Dark Obsession
Dark Obsession - Chapter Ten
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Part 10
"Lydecker?
Arial'> Lydecker? Dammit!"
Logan
Arial'> cursed loudly. "An idiot! What the hell
was I thinking, getting him involved?"
Ben couldn't
believe his ears. Honestly, what were you thinking?
Fucking hell!
"I was wondering that
myself," he said calmly, focusing a steady gaze on the bespectacled man as
he spun around, jaw dropping in surprise.
He sauntered in as if he owned
the place, his gait even and measured as he crossed the room. His lips curved
into a smirk while the older man's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of
water. "What's the matter,
Arial'>Logan
think I've ever seen you speechless before."
Logan
Arial'> took a deep breath and swallowed hard before exhaling slowly. "You
surprised me. I'll never get used to you guys dropping in like that," he
said, trying unsuccessfully to infuse a bit of amusement in his shaky voice.
Belatedly, Logan realized that
the file Matt Sung had given him on the murder suspect was lying wide open, and
documents and photos were spread in an arc around his workspace. He swept them
into an untidy pile and shut the folder. He flinched as Ben's gaze swung to the
photographs before the file slammed shut, and then back to meet
Arial'>Logan
eyes.
"Because then you'd have
been able to...hide," he sneered condescendingly, dipping his head and
hinting at the manila folder, "that?"
"Wait, you've got it all
wrong..."
"Really?
Arial'> So you haven't been collecting," and at this he spat, "evidence
against me? And the guy on the other end of the line wasn't Donald
goddamn Lydecker?"
"I-"
"Shut up," he hissed
dangerously. "Now, move away from the computer, slowly, and keep your
hands where I can see them."
Logan
Arial'> raised his hands and held them away from his stomach as he backed away.
"Sit down," Ben said
shortly, gesturing towards the sofa by the window.
Arial'>Logan
gingerly on the cushions.
"You left Zack a message.
I saw fit to make a few...changes before passing it on," Ben spoke
quietly, each word enunciated for effect. His lips widened into a feral smile
as he saw realization dawn on the other man's face. Sinking in, is it? He
could almost feel the room temperature drop and the hot flashes of fear
Arial'>Logan
radiating.
Ben sat down opposite
Arial'>Logan
back into the sofa, one arm up over the back of the seat, the fingers of his
other hand tapping on his thigh. He tilted his head to look at
Arial'>Logan
contemplatively. The two eyed each other in silence.
"Who else knows?" he
asked finally. When
Logan
Arial'> opened his mouth to answer, Ben leaned forward and gripped the other
man's collar. "And don't lie to me," he added icily.
"N-no
one."
Being so close to the sweaty,
frightened Ordinary was beginning to make him sick. He let go of the man
abruptly and watched with cold eyes as
Arial'>Logan
burrowed into the cushions at his back.
"So you're saying that the
only thing you said to anyone, was what you
told Zack. Or, rather, the message you left him," Ben said meaningfully.
"Yes."
"No one else," he
said again, setting narrowed, hardened and glittering eyes on the cyber
journalist.
Logan
Arial'> shook his head emphatically.
"You wouldn't be lying to
me, would you?," he inquired in a deceptively
cordial tone, watching the other man shake his head again. "Good.
locked on
Logan
Arial'>'s face, watching every nuance, every shadow that shifted.
"I came here ready to kill
you and be done with it. Eliminate the threat. Simple.
But imagine my surprise when I walked in the door and overheard you on the
phone with," he lowered his voice dramatically and spat, "Lydecker!"
Ben didn't
even allow the other man a chance to respond. "You son
of a bitch! I can understand your underhanded ploys, your cryptic
message to Zack, the plan - I'm sure there was a plan
- to let my brothers in on the truth and, what? Catch me?
Lock me away in an institution?" he laughed shortly. "Whatever.
that. But you just had to dig, didn't you?"
Logan
Arial'> barely blinked before Ben shot from his seat and vaulted over the
coffee table, wrapping a strong hand tightly around his throat. In his other
Arial'>Logan
wide and fearful.
