Published at 12th of August 2022 9:14 pm

Book 2: Chapter 67: Debriefing

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“He’s kidnapping and killing people close to you,” Connor summarized succinctly.

Dan shook his head. “Not just people close to me. I’ve hardly even spoken to the night manager.” His face twisted in guilt. “I can’t even remember his name. Margaret said it when I told her, and I’ve already forgotten. I wouldn’t know him from Adam.”

“Yet you think he’s coming for me?” Connor queried. By his side, Freya looked like she couldn’t decide between being furious or anticipatory at the prospect.

“You’re the most accessible person that he might guess I’m close to,” Dan pointed out. “Cannibal heard me talking to Gregoir. I imagine he’ll mention it to Bartholomew. He might come after you to spite me, or he might do it to spite Gregoir.”

“He’ll find me a much more difficult target than the last time we met,” Connor growled. Freya put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed, silently supporting the statement.

Dan nodded. “I mean, sure. Yeah, that’s true. But why take the chance?”

“What is the other option?” Connor asked quizzically. “Hide out at home?”

Dan shrugged, and Connor scoffed.

“I will not cower while my fellows fight for the city,” the young officer declared. He gestured to his uncle’s unconscious body. “I won’t dishonor my family by fleeing in the face of danger.”

“You realize that there’s no way you’ll be involved in any kind of fighting, right?” Dan asked. Sometimes, he wasn’t sure if Connor had a firm grasp of his position in the force. He seemed to substitute his own dreams with the reality of his situation. “You’re a rookie. You both are. You’ll be doing traffic stops and other minor shit while those Federal Assault Teams round up the villains.”

Connor scowled. “I’ll do my duty, whatever that is determined to be.”

“City’s gonna be a warzone,” Dan pointed out, shamelessly switching tactics. “Even without a mad scientist gunning for you, things will be bad.” He paused, then added, “Gregoir thinks he might be a Genius.”

“All the more reason not to shirk away,” Connor declared stoically.

Dan glanced at Freya. “You with him on this?”

“It’s what we signed up for,” Freya replied simply. Something predatory appeared in her gaze. “And I am perfectly fine letting this ‘Genius’ take his shot at us.”

“Right,” Dan said, shaking his head. He slapped his palms against his thighs. “That’s that, then.”

“Thank you for the warning,” Connor said, in an honest tone. “We will be careful, but the job remains the same.”

“When do you go back on duty?” Dan asked, checking the screen of his phone. It was well past midnight.

“In the morning,” Freya replied. She leaned against Connor, as the younger man returned to brooding over his uncle.

“I’ll let you get some sleep, then,” Dan said, standing up. His phone buzzed as he moved to pocket it. He glanced at the screen, recognizing Gregoir’s number. He frowned, and answered it.

“Daniel.” The voice wasn’t Gregoir’s. It was Ito, his gruff tone giving nothing away. “I have questions.”

Dan paused a beat. “Okay?”

“We’re still set up at the motel,” Ito continued. “Drop by, won’t you?”

“Okay,” Dan repeated.

The call ended and Dan stared down at his phone. He glanced back to Connor and Freya, gave them a grim smile, and said, “Gotta go.”

He reappeared in the ruined parking lot of the motel where he’d found Cannibal. Across from him, in a grassy field between the motel and the freeway, he saw several large white tents being pulled into place. They were temporary headquarters, medical tents, and debriefing chambers. Dan made his way over, flagging down a nearby cop and getting directions to Ito. The grizzled veteran officer was given notice on the radio, and he met Dan halfway to the tents.

“Daniel,” he greeted politely. His face was unreadable, and not just from the darkness. “I need to interview you.” He gestured away from the tents, to a little patch of grass far from everyone else.

“Not Gregoir?” Dan asked, following the older officer. “He was my first point of contact.” Dan felt a sudden flash of concern. “He doing okay? The big guy took some hits.”

Sergeant Ito shook his head. “Gregoir is fine. He is also biased when it comes to you.”

Dan raised an eyebrow. “And you’re not?”

