Promethean Page 15

  He gestured at the dark skin on his arm.

  Liam shook his head.

  “Dietary changes. It happens if I eat meat. So, you shot at me… To prove that you’re a bigot? To the others, or just for yourself?”

  That got an angry expression in return.

  “To sell my cover, thank you very much. Not to try and hurt you. I knew that you’d soak the hit. The second time… I didn’t know that the locals were going to jump in like that. They were just trying to back me up. I mean, they aren’t in on the rest of this, as far as I know. The cop that shot you even seemed to feel bad about it, later, after he calmed down a bit and found out that I was just flying off the handle, blaming you with no reason. He doesn’t know you’re different. Well, other than your freaky eyes. That… You should get some contacts. At least if you don’t want to look like a demon possessed you.”

  Liam could understand that idea. While there was nothing wrong with being himself, it was very hard to explain to others that he wasn’t a danger, just because he looked a little different. A sensible person would make what changes to themselves that they could, to prevent that kind of issue, if they had a chance. humans would have probably stood on some kind of moral high ground, insisting that others bowed to accepting him and his people. There were only six or seven of them though, in the entire world that Oaks could introduce him to. At least if he was being told correctly. Perhaps twenty or thirty all told.

  That was such a small size for a group that it made far more sense for them to alter themselves instead of pushing for others to change their minds and way of being for them. It would be different if they were the majority, of course. Then they could just be themselves. Until that day came, which it probably never would, Liam needed to be the adaptive one.

  Processing quickly, he nodded.

  “So, you want to shoot me, and use that to prove how much you hate other types of people, to the bad guys, to get in deeper with them? Wasn’t shooting at me before enough?”

  That got a small laugh.

  “Nope. They figured I missed, on accident, if you can believe that. Which didn’t help me at all. No one at Brenner’s was hurt, after all. Not enough to make a big deal about. The others with me were in on that. They didn't want to hurt anyone there at all. So, I need you to go along with Brenner and Sanchez to the office later today. I’ll come in with another person, to verify that I did it. The plan is to ram you with a car, then shoot you while you’re down. I figure if you just lay there, we can fake it as a good kill. Then you’ll need to hide for a bit. Call it a few months, tops? The others don’t know about all of this.”

  He shook his head then, whispering his confusion at that claim.

  “Other than Brenner and Sanchez? Say, what’s his first name? At first, I thought it was Agent, but… Well, I was young then.”

  The other man looked at him funny, then nodded.

  “Daniel. Dan Sanchez. I’m Richard. Rich. To answer the implied question, yeah, those two know. The rest, not so much. They, any of them, might be in on it. Ridley knew. She’s the one that sent me on mission. We didn’t have names. How did you get the ones you have, I mean, those are right, as far as I can get at so far, I just didn't know anyone would be informing the creature all about it.” He grinned then.

  Seeming annoying in the way he did it. Like he was acting that way on purpose. Teasing him, for some reason. Claiming he was less than human, by calling him a creature. It was from the book and he got it, but that didn't mean it wasn’t him being a pain in the behind.

  “AIC Ridley told me. After she was murdered. We saw her ghost. A few of the others as well, though only she spoke. It wasn’t a long conversation. She didn’t tell me about you at all. Then, Brenner was there, so that might not have been important. Mr. Warner saw her at the same time, if you need confirmation on that.” Except that he didn’t hear exactly what was said, for some reason.

  The other man’s top lip curled.

  “I hate that spooky shit, you know that? Talking to spirits and Ouija boards. Magic and all that. What’s wrong with good old-fashioned science, right?” The man looked around then. “Did you come in alone? I would have figured that you’d have backup. I don’t see anyone though.”

  He nodded.

  “Sanchez. He can know about the plan for later? I just go to the office for some reason and you’ll try to kill me?” That seemed oddly like something that could happen. The man did like to be mean to Liam. Possibly not for an irrational reason.

  That this current set of claims could be a trick or trap was something that occurred to him as well. That… Logically it wasn’t all that likely. It was far riskier for the man to get in touch with Liam on something like that than to simply take action, if he wanted to try and kill him again. Worse, Simpson had admitted to having shot him once already. The man might be clever enough to lie that well, but it wasn’t the best bet, if that was the plan.

  Looking around, rubbing at his short hair, the man ducked his head, nodding.

  “Yeah. He’s in on this. So is Brenner. You’ll show then? I’m kind of getting the others to go along with me on this, so it’s my project, not theirs. No one else actually cares that much about you. I just need a way inside faster than it’s happening. I figure I get a few more days, then the whole thing will go silent. Murdering FBI Agents in order to try and out vampires. It wasn’t brilliant, honestly. They’re also planning to release things online. That… Well, people won’t buy it, even with video. We’re actually good at our jobs that way. Hiding reality from the little people. The honest ones that think the world is safe and secure at night. That there is no boogeyman under the bed at all, just dust and the house settling.”

