Chapter #24Chekhov's Gun by: imaj   "I uh," mumbles Hal.
You let go of Bea and march towards him. Hal stumbles to his feet just in time for you to push him to the wall. He's taller than you now, stronger now too, but he barely resists as you pin him in place, holding the greasy collar of his shirt with both hands.
"That is to say..."
"Never mind," you hiss at him. "I'll work it out from your memories." You place your palm on a stubble covered cheek. You don't use the knockout part of the sigil, instead you just absorb Hal's imago.
You discard his face immediately. You'll never want to use that. His childhood memories follow suit and you start looking through his more recent memories. You find the truth almost immediately. You let go of him and step back. Hal deflates as you stare at him angrily.
"You knew," you state.
"If you'll just let me explain," he replies.
"You knew that Hilda had been replaced by someone from Fane and you didn't tell any of us. You knew for months!"
"Hal," says Minnie, looking round at her colleague. "Is this true?"
"I thought that it would be better not let him know that we knew," answers Hal nervously. "So to speak. Let him lead us back to his bourgeois masters. Which worked!"
You feel your hands clench into fists. Your nails dig into your palms. "Does this look like it worked?
"I think you need to calm down," says Minnie.
"I'm perfectly calm," you say coldly. "Do you remember what I said Hal?" He looks at you blankly. You push him against the wall. "Do you remember what I fucking said?"
"Look, I'm really sorry Will," he flounders. "I didn't mean for anyone to..."
"Wrong answer," you shout, spinning away from him and walking back over to beside Bea. "I said if you ever did anything that put Bea in danger I would kill you. Tell me Hal, tell me... Do think you put Bea in danger?"
"Will," interrupts Minnie. "We'll go to Rosalie and tell her about what he did. She'll deal with it." You snort in disgust.
No, if you want to stop Hal ever hurting the people you care about again, you'll have to do it yourself. You look at Hal. He's smiling nervously. You look down at your waist. The rifle you stole from the guard still hangs there. With the memories of the guard, you know how to use it properly. You look at Hal again.
That's when you shoot him.
The look on his face is what you'll remember: One of utter surprise. He burbles, little blood specked bubbles of saliva blowing from his mouth. Then he slowly falls to the floor, blood smearing on the wall behind him as he goes. His eyes flutter as he loses consciousness and he breathes his last.
Another Stellae lies dead by your hand.
The enormity of what you have done sinks in and you let the rifle slip from your grasp. Somehow the strap comes loose and it clatters to the floor. Does this mean you've gone retrograde? What will you do now? Where will you go? Will the others chase you? No, you're sure what you've done is justified. You think of all the time Hal has been careless - from the death of Pete Churchman, through Charles' funeral to today - Hal has unthinkingly ruined Bea's life. He's the rogue, not you.
You look up at Minnie. She has drawn her pistol and aimed it at you. "Why," she asks, her voice struggling to remain even.
"He put Bea's life needlessly in danger. It wasn't the first time either. Do you honestly think Rosalie would have done anything more than give him a slap on the wrist and tell him not to do it again?" Besides you, Bea stifles a sob. "What are you going to do?"
"I should take you to Rosalie," she tells you, but her voice is uncertain. "Will you come willingly?"
"If you ask me to."
"I..." she tails off into silence. You both stare at each other for what seems like an age. You are vaguely aware of Bea tugging on the sleeve of your cardigan. "Go," she tells you. "Before I change my mind."
"You'll get Bea home," you ask. Minnie nods weakly. You switch imago one more time, back to Doctor Fitzgerald, before turning to Bea. "I want you to listen to Minnie Bea. She'll get you home. You can trust Kali. She'll watch out for you." You shake your head ruefully. "She'll probably do a better job of it than I ever did. I'm sorry Bea."
"Wait," says Bea. "Siobhan, Will, whatever your name is." You stop for a second as she hugs you. "Thank you. For everything."
Bea releases you and you walk out the door. You do not look back.