"The great Eyes Only, Mr.
Logan fucking Cale," Ben continued mercilessly, "couldn't
stand not knowing the answers. So he went looking in
places that didn't concern him. He opened his great, big, fucking,"
whipping his gun across the other man's jaw, he shoved the barrel of the gun
between his lips, slamming through his teeth, "...mouth."
Rattling the piece around
inside the now-bloody cavern, Ben tightened his grip on
Arial'>Logan
crushing his windpipe.
"You just had to bring
Lydecker into it. Why?! You swore
You put Maxie in danger,
Arial'>Logan
Arial'>,
Deny it."
Ben removed the gun and wiped
it down the front of
Logan
Arial'>'s shirt. He pulled out a silencer and screwed it on the end of the
barrel.
Logan
Arial'> finally regained control of his voice, though obviously not his senses,
as he furiously gurgled through a mouthful of blood and broken teeth, "And
what you did didn't put them in danger?!"
Upon seeing Ben's eyes glint
dangerously,
Logan
Arial'> wished he could take back his words. God, what the
hell am I thinking? Baiting a psychopathic serial
killer? I've finally lost it.
The shot ripped through flesh
and bone, just above his knee. The pain registered before the muted sound of
the discharge.
Logan
Arial'> shrieked in agony.
"So, you don't deny it,
then," Ben frowned. "I expected you to lie to me, to beg."
Logan
Arial'>'s whimpers of pain were his only response. He let the man suffer,
taking an odd pride in his ability to bring a grown man to his knees. It wasn't
the first thought of it's kind and wasn't likely to be
the last, but it was...pleasing.
He took the time to reflect on
his actions. He'd come to kill
Arial'>Logan
given. Considering he'd been about to out him to his
family, and in all likelihood the police as well, there was no other way.
The more he thought about it,
the more incensed he became. A simple kill.
Lydecker. Of all the people
Arial'>Logan
chosen to get involved in a Transgenic man-hunt, he
chose Lydecker. The same prick who's been after our
asses for years. Logan, you brainless twit!
Ben couldn't
care less about himself, not really. He had his tracks covered.
be traced back to him. Alright, so the
factory was a bit of a screw-up, he thought, but there was no
definitive link to him. Lydecker, on the other hand?
themselves too. But Maxie, his sweet, beautiful, naive,
little Maxie, jumped before she thought.
And now
Arial'> she's in more danger than ever before. Because of
this...jackass!
Ben's face relaxed, releasing
the tension his thoughts had created. He smiled suddenly. Taking a quick detour,
he made his way to the kitchen, wherein, after some rummaging around, he
produced a roll of duct tape. He headed back into the living room and came to a
stop before the trembling and tearful hacker.
He yanked
Arial'>Logan
grasped the other man's wrists together behind his back. He then wrapped them
tightly in duct tape. Once secured, Ben pushed the man back into the couch so
they were facing each other. He then bent down and did the same to his ankles.
He looked speculatively at
Arial'>Logan
good thing you didn't lie to me. It would have only made things worse. Right
now," he said slowly, dipping his hand into the pocket of his pants and
withdrawing a pocketknife, "I'm going to make
sure you won't talk to anyone," he unfolded the blade, twisting it in
palm, "ever again."
Logan
Arial'> stared as the fading light of day reflected off the silver blade.
He shuddered in revulsion when Ben gripped his chin and forced his mouth open.
only when he felt the pads of the younger man's fingers against his tongue that
he began to choke, fear and dread causing his chest to heave erratically.
Acid danced in his stomach and he dry-retched, but Ben held tight.
Logan
Arial'> caught the movement from the corner of his eye but didn't
process what it meant. An instant later there was a
flash of blinding pain and white light, and then nothing.
Ben looked down at the shorn
and bloody muscle in his hand. It would have made a nice trophy, he
thought sadly, before shaking his head and discarding it and moving on to the
next step of his plan. He then dipped into his back pocket to remove a laser
pen. Setting himself beside the unconscious man, Ben got to work.
