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 Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 6:29 pm
Reminders: A Mysterious Phonecall (1,200 words)
The phone call comes on a Wednesday, approximately thirty minutes after he gets off the phone with his mother. Lara’s coming home, much to Chase’s frustration because it’s still not safe and he has so much unattended business that he’s trying to deal with. The new phone call only serves to aggregate his already sour mood.
“Hello?” He answers in a clipped tone which appears to entice a chuckle from whomever is on the other side of the line.
“Mr. Black?” A woman’s almost sultry voice asks and Chase swears he can hear the smirk in her voice.
“This is he,” he replies cautiously, whiskey-gold eyes narrowed and his jaw sets, ticking when he swallows.
“This is Nurse Ellis, from New York,” she says and he feels like the world tilts beneath his feet when she emphasises New York. His stomach churns and silence stretches between them before he’s stumbling to take a seat. He collapses into one of the kitchen chairs with the phone pressed against his face and his other hand grasping the back of the chair so tightly his knuckles are white. If he weren’t so preoccupied with the mysterious call he might’ve been worried that that the wood would splinter in his fist.
“I - “ he stutters, swallows because it’s so hard to focus past the rapid pulse of his heart. It’s a roaring sound in his ears and the woman’s voice sounds faint when she repeats his name. “I’m sorry. I don’t - “
New York had been at least a year ago, longer than that even.
He’d first gone there when he was still a captain and then again when he was newly minted general. At least - that was what he thought. It was hard to tell with the mix of memories of a timeline that did not exist.
“Yes, we required your assistance, don’t you remember sir?” There’s a hint of something else in her tone that Chase isn’t quite sure of. Her voice is like ice and he can feel it sliding down his spine.
I want to see you succeed, Laurelite’s words were echoing in his head as he shook it, trying to focus on the person on the phone.
“The hospital right?” He answers carefully, releasing the chair so he can bend forward, pinch the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “I had come to see how the business was running.” Among other things but he didn’t know what he could and couldn’t discuss over the phone.
How had they even gotten his personal number?
Chase that thought that he’d kept it off the negaverse records. Just another subtle reminder that it didn’t matter what you did, they were watching, they had access. Once a soldier, always a soldier. He was a good soldier, loyal and efficient.
Or at least he tried.
“Yes Mr. Black, the hospital,” the woman practically purred, like a predator who’d squared it’s prey into a corner just like it wanted. “We’re thinking of opening a branch in Destiny City, you were so helpful,” she paused as if to allow him a moment for it all to sink in, “that we would like to request your assistance in bringing over some of our assets. Get us up and running like a smooth machine.”
Chase didn’t know if he could say no or if he wanted to say yes. If the call had come at any other time, if his mother wasn’t returning and risking being put directly in the line of danger again because he was getting involved in something -
“We could really use your business expertise. It was incredibly useful last time.” His fingers threaded into damp pink and black strands of hair, tugging on them as he listened to those loaded words. He knew what they meant and after everything - after the fight with the girl from Skaikru, the failed attempts to corrupt the transcendent knight and his senshi friend - he didn’t know how ‘capable’ he was to fulfill their requests but -
He couldn’t say no. He’d risk his mother and himself.
So he answers like the good little soldier boy he presented himself as.
“Of course.” The reply came out more smoothly than he expect, rolling off his tongue without a hitch. “What ever you need,” he says because that was the right thing to say.
“Excellent,” the doctor lady purrs and Chase has to clench his teeth to keep from letting the sound of her voice send shudders down his spine. “We’ll be in touch with you soon, expect our calls, keep your schedule open and free. There’s a lot to transfer once we pick our new location.” There was the sound of sharp nails tapping on a desk. “You should expect news within the week then, you’ll need to fly out here obviously.”
“Of course,” he forces out between gritted teeth, a slow hiss of an exhale passing through the spaces.
“Actually - I think it would be best if you can get here in the next few days or so. You should assess what we want to move and help us pick a new place. You know the city well don’t you?” Her words came too quickly, in a rush of let me get my train of thought out before I’ll even consider letting you speak and Chase found it hard to find his voice throughout it all.
He wonders if it is because he’s reverting to the man he’d been at the beginning of last year, when he’d been lost confused and conflicted. It’s hard to remind himself that he is no longer that person, that he is strong and confident General Labyrinthite.
