x
On the other side, Death, skullet Quattro and tre are chatting with Vincent at the headquarters.
"Hey, Vincent! Long time no see!" Death says.
"Hey, Death. How are you?" Vincent says.
"Great. What about you?"
"I'm fine too."
"So, what are you guys doing here?" Vincent ask.
"I am waiting for a mission to come out. I just want to know what the next mission will be. I have been waiting for a few days now, but there hasn't been any news yet." Quattro sigh.
"We are here to talk about the new mission." tre says.
"What is it?" Vincent ask.
"Let me tell you the story first, and then you decide whether or not you want to join in." Tre starts the story. "Do you guys remember when I told you that our boss, Death asked us to help him on a mission? Well, that mission is going to be huge!"
"Really?" skullet Quattro asks.
"Yes, the whole reason why our boss came here today is so that he could tell us what his plan for this mission is. He said that he wants us to do something big and that he wants us to make a lot of money!"
"Wow! Sounds exciting!" skullet Quattro says.
"I'm excited too!" tre says.
"Me too." Death adds.
"I'm not interested in this story anymore, Tre. Can you please just start telling the real story now?" Vincent says.
"Sorry, but the boss said that he doesn't want to tell us the real story until you agree to join the mission."
"Fine. Please continue." Vincent says.
"Alright, here it goes. The real story is that our boss wants us to meet an old lady who owns a farmhouse near here."
"Who is she?" skullet quattro ask.
"Her name is Mrs Milby. She is very rich and she lives in a big mansion surrounded by lots of gardens. She is known for her eccentric behaviour and many people believe that she is a witch. Our boss wants us to find out if those rumours are true."
"Why does he want to know that?" tre asks.
"He wants to know because Mrs Milby is planning to move away and sell her house. So he wants to buy it from her and become its owner. Our boss wants us to find out if she is a witch or if she is just crazy. In the meantime, we are going to pretend that we are interested in buying it, just like she wants us to do."
"That sounds like a wonderful plan." tre says.
"Yeah, I think it's a great idea too." skullet Quattro says.
"Sounds good. I think I'm going to join the mission." tre says.
"Me too!" skullet Quattro says.
"I was thinking about it, but I don't know..." Vincent says.
"Come on, Vincent. Do you want to stay here forever? We have plenty of missions and you aren't even participating in any of them." Death said.
"But I'm scared to leave my house!" Vincent says.
"Look I will remove you Vampire toxin within your blood and you still get to keep your strength, how about that, if so you won't burn under the sun, I know you hated to be a vampire so will you help us if I offer this deal?" Death smile.
"Okay, I accept." Vincent sigh.
"Great! Now I will give you the instructions and then we can start the mission!"
"Thank you for your help, Mr Death."
"No problem, Friend."
Tre read the instructions written on the paper. "Here are the instructions," she says. "Mr Death said that we are going to play a little game called 'Hide and Seek'. We are supposed to hide in a place where we are not likely to be seen. Then Vincent are going to visit Milby as if he is interested in buying the house, after that, Milby will leave for lunch as always and we will have time for the search."
"I don't like this game." skullet Quattro says. "Why don't we just sneak into her house and look around inside?"
"That is not allowed, Mr. Death said that we must use our powers to observe without being detected." tre says.
"I don't like this either." skullet Quattro says. "Why can't we just kick down the door and get this over with?"
"Because that is not allowed either." tre says.
"Whatever!" skullet Quattro says.
"Enough! Shut up you two." tre says. "We can discuss this later! Now we have to get ready for the mission!"
"Yes, ma'am!" skullet Quattro says and tre finishes reading the instructions.
"One last thing, before I go, I want you to know that I will be watching you closely. If you disobey Mr Death, I will punish you! Are you clear?"
"Yes, ma'am," they both say and tre leave the room.
After that, Quattro show Vincent the restroom, it is not too shiny, yet monotone enough to be comfortable.
Vincent took a look around and sit on the bed soundly.
" So when are we doing that little intel gig?" Vincent ask.