Ito did not rise to the bait. His stoic expression did not shift an inch. They came to a stop in the open field, and the officer folded his arms. “I’m capable of being impartial, while still presenting a friendly face. You’re a friend of the department, Daniel. We want you to feel comfortable. But you’re also the primary witness to the resurrection of several very influential and dangerous figures. You were the first person to encounter Cannibal, and by some definitions, engage him. Tell me about him.”

Dan hesitated, but only briefly. He immediately assumed that Gregoir had been honest in his own debriefing, so he laid it all out frankly. Dan talked about his decision to leave town and Abby’s request to look after Margaret. He described going to the Pearson, not realizing that it was her off day. He spoke about finding Burl Meyers.

“Burl Meyers,” Ito repeated. “The missing man that Gregoir thought connected to Andros Bartholomew?”

“The very same,” Dan confirmed. “He’s suffering from the same symptoms as the store clerk.” Dan paused. “You know about Waylon?”

Ito nodded.

Same thing, only worse,” Dan said. “Woozy, unfocused. He fell over when I surprised him, and it took him about thirty seconds to stand up again.”

Ito frowned. “Right, likely a victim then. So you found him. What next?”

Dan walked Ito through the phone call with Bartholomew, the kidnapping of the night manager and Dan’s subsequent communication with Gregoir. Then he recounted his idea to ask Meyers where they’d been staying.

“Meyers said that there were three people in the apartment,” Dan recalled. “The third was a tallish white guy, whom I took to be the Pearson’s night manager.

“That description matches something like a quarter of the city,” Ito pointed out.

“Yes, i realized that,” Dan replied with irritation. “I don’t— didn’t know the guy very well. It was the best description I could give at the time. And really, who else could it have been?”

“A long dead serial killer, apparently,” Ito replied in a sardonic tone.

Dan winced, and Ito immediately looked regretful.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’m a cop. Gallows humor comes with the badge.”

Dan waved him off. “It’s fine.”

“So you showed up to the apartment and found Cannibal waiting.”

“Not waiting. He was sleeping, I think,” Dan corrected, squinting to remember. “Or hibernating, maybe. He was just sitting there, slowly breathing. I’m positive he has advanced senses, but he didn’t seem to register me until I was right up on him.”

“Describe him for me.”

Dan pursed his lips. “Emaciated. Looked like someone coming out of a concentration camp. Skin and bone, but he was still strong. He moved with a pronounced hunch.” Dan bent his spine in demonstration. “Long arms, claws, sharp canines.” Dan shrugged. “Other than that, he looked exactly like the picture you showed me. Hair a little shaggier, maybe, but not much. Hadn’t aged a day, so far as I could tell. He just looked like he’d been starved for a spell.”

“Maybe he had,” Ito pondered quietly. “He must have been somewhere, assuming he’s the real deal.”

“He fought like it.” Dan looked at the older officer, his voice grave. Ito needed to understand. “He was playing with Gregoir, Kaneda. He seemed fascinated that Gregoir wouldn’t stay down. The crazy bastard was serious for all of five seconds, and in that time he killed two of yours and brought down a chopper with his bare hands.”

Ito nodded at the blunt evaluation. “We weren’t ready for him. We will be.”

“When will the National Guard be here?” Dan asked. “And what about those Federal Assault Teams?

“After this? Within the hour, I’d expect. Advance teams, at least. And Coldwater is on the way as we speak.”

“The mercs?” Dan clarified.

Ito nodded. “They’ll be protecting crucial infrastructure. The power grid, water supply. Things villains have targeted in the past.”

“How are you going to find them?” Dan asked quietly.

“The FATs have specialists,” Ito reassured him. “This is what they do.”

“What about Bartholomew?” Dan asked.

“He’s on the list,” Ito confirmed. He paused, his voice growing soft. “Did the Pearson guy have any family?”

“I don’t know,” Dan admitted. “I barely knew the man.”

“We can find out,” Ito told him. “We’ll track them down. Hey, maybe it was a bluff. Maybe he’s at home, asleep. Maybe Bartholomew was lying.”

