My Name Is Vincent Ryan Keller

Chapter Nine

I came home from my night stroll and I saw JT with an ice pack on his head. I got scared of what happened to him. He was my responsibility after all the sacrifices he had done for me.

"Your little girlfriend did this to me." JT said as soon as he saw me with my worried face. "She dropped these for you. Some of her mom's research. She wants you to take a look at it. Might have something to do with splicing DNA."

I scanned the papers titled Human Growth through DNA Sequence Alteration. Hmm. Catherine had a point. I thought her mother was an Infectious Diseases Specialist.

"That girlfriend of yours is really..."

"She is NOT my girlfriend, JT." I emphasized.

"Whatever, dude. All I'm saying is I am not pro of this little affiliation of yours. I even suggested of putting up a flashing neon sign that Vincent Keller lives here."

I should see Catherine. She must stop resolving her mother's case which was already closed 9 years ago. Had I not made myself clear of the danger we were into?

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They might have an emergency case since I did not found her in her apartment. I had to go find her. Stay on rooftops would be best.

I spotted her on 10th street working on a possible suicide case. I moved to the building where the victim might have jumped from. She and her colleagues instructed to inspect the premise.

I waited before I made my presence known while she was inspecting the ballet rooftop. I started to walk behind her as she looked down from the building and covered her mouth if she screams. Well, she struggled hard to get off me.

"I read your mom's papers."

"And?"

And there we were again. What kind of lecture did she need to make her stop this? I did not see any connection between Muirfield and her mother. No idea why they were tracking her.

"What it means that you know more than you're telling me."

I was speechless. I could not believe how persistent she was! "I know that woman is lying." I changed the topic. "The other dancer you interviewed."

As much as I tried changing the topic, it still went back to her mother. "No, okay? You are playing with fire. These people from Muirfield, they will not stop until they buried me and anyone who knows about me."

"So, it did have to do with Muirfield." I just shook my head in disbelief.

I jumped off the building when I heard her partner came up. No one else should know about me.

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Chromosomes. Genetic engineering. Altered DNA. Catherine's mom had indeed worked or studied about me. I hoped I could find here a recommendation on direct reversal of DNA.

I stopped tapping my pen. I listened closely. Someone was outside.

What was she doing under the rain?

"I didn't wanna get hit by a bat. And I'm not here about my mom."

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I suppressed my grin as I listened to Catherine talked about her case. Was she kidding me? Using a case as an excuse to get more information about her mother? A racing pulse could mean anything. Scared, excited, nervous, lying and making an excuse...

I showed her a photo of my platoon way back in Afghanistan. Maybe it was because of our experiences. Me, enlisted to join the war with vengeance in my heart, whose life was turned into a monster and Catherine, who saw her mom gunned down in front of her, that we could no longer recognized ourselves on any photos. We were having our moments but JT interrupted.

"Ah. I thought I heard squealing." Oh no, big brother. And... another two minutes of lecture. Yes, I was aware she was a cop and what playlist was he talking about? We were talking about a case!

"All good?" Catherine checked.

We talked about the photo. I told her about one of the members of my platoon, Ray. I understood Catherine's concern which was to clear my name but investigating Muirfield and work together to put them down? I never thought it was possible.

"Catherine, I'm a criminal." I clearly stated.

"You were a victim."

Catherine had me speechless again. I reminded her instead of the ballerina case. I stood up and left. I was sure she knew her way out.

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I beasted out again today. In front of her. Why? She had gone too far!

Catherine took my photo and even ran interfacial recognition. What was she thinking?! Muirfield tracked everything! I was fuming mad that I almost tear down the wall as she defended herself from what she did. I thought of her safety now. JT and me. She was on Muifield's radar, no doubt. We were doomed.

I did not go home. I needed to calm myself. I was sure JT had another heart attack.

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See? Even her sister was not okay of what she was doing. She had a little argument with her about their mother's stuff all over the place. I heard her talking to someone on the phone. Virus. Hard drive wiped clean. Oh, no. That was what I was afraid of. She left the apartment after that conversation. Where to? Precinct?

I followed her car on her way to the precinct. However, I stopped when I saw her car suddenly bumped into someone on a bike. Then I heard a gunshot and I panicked.

I ran as fast as I could. I held my breath when I saw Catherine fighting for her life from someone I had no idea. Muirfield, I bet. I thought she could handle it with her strong karate techniques but when he strangled her, I was lost and I immediately grabbed him and threw him away to wherever I did not care. Unsatisfied, I turned my back to where he landed to make sure he was out of breath.

"Vincent!" I stopped. "It's okay. I'm okay." I trusted her words and left.

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Yesterday was really tiring. I could stay on bed the whole day. I wondered how she was doing. Slight injuries, I hoped.

"V, you've got a love letter here." JT announced when he arrived. It was from Catherine. "From your girlfriend." I gave him a 'whatever' look. The photo was inserted together with the four pages letter.

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I left Catherine a note to meet me at the ballet rooftop.

"I didn't know where else to meet."

She apologized for her actions and promised not to bother me anymore. That would be a great idea, would it not? "But as much as I keep saying 'stay away'... I... keep showing up to."

I knew she would not tell anyone about me. She might be a cop but she was a good friend, too. "And... you seen me when I don't want anyone to see me and you still haven't run."

"Looks like you haven't run from me either." I nodded in agreement. "Can we start over?" she said with a smile.

This could be a good start for us.