Janus the Arrival (The Janus Trilogy Book 1), page 10
Janus thought back to how hard it had been when he’d first started the training. Therefore it was no great surprise that he was extremely thankful that he’d persisted for so long. Although he had had a lot of help from his teachers via the Stone Disks, having eventually mastered the whole process, to what some would class as being as close to perfect as you could possible get.
CHAPTER 9 – Mixed Conquests
Dave was feeling very pleased with himself as the surveillance on Janus Storm had finally paid off after all his hard effort. He’d just spent the last two hours sat outside the guy’s flat, during which he’d found the time to update the pocket book that had remained his constant companion for a good many years. Yet he was still finding it extremely difficult to shake off the chilling stare that he received from Janus’ eyes during their meeting at the pub.
That had only been the second time in his entire life that he’d ever felt such a deep sense of fear. The first had been when his wife Lucy had lain dead before him in her hospital bed, despite having known that the cancer that had been eating away inside her body for so long, would finally claim her. That had been extremely hard because it had been so close to home, despite the fact that he’d dealt with years of death and decay throughout his long and somewhat extraordinary career. Maybe it proved that he still had feelings, as he’d still been totally shaken when his wife’s death had finally occurred. Yet amongst all the sadness he’d been through, he was still fortunate enough to have had another light in his life in the guise of Dana. She had only been eleven years old when her mother had died. Luckily for him, she’d acted exceptionally mature for her age when tragedy struck, as she’d also managed to pull her father through the hard times by steering him away from the ravages of the bottle all on her own. It had certainly shown how strong willed and like her mother she could be.
Then, at twenty seven years of age, despite a series of desperate pleas from her father, she’d finally gone ahead and enlisted in the police force before working her way to the very impressive and much sought after grade of Detective Inspector. Dana had essentially achieved this within just seven years of starting out as a rookie cop. Admittedly, Dave was very proud of his daughter, even though he’d tried his best to block her progress, which had only served to increase her determination all the more. Unfortunately for him, Dana had also inherited his stubbornness, and she was certainly a force to be reckoned with at times. Even now, Dave was convinced that he still held some of the scars, especially when he’d been forced to battle the bottle.
A loud, resounding clatter of high heeled shoes pounding against the concrete pavement suddenly broke his direct line of thought. He immediately gazed across from the half open car window to the tall, dark haired woman who was fast approaching in his direction. Dave couldn’t help but notice that she was walking rather awkwardly, but as she drew level he realised the reason why. The woman was quite obviously very heavily pregnant. Much to his surprise, she then slowed at the entrance of the flat that he’d been observing and swaggered right up to the front door. Once there, she then stopped to compose herself before finally placing her finger nonchalantly on the doorbell and leaving it there to ring. A few minutes later the door was hurriedly wrenched open and an attractive blonde looking woman appeared before her with a distinct look of anger lining her face. From where he sat, Dave had an almost perfect view and he soon noticed that she too was heavily pregnant.
Rachel Moore was initially a little bit furious as she’d had to leave what she was doing and answer the door. At least that was up until she’d observed Debbie and her matching stomach.
‘Where’s that stupid bastard Janus?’ the woman screamed, obviously very upset. ‘He comes to Sheffield, screws me to his hearts content, whenever it pleases him, and now look at the state I’m in!. For goodness sake woman, at least tell me where he is.’ she continued, before bursting into tears.
Dave looked on as the blonde woman sympathetically placed her arm around the other woman’s shoulder, having asked her what her name was before gently leading her straight into the house.
It was another twenty minutes of sitting, stewing in the car, before the door eventually opened again. The woman who he now knew as Rachel reappeared seeming a lot less distressed than earlier, even though she still looked a little the worst for wear in his opinion. Dave continued to sit and watched her leave the premises, but as she rounded the corner, he quickly decided it would probably be a good idea to see where she was going. Starting the car engine he followed her trail, just as he had with so many others on previous occasions during stakeouts. He drove slowly, being very careful not to draw any attention to himself, and watched as she stopped and climbed rather unladylike, into a scruffy looking car. The woman was completely unaware of the fact that she was being followed, and that was exactly how he liked it.
Working hard to track her every move, especially as she was one of the worlds worst when it came to indicating, Dave found it extremely awkward to negotiate the traffic and to keep up on the one way system. This was also made ten times worse by Rachel’s erratic driving, as she weaved her way in and out amongst the other cars, as least until she turned and entered the roundabout at Wandsworth Bridge. A short while later, Dave’s instincts immediately became aroused as he watched her car lurch rather erratically into a quiet side street beside Putney Bridge.
