The Corin Chronicles Volume I: The Light and the Dark (18 page)

“Right, of course, the reason we’re here,” Jonathan said. “He’s right in there, behind the tall woman in the glasses.” Detective Jacobs carefully alerted their attention to the tall, slim frame of a relatively young man with long, blond hair. There did not seem to be anything malicious about him, but Andrew stayed alert.

“How close a match is he?” William squinted to get a better look at the suspect.

“It’s about sixty-five percent,” Jonathan answered. “We also caught a few glimpses of his scar on the camera.”

“Is that enough to go by?” asked Andrew.

“Ten percent is enough to go by.” Karl’s glare was intense. “Catching this guy is all we do, so even if someone told me that the president’s chief of staff could be him, I would be at the White House immediately.”

Andrew folded his arms and shrugged. “I was just saying—”

“Don’t,” interrupted Karl. “This isn’t the time. Jonathan, get your men in position around the shop. Let’s take him down.”

The police radio sprang to life with a flurry of communication, and a number of well-positioned officers fixed themselves around the bookstore. Leading the way, Karl steadily approached, gently moving people to the side, with his FBI badge clearly visible.

After going past the first couple of onlookers, the rest of the crowd started to move out of the way, aware that something was happening. With the officers behind them, the three agents walked into the store. It was large, with numerous counters in the front. The shelves ran deep and were filled with books. The front of the store, beside the registers, housed the bestseller section, where their suspect stood.

“He hasn’t made us yet.” Agent Hobbs started to reach for his gun, when he suddenly exchanged looks with the suspect. Although initially a glance, the man quickly turned and looked at him directly in the eyes, dropping the book he held in his hand. Karl saw fear in the young man’s eyes, an emotion he never associated with Siroco. “Now,” he shouted, lunging forward.

Unable to react as quickly as Karl, William and Andrew also darted forward with their guns out. Frozen to the spot, the suspect eventually turned around and attempted to head toward the back of the store, but before his legs could get warmed up, Karl was on top of him, tackling him to the floor. Fiercely gripping the back of his neck, Karl held the suspect face down on the floor with the rest of his team behind him. The police officers tried to calm the other customers, as a slight panic ensued. A number of them tried to get closer to see everything happening, with some taking pictures on their camera phones.

“Get these people out of here,” William shouted. “And seize any phones with pictures.” The intensity on his face scared some of the younger children, as did the sight of his gun.

With considerable care, Karl eased his grip on the suspect and turned him over, forcing his long locks to the side of his face. Andrew saw the disappointed look on his new partner’s face, and with it felt his own confidence that they had the right man dissolve.

Karl let loose a loud, angry growl and punched the floor several times. “It’s not him,” he shouted. “Why do we keep getting this wrong? It’s a goddamn tattoo.” Jumping to his feet, he walked out of the store, muttering under his breath.

With the suspect still on the ground, shaking with fear, William knelt down and took a closer look at his face. It was one filled with piercings and tattoos, a number of them directly under his right eye. At first, William did not know what they signified, but he eventually made them out to be tear drops. “What’s your name, son?” he asked.

“Emmm… El… El… Elliot.” The young man trembled and found it hard to speak.

“Interesting tattoo you have there, Elliot. What does it mean?”

“Emmm, nothing I don’t think. It was just one of those silly things I did when I was in Vegas.”

William nodded before helping Elliot to his feet. “Stay right here. Someone will take a statement from you in a minute.”

“Am I in trouble?” The young man remained in a frenzied state.

“No, you’re not. There’s just been a mistake, that’s all.”

William looked around and noticed Karl outside the store, sitting in a small corner. Of more concern, however, was the growing number of spectators that had arrived at the scene. “It’s all over, folks,” he shouted. “There’s nothing here.” He tapped Andrew on the shoulder and made his way over to Karl.

Karl kept his hands on his head, shaking it from side to side. It could be a very long time before they got another high-probability sighting of Siroco. He sat, almost in a daze, and not even his partner’s approaching footsteps prompted him to look up.

