Story [Delta Green/Call of Cthulhu] Summer in the City (Horror Genre)

So, at last... Sorry for having had you guys waiting, but here it is - and a longer update than usual... Enjoy...


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8.
Miriam sat restlessly at the computer, trying to concentrate on her work, checking the time every other minute. A little more than an hour had passed since she parted from Cyrus and he had not yet called her. It didn?t take more than half an hour to return to the Museum of Natural History so he should have had at least 40 minutes to do whatever he needed to do by now. For at least the twentieth time she berated herself for letting him go alone. She should have gone with him. She knew? no, they both knew how dangerous it could be entering a Delta Green crime scene when all three were there ? and now she had let him go by himself. If something happened to him now she would never forgive herself. Miriam tensely checked the time again. Five more minutes, that?s what she was going to give him before calling him, not a second more.

She clicked on another link at the FBI?s citizens? archive page. So far she hadn?t found much. Robert Stevenson, age 32, profession: carpenter, no criminal record. Spouse: Stella Stevenson, born Stella Alba ? now that?s a silly name if she?d ever heard one ? age 34, profession: waitress, no criminal record, married December 12 1992. The only thing that made that tingling feeling that something might not be right to show up in the back of her head, was that the child was not listed at all. Sometimes FBI kept fake pages over certain people. Why this should be such a case Miriam could not understand. The family had not seemed to stand out in any way; a lower class family, not very educated, struggling to make ends meet. Still she started to get that well-known feeling that there was more to this family than met the eye, but she wanted to be sure that she didn?t overlook anything on the regular pages before going into the special FBI-sites and contacting Delta Green?s information source Alphonse.

While she waited for the web page to load she nervously tapped a pen at the desk and checked the time again. Two more minutes. She couldn?t believe the time it took for the page to load today. The staccato became more restless and her thoughts went back to Cyrus again. Why did she let him go by himself? Stupid, stupid thing to do! Just one more minute now before calling him. Her eyes returned to the computer screen. Still nothing. What was it with that cursed page? Miriam tried to move the cursor to reload, but nothing happened.

?For Heaven?s sake!? she growled.

Why did the computer have to crash now? She kicked the computer tower in frustration and reached for the cell phone when it suddenly rang and made her heart stand still for a second. When she started breath again and saw the number in the display window, it filled her with a relief so great that she felt her limbs totally relax.

?Cyrus!?

?Okay, I admit, I?m stupid!? Cyrus voice on the other side was clearly upset.

?What???

?I didn?t pick up the signals! There must have been signals!?

?Cyrus, please, what happened??

She could hear him sigh and then the sound of his hand running through his hair, a sign that he felt out of control.

?I asked the museum?s security staff to show me a picture of the good professor??

?It wasn?t him.? Miriam said with a calm she didn?t feel.

?No. So I had them to unlock his room? The guy was apparently in a hurry after we left. It looks like a tornado has gone through it. I?ve blocked it off until you can get a look at it, but Claire, you need to take Caesar with you and meet me at the real professor?s house. He doesn?t answer the phone. I?ll leave the museum right away. Should be there in about twenty.? ?

Miriam went cold.

?We?ll meet you there, Cy.?

?Thanks. It?s 84-170.?

?Right. We?re leaving asap. And Cy? It wasn?t your fault.?

Cyrus just scoffed before hanging up on her.

 

"You guys always get your hands into such weird stuff", indeed!

I think you really outdid yourself with that one, Darth_Bliss! - I love how you work with three different levels of tension that play against each other during the scene - what's in the house? What's with Cyrus? And what's waiting to be discovered in the final room? Way to build excitment!!

And what the hell is up with Cyrus? I really don't think it's a good idea for Mimi to go with him someplace all alone. At night. Really.

 

I have to agree with Danaan, you made a good update here! My most pressing need is to find out what the heck is going on with Cyrus. Something is definitely not right, there. Well, ok, the whole story could probably be classified that way--those carnivorous worm things are definitely not normal. I wouldn't want to find one, that's for sure.

Keep it going! So far, so good!

