(OOC I know I said one a week but I decided 'fuck it' I'll post as and when I finish them
)
Episode 4- The Warrior of Tellasi
Freya and the others walked down the driveway of a semi-detached house in one of London's many suburbs. There was a family sized car in the driveway. It was still early in the morning so the members of the household had not yet left for work or school. This was the home of Daniel Wells. Just as they approached the front door, it suddenly opened as a woman was ushering to small children out the door and she rummaged around in her handbag for her keys. The children just stopped and stared at the four strangers in front of them, especially focusing on Ed, needless to say they were scared. The mother jumped back as she gasped, startled, but she recognised them. Again, it was Ed who was the big give away.
"What do you want with me now?" the woman groaned with a small whimpering voice.
"We're sorry for disturbing you again Mrs. Wells but we need some more information regarding your husbands' case," Freya informed the woman.
"Oh? After nearly a year you still haven't caught my husbands killer and now you come back asking for more information!?" tears began to trickle down her face.
"We don't need to ask questions so much, but perhaps you could help us. We need to know if your husband had any contact with Olympus? Did he ever receive a business card from them or anything?" Freya began to tactfully probe.
"No I don't know," the woman angrily stated as she barged past them, shoving her children towards the car.
"We have a warrant to search the house Mrs. Wells," Chris abruptly butted in.
The woman stopped dead in her tracks. After a moment, she entered the car door and allowed the two children to clamber inside. She turned around and walked back over to the group. Her eyes were burning red with all the tears.
"Why?" she could barely speak through all of her sobbing.
"We need to find out if he had been contacted by Olympus. It may help us find his killer," Freya assured her.
"How long will this take?" the woman asked as she wiped away her tears.
"We don't know but you can help shorten our search," Freya told the woman, "Where are your husbands' personal effects that he had on him at the time of his death? Do you still have them?"
The woman just nodded in response. She now turned back to the car and addressed her children: "you two stay put and behave. I'll be back in a minute."
The woman led the group inside and up the stairs towards the master bedroom. She walked over to the wardrobe and brought down a shoe box from on top of it. She placed it on the bed and invited the others to gather round and have a look at it. Inside was a phone, wallet and a mans wrist watch. Ed leaned down and began to sniff the box and its contents. The woman just gave her a puzzled look.
"May we have a look at that?" Freya asked, pointing at the wallet.
"Sure," the woman replied in a weak voice as she picked it up and handed it over to Freya.
The others gathered around Freya as she opened the wallet and began to inspect what was inside. There were some pictures of the two children, one of him and his wife and one of all four of them together, it was quite sweet if not standard for a family man. Freya continued to flick through the wallet. Debit cards, national insurance, driving license and the other usual things you would expect to find. No Olympus business card. Freya sighed.
"Is there anywhere else in the house that your husband may have put a business card he may have received?" Freya asked as she turned back to the woman.
"No not really," the woman answered back, staring out of the window, her mind seemed elsewhere.
"Well, thank you for your time," Freya said as she got up and gestured to the others to leave.
They all got back in to Freya's car and drove off through the morning mist that still lingered. They hadn't gotten any more answers, only more questions. Why was Shannon Rose the only one so far to have had an Olympus business card on her? Why didn't Herbert, the head of Olympus, know anything about her? Was Olympus behind the killings? All these questions and more swam around in all of their heads.
Back in the new Olympus Tower, Herbert was sat at his desk sifting through the Olympus database. He was still feeling a little shaken from the vision he had had last night. He was still unsure what it was or what it meant. He didn't even have a clue as to who the figure in black could have been. As he was conducting his search for any matches between those listed on the database and the victims, one name suddenly flashed on screen. Match found!
Herbert shot forward in his chair and stared at the screen in disbelief. One of the victims was a super! But what did this mean? Was it just a random killing? Or was there more to it? Herbert's suspicious feeling about Olympus came back to him, he felt uneasy. He hadn't reported any of the information the girls had given him to anyone. As they were heavily involved, he kept all things to himself as to assume total control from his side of things. He'd decided to tackle this problem on his own though he hoped he wouldn't regret not asking for any help from the other members of Olympus.
After printing off the matches' file, Herbert gathered his things and left to go see the others down at police headquarters. He hoped that this new revelation would help shed more light on this perplexing case. Perhaps now they could get to the bottom of it.
By now the gang had been to see Mr. Willis to ask about victim number seven, Hannah. Again, they hard turned up no answers, just the same questions. As they entered their office, they all slumped back into their chairs, exhausted.
"I'll go get us some coffee," Chris wearily said as she staggered onto her feet.
Just as she was approaching the doorway, Herbert suddenly burst in. He was quite agitated and fidgety but also very excited.
"I have great news guys," he beamed, "well sort of, " he calmed himself down a little, "I found a match in the Olympus database for one of your victims. Only the one though. No Shannon Rose," he now had a massive grin spread right across his face for the first part as he brandished the file he was holding.
