Chapter 10 - X. | And ye shall know fear... (1/2)
Colt was glad the kid wasn't heavier. He lugged the body over his shoulder and approached the entrance to the Rofal mansion. He held the metal helmet in his free hand. The kid had been adamant about not leaving it behind.
The guards searched him. He had hoped that carrying a dead body would allow him to forgo such formalities, but they still made him stand there and wait while they confiscated his weapons. They even searched the kid's body.
Rofal chose to receive him in the atrium, and Colt dumped the body on the floor.
Swank backed away. ”It's him! You brought him here?!”
”Him?” Rofal eyed the body.
”This kid was the thorn in your side,” said Colt.
”Ah, is that so?”
Swank nodded. He did not venture out from behind the staircase. ”You're sure he's dead, right?”
”Of course,” said Colt. He turned the kid's head to the side, revealing a bloody gash below the base of the skull. ”I would've stabbed him in the face, but I wanted to make sure you could recognize him. There is a reward for this, right? Oh, generous boss of mine?”
Rofal laughed. ”Spectacular! Of course I'll reward you. Have a whole day--no, two days. Incredible work. How did you even find him?”
”He came to me,” said Colt. ”Said he wanted my help. Thought I'd betray you and feed him information.”
Rofal's smile broadened. ”Let me guess. You said you would, and then stuck him as soon as his back was turned.”
”Pretty much.”
”I love it,” said Rofal. ”That's what I admire about you, Colt. That ruthlessness.”
Colt merely returned a smile of his own.
”How did you kill him?” Swank asked.
Colt furrowed his brow. ”I stabbed him in the back of the head. Stupid question.”
”Yeah, but...”
Colt looked to Rofal. ”So how long are you going to make me wait?”
”I'll arrange for you to meet them tomorrow.”
”Tonight,” said Colt. ”I want to see them tonight.”
That gave Rofal pause. His smile lessened. ”Impatient, aren't you?” He eyed Colt again, then the body. ”Fine. I suppose you've earned it. I will have them brought here and give you the first three hours tonight.”
Rofal had the body moved to the medical ward, accompanied with a handful of guards. Colt handed the weird helmet off to one of them, who seemed to find it amusing.
They made their way into Rofal's office. Rofal poured Colt a glass of whiskey. He did not offer one to Swank.
”There's something else I'd like to know,” said Colt.
”Yes?” said Rofal.
”The money that the kid stole, what was it for?”
”Why? Did you recover it?”
”No.” The kid did have a gripload of money in his bag, Colt had discovered, but Rofal didn't need to know that. The money was stuffed under the backseat of his car. ”But you said something about it being for a seat at a table. What table?”
Rofal paused again. ”Why do you want to know?”
”Let's say I've been considering my circ.u.mstances,” said Colt. ”And being more cooperative with you is starting to seem more advantageous.”
”I see.” Rofal leaned back in his chair. ”Well, I would be lying if I said I did not want to tell you. However, if honesty is the game now, then I have to say, I am a bit taken aback by your sudden change of heart. And I have never been a very trusting man.”
”I've noticed.”
”I will tell you this,” said Rofal. ”That money was my means of acquiring an introduction with certain... like-minded individuals.”
”I see,” said Colt. ”Is that all ruined now?”
”For the time being, yes. A frustrating set back. But I'm sure another opportunity will present itself in time.”
Colt swilled his whiskey around the glass.
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”Agh... where am I...?”
”Relax. I've got you.”
”Ah... this again, huh?”
”I have to hold onto your soul while we wait for Colt's children to arrive.”
”Okay... but, uh... this feels... a little different from the last time...”
”Well, without sounding too corny, our souls have had time to get acclimated to one another.”
”What does that mean...?”
”We've bonded.”
”Aww... come to think of it... this does kinda feel like a warm hug.”
”Hmm, I suppose it does.”
”It's really nice...”
”Uh. Okay.”
”Hold me more tightly, Garovel.”
”Getting a bit weird now.”
”Haha. So, uh. What's going on with Colt? I can't see anything.”
”He's speaking with Rofal now. He's not getting much information out of him.”
”But Rofal doesn't suspect anything?”
”Not yet. It's been a bit boring, actually. They're just waiting for the kids to arrive. Colt's asking about his plans, but Rofal is being predictably cryptic.”
”So... what do you think now? You said before that you needed more time to observe, but... do you, um... do you think I should kill Rofal?”
”No, I don't think you should.”
”Really? Why?”
”Because we still don't know what will happen to Rofal's business in the event of his death. Contrary to popular belief, cutting the head off the snake doesn't always work. I don't think his enterprise will just dissolve.”
”You're worried someone worse might take his place?”
”Until we know otherwise, yes.”
”But you don't object to his death on moral grounds...?”
”Not particularly, no--hmm? Ah. Bohwanox just showed up. Hold on.”
”Bohwanox? What's he doing here?”
”He's telling me.”
”I can't hear him.”
”Yeah, your soul isn't linked to him, so--agh, I can't carry two conversations at once like this. Just wait a minute.”
”...A-alright... um...”
”There's something wrong.”
”What is it?”
”Bohwanox says he followed someone here who had the aura of death. But it went away on its own, somehow. I'm not sure what he means. He says he's been investigating a series of missing persons reports, and he thinks this might be related.”
”Ah, uh... w-what do we do?”
”...Bah. We need you awake. This person he followed is probably in serious danger.”
”But it's too soon, isn't it?”
”Yeah, it is.”
”So, then...?”
