The Beast Within
#18 of The Zoo
Author's Note: Here is another chapter of the Zoo! I think this one is a bit darker than the other things I've written so reader beware. Also, I've posted a little tease of the next story I am working on which I am dubbing "The Manor." If you go check it out, you'll meet our victims...I mean suspects...I mean...well I guess you'll find out. So please rate, comment, shout, favorite, and as always enjoy. I do hope you like this dark chapter. You're the best. - AK
Dulion trembled with fear as he sat in the waiting room of LOK hospital. He hadn't been able to say a word since he heard about Ibuki. He was able to scream, however. He was pretty sure that said scream had woken up half of the Zoo. He certainly woke up Dr. Tennant who came running into the apartment the second after Dulion wailed. Currently, the Doctor sat next to him eagerly awaiting news about Ibuki's condition. Dulion was in his lion form and for the first time he could remember, he wasn't self-conscious or nervous about someone seeing him. All he cared about was Ibuki.
"We just have to keep hoping." Dr. Tennant said.
Ibuki had been rushed into surgery. Thanks to his connections, Dr. Tennant was able to discover the initial prognosis. Sadly, it wasn't too favorable. At best, they gave Ibuki a 50-50 chance at surviving. Dulion prayed every prayer he could think of. He wished that he had taken Ibuki's requests regarding his own assault more seriously. Perhaps that needle was never meant for him at all; perhaps if he had listened, Ibuki would have never gotten shot.
The rising sun began to creep into the waiting room window, signaling dawn was approaching. Through the door of the waiting room, a woman in a doctor's lab coat walked into the room. She had short black hair and a clipboard in her hand. Dulion's eyes followed her as she walked up to Dr. Tennant and himself.
"Good morning." She said in voice that sounded more girlish than Dulion had expected.
"Ah, Doctor Weiss, so good to see you." Dr. Tennant said. ""Very quickly, allow me to introduce you to Doctor Ruby Weiss. She's a rising star here. Brilliant if I do say so myself. So do you bring any news?"
"I do! Good news in fact. The surgery went well and if everything keeps going smoothly we think she will make a full recovery."
Upon hearing the news, Dulion drew in a deep breath which quickly led to tears streaming down his face.
"Thank God. Thank you." He said in between sobs.
"There, there." Dr. Weiss said. "We're going to take good care of her. For now the two of you should go home and get some rest. If anything changes, I'll let you know."
"Thank you, Ruby." Dr. Tennant said. "I know you already have my cell phone number. Would you mind also taking down Dulion's? I think you should call him before me."
"Wait, Dulion?" asked Dr. Weiss. "As in, James Dulion?"
"Uh, yeah." Dulion said, the remnants of tears still leaving his eyes. "You've heard of me?"
"Oh of course. One of my best friends is a lycanthrope. She said that you were their best hope or something."
"I'm not so sure about that."
"Well she is. At any rate, you need to get some rest. So let me take your number so you can go home."
Dulion gave Dr. Weiss his cell phone number and after repeated assurances that she would call the second anything changed, Dulion and Dr. Tennant left the hospital.
"When did I become the face of the Lycanthrope liberation movement?" Dulion asked as they made their way to the car.
"When you made friends with DeCosta and Agent Maxwell most likely." Dr. Tennant said. "You'd be surprised how easily information like that leaks, especially in the lycanthrope community."
"Right now I don't really care about all of that. Just as long as Emi is okay."
"Emi?" Asked Dr. Tennant playfully. "Finally on a first name basis with her are we?"
"I think I should get used to calling her by her first name. I don't know why I haven't been doing that."
"Because she didn't want you to. But I think you're close enough to her that she wouldn't mind you calling her that. At least, I would hope at this point that was the case.
Dulion smiled. It was the first time he had done so since he last saw Ibuki.
***
Dr. Tennant turned the corner that led to the Zoo and could tell something was wrong. Up ahead of him he saw the all too familiar flashing lights of a police cruiser.
