Episode 10
Chief Gnaeus wasn’t the most well versed man when it came to
advanced sciences or medical technology. He couldn’t tell you which end of a
Nano-Med Injector was up, nor could he truly admit he understood everything Dr.
Foxfire said half the time. But he had always been a man willing to trust his
gut, it was something that had always seen him through many a dark moment. And
right now it rolled with reservations.
“I am afraid I have further news with which you might not
enjoy hearing,” Dr. Foxfire began bluntly. “There have been complications
regarding the wounded worker; Marcus Gabriel Vincent. Gabriel has begun to
manifest an accelerated healing rate that exceeds anything I could have
anticipated. I believe it is a combination of the experimental nanite treatment
and some effect of the terrible trauma he has faced. In either case the end
result is that Gabriel has been altered down to the genetic level. All my tests
have been able to prove that he is in control of his faculties, Chief. And as
the only known survivor of an attack from this thing I think he may be our only
real hope at identifying this threat.”
The Chief allowed the good Doctor to plead her case
completely before he even considered uttering a single syllable. This wasn’t
the time for a snap judgment or a hasty decision. He had to consider everything
carefully, and he certainly had to weight her remarks against his own
instincts. And what they told him was that for everything he was being told
there was a handful more tucked from view.
It was like the stories he had been told as a child of these
fabled clever conjurers who used to ply their trade to dazzle unsuspecting
travelers with trickery. While you watched on at the marvels that mystified
your eyes there was deft gestures that hid the truth from your view. That was
at least in part what was happening here. He couldn’t pin the Dr. Foxfire’s
motivations down to being involved, blindly manipulated or just simply naive
but he was sure there was more to this.
“Chief,” Dr. Foxfire called out to return his attention so
that she might continue. “Gabriel has agreed to submit himself into your
custody on a single condition. He has requested the opportunity to enlist into
service for the night-patrol to help combat this threat. In exchange for this
probationary chance he is willing to forgo his freedom and surrender his fate to
your judgment willingly. If you deem him to be a threat liken to this midnight
monster you may do with him as you please. All he asks is the chance to help
hunt down the beast that has so maimed him and prevent it from harming others.”
Papers ruffled out of sight from the screen’s view as Chief
Gnaeus referenced a handful of updated reports. Something had sparked in his
mind that toyed its way around to connect several loose dots of thought that
demanded to be put together. “Ah, yes,” Gnaeus finally purred victoriously.
“Does this have anything to do with the recent news of your patient’s previous
employer vanishing like some of the others? Or perhaps the violently vandalized
work site he was last seen at before this fabled attack made by some fictional
furry fiend?”
Before Dr. Foxfire could address the matter Gabriel stepped
into view himself to answer Chief Gnaeus’s implied accusations. He couldn’t let
the Doc fight all his battles for him; it was time he stood up for himself.
Besides, if he didn’t do something to face the matter he feared his own
frustrations might betray him to his already building furious frenzy once
again.
“Forgive my frankness, sir,” Gabriel pleaded ingratiatingly.
“I know I have no right to ask for your trust or to beg for any measure of your
consideration. These strange events are your responsibility to resolve, and you
have a duty to do so. I also understand how my own claims must sound,
especially as the only person claiming to have survived this bizarre business.
But be that as it may; that was my handiwork at that job site that was
destroyed. You can ask anyone who ever worked with me or whom I did even a
trivial task for – I take pride in my work, I could never willingly dirty my
reputation by destroying something I crafted.
Please, sir; give me the chance to help. If not for me to
clear my name then at least let avenge the other victims who fell before this
beast. Once everyone is safe once more then I will willingly share the
creature’s fate if you so decide. But for their sake let me help, if there is
even a single chance this bent nail might be driven in straight to be of some
use.”
“You are the grandson of Thael Vincent, are you not?” Chief
Gnaeus inquired with a raised inquisitive eyebrow. Craftsman Thael was a common
name among the older residents of Gallu; there were incredibly few who didn’t
know the name let alone the respectable reputation he had commanded. With Thael
there was never a flicker of doubt with the degree of quality from the skilled
master craftsman when you brought a task to his work table.
But if his memory hadn’t failed him yet completely Thael had
had a son who was as far a cry from his own lofty ideals as ever there could
have been. Whatever became of him was a blur at present but he did recall vaguely
that Thael had been forced to take in and care for a grandson. Something about
the child’s mother falling terribly ill; the whole matter had been a saddening
shame. The old master had been in the twilight of his years and he had been
pressed into caring for those of his kin that should have been the ones in role
reversed.
“I am,” Gabriel confirmed proudly with only a slight glimpse
of grief hinted in his tone. If this boy truly was the blood-kin of Thael
himself and raised likewise by the man then there was at least the chance he
inherited his fore-bearers character. For that reason alone he decided he would
grant him the consideration he requested.
“Thael Vincent was a respected and admittedly great man,”
Chief Gnaeus declared easily. “I knew him well and never once found a single
reason to think badly of him. In his memory and for the sake of his good name I
will give you the opportunity to prove you are made of similar stuff. And for
your own sake I pray that you took his teachings to heart.”
Old wounds threatened to tear themselves open inside Gabriel
as his grandfather’s name brought with it painful memories. Thoughts of his ill
mother and her struggle, of the long nights filled with tears. But worst of all
was the empty space where his father should have been. The knowledge that his
grandfather was toiling endlessly each day in his place and continuing to do so
every night when he should have been able to enjoy the rest he so richly had
earned. He had wanted so badly to be able to do more, to ease the burden then
but he was just a child. There was nothing he could do then, and even less he
could understand at the time.
But now he could appreciate the matter, now he could understand
what his grandfather had said back then. The words drifted from his memories to
find their way into his waiting mouth. “If a job is worth doing then it is
worth doing right, and you never leave a job left undone,” Gabriel recited. “Thank
you Chief, for giving me the chance to finish this job and I can assure I will
not disappoint.”
For a second, Gnaeus had to admit that this boy almost
sounded every measure of the man his grandfather had been. Only time would tell
for certain though.
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