" 2 days from now, and take some rest, you will needed it." Quattro said before leaving the room.
Minute later, Vincent falls to sleep with out a second thought in his mind, sleeping comfortably without a care in the world.
Hours later, The restroom door open slightly.
" Wow, he really slept this easily in a stranger places, what is he, a domesticated animal?" Tre jokingly halfhearted remarks Vincent. As her heart feel a bit of rush of excitement and amusing at the same time.
"Nah, this sounds sick in the head coming from you. Snap out of it." Quattro remark with a short sigh.
" Gosh, what are you on about, you are the one that's sick in the head for whatever way you are thinking, locked the fuck in, idiot!" Tre push Quattro head away as if disapproval of his dialogue.
"Okay let's get this over with." Uno said as they enter the room as approach to Vincent.
The door closed.
Mission: hide and seek started.
On the other side of the wall, Milby is sitting in the house in the kitchen, drinking some milk when he hears a knock on the door. She goes to open it, and she sees young man standing outside the door, smiling.
"Oh, hello, Mrs Milby," Vincent says.
She smiles again. "My name is Catherine. My husband's name is Henry. I am sorry, but we had to move away suddenly, we didn't have time to get our things together. And yeah we are aboy to meet up in a restaurant have to have lunch, so I was wondering ifyou could help us watch over the house a bit as I leave for dinner.
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"Of course, Mrs Milby."
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"Come in, please." Mrs Milby says.
Vincent enters the house and sits on the couch. "Oh, it's so cold in here, I hope your husband isn't mad at you
for asking me for a favour."
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Would you like some tea or some coffee?"
"Tea would be lovely, thank you." Vincent said.
"Please wait here," Milby says and leaves the room.
While Vincent prepares the coffee, he thinks about his mission. He is supposed to watch Mrs Milby and learn all about her, but he can't stop thinking about how strange she looks. She has pale skin, black hair and dark eyes. Her clothes are also unusual; she wears a long black dress that is covered in white lace. She carries two cats, which are very fat and strangely shaped. They have pointed ears and sharp teeth.
When she returns, Vincent is sitting on the couch.
"Thank you, Mr Milby," he says.
"You're welcome," Milbly says.
"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Certainly not."
"Where did you get your cat?" Vincent asks.
"It was a gift from a friend of mine."
"Your friend gave you a cat?"
"Yes."
"I love cats. I used to have a beautiful cat, but he died recently."
"I am very sorry to hear about your cat's death," Vincent says. "You never met him, but I have a cat that is very special to me. His name is...well, let's just say that it means 'death' in Latin."
"What's his name?" Mrs Milby asks.
"His name is Zehra."
"Zehra."
"Yes. You know, I've always wanted to meet someone who knows the word "zethra". It's such a strange-sounding name."
"The word itself is rather strange, but the meaning is simple."
"Very well, thank you." Mrs Milby says. "Now, could you please tell me what zethra means?"
"Sure," Vincent says. "Zehra is the Greek word for death."
"Oh, I see."
"May I ask you another question?"
"Yes, of course."
"How did you come up with the name of your cat?"
"It wasn't easy. I tried many different names before I found one that I liked. I think the best way to explain it is this: zethra means "death", but it also means "tomb" and "grave". That's why my cat's name is Zethra."
"Interesting."
"Yes, it was quite difficult. But now that you mention it, it makes sense. Maybe I should consider changing my cat's name to something more suitable for living."
"I think that it would be a good idea." Mrs Milby says.
"Thank you, Mrs Milby. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"No, thank you. Have a nice day!"
"You too!" Vincent says.
As he shuts the door, Vincent thinks about the strange conversation he just had with Mrs Milby. He wonders if she might be a witch.
