Gods and Monsters

XI

Harkness Household - Barnet, London 

The hooded figure ahead of Peggy was still shrouded in darkness, only the light from the moon providing any vision of the person at all. Shots flew past her as the figure attempted to halt Peggy's pursuit but she remained focused, adrenaline having all but completely taken over now.

The field was empty but for some crops, but Peggy could hear sirens in the distance. She couldn't have been sure how long she was out cold, but after numerous gunshots a neighbour must have called the police. At least it should mean that Ella would be safe. The person ahead attempted to fire off some more shots but their gun clicked empty. As tempting as it was for her to pull out the pistol and shoot them, Peggy still needed answers and this was perhaps the only chance she'd have to get them.

She picked up the pace, her feet glided across the dry dirt below, reaching out for the jacket ahead of her, finger tips barely grazing the warm material. Then, she grasped it.

With a fistful of jacket in her hand, Peggy pulled hard, the person spinning slightly as she did so resulting in her awkwardly tackling them to the floor. Pulling back the person's hood, Peggy glared at the man in front of her.

William Yates.

"Surprise..." Yates said, a gleaming smile on his face.

"You sonofabitch!" Peggy went to hit him, but he interrupted, halting her.

"I don't think you want to do that, Peg. You need answers, right? Well, we have a lot to discuss."

As much as she hated to admit it, Yates was right. With the police on the way she only had a limited amount of time alone with him and she needed to take advantage of it. "Why did you kill Eugene? I thought you two were partners?"

Yates let out a roaring, voracious laugh before speaking, "Please, he was an associate but nothing more. I simply got a better offer that didn't involve him."

"Wait, you did this for money?"

"Not just money," he said smugly, "You see, me, Eugene, Jack Canterbury, we were all in it together originally. I'm sure Jack's already informed you of the experiments going on at his manor. The child was supposed to be taken for testing to see what their powers could really do, but Eugene and I saw greater potential for these kids. Imagine what you could do with someone who could bend reality to your will. Eugene and I planned to double cross Jack and take Purple Vice for ourselves. You and the others put a stop to that though. This only furthered Eugene's hunger for power. Of course, the truth of our betrayal came out, but someone came in with an offer I couldn't refuse. Take out Eugene for his disloyalty and I was free to retire far, far away."

Peggy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She felt sick to her stomach. "What did this have to do with Nick? Why did he have to die?"

Yates's expression didn't change, that same smug smile pinned to his face, "He simply played with fire and got burnt. Somehow he found out what we were planning on doing and dug down the wrong rabbit hole. The Widow's were hired under the belief he was still infected from the Embankment Incident. Poor girls, maybe I should have mentioned he was cured, huh?"

Peggy had had enough. She raised her pistol and aimed squarely at Yates's head.

"Oh please, Peggy. You're one of the good guys, you won't shoot me. You're going to put me in handcuffs and take me back to the house where I'll be arrested like the good girl you are."

She held the pistol up, thinking how just a little bit of pressure could leave Yates dead. But what would she really accomplish? It wouldn't bring Nick back and ultimately she'd be a murderer just like Yates. "No, I'm going to arrest you because you don't deserve to die. You can spend the rest of your life rotting in a cell for all I care." She lowered the gun much to Yates's smug satisfaction and reached round for her handcuffs.

"Wrong answer." Yates said. In one swift move he reached round to the back of his waistband, producing a second pistol. For the second time that evening, Peggy found herself staring down the barrel of a pistol. Only this time there was no way out.

The bullet left the chamber in what seemed like slow motion, the small piece of metal soaring through the air as Peggy shut her eyes and put her hands up, waiting for the burning pain before the endless darkness. Her only thought now was of Nick and how the two of them would be together once again.

But the burning never came. Nor the endless blackness. In fact, Peggy opened her eyes and found herself completely unscathed. In front of her, Yates was still lying on the floor, his face astounded at what he was seeing. Between Peggy and Yates was the bullet he had fired seconds before, simply hovering just inches away from her hands. She couldn't believe what she was seeing as the bullet continued to spin on the spot. Slowly, she lowered her hands down, the bullet spinning around as she did so.

"You truly were as special as they thought," Yates said.

Once again, Peggy was left asking who thought she was special, Eugene having said something very similar not too long before his death. Before the words could form though, the bullet in the air spun quickly to face Yates, his eyes wide as it soared towards him. It hit him straight in the eye, a disgusting squelch as it blew out the back of his head.

Both Eugene and Yates were dead. Peggy wasn't sure what had just happened, and in fact, she wasn't even sure she wanted to know. Had she truly stopped that bullet in mid-air? Was she responsible for it killing Yates? Was she a posthuman? Peggy threw up on the dirt path as she stared over the body. Slowly, she made her way back to the house to check on Ella and call it all in. Pulling her phone out, Peggy began dialling.

"Charlie, it's me," she said, pausing for a moment to take everything in before continuing, "They're dead. Eugene and Yates. They're both dead."  

Continued in Part 12...

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