On turning into the same street, Dave watched as the vehicle came to an abrupt halt, just before the woman emerged looking slightly jaded from the drivers side. Despite her condition, she turned and started to run as soon as the door had slammed shut behind her. She moved quite fast as she headed straight towards the direction of the bridge. Pulling up extremely fast and looking very worried, Dave was forced to abandon his car in the middle of the street before setting off after her. Keeping an eye on her every move, he noticed that she’d already reached the middle of the bridge, and was now trying her best to climb up onto the granite wall. Shouting for her to stop at the edge, Dave ran as fast as he possibly could and was glad that he wasn’t already out of breath. He watched her glance over her shoulder, just moments before she launched herself into the air. Dave was now on the bridge and drew level with where she’d been just a moment before. He momentarily closed his eyes and prayed before drawing near enough to peer over the parapet. He’d already heard the heavy splash of her body landing in the murky water below, but failed to notice his diary drop from his pocket to the floor. Clambering over onto the parapet, Dave was thankful that he was still quite fit for his age. Aware that every second was particularly vital, he summoned up enough courage to leap off and land feet first in the water. He was now only a short distance away from the now hysterical woman. Yet although his aim had been much better than he’d expected, trying to stop someone from drowning when they were determined to end their life, was never going to be an easy task. It was right at that instant, that something told Dave that he was being watched. Glancing around as he trod water, he managed to catch a glimpse of someone gazing at him from a boat on the far side of the riverbank.
Janus! He was certain it was Janus Storm. The bloke was just standing there watching and not even bothering to lift a finger to help, while he was busy struggling in the cold, treacherous waters, whose currents were incredibly strong. Annoyed that he’d been distracted, his attention immediately shot straight back to Rachel. This was also partly due however, to the fact that she was now shouting abuse at him. From what he could make out, she seemed to be screaming for him to leave her alone to die. Unfortunately, due to all the noise that she was making, along with the fact that he was trying to concentrate on what she was shouting, Dave was totally unaware of the speedboat approaching behind him. As a consequence, he never heard anything until it was far too late.
A sickening thud echoed all around, and even the seagulls gave a puzzled look as they passed by. Dave Sorbus suffered an excruciating amount of pain as the propeller blades gouged at him and tore deep into the delicate mass of flesh and bone that had just moments before, been part of his head. It seemed most surreal as a stream of curious images suddenly appeared in his mind. His whole body physically began to churn around in the water, driven by the deadly, rotating blades, while his wife Lucy looked incredibly young and radiant before him. She appeared to be surrounded by bright lights of some sort, as she stood beckoning for him to come forward. This was shortly followed by an image of Dana smiling proudly as she graduated from the police academy. After a while, her face slowly faded away and vanished altogether, only to be replaced by the evil figure of Janus. There he stood watching with a knowing look of death on his face. This smiling image was the last thing that Dave ever saw as darkness finally descended.
It all seemed very odd. The pain had thankfully subsided and the darkness had suddenly lifted from his eyes. Dave now felt an overwhelming sense of serenity as he floated high above the water staring down. His gaze automatically focused on the now lifeless corpse that he knew to be his. This drifted forward very rapidly as he watched. It wandered in amongst a large bulk of abandoned rubbish and the rest of the floating debris caught up in the rushing flow of the turning tide.
Regrettably, Rachel had witnessed the whole scene as it had occurred. She felt particularly nauseous as she attempted to remain afloat, having been covered in the flying remains of blood and brains that had spewed forth in every direction during the detective’s last few seconds. She’d been frightened about being dragged towards the blades herself, just before the wake of the boat had forced her away from the floating remains of the dead man. Struggling to reach the shore with her lungs now full of water as she sobbed, Rachel finally made it to safety. The broken woman collapsed in a state of shock as she lay at the water’s edge. Her hair and clothing were covered in the everyday scum and discarded waste that regularly collected along the sides of the river. Yet all she could think about was what she’d just seen. Rachel couldn’t help believing that the death of that man had been all her fault. He’d only been trying to save her and now he was dead. Taking a deep breath, and thankful that she could, Rachel coughed violently. She threw up half the contents of her stomach before the sheer exhaustion of the last painstaking moments eventually took hold of her drained body. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve the woman wept openly. She then lay back staring up at the clouds as that was literally all she was capable of doing. Yet while lying in a state of emotional distress, a voice suddenly evaded her mind and informed her that no matter how hard she tried, she’d never be able to take her life. It also added that any further attempts would seriously result in the most unforgettable pain imaginable.
Rachel had never experienced such an odd sensation, yet the voice had disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. However, the message that was now firmly etched inside her memory was already starting to cause her real concern. Gathering up the last few shreds of strength that remained, she struggled badly, but eventually managed to sit up. She gazed at the unfamiliar surroundings and shuddered as a dark shadow passed by. Rachel could definitely feel herself being watched as she scanned the area and searched around to see if she could spot anything untoward. It was a really creepy feeling, but she continued to look, hoping to find the culprit and gain some answers to what was going on. It was incredible how people passing by had totally ignored the half drowned woman, who was obviously in a state of distress. They’d just continued to walk past as though she didn’t even exist, despite the fact that she had an extremely noticeable bulge protruding from her tummy. Rachel’s mind questioned if the baby she carried inside her possibly had a guardian angel watching over it. Perhaps that was the link to all the recent mysterious goings on. It took a while to recover from her time in the water, but Rachel was tougher than she looked, especially now that she’d put the idea of dying to the back of her mind.