"Really!? Who?" Aurora jumped up out of her seat, a beaming smile on her face as well, "oh, I guess I shouldn't get this excited," she laughed sheepishly.
"Francesco Salvatore," Herbert sang in a god awful impersonation of an Italian style accent.
"He was Tellasite Herbert not Italian," Chris teased him with a surprising smile on her face.
"Well anyway, it turns out that Francesco had the ability to create and manipulate fire. Unfortunately when he was a child he lost control and burned his house down, killing his parents. Since then he'd been under the care of the Tellasite state but had been monitored by Olympus as they had requested. For the past seven years, the person responsible for looking after him was none other than our very own Lucio," Herbert informed the others, a slight smile still on his face.
"Is that why he went back to Tellasi after 'leaving' Olympus?" Ed enquired.
"No, no he left Olympus in terms of being a part of active duty but as he was going back to Tellasi and Francesco was also on Tellasi, it made sense for it to be Lucio who kept an eye on him for us. All Lucio does now is lecture on classics at the university there," Herbert continued to explain the situation.
"I didn't realise you'd stayed in that much contact?" Ed said with surprise.
"Hahaha, c'mon you can't kill a bromance," Herbert smirked.
"But you can a romance," Chris mumbled to herself, "So we should head to Tellasi?" she then asked aloud.
"Yay we get to see Lucio!" Aurora cried out in girlish excitement.
"That sounds like a plan. He should be able to give us some answers," Freya said with a smile.
"In that case, go to hanger twelve at London City Airport, I'll phone ahead to make sure the Olympus jet is ready to take you. I know you may not like it but it's the fastest way to get you guys there," Herbert began planning.
"You're not coming?" Chris quizzed him, she seemed saddened.
"No, I still have things I need to look in to," Herbert's tone was much more serious.
With that, Herbert abruptly left, leaving the file on the desk. The others gathered up their things before once more clambering into Freya's Mercedes and headed for the airport. Their destination: Tellasi and their old friend, Lucio.
The plane doors opened and the warm air hit each of the detectives right in the face as they walked down the steps. Ed's nose began to twitch. She was getting a vibrant collection of smells from wild flowers to the Mediterranean Sea itself. Climbing into a taxi, they headed off into the heart of the city, to its old, historic university. The streets were narrow and small, most of them still cobbled. It was extremely picturesque though if somewhat stereotypical of an ancient Mediterranean city trying to break through into the modern era but maintaining its roots and heritage.
A little while later, the taxi pulled up on the university campus, outside the main building. All the buildings on campus were old, renaissance in design but the architecture was exquisite. The four of them got out, Freya handing over their collective money to the driver before he sped off again, hunting down more work. Despite their now differences with Olympus, they each had to admit the organisation could put together quite a lot on such short notice as they had even managed to convert currency. The group now headed inside and approached the main receptions desk.
"Good afternoon," Freya greeted the receptionist in her utmost posh British accent.
"Salute," the receptionist replied as they looked up from their computer screen.
"We're here to see Professor Bellatore, no we do not have an appointment but we are here on official business from the British government and it is imperative we speak with him immediately," Freya informed them, her face not flinching one bit, her tone, expression and body language very official.
"Ermβ¦.." the receptionist stumbled as they frantically began typing details on their keyboard, "ah! Professor Bellatore should be in his office right now. It is in the main Classics building, second floor. The way is signposted outside if you need directions."
"Thank you," Freya politely smiled as she turned away and led the others out of the building.
"Wow we got through that pretty fast," Aurora said a little stunned.
"Well I just didn't want us getting held up like we did at Olympus," Freya revealed, "besides, technically we are here on official business from the British government."
"Okay so what exactly are we looking to get from Lucio?" Chris enquired.
"Answers!" Ed excitedly exclaimed, "And lots of them hopefully."
They continued onwards, walking around the campus, following the signposts to their destination. The campus was littered with patches of grass with trees and wild flowers on them. Despite it being January, it was still warm enough down here in this part of the world for plants to grow. It felt more like spring and Ed was most certainly feeling it, taking it all in great big intakes of air. For her, it was like breathing in soup the scent was so rich. Finally, they came upon the building they wanted. When they reached the office with Lucio's name on the door, it swung open as a young student came out. Lucio had followed them to the door, still speaking to them.
"β¦..So if you take a look at that list of books I gave you, it should all become very clear and straight forward okay?" Lucio instructed the student.
With that, the student walked past the group and off down the corridor. Lucio's attention suddenly turned to them. Pink hair? Aβ¦.dog-person???
"Amici!" Lucio gleefully cried out as he began to lightly hop on the spot, his arms up as his fists frantically shook by the sides of his face in nothing but pure joy and excitement, "Amici! Amici! Amici!" he continued to cry, "Oh what joyous and magnificent occasion! Come in my friends, come in," he insisted as he ushered them all into his office, "Yes you are here! Wonderful! Marvellous! We must celebrate! We must revel! Yes revels! I have a bottle of the finest Tellasite wine, usually drank at the Midwinter and so is perfect for this time of year," his great big beaming smile lit up the room as he went to the cupboard under his desk and pulled out a wine bottle and four glasses, "oh this is so exciting," Lucio could barely contain himself as he began to pour.
