Special (5/?)
Title: Special (5/?)
Word Count: 7,512
Pairing: Nixon/Speirs hints of others.
Summary: All over the world, people are waking up with extraordinary abilities. Not knowing how they got them or what to do, they will soon discover that they are not alone. They are all connected. They are all special.
This chapter's a wee bit long huh? BTW midterms eat my life. So it took forever to get this up. Anywho. Links to previous parts inside.
Disclaimer: I’m not making any money off of writing this story. It’s entirely fictional and based on the performances given in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and not the actual soldiers. Any ideas or phrases borrowed from the NBC show Heroes belong to the writers of that show, not me. I don’t own anything…so please don’t sue me. I wrote it for your enjoyment so…enjoy!
Here are links to the previous parts-
Part 1-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/351591.html
Part 2-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/352546.html
Part 3-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/355060.html
Part 4-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/357484.html
George and Eli Luz, Brooklyn, NY
“You think this guy is going to come here? Try to kill me?”
George couldn’t believe he was hearing this. It was bad enough that he had to worry about being hunted down by whoever had abducted him but now there was a serial killer after him too?
He looked over to where the younger FBI agent was talking with his son as Eli finished his homework, and then back to the blonde man who was currently explaining everything, “What should I do?”
“I don’t think that we can be sure where they’re going to go next. We called the local police and they’re going to send a couple of squad cars out here to watch the house. If you don’t object my partner and I will stake out the house too, just to be sure. I doubt they would risk coming here with that many people, and if they did, at least you’d have protection.”
Luz couldn’t help but wish he and Eli had somewhere else to go, but he knew their options were limited. But if what the Agents were saying was true, Eli could be in danger.
Call him a conspiracy theorist, but there was no way this stuff could be unconnected. These abductions and killings were happening for the same reason. Maybe he’d been able to keep Eli safe from his kidnappers but his son could still be a target for this killer.
Finally George nodded his assent, “That’s probably a good idea. I just want my son to be safe.”
The man, Agent Compton, nodded and waved his partner over. George went back to Eli but made sure to listen in on their conversation.
“Christenson-call Ron and tell him we’re pulling an overnight watch here and for the two of them to book a flight to California and start working on the leads over there. It’s probably better if we split our specialties and time between our two target states for now.”
“Um should those two really work together on this?”
“Ideally I would go with Ron instead but, we’re already here. They’ll work it out. Make the call.”
“Fine- sheesh I was just asking.”
Luz smirked at the petulance in the younger agent’s voice before sitting next to Eli, who smiled up at him.
“Dad that guy is a real FBI agent! How cool is that? He said that he gets to solve all sorts of crimes and stuff and that he even gets to go undercover! I asked him if I could see his gun but he said it was too dangerous…”
“Well he’s right! Eli what have I told you about guns? You know what-we’ll rehash that later. Did he tell you why he was here?”
Eli shook his head, “No he just said not to be worried, that you’d probably explain everything to me.”
Luz couldn’t help but shoot a curious glance over at this Agent Christenson. Eli didn’t always take such a shine to people.
“Well the thing is that these nice Agents are going to stay here and keep an eye on us because there may be a very bad man looking for me. So they just want to make sure that they’re here in case he finds me, okay?”
His son sighed and gave him an irritated look, “You don’t have to talk dumb to me. What’s really going on?”
George knew that Eli would understand the seriousness of the situation, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell him all the details. The last thing he wanted was for Eli to have to live in even more fear.
Ruffling his son’s hair he stood up, “The truth is that you’re going to be sleeping in my room tonight, go brush your teeth and get ready for bed.”
Eli shrugged and hopped up to leave, but not before waving enthusiastically at Agent Christenson, who was talking on his cell.
The agent waved back, hung up the phone and looked over at Luz, “That’s a smart kid you got there.”
“Yeah, thanks for talking to him. He thinks all the police stuff is cool.”
The young agent gave him a bright grin, “Well maybe I’ll get to be his boss one day.”
Luz laughed, “God don’t let him hear you say that. It was bad enough back when he used to want to be a firefighter.”
“I used to want to be a firefighter…my parents kind of put a stop to it after awhile.”
“Why?”
“I kept setting all my sister’s dolls on fire so that I could rescue them. I tried to argue that I needed the experience but they weren’t having it.”
Luz laughed, enjoying the man’s casual attitude in comparison to the stoic Agent that had interviewed him about his abduction. “What’s your name?”
“Burton Christenson.”
“You want a cup of coffee Burton? I don’t think I’ll be getting to sleep anytime soon.”
“That’d be great sir.”
“Just call me George. “
“That’d be great George.”
Lewis Nixon, NYC, New York
“Lew?”
Nixon felt a strong grip on his shoulder and was shaken out of a foggy state he hadn’t been aware had taken over him.
Looking around he realized he was at his and Ron’s apartment.
How had he gotten there? The last thing he remembered was Ron talking to
Christenson on the phone, and then telling him they had to go to California in the morning. But…that had been back at the office.
He looked up into his boyfriend’s concerned eyes. A far cry from the eyes that had looked upon him with such contempt and pity earlier.
“Ron? What the Hell’s going on? What time is it?” He suddenly realized how much darker it seemed outside.
“Almost 10:30, I thought you were only going to be a couple of hours?”
Lewis shook his head, “What are you talking about? 10:30? That’s not possible…I was just at the office with you, and it was only 8:00.”
“You don’t remember? We had been talking about our...whatever…fight I guess and then you said you needed to take care of something before we left in the morning.”
“We did? I did?”
Ron shook his head and gave Lewis a confused look, “That’s it. You obviously need to rest. All this traveling back and forth has made you screwy.”
Nixon just nodded his head and let Ron grab his shoulders to steer him towards their bedroom. Ron was already in a t-shirt and boxers, but Nixon knew he hadn’t slept due to the perfectly made up bed.
Normally Lewis would leave it in a state of disarray, sheets all over, but Ron always managed to fix it up. He suddenly realized how long it had been since he had slept in this bed, with this man.
This case had been keeping him away. Maybe he should just be grateful that they were now going to work on it together.
Sighing he flopped down on top of the covers, not bothering to undress and looked up at Ron, who had a barely concealed look of amusement on his face that made Lewis smile back.
One thing he could be grateful for was whatever he had apparently said about their argument that had caused Ron to smile at him again.
They were at home now, no more FBI bullshit to deal with, not tonight. Tomorrow yes…but at this moment they were okay. They would be okay, Lewis was sure of it.
“I’m sorry but I have a policy about shoes in my bed-don’t wear them.” Ron remarked as he pulled off Lewis’s shoes. Smirking, he grabbed Lewis’s now loosened tie, pulling him up off the bed and proceeded to push his jacket off his shoulders.
Lewis chuckled before leaning his head back and stealing a kiss from smiling lips. Wrapping his arms around Ron’s waist he pulled the other man down and on top of him, sending them both falling back onto the bed.
“Don’t you mean our bed baby?” He teased as he stripped off his clothes, just barely catching another unreadable look on his boyfriend’s face.
But, whatever it was, it was gone as soon as it appeared and Ron rolled his eyes. “Oh that’s right. I forgot you lived here too. You know, I kept wondering where all those empty vodka bottles were coming from.”
“Haha,” Lewis laughed sarcastically, determined not to let this dissolve into another fight like earlier.
Rolling them over so Ron was on his back he leaned down to kiss Ron’s neck when he noticed a red mark developing in the spot where his lips might have gone.
“What’s this?” He asked curiously pressing his fingers against it.
Ron raised an eyebrow and touched his neck as well, “I don’t know, because I can’t see it. I guess I got bit by a bug or something.”
Part of Lewis, a part that didn’t feel like him at all, wanted to know what that ‘or something’ might be. But they hadn’t been this at ease around one another in awhile and he really didn’t want to blow it now.
Shaking his head he kissed the spot, as if to make it better, and smiled down at Ron, “What do ya say we mess up the sheets?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
George and Eli Luz, Brooklyn, NY
George laughed hard as Agent Christenson recounted tales of his job, this one being an unfortunate incident in which he had apparently gotten kicked in the face by a dancing stripper while he was chasing a fleeing suspect across the dance stage.
“Man that’s pretty bad. I doubt I could top it.”
“I don’t know… I think accidently stabbing Eli’s second grade teacher in the neck with a pencil in front of all the other parents came pretty close.”
“Hey I told you I didn’t stab her! I was just gesturing excitedly and the pencil flew out of my hand...God that was pretty mortifying.”
Burton just giggled and Luz was glad for the company. It had definitely helped take his mind off the potential danger he and Eli were in. Of course they were sitting on the floor outside of George’s bedroom lest Eli come looking for him. George could never completely relax.
Fortunately his son was a deep sleeper and the sound of slight snoring coming from behind the closed door assured Luz that he hadn’t been stirred by their laughter.
