Tesser: A Dragon Among Us (A Reemergence Novel) (24 page)

Her eyes were getting wider. Pretty clearly everything he'd just said was very much the wrong thing to say. "Tesser, how the hell do I know that you aren't HIV positive? Or have the Hep?"

"Because I can't get sick." Tesser said it so plainly it was almost laughable. They were the words of young children who still think they are invulnerable. This, however, was the truth.

"You can't get sick?"

Tesser shook his head. "I can't get sick. Literally. I've never been ill in my entire life. It's impossible."

Matty shook her head and downed a gulp of the latte. She thought on it as she looked into his golden eyes. "For whatever frigging reason, I believe you."

"You should. I'm telling the truth." Tesser sipped on his latte. It was very hot still.

"Look, I'm sorry I'm so angry, but this was a gigantic, enormous clusterfuck of a surprise. I found out at work, and I've only known a couple days… and you and I are so new, and I have no idea where this relationship is going or if I want to keep this baby… or if you're going to be in its life if I even decide to keep it. I'm completely overwhelmed. Plus, holy shit, I can't stop thinking about my ex all of a sudden. He and I broke off our engagement because I couldn't get pregnant anymore, and here I am: bing-bam-boom-knocked the hell up. I feel like an ass. Or worse, a whore."

Keep the baby?
"I'm sorry, Matty. I think this can be attributed to my… I guess we can call it my nature. I'm quite fertile, you see. Super sperm."

Matty looked at him strangely, confused and amused. "Super sperm, huh? That figures. 400cc nitrous oxide and jizz?"

The dragon-man grinned. "Something like that. Fast and furious. Matty, you mentioned something about keeping the baby? What do you mean? Do you intend to give it away?"

Matty looked at Tesser and assessed his expression, gauging him.
She's not sure how to answer me.

"I can't be a single mother, Tesser. I've too much on my plate and I'm still not nearly ready to be a mom. I collect Lego mini-figures and Doctor Who memorabilia. You know how many sonic screwdrivers I own? I like to stay up late watching bad horror movies, eating microwave kettle popcorn, and drinking spiked hot chocolates. I don't know if I want to keep the baby or even go through a pregnancy. I might want to abort it."

Something odd caught Tesser's nose and he froze, losing Matty's words suddenly.
What is that smell? Something incredibly powerful. Something old.
He leaned in and smelled Matty. It seemed to be coming from her.
She smells… something like me. Maybe it's the child inside her? I should be less paranoid.

"You done being a fucking weirdo?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Sniffing me? You just gave me the up and down with your nose like a Lab at the shitting park sniffing a bunch of buttholes."

Tesser laughed. "You are so eloquent."

"Another reason for my hesitation in being a mom. Are you in or are you out, pretty boy? If I keep this kid, are you with me? I need to know."

"I would want you to keep it. Carry it to term. If you wish to give it away, I would ask that you give it to me so I may raise it. Typically, I don't stick around with the mother, but if you want me to, I will."

"Wait. ‘Typically’? What the fuck does ‘typically’ mean? Am I not the first woman you've knocked up?" Matty's face started to turn that scary shade of red again.

Shit.
"Well, I'm quite older than I look, Matty. And as I said, I'm very virile. Very fertile. More than you can imagine. There have been… many conceptions in the past. Super sperm, remember?"
Shit.
"It was all in the name of good. In the name of life."
Shit that didn’t make it any better.

"How many?" She growled. People in the café were having a hard time not looking over at the pair.

Dammit.
"I don't know. More than I can remember, if you want me to be honest."

"‘More than you can remember’ like five? Or ‘more than you can remember’ like ten?" Matty's knuckles were turning white she was making such tight fists.

"If you count different species the number could be in the millions." Tesser said before thinking.
This is going very badly.

Matty picked up her latte calmly, removed the lid, took a tiny sip, and threw the coffee in Tesser's face. He probably could've dodged it, or most of it, but sometimes, you just have to take your licks.

"You're a fucking pig. That's either the worst joke you could've possibly told me, or you're the worst human being in the history of mankind. Either way, I want nothing to do with you. I never want to talk to you again."

"Matty, you don't understand," Tesser said, wiping the pumpkin flavored drink from his eyes. "I'm a–"

"I don't
UNDERSTAND
?" She screamed in the coffee shop, drawing the full attention of workers and patrons alike. She stood. "I don't
understand
why you'd joke about fucking more women than you can remember and maybe some animals too? You're an insensitive asshole at best, you
dick
. And at worst, you're a whore that fucks animals. Let the bitches in this city salivate over you. You're an asshole and a nut job to boot. Another pretty-faced psycho. Go fuck yourself, Gold-eyes!" Matty walked out, slamming the glass door behind her.

Tesser sat in his metal chair alone at the table, pumpkin-flavored latte running down his shirt and pooling in his crotch. The rest of the shop's customers watched him with a mixture of sadness and revulsion. One younger man in the corner saw the humor in it and was laughing quietly.

At least someone appreciates a good embarrassment
. Tesser walked over to the counter and grabbed some napkins. Even though his pride had taken a hit, he was still going to clean up after Matty's explosion. It wasn't fair that the Starbucks people should have to clean up his mess. He was already thinking of what to say to explain the situation to her when a woman winked at him and left her business card in a dry spot on the table.

Sometimes, I hate being what I am. I'm going to need help on this one.

Chapter Thirty

Alec Fitzgerald

Alec Fitzgerald sat in his office. It was long after the end of business hours, and the only light in the room came from a small banker's desk lamp. The green glass shade tinted the light and cast an odd pallor in his massive corner office. Alec was nervous. His heart pounded.