”We make do. Get ready. Ah. Looks like they're dissecting your body.”
”Wha--?”
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Hector's eyes stuck open, and he saw a woman in blue scrubs standing over him. He looked down to see his chest cavity pried open with metal clamps, and a pair of burly thugs watching in the corner of the room. One of them was wearing his helm.
She noticed his eyes open and froze. ”Uh, guys...”
Hector sat up. They all screamed.
'Keep them quiet!' Garovel yelled.
He bounded up and barreled into the man with his helm, punching him in the gut and yanking the helm free. The other guy slugged him in the face, flooring Hector. They jumped at the opportunity to kick the huge gash that was his chest.
Hector caught one of their legs and flung the man into his partner. They both bounced off the wall and toppled onto one another. He waited for them to get back up, but when he saw them reaching for their guns, he pulled their weapons straight out of their hands and pistol-whipped them both over the head. They stayed down.
Hector eyed the medic crouching in the corner and donned his helm once more. ”Please remain quiet...”
The woman nodded furiously.
More guards filed into the room, however. Hector used the first thug who entered to push through the others and create a path for himself. He made sure that they all went down before they could start shooting or call for help. A couple of them ended up caught in the rafters. He initially thought that the corridor had a typically bare ceiling, so he was confused when the first guy he kicked up there didn't come back down.
'Well, this descended quickly,' said Garovel.
Hector ripped the clamps out of his chest, tearing flesh and bleeding all over the marble floor. Broken ribs stuck out at jagged angles, and he touched his own beatless heart. He tried not to think about how painful this would be later. 'So where do I go now?'
Bohwanox appeared through the wall. 'I apologize for my imposition,' he said.
'Uh, it-it's fine...'
'Bohwanox can't hear you,' Garovel said as he initiated the regeneration, causing Hector's bones to bend and snap back into place. 'He isn't linked to your brain like I am, so you have to talk aloud to him.'
”Oh. Uh... Garovel said that, um... you saw the aura of death go away on its own?”
'Yes,' said Bohwanox. 'It just vanished, with no apparent cause. Then the man it belonged to suddenly decided to come straight here, as if in a trance. I saw him go this way. Please follow me.'
Hector did so, smashing security cameras where he saw them. ”I thought, um... I thought you didn't care about saving people,” said Hector.
'I don't like to get involved, if that's what you mean,' said Bohwanox. 'But this is something different. You've sensed it too, haven't you, Garovel? The strange discomfort in this city?'
'Mm. I have. You believe this to be connected?'
'Not just connected. I believe it to be the root cause. I believe these missing people may be dying very... abnormally.'
”What do you mean?”
'I'm not wholly sure myself,' said Bohwanox. 'These people who have been going missing, they're all different ages, races, and genders. I couldn't find a common thread between them all, and their disappearances don't seem to have benefited anyone in particular. So I don't suspect that they're being held prisoner for sake of ransom or slavery. I believe they're being killed. But if that's the case, then why haven't I found any trapped or wandering souls? It's very strange.'
'And troubling,' added Garovel.
'Here,' said Bohwanox. 'I saw him go through that door.'
”You didn't check inside already?”
'No, I...' Bohwanox shied away from the door. 'I was... reluctant.'
Hector tilted his head. He looked at Garovel for an explanation, but the other reaper was also backing away. ”A-are you guys okay...?”
'You feel that, Garovel?'
'I do. I'm wondering how I missed it before...'
'Because it's quiet,' said Bohwanox. 'It's like a shadow that doesn't belong. You don't realize it's there until the person casting it suddenly moves... and it lingers.'
The reapers both fell in behind. 'Please go first, Hector,' said Garovel. 'And be very careful.'
The door was locked, so he broke it down. It clapped to the floor so loudly that he was sure more guards would be coming soon, but the first things he saw in the room were two people--a young man in a dark suit staring back at him and an older, seated gentleman staring vacantly at a wall.
”Excuse me,” said the younger man, ”but what the hell do you think... you are... Hmm.” He squinted at Hector. ”What do we have here?”
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”Fine,” said Colt. ”Then maybe you can tell me more about your family. I've only ever met you and Geoffrey.”
”Ah.” Rofal took a swig of his alcohol. ”My father and mother retired successfully some ten years ago now. Great man, my father. These days, some people question his lucidity--namely, my mother--but sometimes, I can still see that brilliance of his. That ambition. One moment, he'll be talking about his great grandfather or his dead sister like they're in the room; and then the next, he'll be whispering to me about some secret store room he had built thirty years ago.”
”I met him once,” said Swank. ”He offered to cut my hair for me. And replace it with possum fur. I'm still not sure if he was joking.”
Rofal laughed. ”Apart from that, I have a few siblings. I inherited the business because my older sister, bless her, hates everything about it.”
Colt snorted. ”One of you isn't a criminal?”
”Oh, she has the mind for it. We all know she does. But she fell in love with an electrician and decided to become a housewife, if you can believe that. Still not sure I do.”
”What about your other siblings?” Colt asked.
”You are very curious today,” said Rofal, laughing lowly. ”If this is part of some ploy to take my family members hostage in exchange for your own, then for your own sake, allow me to dispel that plan in its infancy. You can take whomever you want. Or try to. My family members certainly do not need me to protect them from the likes of you. They would be upset if I did.”
”I'll keep that in mind.”
”Ha.”
”What about Geoffrey's parents? Are they dead?”
”No, they are alive. But they entrusted him to me. They struggled with him as a child.”
”I can imagine.”