 

Thank you, guys, for the kind words. I'm on a little pause right now, so there won't be any new posts for a while. DRL has come in the way, but fear not, I have the story outlined so eventually you will realize that there is no escape...

 

Finally an update! Yay!!! Sorry that it's taken so long, but I'll compensate with a longer post this time. And speaking of longer posts, I'll try to make them that way from now on. The following post will be number 5, which might look strange to you, but I've went over the previous posts at my own document and have put them together to four chapters, instead of ten. They flow better that way.

Anyway, enough rambling... Enjoy the update!

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5.
It was the throbbing pain in Miriam?s head that woke her up. She blinked, trying to get her sleepy, scattered mind awake and functioning. As she lay staring out in the grey light she realized that something was wrong. There was no sunlight and no lit lamps shining in her face. She lifted her head and a flash of pain made her groan. She let her head sink back on the pillow again while she gently rubbed her eyes and forehead. This kind of headache had not appeared since she was a teenager. Was that why she had not lit the lights? She couldn?t remember. At last she managed to sit up and look around in the dusky room. Everything appeared to be normal, except that the blinds were folded. She never folded the blinds.

?Henry??

Her voice sounded hoarse. She gargled and tried again, louder this time.

?Henry??

Only silence answered her. He must have been here when she was asleep and left without waking her up. He did that sometimes when he thought that she needed her sleep more than usual. This was the first time he folded her blinds, though. She had to tell him not to do that again. Miriam put her feet at the naked floor with the intention of heading for the window when the cell phone rang. She grimaced and put a hand at her temple. Where was the phone? The sound didn?t come from its regular place at the bedside table. She must have left it in her jacket. Irritation started to rise in her when she saw that her clothes were not thrown at the chair as usual either. Where were they? What had gone into Henry, messing with her routine like this? The cell phone rang and rang. She tried to localise the sound, confused by the unfamiliar dusky light in the room.

?For goodness sake!? she growled when the sound abruptly stopped. At last she saw her clothes, hanging half hidden on the hanger behind the bedroom door. She frowned. When had Henry become this meticulous about her habits? The cell phone rang again. This time she managed to reach it in time, digging into the jacket pocket.

?Hello??

?Hi, Claire. Ready for a trip to the museum?? Cyrus? voice sounded rested.

?The museum? Umm...? Miriam rubbed her temple again.

?Yeah, to collect the evidence. Remember??

?Umm...? Hadn?t they done that yesterday? She tried to recollect her thoughts. No, that?s right. Cyrus had given her a ride home instead.

?Right.?

?Okay. Need a ride??

?Sure.?

?I?ll be there in twenty.?

He hung up and she went straight to the window. Sunlight flooded in and bathed her face with warmth when she pulled up the blinds. She gave up a deep relieved sigh and allowed herself a few seconds just indulging in the light, relaxing in her whole body before heading for the pleasures of a hot, soothing shower.

Twenty minutes and one Tylenol 3 later she was clean, dressed and enjoyed a bagel and a coffee while she waited for Cyrus to show up. She had even had the time to give the canary fresh water and bird seed before leaving the apartment. Later today, she thought, she was going to stop by a pet store to get a book about canaries as well as some supplies. It felt good having a pet around again. She wouldn?t be able to keep it, of course. No one knew if she would just disappear during a case again someday and be gone for a week or two, or maybe as long as a month this time, without any way of telling anyone, and then the bird would die a slow and painful death. Maybe her sister could take him? Bethany had always loved animals and she would probably be mor

 

....

Not good, not good...it's never good when they can mess with your head...and your appearance, cuz, it's...just...not good...

Another real good update!!

Can't wait to see what happens next!

 

Nothing like a little paranoia to get the blood moving again! Great update, Bliss, this is one of your best yet. You really kept me on the edge of my seat!

Glad to see you working on this again, even if it takes me a while to get to it. Great job, keep it up!

 

I'm really glad that you liked it, guys. The plot is starting to thicken, that's for sure. Hopefully this next update can get you fall off that chair, Perigrine... I won't keep you two on the edge forever. Here it is...