Janus watched the weak, dazed figure on the other side of the river. She’d already been sick earlier, but she seemed to be a lot better now. He kept his eyes trained on her for a bit longer as she finally got to her feet and wandered towards the nearest bench. Moments later, he knew he need do no more. He’d delivered the message just as he’d needed to, and then his attention was distracted as the sound of sirens wailing in the distance. Pretty soon he glimpsed the blue flashing lights in the distance as the first two police cars arrived in tandem. He watched as they suddenly ground to a halt beside the bridge, before he turned on his heels, and swiftly walked away along the adjacent footpath. He also moved aside just as a cyclist whizzed past, going much faster than he should have been.
Dana Sorbus was deeply respected by her work colleagues. She most certainly had what it took to get to the top in her profession. Dana had drive, ambition, excellent intuition and was classed as being extremely attractive to the majority of people she worked with. Just to add to the package, she also combined all of this with a decent sense of humour, which was very much an essential requirement of the job.
Everybody had been totally devastated when the news of her father’s tragic death had been received over the police radio. Some members of staff even believed it to be some kind of sick joke at first, as they’d all assumed that Detective Inspector Dave Sorbus was totally indestructible, especially as the man had been a living legend within the force. He’d also served as one of the main inspirations for a large majority of new starters, who always tended to arrive all fresh faced but undeniably willing to learn, following so much time spent carrying out academic studies. Yet right at that moment, a deathly silence hung over the place, as the full realisation of the situation slowly began to hit home. As the day drew endlessly on, the pressure in the office became almost unbearable. Many left early as they really didn’t wish to be trapped in such a depressing atmosphere, plus it was hard to concentrate anyway. Dana was one of those who stayed, and then Caragh Elder, a woman PC and close friend for many years, finally broke the spell. Cara managed to get he attention and then promptly dragged her into an empty interview room for a private conversation as she knew Dana was bottling her feelings up deep inside.
Although she’d wanted to be there earlier, but had chosen to take the advice she’d been offered back at the station, when Dana eventually arrived at the scene of the accident the clean up had already been completed. The traffic in Putney was slowly getting back to its normal crazy self and the ghoulish sightseers had thankfully disappeared. Nevertheless, Dana still couldn’t quite escape the stench of death that seemed to hang in the air, just as she’d discovered on a few other occasions in the past. Moving up towards the bridge, she then spotted a sergeant she recognised, who’d also studied at the police academy with her. He was standing over in the distance, but seemed to notice her at almost exactly the same time. Therefore, he quickly muttered something to the colleague standing right beside him at the time, and then came running towards her in a hurry.
Dana was momentarily embarrassed, because she couldn’t instantly recall his name, which was partly due to all the confusion going on inside her head at that moment. Then, just as he was about to reach her, it suddenly came flooding back. In the same instant, she also noticed he held something very firmly in his right hand.
‘I believe this belonged to your father!’ he stated between breaths. ‘I found it on the bridge lying on the ground just over there. I’m so sorry about your father Dana. I really am.’
Dana thanked him as he handed her a small diary, which she quickly shoved into her jacket pocket before walking over to where he’d pointed. Once on the bridge, she leaned over the parapet and stared all glassy eyed into the waters flowing below. Dana desperately struggled to hold back the tears. There was no way she wanted to be seen crying in public. It was not only embarrassing, but very unprofessional for someone of her calibre.
Why? She asked herself. Why was it all so bloody unfair? First it had been her mum, and now her dad had gone too. Dana had never felt so alone in her whole life.
Walking through an old churchyard that had a large family mausoleum at its centre, along with a mass grave containing the bodies of local people that had drowned on a ship back in 1875; Janus glanced at the graves overgrown with weeds. These were a complete blight to the volunteers who took it in turns to look after the gardens, and these spread like wildfire among the sombre collection of headstones. Humans certainly had strange ideas about death, because the Dra-Na-Zee would never have contaminated Pagos in such a way. Expired Shells as they were known were ejected into space. This was the most obvious and natural graveyard in the solar system according to his folk, where once released, they would finally escape from the planets gravitational pull and gradually drift their way into oblivion. During the boating incident, Janus had tuned into the dying man’s mind, just as he floundered in the water. As a consequence, he’d witnessed the exact moment when the policeman’s soul had left the damaged and dying body. Yet despite it having been destined to end that way, Janus still felt a particular sense of loss. Dave Sorbus had proved himself to be a great adversary, and in all honesty, he hadn’t been too bad for a human, from what he could make out. Having such feelings worried Janus a little, because according to the instruction he’d received from the Elders, any human sentiments should have completely disappeared during the initiation ceremony with Vicky. Yet, something wasn’t quite right according to him.
