There's Always Tomorrow (Immortal Series) (6 page)

As far as Tony
was concerned, the matter was resolved and he decided to ignore her last
remark.
 
Crushing his empty coffee
cup, he threw it in the trash basket and headed toward the door.
 
“Now that that is settled, I’m going
for a walk-about.
 
I’ll be back
when I’ve learned something.”

He looked to
the lovely, disgruntled office assistant and smiled.
 
“Thank you, Sophie.
 
I really do feel better knowing you’ll be out of harm’s way.”

She plopped
down onto her chair and snapped, “Whatever!”

* * *

Tony had always
liked the sound of water lapping at the shoreline.
 
It may be New York City, but it was comforting,
nonetheless.
 
Sitting on the dock,
he closed his eyes, allowing the sun to warm his face and clear his head.
 
He concentrated on the sounds within
his skull, blocking out the external sounds of the city.
 
Deeper into his mind he traveled,
losing his relationship with the present.

“Listen,” he
told himself.
 
“Listen.
 
What are you thinking, brother?
 
What are your thoughts?” he whispered,
silently.

Time crawled
by.
 
The minutes ticked away, but
soon, Tony received his answer.
 
Another’s thoughts rang through his head.

“Play,”
the man snickered, as he clapped his hands together.
 
He could not speak, but he could will his thoughts to
others.
 
“Laugh and play.
 
I like you and I’m going to keep you
with me, always.”
 
He giggled
like a man caught up in an absurd dream.
 
“Stay”
, he demanded.
 
“I have to hunt.
 
I’ll
bring you back a treat.
 
You’ll
like it, little one.”
 
His
grunting grew louder and more excited.
 
Then there was silence.

After several
minutes had elapsed, Tony opened his eyes.
 
He’d made contact, as he knew he would, and he discovered
the man he sought, was not speaking with his lips, but only with his
thoughts.
 
His animal-like grunting
was what Tony heard from his throat.
 
One thing was clear.
 
The
man would be on the hunt again, tonight.
 
Tony wasted no time in getting back to Grant.

“He’s
definitely down by the docks during the daytime.
 
He talks to the toddler as if he was a pet—a puppy,
would be my guess.
 
I believe the
child is safe enough, for the time being.
 
However, that’s more than I can say about his next female victim.”
 
Tony was angry.

“Well, friend,
you’ve had more luck finding him than I’ve had.
 
We need to head down there ASAP.
 
If I can get close enough, I can
see
where he is
going.
 
I’ll be able to see his
victim.
 
With God’s help, we should
be close enough to stop him.”

As the two men
left the inner office, they passed by Sophie’s desk.
 
Grant stopped to inform her of their mission.
 
“We’re heading for the shipyards.
 
We’ll call you and let you know what’s
going on.
 
Stay here, Sophie.
 
Don’t go out until you hear from
us.
 
That’s an order.”

The young woman
looked up, startled.
 
“You know
he’s out there?”

“Yeah,
darlin’,” Tony said.
 
“We know he’s
searching for another victim, and we hope to find him first.
 
Be good, Sophie.
 
Okay?”
 
His green eyes grew dark with concern.
 
He really didn’t trust the stubborn
beauty to do as she was told.
 
“Sophie?”
 
He waited for her
promise.

“Sure,
sure.
 
I’ll be right here when you
both get back.
 
Be careful, guys,”
she pleaded.

Grant chuckled
good-naturedly.
 
“You don’t have to
worry about us, kid.
 
Tony and I
have been doing this for a while now, and we’re still here.
 
See you later.”

Both men were
laughing as they disappeared through the door, leaving a very curious Sophie
alone, at her desk.
 

She looked
around the quiet and desolate office.
 
There was nothing that needed to be done.
 
She had already watered the plants, dusted the shelves, and
straightened all the papers.
 
She
painted her nails at her desk, and braided her short curls so that they stuck
out all over her head.
 
After
looking in the restroom mirror, she decided she looked twelve years old and
that was okay with her.
 
The only
man, to whom she was attracted, didn’t want anything to do with her
anyway.
 
Maybe he was gay?
 
Maybe she was just annoying.
 
Maybe…maybe if she helped to capture
the perp, he’d see her in a different light.
 
Yeah, that’s what she’d do.
 
Tony and Grant couldn’t possibly be mad at her after she helped
catch the bad guy.

Sophie grabbed
her sweater, her purse, and scribbled a short note.
 
They’d end this thing, tonight!

* * *

As the light
began to fade, the various offices shut their doors and their employees
departed for the subways.
 
The
bustling streets began to quiet down.
 
Any smart person had already left the area for safer and more populated
locations.

Tony led Grant
to the dock where he had heard the sounds so clearly, earlier in the day.
 
“He was here.
 
I could feel him in my head.”
 
He looked toward the old tunnel heading beneath the Hudson
River.
 
“How about in there?” he
asked Grant.

Grant walked
several yards in the direction of the abandoned tunnel and stopped.
 
Closing his eyes, he stood motionless
for a few minutes, and then shook his head.
 
“If he was in there, this afternoon, he’s moved on.
 
Let’s start from here, but split up and
head for the closest bars and clubs.”
 
Looking around at the sad, dilapidated buildings, he had no doubt that
the worst of human refuse would be out and about in a few short hours.
 
It seemed some things never
changed.
 
“The pickings should be
pretty good in this neighborhood.”