Christenson glanced at his watch and nodded towards Luz’s room, “You should try to get some rest if you can. You know I’ll be outside and if you need me…”
Luz nodded and held up a key chain looking device that he’d been told would alert them if he pressed the button on top of it. “I’ll be sure to beep you.”
Burton nodded and hopped to his feet and George was glad that he seemed alert still. Taking the hand the agent offered him he got up and gave him another smile.
“Thanks for keeping me company I guess.”
The young agent smiled back, “It was nothing. Get some rest.”
George nodded and walked the other man out, shutting the front door behind him, and locking the deadbolt before he started back towards his room.
Halfway there he remembered the cups he’d left in the living room and went to take them to the kitchen quickly.
Turning around to put them in the sink he didn’t even have time to scream as a strong hand covered his mouth and he was shoved violently against his kitchen wall.
His head hit the wall so roughly that he was dazed and when the hand left his mouth he didn’t even think to shout for help.
Looking forward he saw only the shadowy outline of a man taller than himself with a baseball hat pulled down low on his head.
But Luz didn’t have time to register much more as an invisible force tightened around his throat causing his air to be cut off.
His hands flew up to pry whatever was around his throat away but they felt nothing.
As he was coughing against the pressure, the same unseeable force shoved him back and Luz found himself sliding up the wall, pinned down and unable to move.
Dots of black began to blur his vision and he knew he had to do something soon or he wouldn’t have the chance. His eyes flickered to the stove next to his attacker and he used the little concentration he had left to turn it on.
As flames flew out from the burners-the man’s jacket sleeve caught fire and Luz felt the force pinning him to the wall retreat and he was dropped harshly to the floor.
Almost immediately his hand pressed the button he’d been given and he scrambled away from his now burning assailant.
Hearing a strange crackling sound he quickly looked back and watched in astonishment as ice began to come seemingly out of the man’s hand and put out the flames spreading across his body.
Struggling to his feet he began to run towards the back door in the hopes that the man would follow him, and thus be led further away from Eli.
Hopefully one of the officers would come in through that entrance.
He didn’t get far before he was shoved back against the wall. Only this time no force was around his throat so he started to shout as loudly as he could but then feared that Eli would come to investigate and abruptly quit.
Where the Hell was everyone?
He began to kick violently at his attacker but the man paid him no attention.
He remained incredibly quiet and Luz wasn’t sure what was going to happen as the man lifted his index finger up and pointed it at Luz’s head.
Then there was pain.
Pain like George had never before experienced. Like a knife slicing through his forehead and bearing down into his skull.
He couldn’t have prevented it even if he tried. He screamed.
“DAD!”
Even through the pain he shouted towards his son, “Run Eli!”
Eli did start to run. Only he ran towards his father instead of away, but was thankfully grabbed by a police officer who came from seemingly nowhere and pulled the boy out of George’s sight.
Then there were more screams, some his, some Eli’s, some by voices he could only guess belonged to the officers.
Two gunshots rang out and Luz felt the sharp pressure against his skull go away and could smell the smoke as he crashed to the floor once again.
Blinking his eyes open he saw the man, gunshot wounds and all, fleeing through the back door at an alarming speed, two officers running after him.
Another smell soon assaulted George’s senses and he quickly recognized it as blood. That was when he took notice of the warm liquid that was beginning to trail down his face and into his eyes.
Peering up and through the blood he saw Burton standing with his gun still drawn and apparently debating whether to join the pursuit of George’s attacker.
Eventually he rushed over to George instead and put his gun back in its holster, “Jesus Christ…George can you hear me? It’s going to be okay, Eli’s safe and we’re going to get you to a hospital…”
Luz just stared up at the face of his savior and watched as the agent turned to shout for an ambulance.
He could trust this man….he would keep Eli safe. Finally George let the overwhelming pain plunge him into darkness and the shouting above him faded into silence.
Joseph Liebgott, San Francisco, CA
Joe wasn’t really that deep of a sleeper, which was probably a good thing. Especially considering the introduction of David Webster, the teleporting nuisance, into his life.
But it wasn’t the time traveler that set his instincts off this time.
He had been drifting in and out of sleep, wondering about the offer that Guarnere had made him, when he had heard a light knock come from his front door.
Not sure who would be knocking at 2:00 in the fucking morning, Joe rolled out of bed and went into the kitchen to pull his knife out of the wall where it had been left.
Flipping the knife in his hand he walked barefoot and as silently as he could to the door. Although he doubted anyone wanting to harm him would actually have the decency to knock.
He was just about to look through the peep hole when a voice came from the other side.
“Mr. Liebgott-we’re with the SFPD and we’d like to talk to you concerning your abduction case, you may be in danger.”
Joe sighed, looked through the peephole anyway and then opened the door. Two cops stood there, looking bored and a little surprised that he’d actually answered.
Rubbing his eyes he flicked on the light and nodded his head for them to come inside.
“This better be good.” He mumbled to himself as he plopped down on the couch and the officers began to talk.
Ron Speirs, NYC, New York
By the time the alarm clock went off at 5:30 am, Ron was already awake, showered, dressed and packing Lewis’s suitcase.
He had already sent the materials they would need via computer to the FBI field office in Los Angeles, gotten their hotel situation fixed, and of course-packed for himself.
Looking over at the lump under the covers that was Lewis Nixon, Ron didn’t mind cutting him some slack.
He’d been rather out of it the day before, and when they had finally gotten to sleep last night, Ron had been continually woken up by Nixon getting out of bed. So he imagined that Lewis hadn’t slept all that well.
The sound of his cell ringing distracted his thoughts on Lewis and he answered while still packing his boyfriend’s things.
“Hello.”
”Good morning Ron."
“Morning Buck. What do you need?”
“What I can’t just call to say good morning? When does your flight
leave?”
“9:00- why?”
“Just wondering. Um…I’ve got some good news and I’ve got some bad news.”
“I thought you were just calling to say good morning.”
“Well you caught me. It’s about George Luz.”
Not liking where this was going, Ron waited silently for Buck to tell him what had happened.
“He was attacked last night. The good news is he’s alive, although in the hospital. The bad news is the guy got away.”
“The guy?” Ron couldn’t believe it, “So it really is one person. At least here anyway. What happened exactly?”
“I’m not as sure as I’d like to be. Christenson got to the guy first and put two in his shoulder. And the bastard still got away. Luz came away with a few bad bruises and a severe gash to the forehead. Looks like he was going to cut him open, just like the others. But we still don’t know how. We’ll know more when Luz wakes up in the hospital.”
“If Christenson is the one who saw him, why isn’t he telling me this?”
“He’s uh…with the victim’s son at the hospital. I guess he befriended the guy. He’ll take the statement when Luz is ready to talk.”
Ron sighed, not surprised that his partner had gotten involved more than was necessary. It was just in his nature. Ron was the bad cop, Burton was the good cop…and neither of them were ever really pretending. He’d have a talk with Christenson about it later.
“So what are you doing?”
“Packing Lewis’s stuff. Believe it or not, he’s actually asleep.”
“That’s good…he’s been rather off lately. He could use the rest.”
Ron checked to make sure Lewis was asleep before zipping up the small suitcase and taking his conversation to the living room.
“You don’t have to tell me that.”
“So how are you guys doing?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“At all? Or just with me?”
“Both.”
“I’m not trying to split you guys up. You know that don’t you? I care about you Ron. I just want you to be happy. And I don’t think you are. Not now, not with him.”
“You’re such a good friend to him.”
“Hey it’s not like you’re winning any boyfriend of the year awards."
“What do you think will make me happy Buck?”
“I wish you’d tell me.”
“It doesn’t work like that.”
“Ron…”
“I’ve got to go. I’ll call you when we’re in California.”
Having said all he needed and not wanting to hear anything else, Ron hung up the phone and went to wake Lewis up. They didn’t want to miss their flight.
Babe Heffron, Philadelphia, PA
When he looked down below him, he could see the whole city. Every person, he could feel-like they were a part of him.
He was up high, somewhere. He was standing on the edge of a rooftop, and if he moved even a little bit, he would surely fall.
But he knew it would be okay. He would be okay.
Stepping forward he began to feel that pull in his stomach, the dread that came with plunging downward through the air.
But he wasn’t falling.
Something was pulling him up through the air. Sending him soaring across the sky and above them all once more.
He was flying
Babe jolted awake when he felt a hand press against his shoulder. He blinked, opening his eyes to see the sun shining around the person in front of him and obscuring them from his vision.
“Bill?” he called out-still confused by his dream. Then he remembered that
Bill was away and sat up to look at Dick. “Sorry. Good morning.”
“Good morning. You really need an alarm clock. Now come on, I made breakfast.”
“I’m not going to have to order another pizza, am I?”