I need to know. Where the fuck is Mr. Host and his motley crew of creeps anyway?

A knock on his door startled him. He cleared his throat and sat up in his leather chair. "Come in." Only a small number of people knew Alec was still in his office, and none would dare to knock before calling other than Mr. Host.

The wide panel door swung in and Mr. Host came through. He had another man on his heels. Both men had that air of military service to them. Alec recognized the other man as one of Mr. Host's closest security officers. He had the same vacant, menacing look to him, though he was much younger than Mr. Host, younger in an indescribable. In truth, the two men shared many of the same features. They could've been distant family. The younger guard carried a briefcase. After shutting the door, the two men approached Alec's desk.

Why am I so scared? Oh that’s right, because I know what these men are capable of.

"Mr. Fitzgerald," Mr. Host said flatly. There was no charisma or familiarity to his greeting. They might as well have been total strangers instead of employer and employee. Of course, that wasn't their real relationship either.

"Mr. Host. I hope you and your man bring me good tidings. It's awfully late."
 

The younger man sat the briefcase down on the corner of Alec's desk. Had an ordinary run of the mill employee done the same, Alec would've reprimanded him, but this was one of Mr. Host's men. You didn't reprimand them. They only listened to Mr. Host.

"Indeed. Mr. Tracker was able to follow Miss Rindahl to her meeting with the man named Tesser successfully."

Alec sat forward, thrilled. "And? Were we able to get proper surveillance? Usable data?"

The younger man, cleverly named Mr. Tracker, opened the briefcase quickly and produced a small digital voice recorder. With pale yet strong hands, he sat the recorder down and pressed play. The entire exchange between Matty and this Tesser character was electronically regurgitated out for all three men to hear. By the end of it, Alec was laughing. It was funny shit.

"Fantastic. So he's definitely the father, that's great news."

"Before we continue, you should turn on your computer and search something," Mr. Host said.

Alec turned and wiggled his mouse. His screen came to life and he quickly opened a browser window. "What am I searching?"

"Naked vigilante hobo."

Are you shitting me? How did you say that with a straight face?
"I’m sorry?"

"Search ‘naked vigilante hobo’. There will be a security camera video. Load the version that has fifty thousand views."

Alec lifted his eyebrows skeptically and typed in the strange search. Mr. Host was right; several hits on YouTube came up of a black and white video. Alec hit play on the one with the most views and watched as a strangely perfect man came to the aid of a woman who looked to be in a bad situation. The naked Adonis wrecked one man as if it were child's play before the other ran off. Alec watched the video several times, noting the strange glint coming off the eyes of the person.

"What is up with his eyes? They look reflective, like a cat's or something?"

"They appear to be gold to some. Those that are touched with a bit of… specialness."

Alec leaned back, "Specialness?"

"Special in the way that the dragon below us is special. Special in the same way all the other things your family has discovered and taken advantage of are special."

"Special like you and Mr. Tracker?"

Mr. Host nodded ever so slightly. "Yes."

I'm not special.
Alec fumed but choked down his jealousy. It wasn't his lot to be like that. It was his job to walk the line between the two realities of the world. To try and be more than that invited something worse than danger.

"Were we able to confirm that this Tesser character is a dragon?" Alec asked.

Mr. Tracker nodded wordlessly and spun the briefcase to face Alec. He lifted the lid and revealed a startling, fleshy mass within. It was plugged into a tangle of colored wires that led to what appeared to be a battery, several microprocessors, and a small LED screen.
 
A small hole in the briefcase was linked to a tube and a fan, creating a vacuum of sorts. The mess gave off a faint odor of blood, decay and mucus.
 

"What the hell is that thing?" Alec asked, leaning away.

"One of your secret projects, Mr. Fitzgerald. We removed one of the dragon's olfactory systems a few years ago. We were able to sustain it outside the creature's body in the lab and were able to run a multitude of tests to determine electrical olfactory responses to stimuli. Your programmers were then able to write a code that told us what the dragon's nose smelled. This is the current iteration of the system. A portable, refined version of the sniffers we have been using around the facility since the building opened."

"That's goddamn fascinating. Is this marketable? Can it smell drugs or bombs accurately?"

Mr. Host simply looked at Alec in response. He was devoid of emotion or decision on the question, and Alec let his question die in the air.

"The sniffer confirmed that Tesser, who is the man in the security camera footage you just watched, as well as the father of Miss Rindahl's baby, is indeed a dragon. He appears to have shifted into the form of a human being. We believe he has done this to blend in. To learn."

"Holy shit. A shape-shifting dragon? The applications are endless. His cellular makeup and DNA must be absolutely off the charts. Can the purple dragon change shape? We never saw her do it."

"The purple dragon is likely able to as well, though our sedation techniques are powerful enough to prevent any changes."

"Thank God for that. So what now? You go and grab him? Is that even possible? Can you do to him what you did to Purple downstairs? Are we going to need another facility for him?"

"Apprehension and containment of the Tesser is possible, though it might be a destructive event. He is a different animal than the purple dragon. More aggressive, if push came to shove. More importantly, although certainly less dangerously, is the unborn child your employee carries."

Alec rolled his eyes in amazement. "Dear me, yes. When Matty comes into work, we need to put her under quarantine. That's not in the employee contract, but she'll understand. For the sake of the baby and all that."

"We feel that her retrieval cannot wait," Mr. Host said with finality.

Alec swallowed nervously. Mr. Host's feelings weren't shared with the intention of seeming like advice or of asking permission. "Okay. I'll send a car to go get her."