Rise of the Dunamy (22 page)

43

S
hane eased in and gave her a friendly hug. “You alright?” He asked softly, motioning at the marks on her face. “What happened there?”

“Oh, that was just …. It’s nothing. What did he tell you?” She held her blanket wrapped around her, accepting his comforting hug before backing away.

“Just what I said. He mentioned that you had been through something pretty bad last night and that you were upset. That’s about it. I didn’t have anything going on, so I figured I would check in on you.”

“I’m all right. Thanks for coming by.” It was actually a nice break from the hours of thinking she had been doing. “Would you like some coffee?” She eased her way towards the kitchen, selecting a standard coffee mix for the machine.

“That’ll work.” He said, easing his demeanor as he tried to lighten the mood. “I’m really sorry about coming by so late. I just figured that based on the time Lucian came in that you might be asleep most of the day.”

“Good guess.” As nice as it was to see Shane, she was still shaken and found it difficult to make small talk.

“Like the place.” He said as he glanced around.

“Pfft.” She sputtered, mockingly. “My place is a hole compared to your palace.”

“Oh, stop. Lucian and I have been fortunate. You clearly think we’re snobs, though. That’s real cool. Reeeal nice, Sofie.” He joked, hoping to calm her nerves some.

Sofia handed him his coffee with as much of a smile as she could muster.

“It really is nice of you to stop by. It means a lot.”

“It’s not a problem. I hope you guys are going to be alright. I know how much he likes you. Most times I never meet girls he dates unless he meets them while we’re out together.”

“Can we not talk about him right now? I’m figuring some stuff out right now, and it’s really just nice to have someone to talk to.”

“Sure. Not a problem. I can do that…..” They both stared at their coffee mug for several seconds, swirling periodically as they searched their thoughts for a topic that would not lead back to Lucian.

Sofia broke the silence, “So, what is it you do, again? I know that you were a doctor or something, but didn’t you quit that?”

“Yes. Yes I did. I decided that I really didn’t enjoy it as much as I originally thought I did.”

“What brought you to that conclusion?”

“My father died a few years ago. It really opened my eyes to how much time I wasted working and not being with people I cared about. I didn’t get to see my parents very much for a long time while I went through school and while I was getting established in my career. I always thought I would earn a bundle of money and have tons of free time once I did, but he died before I got the chance. I decided then that I wanted to live my life differently. Since then, I have done some things on the side to keep enough money coming in to pay some bills.”

“You must do really well in your side jobs to pay half of that rent and have money to spend.”

“Actually, Lucian just lets me live there for free. I know you don’t really want to hear about him, but he’s been really great to me since then. He told me to move in and stay as long as I like and absolutely refuses to take any money from me. So I usually just spend my money on things for the place that we can both enjoy to pay him back. It’s a pretty good arrangement.”

“Yeah, he’s an angel.” She said sarcastically as she finished off her coffee. “Angel of damn death,” she muttered under her breath as leaned away from Shane to refill her cup. Shane placed his cup on the counter slowly before speaking.

“You know, what he’s doing is really noble if you think about it.” Sofia ftoze, holding her coffee mug in place against her lips as she stared at Shane and tried to determine exactly what he had meant by his comment.

“What do you mean?” She asked, perplexed by his comment, unsure of exactly how much he knew.

“What he does. It’s selfless and noble and heroic.”

“What do you mean by what he does? What does that mean, Shane?”

“You know exactly what it means. You saw him. You saw what he can do; what he is. The man is a freakin’ super hero and has changed an indeterminable number of lives.”

“You… know?” Sofia asked as she stared at him. She was not overwhelmed with disbelief, she was simply surprised. She had considered that Shane might know, but couldn’t believe that he did based on how normal he acted. There had never been an awkward moment between the three of them, which she had concluded that there should have been had he known. She had spoken about the case with Lucian in front of him and he had been extremely casual through the entire thing.

“We live together. He’s my best friend. Yes, I know.”

“Are you involved?” Sofia’s mood was no longer playful. She had subconsciously reverted to her instincts as an investigator.

“Are we off the record? That sounded a little like a question that you might be asking as a cop, not a friend.”

Sofia eased up a little. At this point she was more concerned with hearing the whole story than preparing a case.

“Sorry. Of course we are. I just need to hear everything, Shane.”

“Well, I do a few things for him, but I’m not involved in the actual ‘destruction of evil’ as he calls it. I do most of his research on guys and I fix him up when he’s hurt.”