“Cute. If you must know, I made pancakes. Even I couldn’t screw that up.”
“I dunno…”
“Ha ha, get up.”
Babe shoved his bed sheets away and arched his back. Looking over at the window he thought about his dream. About how real it had felt.
He’d been having these strange and realistic dreams for three weeks now, but this one was different. They all felt real-but this one, this one felt closer somehow.
Maybe it was only special because he was flying. Everyone wished they could fly, right?
Too bad people couldn’t fly.
But even knowing that…he couldn’t shake how real the dream had felt to him. Like a memory of something he had done.
He wasn’t really sure what to think about it. He’d mention it to Bill later.
David Webster, San Francisco, CA
It was 11:30-he really should get going. Joe had said noon, right? Maybe he should just teleport.
But then when he did that he felt like he was showing off. And if he did that he was likely to turn Joe off even more-if that was possible.
Sighing he rushed to his bathroom to check his image in the mirror. God he looked like such a freaking yuppie.
His life had been so much simpler a month ago. As if discovering he had the ability to teleport and stop time wasn’t enough.
Things had gotten a little complicated when a version of himself from the future had decided to come back and grace him with what he was sure was very valuable information. The first being that he actually could travel through time.
It hadn’t been much of a leap in logic to assume that he could, considering he could stop time. But the actually knowledge was more than a little overwhelming.
Of course he wasn’t even sure how to go about doing such a thing, but according to the visit he had received from his future self, he would eventually figure it out.
Personally, despite his ability, David didn’t want to know what was in his future. Where was the fun in that?
Of course after being told the limits of his power he had been tempted to go back in time more than once. But he never actually had and he had certainly never thought about going into the future.
That being said he wasn’t receptive to what his future (and somewhat intimidating) self had to say.
Apparently the future needed to be saved. Um okay sure-he’d get right on that.
He had a unique ability that needed to be explored in order to change said future-yes he had already put that together.
The love of his life was in his American History class. That one kind of got his attention.
He knew who Joseph Liebgott was..kinda. They had worked together on a project (not that Joe remembered) and Webster hadn’t really been sure what to think.
Everyone listened to the guy, and even though he could be rude and confrontational-people seemed to hang around him all the time.
They had nothing in common.
Webster was overly polite, shy and possibly too book smart for his own good. Plus he was a fish out of water. Far away from his wealthy family and, he would admit, comfortable lifestyle.
Joe, however, was sarcastic and never shy about voicing his opinions-even the ones that hadn’t been thought out well. He was violent and couldn’t resist a good fight. He drank, which was a testament to his ability to pull off illegal acts as David knew that he was below the legal drinking age.
He had a dangerous and unconventional job while David had never really had to work. And he lived in the same state he’d been born in, although he was away from his family.
Of course, David hadn’t learned any of this in the brief time they had met. No this had come from some serious research and too much time on his hands.
When he had learned the identity of this alleged soul mate of his- he’d been rather doubtful. Oh he found Liebgott attractive, but Joe didn’t really seem like the type to go for guys. Although nowadays such a thing was becoming increasingly common. Not to mention that he doubted Liebgott would actually be able to hold his interest.
Now here he was a month later and he was um…infatuated could be the right word.
Like he said, things had been simpler a month ago.
Knowing he didn’t have time to drive and figuring that he could always use the practice to hone his ability, he decided to teleport to Joe’s rather sketchy apartment.
Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and concentrated on the interior of the apartment that he had only seen through a window once before.
Yes…he got it. He was a creep. He would just have to live with that.
He felt pressure coming in around his body only to feel it fade away as new surroundings appeared.
The click of what was certainly a gun made him pause.
“Jesus Webster. Can’t you fucking go anywhere like a normal person?”
Looking up, David saw Joe standing behind his couch-hair mussed up and eyes wide, with dark circles underneath. Slowly the man lowered the pistol that he’d been pointing straight at David.
Webster shrugged slowly, “Sorry. I was running kinda late. Um...is everything okay?”
As he asked the question, Joe tucked the pistol into the waistband of his jeans before walking out from behind the couch.
“No…everything is not ‘okay’. I really wish I could say this is all your fault but it kinda isn’t.”
“What happened?”
Joe sat down and drug his hands down his face, “Where to begin…okay so after
I talked to you-you, future-you broke into my apartment, the guy that abducted me offered me a job and now there is a serial killer after me.”
“What!? Abducted? Serial killer? What’s going on?”
Joe sneered at him, “Oh what? Webster version 2.0 didn’t tell you all this?”
David froze, “I was here? I mean HE was here?”
Joe nodded, “Here’s what happened. You came from the future and told me to start working for this company that kidnaps people with abilities-of which there are apparently many. I have to do this in order to find some RANDOM guy who is like this powerful and all important asset that can’t fall into the wrong hands. One of those wrong hands being the Company for which I’m supposed to work.”
Webster stared at him, his future self had definitely left all of that out when they had spoken. “Okay but what about being abducted?”
“Oh right. Huh…well I was hanging at this bar one night and this red haired guy came and sat next to me and the next thing I know-I’m waking up on my couch like 3 days later not remembering a thing. That was months ago though.
That’s when I found these on my neck.”
Joe pulled down the collar of his white tee and David leaned forward to see two faint pink marks on his neck. “What are they?”
“According to a man from the Company, they’re evidence of some sort of operation they did to track me.”
“I don’t know that sounds a little Sci-fi if you ask me.”
“Says the guy who can TRAVEL THROUGH TIME!”
“Excellent point. Um…I thought I heard something about a serial killer as well.”
“Yeah, so the police show up and tell me that the FBI are tracking down a serial killer who is offing other people with abduction cases like mine and they think I’m like…next or something.”
“God Joe, you’re…you have to get out of here! Shouldn’t you be in protective custody or something?”
“I told them not to bother…”
He stared at Joe in shock, “WHY? Joe you’re in danger! You-“
Joe just cut him off by waving his hand, “I called you over here because…I guess because I need your help. I’m going to take this guy up on his offer. They can help me figure out what’s happening to me. It’ll get me out of San Francisco and I’m sure I’ll be a hell of a lot safer. But…”
“But what?” David asked, not sure whether he liked the idea of Joe not being in San Francisco with him.
“But I can’t do this alone. I mean- you obviously get involved somewhere along the road and you were VERY vague about what you wanted me to do.”
“How could I help? I mean I would love to, but one thing my future self told me was to not get discovered. I couldn’t sign up for this company.”
Joe just nodded, “That’s true. The guy who offered me the job, he knew you had time traveled from the future. He was looking for uh….future-you. And I don’t think it was for a job offer.”
David looked at Joe and knew that he would help, though he didn’t know what was going on exactly. But Joe was special, like him, and there were others out there. And if they needed his help…well he had to do it. Plus he couldn’t let Joe go off and get involved in something dangerous without being able to help.
“So go then. And keep in touch with me. If you need outside help, that’s what I’ll be.”
Joe looked up quickly, “You can help me warn people. Keep them away from these guys.”
David nodded, “It’s a start.”
“These people are looking for this guy. Whoever he is. Future-you said it was to ‘take control’…whatever that means. So we have to make sure they can’t get their hands on anyone, much less this guy. I should eventually get some access to that kind of information according to Guarnere. I could give it to you. With you on the outside you could get to them first.”
Webster didn’t bother asking who Guarnere was, just listened to what Joe was proposing. This was real. He didn’t really understand what he was preventing, but somehow Joe understood.
And if Joe needed his help, he would get it.
Lewis Nixon, Los Angeles, CA
They were on their way to the hotel in LA when Ron said it.
“I’m surprised you didn’t sleep more on the plane. You were up all night.”
It wasn’t anything earth shattering but it caught Nixon off guard none the less.
Shaking his head he shot a look of confusion to his boyfriend, “What are you talking about? I slept just as much as you did.”
“Lew you were getting up all night. Pacing, walking around the apartment. I’m
surprised that I got any sleep.”
“I did? I don’t remember that.”
Ron just shrugged as he pulled their rented sedan into a parking space and cut the engine, “Maybe you were sleep walking.”
Lewis resisted the urge to say that he had never sleep-walked in his entire life and shouldn’t Ron know that?
Instead he got out of the car and told his temporary partner that he was going to check in at the front desk.
Ron nodded, “Alright, I just need to make a few calls. I’ll be in there in a minute.”
Lewis grabbed his things and walked into the hotel.
When he told the clerk his name she looked up at him as if remembering something.
“Oh you have a package. And a letter!” She told him brightly.
He gaped at her, “What? That’s not possible. No one knows I’m here.”
“Well I guess that isn’t true. A guy came in and dropped it off in person.”
“Guy? What guy?”
“Um just some guy who said you called in to have this left at the hotel and that you’d pick it up today. The letter came by mail. Express.”
