Prime, p.7
Prime, page 7
part #13 of Nathan K Series
“No,” the old woman said. “I will watch.”
Anton twisted back towards her. “Please, go. I’ve never killed a man, and I don’t want spectators.”
She thumped the floor with one foot. “This is my house. I will stay.”
“We’re thankful,” Robin said, “that you’ve allowed us to be here, but this goes beyond what you want to be complicit in.”
With a fierce gaze, Mrs. Haugen said, “I must see if the rumors are true.”
“Rumors?”
“You think we’re idiots out here? Just because we live in a small part of the world doesn’t mean we don’t see, don’t think, don’t understand. The Larkin Group runs its business in private, but they staff locals for the menial positions — janitors and garbagemen and such. We see. We hear. We know.”
Nathan lifted his head. “What exactly do you know?”
Though her stern tone softened, her blazing eyes continued to stare straight at him. “Unnatural longevity, they say. The Larkin Group is trying to find ways to keep a person alive beyond what is normal. Others say they are working on discovering the secrets of immortality.”
“You don’t sound like you believe it.”
“I never have.” She clasped her hands as she softened more. “But now you’re here, and you’ve brought a dying man to my attic, and I’ve heard the things you’ve said to each other. I have to know. I have to see.”
“But you won’t see anything. When a soul leaves a body and enters mine, it’s not visible to regular people.”
“I don’t care. I must witness this.”
Nathan held still. He searched Mrs. Haugen’s face and saw only her determination. With a brief nod, he rested his head back on the pillow.
Anton reached forward as Nathan turned his focus onto the old man’s eyes. The poor fellow couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. Stroke victim, most likely. Nathan tried to wear a soothing smile, but the waves igniting his nerves throughout fought against him.
Repositioning with care, Anton slipped an arm around the old man’s neck and locked him in a sleeper hold. With no resistance, he completed the deed in short order. The old man’s soul drifted out. Nathan tried not to sigh with pleasure as he took in the new soul, but he could tell from Mrs. Haugen’s frown that he had not been entirely successful.
With a second soul in place, he turned his head toward Anton. “I’m sorry, but I need you to do this one more time.”
Anton nodded. “I’ll be quick.”
Considering all the injuries Nathan had sustained, it did not take much to die. His newly acquired second soul left his body, and finally, the healing process began. Brutally painful. Urgently necessary. At the end of it all, Nathan sat up and rubbed a kink in his shoulder.
In an awed whisper, Mrs. Haugen said, “It’s true.”
“Not exactly.”
“You can’t deny what I just saw.”
“But it’s not something you can have. The Larkin Group isn’t working on some magic serum for everybody to enjoy. They’re not interested in regular people at all. Those buildings are there to enrich Larkin and those like him. Like me. Nobody else.”
Mrs. Haugen lowered to the corner of the bed. “I don’t care what happens over there. I don’t care about you or what you are. But you did take in that old man’s soul, yes?”
“I did.”
“Does it hurt your extra soul? To be inside you but not in control of you?”
“No. I’ve been a second soul myself, at one time, and I promise you, it’s painless. Quiet, too. I can talk with them sometimes, but usually, the second soul rests deep within me. That old man was fine.”
“But then you had Anton kill you. What happened to that second soul then?”
“He’s gone to whatever afterlife awaited him before.” Nathan didn’t have the heart to mention the Darkness.
Mrs. Haugen stood. “My husband is in our bedroom. He suffers. Cancer, at first. Then a heart attack.” Her attention wandered around the room, and Nathan gathered she saw a history in here that he would never know. “You need a new second soul, and he needs a peaceful passing. Just let me say goodbye.”
After she left the room, the others did not move or speak. Nathan had never been offered a second soul in this way, with such sincerity and purpose attached to the act. He could not figure out how to react.
At length, Anton said, “Brave woman.”
Ten minutes later, she returned. She led Nathan down to the second floor. A narrow home but filled with photographs of Mrs. Haugen and her husband — some posed, some candid, all happy. When she gestured to the master bedroom, he walked by a large wedding photo and saw the couple in full youth, glowing at the dazzling future ahead of them. He doubted either of them expected this to be their ending.
Mr. Haugen lay flat on his back — wrinkled and boney. His clothes looked several sizes too big. Though his eyes were wide open, as was his mouth, he showed no cognizance of his surroundings.
“He never wanted to be like this,” Mrs. Haugen said, her voice catching. A burden. “He’s asked me to end his life several times. I couldn’t. But with you …”
Nathan walked to side of the bed. “I’ll make sure it’s quick. You should step out.”
Her eyes flashed the fire he had seen earlier. “He will not die without me by his side.” She came around the opposite end of the bed and held her love’s hand one final time.
Nathan had often experienced the killing of a person for their soul to be intimate. In some cases, beautiful. This time, however, it would be both. He swallowed down a surge of fear — worried that he might cause Mr. Haugen too much pain in dying — and tried to approach the killing with a measure of dignity.
Thankfully, the man died fast. Once the process had finished, once Mr. Haugen’s soul sat firmly inside Nathan, he sent a warm sense of peace throughout Nathan’s body.