  If the man was serious… Well, the truth was that Agent Simpson might not love that part of things, but he wasn’t wrong. No one outside of the communities seemed to really think there was anything to the idea that the supernatural existed at all. They had stories about it. They even saw it and heard friends and strangers mention things that didn’t fit into their normal world view. Then they gave up on the idea as nothing much more than a game or way of explaining things to the simple minded.

  The pictures, video and eye witness accounts were mainly held back or hidden outright. When seen at all, it wasn’t that hard for someone to climb online and point a derisive finger and to simply laugh at the fools that can’t tell the difference between a camera glitch of an upright walking bear and a teleporting troll. Not that anyone ever claimed that Trolls were real. Even the people that saw them used different names for the things.

  Liam looked at the man, not really willing to trust him, even if his story was very likely the correct one. Not without some form of verification. Instead of doing that, he nodded, not meaning it in an affirmative fashion at all. His trick, if he could pull it off, was to trick the man into thinking he was fully on his side.

  Then he gently spoke the truth, not having a better plan at the moment.

  “I’ll check the story. If it’s real, I’ll be outside of the Federal Building at four this afternoon. Standing on the sidewalk about fifty feet to the right of the front, on the outside of a group of people.” Then he looked at the man, closely. He tried to seem serious about it. “If the tale doesn’t seem to be real, we can fight to the death then. Otherwise, hit me with the car as you have planned, then shoot me while I’m down, several times and run away before anyone can see who did it? You’ll want a mask or something to cover your face. A scarf, maybe?”

  The Agent looked at him as if he weren’t serious, for a few moments, then nodded.

  “That should work. I’ll tap you in the chest, call it twice?” His finger made a shape that was supposed to be handgun. Then he acted like it was kicking twice in a row, to demonstrate the idea.

  Liam shook his head.

  “No… Aim for the head. It makes no difference to me, and should confuse those you’re working against. They’re mainly human, right?” That hadn’t been spoken of at all.

>   The man shook his head, slowly.

  “Truthfully, I don’t know. There have been hints of a hidden hand behind the whole thing. That could be something different. Hell, it could be the government behind it, for all I know. In that case… Well, then we probably end up eating the deaths of the others in this. We can’t do anything about it if that’s the case. If it’s one of the other groups… well, then we might be able to at least figure out who we’re fighting, right?” The man didn't seem confident, for some reason.

  Even with his nifty Liam killing ploy.

  He nodded then, once. To make him seem official.

  “Four this afternoon. You have the place.” Then, spinning carefully on one large shoe, Liam moved away, heading back toward the edge of the building in the direction he’d come from originally. Sanchez wasn’t there, having moved to a location about fifty meters away, which was hidden by a large metal container. One that smelled of a hundred unpleasant things when approached.

  The car was there as well, the blue thing seeming very out of place.

  The man looked at him seriously.

  “Anything new or important?”

  Liam shook his head.

  “Not here. We need to get to a different location.” That they might be watched or followed seemed unlikely to him. It was just the kind of thing that one had to do, in order to make certain the secret plans weren’t going to be found out instantly. It made sense to him, at any rate.

  The FBI Agent didn't scold him for being strange or odd, so it was probably close to what was expected. Once in the car, the man drove, very carefully. Following every rule of the road, it seemed. Liam smiled after a moment, once they were on the road.

  “I have a license. I should make certain I can drive safely, given that.”

  The big man nodded, watching the street in front of them carefully. The traffic wasn’t heavy yet, still being early in the day.

  “You can get a book of the rules online. Jenny did that just a week ago. She’s only fifteen, but wanted to get a jump on things, so is studying up before she takes Driver’s Ed. It’s hard to believe that she’s that old. In a few years she’ll be off to college and then... Well, life, you know? She’ll be dating and married to some guy I can’t stand, who will never be good enough for my little girl.” The man didn’t look to the side at all, just speaking as if that kind of information was normal for them to speak on.

  It wasn’t.

  The name, Jenny, wasn’t a person that Liam had heard of at all before. He knew that Sanchez had two daughters, a wife and now a first name. Dan. They weren’t close though, he realized. Not on a level that they’d ever shared information like that before. Then, this was nearly the first time they’d been alone together. Even for a few minutes.

  So he nodded, just drinking in the information given about the girl and the expectations the man held. Possibly what he feared, given the way the words were spoken of.

  “I’ll do that. Get that information. As soon as we get back.” He looked around, then took a deep breath. “Is it safe to talk here? I can’t tell if the cars behind us are following us or just heading in a similar direction.”

  Smiling a bit, Sanchez laughed.

  “Hang on then. You have your belt on?”

  Liam did, since it was a rule of riding in a car. It truly did help to hold him in place as the vehicle swerved then, turning down a side street suddenly, then another in a different direction, a few moments later. It was done quickly, and with enough energy that the tires squealed softly on the pavement. It was dry, so they didn't slide much. They also didn’t speed up a lot, just making hard turns for a while then finally getting on the main road of the town, heading the opposite direction to the one they needed.