"What happened now?" he asked aloud, despite knowing Dulion was as clueless as he was. "I doubt you happen to have your cell phone on you, do you?"
"No." Dulion said. "I left it on my table. I was in too much of a rush to get to the hospital."
"Same here." Dr. Tennant said. "I hope it's nothing at the apartments."
As he got closer, Dr. Tennant saw the police cruiser parked directly in front of the Zoo.
"Oh God, not again." He said. "What could it be this time?" Dr. Tennant parked the car and he and Dulion rushed inside. From the hallway, Dr. Tennant could see two police officers were standing by the door of his apartment. In front of them was Jayson. Dr. Tennant could see Jayson's eyes were red and his nose was bleeding. Once he saw the Doctor, Jayson broke away from the police and grabbed Dr. Tennant tightly.
"Oh my God, Matt." He said. "I tried...I tried to stop him but...but..."
"But what?" Asked Dr. Tennant calmly.
"He took her! He took her! He took Cassie!"
"What?!"
"Excuse me sir," said one of the officers, "are you..."
"That's him." Said Agent Maxwell coming out of his apartment.
With a deep sigh, Agent Maxwell came up to Dr. Tennant.
"I am so sorry Doc. Someone got into your apartment and took Cassie."
Dr. Tennant gasped and quickly took deep breaths to try and calm himself, but it wasn't working.
"We already have an amber alert out." Agent Maxwell continued. "Jayson gave us a description of the man who kidnapped her and we of course have her description already."
"It was a lycanthrope!" Jayson blurted out. "A brown fox. He said he wanted to rent a room, so I invited him in. Once he was inside he punched me in the face and...Oh God what have I done?"
"You haven't done anything wrong." Maxwell said. "You did everything you could. Now it's our turn to do our job."
"Matt, what are we going to do?" Jayson asked.
"We are going to keep positive." Dr. Tennant answered, despite his voice shaking with sadness. "You know more than anyone how important that is."
"I'll keep you both posted every step of the way." Agent Maxwell said. "Speaking of which, Ibuki? She's..."
"Going to be okay." Dulion said.
"Thank God for some good news. Alright, we've done everything we can do here."
Agent Maxwell put one hand on the Jayson's shoulder and one on the Doctor's.
"We are going to find her and bring her home safe. I swear to you."
Handshakes were exchanged and more reassurances were given to everyone. Agent Maxwell and the two officers he brought with him left.
"What do you need me to do?" Dulion asked. "I can..."
"It's alright, James." Dr. Tennant said. "You need to worry about yourself right now. We will get through this and Cassie will come home."
Dulion embraced both Dr. Tennant and Jayson before he retired to his own apartment. It was only when everyone was gone; everyone besides Jayson, that Dr. Tennant allowed himself to cry.
***
Dulion's apartment was cold. It could have been due to the weather, but Dulion imagined that a dark cloud hung over the entire Zoo. Ibuki had been shot; Cassie had been kidnapped; the hits kept coming. Dulion sat at his kitchen table with a cup of tea in front of him. He made it more so he had something to keep him busy rather than any desire to drink it. He held his head in his hands. On the table next to him, he heard his cell phone buzz. He was half tempted to throw the damned thing across the room.
When he looked down at the caller ID, Dulion was shocked at the name that popped up at him; it was Ibuki. Dulion stared at the phone for a moment wondering how this could be possible before he finally answered the phone.
"Excellent!" said a man's voice that sounded exceedingly cheery, yet off-putting. "You picked up! I'm so glad you did."
"Who is this?" Dulion asked.
"Let's just say a foe who wants to be a friend. Meet me in the alley way between Blake and Mako Avenue at ten o' clock. Oh and to add a little incentive..."
From the sound of it, the man had handed off the phone to someone else. Dulion could hear a few small, shallow breaths, as though someone had just gotten finished crying.
"Mr. Dulion." said a familiar, small voice.
"Cassie!" Dulion shouted. "Where are...?"