A force to be reckoned with.
He has strength, loyalty, a foundation. He has the pack and he is himself, who he is always meant to be, the Reaper.
“I know it well enough. I also have enough connections I can reach out to in order to ensure that we find whatever you need.” He could utilize Fiona and her family’s company as he was prone to doing. He didn’t know anyone that knew the city the way she did.
“Perfect,” the woman coos sounding terribly pleased by his answers. “Well, I expect to see you soon then Chase.” There’s a pause that extends so long that he’s not sure if she’s hung up or not and is about to peel the phone from his cheek when her voice cuts clear and crisp across the line. ‘Oh, before I forget. Echo misses you. Until you’re in New York, ciao~”
The line goes dead right after and Chase jerks up, nearly flings the phone across the room before he stops himself last second. If he’s going to New York in two days, then he needs to call his mother and inform her. If he’s lucky, then he’ll manage to convince her to sit tight until this ‘business’ venture is cared for.
Chase leans back in the wooden chair, head tipped back and gazed fixed on the ceiling, then calls his mom.
“Hey mom, so it looks like I’ve got to go to New York for business in a couple of days, think grandma and grandpa would mind keeping you longer?”
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 6:01 pm
Reminders: Once Upon a Visit (1,585 words)
He leaves two days later, arriving in New York on a Friday with just a duffle bag packed with the necessities after catching the soonest flight possible. He briefly considers teleporting to the hospital but decides against it because he had no idea how long he’ll be needed there. The expenditure of energy too massive to be considered a viable option in the long run.
Besides, he could picture the hospital but could not remember the exact location. His memories are fuzzy and he doesn’t know why - but he’s concerned enough about startling anyone in the hospital that might be normal. So, in the end, it’s written off completely.
He sends two texts after purchasing the plane ticket; one to James informing him that he’ll need to check in on Just Add Coffee and another to Katrina, letting her know that she’ll need to look in on both cats. The others would receive messages upon his arrival informing them that he’s in New York for a a bit.
Except Archer, he gets told nothing because Chase wants him to think that his general could appear any time if he continues to step out of line.
The trip from the airport to the hotel he’d booked a room in is uneventful and he goes to the hospital the following Saturday, escorted by what he thinks are two low-level agents working for Doctor Ellis.
“Ah, Mr. Black how delightful it is to see you. Echo’s been asking for you non-stop since your name was mentioned by one of the interns,” the woman explains, turning on her heels and sauntering towards the elevators with a clipboard clutched tightly, protectively, in her hand and pressed against her chest. “Once we get to the lower level of the hospital, you’ll need to change of course. Some of our…” the woman pauses, clearly deliberating over her word choice, “patients are a bit more hostile if you aren’t dressed correctly.”
They reach the metal doors where she scans her keycard and turns her attention to the much taller man behind her, sharp eyes narrowing when they darted over to the man and woman flanking his sides. “You’re dismissed,” she says curtly, waving them off with a perfectly manicured hand, nails painted a deep red and filed to a subtle sharpness.
She swept that same arm towards the now open doors of the elevator. “After you, General.” The sharp grin makes him stiffen even as he nods and steps in beside her. Almost immediately he’s hit with a wave of nostalgia and for a second, he’s transported to the first day he’d been at the hospital.
”Mr. Black.”
It’s a woman in her thirties calling his name and his attention goes to her immediately. There’s a split second of observation on his end, as his fingers drum against his thigh, where he takes in the sleekness of her blonde hair and the sharpness of green eyes. From the way red-painted lips quirk upward, Chase knows immediately that she can tell that he’s nervous - afraid even.
“Yes ma’am,” he answers, fingers stilling and sweaty palms pressing against dark jeans.
“We are so thrilled to have you here,” the woman cooes and Chase wonders if all women in labcoats appear as menacing as this one. The fake sweetness has him on edge immediately, certain that she knows of his record.
This is all a test, he reminds himself. “It’s an honor to have been selected,” he forces out, offering her a well practiced smile that is utterly fake but seems genuine enough. This is a business meeting, he just needs to be polite and professional enough to survive until he can return to Destiny City.
“I’m Doctor Jennifer Ellis, but you can just call me Ellis,” she introduces, offering him a slender and perfectly manicured hand. Chase takes it, but doesn’t miss the way her nails are filed to sharper points. “Right this way Mr. Black, there’s much to show you.”