  “Now we wait. If any of the same cars are behind us in five minutes or so, then we’re being followed. If it’s something big, one of the major agencies, they might be able to pull in enough cars that we couldn’t tell it was happening even then. I can’t imagine anyone doing that kind of thing just for you and I, out on a morning drive to get some donuts.” The words were relaxed, even as the eyes darted to the mirrors, checking for a tail.

  Liam simply watched, his focus behind himself, just in case he could recognize something. All of the cars that could be stalking them were gone though, probably heading off to work, that being their real plan in the first place.

  Finally, he nodded.

  “It seems clear. I have… Questions.”

  Sanchez glanced at him and then took a breath that seemed concerned.

  “Simpson said something?”

  “Yes. He said that he’s infiltrating a splinter group of the SAU. The ones that were part of killing AIC Ridley and the others. Also, that you and Brenner know about it? Is that true?” It was time to wait again, since the other man didn't speak for a long time.

  Finally, he sighed.

  “So much for operational security. Yeah. He’s been working that for nearly six months. So far, he hasn’t really won them over totally. It’s kind of obvious, since he’s the Agent in Charge of that unit. Ridley just couldn’t integrate anyone into a tight knit team like that fast enough not to set up red flags. Does he need…” What the man might have desired didn’t come out.

  Probably because that kind of thing wouldn’t be asked of Liam, most days.

  Still he nodded, his yellow eyes reflecting in the glass beside him, his dark skin smooth. Almost perfectly so.

  “We need to go into the Federal building later today, at four. He plans to hit me with a car, then shoot me several times, to kill me. I’ll play dead, if he doesn’t manage to really end my life. After that, we need to hide me and tell everyone that I’m dead.”

  That was the whole plan, as far as he knew.

  Sanchez swore.

  “Fucking hell. That… Simpson is an asshole cowboy from way back. It’s the reason Ridley set him to doing this kind of thing. That plan barely makes sense. It could go wrong in fifty ways. Including the one where the others simply got ahold of the files and learned that you won’t go down to something like bullets or cars. What did you tell him?”

  He shrugged, his narrow shoulders brushing against the inside of the shirt that he’d made for himself. A thing he was taking off, before the events later. The sad part was that his shoes would probably end up being destroyed. That… Shrugging he decided not to worry about it. He had another pair, after all. Back at Tiffany’s house.

  “I said that I’d ask about his story and if it was real, I’d think about helping him. If not, then I’d still show up, so I could kill him.”

  Those words got a soft laugh.

  “That sounds about right. So, if we sold him out or even refused to tell you that he was on mission, he’s going to end up dead. Serves him right, going off the rails like this. We don’t have a safe house for you or anything, either. How are we supposed to make you vanish like that in eight hours? We can’t use Agency resources for it. Not on this one. That would be an instant red flag. We can’t just have Brenner buy us out of trouble on this one either. Anyone going for you would have to be watching her accounts and houses. You’re staying with Mitchel, which means people will know that… I’m out of places for you. I mean, I can’t take you home either. No one from the office could.”

  That sounded correct to him. Then, he didn't need to vanish, just to be placed in a situation where he wouldn’t show up using FBI resources. The SAU wouldn’t be searching for him, either. They’d accept he was dead, if the scene was played correctly. He just had to get away from the others for long enough that he didn't show up in their backyards.

  He probably couldn’t risk going to Mary, just in case anyone checked for him on a whim. That didn't leave a lot of people, really. Then, he didn't need a lot, really. He could go and live in the woods, if it was needed. Just head out and wait for a few months while things worked out. The cold and rain wouldn’t harm him. Even snow wouldn’t, not that it was that cool, given the time of year.

  U
nlike a human person, Liam Frankenstein didn't need a house with walls and a warm fire to lay by every night. True, it would be nice to have internet wherever he was going. Not needed though.

  “I’ll find something. I can…” He shook his head then. It was really down to how hard anyone would be looking for him. The answer there was probably not very.

  The whole thing only sounded hard to him because he didn't have a lot of live experience to aid him. All that was needed would be for him to fake his death, then go away for a while. Even something like paying for a hotel room, using cash, would be enough for that. He had some cash as well, so it wouldn’t show up as Brenner freeing up thousands of dollars suddenly, which could trigger someone into watching for him.

  He nodded.

  “I walk away, and go to a hotel in a different city for a while. I… We just need to make sure that no one reports me dead officially. That wouldn’t happen, normally, right? If I were a vampire or…”

  Sanchez let his head bob then, agreeing, it seemed.

  “Right. Right… You can’t be put in the system, so normally your own people would take the body and get rid of it. That would be Oaks, for you.”

  Not that it would be needed to bring him into things at the moment. It didn’t sound like the man would be watched that closely, by the SAU. That didn't mean he would want to be bothered with the game that the FBI was playing at the moment.

  Then, Liam didn't really feel like he had a community to bother with something as basic as his body. Worse, without bringing Oaks into the whole plan, which didn't seem the plan, there would be no way for that to make sense. It would be better for him to simply leave for a while.

  He had everything he needed for it, he thought.

  “I need to look some things up. Back to Mitchel’s?”

  “Directly.” Sanchez didn’t seem upset or anything. Just pensive.