More than a little suspicious he took them both from her and sure enough-his name was on the letter as well as the large, long and strangely wrapped package.
He eyed the package before looking at the young woman, “What is it?”
She rolled her eyes, “How should I know?”
Nixon sighed at the attitude of today’s youth and leaned forward to tell her to give Speirs the key if he came by.
He might as well go and see what the fuck this stuff was.
Boarding the empty elevator he pressed the button for the sixth floor and waited as the metal doors slid shut.
Looking forward he felt his stomach lurch as he saw his reflection.
It was-again-all wrong.
Where Lewis was leaning straight back against the elevator wall, his
reflection was casually leaning on his side and to the left- smiling at Nixon. Lewis knew for certain that he himself wasn’t smiling.
He had to be seeing things.
Quickly he closed his eyes, in the hopes that when he opened them his reflection would appear normal, “I must be going crazy.”
“You’re not crazy. You’re just in denial.”
His eyes flew open in shock at the sound of another voice that sounded similar to his. Though his first instinct was to look around, he knew the elevator was empty. He was alone.
He stared back at his reflection, only to see that it had moved again and was still smiling at him.
“You’re not real,” he told it.
His refection smirked at Lewis and cocked its head, “I’m as real as you are Lewis. You just aren’t ready to admit it.”
“No-I’m sleep deprived that’s all. Ron said I was sleep walking, I just need to get some rest.”
His reflection laughed, “You think I’m a hallucination? Fine. Why don’t you take a look and see who sent you that letter?”
With a shaking hand, Nixon pulled the letter out of his pocket and glanced at the return address.
It was his address, and upon further inspection, it was his hand writing.
“No. That’s a mistake. I didn’t send anything!”
“No you didn’t. But I did. I even arranged to have that package delivered here. Although I would open that in the privacy of your room if I were you.”
“Aren’t you me?”
His image walked back and forth across the doors, “Not exactly. Think
of me as a you who does all the things that you can’t do for yourself.”
Suddenly the elevator lurched to a stop and the doors slid open. Not wasting any time, Lewis rushed out of the elevator and down the hall to his room.
Quickly sliding the key card, he flung open the door, dropped his suitcase and package on the bed and ripped open the letter.
But it wasn’t just a letter. Inside the envelope were pictures of various people and buildings with names, dates and useless information scribbled underneath in his handwriting. The men looked vaguely familiar.
He looked at the letter included on a scrap piece of paper.
We’ll need these. Open the package.
Jonathan
Dropping the letter he ripped the brown paper off the package, and quickly found scissors in the room to pry open the long box underneath.
What he saw inside gave him a sick feeling.
It was a disassembled Blaser R-93 sniper rifle. Something that Lewis had seen but never had any reason to try and get his hands on. Off to the side was a smaller package which upon inspection held a fully loaded H&K P2000 semi-automatic pistol.
He quickly shut the box back up and shoved it underneath his bed.
“I don’t know what you’re getting so worked up about. It’s not like you’ve never handled that handgun before.”
Lewis rushed into the adjoining bathroom and stared desperately at his reflection, “What’s happening to me? Who are you?”
“It’s like you said. I’m you…kinda. But you can call me Jonathan.”
“How did you send me those things?”
“Well…as you-I sometimes have to take over your body. But trust me. It’s all to help you.”
“What?”
“I think you know that you don’t sleepwalk. And deep down you know that those dreams you’ve been having…well let’s just say they weren’t really dreams. It was all me.”
Flashes of the bloody nightmares came to the surface of Lewis’s mind and he stumbled away from the mirror and sank to the floor.
“No…”
“We killed the De Luca brothers. Because you wanted to. Because they deserved it. They were going to kill Ron and you know it."
“But what about those pictures? Those people?”
“Yes well unfortunately we left a few witnesses. Nothing I can’t handle.”
“No! I’m not a murderer.”
“You don’t have a choice. Besides I’m only doing what we both want. How many times have you wished that you could just kill scumbags like them? All the time. Especially the ones who hurt Ron. I’m finally doing something about it. You should be thanking me."
Lewis jumped to his feet, “No I’m not going to let you do this!”
Jonathan just shrugged, “You can’t stop me.”
The door of the hotel roomed slammed and Lewis knew that Ron was back, glancing back over to his reflection he saw Jonathan put a finger to his lips.
And then it was only him staring back. Jonathan was gone.
Ron knocked on the door, “Lew you in here?”
“Uh….yeah. Come in. What’s up?”
Ron poked his head through the doorway, “There’s been another murder.”
Carwood Lipton, Los Angeles, CA
When Lipton had been a recruit, he had been told that as a police officer he would have good days and bad days.
He would have days where his job was too much, or really satisfying. But then he would have days when he was feeling useless and like his job didn’t matter.
Today was definitely the second part.
Waving his hand to a slow moving car he directed it around the yellow tape and cones set up to contain the potential entry of their crime scene.
“This is pointless.” He mumbled, under his breath.
However his fellow officer, Jake Garrett heard and smiled, “How’s that?”
“There’s a double homicide and a little girl missing. And what am I doing? I’m directing traffic.”
“Hey-somebody has to do it.”
Lipton sighed and shook his head, “I know. I just feel useless. I wish I could help.”
Suddenly a black sedan pulled up next to the driveway and two men got out.
They were both dressed in black suits. One man’s clothes were rumpled and he was pale and shaky. The other stood perfectly straight, perfectly dressed and surveyed the scene with a stern, but attractive face.
Garrett nudged him and nodded at the men, “What do you think?”
Lipton’s eyes lingered on the serious looking man, “Gotta be FBI.”
He watched as the two flashed their badges to the officer covering the entrance and ducked underneath the tape before going into the house.
“So Lipton how did you do on your detective’s exam?”
Carwood stayed quiet and Garrett got the message, “I’m sorry man. You’ll pass it next time.”
“I know. I’ve been kind of stressed with the divorce-”
He stopped mid-sentence, sure he had heard something.
Ignoring Garrett’s questioning, he tilted his head and listened.
please don’t hurt me
It sounded like a little girl whispering.
Lipton looked at his friend with wide eyes, “Did you hear that?
Garrett stared at him, “Lip man…are you okay?”
Carwood held up a finger to silence him.
please don’t let him hurt me
Where was she? Where was the noise coming from?
He started to move slowly as if letting the whispers guide him.
help me please
Following the whispers he found himself ducking under the yellow tape and walking towards the house- not noticing the stares of his fellow officers.
Ron Speirs, Los Angeles, CA
It was exactly what he’d feared would happen. Another murder had taken place, and at the home of Sherry Tanner.
It was her mother and father that were found dead however. But Sherry was still missing. And a missing child never got good odds.
The scene was much more gruesome than the one he had witnessed in James Miller’s room.
The mother was pinned to the wall by multiple knives that had been plunged through her body. The top half of her skull was lying on the ground below.
The father had been frozen solid at the dinner table, also missing the top of his head. His brain as well was gone. It was just like in New York. With a slight variation of course.
They hadn’t been on the list. Sherry had. Why kill the parents?
Putting a hand over his mouth he surveyed the crime scene, “How could one man do this?”
Nixon came up behind him, “One man? Ron, you said it yourself before, this
has to be more than one person. It had to take at least two guys to lift her up there and we already discussed the sawing of the skull.”
Ron shook his head, “But it was only one man who attacked George Luz in Brooklyn. At least according to Buck. It doesn’t matter right now anyways.”
Lewis stared at him, “The hell it doesn’t! When we’re you going to give me that information? If this is somehow the same guy…”
“When I felt you were ready to handle it. I think it’s safe to say you haven’t been yourself lately.”
Lewis looked shocked, “It doesn’t matter. You don’t withhold-”
Ron cut him off, “We don’t have time to bitch over this okay? That missing girl is the priority.”
The argument probably would have continued if they hadn’t been distracted by a police officer that was walking past them and further into the crime scene.
Ron recognized the blonde man from where he had seen him directing traffic outside. Right now the officer was walking slowly with his head tilted to the side as if listening for something.
Lewis spoke up, “Buddy you can’t be in here!”
The man hushed Nixon and held a finger to his own mouth.
Ron watched in fascination as the man crept closer to the staircase.
Crouching down the officer looked at the side of the wall underneath the stairs before placing his hands on the wall and pushing to the side.
Everyone in the room gaped as the wall slid open to reveal a small room in the wall and underneath the staircase.
Inside sat Sherry Tanner, arms wrapped around herself and shaking. She stared at the man who found her.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” The blonde officer-Lipton his nametag read- whispered to her. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”
He pointed to his uniform, “Look I’m a good guy…it’s going to be okay.”
With a cry, Sherry launched forward and threw her arms around the man’s neck.
Ron couldn’t believe it.
How the Hell did he do that?