Without another word, the woman is sauntering off at a brisk pace and the young man has no choice but to follow.
The place is like most hospital’s Chase has been inside, smelling clean and sterile in an uncomfortable way. The walls are too white and the florescent lights often cast an eerie glow in the less well-lit corridors, which only serves to make the pink and black haired man feel like he’s in the makings of a horror film.
Then again, considering where he is it very well could be.
A shake of the head dispels the thought and he focuses on letting his gaze sweep across the place, take in the general layout as Dr. Ellis leads him through multiple hallways and, eventually, down a flight of stairs and into a wing that requires a keycard to access.
It’s peculiar, considering she won’t tell him much about where they’re going just tidbits of what to expect when they finally enter a large room with multiple beds and over a dozen patients lying in them. Even from a distance Chase can tell that they’re in different stages of, well, dying.
Not for the first time, does he wonder what on Earth he’s doing at the hospital until Dr. Ellis taps his shoulder and gestures to a particular bed and patient combo. “She’s the one under my specific care,” the woman explains, painted lips twisting into a cruel smile. “She’ll be the one you and I will be...observing and testing things with.”
Her words are vague but Chase knows exactly what she means and all of the rest of the puzzle pieces click into place. “Of course, my services and abilities are at your disposal,” he says like a good little soldier boy.
“Come, let me introduce you,” she decides, striding over towards the woman’s bed with staff hurrying out of her way like the red sea did for Moses.
When they reach the bed, Chase can see that it’s an older woman, white peppering dark strands of hair. She looks to be in better shape than the rest of them but -
He knows that doesn’t mean much in the end.
“Mr. Black, please meet Miranda.” Dr. Ellis introduces, gesturing to him with sharp eyes going back and forth between the pair.
“I wish it were because of different circumstances, but it’s a pleasure Miranda.”
When he slips out of the memory, he realizes that he’s been quiet for too long and that the oh-so-kind doctor is staring at him expectantly. He fidgets in place, swallows hard and lets whiskey gold drift across the elevator.
“This is new,” he comments carefully, watching her as she scans her keycard then presses her fingertips against a reader. “Security is much tighter.”
“Of course, this operation is by far the most successful run we’ve ever done. We wouldn’t want to compromise any of it. Now change, we’ll be arriving in two minutes.” Nails tapped along the faux-wood of her clipboard impatiently. “There will be no teleporting, just like the infirmary, that I heard was ransacked a few months ago.”
A hiss of a sigh slips between clenched teeth before he unclenches the hands at his side and let chaos wash over him, his cloak and uniform replacing the business attire he’s chosen to wear for the meeting. “It did and smart decision, creates a more...controlled environment for the assets.”
“Exactly, we took all of your suggestions to heart,” Ellis purrs stepping into his space and tapping his chest with the metal clip before stepping out the doors the second they opened. “Follow me.”
It isn’t until he’s certain that she can’t see him that he glares at her back, jaw clenching as he reigns in his irritation. Of course he’s going to follow her, he doesn’t know his way around this part of the hospital.
She leads him down the hall and into another hallway where glass windows stretched along the length of it broken up by metal doors that required a keycard to open and walls that separated the rooms - cells, he realizes - with various creatures and even people still dressed in their hospital gowns in that between stage of human and something else.
Boy, had they been busy.
Amber eyes drift across the windows, watching as creatures milled about in their glass prisons until he spots a familiar one. The greenish tint of her skin and her elongated insect-like limbs are hard to forget.
Impossible even, when they’re his fault - a result of his cooperation and action.
The churning in his stomach worsens when those silver eyes locked with his gold and he can see her mouth moving. He can’t hear her but he can tell what she’s mouthing, his name. His face pales even though his legs carry him forward, pressing his gloved hand against the glass of her cell. “Mir - “ he stops, because that’s not her name anymore. “Echo,” he breathes instead, hearing Ellis’s heels come clicking in behind him and the beep of her keycard against the panel to unlock the door.
“After you,” the doctor says, arching a brow like she was daring him to say no.
So, naturally, General Labyrinthite steps through the door with his back straight and his head held high. He will not show weakness here, not anymore. He swallows hard then says, with an incredibly even tone of voice, “Long time no see Echo.”
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