“Wait. I watched him heal. What do you mean fix him up?”

“Well, when he gets shot those bullets stay in there. His body heals up around them, but they’re still in there. See, when the bullet goes in it breaks the skin on the outside first and does damage all the way in. Lucian’s body begins healing as soon as it is injured, so naturally his epidermis is the first to repair and the area surrounding the bullet is last. When he comes in, I have to find the bullets and pull them out. It’s not the hardest work I have ever done as a doctor, but it can be a little tricky working in surroundings that are trying to heal over your incisions while you’re in there. It’s like digging a hole in dry sand that just keeps filling back in.”

At this point, there was no reason for Sofia to doubt anything that was said about Lucian. She didn’t even question what Shane was saying.

“So you’re the one who decides who he kills?”

“It’s easier to think of them as ‘evil’ and he is ‘destroying’ them. It helps you process things. But to answer your question, yes, sometimes I do decide who he should track. Most times he’ll have a lead on someone and have me check them out. I find out as much as I can about them. I find out whether there was any hard evidence against them or if they’re repeat offenders; what they were accused of; and the likelihood that they’re guilty. Once I do all of that, I let him know where they usually hang out or where they live and he spends several nights tracking them. Most times he doesn’t make a move on someone without seeing them in the act, but in some cases he’ll make an exception.”

“When does he make exceptions?”

Shane fidgeted slightly. He was visibly uncomfortable. “When it comes to kids. He doesn’t wait for that to happen. He will watch them for a few days. If they act suspicious or put themselves in a lot of situations where they are around children, he makes a move.”

Sofia’s detective instincts took over once again “We haven’t found any bodies that fit his pattern that have abused children.”

“No, you wouldn’t. He disposes of them, but doesn’t feed on them. He finds them too disgusting to ingest. Can’t say I disagree. Those are rough nights. If he can’t feed, he deals with some intense stuff. But I can’t keep him off those cases. He makes the his top priority and takes them every time. And if I try and keep him away from them for a while, he’ll find someone and bring me their information.”

“How long has this been going on? Was he doing this before you were involved?” Sofia couldn’t believe that this had been going on for any substantial period of time. They had only noticed a pattern and developed the case in the past few weeks. If Lucian had been operating for any longer, surely they would have seen the connection.

“I’ve never asked him if he was doing this before we got together, but we’ve been working together for about a year. I became involved after my father died. See, my father didn’t just die of natural causes. He was murdered by some degenerate in what was supposedly an attempted robbery. The man was a career criminal and the severity of his crimes had escalated over the years. My father was not the type to fight a man with a gun, he was too smart for that. There were no witnesses so there’s no way of knowing how things actually went down, but there was no sign of a struggle. I believe that after robbing my father, he killed him in cold blood. Anyway, he got off on the charges for killing my father. Some evidence was mismanaged and became inadmissible so he got a mistrial.” Shane’s mood darkened for a moment as he thought back.

“He laughed as he left the courtroom.” He paused momentarily before continuing.

“I was harboring a lot of hate after that but at the same time I was realizing that I wanted to change my life so that I could enjoy the time that I have with my friends and family. Lucian and I knew each other before that, and he was there for me through everything. When I told him I had decided to quit my job and that I wanted to live a more fulfilling life, Lucian supported me one hundred percent and offered me a place to live. I didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of basically becoming full blown bum, but Lucian convinced me that it wasn’t only a good idea but that it would actually help him out. I hadn’t been there long before he told me about himself and what he did. He didn’t have to tell me much for me to get on board.”

“So, he told you about himself and what, you just believed him?”

“No. I’m a logical person, so of course that wasn’t the case. He explained all that he could and then he left. He came back a few hours later and was a great deal larger than he usually was and was covered in blood. He then grabbed a knife from the counter and cut himself open. As I watched his body heal in a matter of seconds, it was very difficult to deny what he had told me. Plus, I think it was easy for me to believe him because I really wanted it to be true. What he wanted to do, the destruction of evil and all, was something I really wanted to see happen and I wanted to be part of it. Since then, we have worked on a process by which we locate targets and a set of rules that goes along with Lucians plan.”

That was the last piece of “logic” that Sofia could handle.

“Oh, wonderful; you guys have rules for your murders. Well then I guess that makes all of this alright. I mean, you don’t follow the rules of society, but you have a separate set of rules that you feel are better than those that the rest of us live by. That definitely sets you apart from other criminals. You guys really are like some sort of super heroes!”