"Sorry," the man's voice said with mock sympathy, "but that's all you're allowed before our little meeting. Oh, but don't worry; as long as you're a good boy and show up, I promise that I will not harm her in any way and I also promise I'll give her back to you after you and I chat for a bit. Do we have a deal?"
"Not like I have a choice." Dulion said.
"Splendid! Oh, and of course, don't tell anyone; least of all the police. If you do there may be...consequences for our little friend here. See you at ten, Mr. Dulion."
The line went dead. Dulion took a deep breath and sighed. A million different thoughts ran through his head. Most of which begged him to immediately call either DeCosta or Maxwell. Dulion quickly brushed aside such thoughts. The only way he could ensure Cassie's safety was by showing up at the alley at ten.
When it was time, Dulion made his way to the alley on Blake and Mako. He gripped his cane tightly not only for support, but for the fear that he would need to use it to defend himself. He didn't like being unprepared, and there was no way to prepare for this.
"You came!" came the voice Dulion had heard on the phone.
Dulion looked into the alleyway to see a brown fox lycanthrope approach him. He could tell much about the lycanthrope due to the poor lighting, but he was able to notice the white fur that covered his hands.
"Do you know how nervous I was that you wouldn't show?" the fox said. "Or worse, I was afraid that you may have told someone. But here you are alone! So exciting."
"Where's Cassie?" Dulion said.
The lycanthrope laughed.
"Look at you! Straight to business. I expected no less of you, Mr. Dulion. As promised, Cassie is safe. No harm has come to her and after our little talk, she will be returned to you, similarly unharmed. Oh and I apologize for the rather unrefined setting, but I needed someplace private where we could...chat. You know, you have been turning a lot of heads, including mine. And let me tell you, that's not easy to do."
"Who are you?" Dulion asked not interested in any sweet words.
"Why, I am the Moriarty to your Holmes!"
"I don't follow."
"I see introductions are necessary. My name is Avery Johnson; perhaps you've heard of me?"
At the mention of the name, Dulion felt a powerful urge to take the cane in his hand and smash it as hard as he could into Avery's face. With a deep breath he calmed himself down; he couldn't do anything that might harm Cassie.
"What do you want from me?" Dulion asked.
"I have a proposal for you." Avery said.
"I'm really not interested."
Avery giggled and put his hand on Dulion's shoulder. Dulion felt a chill go down his spine.
"Oh, Mr. Dulion, be reasonable." He said. "Besides, I think you may like what I have to say."
Dulion sighed. He doubted he had much choice if he wanted to see Cassie safe.
"I've been watching you." Avery said. "I've heard you've done a lot for the lycanthrope community. I'd like to thank you for it all. However, I believe that your considerable talents would best be served on a more selfish agenda."
"What do you mean?" Asked Dulion.
"You see, I believe that all people have a beast within. A beast that can be nurtured to be powerful and rewarding and...satisfying." Avery said, practically growling the last word. "Sadly, so many people starve their inner beast. It is so depressing. What I am offering is a chance to help you unleash your inner beast. You've already done that to an extent. But I want to take your beast off of its leash so to speak."
"I think you have the wrong man."
"Oh do I?" Avery said with a smile. "Are you not the same man who stopped a DYFS agent from attempting to take a child from her rightful home? Are you not the man who convinced a scared, helpless victim of abuse to defy her parents and tell how she was harmed? And hell! Are you not currently sharing a bed with a stripper? That alone is beastly. Do you know what that takes?"
Dulion felt a small twinge of guilt about Avery's last claim. He made it sound...dirty.
"Oh, speaking of which, I am sorry about...Jade, is it...no she'd use a stage name. Oh well, the last name is Ibuki I know. I just want you to know, that wasn't personal. I just needed to get your attention. I wasn't sure kidnapping Cassie would be enough."
Dulion flew into a rage.
"YOU SHOT HER?!" he roared.
Avery slapped his hands together.