The four of them were so stunned by Lucio's reaction that they had been stunned into silence. Though they shouldn't really have been too surprised but then again, they hadn't seen Lucio for a few years now. As much as they wanted to sit and drink and revel with Lucio, they were unfortunately here on official business and so the friendly catch-up would have to wait. These thoughts crushed Aurora and Ed inside given their fondness of Lucio. He was so happy to see them. Freya and Chris on the other hand, although saddened as the y were about to break Lucio's bubble, were better at staying focused. When Lucio had finished pouring, he handed out the glasses. Still smiling away, as excited as a kid on Christmas.
"Hey Lucioβ¦." Chris groaned as she began to speak, her expression pained, "not to burst your bubble but we're not here on a social visit."
"That is quite alright," Lucio continued to beam, "we can still drink and revel!"
"No Lucio," Freya deadpanned, "we're here on business and we really must speak with you." It did actually pain Freya to put Lucio down like that.
"Ohβ¦." Lucio's bubble well and truly burst as his face sank.
"Aww Bella," Aurora sighed as Ed went up and bear hugged him.
"There, there. Is that better? Did the nasty business women hurt you," Ed comfoted him.
"Hmmm mmm urgh hmm um hmmm," Lucio's words were completely muffled by his face being buried in all of Ed's fur.
"Okay Ed, you should probably let him go now," Chris said as she stepped forward and tapped Ed on the shoulder.
Lucio let out a huge gasp as he began to reach out for air, wafting his hands towards his face. Ed's hugs were nice and soft for sure if not somewhat suffocating. After he had gotten his breathe back, Lucio sat down in his chair and began to sway from side to side. The four girls just stood there. Everyone seemed to be waiting for someone else to speak first. After a few awkward silent moments, Lucio spoke up.
"Soβ¦β¦.?" He awkwardly began, not making things any easier, "What business brings you to my door?"
"Francesco Salvatore," Freya spoke slowly and clearly so she would not have to repeat herself. They already knew this was going to be a sore subject for Lucio.
"Ah," Lucio said as he swivelled his chair around and got up and walked towards the window.
"Herbert told us that you were looking after Francesco for Olympus. Is that true?" Chris now spoke up. Ed just growled quietly. She wanted to ask the questions.
"Ermβ¦yes," Lucio said as he turned around to face the others, "He was a special case. Lots of potential but Olympus did not want to move him from his home country at such a young age. The boy was very found of Tellasi," Lucio began to explain, "I helped him to control his power. I taught him what it was to be a super human."
"Would you say you were close to him?" Ed seized her opportunity to ask a question.
"Very. He was like a little brother to me. His death will forever remain a scar on my heart," Lucio tried to hold back the tears.
"What happened in the run up to his death?" Ed spoke more softly, concerned for Lucio's emotional state.
"Nothing," Lucio recomposed himself, "He just didn't show up for training one day and then I later found out he had been murdered. I know not how or by whom." The tears came back.
"Oh Lucio I'm so sorry," Aurora began to swell up as she went over and tightly embraced Lucio.
"Unfortunately we can shed some light upon how he died," Chris began, "it would appear that another super killed him by draining him of his life. His life energy if you will."
"What do you mean?" Lucio's tone was more serious as he broke away from Aurora slightly.
"There have now been eight separate cases all over the world where each of the victims were killed in this manner. Francesco was the fourth. The latest was in London, a girl named Shannon Rose. She had an Olympus business card on her though she was not on the Olympus database. Having said that, we suspect she was a super. As Francesco was also a super, we think it's safe to assume all the victims were supers, though we still need to confirm that. In conclusion, we believe that a super is hunting supers. We don't know why but these attacks don't seem random though we're yet to find out any kind of pattern," Ed informed Lucio in great detail.
"I see. Unfortunately I can not shed any more light upon your situation. There is nothing more I can really tell you about Francesco that you do not already know," Lucio's face sank again.
"We should get back to London, see if Herbert's come up with anything," Feya instructed, "sorry to be like this Lucio but we really need to catch this guy."
"Hey you should come with us," Aurora smiled at him.
"No," Lucio sheepishly returned the smile, "I can not. My duties are here. Besides, I am no detective."
"One last group hug then," Ed grinned as her arms enshrouded the others as she brought them all closer to her, grasping them in a tight, warm, loving embrace.
Lucio went with them to the airport to wave them off. He was sad to see them go. It had been so long since he'd seen them, too long. The others also felt saddened by their brief encounter with their old friend and comrade.
Lucio had decided not to join them because even though he knew his power would be of great help to them if things turned ugly, he had seen far too many people he cared about die and just couldn't bring himself to bare witness to any more deaths. At least, for the moment, but Lucio knew deep down that he would always be there for his friends should they truly need him.