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6.
The lunch was delicious; Miriam had to give him that. Cyrus had taken her to a small Arabian restaurant, hidden away in the outskirts of the dock district. Going in there had been like being transferred directly to a market somewhere in Bahrain. Cyrus had surprised her by being able to read the Arabian menu and order their food in, what at least to her, sounded like perfect Arabian. She had enjoyed the whole place, the atmosphere, the smell, the clientele, the food, and the fantastic service, and now, one hour later, she felt refreshed enough to continue with the work. They left the docks, avoided the high traffic areas and thus arrived at her building complex just twenty minutes later.

?All right.? Cyrus said when they stood outside her apartment door on the twelfth floor. ?You?re the expert. You tell me what to do.?

?Okay. I want us to start looking for fingerprints. There shouldn?t be more than? umm? five different that I know of, mine included. I?d be surprised if we found any other, though. If they can copy our appearances, then they?re probably smart enough to wear gloves.?

Miriam shunned away from the thought of how, exactly, other people?s looks could be duplicated and if that included fingerprints, and stared sternly at the naked facts.

?Let?s also look for dust-covered shoe prints in any other size than mine.?

Cyrus looked at her small feet.

?That shouldn?t be hard.?

?There might be traces from Caesar, though, since he got the bird cage here yesterday.?

As Miriam suspected there were no other recent fingerprints on the doorknob than two different pairs, probably her own and Henry?s. She collected them and opened the door. A happy chirp greeted them.

?The canary?? asked Cyrus while checking the floor for prints.

?Mhm.?

?I wouldn?t mind take a look at it in a moment, just to see if there are any memories flashing back.?

?Go ahead. He?s in the living room. To the left.?

?Let?s do the prints first.?

They worked in silence in each end of the hallway, but it didn?t take more than five minutes before Cyrus called out: ?Hey! Look here! Do you think this is C?s print or some mystic other guy?s??

Miriam walked over to take a look. Cyrus stood pointing at an almost invisible trace of a front right shoe, clearly about four sizes bigger than Miriam?s.

?I don?t know. I can?t say that I?ve paid much attention to Caesar?s shoe prints lately.?

Cyrus gave up a snorting laugh while taking a photograph of the print.

?Not me either. It shouldn?t be any problem borrowing the shoes he used yesterday, just to check them.?

They worked for another half hour, but as Miriam had suspected, they didn?t find anything that stuck out in any way, just a couple of fingerprints, probably from her sister and parents, but that would be easy to check as soon as they got to the lab. At last Cyrus got the chance to take a look at Luce. He stood in front of the cage, staring at the canary for several minutes, before turning to her.

?Can?t say I recognize it. Probably never seen it. There are no memories at all popping up.?

?I don?t think it proves very much, Cy, but it certainly is an indicator that you might not have been in the professor?s house.?

He nodded, and suddenly the old, reserved air returned to him.

?What??

?Do you mind taking a detour to my apartment, as well, or do you want to go directly to the hospital?? He paused before continuing: ?It would be good to be able to eliminate my place too.?

Miriam felt unexpectedly torn apart. Henry needed her badly, she knew that, but Cyrus needed her too, and she had a feeling that their new, fragile friendship depended on her answer. She gave him a quick glance, but he was ster

 

Another update, woohoo!

He was right. The whole apartment would easily have fitted into two of her three rooms, but it was neatly cleaned and surprisingly comfortable and inviting with lots of warm, red colours. The combined living room and bedroom had a wall full of bookshelves with novels by old classical Russian and English authors. The dvd-rack contained romantic comedies. He caught her looking at the sleeve to ?Music and Lyrics?.

?Yeah, I guess I?m one of the few guys who actually like that one.?

?It?s sweet. I?ve seen it.?

I really liked this part, just because it gave the characters a little bit more life. So did finding out that Cyrus has a family; they were both great tidbits into their lives and it makes me feel like they're real people.

Really good one! Keep it up!

