Dark Obsession

Part
3

Zack
followed at a distance, intent on finding out exactly what his
little brother was up to. He waited in the shadows as Ben
stopped every so often. Is this what you do every night when
you disappear? Feed pigeons? Zack laughed to himself. He was
beginning to feel stupid. Ben wasn't doing anything any weirder
than he usually did, but Zack's curiosity got the better of him
and he continued to follow his brother.

face="Times New Roman">
Ben
entered a shoddy establishment and Zack grimaced. This
where you go to get off? he thought in disgust. Can't
hook up with anyone in the normal way?  

face="Times New Roman">
He watched as Ben
weaved through the crowd and disappeared through a curtain at
the back of the room. Hurrying after his brother, he stepped
past the curtain and stopped. The hallway was empty. There were
numerous doors; the sounds and smells coming from behind them
were enough to turn his stomach. Fine. Do your thing. I'll
catch you later, Ben. Exiting the establishment, Zack headed
home.

| O | O | O |

Ben
silently entered the apartment through his bedroom window. It
was late; the clock read 02:00. He'd been gone for hours. They should
all be tightly tucked away in bed.

That's
when he heard it. The rhythmic thump of a headboard hitting the
wall. They're at it again, he thought darkly. The image
of two naked, sweaty bodies slapping together just beyond the
wall that separated their two rooms assaulted his mind. He shut
his eyes, tracing his hand down the plaster partition as he
placed his ear against it.

Alec
and I are brothers, Max and I are like brother and sister, but
Alec and Max are lovers. How twisted is that - my brother
screwing my sister? Fine, so she isn't really my sister,face="Times New Roman">
he thought. They'd grown up thinking and feeling that way and it
was difficult to get his head around. Especially now that his
thoughts of her were far from brotherly.

"Oh,
Alec! Oh, God!" he heard her moan. Ben's throat
constricted painfully. His brother had what he wanted. Everything he wanted. A job, friends, love...
Maxie. He
shivered. God, Maxie. You should be mine. We were always a
team, meant to work together. We would be so good together.

You
should be mine! he growled low in his throat, imagining his
hand wandering over her luscious curves, his mouth on her body. Not
Alec's. Mine.

His
eyes snapped open at the ringing of a telephone. Making his
way quickly to the door of his room, he stepped out into the
hallway and cocked his head. Listening intently, he caught the
creak of mattress springs as Zack shifted on the bed.  The phone had
stopped ringing; Zack had answered.  Ben heard the muffled
sounds of hushed conversation and inched his way closer to Zack's door.
Who could be calling you in the middle of the night, bro?
he mused. 

At
the sound of Zack's rapid movements, Ben knew his brother was
getting up. He dashed back to his
room and closed the door. It would not do to be
caught eavesdropping.

| O | O | O |

face="Times New Roman">
His
hand shot out to grasp the ringing phone. He flipped
it open. "Zack here."

face="Times New Roman">
<<Zack?
Logan. Dr. Shankar gave me the green light. Can you guys get to
the morgue right away? We don't have much time. Beverly will
keep it open as long as she can, but hurry.>>

face="Times New Roman">
"We'll
be there."

face="Times New Roman">
Jumping
out of bed, he dressed hurriedly and rushed to Alec and Max's
room. He banged on the door.

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"Alec?
Max?"

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The
rustling noises from within made Zack blush; he knew he'd
interrupted a private moment and felt bad.

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"I'm
sorry to bother you, guys, but Logan called. He said to meet him
right away. This Dr. Shankar can keep the morgue open so we can
check out the body, but we don't have much time."

face="Times New Roman">
"Give
us a minute, we'll be right out." Zack could hear them
dressing, and suppressed his discomfort. 

face="Times New Roman">
"By
the way, is Ben home? He should probably come with us,"
Alec called through the door.

face="Times New Roman">
Zack
turned and knocked on Ben's door. There was no reply. Easing the
door open, he looked inside, taking in the empty room and
undisturbed bed. He couldn't sense his brother's presence,
but he had an uncomfortable feeling when he smelled the
lingering scent of arousal. Ben's arousal. 

face="Times New Roman">
He
was about to reply, when Alec and Max exited the room fully
dressed and ready to go. "No. It doesn't look like he came
back yet."

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Max
shook her head. "Look, we don't have time to search for
him. We'll fill Ben in later. Let's go."

face="Times New Roman">
Zack
hung back a moment, swinging his uneasy gaze over her head and
back into Ben's room. Shaking his head, he closed the door. 

| O | O | O |

face="Times New Roman">
Ben
blurred through the streets, eager to reach the hospital before
his siblings.

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I'm
losing my touch, he thought angrily. I've never been
sloppy before. Time to get rid of the evidence, and this time -
for good.

face="Times New Roman">
He
slipped into the hospital through the basement access. Silently
padding down the hallways, he finally reached his destination. The
morgue. 

face="Times New Roman">
He
stepped inside and came face to face with a female, dressed in a
white lab coat. Her nametag identified her as Dr. Beverly
Shankar. 