It was mid-afternoon, and Zack
found himself cycling through the business district. It was one of his
about moved with purpose. It was a refreshing change from the less respectable
areas where most of Jam Pony's regular clientele resided.
Pleasant environment aside,
Zack always enjoyed making his Jam Pony runs alone. It gave him time to think
openly, so to speak. At home he was always keeping
eyes pealed and ears trained to catch bits of interaction or conversation
between his siblings. He couldn't just turn off the
Commanding Officer-in-charge role that he played. Instead, he took it to a
expectations with deep affection and love for his family. He knew it made him
less approachable and he came off as more rigid, but he held firm to his belief
that it was not only his duty, but his right, to keep
them in line.
Take Max, for example. Before
Alec was there to watch her back 24/7, she was entirely too reckless.
Arial'>He smiled then, thinking of how Max and Alec balanced each other out.
Alec might be open to adventure, but he was well trained and
never rushed in without thinking things through. Zack liked his sister's
boyfriend, enough that he called him family, too.
Scenery flew by, but his
thoughts remained focused on his family. It would soon be time to take another
trip out to
Skokie
Arial'>, a short stop in
Annapolis
Arial'> and if time and weather permitted, he might be convinced to forgive
Krit and Syl for disobeying a direct command and make a weekend of it in
Arial'>Dallas
at times, is so much easier. I live with Ben and I'll
never figure him out.
Ben confused Zack. As a child,
he was the talkative one, the storyteller. He kept everyone entertained, made
up tales of heroic soldiers blessed by the Blue Lady, protected by her love and
guided by her faith in them. Fantastical stories that raised their flagging
spirits, washing away the horrors they faced daily.
But
Arial'> during the escape, he and Ben had been separated. He'd
been all of ten years old, a little over a year younger than Zack himself, but
always more sensitive. Zack blamed himself for that, not that
again, to keep them safe. It made him harder, true, but emotions, while
wonderful, were something he couldn't afford to the
same extent as the others. And so, his sensitive
younger brother, as-yet unconditioned in the ways of the cruel world they lived
in, had been left on his own to survive.
It had been nine, lonely years
before he caught up with Max and Ben. While Max had gone from quiet and shy to
assertive and aggressive, Ben retreated into himself. No matter how hard he
tried to get the boy to open up, it was like going up against a brick wall. Not
that Ben was a boy when we finally met, he thought sadly. He was most
definitely a man. If not in appearance, at least in his eyes.
Mirrors to the soul. They never lie.
Or
Arial'> did they?
Zack wasn't
sure what to think anymore. Ben had become increasingly remote and
detached in recent months, more so after the serial killings came
to light. Zack thought, that perhaps it was their history, the brutal
murders they'd committed during training, the
leave-your-conscience-behind mindset they had to adopt to carry out those very
acts of violence. The sickening, bittersweet aftertaste from
enjoying the kill. Oh, he wouldn't lie to himself - he knew they all
had a thirst for blood, almost as if Manticore had made certain they had enough
animal DNA to guarantee such behavior
it.
And
Arial'> it didn't make it any easier having to lie to their Ordinary friends
about their origins and natures.
Arial'>Logan
Cindy, Herbal and Sketchy were rare exceptions to the rule, and they
Logan
Arial'>. Shit!
Zack reached for his cell
phone, wondering why he hadn't heard from the cyber journalist.
He'd expected
Arial'>Logan
morning, but with all the rush and confusion at work, as understaffed as they
were due to the winter flu, he'd forgotten all about it.
He patted down all his pockets.
Where the hell is my phone? Mentally
backtracking, Zack discovered, much to his dismay, that
he had to have left his phone at home.
Zack entered the apartment to
find it empty, his footfalls echoing in the sparsely furnished room, bypassing
the couch that seemed to scream at him for some reason.
Ben was usually home at this
hour, lazing on said couch and watching pre-Pulse sports or sci-fi films.
Zack's face lit up in remembrance. The last time he'd
heard Ben laugh...
