The Lingering (19 page)

Location: Saint-Vincent Cemetery Paris

Date: 10
th
September 2013

Time: 2:18 p.m.

Fairclough watched as Kathryn kissed Lucien Bouchard’s sister, Gabrielle, on the cheek. His mind moved to just a little over a week earlier, to the day he’d received the most upsetting phone call of his life.

He’d just finished breakfast when the phone rang. He left it for the answering machine to pick up, but on hearing Gabrielle’s voice, he snatched up the phone. He remembered how she told him of her brother’s suicide.

He remembered her telling him how Lucien had placed a 9mm in his mouth, and blown his brains out. He remembered her telling him her nine-year-old son had found him. And he remembered her telling him of the simple note Lucien left. It simply read, ‘I’m sorry, Mon ami, but I’m not strong enough to keep our promise.’

Gabrielle knew Lucien meant the note for Fairclough, because he’d written it in English.

Both Kathryn and Gabrielle looked in his direction, and he smiled at them weakly. He felt like shit. He knew he should’ve kept a closer eye on his old friend, but he’d been too worried about Kathryn to think about much else. It was his fault Lucien was dead … no, that wasn’t true. It was Westbourne’s fault. His mind turned to those who had aided the old bastard, and he doubled his resolve to hunt every last one of them down.

“You look tired,” said Kathryn as they shared a baguette beside the Seine.

He looked at her and saw real concern in her eyes. He brushed some errant strands of hair from her face and said, “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine, Pete. In the last year you’ve lost everyone close to you, no one would be fine after that. Talk to me, let me help you.”

“Kate, you have enough on your plate without worrying about me.”

She took his hand. “Lucien kept things in, now look where he is. I know men like you can’t talk to shrinks, but you can talk to me. You listen to me all the time; now let me do the same for you.”

He slipped his hand free of hers, and patted her leg. “Come on, I want to go home. If we hurry we can catch the seven o’clock train.”

The two stood and Kathryn took him by the shoulders. “Pete, we’re family now. You’re like my brother, so please don’t let me end up like Gabrielle.”

He kissed her cheek. “I won’t, I promise. And trust me, I never break my promises.”

She hugged him and kissed his cheek. Then they began their long walk back to the Gare du Nord train station, where they would catch the Eurostar back to England.

Location: Dr Kathryn Bartholomew’s lab, London

Date: 18th November 2013

Time: 4:16 p.m.

Peter Fairclough exited the Westminster tube into the crisp cold air of London city. His breath hung in the darkening sky like a wisp of smoke. He pulled the collar of his coat up around his ears, and began his half-mile walk to Kate’s lab.

By the time he arrived, the sky had yielded to darkness, and the temperature had dropped another two degrees. He pressed the bell beside the large black door of Kathryn’s lab, and turned to watch those passing by.

“Pete, is that you?” chimed a familiar voice from a small speaker below the button he’d just pressed.

He lowered his head to the speaker and said, “Yes it’s me. It’s freezing out here, so let me in.”

“Where the hell have you been, I’ve been calling you for weeks. You’ve worried me sick.”

“Look, Kate, can we talk about this in the warm.”

“No! I’m not letting you in until you tell me what you’ve been playing at for the past month.”

Fairclough rolled his eyes, and yielded to her demand. “I decided to go up to Scotland for some fishing, but my mobile didn’t have any reception up there. I didn’t get all your messages until I got back in range.”

He waited for her response, and after a few seconds, a much calmer Kate responded.

“You could’ve told me you were going — I was worried. Anyway, I’ll buzz you in.”

Fairclough walked into Kate’s office, and she smiled at him from behind a large desk.

“My, don’t you look important,” he joked as he sat across from her. “So why did you want to meet me here? Normally, we catch up at your flat.”

Her smile turned into a beam that threatened to blind him. “I wanted you to be the first to see this.”

She hit a button on the desk, and a monitor appeared from a slot in the mahogany. She turned the monitor towards him, and said, “Do you know what that is?”

Fairclough looked at the monitor, and saw a cluster of cells. He shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“It’s what we went to Australia for. I’ve managed to create an antibody from the sample you and Lucien took from the ancient. You’re looking at a possible cure for The Lingering.”

Fairclough’s eyes locked on the woman smiling at him. The mention of his friend’s name filled him with a pain that threatened to overwhelm him, and it took all of his willpower to force the pain back into the box he’d created for it.

“What do you mean by, ‘possible cure’?”

“I want to be cautious, because so many other treatments before this have failed. But in all honesty, I think this is the real deal. I believe we can adapt it to work not only as a vaccine, but as a cure for the infected too.”

“You mean, no one will have to turn?”

She nodded. “It’s still at least five years off from being ready for testing, but yes, I think we can finally say goodbye to The Lingering for ever.”

Now Fairclough’s smile matched hers. “And you did all this from that one small sample Lucien and I took?”

She nodded. “Now with the government in charge of Australia, I have access to an almost unlimited supply of samples. Of course that will change soon.”

“Why will it change?”

“The government isn’t feeding the ancients, for obvious reasons, and they’re fading fast. We will lose the last of them within a few months.”

Fairclough couldn’t help but feel relieved. “Good job too, those things have inflicted too much pain over the years.”

“I agree. I have teams collecting as many samples as we can get. We already have over two thousand, and we expect to gather a further four thousand before the last of them slips away. Pete, I promise the death of our friends wasn’t in vain.”

