Cruelty Is Bitter Bane Log 7

[x-dominion.livejournal.com]

The serial killer reveals himself



They sat with the phone on the table in front of them. It had been dusted but only revealed prints from Westcott. It had been in the post office box too long to try for fragments for DNA. They had checked it, determining that it was a burner phone, with no record of sale or unique identifiers.

"Well," Kane said. "Kitty, Logan, can you guys get anything from this? Scent, maybe some kind of computer tech genius thingy?"

"Hang on." Kitty picked it up. Squinting, she pushed the button, watching as the phone blinked to life. "They make these things so that you can't trace them but...there might be something." Her fingers flew across the keys, tapping out a swift series of computations.

"Here." She shoved it to the middle of the table. "I think that's the last number called. One of them, anyhow. Anyone care to give it a dial?"

Julian, being physically the closest to Kitty, took the phone and tapped the button to dial- quickly sliding his thumb down to put it on speaker. As it rang, he looked at his companions, "I could see if anyone at Stahl Networks can trace it, but it could take a bit of time."

"I don't think we've got that kind of-" Kane started, but was interrupted by the phone.

"Ah, you've found it. A bit slower than I was hoping but... I suppose it doesn't really matter in the end. 1017 Cates Avenue. Near the intersection with Hamilton Ave." The phone cut off and went to the dial tone.

Logan stared at the phone. "What the fuck was that?" The case had been weird from the start and this only made it worse. Obviously, they'd been lead around by the nose the whole time and were finally being clued into the end game.

The keys zipped off the end table and into Julian's hand, "An address, let's hope we're not too late." He started toward the door, pulling up the local map on his phone's GPS and starting to enter the address the voice had given him.

"Julian is right." Kane said, although why would they get contacted now? Was there a second demand now that Westcott was taken and the money retrieved? "If we're dealing with a serial killer, he's got a point he's making. Whatever is at that location will be carefully set up." He mentioned as they exited into the parking lot. Kane's rental car was closest, although he said nothing as Julian slid behind the wheel. The missing man was a former friend of his.

Glancing over her shoulder, Kitty slid through the door to the back seat. It was becoming alarmingly comfortable to phase, after so much time spent with the X-Men. Don't think about it, she told herself. There are more important things to worry about.

"What's the plan once we get there?" she asked, looking first at the back of Julian's head, then at Kane and Logan.

Logan sat in the backseat with Kitty. "Case the house best we can then get ourselves inside before everythin' goes to shit? Don't think we have the time to do anythin' fancier than that. Obviously, the killer's got our number and we don't have his. The more time we spend twidlin' our thumbs the more we're puttin' the kid at risk." He paused. "Then of course, we could be playin' right into the killer's hands by stormin' the place. So ya know, fun choices."

Julian pulled out of the lot quickly, nearly colliding with oncoming traffic as he floored the rental and got up to speed with the rest of the cars. "Healing factor, phasing, healing factor, and shields...I think we're cool. Casing the place is only going to waste time, and it's not like we need a warrant, right?"

"If they called, they're expecting someone. Julian and I can approach it head on. Kitty, can you phase you and the Old Man into the house from the opposite direction? That will at least give us two approaches."

There was a general asset and quiet descended on the car as they sped through the traffic. Was it a trap or a show of contempt just giving them the address. What about Devon DeMattis? Capturing the killer was secondary to making sure the young man was safe and Kane had a sickening feeling that the odds of that were not in their favour.

When they pulled up in front of the house on Cates avenue, they noticed the 'for sale' sign immediately. It was slightly weathered, suggesting that the sign had been up at least a month. Julian and Garrison hung back to allow Logan and Kitty to get into position. They'd dropped them off a block before, letting them approach the house from a different angle. When his cellphone beeped, he gave Julian a nod.

"They're ready."

Kitty dropped down, looking at Logan. The grass hadn't been cut in weeks but it was brittle and hard with the heat, weeds breaking as they shifted. She took another breath, touching Logan to phase them again into silence.

"Lead on." She smiled and added, "Bub."

"You're not as cute as ya think you are," Logan griped good naturedly then moved toward the house. This whole thing stank of a setup, one that wouldn't end well. Someone was making a point and they were caught up right in the middle of it. They were nearly invisible as they moved through the back door. Nearly would have to work.