He wonders if she might be a witch. He knew of witches, but he had never seen one or been near enough to see them; the few who were known locally belonged either to his grandmother's generation or to her cousin's—who was dead some twenty years ago. But this woman might be a witch since she has come from the city which is said to have more than its share of such folk. And yet it would not seem likely that any witch could look so young. Her face is so familiar yet so strange. She looks like an old acquaintance; and yet there are things about her that he cannot put down to mere resemblance. It makes him think that he knows her somehow, though how he can tell whether she is real or only a dream he does not know. He seems to remember something about her being called "Wendy," but then again perhaps she is someone else entirely. Somehow he knows that Wendy is no ordinary name for a girl, however well-known it may be in the country where he lives. The name stirs up memories of dreams and half-remembered things, and yet they are so vague as to make him wonder if they ever existed at all. There are other names too, many of them quite queer ones: names that seem to suggest what people call themselves when they are alone. And there are others too, especially one which he keeps on hearing, although he can't say why he should hear it. His friend calls it by another word and laughs. That name causes him to shudder with horror, and his mind reels with questions. Even now as he sees Wendy sitting beside him and looking straight into his eyes he finds himself unable to speak. Yet the sound of her voice brings back vivid memories of things he has heard before. They are so new and so different that they seem almost to be separate experiences.
“You look like shit, are you feeling ok？” Tre asks Vincent.
The two of them Tre and Quattro are walking through the village, talking in low voices. They both laugh.
Vincent nods without speaking. He is looking around uneasily, wondering if he ought not to have stayed in his room after all.
"Come here kid, let me fix you right up!" Said Quattro "I can heal others with my power, even mental healing too!"
He says enthusiastically, smiling, pointing up at the sky.
Quattro is standing outside the door of Milby house. They are the first words he has spoken since they got together.
"You know what I am, don't you? You know the truth about me？"
They both nod and smile.
„Yes, yes. We're friends. I'm really glad you came along."
Then Quattro says,
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"Now come on inside, there's a good boy." Tre remark.
"I swear to my life the next time I meet Finn Black it will be his death. I hate child rapists from the bottom of my heart!" Quattro yell.
„Ok, Ok. Calm down, calm down. Let's go inside. My house is your house， ok, Vincent He's sick and needs a doctor. Got a doctor in the house？"
Quattro waves and points.
„What kind of doctor？"
„A real one.
"You get it, I get a medical PhD," Quattro says nodding.
„That's very good. Very good. Now let's go inside."
They walk up the garden path, past the open gate, which is slightly afar.
Suddenly Quattro stops. He turns around and looks back over his shoulder. Then he begins to run toward the open gate. He leaps across the broken fence and disappears into the darkness beyond.
Tre and Vincent keep on walking. They reach the front door.
"I'll unlock the door， you go ahead and take a look inside, just take needed books, hints or paper, in and out 2 minutes," Tre said with a calm tune.
"Thanks."
Tre walks around the side of the house. She opens the window and goes inside. Checked the shelves and drawers and finds everything neatly arranged. Then she takes some papers and leaves. Just as she comes out of the window he hears a soft sound behind her. She turns and sees Quattro coming up the path.
"Hey, what's up？"
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to check the place out."
"Oh. Come on in then."
"What about Vincent？"
"He's fine. I heal him up just fine."
„But he looks bad."
Quattro shakes his head. "What he needs is rest. You give him that， and he'll be better in no time."
Tre nods. "Well, thanks for helping me. If you want to show me around town later， that'd be cool with me. How about it？"
"Sure. I like to meet folks. Sure, I like to meet you. First, you come to my house， then we go to town."
"Cool."
"Come on."
"Hey, Vincent we get everything we needed let's leave and visit Quattro's house as a break time." Tre yell.
"Yeah. Cool. Let's do that."
They walk back to the street. As they pass the open door Quattro says, "Don't forget to bring me some of those papers you found， okay?"
"For sure." Tre answer. After that, Quattro leads them through the portal and into his house. Inside it is warm and bright, with a pleasant smell. The furniture looks comfortable and expensive, nothing is covered with dust. There is a staircase leading upward, and a hallway running parallel to the stairway. Quattro stops in the centre of the hall and points to a doorway on the left.
"This is my room. Come on in."
As they go up the stairs Quattro continues to talk, and his manner becomes more animated as he does so.