“Is that why you asked me to come here, to sooth my guilt?”

She sat back in her chair and looked at him for the longest while. Finally she said, “Yes, partly, but I also wanted you to see my work.”

Fairclough got up from his chair and moved to the window. He placed a hand on the wall, and stared out at the night. Kathryn watched him and waited patiently for him to speak. After several minutes of silence, he opened up.

“Nathan always put the mission first, even if it meant losing members of our team. It took a toll on him. I think he’d had enough of watching those around him being torn apart. I think, like Lucien, he wanted to die.

“It’s taken me a while to come to terms with their deaths, and the deaths of all those I’ve served with. For a while there, things were pretty dark. I know I’m still not a hundred percent, but I’m closer to being okay then I was a few months ago. This cure makes it easier for me to accept their loss, and what we went through.” He turned back to her. “Thank you, Kate; you’ve done us all proud.”

She moved to his side, and pulled him into a hug. “You know I love you. I’ve been so worried about you, and it’s great hearing you talk this way.”

He kissed her cheek. “I love you too.”

She pulled free of the embrace, and slapped his broad chest. “Let’s go out and celebrate,” she said as she wiped a tear from her eye. “You can buy me dinner.”

He smiled. “You’ve got a deal.”

Location: Arbutus restaurant, Soho, London

Date: 18th November 2013

Time: 10:36 p.m.

Fairclough poured Kathryn another glass of wine, then settled back and loosened his belt. “That meal was magnificent.”

Kate took a sip of her freshly poured drink and nodded. “The food is always amazing here.” She placed her glass on the table and beamed, “Thank you so much for tonight, it’s been wonderful.”

“My pleasure.” He paused for a moment, then leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. “Kate, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

“Really?”

“I’ve been asked to be part of the team rounding up those involved in the feeding of the ancients. I ship out in the new year.”

“I see, and what will be your role?”

“Agents will locate the targets, and I’ll bring them in.”

“Then it won’t be your job to …” she looked around to make sure no one could hear her, then whispered, “… eliminate them.”

Fairclough fell back in his chair and laughed. “No, nothing like that. I’ll admit that at first I wanted to kill them all. But now, bringing them to justice will do.”

Kate picked up her wine and took another mouthful. She stared Fairclough in the eye. “I suppose tonight is the night for coming clean. Pete, I’ve been seeing someone.”

Fairclough smiled broadly. “Good for you, anybody I know?”

“No, you don’t know him. His name’s Chris, and we used to work together years ago. Anyway, we started working together again, and one thing led to another.”

“You like him?”

“Yes, he’s kind, gentle and very attentive. I think I may love him.”

“I thought you loved me,” quipped Fairclough as he poured himself a wine.

Kate laughed and said, “I do love you, Pete, but like a brother.”

“Always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” grinned Fairclough as he took a large swig of his drink.

Kate smiled and slapped his hand. “How long will you be gone for?”

Fairclough shrugged. “I’m not sure. Weeks, months, maybe even up to a year.”

“Will you be able to keep in touch?”

He nodded. “Most of the time, but sometimes I’ll be undercover.”

“I understand. You will be careful won’t you, Pete.”

“Careful’s my middle name.”

“I’m not joking.”

Fairclough smiled and squeezed her hand. “I know you’re not. This assignment will be the safest one I’ve had in years. In fact, most of the guys we’re hunting are just money men. There are a handful of real tough guys, but we’ll treat them accordingly.”

“So, will you ever go back to working with The Lingering?”

He shook his head. “No, they’re a thing of the past for me, and if your research works out, they’ll be a thing of the past for us all.” He held his glass aloft. “To the cure.”

Kathryn Bartholomew clinked her glass against his, and said, “To the Cure.”

Location: Heathrow airport, London

Date: 8th January 2014

Time: 5:22 a.m.

The pair stood staring at each other. From time to time, one or other of them would check their watch, but for the most part, Fairclough and Kate just stared at each other in silence.

Finally Kate blurted, “Well, this is awkward.”

“I told you not to come. Goodbyes at airports are always awkward,” said Fairclough as he eyed his watch again. “I feel like everyone’s watching us, I hate it.”

“No one’s paying a blind bit of attention to us, Pete.”

“I said, ‘it feels like everyone is watching us’. I know no one gives a damn about our little goodbye, but I still feel very self-conscious. I’m just not good at public displays of affection.”

“So should I go?”

Fairclough looked at her and shook his head. “No, don’t go. I’ve never really had anyone to say goodbye to before, and it’s taking a little getting used to. Why don’t we get a coffee? At least then we can sit down while we stare at each other in silence.”

Kate laughed, “Good idea, there’s a Starbucks in the main building.”

After two coffees and a piece of cake each, Fairclough’s plane finally got called. The two hugged, and Fairclough turned to leave.

“Pete.”

He turned back to her. “Yeah?”

“You do know how much you mean to me, don’t you?”

He turned back to her and took her hand. “Kate, you’re my family now. Nathan and I were well suited to be friends, neither of us had any one. Now I have you, and well … it makes coming home a worthwhile thing to do.”

Kate hugged him again and kissed his cheek. “Please take care.”

“I will. I’ll call you when I can, but don’t worry if it’s months between calls.” He turned and looked at the loudspeaker as his plane got called again. “I have to go; I’ll see you as soon as I get back.

Kathryn Bartholomew watched as her friend entered the departures lounge, then she turned and walked away.