Finding Jack: 1888 in Whitechapel

7. The Plan

"Kayla, what the Hell are you doing?" Joey yelled, storming into the Ten Bells bar. He looked upon his colleague, Sergeant Darwin, who had discarded her uniform for a much less professional attire.

"I'm going to grab that brute by the neck, that's what." Kayla replied, an innocent smile sitting upon her face. Joey sat down beside her and put his head in his hands. According to Ellie, Kayla had been determined to finish this once and for all and decided putting her life on the line was worth it. If Rachel had had to die to, Kayla wasn't happy to sit around, filing paperwork whilst she had vengeance lighting in her soul. The five remaining officers had pillaged their sleeping time and worked the night sorting through the pages upon pages of Rachel's notes. Some dated back to early enquiries all the way back when they didn't know they had a serial killer on their hands, whereas others were so fresh that you could still almost smudge the ink. One thing was now obviously clear, however: Jack had been the one to scribble out the details in these sheets, concealing her numerous theories about who he could be. Unfortunately, even some documents which seemed to be related to other cases appeared to have defaced as well, much to the group's dismay.

"We search until we find something." James had announced to the group; Brandon and Kayla in particular found no fault in this, being the most affected by the loss of Rachel. However, Joey and Ellie – whilst they still missed their friend – saw the vicious route that their alive friends were going. They had thought, not too long ago, that Rachel had worked herself to death. Who's to say the rest of them were not capable of such things as well. When nothing appeared amongst the mountains of paperwork, the team sat glum – except for Kayla. Sergeant Darwin had told them that there was but one more thing to do. Only now did Joey realise what she had in store.

"This is suicide." Joey warned, looking her dead in the eye. She sighed before ultimately nodding.

"I know, Joey. It's just-"

"No, I speak to you as your colleague."

"Sergeant Savage, then, I-"

"Kayla," Joey spoke softly, "we are equals, you and me; please don't allow your grief to place you in any danger." Kayla looked at him, taking in all that there was to see, before tilting her head back to the bar.

"I'm doing this." She replied, grabbing a drink. "If I go down like Rachel," She looked down at her current attire, a somewhat tightly fitting, cheap crimson dress, "just please don't remember me like this, okay?" Joey nodded, a sombre feeling inside. He'd only just lost Rachel and it would seem like Kayla was treating this like it was the end; he just couldn't let that happen.

"Kay-"

"Joey, let me have this." Kayla argued. Joey exhaled one last time and nodded again.

"Kayla, don't screw this up, okay?" He scoffed, smiling to his friend. She laughed and ushered him to leave her.

"Listen for the whistle, okay?" Kayla giggled, in denial about the ordeal she was placing herself into. As Joey walked away, a chill moved swiftly down his spine; it was at this moment that he questioned the odds of seeing Kayla alive ever again. A few meters aside, Joey sat next to James and Brandon.

"She's doing this, then?" James asked, a sense of disapproval lingering in his tone. Joey nodded, causing his colleague to raise his eyebrows. "This could work, y'know?"

"It has to." Brandon replied, allowing his head to raise and look the two in the eyes. Bags sat neatly under his reddening eyes, his sense of pain reeking. He simply hadn't been the same since Rachel's passing; only once had the group allowed for him to be alone and that was when they were encouraging him to sleep. In short, he did not, and they weren't sure he ever would again. But, as hard as it was for them to admit, they could not currently focus on Brandon. Their focus had to be totally on Jack, otherwise Kayla's life would be lost for sure.

~~~

It had been hours. Man after man had lined up to meet with Kayla and Kayla had yet to whistle as she had said she would if it was Jack. Brandon and James had left for a break and Ellie had traded in instead. Ellie dared not speak; she detested the thought of what was going on and just hoped that whistle would go off soon so that Kayla's Hell would end.

"How will she know it's him?" Joey enquired, glancing to Ellie. She shrugged and continued to look distantly. "She'll be fine, okay?"

"Will she?" Ellie bitterly spat back. Joey frowned.

"Of cour-" A whistle could be heard screeching from a nearby alley. "LET'S MOVE!" Joey exclaimed, leaping straight into action with Ellie in quick pursuit behind. With little time wasted, Kayla was in sight, a breathless body shivering on the floor. Some distance from her was a figure in all black, beginning to scramble their way up a building's wall to escape the scene of their crimes. Ellie pulled her jacket off and placed it upon Kayla, who appeared to have a stab wound.

"Kayla, stay with us!!" Ellie cried, placing pressure on the wound.

"It...w-was...h-i-" Kayla stuttered, pain encroaching every moment of her being.

"Kayla, you're going to get through this, don't worry." Joey reassured; his eyes fixed on the man pursuing the building ahead.

"N-No. L-Leave me." Kayla insisted, pushing Ellie away. "G-G-Get..." Her eyes flickered and she fell into Joey's arms.

"God damn it." Joey cried out, gently placing her onto the floor. "Come on." He bellowed, beginning to run to the man in black. Like a shadow, Jack seemed to seamlessly glide up the wall, leaving little trace that he was ever there. Joey stared intensely towards him and yelled, slamming his baton into the wall. "It's no use, he's going to get away." He hit the wall a few more times, allowing his anger to move through him.

"We shan't let him get away with this, Joey." Ellie exclaimed, reaching her foot onto the wall. Joey's eyes widened.

"ELLIE, BE CAR-"

"Joey, please." She scoffed, "I do this all the time." She pulled herself onto a roof and reached down for Joey, who looked up as if this particular journey was an impossibility. "Joey, it's easy, just come on." A rush of adrenaline engaged itself upon Sergeant Savage and he leaped up and grabbed Ellie's hand. After a moment or two, they were both standing upon the rooftop.

"T-Thank you, Ellie." Joey expressed, gazing into her eyes for a couple moments before regaining focus. "Can you see Jack?" He asked, placing his hand on his brow to attempt to focus on the pitch-black night which engulfed them.

"Is that him?" Ellie questioned after scanning the area, raising her hand to point to her findings.

"Perhaps; it's our best shot." Joey replied as he began to embark on this new sight. He jumped from one roof to another, adrenaline still being the primary source of his energy. "This is fun, actually!" He laughed. Ellie smiled for a moment before she remembered the scenario they were in. Most of all, she remembered the tragedy of Kayla. There was nothing they could do. Despite this being Joey's first experience climbing walls and jumping from rooftops, he seemed to be doing okay; indeed, they arrived at their destination within minutes.

"Hello?" Ellie called, looking around.

"Ellie...?" A voice replied. It was familiar to the degree that that Ellie and Joey immediately looked upon one another with fear of what they were about to uncover. From the shadows emerged one of their own, an officer who had been in the H-Division for a long time. Ellie grabbed her baton. "W-What's going on?" The officer replied. Joey looked upon his colleague, dressed in all black and felt his confidence in anything break.

Kayla had tried to warn them, Joey recognised, having told them quite weakly that 'it was him'. Had it been him all along? Kayla recognised her killer... Joey took a long breath in, releasing his baton as well. The reality was harsh, but the consequences of denial could be harsher. Firmly, he spoke.

"Brandon," Joey interrogated, "are you Jack the Ripper?"