs his tie and looks longingly against him. He respectfully twists free. Beth looks down, drunk and humiliated.

"Look, you're a lovely bird…"

"Awkward…"

"Obviously."

"Get out." She says softly. He begins to leave. "Out. Out!"

"It's okay. I'm going." John exits. Beth moves after him. He moves down the hall and into the living room. The mourners all stare as Beth follows.

"I want you gone."

"No need to make a scene. I don't want any trouble."

"Get him out! Make him go!" Among those witnessing this is Thad Bowman, a senior rough-neck, standing with Owen Perkins, one of his managers. Thad nudges a couple of broad-beamed miners to come with him, and moves toward John and Beth.

"What's the matter, Beth? Who's this?"

"He says he's a reporter." She answers. Thad's eyes narrow as he stares balefully at John.

John is thrown hard into a wall. The two broad-beamed Miners hold John against the wall, one of them frisking him. Owen lingers behind, nervous.

"Nobody messes with my people. What do you want here?"

"It's like the lady said, I'm a reporter."

"Without a wallet?" Thad asks as the minor frisking John turns up nothing.

"Thanks Zed."

"You're welcome."

"Are you sure?" John asks before it dawns on him "Bollocks. That bloody girl." He looks at the miner "Where'd you learn to frisk somebody, mate. I got I.D. Right rear pocket."

The miner reaches around John. John turns back to Miner Two and delivers a wicked combination of street punches that knock him down. John turns to make sure Miner Two is still down and Thad's fist strikes John's jaw, sending him to his knees. Thad holds his hand, and John his jaw. Behind Thad, his men slowly climb to their feet.

"Ouch."

"I'm going to ask you one more time. Who are you?"

"I take it you're the mine boss."

"I think that's pretty obvious."

"I'm the President of NorPenn Mining Company. And you are upsetting the widow of one of my respected men."

"From what we've seen, I highly doubt he's respected."

"We both know that ain't true, chief."

"Take it easy, Thad. He might be with Environmental Protection." Own breaks in. Thad ignores him.

"This one? Not a chance."

"In a way, your associate here's correct. You got a not so natural disaster down in that mine. I know it, and you know it. What I can't figure out is why the problem came above ground to kill one of your men."

"That's one way of looking at it."

"I don't know what sleazy tabloid you write for, but I got my hands full with scared miners. They need their wits to stay alive in the best of conditions. The biggest threat to them is parasites like you, spreading fear and panic."

"You heard 'em, too. Didn't you? The knocks."

Deadly serious, Thad steps closer "Go home. If I see you again you'll be dragging yourself home by the arms. That's a promise." He and his men leave.

John leaves as well. He drags himself toward his room. The door swings open. John wearily enters. We're surprised as it's the honeymoon suite, pink walls and all. John reacts when the door slams closed behind him on its own accord. John spins to see Zed defiantly standing in front of the closed door.

"Almost as stalkerish as that angel from the last episode."

"I'll give you this, you are persistent."

"One way to describe her."

"The honeymoon suite?"

"I always get the honeymoon suite. Lots of extra room, good energy."

"You dropped this." Zed hands him the wallet. John checks it.

"There was ninety quid in here."

"Are you su-"

"She will not be joining your crew."

""Must've dropped that, too. I described you to the very nice young man at the front desk. He said you're registered in the name of Caligari. Bud Caligari. ID and the boarding pass in your trash say your name is John Constantine."

"The garbage again? A girl after my own heart... Zed."

"How do you know my name?" She asked, surprise evident in her voice.

John pulls a credit card receipt from his pocket, "Credit card receipt from your trash."

"Ah, so I did make an impression…"

"Call me balmy, but I like to know who's stalking me." he reads the receipt, "Vegan Almond Milk and Chicken in a Biskit crackers. Tells me you're a woman at war with yourself." He tosses the receipts, sits on the bed, folds his arms. "Now, about this stalking business."

The entirety of the audience stared at the man, silently judging him. He ignored them. He thought he heard the word stalker whispered.

Zed is visibly angry at the man on the bed now, "I'm not stalking you, I… I've been seeing you in my head. For months. And now suddenly you're here. Don't you want to know why?"

"In my line of work, I never seek answers to questions that needn't be asked."

"What is your line? I know nothing about you, but feel like I should. My drawings. My visions. Running into each other today… it's destiny."

Zed blushed as this was said. It was slightly awkward for everyone to see the moment.

John is losing interest in this conversation and begins to take off his clothes. "If destiny's what you're looking for, luv, take my ninety quid and put it toward the lottery."

"Really, Mr. Constantine? Couldn't you leave your clothes on until you were in a different room?" asked a slightly annoyed Time Master. It was more than a little awkward.

"You mean something to me… maybe I mean something to you, too."

"A reason to elevate my personal security."

"So you both are stalkers." Mick commented. He continued to crunch down on popcorn.

"I know men like you. Hiding behind bravado. Everything's a joke. Well it isn't to me. I have visions I can't control, and sometimes feelings." A glimmer of vulnerability shines through. She is desperate for an answer and John sees this.

"Listen, Zed, I'm starting to like you. But not enough to let you stay. Time to move along." He passes by her to open the door but she grabs his hand. John tries to pull away but she holds tight.

"Desperation. Pain. Loneliness. These are the things that motivate you. What kind of man is motivated by such things?" John pulls away as she says this. He looks at her, hard.

"Clairsentient. Or just a lucky guesser. Okay, you want answers? Park it." He points to a chair. Zed sits in it. "You'll do exactly as I say, you understand?"

"Yes."

"That's not a good idea…" Anne Marie warned to woman

Zed shivered, she remembered that moment as clear as day, "I really wasn't"

"Then why did you do it?" Jax asked with piqued interest.

"Close your eyes. I want you to see an image in your mind. A blizzard. Total white out. Everywhere you look, white. Filling your senses, absorbing all sound. All sound except the sound of my voice. Are you with me?" He says this calmly and quietly. He quietly pulls out the vial of sludge from the shower and removes the cap. "Good. There's a white dove lost in the snowstorm. You can't see it but you need to save it. Open your senses. Hold out your hand and let the dove come to you… now." As he says now he drops the sludge into her hand. She jolts and screams.

She is in place of Lannis. A stream of flame shoots straight at her. She raises a hand defensively. Her hand incinerates before her eyes. Her eyes shoots open. Instead of seeing John, she sees the silhouette of a six foot tall cross as it towered over him.

John calls Zeds name. She comes back to reality. "You saw the fire." John states as Zed breaths hard.

"Was that the man in town? Who burned?"

"What else did you see?"

"A cross. A tall cross."

"There, there, luv, you did a bang up job. We're onto something, you and me. I'll grab a quick change, then we're getting to the bottom of this." John grabs fresh clothes and disappears into the bathroom. The shower turns on.

Zed settles down, waiting for John. She notices the untouched clean towels on the bed. She walks to the bathroom door, "Hey? John?" She receives no reply, "Constantine!"

She tries the door. It is locked. She suspects she's been had once more. She steps back and kicks the door open. The shower is running, the window open. John is nowhere to be found.

"Seriously? What if he actually had been in the shower?"

End Chapter