“Until you saw. You witnessed what the virus did to her.”
What had been Mary Jane Kelly whirled around, lank twisted locks of oily black hair flailed across its face, if a face it could still be called. It was more a misshapen lump of raw sentient meat, its mouth a phlegm-coated cavity lined with jagged tusks. The thing shrieked as it lunged with claw-tipped, elongated fingers…
“Yes.” The memory was still jarring. The complete distortion of face and limbs was impossible for any virus. “It was…inhuman. Something not of this earth at all. There was no logical explanation, nothing my compilation of data could have anticipated or even rationalize. I could only react.”
“And you reacted by killing her. It was the only rational thing to do. The only option that would prevent a widespread infection. You didn’t just watch, Ms. Plumm. You didn’t simply observe and report. You knew what needed to be done and you did it. And I simply can’t believe that moment was the one and only time you acted outside of your parameters.”
Dylan remained silent.
“And after the monster reverted back to human form after dying, you spent much more time with the autopsy. You needed to prove what happened had some rational explanation. But there were no logical answers. What you witnessed could not be explained. You had to mutilate your work and leave it to the legend of Jack the Ripper.”
“But you caught the original host of the virus,” Dylan said. “You put an end to it.”
He nodded. “Your intervention pulled the Other out of the shadows. You see, it was watching you too. It and I had been playing cat and mouse the entire time, but I could never precisely nail down its location. I caught sight of it trailing you after the Mary Jane killing. After that, it was only a matter of takedown. Of course by then the Ripper persona had been created by newspapers trying to drive their sales. Copycat murderers sprang up and dissipated. But the main thing is that London was spared an infection which would have wiped it off the map and very possibly spread to other cities. And you had a hand in that, Ms. Plumm.”
“Which was…a mistake,” she said. “There are repercussions to consider.”
Light bloomed from inside the cottage as the power from the solar generator cranked on. Shadows were shoved backward, yet the Blurred Man remained nearly indiscernible. The ravens that had overrun the trees had vanished completely, gone without a rustle of a feather to mark their passing.
“Inaction is the only mistake, Ms. Plumm,” Guy said. “You unwittingly helped me then because you knew it was the right thing to do. All I’m asking now is you consider the current situation. It’s not a single tree that’s in jeopardy here, Ms. Plumm. The entire forest is at risk.”
“You’ve had help in the past. From your own kind, I’ve seen the photos. More than one blurred face.”
“True.” Guy raised an eyebrow. “But it’s hard to remain alive in this type of work, I’m afraid. The mortality rate is quite high, and unfortunately not everyone was as resilient as I have been.”
He placed a cell phone and a flash drive on the table next to the antique coin. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Ms. Plumm. I’m aware of that. But realize this: what I’m facing now is much worse than that little London situation. What Chimera proposes to do will open a Threshold and allow the Others complete access to this world. You have the option of doing nothing, that’s your right. Just as it’s your right to casually observe the end of this world.” He gazed intently at her. “Perhaps that is what you desire. Perhaps like me, you’re just waiting for your assignment to finally end.”
Dylan looked at the objects. “What are these for?”
“On the drive is information about the energy signatures Chimera has been chasing. Far more detailed than what they already have. You start leaking that and they will be sure to come to you. You’ll be able to infiltrate their organization and work your way into their secure circle. You can do the most damage from there, should you so choose.”
“Where will you be?”
Guy stood up and stretched. Although he was of average height and weight, his body was lined with lean muscle, as though fashioned by a bodybuilder’s dream. “I’ll have infiltrated another way. Chimera leans heavily on mercenary teams to do their dirty work. My experience will allow me to work my way into their ranks. By the time they ready their expedition, I’ll be on the team.”
Dylan let the phone and flash drive remain on the table. “I can’t promise you anything. You know that, don’t you?”
“I understand.” Guy turned and strode toward the woods. “You have to compile data. Analyze all possible outcomes. Check with your superiors, perhaps. Take your time, Ms. Plumm. You may stay here as long as you wish. No one will bother you.”
“You’re leaving already?”
Guy’s disembodied voice drifted from the shadows. “It’s like I told you. My work is never finished. Farewell, Ms. Plumm.”
The woods exploded with the harsh cries of a thousand raven tongues. The myriad sound of fluttering wings swept through the forest like a rushing wind. The forest grew hushed after the sounds faded, leaving Dylan alone with her conflicting thoughts.
Dylan Plumm was for all intents and purposes a dead woman. Another star on an agency wall, another unsolved mystery to drive her former superiors mad. A new woman emerged from the gestation pod in the new safe house. She was shorter than Dylan, her body more sinuously curved than the slender FBI agent. Her wavy hair was the perfect shade of ginger; her green eyes sparkled when the light struck them.
Yet Dylan still existed, reduced to data stored in the new woman’s memory core. Her FBI career, her life, and most importantly her encounter with the Blurred Man remained intact, digitally logged along with thousands of other lives and personas she lived in the past.
“Welcome back,” Chip said. The synthetic assistant hovered above the pod, humming quietly. “I see you’ve chosen the alias of Mary Jane Kelley, a thermodynamic physicist. Interesting name choice.”
“I find it appropriate,” Mary Jane said.
“How so?”
“It was before your time, Chip. The name and form is to honor someone I knew a long time ago, although I’m sure I will miss being Dylan Plumm. How are things progressing with the alias insertion?”
Chip’s beacon lit up, projecting a holographic screen scrolling with data. “As you directed, I took one of your stock aliases and activated it when you retired to begin your metamorphosis. Since then I’ve been hard at work implanting you into the infrastructure of society.”
Mary Jane absorbed the flickering data and pictures, downloading the new personality profile into her memory core in seconds. “You’ve outdone yourself this time, Chip.”
The automaton buzzed in a pleased manner. “As you can see, after publishing your theories on a possible new energy source you are now the talk of the science community. Your face graces the Person of the Year cover of Time. Not bad for someone who didn’t exist ninety days ago.”
Mary Jane scanned the magazine’s interior. Inside was a lengthy article covering her research and reclusive personality. Her research was considered brilliant and remarkable. Her personal life was reportedly so cloistered that practically no details existed.
“Excellent idea to make me a reclusive enigma,” Mary Jane said. “No known friends or family, no social footprint. I’m sure that makes it easier for your work. This alias creation must become more difficult the more technology advances.”