“We’ll get him next time,” William said. He leaned forward to grab hold of his partner’s hand but was startled at the fury with which Karl retracted it.

“What if we don’t?” he barked. “What if we never find him? What if Budapest was it, our last opportunity to catch him?” Karl walked away from his partners, who followed him. “At least then, it was a ninety-five percent probability. But ever since, what? Thirty, forty, fifty?” He shook. “What if we never find him again? Then what? All this for nothing? My last few years might as well be thrown away.” He aggressively slammed his phone on to the floor, causing it to smash into multiple pieces.

“Hey, hey, calm down,” said Andrew. “I might not be as experienced as you guys, but one thing I know is that you can never take these things personally.” He edged closer to Karl. “He’s a felon, nothing more. If we don’t catch him today, we will tomorrow. But it’s hardly something to lose sleep over.”

To his immense surprise, Karl charged straight for him, not stopping until their foreheads and eyes were nearly touching. “What the hell do you know, rookie?” Karl growled. “This is very personal to me. It’s the one thing that keeps me awake at night. Catching him is the world to me, and if you’re not willing to take it as personally as I am, you’d better leave now.”

Turning away, Karl stormed off and headed straight for the elevators, leaving a trail of startled spectators wondering what had just occurred.

“What did I say?” asked Andrew after moment of silence. “Everyone knows that you should never take cases personally. I don’t understand what’s going on here.”

William continued to look into the eyes of the watching spectators, with his mind completely blank, before turning around to face Andrew. “Don’t take it to heart, man,” he said. “It’s all very personal for Karl. The felon we’re chasing—”

“Charles Thomas, right?” Andrew interrupted. “Is that even his name? Or do you guys just not want to tell me?”

“It doesn’t matter what his name is right now,” said William. “All you have to know is that we’re chasing the person that murdered Karl’s family in cold blood.”

Andrew flinched at the words. Then a sad confusion crept onto his face. He slumped to the floor, placing his hands on his chin. “What, what happened? How did he get to his family?”

“I can’t say right now,” William spoke softly, “Karl will have to fill you in when he’s ready.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“How could you? It’s not common knowledge. Apart from us, the Senator, and a few of his key people, no one else does.”

“I’d better apologize to him right away.” Andrew hurried toward the elevator, but William held him back.

“I’d tread carefully if I were you. And it would probably be best for now if you didn’t tell him that you know anything about his family.”

Andrew nodded and made his way toward the officers, who continued taking statements from the people nearby.

Charging through the crowd, Karl made his way back to the car and shut the door with some venom. Following a few minutes of silence, he slammed his hands against the passenger side dashboard. The anger shifted to despair as tears filled his eyes.

As his composure returned, his thoughts drifted to the day he first met Senator Walsh. It was the day of his wife and daughter’s funeral. He had remembered seeing a number of people there whom he did not recognize. He had assumed that, due to the high-profile nature of his family’s murder, some of his FBI colleagues had invited friends from other sections of the government. It was not until the actual ceremony that he recognized the Senator, but again, he did not think anything of it. As the ceremony ended, he stayed back to pay his respects alone, when he noticed the Senator approaching, along with a few of his men. Assuming that it was only to pay their respects, he stood up and wiped the tears from his face.

“Agent Hobbs,” the Senator said. “Please accept my condolences at your loss. And if I may, I urge you to reconsider your decision to resign from the Bureau. You will be sorely missed.”

“I appreciate you coming down here, Senator Walsh. And I appreciate the kind words. But I’ve made up my mind.” He desperately tried to control his emotions.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, son. I was hoping to tell you of a new task force I’m putting together, which I want you to head.”

Initially wanting to raise his voice, Karl maintained his composure. “I will say it again, Senator. I have no more desire for government work, but thank you for considering me.” He turned around to walk away.

“What if I promised you vengeance?” the senator said.

Karl stopped. The word “vengeance’ was the only one he’d heard in days that restored any of the light and sense of purpose that had grown so dim within him. He stared at the Senator.

“Yes, revenge,” the Senator continued. “Against the one who murdered your family. Will that make you reconsider?”