"There!" he yelled. "That's what I'm talking about! There's that beast I know is inside you. Protecting what's yours taking what you want! That's what people like us DO! You wanted her and you took her. Maybe you needed to be led, but you did it. Now look at you, your beast wants to kill me so badly... I can feel it. But just give me a moment if only to catch my breath."
Avery took a deep breath of air into his lungs. He smiled a predator's smile at Dulion.
"I was once like you." He said, still catching his breath. "I had difficulties too. But I learned how powerful my beast could be. And soon, with practice, I was able to convince a group of lycanthropes that the government was out to get them. Then, I took that same group and led them in riots and protests. I mean, it's true I am trying to lead a revolution. But the catch is, I don't need it to succeed. I just need it to keep going because as long as lycanthropes are good and afraid, they'll do whatever I say. "
"So you're a false prophet?
"Profit is precisely one of the best parts of this 'revolution.' The fear of a revolution has allowed me to make some extra pocket money by praying on the hatred some people have for lycanthropes. They had the fire, I provided the gasoline, and boom goes the explosion. But you already know about that, don't you?"
Dulion didn't say anything. Instead, he just gritted his teeth and glared.
"You see, between us," Avery continued, "Wilkens was just in it for the money. Gambling debt he'd been hiding for years. But uh...Old man Ibuki; now he is a different story. He told me all about his daughter and how he hated that she was a lycanthrope. How she was such a disgrace. The best was when he told me that his mother stopped talking to him when she found out. It broke his heart."
"He doesn't have a heart." Dulion growled.
"Not for his daughter, no. Or for any lycanthropes for that matter. He was hard to convince to help me. I told him that I hated what I was and was determined to be human. Well, that and I wanted to hurt lycanthropes. He was all on board for that. Although getting him to play along with Cassie was difficult. Do you know what I told him?"
"I don't want to hear it."
Avery crept closer to Dulion. He had a broad smile plastered on his face.
"I told him...just pretend it's your daughter. And then how his eyes lit up when he..."
"ENOUGH!"
Dulion was shaking with anger. If he heard another word out of Avery's vile tongue he was pretty sure he'd do something that would put him jail for the rest of his life.
"I'm done listening! Now where's Cassie?"
Avery sighed.
"So disappointing." He said. "But still, the prospect of a worthy adversary is...exciting."
Avery's carnal growl of the word 'exciting' caused Dulion's skin to crawl.
"I do hope I prove to be worth your time. I will do my best! Sorry if I am a bit excited. It's just I look forward to all the fun we're going to have together. Oh yes, before I forget. Do you see the door to my right?"
"What about it."
"So stiff. You need Ibuki's daughter back in your life soon to relieve some of that tension. But as I was saying if you open the door to my right you will find Cassie. She is tied to a chair, but otherwise, unharmed. I am a man of my word. Besides, I've had all the fun I can have with her. Here's the key to the door."
Avery extended his hand out to Dulion. Dulion quickly reached to grab the key. When he did, Avery grabbed his hand and pulled him into a deceptively powerful hug. Dulion squirmed as Avery sighed.
"You and I," he whispered seductively, "are going to have so much fun. I'll be counting the minutes until we meet again."
With a warm pat on his back, Avery broke the hug and quickly ran from the alleyway. The second he was gone, Dulion used the key he got to open the door. Just as promised, Cassie was sitting in a chair tied up. Her head was sunk down. Dulion went to make sure she was okay, but it wasn't necessary. As he took a step into the room, Cassie moved her head up.
"M...Mr. Dulion?" she said weakly.
"Cassie, are you okay?" Dulion responded.
To Dulion's relief, Cassie nodded.
"I was sleeping." She said. "He...he didn't hurt me this time."
"Good, good. Thank God. I think it's time we got you home."
"Home? You mean at the Zoo."
"Yeah. You are enjoying it, right?"
Cassie nodded.
"Dr. Tennant and Jayson love each other. And me too, right?"
"Very much so."
"I can tell. I like it at the Zoo."
Dulion put an arm on Cassie's shoulder.
"Me too, kid. Me too."