 

I'm with Jedi_Perigrine on this: great personal moment for Cy. Never really pegged him for a family guy before. And "Music and Lyrics"... But...I guess that's the kind of stuff you'd unplug with in their particular line of work

Somehow not very surprised that there are two Ceasars now. "They" seem to be able to do that. Now, let's just hope that she's picked the right one...

Now, bring us more angst, gut wrenching paranoia and mind rending truths that man was not meant to know!!

 

Thanks. Yes, it's the thing with being a Delta Green agent, you don't know much about each other, since you don't want to become too good friends. Who knows when you're meeting something you can't get through with the whole crew alive. Anyway, here's the number 7 update.

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7.
Cyrus had parked the car at the far end of the hospital?s parking lot. Now they sat silent and watched the big grey building, both deep in thoughts. The merciless heat of the afternoon sun made the car into a sauna and the air hard to breath. Miriam wiped away the sweat from her forehead and wished that she could open the window to let some draught in. Cyrus played absentmindedly with the car keys, making them jingle with a dull metallic sound.

?I don?t know.? he finally said. ?Either we can hope that they don?t have him under surveillance, and go through the main door, or figure out a way to sneak in. The last option seems a little over the top, but the first seems a little too self-conscious.?

?Mmm?? Miriam agreed.

?Question is?, Cyrus continued, ?how paranoid we want to be. I mean, if we want to run down that alley, then we can assume that we?re under surveillance right now too, and that they have all our phones and cell phones and maybe even the car bugged, and if that?s the case, then they already know that we know.?

?How about just a little paranoid??

Cyrus laughed.

?I?m all for it. Just enlighten me.?

?Well? What we could do is letting the headquarter call Caesar and demand his presence, and then we can wait for him at his car.?

He gave her an appreciative look.

?Not a bad idea, Claire. And then we just assume that they?re not bugging us??

She shrugged.

?If they did, why did the other Caesar answer at home??

?Now you?re just presuming that he?s the false one, you know.?

?Yeah??

Silence fell in the car again. The metallic jingle from the keys sounded a bit nervous. Then Cyrus abruptly dropped them in his pocket.

?C?mon. Let?s go in. There are two of us and a whole hospital full of people. We should be safer in there than out here anyway.?

He opened the door and let his tall, lanky body out of the car. Miriam looked surprised after him a second, before hastening out in the slightly cooler breeze. He gave her a humourless smile.

?Just check your gun first, will you.?

She nodded and loosened it from her holster. It was as ready as she could ask for. She put it down again and glanced at Cyrus.

?You?re sure??

?No, but we can?t sit here all day.?

They shared a smile and headed towards the main entrance.

*

?Daisy Wittinger? Yes, that?s correct; she came in with a stroke yesterday evening. Are you relatives to her??

?No, co-workers to her son, Henry Wittinger.? Miriam answered the elderly blonde nurse behind the desk.

?I?m sorry, only relatives are permitted into the room.?

?We?d like to talk to Mr. Wittinger. Could you send someone to get him for us, please?? Cyrus interposed.

?That?s not really?? the nurse began.

?He did call for us.? Miriam said. ?Please let him know that we are here.?

The nurse hesitated, but reached for the intercom.

?Susan, can you let Mr. Wittinger in room 703 know that he has visitors? Thank you.? She turned to them again. ?Please sit down in the waiting room.?

?Has Mr. Wittinger had many visitors since he arrived yesterday?? Cyrus asked the nurse. She gave him an almost irritated look.

?I don?t know? she said with some content in her voice. ?I haven?t been here more than six hours.?

Cyrus didn?t let that stop him.

?Could you look it up for me, please.? The way Cyrus said that made it clear that he didn?t ask for a favour. The nurse frowned.

?It?s restricted?? she began.

?Please don?t make me flash my badge.? he interrupted.

?Police??

?FBI.?

The nurse looked sceptical. Cyrus gave her a stern look and flashed his badge. Two red spots started to show on the nurse?s cheeks and she gave him a glance th

 

Awesome post! I love how they stand around talking about how paranoid to be. I can totally see myself doing the same thing. I'm glad everybody's got their weapons handy too...I sense something eerie is about to happen. Can't wait to hear what it is! Keep the awesomeness coming.