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"Can
I help you?" she asked with a hesitant smile.

face="Times New Roman">
"Logan
sent me. I'm here to take a look at the body?" he offered
in reply.

face="Times New Roman">
She
nodded and began walking past gurneys of corpses, each tagged
and waiting to be allocated blocks of their own.

face="Times New Roman">
She
stopped in front of a cooler compartment, opened it and pulled
out the tray. When she drew back the sheet that covered the
victim's face, Ben's eyes glittered in recognition.

face="Times New Roman">
I
thought She was constantly at your side, always protecting you,
Father. I see She abandoned you too.

face="Times New Roman">
Without
warning, he sent a crippling karate chop to the woman's throat. She
crumbled at his feet, dropping the pen she'd been holding. He
reached down and with a quick flick of the wrist, snapped her
neck. No witnesses, no evidence, he nodded grimly to
himself as he hauled the bodies of the late Father Grummins and
Dr. Shankar to the incinerator. Flicking it on, he turned it to
full heat and disposed of the damning evidence.

face="Times New Roman">
Quickly
looking around the room to make sure there was no indication
he'd ever been there, Ben opened a window and climbed outside.
He crouched by the window as the sound of arguing voices reached
his ears.

| O | O | O |

face="Times New Roman">
Logan
pulled his car to a stop at the back of the hospital building.
He opened the door and stepped out, glancing around for signs of
the transgenics.

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"Logan!
Over here, buddy," he heard Alec's hushed whisper from the
shadows.

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Logan
pushed his glasses up and settled them comfortably on the bridge
of his nose. He squinted in the moonlight, still unable to find
the source of the voice.

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Max
stuck her head out from behind the bushes and whistled, the
sound comparable to that of beasts of the night. He whipped
around in surprise to see her smiling face and the impish look
of delight at his reaction to the call.

face="Times New Roman">
"Just
me, Logan," she winked, grinning widely. "Not the
boogeyman. You can breathe again."

face="Times New Roman">
Logan
exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in and
returned her smile tentatively. "I'm never going to get
used to you guys doing that," he said quietly.

face="Times New Roman">
Alec
took in the older man's appearance. His sandy hair was mussed
and dark circles peeked out from under his wire-rimmed glasses. He
does look a bit worn and weary, Alec thought to
himself, but it was pretty funny. "Chill,
buddy," he said with a chuckle. "Besides, if it had
been a wild animal, you'd be hurtin' right about now."

face="Times New Roman">
"Thanks,"
Logan muttered, shaking his head. "Where's Zack?" he
asked, suddenly noting the absence of the third transgenic.

face="Times New Roman">
"I
was scoping out the area, as we do," came the breezy
reply. Zack stepped out of the shadows and approached with a
quiet dignity and fluid grace that never failed to stun the
Ordinary. They were all like that; languid, strong, sensual and
appealing with even the slightest of movements. The X5s gave off
a magnetism they were fully aware of and it drew attention. It
was why they had decided to meet around the back of the
building.

face="Times New Roman">
Zack
leaned close to Max and Alec, speaking quietly. "Looks like
the basement access is our best bet." Turning to face Logan
he added, "The front entrance is practically empty. Seems
to be quiet at Harbor Lights. You shouldn't have any trouble
there. We'll meet you inside."

| O | O | O |

face="Times New Roman">
They
caught up with Logan just outside the entrance to the morgue.
The door was open - wide open - and the X5s pulled back warily,
motioning to Logan to stay behind.

face="Times New Roman">
Zack
crept inside, swinging his gun wide and sweeping the immediate
area. Signaling the 'all clear', Max, Logan and Alec followed
closely behind.

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Aside
from the four of them, the room was devoid of life.

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"So,
where's this friend of yours?" Max asked quietly.

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"I
could swear this is where she told us to meet her. Beverly's
extremely organized." Logan twisted and turned, walking around
the room, calling out for Dr. Shankar.

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Alec
swallowed hard. "Father Grummins' body is missing."

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Max's
eyes swept the surrounding area, coming to land on a discarded
pen. "I don't think dead people use pens. Is anyone
thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked quietly. Alec caught
the look of confusion and fear in her eyes and wrapped his arms
around her in a tight embrace. She leaned back against him.

face="Times New Roman">
Zack
smelled it first. "Uh, guys? Is the incinerator supposed to
be on unsupervised?"

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Logan
dashed to the other side of the room and turned off the switch.

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As
the flames died down, the faint flicker of fire danced across the charred remains
glinting on a small metal object. Logan peered inside trying to
discern what it was, gasping when he recognized the small gold
medallion Beverly always wore. It looked as if it were the only
thing left intact, or at least the only thing visible through the glass window. Anything else was
seemingly obliterated.

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"If
both bodies were in there, we'll never know. But I recognize her
necklace. Who would do this? Kill an innocent woman? Who could be so
sadistic?!" he whimpered, collapsing to the ground in
disbelief.

face="Times New Roman">
Zack's
quiet words echoed throughout the room. "Someone who wanted
to get rid of the evidence...and witnesses."

| O | O | O |

face="Times New Roman">
That
they could still identify the woman, he wasn't worried about. He
was just pleased that his impromptu mission was successful. Grummins was
beyond recognition. That was all that mattered.

face="Times New Roman">
Maybe
a nice hot shower is in order. And I think there's a good
Hitchcock film on in a bit. Oh, and Maxie made cookies.

face="Times New Roman">
Ben
smiled in smug satisfaction as he made his way out into the
cold, dark night.

TBC