Tony
agreed.
 
The two men went in
opposite directions, with the plan to meet back there at eleven o’clock.

The tuneless
music that reverberated through the open doors of the nightclubs was
deafening.
 
Added to the shouts and
the bawdy laughter, from the people standing on the sidewalks, Tony was certain
he wouldn’t be able to hear what he needed to hear.
 
The colored lights made his head spin and his stomach
roll.
 
It was turning into one
wasted night, he lamented to himself.
 
Just then, something caught his eye.

“What the
hell?”
 
Tony crossed the street and
approached a young black man tagging a wall.
 
Next to him, was a painting of a rat-like creature holding a
small child.
 
His eyes glowed
yellow and his nails were sharp—at least three inches long, resembling
claws.
 
However, there was
something wrong with his skull.
 
Tony couldn’t turn away from the hideous drawing.

“Did you do
this?” he asked the young man.

“What’s it to
you?” the kid countered, defensively.

Stabbing his
finger at the hideous being pictured on the wall, Tony shouted, “I’m looking
for that man and that child.
 
Have
you any idea where I can find him?”

The young man
stood back and looked at the figure drawn on the wall and shuddered.
 
“Yeah, I got an idea where you can find
him.
 
Hell...that’s where.
 
You must be as sick as he is, if you’re
lookin’ for him.
 
He’s into some
serious shit.”
 
The young man
started pacing.
 
He wanted to run.

Tony saw his
fear.
 
“I don’t want to hang with
him.
 
I want to stop him from
hurting people.
 
If you didn’t
paint this, do you know who did?”
 
Tony was hopeful.
 
It was
the first real tangible clue they had.

“Nah, I don’t
know him.”
 
The kid grabbed his
paint cans and was gone before Tony could ask another question.

“Well, he’s
been seen around here, that’s for sure,” Tony mumbled.
 
“And now we know what he looks
like.”
 
Seeing the hideous image
crouched over the small child, filled Tony with dread.
 
They had to stop him, but how?

It was getting
late and the drunks and the prostitutes were filing out onto the sidewalks.

Tony hated this
wasted lifestyle.
 
He wasn’t too
enamored of this entire century, for that matter.
 
Tony longed for the quiet and peace of his youth.
 
He’d grown up in England and had lived
a privileged existence.
 
It seemed
impossible, thinking back on it now, how he had resisted the comforts provided
by his wealthy, aristocratic family.
 
He and his best friend, Thomas, had taken it all for granted.
 
If they had only listened to their
fathers…if they had not been so rebellious, they would not be facing the
horrors of living forever.

Tony’s phone
rang, bringing him out of his dark reverie.
 
“Hey, it’s me.”
 
Grant’s voice was loud and excited.
 
“I’ve been talking to some of the storeowners, asking them
if they’ve seen a strange looking man with a baby, or a man acting oddly.
 
Get this.
 
A Quick Stop reported the theft of milk.
 
Just milk.
 
Another Mom and Pop Shop, has noticed milk and several
blankets missing.
 
They’re on the
same street and about six blocks from the waterfront.
 
If I had a baby to take care of, I might steal some blankets
and milk, too.
 
I think it sounds
like a lead.
 
How’s it going with
you?”

“I think I
found our guy painted on a wall, and I’m only two blocks from the docks.
 
He’s close.
 
I can feel it.
 
And Grant... by the looks of this guy, we’ve got our work cut out for
us.
 
Take care, brother.
 
Talk to you later.”
 
He dropped his cell in his pocket and
took off for the Hudson River.

* * *

The damp night air
made her shiver.
 
“Well, here I am,
and I don’t see either Tony or Grant.
 
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, after all,” Sophie muttered to
herself.
 
She could feel her
courage start to slip away as the dark night descended, leaving her all alone
on the deserted waterfront.
 
She
listened for footsteps and prepared to run the other way, if needed.
 
“If I were a creep, where would I
hide?” she asked herself.
 
“I think
I’d get lost in all the people drinking and having a good time, that’s what I
think, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
 
The guys were right.
 
I’m not prepared for this stuff.”

Sophie pulled
her sweater tightly around her body, to ward off the extra chill she felt deep
in her bones, and quickly started up the darkened path toward the well-lit
street.
 
She wasn’t the least bit
psychic, but even she could feel the evil lurking in the night.
 
The stench of an unseen malevolent
presence practically suffocated her.
 
Just before reaching the street, Sophie halted when she thought she
heard a shuffling in the bushes.

“Dear God,” she
prayed.
 
“Just a few more feet,
Sophie.
 
Keep going,” she ordered
herself.

That was the
last thing she knew until she awoke to the feeling of her body being dragged
over jagged rocks and broken glass.
 
A sharp, vice-like grip bruised her wrists in a painful grasp.
 
She could feel the warm, sticky trail
of blood that matted her hair and ran down the side of her face.

Terrified,
Sophie screamed, and received a brutal punch to the side of her head.
 
The smell around her was
overwhelming.
 
Further and further
away from the lights of the city, the creature effortlessly dragged her
struggling body.
 
Why didn’t I
listen
, she scolded herself.
“
Tony... Grant
,”
she uttered,
despondently.

Suddenly, the
man stopped and looked into her face, questioning what he had heard her
say.
 
He shook her shoulder
roughly, and grunted.
 
Again, he
shook her.