Seeing the agent leave, James let Xavier have a moment to calm himself down as he massaged his temples, trying to cope with the pain he experienced. With a deep exhale after a few minutes, he finally found the energy to ask what had been on his mind.
"It's strange." Xavier raised an eyebrow, unsure of where James was going with it, "I don't know how to explain it, but you let Fredrick talk to you in a strange way. I get that he is the reason for your power, but it's not like you."
Xavier smiled and shook his head, taking a bite of his food that was getting cold, "James, you and I have known each other for less than two months. The doctor, on the other hand, I have known for thirty years. I let him treat me like that and, quite frankly, use me a little because I trust his judgement. I am not arrogant enough to solely rely on my power when such a man exists." The tone in his voice was like he spoke about a father or a teacher. James could see that Xavier held Fredrick in high regard, likely in a way he did not hold anyone else.
"I don't know, it just feels strange. I've never seen you speak to a person like that." James said and shrugged, taking a bite of food.
"He has no power, you saw for yourself, and yet he figured out the truth of the world and put it into practice. People of New Horizon have tried before him, after all, that was the reason for its founding, but he was the one to make it a reality. Men like him have a different way of viewing the world; they can see and think things no one else can, with or without an ability."
James nodded and smiled. Although it confused him how Xvaier spoke like he wasn't exactly like Fredrick, he brushed it aside, "Then the second thing. You say your vision is blocked by those who can control time. In that case, are you able to use your ability on me?"
Xavier smiled and forcefully grabbed James's hand. His blank eyes flashed with a silver light. A few seconds passed, and Xavier felt go, letting out a low chuckle. "I can, but it's a little different." He tapped the table, finding the words, "There's some resistance, I can force my way through, but it's there. Either way, "Xavier pointed his fork at him, his smile a teasing one, "You can't escape me yet, detective." Rolling his eyes, James shook his head.
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The Captain looked out at the task force Jeremiah had compiled. Seeing familiar and unfamiliar faces, he smiled in satisfaction and turned to him, "Is this everyone?"
"For the time being, yes. I have asked a few others I know if they are willing to help, but they have either not seen it or said they will get back to me." The Captain nodded and looked back at the crowd. Tapping the screen behind him, he revealed the board James had created.
Unlike the one on the news, which had been heavily redacted to avoid ordinary citizens chasing the same thing James was and getting in the way, this one was the full thing, complete with James own addition. The Captain moved, crossing out Cain and Otto's picture, turning back around.
"From this moment forward, any and all mention of this case will be code-named Canary. You will speak nothing of this to your colleagues, family, or friends. Am I clear?" The crowd nodded, letting him continue, "Thanks to Rose, we can add another face to the board; his affiliation is certain, but where he stands, we don't know." The Captain tapped the screen, and an image from the camera outside James' house, taken before it was destroyed, popped up, showing the homeless man who had stayed outside.
"Each target will not be known by their name. They shall be code-named. The Gentleman, the Singer, the Bum, the Magician, the Woman. "The Captain moved, adding the new naming under each of the faces. "As for Mr Manning, we shall not investigate anything related to him and leave it to the ISD. If any investigation into the other targets overlaps with Mr Manning's report, it should be reported to me without further action."
The Captain looked to Jeremiah and handed things over to him. Jeremiah cleared his throat and shot his cuffs, stepping forward, "I must make things clear. This investigation will be dangerous. We are facing an enemy we do not know anything about. The second thing is, if you hear the name Zoktis, do not repeat it to anyone. Only report it to either me or the Captain. The ISD made this clear; it is not something we need to know." Jeremiah saw the room tense up, but focused on one person who showed a bewildered expression, "John?"
"I'm sorry, Zoktis?" John chuckled in disbelief, "That's a character from a myth. My son is big into these things right now and makes sure to tell me everything about it." James and the Captain exchanged a look.
"What myth?" Jeremiah asked. John could see a strange seriousness, unsure of why he was so interested in the myth, but hearing the ISD was involved, suddenly felt the urge to tell his son to stop what he was doing.
"Zoktis. The almighty creator who created the realms. The earthly and heavenly realm. Fearing the earthly realm couldn't withstand the power of the Heavenly realm, he locked it away." This time, Rose tensed up and looked at John.
"Locked away? Those exact words." John tilted his head and shrugged.
"Locked, sealed. Apparently, different versions of the story use different ways to describe it. But in essence, it's all the same thing." John leaned back and rubbed his face. His finger tapped his cheek, trying to remember more. The piece clicked as he clicked his finger and leaned forward, "One of the books my son has on it is called Doorway to Heaven, I think."
Jeremiah looked at Rose and saw her taking deep, heavy breaths, her eyes wide, unable to believe what she heard. The rest of the room noticed her strange behaviour after. "We have all been sitting around for a long time. Let us take a small break." Jeremiah said with a friendly voice as his eyes scanned the room. The entire group realised what he wanted and quickly vacated, leaving Rose behind.
"What is it?" The Captain asked, taking a seat and pulling out a cigarette.
"The guy James got all this information from." Rose took a sharp breath, still unable to believe it, "I thought he was insane, afterall he was a loner who locked himself away. But he would always mumble about something, wishing for me to look into it. Doorway, Gateway. He would always say it." Rose nervously fiddled with her hands, "How did you hear about Zoktis or whatever it is?"
Jeremiah and the Captain shared a look, knowing Rose wouldn't like the answer. Taking a deep inhale of his cigarette, the Captain sighed, "James mentioned it when we had Cain in custody. And the thing is, Cain was visibly shaken at its mention."
"James," Rose said under her breath hatefully. Looking at the wall and seeing how much work he had done so far, she couldn't help but feel mad and annoyed. She couldn't doubt his skill, but she couldn't help but want to push away any and all information he provided. Even the board in front of them was bad enough.
Jeremiah groaned and clicked his tongue, "So are we chasing an occult group or criminals. One is much harder than the other, and if it is the former, we have the wrong people looking into it."
"Both." The Captain quickly answered, "The Gentlemen, Cain and the Woman are all criminals. The Gentleman can't be approached easily, but the woman would be the easiest to get into the system. Afterall we have her murder on camera. It's just a matter of finding her." The Captain took another smoke and stared at the board, "The Magician is a child, he will be the hardest to put away." He didn't need to mention the singer of the bum. One was a civilian by all accounts, and the other didn't have any known name or address, a ghost within the city.
"That answer isn't helpful," Jeremiah said.
"Focus on the criminal side, go after those you can. As for Zoktis and the rest of that, we do as the ISD says and forget about it." The Captain seriously said, "And don't think about disobeying this, Jeremiah. James already did that, and look what happened."
"Your word is law," Jeremiah said with a playful tone. "I'm going to eat. I'll be back in ten." The Captain nodded and moved over to Rose. Resting a hand on her shoulde rhe smiled.
"Try to remember everything you can about your informant before he died. Have it on my desk when you have." The captain made his way out of the room towards his office. Closing and locking the door behind him, he shut the blinds and turned the camera off. Pulling his burner phone out, he made a call.
The line rang for a few seconds before it picked up, "James. I need information."