Karl’s breathing became heavy. He didn’t know if the Senator was sincere, but he had not been able to get a moment’s sleep since his family’s murder. He’d been tormented by the knowledge that Sean Pepper, the helpless young man they took into their lives, only to be betrayed, was still walking free after taking everything from him. He glared at the Senator. “With all due respect, Senator, this isn’t the time to use my emotions to your benefit.”

“Walk with me, Agent Hobbs.” The Senator edged up beside him and put his hand on his shoulder. “If what I say doesn’t interest you, you’ll never hear from me again. And I will forbid anyone else in the Bureau from disturbing you.”

“I’m listening.” His face remained expressionless.

“Please. Walk with me.” The Senator gestured to his men to stay back, as he led Karl deeper into the graveyard.

“You’ve got me now, Senator, so tell me how I can get justice for my family.”

“Why do I sense that the justice you speak of doesn’t involve a trial with jurors?” The Senator smiled. Karl did not. “Okay, Karl, I’ll get straight to the point.” They had now reached an isolated part of the graveyard. “I’ve read your report on everything that happened. Let me first tell you that it wasn’t your fault. You had no reason to suspect the person you knew as Sean Pepper.”

He looked at the Senator fiercely. “I don’t need reassurance, Senator, I just… Wait.” He paused and looked at the Senator, almost unsure of himself. “Why did you just say that? Why did you say
the person I knew as Sean Pepper
? Are you telling me that was not his real name?”

“I’m afraid not, Karl.”

“Damn it.” He kicked the grass in frustration, the tears in his eyes visible. “I had a bad feeling in my gut about him, but I let him stay with my family. I didn’t know his name was fabricated though. If only I had known about him earlier, this might not have happened, and they might still be here.”

“Don’t do this to yourself.” The Senator put his hands on Karl’s shoulders. “You couldn’t have known he was an imposter. He was very thorough in covering his tracks.”

He gently pulled away from the Senator. “So who was the real Sean Pepper, then?”

“That’s the thing. Sean Pepper was not a stolen identity, but one he created, and it completely checked out.”

“But how? How could he do that? Who is he, really?”

“I’ll tell you everything, Karl. But first I need to know whether you’re in or out.” The Senator folded his arms.

Karl stared into the skies for a few seconds, seething in rage, mostly at himself for not uncovering the imposter that came into his life before killing his wife and daughter. “Okay, but you must tell me everything right now. No top secret nonsense. If you want me to help you, I must know everything. And when we do find him, I deal with him, my way.”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do anything to him, Agent Hobbs.” Karl’s face twisted with anger, but the Senator continued undeterred. “This guy is bigger than you, me… hell, even the president.”

“What does that mean?”

“Listen to me, Karl. The first thing you need to know is that the person you know as Sean Pepper is not necessarily someone else, but rather, some
thing
else altogether. He’s almost a symbol, a myth, a legend. Some would even call him a deity.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Karl stepped up, face to face with the Senator. “He is nothing but a scumbag. Flesh and blood. Now, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here, but I don’t think I’m interested anymore.”

The Senator stepped in even closer and said softly, “What if I told you that this person has not just lived in this century, but the one before and the one before that? What if I tell you that he might even have lived since the beginning of time?”

“Spare me the nonsense, Senator. What are you trying to say—that he’s a vampire or something?”

“No, no, nothing so silly or trivial. He’s from another time, almost an alien, if you want to call him that. But one who has seen the history of Earth from near enough to the beginning.”

“You’re starting to sound ridiculous, sir.”

“Please, Karl, give me some credit. I’m a United States Senator. Would I come and tell you tales on the day of your family’s funeral? No, I’m telling you secrets that have been protected from the beginning of time, by a secret society that is not even known of in any circles. It’s a secret that can bring forth the destruction of Earth. But I need you. You are the only person alive that we know of who came so close to him and lived to tell.”

Karl walked off a few steps toward the trees behind them, both hands on his head. The Senator followed closely behind. “So you’re telling me,” Karl said, “that Sean or whatever his name is… That he’s really an alien, gunning for Earth? What do you even call him?”