Part Nineteen of Lilith's Escape

He had only been in bed a few hours when the scratching sound at the window awoke him. He had been tossing and turning most of the night, his aching shoulder preventing him from falling into a sound sleep.

                                                              

The curtains were drawn closed and he wasn’t able to see the cause of the sound. The branches of the old London Plane, which sat in front of his apartment building, would tap against his window when there was a strong wind.

                                                                           

He was about to roll over and ignore the sound, but…a premonition and his internal warning system, which had kept him alive throughout his career, made him reach for his gun.

                                                         

The sound of breaking glass had him on his feet and alert. He watched as a bloody hand took hold of the bedroom curtain.

                                                                 

“I’m armed and if you’re here to rob me, you’ve made a poor choice of a victim,” Edward called out in a calm tone, even though his heart was racing.

For a mere second, time seemed to halt as the owner of the hand moved into view.

                                                                   

“Stay where you are,” Edward ordered. He was unable to assess in his mind what now stood before him.

The only reply was a deep growl and then the monstrosity attacked.

Edward had a chance to get off a shot before he was knocked over. He knew the bullet hit the man in the shoulder, but it had not stopped the attacker. Edward struggled with the intruder and as he did, he could smell the decay. It was strong enough to make Edward gag.

                                                                 

Edward was finally able to push the man away and reach for his gun. The shot was well aimed and fatal. The man stopped moving, his brain splattered all over the bedroom rug.

                                                                  
                                     

The sound of knocking on his apartment door, told Edward that the other tenants had heard the shots.

                                                                 

He made his way to the door and after calming the neighbors down a bit with some bullshit story of his gun discharging while he was cleaning it, Edward returned to the bedroom.

“Did you send him?” Edward asked aloud. He wondered if Lilith was responsible for this creature. His hands shook as he took a closer look at the body. The man’s body hinted that decomposition had been taking place long before Edward’s bullet put an end to this intruder’s existence.

“Did he bite you?”

Edward spun around and pointed his gun at the woman standing near the window.

                                                          

Part Eighteen of Lilith's Escape

                                                               

                                                     

“I don’t know when the apocalypse is to begin and I would like to keep it that way,” James replied after downing his drink. When Edward didn’t respond, James added, “No matter what comes along, I’m already a sitting duck.”

                                                

“Give yourself a little credit, James. You’re still dangerous enough to kill a few men even though you’re stuck in that chair,” Edward replied.

“You know me well and yes, I would go down fighting.”

                                             

The two of them sat there sipping their drinks, each lost in their own thoughts until Edward said, “Lawrence Levi is missing and it isn’t just me looking for him,” Edward then told his ex-partner the events of the past two days.

                                                

“Well the fact that these men tried to kill you might mean that Levi is still alive and you’re getting close to finding him,” James suggested.

“There was a lot of blood on his rug, so he might be badly injured. I need to find him before he dies and I need to contact our little lady,” Edward replied.

Edward stood up to leave and James followed him to the door. “Don’t make it so long between visits, I miss our talks,” James said as Edward pulled open the apartment door.

“I’ll try to visit more often after this case.”

James had moved his wheelchair back so that Edward could close the door, but before it was completely closed, Edward asked “When you needed to contact her, how did you do this?”

                                                       

“I had to place a red sheet of paper in the window. Very strange and very mysterious this little lady is, but if I wasn’t stuck in this chair…she’s beautiful enough to make you ache.” James needn’t expand on his meaning because Edward had already felt the effects that she had on a man’s libido.

                                                     

Edward took a taxi back to his apartment and after he took care of his cat, he searched for some paper. He found a small gift bag shoved in the back of his coat closet.

                                                        

The red gift bag held an unopened birthday gift from a co-worker at MI6. Taking out the leather gloves, he folded the bag and placed it in the window.

                                                           

                                                               

His head was pounding and his shoulder hurt like the dickens so he headed to bed with the hopes of a good night’s rest.  He was mistaken.

                                                       

Part twelve of Lilith's Escape

The next morning, Edward began to search for the missing man. He had a name, an old photo and the last known address for Lawrence Levi. This investigation would take him to a rundown section of London. After flagging down a taxi, Edward climbed inside.

                                      

“Are you sure you want to go there?” the driver asked.

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“There was another shooting last night, possibly gang related. Several people were killed…didn’t you hear on the news?” the driver asked and quickly glanced in the mirror to catch his customer’s reaction.

                                           

“No, I’ve been distracted with other matters, but there’s always trouble in that section,” Edward replied. He wasn’t concerned, he was armed.

When the driver realized that his passenger wasn’t at all worried about the shootings, he talked about the weather. “Strange even with all the rain we’ve been having, there’ve been reports of dust storms on several of the streets.”

                                             

“Lilith,” Edward thought to himself. It had to be her car.

When the taxi had finally reached its destination, Edward handed the driver money to wait for his return, but the driver appeared uneasy with the request. “I won’t be able to get another taxi as easily in this neighborhood,” Edward argued.

                                           

“I’ll come back in one hour,” the driver suggested.

The deal made, Edward entered the apartment building. He made his way up the three flights of stairs and each flight brought its own symphony of sounds, a baby’s cry, a couple's disagreement, and a woman crying…sounds from people who were trying to survive in a heartless world.

                                                       

When he had reached apartment 320 C, he knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked once more and this time with more force, but still no sound of movement or reply.

                                                

“What do you want?” the elderly woman asked. She stood in the open door of the apartment across from where he was standing.

“Do you know the man who lives here?” Edward replied to her question with one of his own.

“Keeps to himself, but I haven’t seen him in a week,” she replied, but when she realized that Edward had no further questions for her, she closed her door.

He picked the lock and quietly entered the apartment, making sure there were no nosey neighbors observing him. The placed had been trashed, but what troubled him more was the spot on thr rug near to the overturned sofa.

                                             

                                                       

                He knelt down and touched the dried blood. Did this blood belong to the man he was searching for? If not, whose blood was it and where was Mr. Levi? He sure as hell wasn’t looking forward to telling Lilith about this.