— Please. Before I settle into the quiet, tell her I will forever think about those turnips.
When Nathan relayed the message, Mrs. Haugen dropped to the floor in tears. But she was smiling.
Mrs. Haugen went downstairs to be alone, to mourn in private. Nathan thought that for the best. She didn’t need to hear about his plans to return to the Larkin compound. Not only for her own protection should Larkin’s men come calling, but also because Nathan thought it might upset her to know that her husband’s soul would be put in jeopardy so soon.
“You can’t be serious about going back,” Robin said.
Apparently, Mrs. Haugen wasn’t the only person Nathan had to be concerned about. “You knew I’d be going back the moment you helped me escape. If not then, you certainly knew when you hauled me out of the woods. Larkin is still there, Octavia is with him, and so is the Cardinal. Don’t you think it’s time for all of this to end? They clearly know it. At least, Larkin does. That’s why he hasn’t tried to escape. He’s waiting for me.”
“That sounds all tough-guy noble and full of crap. You have no clue why he’s still there.”
She had a tablet laid flat between them. The layout of the main floor of Building One was displayed along with dots marking the surviving soldiers.
Nathan said, “Have you noticed how few Immortals are here? Larkin, the Cardinal, Octavia, and Dr. Kempo. So far as I can tell, that’s it. Larkin has more Immortals working for him, but they were all sent out across the world on the hunt for us. If he’s called them back, they haven’t come yet. My guess — and I admit that it’s a guess — is that after I killed Russo, everything started to fall apart for him. The Larkin Group is weakening which means now is the time to strike.”
Anton entered the room. “Let me help you.”
“Thank you,” Nathan said, “but we worked to get you out of there safely. There’s no point in you going back in. Plus, you see what I am. You’re not like that. You won’t survive.”
“I owe you. I intend to pay that debt. I will help you.”
“You’re not understanding. If you go —”
“When we were prisoners, I kept my ears open, my eyes open. I listened and learned. I know a few things about your kind. You believe in sharing parts of your story with each other as a sign of respect, kinship, and sometimes threat. Allow me to share my story with you. Then you’ll know.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Nathan held still and silent. While he had exchanged stories before, it had mostly been with enemies — a sign of respect before deadly combat. To do so now, with a mortal man that Nathan had saved, meant more than respect. It meant accepting Anton in the coming fight. But hearing Anton’s story, sharing his own, that would make the man into something more than a name. Bad enough he had to constantly worry over Robin’s well-being, but if he agreed to share stories now, he would be worrying over Anton, too.
All of which only skimmed the surface this act brought with it. He had no idea how to explain to a mortal the oceanic depths of importance attached to this kind of sharing. Living forever meant life stories could be immense in scope, and the more one shared, the more vulnerable one became. But even that failed to give the full weight.
While Nathan sat on the bed pondering the request, Anton’s body slouched. With a defeated nod, he said, “I did not mean to offend you. I’m sorry.”
He stood to leave, but Nathan cleared his throat, halting the exit. Nathan couldn’t articulate the change in his mind, not even to himself, but Anton’s simple acknowledgement that his request may have been offensive stirred deep within. Gesturing to the chair, Nathan waited for Anton to return.
Robin had watched this exchange like a behavioral scientist observing the interactions of a new species. But more than any mortal, she understood the moment. As Anton sat, Robin stood. “I’ll go work on intel gathering. Anything I can find will be useful. Plus, the US will want to investigate where that accidental missile strike hit, and Larkin will have to pull a lot of strings to stop it. Don’t know if that part will be useful, but it’ll sure be entertaining.”
Once she left, Nathan looked at Anton and opened with a bit of his life. He talked about meeting his law school pal at a New York deli, about wanting to propose to Jennie, about how everything went wrong resulting in his death, and how he was reborn in an Immortal body. When he finished, he allowed silence to fill the room for a short period. Then he pointed at Anton. “Your turn.”
Though this had been Anton’s idea, he approached the moment with trepidation. Nathan appreciated the nerves. It was one thing to propose jumping out of an airplane; quite another to actually do it. While relating a story from his life did not equate the life-threatening possibilities of parachuting, relating a story with an Immortal carried a hefty weight. Clearly, Anton comprehended the importance of what he had leaped into and worried about which part of his life to share — that it would be valuable enough, that it would be worthy.
At length, he cleared his throat. “I was born in Russia, but my parents moved to Poland when I was very little.”
Nathan put up a hand. “You don’t have to go through your entire life. We don’t have time for that, anyway. The idea is to pick out a significant moment.”
“Of course. That makes sense. You all live so long, you wouldn’t want to relate an entire life.”
“It’s okay.”
Anton started and stopped three times. “I don’t know what to say.”
“That’s okay, too. Tell me about why it’s important for you to help us tonight. I understand you feel gratitude that we saved you, but I heard Robin mentioned a girl. Danuta? Tell me about her.”