Word Count: 7,512
Pairing: Nixon/Speirs hints of others.
Summary: All over the world, people are waking up with extraordinary abilities. Not knowing how they got them or what to do, they will soon discover that they are not alone. They are all connected. They are all special.
This chapter's a wee bit long huh? BTW midterms eat my life. So it took forever to get this up. Anywho. Links to previous parts inside.
Disclaimer: I’m not making any money off of writing this story. It’s entirely fictional and based on the performances given in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and not the actual soldiers. Any ideas or phrases borrowed from the NBC show Heroes belong to the writers of that show, not me. I don’t own anything…so please don’t sue me. I wrote it for your enjoyment so…enjoy!
Here are links to the previous parts-
Part 1-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/351591.html
Part 2-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/352546.html
Part 3-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/355060.html
Part 4-http://community.livejournal.com/camp_toccoa/357484.html
George and Eli Luz, Brooklyn, NY
“You think this guy is going to come here? Try to kill me?”
George couldn’t believe he was hearing this. It was bad enough that he had to worry about being hunted down by whoever had abducted him but now there was a serial killer after him too?
He looked over to where the younger FBI agent was talking with his son as Eli finished his homework, and then back to the blonde man who was currently explaining everything, “What should I do?”
“I don’t think that we can be sure where they’re going to go next. We called the local police and they’re going to send a couple of squad cars out here to watch the house. If you don’t object my partner and I will stake out the house too, just to be sure. I doubt they would risk coming here with that many people, and if they did, at least you’d have protection.”
Luz couldn’t help but wish he and Eli had somewhere else to go, but he knew their options were limited. But if what the Agents were saying was true, Eli could be in danger.
Call him a conspiracy theorist, but there was no way this stuff could be unconnected. These abductions and killings were happening for the same reason. Maybe he’d been able to keep Eli safe from his kidnappers but his son could still be a target for this killer.
Finally George nodded his assent, “That’s probably a good idea. I just want my son to be safe.”
The man, Agent Compton, nodded and waved his partner over. George went back to Eli but made sure to listen in on their conversation.
“Christenson-call Ron and tell him we’re pulling an overnight watch here and for the two of them to book a flight to California and start working on the leads over there. It’s probably better if we split our specialties and time between our two target states for now.”
“Um should those two really work together on this?”
“Ideally I would go with Ron instead but, we’re already here. They’ll work it out. Make the call.”
“Fine- sheesh I was just asking.”
Luz smirked at the petulance in the younger agent’s voice before sitting next to Eli, who smiled up at him.
“Dad that guy is a real FBI agent! How cool is that? He said that he gets to solve all sorts of crimes and stuff and that he even gets to go undercover! I asked him if I could see his gun but he said it was too dangerous…”
“Well he’s right! Eli what have I told you about guns? You know what-we’ll rehash that later. Did he tell you why he was here?”
Eli shook his head, “No he just said not to be worried, that you’d probably explain everything to me.”
Luz couldn’t help but shoot a curious glance over at this Agent Christenson. Eli didn’t always take such a shine to people.
“Well the thing is that these nice Agents are going to stay here and keep an eye on us because there may be a very bad man looking for me. So they just want to make sure that they’re here in case he finds me, okay?”
His son sighed and gave him an irritated look, “You don’t have to talk dumb to me. What’s really going on?”
George knew that Eli would understand the seriousness of the situation, but he couldn’t bring himself to tell him all the details. The last thing he wanted was for Eli to have to live in even more fear.
Ruffling his son’s hair he stood up, “The truth is that you’re going to be sleeping in my room tonight, go brush your teeth and get ready for bed.”
Eli shrugged and hopped up to leave, but not before waving enthusiastically at Agent Christenson, who was talking on his cell.
The agent waved back, hung up the phone and looked over at Luz, “That’s a smart kid you got there.”
“Yeah, thanks for talking to him. He thinks all the police stuff is cool.”
The young agent gave him a bright grin, “Well maybe I’ll get to be his boss one day.”
Luz laughed, “God don’t let him hear you say that. It was bad enough back when he used to want to be a firefighter.”
“I used to want to be a firefighter…my parents kind of put a stop to it after awhile.”
“Why?”
“I kept setting all my sister’s dolls on fire so that I could rescue them. I tried to argue that I needed the experience but they weren’t having it.”
Luz laughed, enjoying the man’s casual attitude in comparison to the stoic Agent that had interviewed him about his abduction. “What’s your name?”
“Burton Christenson.”
“You want a cup of coffee Burton? I don’t think I’ll be getting to sleep anytime soon.”
“That’d be great sir.”
“Just call me George. “
“That’d be great George.”
Lewis Nixon, NYC, New York
“Lew?”
Nixon felt a strong grip on his shoulder and was shaken out of a foggy state he hadn’t been aware had taken over him.
Looking around he realized he was at his and Ron’s apartment.
How had he gotten there? The last thing he remembered was Ron talking to
Christenson on the phone, and then telling him they had to go to California in the morning. But…that had been back at the office.
He looked up into his boyfriend’s concerned eyes. A far cry from the eyes that had looked upon him with such contempt and pity earlier.
“Ron? What the Hell’s going on? What time is it?” He suddenly realized how much darker it seemed outside.
“Almost 10:30, I thought you were only going to be a couple of hours?”
Lewis shook his head, “What are you talking about? 10:30? That’s not possible…I was just at the office with you, and it was only 8:00.”
“You don’t remember? We had been talking about our...whatever…fight I guess and then you said you needed to take care of something before we left in the morning.”
“We did? I did?”
Ron shook his head and gave Lewis a confused look, “That’s it. You obviously need to rest. All this traveling back and forth has made you screwy.”
Nixon just nodded his head and let Ron grab his shoulders to steer him towards their bedroom. Ron was already in a t-shirt and boxers, but Nixon knew he hadn’t slept due to the perfectly made up bed.
Normally Lewis would leave it in a state of disarray, sheets all over, but Ron always managed to fix it up. He suddenly realized how long it had been since he had slept in this bed, with this man.
This case had been keeping him away. Maybe he should just be grateful that they were now going to work on it together.
Sighing he flopped down on top of the covers, not bothering to undress and looked up at Ron, who had a barely concealed look of amusement on his face that made Lewis smile back.
One thing he could be grateful for was whatever he had apparently said about their argument that had caused Ron to smile at him again.
They were at home now, no more FBI bullshit to deal with, not tonight. Tomorrow yes…but at this moment they were okay. They would be okay, Lewis was sure of it.
“I’m sorry but I have a policy about shoes in my bed-don’t wear them.” Ron remarked as he pulled off Lewis’s shoes. Smirking, he grabbed Lewis’s now loosened tie, pulling him up off the bed and proceeded to push his jacket off his shoulders.
Lewis chuckled before leaning his head back and stealing a kiss from smiling lips. Wrapping his arms around Ron’s waist he pulled the other man down and on top of him, sending them both falling back onto the bed.
“Don’t you mean our bed baby?” He teased as he stripped off his clothes, just barely catching another unreadable look on his boyfriend’s face.
But, whatever it was, it was gone as soon as it appeared and Ron rolled his eyes. “Oh that’s right. I forgot you lived here too. You know, I kept wondering where all those empty vodka bottles were coming from.”
“Haha,” Lewis laughed sarcastically, determined not to let this dissolve into another fight like earlier.
Rolling them over so Ron was on his back he leaned down to kiss Ron’s neck when he noticed a red mark developing in the spot where his lips might have gone.
“What’s this?” He asked curiously pressing his fingers against it.
Ron raised an eyebrow and touched his neck as well, “I don’t know, because I can’t see it. I guess I got bit by a bug or something.”
Part of Lewis, a part that didn’t feel like him at all, wanted to know what that ‘or something’ might be. But they hadn’t been this at ease around one another in awhile and he really didn’t want to blow it now.
Shaking his head he kissed the spot, as if to make it better, and smiled down at Ron, “What do ya say we mess up the sheets?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
George and Eli Luz, Brooklyn, NY
George laughed hard as Agent Christenson recounted tales of his job, this one being an unfortunate incident in which he had apparently gotten kicked in the face by a dancing stripper while he was chasing a fleeing suspect across the dance stage.
“Man that’s pretty bad. I doubt I could top it.”
“I don’t know… I think accidently stabbing Eli’s second grade teacher in the neck with a pencil in front of all the other parents came pretty close.”
“Hey I told you I didn’t stab her! I was just gesturing excitedly and the pencil flew out of my hand...God that was pretty mortifying.”
Burton just giggled and Luz was glad for the company. It had definitely helped take his mind off the potential danger he and Eli were in. Of course they were sitting on the floor outside of George’s bedroom lest Eli come looking for him. George could never completely relax.