 

Great post!

Love how you build tension through very subtle, almost mundane means. First with Cy being forced to pull out his badge, a clear break from the everyday routine of the grumpy nurse, then going with the nurse and pretending that all is so...normal, and then finishing off by having the nurse pick up on Cy's hesitation and having him stumble to explain it away with something mundane. And then, the door is opened...to what?

More, I say, more!

 

Jedi_Perigrine: Haha, yeah, it's a fun moment, at least until you start to think of how you would act in that kind of situation...

Danaan: Thank you most kindly. I'm happy to hear that the subtleties does reach the readers.

So, what happens when they open the door? Well, let's take a look...



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The small room smelled like it had been abandoned for years. In the middle of it stood a hospital bed. Daisy Wittinger lay on her back, breathing hard, her eyes closed. The green line on the monitor ticked slowly. Henry sat at her side, holding her hand. He looked up with a face more accentuated with wrinkles than usual. A tired smile showed when he saw her behind the nurse.

?Here she is, Mr. Wittinger.? she said with a comforting tone, before turning to Miriam. ?You can hang your jacket behind the door. Please let us know when you leave.?

?I will. Thank you.?

Henry got up from his seat as soon as the nurse left, and closed her in a warm embrace. She could feel his shoulders relax and his breath gently touch her hair. The light smell of his sweat was so familiar that Miriam involuntarily took a deep breath of relief. He held her so for a minute before he sighed and let her go, smiling down at her. Then he looked at Cyrus who was still at the door, watching the corridor.

?Cyrus.? he greeted the younger man.

?C.? Cyrus acknowledged him and came into the room, closing the door behind him.

?All clear?? Miriam asked.

?All clear.?

?Good.?

Henry looked at them with a slight frown, his eyes red and tired with dark bags underneath, but the expression and his stance was so much alike his old self that she didn?t had any doubts left that he really was himself. Apparently Cyrus had come to the same conclusion, because he casually strolled to the windowsill and sat down, taking in the scenery over the parking lot with a quick look. Miriam went to the old lady?s side. Her paper-thin skin was bluish white in colour and Miriam was amazed that someone who looked so dead still breathed. She turned to Henry.

?How is she??

He shook his head.

?Not good. I just wish it would be over. She?s just? just struggling for? I don?t know. Something. It?s over, but she doesn?t want to admit that. She?s always been like that.?

A shadow of a smile tinted his lips. Miriam took his hand and squeezed it. His smile deepened slightly and he patted her shoulder gently. Then he half-turned towards Cyrus, including him in the conversation.

?So you?re here, even though I asked Miriam to come alone, and you both share that gritty face. What?s gone wrong??

Cyrus glanced at her.

?He?s good.? she answered the implied question.

?Yeah, I thought so.? His gaze wandered out through the window again.

?It?s good that I?m good, so can you please enlighten me?? Henry?s tone was just slightly irritated. Miriam glanced at Cyrus who was still watching the parking lot. She sighed when she realized that he wanted her to tell Henry about the unlikely events that had happened.

?Umm?? she begun, and walked over to the other chair in the room and sat down to save some time. ?Well? you know yesterday, when we were at Professor Bruchheimer?s house??

Henry nodded impatiently.

?Yes, well? You know that Cyrus was behaving a little bit strange??

Henry raised his eyebrows, but didn?t say anything.

?Umm? well, that man wasn?t Cyrus. He just looked like Cyrus, and afterwards when he took me to the museum ? something? happened? I?m not really sure what, since they erased my memories, and they?ve erased Cy?s memories too, but earlier, but when we went back today I remembered some things, like Cy changing his appearance after I tried to escape, and a woman with a veil, and an elderly man wanting to know something important from me. I don?t know what and I don?t know if I told them anything, and now someone?s waiting for you at your house, someone who sounds exactly like you, and

 

Good update! You handled the solemnity of the situation very well, while still mixing in the horror of what's going on with the other two agents. I can't wait to see what they find at Cyrus' house!