“Okay. I can tell you’re getting angry and probably just fed up with all of this information. It’s a lot to take in. But before I go, I’m going to lay it all out there. I’m going to tell you something that Lucian would probably rather I not tell you, but I think it’s something that you need to know. The reason that you have only been on this case for a short time is Lucian and I decided that we needed the help of someone inside. Lucian is more than capable of doing what he does and never leaving a trace of evidence; not even a body. We operated for several months without you guys having so much as a hint of what was going on. The thing is, he wanted access to more information on his targets. He didn’t want more innocent people to potentially be harmed before he was able to locate a target. Now, his job is close to the police department, but he can’t get to as much information as actual detectives.”

Sofia was enraged as she realized what he was about to say. Was this supposed to be calming her down? Finding out that Lucian had only been interested in her so that he could make an ally out of her and use her to gain sensitive information was in no way making her less angry about anything. She slammed her cup into the sink and made her way to the door.

“Please just listen before you lose it. I’m leaving, but hear me out.” Sofia placed her hand on the knob and waited for him to finish.

“We needed someone on the inside, and Lucian was positive that it was going to be Bishop.” The death grip that she had placed on the knob loosened slightly at this news. “He was perfect. He hates criminals and is willing to push the limits of the job to make an arrest. He’s a great cop but has more of a sense of what real justice is than most. He was just right for the job. I was ready for him to move in on Bishop, but Lucian could never get past a feeling that he had about him. He would have been perfect for our inside person, but Lucian felt that he could be too easily lured away from our cause. He felt that Bishop would jump at the opportunity to set us up and make an arrest that would make his career.”

“So that’s when you targeted me?” Sofia interrupted.

“No. We never targeted you; that’s the point. Lucian and I were going to make a different plan, go a different way. We had scrapped the idea when Lucian asked you out. Then you guys went out and he told me after that first date that he couldn’t believe how strong his feelings for you were. What I’m trying to get at is this; he really does care about you. One thing about Lucian is that if you’re inside his small circle of loved ones; there’s nothing that he wouldn’t do to make you happy and keep you safe. And let me just tell you that you are one of the safest.”

Shane finally made his way to the door as Sofia opened it. He turned back as he entered the hall, “I really did want to make sure that you were all right. I’m glad to see that you’re safe.” With that, he turned and left.

44

S
ofia closed the door, locking the deadbolt, the chain, and the knob before leaning her head against the door softly. Had there ever been a more chaotic sequence of events in history? She had hardly began to get things straight in her head about what had happened the night before, and now she finds out that Shane was involved and that the only reason that they had even found evidence of their work was because they had allowed them to. What could she do? Did she go to work the following day and announce that Lucian was the killer? She didn’t have any real proof. They hadn’t found any trace of useable evidence that would tie him to the crimes. Plus, Lucian was too smart too allow himself to be caught by her. He could easily make her look like a jilted lover. He had everyone in the precinct wrapped around his finger, especially Bishop. But honestly, did she even want to turn him in?

She had done a good job of keeping her emotional attachment to Lucian out of her decision-making up to this point, but could no longer pretend that it wasn’t a factor. She knew how she felt about him, but had only really just started to believe that he felt the same way after having spoken with Shane. So the question now was: could she turn in the only man that she had truly fallen in love with? Sofia had operated for so long under the assumption that she would be alone forever because of her great love for her profession. She had never felt that there was something missing from her life, because she truly did not feel that anything was missing. Now she had gotten a taste of what she had missed out on and she wasn’t sure she could end it just as it was beginning.

Then there was her career; the thing for which she had worked so hard, for so long. How could she compromise the beliefs that had made her such a successful officer? It was just such a great amount to consider in such a short time. She knew that she had to have a decision and a plan by the next day when she went to work.

Sofia spent the entire evening and morning going back and forth on whether to turn Lucian in or not. Each time that she thought that she had reached the right conclusion she would find something on the other side that made her doubt herself. Every single point that she could think of had an equally compelling counterpoint. Finally, she simplified her solution down to her emotional attachment to Lucian or her views on morality. While she had successfully simplified the question she had all but made the answer simple. The hours continued to slip by as Sofia contemplated her options. Eventually, the time arrived for her to begin getting ready for work. She was no closer to a decision than she had been when she woke up. She wondered if it would have been easier if Shane had never shown up that night. Nothing could change what had happened, she could only try and make the right decision now while considering all of the information she had been given.