Five Deaths to Trigger – Death

Still unable to feel her left arm, Angee continued to work on tracking down the Vampire Killer in the hopes of catching them before more victims turned up. Unfortunately for her, this search was leading nowhere.

‘This is the fifth abandoned building this week,’ her dad complained. ‘Do you really think that this one will be any different?’

                ‘Yes,’ she shivered as a feeling of unease washed over her body. ‘Definitely the right place.’

The two of them moved forwards to the entrance to the abandoned convenience store, before pushing the door open. As the door slid open they heard several crashes as the occupants scattered in an attempt to escape without being seen. This only worked slightly, with Angee being able to not only get a shot off that managed to hit the back of the killer’s leg.

She gave chase but as she closed in on the door a gust of air rushed past her and out the door. Upon making it to the door she realised that the gust of air wasn’t air, but instead somebody running. ‘He’s gone,’ she snarled, turning to see the latest victim.

                ‘White, female, definitely pregnant, and around 15,’ Gibbs summarised. ‘My guess is that once we track down her family she will have the same birthday as the others.’

                ‘Looks like we interrupted him this time though,’ Angee nodded. ‘We’re getting closer.’

                ‘Ducky said that none of the victims died until they were out of blood right?’ Gibbs questioned as he pulled his phone out.

                ‘She’s already dead?’

                ‘Yes, which doesn’t match up…’ he stated quizzically.

                ‘What if he can keep them alive? Put them through as much pain as possible and only let them die when they’re out of blood,’ Angee shrugged.

                ‘We interrupted him so he stopped keeping her alive and ran,’ Gibbs finished. ‘So are we sure we’re not talking about Felix here?’

                ‘Not Felix,’ Angee confirmed. ‘But there are definitely Protectors who can control life and death, and they can keep someone alive pasted the point where they should have perished.’

                ‘Look into it,’ he ordered. ‘I’ll stay here, you find out everything you can about these murders.’

                ‘Okay,’ she acknowledged before leaving the building and heading back to NCIS.

*****

A few hours later in England, Felix and Penny returned home after having staged yet another warning to scientists working on the cure. Instantly after walking through the door, the pair felt uneasy, sensing that they were not alone inside the abandoned flat.

They each pulled out their knifes and slowly edged towards the kitchen. To their surprise the light was on and a young man was in the process of cooking pasta. ‘Tom?’ Felix stated, shocked by the sight.

                ‘Brilliant, you’re just in time for dinner,’ Tom smiled as he turned to look at them.

                ‘What are you doing here?’ Penny questioned as she flicked the lights on.

                ‘To give you a warning,’ Tom smiled. ‘Sort your act out or you’re out.’

                ‘What?’ Felix asked, puzzled.

                ‘No more killing innocents,’ Tom elaborated. ‘Stick to killing the people responsible for the cure.’

                ‘Then they will just ignite more people to join in,’ Felix challenged.

                ‘Then kill them with weapons and not your powers! You’re good enough to do so anyway,’ Tom proposed. ‘I can just about justify the targets who are involved as hits, but their friends and family are just about impossible to frame up as valid hits.’

                ‘And how do you propose that we keep up then?’ Penny snapped. ‘You sent Faye into hiding, and even when she was with us, it was impossible to keep up. Which is why we changed tactics.’

                ‘Find a way!’ Tom bellowed. ‘You’re both smart as hell, figure it out.’

                ‘We will,’ Felix promised, silencing Penny’s objections. ‘We’ll figure something out.’

                ‘Thank you,’ Tom smiled. ‘And lay low until these vampire murders clean up, k?’

                ‘Will do,’ Felix nodded

                ‘Enjoy the pasta,’ Tom offered before noticing that Felix and Penny had both frozen.

                ‘You know these files are very interesting,’ Angee’s voice sounded from around the corner. ‘Time, Superspeed, Wall Crawling, Force Fields, Echolation and Life. Interesting power set.’

                ‘I didn’t give you access to my files so that you could spend your time looking me up,’ Tom warned.

                ‘No, you gave me access to it to help track down those who are misusing their powers,’ Angee agreed. ‘I just have one problem. The killer I’m looking for leaves a weird temporal distortion field around the area where he leaves his victims, hold them alive for longer than should be possible and can also move at super human speeds. Sound familiar?’

                ‘You think I killed those girls,’ Tom guessed.

                ‘Bingo,’ she nodded.

‘Well I can tell you that I didn’t,’ Tom snarled.

                ‘Then show me your leg,’ she stated bluntly. ‘I shot the killer in the leg. No wound means that you aren’t the killer.’

                ‘Which leg?’

                ‘Left,’ Angee stated simply.

                ‘I can’t,’ Tom sighed. ‘You aren’t going to believe me, but when I was fighting my brother, Jamie, a few hundred years ago, he managed to get a shot off… You said he can move a super human speeds right?’ Tom asked suddenly.

                ‘Yes, so?’

                ‘How do you shoot someone who can move at super human speeds?’ Tom questioned. ‘He let you shoot him, it was the only way that he could figure to turn your attention onto me.’

                ‘Who?’

                ‘Jamie,’ Tom sighed. ‘I’ve been tracking him for a few months now…but the temporal field around each location made me ignore him.’

                ‘Then if it isn’t him then who?’ Angee asked, the confusion in her voice showing as she struggled to keep up.

                ‘It is him,’ Tom groaned. ‘I tracked him to the hospital where my brother is…he took some of his blood, and thus gained my powers. That’s why he is only now trying to get revenge, because the opportunity finally arose itself.’

                ‘How do we catch him then?’ Angee asked.

                ‘We bait him, and we trap him,’ Tom explained. ‘And then we kill him.’