Making his way back through the streets to his car, James stopped into a shop and bought a burner phone, putting in a cheap SIM card and messaging Xavier to only call that phone going forward. Catching a bus, he took a seat and rested his head against the headrest, looking out at the morning life of the city, even if it was hard to tell with the ever-present overcast, neon lighting and downpour.
Thinking on everything that happened, he knew he shouldn't, but James couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. He had been called paranoid over the years for always saying something was strange about Hopkins, but to have a chance to prove it, even if he was wrong, was liberating, like an itch he could never get rid of was finally being scratched. Getting out of the bus, he paid the fare and made his way towards his car, parked on the road. In the distance, he saw police tape around Unit 13 and made sure to move quickly, in case someone saw him.
Driving to the station, his phone buzzed. "George? What's the problem?"
"Rose is off today. Said she was feeling unlucky." James frowned, taking a deep breath. Had anyone else called in for an absurd reason like that, he would have brushed it off, but Rose was different. Although he didn't understand how her ability truly worked, she described it as a lucky wheel. It acted like a separate entity to her, not following her whims but choosing what it gave her. If she was lucky, she got something helpful; if unlucky, then something usable but not suitable for the situation. Only once, when she brushed aside her warning about her luck, misunderstanding her ability, did she get something detrimental, nearly costing her life.
"Is there some work I need to take on for her?"
"A small case, in Jefferson at Cambridge. Murder." George said with a grave tone. James nodded and spun the car, turning on his sirens. Hanging up, he raced to the scene and quickly found it cornered off with police tape.
Stepping out, he walked into the building and looked at the scene, having the same bewildered look on his face that the other officers had when looking at the body. With a nod to them, he put on some nylon gloves and approached the body, carefully analysing it.
The man's body sat upright, and his neck tilted back, his hands around his neck. It was strange, and any sudden movements on the body would knock it out of place. Cameras flashed all around, and activating his ability, James saw a yellow glow around the man's brain. Although it had slowly diminished with time, it was obvious he had been murdered using an ability.
'Mind control.. no, it would have to affect the nervous system if that was the case.' James looked around, seeing nothing in the front room. "Anything else, bar this." An officer nodded and led James into the man's personal study. On the wall, numerous pictures of people and locations were spread out, each one with a red piece of string connecting them. All lead to a question mark in the centre.
"We spoke to some of his neighbours. Apparently, the guy was a bit of a loner, never spoke to anyone." The officer said, rubbing his hands together, staring at the wall with slight admiration, "Either he was crazy, and this all means nothing, or he was getting close to something he shouldn't have. Looking at the body, however, I guess the latter."
Thanking the man, he took out his phone and called Rose. "You know the guy at this scene?" As soon as it answered, he asked. Rose stayed silent for a second.
"Hello James, I am fine, thank you." Rolling his eyes, he waited a second, "He gave me a few tips about things. It's why the captain was going to put me on the case, but I ain't in today."
"So he's legit?"
"Some of the stuff, some of it was dead ends. Either he lied, or I missed my chance." Rose paused, "What have you seen?"
"A spider web." It was all James could use to describe the wall before him. "This guy, I think, hid a lot of his findings from you."
"I got the impression, but never pushed. Keep me updated." Rose hung up. Taking a picture of the board, he stared at the wall. Around the big question mark in the middle, he saw a circle of faces and minor question marks branching off. But one face he could never forget popped up. 'The Gentlemen. What did this guy find?' He could tell the man was an ordinary person, lacking the aura of an ability user, the yellow in him from outside sources. After years of seeing it, James knew just from looking.
Looking at the other faces, he saw a boy in his teens dressed as a magician from a story, with a large witch's hat and robe, his soft features showing immaturity, his blue eyes glowing with joy. Moving to the next one, it was a black man with a trimmed afro, dressed as a jogger, running through Judith's Park. The next was a woman in an alluring red dress singing on a stage, her beautiful features enhanced by her subtle makeup.
Around the main picture, the four faces and three minor question marks branched off, each into locations and people, most of whom James was familiar with, always finding its way back to the centre. Looking around, he saw Xavier, Chicken Head, a few police officers and politicians. He saw bars, warehouses, homes and buildings. It was a puzzle to try to understand, but James got the main point. All of it was linked to the person in the centre, whom he didn't know.
His eyes scanned and landed on one picture. With a sharp breath, he resisted the urge to take it. "The Alleyway?" He knew the crime scene from anywhere, its strangeness clear in his memory, and although it had no connections to anything yet, he was sure it couldn't have just been thrown in at random. "What were you looking into?" He asked himself, not expecting an answer.
The fact that Alannah wasn't on the board meant that even if he had connections to the force, the man wasn't privy to footage that had been suppressed. It eased his worries knowing that, as it meant the Captain wasn't the leak who had told the man of it, only he, James and a few others had seen it.
Grabbing a nearby chair, he stared at the wall, piecing it all together. He wanted to call Xavier, but resisted the urge and instead called Rose. "Your man, what tips did he give you?" As soon as she answered, he asked. Rose was about to mock again, but hearing his serious tone changed her attitude.
"Things related to the Gentlemen's Society." James could hear her pacing back and forth, "This club, Allure, and some minor safe houses for various groups. He always wanted me to tell him what I found and was usually disappointed when it wasn't what he wanted."
"Did he specify what this was?"
"James, the guy knew things but was also a bit of a nutjob. He kept going on about a doorway or something and a key. God, if I know." James took a deep breath and sighed.
"Thank you. Stay on the line, I'm going to look about a bit." Pocketing his phone, he walked around the study. Newspapers were littered all around each one, dated and stacked into high piles. Going to his bookshelf, James scanned them. Even if Rose said he was a nutjob, the work he put in was something only someone with a serious suspicion would do.
Scanning the titles, most were about Newport and its criminal history; one was the New Horizon Bible, and the rest related to the occult. When he felt hope was lost, he saw one that caught his attention and pulled it out.
'Door to Heaven.' James squinted. Maybe it was crazy rambling, but on the slim chance it wasn't. Looking around, he saw no one was around and quickly slipped it into his trench coat. Taking the phone back out, he walked to the room where the man had died. "You ever heard of an ability that can have someone kill themself without affecting the nervous system?"
"No, that's George's speciality."
"Alright. I may have something; however, I need to look deeper. I'll let you know." Hanging up, he called George. "George, an ability that targets the brain and not the nervous system." Looking at the body, he added details about how it was found.
George stayed silent for a second before answering, "I lean towards a form of mind control, but that doesn't feel right. The mind controllers we know hijacked the entire body, not just the brain." James heard him take a sip of coffee on the other end before slamming the mug down, "If you only affect the brain, how could you have someone kill themselves?"
James felt he had an idea and went back to the body. Activating his eyes, he pushed them to their limits, staring at the mass in the brain. The yellow blur slowly took form, influencing certain parts more than others. Although he didn't understand why some parts did what they did, James knew which parts would trick the body's senses.
"Illusions." The final piece finally landed, "A very good illusionist at that." James backed up and deactivated his ability. "If the guy could go invisible, the death would be different, but instead, he tricked the man's brain into thinking he wasn't there. Then he made him kill himself. In a sense, it's mind control but with a few extra steps."
"We can't be sure yet. I've known many illusionists, and none were ever as good as we are saying." James nodded, thinking of the wall. 'That magician.' He knew some people with abilities liked to act in strange ways, sometimes throwing themselves into a role to train their abilities. It was a stretch, but with the only culprits those on the wall, he could only link it to one man.