 

That was a very, very moving scene.

I second Peri's opinion - you really invoked the solemnity of the situation, contrasted starkly against the horror of the case they're involved in, which becomes even more poignant when it manages to invade a private situation like this. I just want to offer Ceasar my sincere condelences.

And to see the bad guys get their commupance! More, I say, more!

 

You're really sweet, you two. Thanks so much for the kind words, and Caesar sends his thank-you for the condolences too. I think he needs it, even though he didn't say anything about it... I hope that you will like this next part, as well. It's not as sad as the previous. Enjoy.

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9.
The soft summer darkness had already fallen when they parked the car four blocks away from Caesar?s house. They had all changed into black, comfortable clothes and sneakers to be able to move as invisible and silent as possible. As she walked between the two silent and stern men in the back alleys, and the warm night air tried to untidy her hair, Miriam felt uncertain and insecure. She hated not having enough information about a mission, and knowing that she might be walking into a trap. Of course, she admitted, it was better than to be caught in an unaware trap, but it still made her feel uneasy, as if she had nettles inside her shirt.

Soon enough they saw Caesar?s small house at the end of the street, the forest-like park closing in on two sides and the only neighbour almost fifty metres down the road. Caesar stopped at the corner of last house on the parallel street. There were no lights lit in his home and no cars parked on the street. It looked empty.

?Let?s go round Mrs. Nelson?s home and close in from the park-side.? Caesar said. Cyrus and Miriam nodded their agreement. He led them back on the street and took another way down towards the park far from any possible watchful eyes. The park was silent and dark. Only the wind rustling through the leaves was heard over the faint sound their feet made on the gravel-clad path. It didn?t take long before the trees thinned out and met the dark brown wooden fence that surrounded Caesar?s home. They stopped just before the tree-line and just watched the house and the windows. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

?All right, team.? Caesar said in a low voice. ?We need to get close to the windows. Cyrus, you?re the best shot. You?re staying here, covering our backs. Claire and I are going to look through the windows. If nothing happens, we?ll need to get in and then we?ll need you with us. Clear??

?Clear?. Cyrus took the bag from Caesar containing the hunting rifle they had picked up on the way at one of the Delta Green?s so called Green Boxes. Miriam sent a brief thankful thought to Caesar?s long experience in the field which made it possible for them to have access to that storage. Far from all cells did. While Cyrus assembled the rifle and the scope Caesar and Miriam studied the house. Nothing seemed to move inside, no light, not one thing out of the ordinary that could give any intruder away.

?Ready.? Cyrus said and stood up with the mounted rifle in his hand. Caesar nodded.

?Claire, we move together. Let?s start from the left side of the house and move towards the right, me on the left side of every window and you on the right. You?re the one looking into the rooms. If you see something we just make note of it and continue. There might be more than one in there and we don?t want to make any mistakes. Clear??

Miriam nodded.

?Clear.?

?All right, let?s get going. Cyrus??

?I?m all prepared.?

?Good.?

They went to the far left side of the fence and followed it down where it turned. They left Cyrus where the angle at the front of the house made it difficult for someone inside to see, and sneaked over the fence, crouched and hurried towards the corner. Nothing happened. Caesar gave Miriam a nod and she peeked around the wall. When she didn?t see anything she loosened her gun in the holster, hurried past the first window, still crouched, and waited for Caesar to get into position. As soon as he did she sneaked a look inside the dark room. The office. The computer was turned off and the chair was neatly placed at the desk. She could see the edge of the bookcase with all the work material. The door to the corridor behind wa

 

Whoa! Cyrus really had me there! Sneaky guy!

But what were they shooting? And what happened to Claire? Not good! Not good at all! Hope she's all right!

Way to create a scene full of tension and suspense, even though the reader pretty much knew what to expect! Great post! Can''t wait for more!

And I'll just add some extra exclamation marks here, just cuz....: !!!!!!!

 

Argh! What an awesome, tense post! Like the Deltas, I'd be quite beside myself with horror (haaaah!)

I hope Claire's okay and she doesn't accidentally blast one of her real companions. Great stuff, I can't wait for the next post!