Fortunately his son was a deep sleeper and the sound of slight snoring coming from behind the closed door assured Luz that he hadn’t been stirred by their laughter.
Christenson glanced at his watch and nodded towards Luz’s room, “You should try to get some rest if you can. You know I’ll be outside and if you need me…”
Luz nodded and held up a key chain looking device that he’d been told would alert them if he pressed the button on top of it. “I’ll be sure to beep you.”
Burton nodded and hopped to his feet and George was glad that he seemed alert still. Taking the hand the agent offered him he got up and gave him another smile.
“Thanks for keeping me company I guess.”
The young agent smiled back, “It was nothing. Get some rest.”
George nodded and walked the other man out, shutting the front door behind him, and locking the deadbolt before he started back towards his room.
Halfway there he remembered the cups he’d left in the living room and went to take them to the kitchen quickly.
Turning around to put them in the sink he didn’t even have time to scream as a strong hand covered his mouth and he was shoved violently against his kitchen wall.
His head hit the wall so roughly that he was dazed and when the hand left his mouth he didn’t even think to shout for help.
Looking forward he saw only the shadowy outline of a man taller than himself with a baseball hat pulled down low on his head.
But Luz didn’t have time to register much more as an invisible force tightened around his throat causing his air to be cut off.
His hands flew up to pry whatever was around his throat away but they felt nothing.
As he was coughing against the pressure, the same unseeable force shoved him back and Luz found himself sliding up the wall, pinned down and unable to move.
Dots of black began to blur his vision and he knew he had to do something soon or he wouldn’t have the chance. His eyes flickered to the stove next to his attacker and he used the little concentration he had left to turn it on.
As flames flew out from the burners-the man’s jacket sleeve caught fire and Luz felt the force pinning him to the wall retreat and he was dropped harshly to the floor.
Almost immediately his hand pressed the button he’d been given and he scrambled away from his now burning assailant.
Hearing a strange crackling sound he quickly looked back and watched in astonishment as ice began to come seemingly out of the man’s hand and put out the flames spreading across his body.
Struggling to his feet he began to run towards the back door in the hopes that the man would follow him, and thus be led further away from Eli.
Hopefully one of the officers would come in through that entrance.
He didn’t get far before he was shoved back against the wall. Only this time no force was around his throat so he started to shout as loudly as he could but then feared that Eli would come to investigate and abruptly quit.
Where the Hell was everyone?
He began to kick violently at his attacker but the man paid him no attention.
He remained incredibly quiet and Luz wasn’t sure what was going to happen as the man lifted his index finger up and pointed it at Luz’s head.
Then there was pain.
Pain like George had never before experienced. Like a knife slicing through his forehead and bearing down into his skull.
He couldn’t have prevented it even if he tried. He screamed.
“DAD!”
Even through the pain he shouted towards his son, “Run Eli!”
Eli did start to run. Only he ran towards his father instead of away, but was thankfully grabbed by a police officer who came from seemingly nowhere and pulled the boy out of George’s sight.
Then there were more screams, some his, some Eli’s, some by voices he could only guess belonged to the officers.
Two gunshots rang out and Luz felt the sharp pressure against his skull go away and could smell the smoke as he crashed to the floor once again.
Blinking his eyes open he saw the man, gunshot wounds and all, fleeing through the back door at an alarming speed, two officers running after him.
Another smell soon assaulted George’s senses and he quickly recognized it as blood. That was when he took notice of the warm liquid that was beginning to trail down his face and into his eyes.
Peering up and through the blood he saw Burton standing with his gun still drawn and apparently debating whether to join the pursuit of George’s attacker.
Eventually he rushed over to George instead and put his gun back in its holster, “Jesus Christ…George can you hear me? It’s going to be okay, Eli’s safe and we’re going to get you to a hospital…”
Luz just stared up at the face of his savior and watched as the agent turned to shout for an ambulance.
He could trust this man….he would keep Eli safe. Finally George let the overwhelming pain plunge him into darkness and the shouting above him faded into silence.
Joseph Liebgott, San Francisco, CA
Joe wasn’t really that deep of a sleeper, which was probably a good thing. Especially considering the introduction of David Webster, the teleporting nuisance, into his life.
But it wasn’t the time traveler that set his instincts off this time.
He had been drifting in and out of sleep, wondering about the offer that Guarnere had made him, when he had heard a light knock come from his front door.
Not sure who would be knocking at 2:00 in the fucking morning, Joe rolled out of bed and went into the kitchen to pull his knife out of the wall where it had been left.
Flipping the knife in his hand he walked barefoot and as silently as he could to the door. Although he doubted anyone wanting to harm him would actually have the decency to knock.
He was just about to look through the peep hole when a voice came from the other side.
“Mr. Liebgott-we’re with the SFPD and we’d like to talk to you concerning your abduction case, you may be in danger.”
Joe sighed, looked through the peephole anyway and then opened the door. Two cops stood there, looking bored and a little surprised that he’d actually answered.
Rubbing his eyes he flicked on the light and nodded his head for them to come inside.
“This better be good.” He mumbled to himself as he plopped down on the couch and the officers began to talk.
Ron Speirs, NYC, New York
By the time the alarm clock went off at 5:30 am, Ron was already awake, showered, dressed and packing Lewis’s suitcase.
He had already sent the materials they would need via computer to the FBI field office in Los Angeles, gotten their hotel situation fixed, and of course-packed for himself.
Looking over at the lump under the covers that was Lewis Nixon, Ron didn’t mind cutting him some slack.
He’d been rather out of it the day before, and when they had finally gotten to sleep last night, Ron had been continually woken up by Nixon getting out of bed. So he imagined that Lewis hadn’t slept all that well.
The sound of his cell ringing distracted his thoughts on Lewis and he answered while still packing his boyfriend’s things.
“Hello.”
”Good morning Ron."
“Morning Buck. What do you need?”
“What I can’t just call to say good morning? When does your flight
leave?”
“9:00- why?”
“Just wondering. Um…I’ve got some good news and I’ve got some bad news.”
“I thought you were just calling to say good morning.”
“Well you caught me. It’s about George Luz.”
Not liking where this was going, Ron waited silently for Buck to tell him what had happened.
“He was attacked last night. The good news is he’s alive, although in the hospital. The bad news is the guy got away.”
“The guy?” Ron couldn’t believe it, “So it really is one person. At least here anyway. What happened exactly?”
“I’m not as sure as I’d like to be. Christenson got to the guy first and put two in his shoulder. And the bastard still got away. Luz came away with a few bad bruises and a severe gash to the forehead. Looks like he was going to cut him open, just like the others. But we still don’t know how. We’ll know more when Luz wakes up in the hospital.”
“If Christenson is the one who saw him, why isn’t he telling me this?”
“He’s uh…with the victim’s son at the hospital. I guess he befriended the guy. He’ll take the statement when Luz is ready to talk.”
Ron sighed, not surprised that his partner had gotten involved more than was necessary. It was just in his nature. Ron was the bad cop, Burton was the good cop…and neither of them were ever really pretending. He’d have a talk with Christenson about it later.
“So what are you doing?”
“Packing Lewis’s stuff. Believe it or not, he’s actually asleep.”
“That’s good…he’s been rather off lately. He could use the rest.”
Ron checked to make sure Lewis was asleep before zipping up the small suitcase and taking his conversation to the living room.
“You don’t have to tell me that.”
“So how are you guys doing?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“At all? Or just with me?”
“Both.”
“I’m not trying to split you guys up. You know that don’t you? I care about you Ron. I just want you to be happy. And I don’t think you are. Not now, not with him.”
“You’re such a good friend to him.”
“Hey it’s not like you’re winning any boyfriend of the year awards."
“What do you think will make me happy Buck?”
“I wish you’d tell me.”
“It doesn’t work like that.”
“Ron…”
“I’ve got to go. I’ll call you when we’re in California.”
Having said all he needed and not wanting to hear anything else, Ron hung up the phone and went to wake Lewis up. They didn’t want to miss their flight.
Babe Heffron, Philadelphia, PA
When he looked down below him, he could see the whole city. Every person, he could feel-like they were a part of him.
He was up high, somewhere. He was standing on the edge of a rooftop, and if he moved even a little bit, he would surely fall.
But he knew it would be okay. He would be okay.
Stepping forward he began to feel that pull in his stomach, the dread that came with plunging downward through the air.
But he wasn’t falling.
Something was pulling him up through the air. Sending him soaring across the sky and above them all once more.
He was flying
Babe jolted awake when he felt a hand press against his shoulder. He blinked, opening his eyes to see the sun shining around the person in front of him and obscuring them from his vision.
“Bill?” he called out-still confused by his dream. Then he remembered that
Bill was away and sat up to look at Dick. “Sorry. Good morning.”
“Good morning. You really need an alarm clock. Now come on, I made breakfast.”