"Zack, what the hell is
with these idiots? Nanites
snorted, pointing out all the noticeable flaws and plot holes in the show they
were watching.
"Alec, it's not like the
world was aware of the possibilities back then! They thought robots were the
future. Star Trek is classic. Shut up and watch the damn show!"
popcorn from Alec's lap.
took my seat. Do you hear me complaining? Shut up or
get out, already!"
It seemed like so long ago. Had
it only been a few months?
Making his way into the
kitchen, Zack spied the note draped across his cell. Reading the message
quickly, he shook his head. No way does it take this long to get
information. Eyes Only...
Eyes Only
indeed.
Logan
Arial'> often got caught up in his work and forgot his
side jobs. But when those side jobs have
something to do with Eyes Only, he remembers just fine. With a frustrated
groan, Zack pocketed his phone and made for the door. Inches from the exit, he
whirled on his heels.
Where the hell
Arial'>
is Ben, he wondered, walking quickly
in the direction of his brother's room. He opened the door, inhaling sharply as
the stench of stale sweat and old socks assailed his sensitive nose.
He dismissed it, bending to pick up the scattered laundry and transfer it to
the basket in the bathroom.
From the corner of his eye, he
caught a flash of pale...something...as it fluttered to the floor. He stooped
once again and caught it with nimble fingers. It was a wallet-sized
The Blue Lady.
And
Arial'> her face was scratched out - in strong, angry crosshatch strokes.
Zack left the room, dropping
the dirty laundry in the bathroom on his way out of the house. He kept the card
with the intent to discuss his find with Alec and Max later that evening.
Zack was still deep in thought
as he approached his bike and disengaged the wheel lock. For all his thinking,
he just wasn't sure what to think anymore. Was
Ben finally letting go of the foolish notions they'd
adopted as children? Finally letting go of his hold on an absurd fantasy of a
Lady' all those years ago? Maybe his brother was coming to see what he and Max
had figured out not long after Jack's death:
We make our own destiny.
He shook his head, shrugged,
and mounted his bike. He pedaled steadily, not
wanting to waste any more time.
Arial'>Normal
he had decided not to wait for
Arial'>Logan
he and Alec were finished with work, they'd head over
to his place and get the four-one-one.
Speaking of
destiny...
Flipping his phone open, he hit
speed dial.
"Alec? Zack.
I'm not going to wait on
Arial'>Logan
Meet me outside
Arial'>Fogel
Arial'>Towers
seven."
"Aw,
c'mon. I'm hungry.
a burger on the way over?"
Alec whined piteously and Zack
could only laugh in response.
"Fine.
Arial'> I'll meet you at 'The Gob' on 4th and
Arial'>Main
with Max before we get this done, alright? Business
before pleasure," he insisted.
"Fine,
fine. Jeez, man, why do you always have to ruin
my mood?" Alec groused.
"Alec, Max will still
he paused to clear his throat, "spend with her. I promise."
"Yeah, well I'll hold you
to that, buddy," Alec grumbled playfully.
"Well, have you seen Max?
She wasn't answering her pager earlier."
Alec thought a minute before
answering sheepishly, "Uh, that'd be my fault. I
made her switch to vibrate. The damn thing was seriously cramping my
style."
Ben was just inking the last
lines of his barcode when
Logan
Arial'> stirred and moaned, mumbling incoherently.
"C-areful
there, old man!! If you move, it could ruin all my
hard work and I'd have to start all over again. And
I took such great pains in signing my work with precision," Ben drawled
lazily, as the laser dug into the sensitive skin on
Arial'>Logan
When the final bar
irritated flesh.
"So you're finally
awake," he said after a pause, flicking the laser off and setting it
aside. "Well, that's perfect. I was beginning to think I'd
have to kill you before you regained consciousness. And
that woulda been a shame. You see,
Arial'>Logan
grinned when the eyes of his sniveling captive
widened in understanding,
"I want to see you the
moment you realize it's all over."
Arial'>TBC
Only one or two more chapters to go!
me want to share it with you!