 

Still a little confusion going around the C-cell, but who knows what happens next... Maybe things will clear up a bit, or maybe not... Anyway, as always: THANKS for your supporting and wonderful comments!!!! What would I do without you, guys?

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10.
When she woke up she lay in Caesar?s bedroom with the night-lamp at the end table lit. The duvet covered her and she felt almost feverishly warm and her left cheek hurt. She wondered what time it was and how long she had been unconscious.

?How are you feeling?? Cyrus voice came from the corner of the room. She turned her head and met his concerned gaze.

?My cheek hurts and I?m feeling warm.?

She removed the duvet from her full-dressed body to get a chance to breath. Cyrus leaned over her and touched her cheek and forehead carefully. A hot sensation spread over her face and she grimaced. He took away his hand.

?You?re red and a little warm, but not much else.?

?I thought she shot me.? Miriam said surprised.

?She did, but we?re not really sure what she hit you with. Some sort of sleeping fluid is my guess.?

?Sleeping fluid?? Miriam frowned. Cyrus nodded and pointed at the end table. In an evidence bag lay a big yellow water-pistol.

?You?re kidding me??

He scoffed in a friendly way and fell silent for a moment. Then he cleared his throat and looked a little embarrassed.

?I?m sorry that I fooled you,? he said, ?but I really needed them to believe me. It was the only chance I had.?

She gave him a friendly, but regretful smile.

?I should?ve trusted you.?

?Actually, it was very good that you didn?t. It helped my little show. I?m not sure Caesar number two would?ve believed me otherwise.?

?Where is he??

?He?s dead. C?s out there with the ambulance guys, filing a report.?

Miriam hesitated, but she felt that she really needed to know.

?Does he still look like him??

Cyrus shook his head and a great relief filled her, made her heart lighter.

?Good.? she said.

?When you?re able I?d like you to take a look at him to see if you recognize him from your memories at the museum.?

?Ah, of course!? she exclaimed. ?You?re right! It must?ve been those three at the museum. This is our lucky day, Cy! We can question them about everything!?

Cyrus looked away.

?What?? she asked.

?She?s dead too.? He looked at her again. ?You managed to hit her in the eye when you fell.?

Miriam felt speechless and stared at him. Then she rubbed her eyes and sighed.

?And what about the third guy? Is he also dead??

?No, but he?s in some sort of coma.?

?Coma?? she repeated unbelievingly. ?But you hit him in the leg. How can he be in a coma??

Cyrus shrugged.

?I don?t know. He got some kind of seizures and then just fell unconscious and hasn?t woken up since. The ambulance guys say he?s in a coma. They?re taking him to the Southern Coast.?

Miriam let out a frustrated sound and tried to sit up in the bed. A little dizziness came and went, but nothing serious.

?So we won, but lost at the same time. We still don?t know a thing about what?s going on. Damnit!?

Cyrus laugh was more of a short bark.

?That?s totally my reaction too.?

?So where are we going from here? Has Caesar said anything??

?Caesar said: let?s sleep on it tonight.? Caesar said with a tired smile and came into the room. ?How are you feeling? You look a little flushed.?

?I am a little flushed. Nothing I can?t handle though.?

?I?m glad. I got a little worried when you just went down.? His look caressed her and she was thankful that she apparently had red cheeks already or they would have noticed her blushing. She looked down like a shy school girl, but not fast enough to miss Cyrus? amused expression. It disappeared almost momentarily and he stood up and stretched.

?I should get home.? he said. ?It?s soon dawn and I wouldn?t mind getting some sleep before our briefing tomorrow.?

Caesar nodded.

?I t

 

So sorry it took me so long to get to this! I was waiting to read what happened next... So glad that Miriam is all right. It's good that the fake C-cell was taken down, but what's going to happen next? Who're they gonna pull their answers out of? One relief out of the way, more big questions that need answering.

Keep up the good work!

 

For the first few lines there, I was really worried that she had woken up to meet with the fake C Cell without knowing it! Guess I'm getting into appropriate levels of paranoia here! Keep 'em coming, I say! Cuz, you know, they won but they lost anyway - something's just gotta give!