The tunnel to the evacuation point isn't far and you reach it quickly, even using the doctor's older body. You fumble behind a row of barrels to find the release catch for the door. A section of wall - indistinguishable from the rest folds open to reveal the tunnel. You duck in the open entrance and close it behind you. Even if Minnie changes her mind and tries to follow you, you'll be long gone by the time she finds the hidden doorway.
The tunnel slopes slowly upwards, a long and seemingly endless tube lit in a dull red glow. The metal floor clanks as you walk up. It seems to take forever. Perhaps after a mile and a half or so you see a white glow marking the end of the tunnel.
It takes several more minutes to reach it, where you are faintly surprised to see the exit to the tunnel already open. You step out into a harshly lit underground parking lot. Three unmarked vans are parked in a lose pattern in the otherwise empty lot. Standing in the middle of them, now dressed in the same body armour the guards used, is David Pendleton.
"Just you and me left, eh Doctor," he says, grinning. "You'll excuse me if I find that a little too convenient."
It's easy to slip back into the doctor's persona. "I don't understand what you mean David."
"Nice try Prescott," he replies. "Not don't come any closer. I've heard what you are capable of." Though his eyes never leave you, he feels for the pouches at his belt with one hand. He opens one and withdraws a small glass flask. The liquid inside glows faintly. "Do you recognise this?"
The doctor's memories do: "It's the dregs. What we separated from the hyperflora serum."
Pendleton smiles. "Again with 'we'. You don't give up, do you." He flips the stopper off the top of the flask with one thumb. "I'm a bit desperate, but I'm out of options here. Can't turn my back on you, but I figure this stuff here might do for me the same the other stuff did for Joyce's plants. Bottoms up Prescott." He drains the flask in one swift gulp. "Eh, a bit bitter. Just hope the old hand to hand training holds up."
You snort derisively. How much combat training does a corporate executive get? You switch imago again, Frank's heavier body splitting the doctor's clothes at the seams. Pendleton isn't convinced by your impersonation anyway, so you might as well go for something that gives you an advantage in a fight. All you need to do is find some exposed skin under that armour and you can knock him out with a touch. A punch in the face would be perfect, you think with a smile.
To your surprise, Pendleton drops into an effective looking fighting stance. You shrug and decide to rush him, bellowing as you run forwards. You don't have time to register shock on your face as Pendleton steps neatly to the side and jabs you in the head with a gloved fist. The blow jars your senses and your legs turn to jelly underneath you.
"Sonnova," you curse as you plant your face in the hard concrete of the ground. Without Frank's Malacandran toughness it feels as if you have been hit by a truck.
"Eh, I'm genuinely surprised that worked," you dimly hear Pendleton say. You feel him stick his boot in under your ribs and you curl up on the ground in pain. "I'd love hang around, but I've heard it takes a lot more than one lucky hit to put you down and I expect your friends are right behind you. I'm not one for pushing my luck Prescott, so this is our goodbye." You scrabble for enough focus to change imago, vaguely aware that you can hear the sound of one of the vans starting up and driving off.
You finally manage to grasp another imago in spite of the constant, buzzing sound that assaults your ears. It fades as you switch form. You pick yourself up off the floor and look at the doctor's watch. You've lost five minutes, more than enough time for Pendleton to get away.
You shake the last of the fuzziness from your head as you climb in the cab of one of the remaining vans. You laugh as you catch sight of yourself in the rear view mirror as you adjust it: You've flipped back into your own form without realising it.
It's fitting, Will Prescott is leaving the Stellae. No, that's not right. You think of them all: Joe, who you loved but who never felt the same way in return Rosalie, the sister that failed to protect you from the others. Frank, who resented being second choice after his brother. Charles and Nash, who hid the truth from you. Hal, who hurt the one thing that still mattered to you at the end of it all. No, you aren't leaving the Stellae.
The Stellae left you.
You turn the key in the ignition and drive off.
Will's adventures continue in "Eclipse"  . |
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