"I did. He had the girl with him, too. The one with the Phantom Eyes. I heard him talking to her. She’s got some sort of monster in her head and-"
"We know all about that," Eun said, smirking a bit. He always liked knowing more than Morgan — it was a competition between the two. "Do you know where he’s taken her?"
"No. I know he said he had some kind of plans but that’s all I could hear before I blacked out."
Lazarus turned away, having already examined Morgan. He knew that the man was going to be hurting and unsteady for a bit more but there wouldn’t be any permanent damage. "I may have an idea where he’s gone," Gray murmured and instantly his three aides grew quiet, giving him their full attention. Gray reached out and picked up a small writing tablet from a nearby table. The top sheet had been ripped away but his keen eyes detected the imprint of pencil marks on the next page. He used the pencil that had been sitting next to the tablet to gently reveal what those imprints had been, rubbing the side of the graphite over the writing. An address came into view and Gray’s keen memory told him that 1935 Monk Avenue was an old warehouse, abandoned when the owning company went belly-up a few years before he’d arrived in Sovereign. There was also a time listed next to it, one that was less than an hour away. "Eun, please take Morgan back to base. He needs time to recover. Samantha, you’re to come with me."
"Chief!" both Eun and Morgan exclaimed in unison. The two men looked at one another and it was Morgan who continued on. "Chief, I’ll be fine. And you can’t go into a showdown with Pemberley with just Samantha! You need Eun and I!"
Samantha crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Morgan, obviously not liking his implications. "Are you saying I’m dead weight?"
"No!" Morgan answered. "I just mean… C’mon, Chief. You know we want to be in on this one."
Gray looked at them with steady eyes, the mismatched pair narrowing. His emerald eye seemed to shine just as brightly as the brown one darkened. "I appreciate your desire to help but you’re in no condition for a fight, nor can you drive at the present. Eun will take you back and he’ll make sure you stay there."
Eun nodded, his respect for Gray overriding his own desire to argue. Morgan, too, slumped in defeat.
"Don’t worry, boys," Samantha said with a triumphant grin. "I’ll give Pemberley a swift kick in your honor."
Chapter V
The Man From Berlin
The German was dressed like an undertaker and he leaned heavily on a walking stick that was topped by a roaring lion’s head. His eyes were narrow slits that radiated such anger that Pemberley was surprised they weren’t smoking. Walther Lunt had once been a handsome man but a beaker of acid thrown in his face had ruined his good looks. Now one half of his face was twisted into a horrific visage that frightened even the prostitutes who were paid to spend their nights in his bed.
"I expected better accommodations than this, Herr Pemberley," Lunt said with obvious disdain. His eyes raked across the rat-infested warehouse. There were boxes stacked here and there but for the most part the cavernous facility was empty. The squeaks of its current inhabitants sometimes filled the air, as if the rodents were protesting the intrusion of the humans into their domicile.
"We make do with what we have," Pemberley said. His iron grip on Wilma’s arm never wavered. "I brought her here so you could see first hand what I’ve done. And you can tell your leader that I can do this for his army, if he funds my research."
"I work with Hitler, not for him."
Pemberley inclined his head. They’d been over this before. "I apologize. But soon enough, everyone will answer to him, won’t they?" Pemberley laughed. "I do admire the man, not only for his ability to resurrect the slumbering giant that is Germany but also for his private views on race and science. I’ve heard much about his desires to-"
"Enough." Lunt stepped forward and removed Pemberley’s hand from Wilma’s arm. "I would like to look at her myself."
"Be careful. The aquaas recognizes me as its master but it may strike you."
"I do not think it will," Lunt responded. He was looking at Wilma’s eyes intently, ignoring the revulsion that was marring her beauty. The girl was unable to tear her gaze away from his ruined face.
Pemberley stood nearby, his heart hammering in his chest as Wilma’s eyes began to glow. The blue light seemed to shimmer before becoming an almost blinding glare. Pemberley wanted to warn Lunt again about the danger but the German would have simply ignored him again. The man had the air about him of someone who considered all others to be inferior. He was an occultist, one whose knowledge of the hidden worlds dwarfed even Pemberley’s. The group he headed had no name, or at least it was one that hadn’t been shared with Pemberley, but it was pervasive, with members spread throughout the world.
"You’re quite potent, aren’t you? And always so hungry." Lunt was speaking not to Wilma but to the aquaas that lurked behind her eyes. He pushed her away so hard that she tripped over her own feet and fell to the dusty floor. She screamed as she landed in the pervasive rat droppings. "You have more of these things? Or are you waiting for this one to lay eggs so you can harvest them?"
Pemberley gestured to one of the boxes nearby. "I’ve collected nearly ten of them. Three were damaged when I got them and one of the aquaas died when my son perished. But that stills five in addition to the one that Wilma is carrying."
"May I see them?"
"Of course." Pemberley moved away from Lunt, grabbing the lid of the box. He yanked on it, pulling it loose. "I’m hoping you’ll let me accompany you back to Germany. Things are getting far too tense around here. A local meddler sent some of his men to my house today. They’re on to me again."
"You’re saying the police know you’re back in Sovereign?"
"Not the police." Pemberley tossed the box lid to the floor, where it landed and sent up a cloud of polluted dust. "There’s a group in town called Assistance Unlimited. They make a living out of sticking their noses where they don’t belong. Their leader’s some mystery man named Lazarus Gray."
Lunt gripped Pemberley hard about the shoulders and spun him about. "What did you say?"
"His name’s Lazarus Gray. What’s wrong? Haven’t you heard of him before? The guy’s famous!"
"Why would I keep up with your local politics?" Lunt said with annoyance. He looked past Pemberley into the box, where the rest of the alien creatures lay in their immobile states. "Lazarus Gray," he repeated. "How long has he been active in this city?"
"Less than two years. But they’ve been busy ones. He’s responsible for the troubles that got me banished from the city for awhile."
"Intriguing." Lunt smiled then but it was cold and reptilian. "I’m impressed with you. You’ve kept your word to the letter. You’ve successfully grafted one of these creatures to a human being and kept them both alive. And you have more to spare."
"Then I’ll get my funding?"
"You’re going to be a very important man in the days to come, Melvin." Lunt turned back to Wilma, who was back on her feet now, her eyes downcast. She looked broken and tired. "Did the aquaas make her like that? Or was she always so weak-willed?"
"A little of both," Pemberley said.
The door to the warehouse opened suddenly and two figures stepped in, pistols held in hand. Pemberley growled, recognizing Lazarus Gray immediately. The stoic-faced man was virtually impossible to forget, even if Pemberley hadn’t possessed a mind like a steel trap. Lunt also reacted with recognition, his eyes widening in shock.