Anton paused, appeared to come to a decision, then dug his fingers into his knees. “My first job was as a plumber. I never had the grades to go to university, but I had an uncle who was a plumber, and I had no real plans in my life and he offered me a job. One day, we went on this call to a house another town over. They had old pipes and it was winter and one of the pipes had burst. Now, I was new to this job. I didn’t know a whole lot. Mostly, I was there to hand my uncle tools and learn by watching whatever he did. There was this girl —”
Nathan laughed. “There always is.”
“She was the daughter in the house, and I took one look at her — you know how they say about somebody taking your breath away? About love at first sight? About knowing you’re going to marry this girl you just met? All those clichés, they all happened to me. I was stunned. And of course, I’m just a lowly plumber. She had no reason to take an interest in me. So, I thought I would show her that I was more. I figured if she saw that I was the lead plumber, the man in charge, maybe even the owner of the business, then maybe my chances would improve.
“I waited until my uncle went out to the truck to get some equipment. The second he left, I started chatting with the daughter, throwing out jargon, pretending that I knew what I was talking about. I had her interested and smiling, and she asked if I was going to get around to actually fixing the pipes. Now I was stuck. I had to do something. I’m standing in the basement, and I picked up a hammer and tapped it on the first pipe I saw.” Anton lowered his head and chuckled. “Well, the pipes were frozen, remember? And I had made the stupid mistake of tapping on a general sewer line that ran under the house. They don’t do that anymore, but old houses can have some strange setups.”
“I take it the pipe broke open.”
“Brown muck started spraying all over me. It smelled awful. I thought for sure that she would scream and run out and I would never see her again. But you know what happened? Instead, I heard her laugh. I looked up, covered in waste, and I saw this angel of a woman smiling at me and laughing and covering her blushing face. When my uncle came in, he was furious. He fired me. But I managed to get that girl to agree to a date. That is how I met my Danuta.”
Leaning back with approval, Nathan said, “That’s a wonderful story. Thank you for telling me. But it makes me even more confused about something. It’s obvious to me that however you ended up with Larkin, he threatened to hurt Danuta if you didn’t do what he wanted.”
“This is true.”
“Then why offer to go back with me? You’re free and Danuta’s okay. She’s waiting for you. Go to her. You don’t need to mess with Larkin and me and all of this insanity.”
Anton stood. Looking down at Nathan, he changed his mind and lowered to his knees. With his hands clutched in prayer, he gazed up. “I have to go back because Larkin is still there.”
“I’m going to take care of him. You don’t have to worry. Or is this about revenge?”
“Not revenge. Justice. The laws of right and wrong must apply to all of us. It shouldn’t matter how powerful Larkin is. He must pay for what he has done. If this were a situation for courts and police, then I would go that route. But you are Immortals. I don’t know enough about you to understand all of your rules, but any people must have laws.”
“We have some. Not many.”
“Then Larkin must atone for his crimes. And I want him to know, to see, that I am one of his accusers.” Returning to his seat, Anton added, “I’m not a boy covered in filth anymore. But if I’m going to be able to look in my Danuta’s eyes again, I must help. If I don’t, what’s the point of my freedom?”
“Okay,” Nathan said, because he recognized there was no other answer. To deny Anton would accomplish nothing. The man would go off on his own to take on Larkin solo. That would only end in disaster. “You have to follow my rules, though. My orders.”
“Yes, yes. Anything you say.”
“Even if the task I give you is not glorious or full of the vengeance you might seek.”
“I told you this is not about revenge.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. Justice.”
“I’ll do whatever you need. Just promise me this — all I ask, promise me that he will know I am part of this. I am part of the reason he will fall tonight.”
Nathan put out his hand. “You have my word.”
Anton’s eyes brightened. “I have something for you.” He rushed out of the room. “Robin! Where are you?” When he returned with Robin in tow, he carried her shoulder bag. “I put it in here.”
After digging around, he pulled out an object wrapped in cloth. “A man like me, a servant to those who don’t die, well, I go unseen most of the time. When they brought you into the building the first time, they stripped you down, and I was able to steal this. I thought I might need it someday — perhaps for myself. But I’m much happier to return it to its owner.”
Displaying great care, Anton pulled open the cloth. Maggie sat in his hand.
Nathan grabbed Anton’s face and kissed his cheeks. “Thank you.” He picked up Maggie and felt her familiar weight. “Let’s go kill this bastard.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Everything went wrong from the start. They had planned to set out before dawn, but the van had a flat tire. After changing the flat, they tried to slip away from town only to discover the back roads covered in snow. They turned around and used the main road which had already been cleared, but that also meant taking a longer route into the forest. By the time they reached Larkin’s property, the sun had broken the horizon. Nathan would be approaching in broad daylight.
Matters only got worse.
Over the hours of Nathan’s recovery, Larkin’s forces had scoured the blast area for survivors. In doing so, they also uncovered tracks in the snow that led them to where Robin had parked. She couldn’t use that location again.
“I have a secondary spot, but the reception isn’t as reliable,” she said. The way things had been going, Nathan figured that would be an understatement.
When they finally stopped, he learned he would have a forty-minute hike through the snowy woods before he reached the buildings. He wanted to argue for finding a different place to embark, one closer to the target, but he kept silent. Robin would have already considered as much, and he trusted that she had picked a location best suited for every need.