On the other end of the house, Julian extended a shield over the door, then carefully pushed inward until he heard the telltale sound of wood and metal wrenching apart. The door fell inward with an unceremonious thud, and once he was certain nothing was going to explode, the shield dropped and he stepped inside. Looking around the interior, it was obvious that no one had been living in this house recently- though the tell-tale signs of kids with too much time on their hands adorned the walls. Graffiti tags claimed ownership over the stairwell, the tail end of which was where the nearest light-switch was situated. Moving toward it, Julian extended his TK and gave the switch a gentle flick- nothing happened. With a sigh, he created a bubble of pale green light above himself to illuminate their surroundings. "No one seems to be home," he said, not looking at Agent Kane.

"Nicely done. If you ever get tired of being fabulously wealthy and finger-banging party girls in the back of your exclusive clubs, I have a really shitty, dangerous, low paying job I can recommend you for." Kane said, stepping past the door. The house was mostly empty; in decent shape but obviously on the market for a while. "Logan?" He said into his comm.

Logan snorted at the loud commotion he heard from the other side of the house. Julian didn't know the better part of discretion but then that was obvious with the kind of life he lived. "Got nothin' back here yet. Ya done sendin' a warning flare up to the whole neighborhood?"

The kitchen was average, slightly tattered, as if someone had run out of the energy to keep it pristine. It looked like a house where the love hadn't been enough to keep it a home. It also felt empty. Logan moved around quietly, carefully pushing doors open to peer into the rooms leading off into the rest of the house.

Kitty followed behind, pausing to smell the air. She could taste the scent of remembered cleanser in her mouth, that pungent scent that had lingered on the dead boys. Her skin crawled, prickling more with each silent step into the heart of the room.

Her eyes scanned the corners, watching, waiting. Then she saw it. The corner of a door softly rocking.

Kitty pointed, knowing that anything she could see, Logan had already scented.

The front entry team swept through several rooms that were vacant, save for a thick layer of dust that coated everything. Julian's senses were peaked by the flow of adrenaline into his blood stream. His eyes scanned from corner to corner as he pushed his senses outward, touching every surface with a delicate telekinetic force. They'd found nothing by the time they reached the rear entry team near the kitchen.

Kane pointed up at the ceiling silently. They nodded and followed him up the stairs. The second floor was the only place left. They hung back for a moment, waiting for Logan to scent out explosives or potential traps. But the only thing he smelt left a worried look on his face. Opening the door, they found themselves in the master bedroom. Sitting in a chair was the corpse of Devon DeMattis. There was a single bullet wound in his forehead, likely shot at close range.

Beside the chair was a small end table, with a camera and a cellphone sitting on it. Before they had a chance to assess the scene, the phone rang and Kane picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Agent Garrison Kane. Interesting. I wasn't sure who the FBI would send but you fit the bill wonderfully. I see that you brought Logan with you. And Julian Keller. The young lady I don't know as well, but I suppose I shall. Like a forgotten present at Christmas."

"Who is this?"

"You can call me the Scourge. Overwrought, I know. But I feel there's a sense of the inevitable in it. A scourge; it punishes, it purges, and it follows."

"You killed DeMattis."

"Of course. He was a mutant, you know. I admit to a certain level of irony in a mutant case in a city so anti-mutant. I feel the police would sympathize with Westcott if it wasn't so unseemly." There was a dry chuckle over the phone. "I must admit, you did very well, Agent. Better than I anticipated."

"So, what's your game?"

"Game? I consider it a mission. Now, to finish it."

Kane's phone rang and he fished it out. "Yeah?"

"Agent Kane? It's Wallace. We're taking Westcott out to a federal site. Well done. He's going to jail and has agreed to help us find the mastermind."

"He's... end game. Shit! Wallace, get him back under cover! Get him-" His voice was cut off by the sound of the shot. There was angry yells, ranging from sniper to man down. Kane gritted his teeth as he lifted the other phone.

"Finished. Westcott was a mutant, you know. An extra lung, if you can believe it. So my heart shot went through both. Funny that."

"I'm going to find you."

"So you say. In this case, justice is served."