 

Aaargh!!! It's so frustrating with lack of time! It might say something when I don't even have the time to post my already finished chapters in almost a month... Anyway, I finally got a minute and here number eleven is. As you said Danaan, they won, but lost, but maybe something will solve itself in this part... And questions might get at least some answers, Peri.

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11.
The morning sun shone through the curtain-less windows in Henry?s kitchen while Miriam put their breakfast on the table: hot, steaming black tea, whole wheat bread, butter, cooked ham, Swiss cheese, deep red tomatoes, and Mediterranean plain yoghurt with fresh strawberries. It looked so tasty that Miriam?s stomach started to rumble. She usually wasn?t this hungry during mornings, but the night had been exceptionally full of adrenaline, so she wasn?t very surprised that her body needed the energy. She put out the chocolate brown ceramic tea cups with matching small plates for the bread and admired the result.

?Henry! Breakfast?s ready!?

There was no answer, so she went to the bedroom where she found Henry kneeling on the floor at his closet.

?Breakfast?s ready.? she repeated. He looked up at her with a smile.

?There?s a camera at my office table. Could you get it for me, please??

?Sure.?

When she came back with the camera he was still kneeling at the closet, a concerned frown showing on his forehead.

?What?s wrong??

?I don?t know yet, but this bag here isn?t mine.?

Miriam peeked in. A big black leather bag lay neatly on the floor. Caesar turned on the camera and took a couple of pictures.

?Do you think it belongs to the other Caesar?? she asked and kneeled beside him.

?I hope so. Here, take a couple of gloves.?

He picked up a pair of latex gloves from his FBI jacket, gave her them and put another pair onto his own hands. Then he dusted the handle and checked it for fingerprints, but no prints were to be seen. He frowned again.

?Okay, open it.? he said and grabbed the camera once more. Miriam reached in, took a firm grip of the handle and pulled it out. It was quite heavy. Caesar moved a couple of inches to give it plenty of room. She unzipped it and opened it. The bag seemed to contain things wrapped in black fabric. The camera flashed again. Miriam leaned over the bag, examined it closer, and took up a fabric-covered item.

?Black velvet.? she said. ?Expensive.? She unwrapped it. The daylight glimmered in a plain silver candleholder. She felt her eyebrows rise and gave Caesar a puzzled look. His expression was slightly concerned and he beckoned her to continue. She put the candleholder on the floor. The camera flashed while she took out next item, also wrapped in black velvet. Another silver candleholder. Next items were two black candles and two small vases, both in silver. As she grabbed the next object from the bag a cold shiver ran down her spine. It had a too familiar shape to not be recognized through the velvet. The arm length silver knife was heavy and made in one piece. She let it slip down on the floor and it landed with a muffled sound, shining dimly in the daylight. They looked at each other in silence. Then Caesar cleared his throat.

?Is there something else in there??

Miriam bent over the bag and took out two bouquets of forget-me-nots with their stems wrapped in wet paper and covered with plastic bags. She looked at them with something that bordered on horror and hurriedly put them down beside the knife with hands that felt so cold that they nearly had lost their feeling. The last thing in the bag was an ordinary paint brush, ordinary had it not had some traces of a rust red colour at the base.

Caesar cleared his throat again.

?We need to take that to the lab.?

Miriam nodded. Then she looked at Caesar. His face had a slightly grey nuance.

?They were going to murder us, Henry.?

He shook his head and a deep sigh heaved his chest.

?You forget what he sa

 

Eeep, those aren't particularly things I'd like to see in my closet. I can understand Mimi's unsettled stomach! I wouldn't want to be left home alone, either. Actually, I wouldn't allow that. I think the three of them should travel together at all times, now. Just in case. Someone has to solve this mystery!

Great post! Keep 'em coming!

 

I think this story just had it's first "how can they be jamming us if they don't know we're coming" moment! You know, the one where the heroes start realizing just how shafted they really are. Great stuff! Keep it coming!