"Let me tell you about myself. About six months ago I got this idea that I'd like to study medicine, so I took the entrance exams and passed them. I had a lot of trouble finding a college willing to accept me, but finally, I managed to get in somewhere. I got my degree in medical PHD last year, and now I'm doing my internship. I hope I'll be able to open my practice soon."
Quattro pauses for a moment to wipe his forehead. "I'm in pretty big debt, and I've been working long hours for little pay. So when Uno ask me to join the group. I accept it without knowing the full picture, but it seemed like a good way to earn quick money. It's not exactly legal, but I didn't think much about that. Anyway, I was happy to have a chance to work with such a famous doctor Czech."
Quattro speaks rapidly as if he has rehearsed his story many times before. But his voice is still rapid and excited, and Tre thinks that he sounds somewhat nervous.
"So we broke into Czech's office together. That was easy enough because we knew where he kept his key. Nobody saw us come in. When we got inside we started taking things out of the safe. That's when things got a little tricky. I guess somebody must have seen us come in because we were chased out of the building before we finished. We ran around the block and hid in an alley until it was dark."
„And？" Tre asked.
"We waited for the cops, but by the time they caught up with us, we were gone. I don't know how you got away. They must have searched everywhere for you."
"What did you steal？"
„Everything. Everything he had. Money, bonds, diamonds, stocks, real estate...everything. We even took his car. The police thought you must have stolen it too, so they looked all over for you. They didn't find you or the car. They gave up after a while, but it was too late. By then we had already taken care of things."
„Where is all the stuff now？"
„It's in my basement. I've put most of it in storage, but there are some interesting things still around. I've hidden them where nobody will find them. They're worth a lot of money."
How much？"
"That's hard to say. A lot of its paper certificates, stock certificates and things like that. They're easy to sell, but they don't amount to anything unless you can prove their authenticity. On the other hand, some of the things we took are easily identifiable. Of course, some things aren't valuable in themselves but could be used to blackmail people. I'm going to use them that way."
"Why would you want to do that？"
"I don't like the idea of hurting people. I just want to make money. That's all there is to it."
"Why didn't you just get a job？"
„I have. Don't I say I have a internship .
"So now Czech kinda works for us if he didn't want the threat to be leaked. He gonna get rich， but he gets paid piece by piece. He is not happy about it. He wants to see the whole thing at once, but now he realizes he not getting it. His only hope is that we do not get caught, so he keeps quiet and does not cause us any trouble."
"He feels pretty bad about his daughter. She is a nice girl and she always treated him good. He worries about her. He doesn't know what happened to her.
"I think he wanted to help people. Maybe he didn't want to follow in his father's footsteps. But I don't know why he decided to go into medicine. I never asked him that."
"Do you see Dr Czech often？"
„No. Only every once in a while. I haven't seen him for a couple of weeks. He's usually very busy during the day. But whenever I see him he asks me about what we are doing. He wants to know what he getting in to."
„Does he know about this？"
"I don't know. I never told him. He might have figured it out by now. I should have told him. He doesn't approve of what we're doing. I know that. But if he gets upset about it, he'll never leave this country. He won't leave even though you're here."
„Why not？"Tre asked.
„Because he loves you," Quattro said.
Tre nods. "I see. Thank you for telling me."
Quattro shakes his head slowly and says, "You don't understand. Dr Czech loves everybody. He tries to help everyone. That's probably why you love him so much. I wish he wasn't involved in all this. I wish you didn't love him so much either."
„What happens next？" Vincent asked.
"We give the boss the intelligence and talk to him about your experience with her. He'll figure everything out eventually." Quattro answer.
"Then we'll get our payday," Tre adds.
"What about the vampire toxin in my blood? Vincent asked.
"We already fix it, silly" Quattro answered.
"Didn't you walk under the sun not so long ago? Tre laugh.
"Yes, we did. But we didn't stay outside long. It was late afternoon, and there was a cloud cover. The sun was blocked."
"I'm glad we fixed it, Quattro," Tre said.
"Thought it would hurt a lot, but you seem to removed it while I was sleeping, I didn't even feel a thing!" Vincent is shocked.