Dan smiled wryly. “No. I don’t think he was.”

“Probably not,” Ito agreed. “No reason to give up hope, though.” He watched Dan for a few moments. “I think we’re about done here. You live nearby?”

Dan shrugged. “Not really. Twenty minutes at this time of night.”

“I’ll drive you home.”

Dan laughed. “If I wanted to be home, I’d be home. Wouldn’t take more than a thought.”

“I’ll drive you home,” Ito repeated. “Your girlfriend was right; smart woman you’ve got there. Pack up your shit, and leave town. We’ve got it from here.”

“I have unfinished business.”

“No, you don’t,” Ito said firmly. “You are a civilian, and you’re going to act like it. We’re not blind, Daniel. We’ve got a few witnesses describing some odd actions from a person matching your description. The APD has given you a lot of slack, and you’re a friend, but we can only tolerate so much. Take my advice, and leave the city for a while.”

That caught Dan off guard. Thinking back, Dan noted that he hadn’t been questioned much about the fight. Not about the first time he’d blasted Cannibal across the parking lot. Certainly not about the mysterious explosion that had turned the side lot into a smoking crater. His friends were covering for him, but they had their limits.

Dan sagged slightly. Maybe Ito was right. Dan was an amateur playing around in the big leagues. He would only cause problems. Besides, Ito didn’t look like he was going to drop it. Might as well get a ride home. Dan could use the time to think.

“Fine,” he agreed. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Ito lead him to a nearby cruiser, and Dan piled into the passenger seat. They drove in silence, driving down the near abandoned city streets. The only sound was the constant chatter of the police radio. Commands barked to and fro, mysterious, coded things that Dan couldn’t make sense of. He wondered how many civilians had heard what had happened. The city was asleep, and the sirens hadn’t sounded. The video of the fight had surely been posted, but how much traction coould it gain so late at night? Most would probably find out from the morning news. Lucky for the cops. They could still control the narrative, if only slightly.

“When will the news break?” Dan asked.

Ito didn’t require clarification. “When we have a response.”

Dan nodded, and fell back into silence. He watched the city pass them by, watched the passing flashes of blue and red as light hit glass and bounced away. He watched the streets that had seen so much in these past few weeks, and would see much worse in the days to come. He watched the dark horizon, the sky filled with stars, barely visible past the city lights and the smog. He watched it all, and wondered at his place in this world he’d found himself in.

They made good time to Dan’s house, and Ito pulled up to the curb outside. The officer paused before unlocking the doors, staring down the street with a frown.

“No Perez?” he asked.

Dan followed his gaze in confusion, looking for a bread shop. It took him a moment to connect the dots. Officer Perez had been posted to watch over Dan’s house.

“No,” Dan replied. “He got pulled away for… one of the many disasters that have hit us in the past few days. I honestly can’t remember which.”

Ito continued to stare, his frown deepening into a scowl. “Did he tell you that?”

“No,” Dan said slowly. “He just wasn’t here one day. Why?”

Ito seemed to think for another moment, before shaking his head. “Nothing. Let’s go.”

They quietly exited the car. Ito’s tension put Dan on edge, and he slowly made his way up the sidewalk, eyeing his front door with naked suspicion. Dan glanced around the yard, seeing nothing particularly out of place. A glance through his window showed nothing of note.

Dan glanced back to Ito. The older officer had his hand resting on the butt of his gun, and his eyes were flicking around the yard. They fell on the bushes along the wall of Dan’s house.

The bushes shook, and a white form darted out. Dan flinched, then shouted, “Wait!” as Ito went for his gun.

Merrill’s tiny form darted across the yard, bee-lining for Dan. She crawled onto his foot and up his leg, tiny claws digging into his jeans with each frantic movement. Ito watched in bemusement as she ended up on Dan’s shoulder, chittering urgently into his ear.

Dan frowned as her tiny whiskers bumped into his cheek repeatedly. She made another loud squeak, bobbing her body up and down like a fishing line. Her tiny eyes were fixed on the house.

Dan turned to face his door, something cold settling in his gut.

“Something’s wrong.”

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