“I’m not going to have to order another pizza, am I?”
“Cute. If you must know, I made pancakes. Even I couldn’t screw that up.”
“I dunno…”
“Ha ha, get up.”
Babe shoved his bed sheets away and arched his back. Looking over at the window he thought about his dream. About how real it had felt.
He’d been having these strange and realistic dreams for three weeks now, but this one was different. They all felt real-but this one, this one felt closer somehow.
Maybe it was only special because he was flying. Everyone wished they could fly, right?
Too bad people couldn’t fly.
But even knowing that…he couldn’t shake how real the dream had felt to him. Like a memory of something he had done.
He wasn’t really sure what to think about it. He’d mention it to Bill later.
David Webster, San Francisco, CA
It was 11:30-he really should get going. Joe had said noon, right? Maybe he should just teleport.
But then when he did that he felt like he was showing off. And if he did that he was likely to turn Joe off even more-if that was possible.
Sighing he rushed to his bathroom to check his image in the mirror. God he looked like such a freaking yuppie.
His life had been so much simpler a month ago. As if discovering he had the ability to teleport and stop time wasn’t enough.
Things had gotten a little complicated when a version of himself from the future had decided to come back and grace him with what he was sure was very valuable information. The first being that he actually could travel through time.
It hadn’t been much of a leap in logic to assume that he could, considering he could stop time. But the actually knowledge was more than a little overwhelming.
Of course he wasn’t even sure how to go about doing such a thing, but according to the visit he had received from his future self, he would eventually figure it out.
Personally, despite his ability, David didn’t want to know what was in his future. Where was the fun in that?
Of course after being told the limits of his power he had been tempted to go back in time more than once. But he never actually had and he had certainly never thought about going into the future.
That being said he wasn’t receptive to what his future (and somewhat intimidating) self had to say.
Apparently the future needed to be saved. Um okay sure-he’d get right on that.
He had a unique ability that needed to be explored in order to change said future-yes he had already put that together.
The love of his life was in his American History class. That one kind of got his attention.
He knew who Joseph Liebgott was..kinda. They had worked together on a project (not that Joe remembered) and Webster hadn’t really been sure what to think.
Everyone listened to the guy, and even though he could be rude and confrontational-people seemed to hang around him all the time.
They had nothing in common.
Webster was overly polite, shy and possibly too book smart for his own good. Plus he was a fish out of water. Far away from his wealthy family and, he would admit, comfortable lifestyle.
Joe, however, was sarcastic and never shy about voicing his opinions-even the ones that hadn’t been thought out well. He was violent and couldn’t resist a good fight. He drank, which was a testament to his ability to pull off illegal acts as David knew that he was below the legal drinking age.
He had a dangerous and unconventional job while David had never really had to work. And he lived in the same state he’d been born in, although he was away from his family.
Of course, David hadn’t learned any of this in the brief time they had met. No this had come from some serious research and too much time on his hands.
When he had learned the identity of this alleged soul mate of his- he’d been rather doubtful. Oh he found Liebgott attractive, but Joe didn’t really seem like the type to go for guys. Although nowadays such a thing was becoming increasingly common. Not to mention that he doubted Liebgott would actually be able to hold his interest.
Now here he was a month later and he was um…infatuated could be the right word.
Like he said, things had been simpler a month ago.
Knowing he didn’t have time to drive and figuring that he could always use the practice to hone his ability, he decided to teleport to Joe’s rather sketchy apartment.
Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and concentrated on the interior of the apartment that he had only seen through a window once before.
Yes…he got it. He was a creep. He would just have to live with that.
He felt pressure coming in around his body only to feel it fade away as new surroundings appeared.
The click of what was certainly a gun made him pause.
“Jesus Webster. Can’t you fucking go anywhere like a normal person?”
Looking up, David saw Joe standing behind his couch-hair mussed up and eyes wide, with dark circles underneath. Slowly the man lowered the pistol that he’d been pointing straight at David.
Webster shrugged slowly, “Sorry. I was running kinda late. Um...is everything okay?”
As he asked the question, Joe tucked the pistol into the waistband of his jeans before walking out from behind the couch.
“No…everything is not ‘okay’. I really wish I could say this is all your fault but it kinda isn’t.”
“What happened?”
Joe sat down and drug his hands down his face, “Where to begin…okay so after
I talked to you-you, future-you broke into my apartment, the guy that abducted me offered me a job and now there is a serial killer after me.”
“What!? Abducted? Serial killer? What’s going on?”
Joe sneered at him, “Oh what? Webster version 2.0 didn’t tell you all this?”
David froze, “I was here? I mean HE was here?”
Joe nodded, “Here’s what happened. You came from the future and told me to start working for this company that kidnaps people with abilities-of which there are apparently many. I have to do this in order to find some RANDOM guy who is like this powerful and all important asset that can’t fall into the wrong hands. One of those wrong hands being the Company for which I’m supposed to work.”
Webster stared at him, his future self had definitely left all of that out when they had spoken. “Okay but what about being abducted?”
“Oh right. Huh…well I was hanging at this bar one night and this red haired guy came and sat next to me and the next thing I know-I’m waking up on my couch like 3 days later not remembering a thing. That was months ago though.
That’s when I found these on my neck.”
Joe pulled down the collar of his white tee and David leaned forward to see two faint pink marks on his neck. “What are they?”
“According to a man from the Company, they’re evidence of some sort of operation they did to track me.”
“I don’t know that sounds a little Sci-fi if you ask me.”
“Says the guy who can TRAVEL THROUGH TIME!”
“Excellent point. Um…I thought I heard something about a serial killer as well.”
“Yeah, so the police show up and tell me that the FBI are tracking down a serial killer who is offing other people with abduction cases like mine and they think I’m like…next or something.”
“God Joe, you’re…you have to get out of here! Shouldn’t you be in protective custody or something?”
“I told them not to bother…”
He stared at Joe in shock, “WHY? Joe you’re in danger! You-“
Joe just cut him off by waving his hand, “I called you over here because…I guess because I need your help. I’m going to take this guy up on his offer. They can help me figure out what’s happening to me. It’ll get me out of San Francisco and I’m sure I’ll be a hell of a lot safer. But…”
“But what?” David asked, not sure whether he liked the idea of Joe not being in San Francisco with him.
“But I can’t do this alone. I mean- you obviously get involved somewhere along the road and you were VERY vague about what you wanted me to do.”
“How could I help? I mean I would love to, but one thing my future self told me was to not get discovered. I couldn’t sign up for this company.”
Joe just nodded, “That’s true. The guy who offered me the job, he knew you had time traveled from the future. He was looking for uh….future-you. And I don’t think it was for a job offer.”
David looked at Joe and knew that he would help, though he didn’t know what was going on exactly. But Joe was special, like him, and there were others out there. And if they needed his help…well he had to do it. Plus he couldn’t let Joe go off and get involved in something dangerous without being able to help.
“So go then. And keep in touch with me. If you need outside help, that’s what I’ll be.”
Joe looked up quickly, “You can help me warn people. Keep them away from these guys.”
David nodded, “It’s a start.”
“These people are looking for this guy. Whoever he is. Future-you said it was to ‘take control’…whatever that means. So we have to make sure they can’t get their hands on anyone, much less this guy. I should eventually get some access to that kind of information according to Guarnere. I could give it to you. With you on the outside you could get to them first.”
Webster didn’t bother asking who Guarnere was, just listened to what Joe was proposing. This was real. He didn’t really understand what he was preventing, but somehow Joe understood.
And if Joe needed his help, he would get it.
Lewis Nixon, Los Angeles, CA
They were on their way to the hotel in LA when Ron said it.
“I’m surprised you didn’t sleep more on the plane. You were up all night.”
It wasn’t anything earth shattering but it caught Nixon off guard none the less.
Shaking his head he shot a look of confusion to his boyfriend, “What are you talking about? I slept just as much as you did.”
“Lew you were getting up all night. Pacing, walking around the apartment. I’m
surprised that I got any sleep.”
“I did? I don’t remember that.”
Ron just shrugged as he pulled their rented sedan into a parking space and cut the engine, “Maybe you were sleep walking.”
Lewis resisted the urge to say that he had never sleep-walked in his entire life and shouldn’t Ron know that?
Instead he got out of the car and told his temporary partner that he was going to check in at the front desk.
Ron nodded, “Alright, I just need to make a few calls. I’ll be in there in a minute.”
Lewis grabbed his things and walked into the hotel.
When he told the clerk his name she looked up at him as if remembering something.
“Oh you have a package. And a letter!” She told him brightly.
He gaped at her, “What? That’s not possible. No one knows I’m here.”
“Well I guess that isn’t true. A guy came in and dropped it off in person.”
“Guy? What guy?”
“Um just some guy who said you called in to have this left at the hotel and that you’d pick it up today. The letter came by mail. Express.”