"No. I didn't do anything to you. I just gave you some medicine." Quattro smile.
"What kind of medicine？" Vincent question.
"Just something to make you sleep. The boss did all the work."
"But I thought you were going to cut me. Why didn't you？"
"We did. But it was complicated. We had to go deeper. It's a good thing you weren't awake. You would have felt a lot worse than you did."
"But why did you have to heal me before the deal is done？"
"Because I wanted the boss to see you. I want him to know just how much you mean to us, and to our surprise, the boss seems to care a lot about you too."
"Yeah, he loves me. I know that. I love him too." Vincent said.
"But he's in love with you too. He's crazy about you. He cares about you as much as we do."
"Really？" Vince was surprised.
"Yes. I'm sure. He's crazy about you, and he's crazy about us too." Quattro said.
"But he's not in love with me," Vincent said.
"He is, and don't you ever forget it," Quattro said.
"But I don't see how that matters. I don't have any feelings for him. I love Tre more."
"You care about him too. The boss knows that." Tre said.
"Maybe the whole reason why he wants you to join this mission is to find a way to fix you, without being too obvious." Quattro sigh. "That's what I think anyway."
"What do you mean？"
"Well, I don't know. But that's how I feel. Maybe I'm wrong."
"No. You're right." Tre said.
"See？" Quattro smiled.
"Now you're going to tell me what you want from me， and I'm going to do what you want, so you can get your way," Vincent said.
"Now hold on. We still need more information. We need to know what to do with you, and how to keep you safe."
"Why？" Vincent asked.
"Because if you try to run away, the boss will kill us. Therefore if you try to escape, we'll kill you too. But if you cooperate, we'll let you live."
Vincent looks at Quattro. His mind is racing. This is a terrible dilemma. He wonders why he cares about his life so much. He hates himself for caring. He feels helpless and confused. He realizes that he cannot resist, and he does not want to. He wants to do what Quattro says because he wants to please him.
He begins to cry. Tre picks him up in his arms and holds him.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Quattro said.
"Don't worry. I'm not crying anymore."
"Are you sure？" Quattro ask.
"Yes. I'm okay." Vincent said.
"Good. Now you tell us everything. Tell us what you know about vampire venom. It's important. If the boss finds out that you know something you didn't tell, he'll kill you. Right now, he's madly in love with you, and he loves you so much that he will kill you just to bring you back again until you're broken. I don't think you want that to happen and I don't want that to happen to you either. "
"I don't know anything else. I swear I don't." Vincent said.
„Ok. Now that we have some information, it's time to finish up." Quattro said.
„Finish what？" Tre ask.
„Him." Quattro point to Vincent.
"What about me？" Vincent ask.
"You've got to die." Quattro answered.
"Don't you want to know how can regenerate？"
"Not really. I don't care."
"Wait, I have an idea!" Vincent stout.
"I don't care. Do whatever you want. Just don't make us wait any longer." Quattro said.
"Okay. Here's my idea." Vincent said.
"Oh！ Oh call Mr Sam to read my mind, and Mr Death can get with what he wants!" Vincent yells in despair.
"Great, let's go with that idea." Quattro put down his hands and relaxes.
„All right. But first I need to get some things."
"What things?" Quattro ask.
" A gun." Vincent answer.
"I think he was going to kill himself with the gun—that's what I thought, at least; but perhaps it was only a suicide attempt " Tre think to herself.
"You guy love demonizing Death don't you?" Tre sigh.
"He wanted me to see it," Vincent said frantically. "I think — I will hurt his feelings somehow and he will stopped my existence."
"Although what Quattro said was true in some a degree, I did see him do that before when he was pissed off by some other crooks. But Death is a more reasonable person than all of us, he is just bad at showing his emotions." Tre explain."So you can guys just chill out?"
Tre turn her head away from Vincent because she knew he would be mad about that. But it was true. She couldn't help herself. Sometimes she felt like she were two people inside her, both of them telling themselves the same thing—but one side being honest and trying hard to do right, while the other side was selfish and wanted to do wrong no matter what, even though it would probably get her into trouble.
