Blood Obsidian

Issue 44

Hope falls silently in the dark ... - Part 2

The man she held up before her had already lost consciousness and Caitlyn realised, too late, that she may have acted a little rashly. Black suited men, big men who had probably seen more real life combat than most people had seen in movies, littered the ground and she released the one she held, allowing him to crumple to the floor to join his colleagues. She had expected more of a fight, but the suit gave her far too much of an unfair advantage.

"Oh. Oh! I ... oh, dear. Please excuse me." The little man looked at the floor, and the several burly, unconscious security guards, and turned on his heel. "I'm sorry. I'll ..."

"Not so fast." The material of Caitlyn's suit swept out, looping around the man and stopping him from leaving. "Who are you? And where can I find Raymond Alden? And don't lie, I can hear every beat of your heart."

She could, too, but she had no idea what the heart of someone lying sounded like. Something about skipping a beat? Or running faster? She didn't know, but this little man didn't know that she didn't know. He appeared almost as short as Caitlyn did when not wearing the suit. While wearing it, she towered over him and hoped that was imposing enough to get him to talk.

"Ditko. Stanley Ditko, personal assistant to Mr Alden." As though by instinct, the man tried to raise his hand for her to shake, but the suit held him tight. "Ah. I see. I'm afraid I don't know where Mr Alden is and, you see, that is very strange."

"Why is that so strange?" She had a pretty good idea that Alden didn't want to be found, but if his flunky could give her a clue, all the better. "Stop prevaricating and speak up. Someone's life is at stake."

Aunt Mary's life and, perhaps, Alaina's. Maybe even Rayna's. Caitlyn had no idea how bad Alden's madness had become. Insane enough to put innocent people at risk because he had a personal vendetta against her. Against Blood Obsidian. Every second she spent here could be the last second of Aunt Mary's life and it infuriated Caitlyn that she still had no idea where to find her. She almost wished Alden, or Fiend, would simply attack her.

"Why, it's strange because, after yet another kidnap attempt, some three years ago now, Mr Alden had a sub-dermal tracker implanted. In order that we could find him anywhere, you see?" The man's glasses began to slide down his nose and he tilted his head up to stop them falling off. "It would take surgery to have it removed and I can't see that happening. He's quite particular about his and his family's safety."

"I'm sure he is. Where was he when the tracker was last working?" When the man nodded toward the computer on Alden's desk, Caitlyn allowed him to move to it. "And no funny business. As you can see, I don't know my own strength."

Ditko pushed the glasses back up his nose as he glanced at the unconscious security guys before looking at Caitlyn. Or, rather, looking at Blood Obsidian. This was all going to play havoc with her public perception, breaking into Ald-Tech, twice, beating up armed security goons and strong arming a little dude onto giving her private information.

After a few taps on the keyboard, a couple of clicks on the mouse, Ditko stood up and turned the screen around for her to look at. It didn't help at all. According to the tracking data, the last place Raymond Alden had visited while the tracker worked was right here. Maybe not this office, but, for certain, within Ald-Tech headquarters. This had proved a huge waste of time. To the side, at least two of the security guys were starting to regain consciousness. Though, with the broken bones and their guns bent almost in two, they probably weren't going to be a problem.

"Please, Mr Obsidian, find Mr Alden. He is a good man, he truly is and ... I shouldn't say, but ..." Ditko looked around, adjusting his glasses again, and lowered his voice. "He has been rather ill, of late. Crippling headaches, blackouts. I worry for him and if you can help him, I would greatly appreciate it."