Project LOSS

Chapter 23

The bandage-clad Mr Roscoe reclined with his arms and legs elevated in slings. His eyes, the only part of him even somewhat visible, stared out from behind Egyptian mummy-style wrappings at Kai as he approached. Roscoe murmured frantically and ineffectively through a broken jaw.

“I don’t know what you’re panicking about; there’s barely anything left to break.” Kai seated himself beside the man he had broken, not feeling an ounce of sympathy. Kai had given him ample warning, which was more than most people were allowed before they took a beating.

“I just wanted to return the pair of con artists ultimately responsible for the theft and subsequent beating. I had no part in the theft portion of tonight’s events and won’t have people saying I’m some kind of petty thief.”

Kai shoved the pair toward the guards and various other staff and slaves—completely ignoring their terrified pleas. He could only imagine what would become of them; they probably had a better idea, being familiar with Mr Roscoe and his shady organisation.

 “Now you may have noticed that although I promised to break every bone in your body, I left your spine and skull pretty much intact. A small mercy but a mercy nonetheless. If I hear any rendition of this tale that does not, more or less, adhere to the truth of the events as they actually unfolded, I will return, and I will not be so kind. You’ll look back on this beating with the fondest of memories as I pound your spinal cord into a papier-mâché like mush. Blink if you’re feeling me?”

Mr Roscoe blinked. Kai was surprised at how eloquently he could convey his own feelings from within the gnarly grasp of a rage of this magnitude, reeling off his intent with clarity and precision that eluded him in much of his day to day interactions. Maybe I’m a psychopath, he thought and was slightly taken aback when his inner dialogue promptly corrected, I’m probably a psychopath.

Speeding home, Kai’s mind raced faster than his feet, reviewing and scrutinising his conversation with Jimmi in great detail, trying to come up with any plausible explanation for his father’s accusations against Vrethie. He wanted nothing more than to indulge in heady intoxication in warm, familiar surroundings before retiring to bed, but alas, it was not to be. He spotted Meredith across the street just as she noticed his presence and her face lit up with joy. Great, I am not in the mood to deal with you, was Kai’s initial reaction as he dashed off in the opposite direction before another thought occurred to him. Maybe Meredith could clear up the Jimmi versus Vrethie issue.

Meredith stopped in front of Kai, hands on knees and breathing heavily after the sprint.

“Kai... I have to tell you... the First has found a way to stop—”

"Yeah I already know,” Kai interrupted, “Zaber told me about that.”

“Then you know you need to act now....”

“Meredith,” Kai took a step toward Meredith and stopped a few centimetres in front of her face, making her jump. “I have a question for you.”

Meredith jumped again, though not as dramatically. A microexpression of fear.

What is she scared I’m going to ask about? Kai wondered but did not ask. This was not the time for what Vrethie called a ‘Spanish Inquisition’, he only wanted to know one thing.

“Tell me,” Kai spoke slowly, knowing he was drawing out her misery. “How did you know about my wages?”

“Oh.” Meredith’s posture relaxed, and she offered Kai a shrug. “I erm, I can’t remember.”

“This is important. I need you to tell the truth. You’re a good liar, but I am concentrating very hard.” Kai stared into Meredith’s blue-green eyes until she broke.

“Fine. We broke into your apartment to steal... erm... borrow some of your weapons. The girls really wanted to go to the party district and you and Vrethie were away so…”

“So, you just broke into my home and stole my things?” Kai knew he should be angrier than he felt. Why didn’t he feel angry?

“I’m sorry,” babbled Meredith. “It wasn’t my idea. I just went along to keep them safe. I told them not to go and I thought I’d convinced them. When I grabbed the weapons, I noticed your financial records and well…”

“Couldn’t resist being nosy?”

Meredith nodded, staring down at her sneakers as she pushed her foot from side to side.

“That was the night the girls got attacked by the black division?” Kai asked. Maybe their fate was the reason Kai wasn’t getting the urge to flip out, or maybe he was just tired. Tired of everything.

“They all died,” Meredith stated. Kai knew it was a lie.

"I heard one girl did survive the ordeal,” Kai said. “Who was it?”

“She’s been through enough, Kai, come on?” Meredith pleaded.

“I’ll tell you when she’s been through enough,” Kai bluffed. He wasn’t going to hurt the girl, but it wouldn’t harm his next line of questioning if Meredith believed he would seek revenge on the girl. Meredith was a b***h and a pain, but she was nothing if not loyal to her friends.

“Don’t make me tell you. I know you can. I know you can just crush me till it hurts so much that the name slips out,” Meredith beseeched. “Please don’t make me. I take full responsibility for the whole thing.”

“Did you know there are still weapons missing?” Kai asked. The look on Meredith’s face negated the need to answer. She knew nothing about it.

“The name? This is the last time I’ll ask nicely.”

“Please,” Meredith begged. “Please, can you just let it go?”

“Give me one good reason why I should. Just one, and I’ll drop the whole thing,” Kai challenged.