For a moment they stood there looking down at the little wooden board on which the three letters had been carved. Then Vincent turned around, walked back along the beam, and came to stand by her side again.
"I'm sorry I asked you to come here," he said. "It was a mistake."
She looked up at him and smiled, but she was thinking, Yes, it was a mistake. Because maybe this time it won't end so well. The first time you died, you were crying and screaming, but after you woke up, you were smiling and joking as if nothing had happened. This time your eyes are black and mean-looking, and you're talking about how much you want to die. And even though you're not trying to kill yourself now, I know that when you wake up tomorrow morning, you'll want to go downstairs and find a way down into that cellar where they keep their books and look for some good sharp knife or sword, and then you'll try to cut your throat with it while you lie awake until the rest of the family finds you dead.
But she didn't say anything about any of that, just shook her head slightly and smiled again
"All rights, let's get the portal out and get this over with already." The yawn. "Then we can get the hell home."
They went back through the door and found the portal standing open. When they stepped through, the doorway closed behind them. The room was empty. And Mr Death was waiting for them.
***
Vincent had never seen the place before. It was a sort of underground cave that opened off the great hall. There was light coming from somewhere within, but no source of illumination could be seen. In a distance beyond, he heard the sound of running water. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the three of them began to walk forward.
There was something odd and disturbing about the way they moved. They did not seem to be walking upon solid rock or earth, but rather on something soft and yielding. It was as if they were moving across a surface that existed only between two worlds, and might vanish entirely underfoot at any instant.
"I was wondering when you guys would show up." Death said.
"No, don't worry about it," Tre said. "We're here now."
The three of them hand out the information and share Vincent's story, and presently the floor beneath them became firmer and less malleable.
"Sorry about that," Death said. "Every once in a while I forget myself and start messing around with stuff I shouldn't. The problem is that I spend so much time in my head, I sometimes think I'm alone. So I guess it's kind of hard for me to remember that there are other people down here too. Anyway, I'm afraid I have a lot of explaining to do. I hope you're patient."
"Your name is Death?" Vincent said. "That's what Tre told me."
"Yes," Death replied. "My real name is...I forgot, but I liked the name, because it has a certain resonance with the word death. You see, the idea of Death is not a pleasant one, but neither is it a particularly unpleasant one. Therefore, I like the name Death. It makes me feel comfortable. But it was originally meant to mean something else. That's the way names work, you know. They have various meanings, depending on what you call them."
"I don't believe you," Vincent said. "Just because you say your name means 'death', doesn't make it true."
"No one cares, it's just a surname." Death shrugged. "Anyway, I'm sure the reason people care about such things is that they don't trust me. They think I have some hidden agenda, and that eventually, I'll use the name to hide whatever it is I'm planning."
"Do you?" Vincent said.
"Of course," Death said. "I have several."
"I wonder what they are," Vincent said.
"Oh, come on!" Tre said. "Just tell us. I mean, if we're going to be working together, it would be nice to know what we're getting ourselves involved in."
"Well, one of the things I've done lately is to take over control of this entire castle, and all the rooms in it. Until recently, I was merely a disembodied voice in the air, just as you were. But now I've become flesh and bone. My body is now the physical form by which I express my personality. I can live in this castle and move around among you without being visible unless, of course, I choose to reveal myself. But I assure you, that will not happen often, if at all. You are free to come and go as you please, and no one is allowed to harm you. To ensure your safety, I have set up certain safeguards. If anyone attempts to trespass against you, an alarm goes off and I am instantly alerted. You are therefore safe, although you are now living in the presence of the one person in all existence who can bring you death. Let me repeat that: I will allow no murderer, harm you or even threaten you, but I may have to do away with you if you present a danger to the organisation or a specific part of it. Does that satisfy you?"
"Yeah," Vincent said. "I guess it does."
"Good," Death said. "Now I must address another issue.
"Come with me, Vincent. I have something to show you, and from the rest of you, take this cash and dismiss." Death gives out two 200,000 Us dollars checks and takes vincent into a private room.
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