More than a little suspicious he took them both from her and sure enough-his name was on the letter as well as the large, long and strangely wrapped package.
He eyed the package before looking at the young woman, “What is it?”
She rolled her eyes, “How should I know?”
Nixon sighed at the attitude of today’s youth and leaned forward to tell her to give Speirs the key if he came by.
He might as well go and see what the fuck this stuff was.
Boarding the empty elevator he pressed the button for the sixth floor and waited as the metal doors slid shut.
Looking forward he felt his stomach lurch as he saw his reflection.
It was-again-all wrong.
Where Lewis was leaning straight back against the elevator wall, his
reflection was casually leaning on his side and to the left- smiling at Nixon. Lewis knew for certain that he himself wasn’t smiling.
He had to be seeing things.
Quickly he closed his eyes, in the hopes that when he opened them his reflection would appear normal, “I must be going crazy.”
“You’re not crazy. You’re just in denial.”
His eyes flew open in shock at the sound of another voice that sounded similar to his. Though his first instinct was to look around, he knew the elevator was empty. He was alone.
He stared back at his reflection, only to see that it had moved again and was still smiling at him.
“You’re not real,” he told it.
His refection smirked at Lewis and cocked its head, “I’m as real as you are Lewis. You just aren’t ready to admit it.”
“No-I’m sleep deprived that’s all. Ron said I was sleep walking, I just need to get some rest.”
His reflection laughed, “You think I’m a hallucination? Fine. Why don’t you take a look and see who sent you that letter?”
With a shaking hand, Nixon pulled the letter out of his pocket and glanced at the return address.
It was his address, and upon further inspection, it was his hand writing.
“No. That’s a mistake. I didn’t send anything!”
“No you didn’t. But I did. I even arranged to have that package delivered here. Although I would open that in the privacy of your room if I were you.”
“Aren’t you me?”
His image walked back and forth across the doors, “Not exactly. Think
of me as a you who does all the things that you can’t do for yourself.”
Suddenly the elevator lurched to a stop and the doors slid open. Not wasting any time, Lewis rushed out of the elevator and down the hall to his room.
Quickly sliding the key card, he flung open the door, dropped his suitcase and package on the bed and ripped open the letter.
But it wasn’t just a letter. Inside the envelope were pictures of various people and buildings with names, dates and useless information scribbled underneath in his handwriting. The men looked vaguely familiar.
He looked at the letter included on a scrap piece of paper.
We’ll need these. Open the package.
Jonathan
Dropping the letter he ripped the brown paper off the package, and quickly found scissors in the room to pry open the long box underneath.
What he saw inside gave him a sick feeling.
It was a disassembled Blaser R-93 sniper rifle. Something that Lewis had seen but never had any reason to try and get his hands on. Off to the side was a smaller package which upon inspection held a fully loaded H&K P2000 semi-automatic pistol.
He quickly shut the box back up and shoved it underneath his bed.
“I don’t know what you’re getting so worked up about. It’s not like you’ve never handled that handgun before.”
Lewis rushed into the adjoining bathroom and stared desperately at his reflection, “What’s happening to me? Who are you?”
“It’s like you said. I’m you…kinda. But you can call me Jonathan.”
“How did you send me those things?”
“Well…as you-I sometimes have to take over your body. But trust me. It’s all to help you.”
“What?”
“I think you know that you don’t sleepwalk. And deep down you know that those dreams you’ve been having…well let’s just say they weren’t really dreams. It was all me.”
Flashes of the bloody nightmares came to the surface of Lewis’s mind and he stumbled away from the mirror and sank to the floor.
“No…”
“We killed the De Luca brothers. Because you wanted to. Because they deserved it. They were going to kill Ron and you know it."
“But what about those pictures? Those people?”
“Yes well unfortunately we left a few witnesses. Nothing I can’t handle.”
“No! I’m not a murderer.”
“You don’t have a choice. Besides I’m only doing what we both want. How many times have you wished that you could just kill scumbags like them? All the time. Especially the ones who hurt Ron. I’m finally doing something about it. You should be thanking me."
Lewis jumped to his feet, “No I’m not going to let you do this!”
Jonathan just shrugged, “You can’t stop me.”
The door of the hotel roomed slammed and Lewis knew that Ron was back, glancing back over to his reflection he saw Jonathan put a finger to his lips.
And then it was only him staring back. Jonathan was gone.
Ron knocked on the door, “Lew you in here?”
“Uh….yeah. Come in. What’s up?”
Ron poked his head through the doorway, “There’s been another murder.”
Carwood Lipton, Los Angeles, CA
When Lipton had been a recruit, he had been told that as a police officer he would have good days and bad days.
He would have days where his job was too much, or really satisfying. But then he would have days when he was feeling useless and like his job didn’t matter.
Today was definitely the second part.
Waving his hand to a slow moving car he directed it around the yellow tape and cones set up to contain the potential entry of their crime scene.
“This is pointless.” He mumbled, under his breath.
However his fellow officer, Jake Garrett heard and smiled, “How’s that?”
“There’s a double homicide and a little girl missing. And what am I doing? I’m directing traffic.”
“Hey-somebody has to do it.”
Lipton sighed and shook his head, “I know. I just feel useless. I wish I could help.”
Suddenly a black sedan pulled up next to the driveway and two men got out.
They were both dressed in black suits. One man’s clothes were rumpled and he was pale and shaky. The other stood perfectly straight, perfectly dressed and surveyed the scene with a stern, but attractive face.
Garrett nudged him and nodded at the men, “What do you think?”
Lipton’s eyes lingered on the serious looking man, “Gotta be FBI.”
He watched as the two flashed their badges to the officer covering the entrance and ducked underneath the tape before going into the house.
“So Lipton how did you do on your detective’s exam?”
Carwood stayed quiet and Garrett got the message, “I’m sorry man. You’ll pass it next time.”
“I know. I’ve been kind of stressed with the divorce-”
He stopped mid-sentence, sure he had heard something.
Ignoring Garrett’s questioning, he tilted his head and listened.
please don’t hurt me
It sounded like a little girl whispering.
Lipton looked at his friend with wide eyes, “Did you hear that?
Garrett stared at him, “Lip man…are you okay?”
Carwood held up a finger to silence him.
please don’t let him hurt me
Where was she? Where was the noise coming from?
He started to move slowly as if letting the whispers guide him.
help me please
Following the whispers he found himself ducking under the yellow tape and walking towards the house- not noticing the stares of his fellow officers.
Ron Speirs, Los Angeles, CA
It was exactly what he’d feared would happen. Another murder had taken place, and at the home of Sherry Tanner.
It was her mother and father that were found dead however. But Sherry was still missing. And a missing child never got good odds.
The scene was much more gruesome than the one he had witnessed in James Miller’s room.
The mother was pinned to the wall by multiple knives that had been plunged through her body. The top half of her skull was lying on the ground below.
The father had been frozen solid at the dinner table, also missing the top of his head. His brain as well was gone. It was just like in New York. With a slight variation of course.
They hadn’t been on the list. Sherry had. Why kill the parents?
Putting a hand over his mouth he surveyed the crime scene, “How could one man do this?”
Nixon came up behind him, “One man? Ron, you said it yourself before, this
has to be more than one person. It had to take at least two guys to lift her up there and we already discussed the sawing of the skull.”
Ron shook his head, “But it was only one man who attacked George Luz in Brooklyn. At least according to Buck. It doesn’t matter right now anyways.”
Lewis stared at him, “The hell it doesn’t! When we’re you going to give me that information? If this is somehow the same guy…”
“When I felt you were ready to handle it. I think it’s safe to say you haven’t been yourself lately.”
Lewis looked shocked, “It doesn’t matter. You don’t withhold-”
Ron cut him off, “We don’t have time to bitch over this okay? That missing girl is the priority.”
The argument probably would have continued if they hadn’t been distracted by a police officer that was walking past them and further into the crime scene.
Ron recognized the blonde man from where he had seen him directing traffic outside. Right now the officer was walking slowly with his head tilted to the side as if listening for something.
Lewis spoke up, “Buddy you can’t be in here!”
The man hushed Nixon and held a finger to his own mouth.
Ron watched in fascination as the man crept closer to the staircase.
Crouching down the officer looked at the side of the wall underneath the stairs before placing his hands on the wall and pushing to the side.
Everyone in the room gaped as the wall slid open to reveal a small room in the wall and underneath the staircase.
Inside sat Sherry Tanner, arms wrapped around herself and shaking. She stared at the man who found her.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” The blonde officer-Lipton his nametag read- whispered to her. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”
He pointed to his uniform, “Look I’m a good guy…it’s going to be okay.”
With a cry, Sherry launched forward and threw her arms around the man’s neck.
Ron couldn’t believe it.
How the Hell did he do that?