“Because I’m begging you?” Meredith tried.

“You think I haven’t heard it all before? Because I really, really have, “Please save me,” “Please save my species,” “Please stop jabbing me in the eye with your thumb,” Kai imitated in a voice a few octaves higher than his own. “All you’ve ever done is make trouble for me. You hate me, and you show it, so why should I listen to you?”

“I don’t hate you, you i***t!” Meredith screeched loud enough to make Kai stop and take notice.

“I hate myself. Kai, I take it out on you because I hate myself. Because you could fix my mistake and you won’t do it. It’s all my fault.”

“How can it be your fault? You aren’t the First.”

“No, but I helped him. I was one of the original 144,000,” Meredith cringed. “When he started out and he was much weaker and I helped create his interdimensional home. Back in the days he still believed he could use the shared mind to summon his perfect form.” Meredith hung her head.

Kai closed his eyes, reeling. He tried to process the information but was having trouble. Meredith and the First? Together? Something about the image made Kai angry.

“But... it’s hardly your fault... and you left him of your own free will so—” Kai tried to reassure her.

“I only did it because that bastard was cheating on me! He said he loved me back, but it was all a lie to get me to work for him. I found out he’d been whispering the same sweet nothings to a whole host of other girls.”

“You loved the First?” Kai scoffed, having trouble grasping the enormity of the tale that was unravelling.

“Yeah, loved…”

Meredith fell into to silence for what seemed like an eternity, staring at the floor, dejected.

“You look like him, you know?” she said eventually.

“I do?” asked Kai. A couple of other people had said the same thing.

Meredith nodded slightly, wiping her nose as she continued to stare at the ground. Kai lifted her chin with one of his fingers.

 Is that why you sometimes act as though you like me?

“You’re way more buff,” she said, trying to squeeze the flesh of a bicep that would not yield even slightly between her fairly strong fingers.

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere,” he advised. 

“What will? Because begging doesn’t work. I can’t offer you money because you’re way more minted than I am. I can’t offer you s*x because—”

“Because...?” Kai grinned.

“Well I know you turned down Miaka, so why would you want me?”

“Oh! Because she’s so much better than you?” Kai laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t do any job purely to get a shag out of it. For one thing: Vrethie would kill me!”

“Look,” Kai became serious, “Consider it dropped. Done. I’m over it. Whoever it was can keep my guns.”

Meredith’s posture visibly relaxed as her shoulders fell and her head rolled back. “Thank you,” she sighed with gratitude and relief.

“I do need to ask you about the financial records. Did you notice anything weird? Any discrepancies?” Kai asked casually, not wanting Meredith to know it was the real reason behind his interest in what had happened the night of the theft.

“Yes, actually.” Meredith shocked Kai by bursting into tears. “Please, just ask Vrethie about it. He knows. I told him but if he didn’t tell you about it there must be a reason. As scary as you are, I would rather be on your bad side than Vrethie’s.” Kai thought that was an odd thing to say since Vrethie was so nice to everyone. But as he looked at the fat blobs of salty water falling from Meredith’s face to the floor, he started to feel bad.

People always seemed to be asking for mercy, and although he understood the basic concept, it wasn’t something he felt often. If you tried to actually explain that to people, they either accused you of being ‘oh so cliché’ or looked at you like you were some kind of monster. Empathy was a basic human emotion, after all. Those who lack empathy were psychopathic, or in Kai’s case, not human. Everyone always expected Kai to be a monstrous creature capable of taking on an entire army as well as the First, yet they also wanted him to be a kind-hearted, fuzzy feeling hero, rescuing kittens and babies. They couldn’t have it both ways.

“I’ll go ask Vrethie about it.” Kai hinted for Meredith to leave, thinking it best he should approach Vrethie alone. She seemed loathe to leave his side, however, and let the hint ride, ambling beside him on the short walk to the apartment while attempting idle chit-chat, probably afraid he would implicate her in some form of wrongdoing.

“So why did you help Miaka? If it wasn’t about s*x?” Meredith asked.

“I don’t know, to be honest with you. I was a bit intimidated by her… women are scary,” Kai admitted, feeling he could afford to be honest with Meredith under the circumstances; she would hardly risk forgoing his aid by mocking him… or so he thought.

“What!?” she cried, mouth agape. “How could you be afraid of women? You pretty much have the power of a god, if not more; you do know that, don’t you?” 

“Yes, but I also have the biology of a sixteen-year-old human male. Hormones are a bitch.” Meredith stopped walking.

“Sixteen? You are not sixteen!”

“Yeah. I am,” Kai confirmed, not understanding her horrified reaction until hearing her next statement.

“Great, I’m having s****l fantasies about a sixteen-year-old and I’ve been nineteen for almost ninety years,” Meredith blurted.

Kai was about to embark on a stringent line of questioning in relation to Meredith’s outburst when he was distracted by a distinct and familiar scent; one he had detected on the body of his friend when he’d found him dead in his bed a few nights ago.