Melissa Barker-Simpson

EPISODE 6 

GEEK PARADISE 

Previously on Labno and Carter: Armed with the name of the demon behind the operation, Dan and Kate dig deeper into the lives of their victims, hoping to find forensic evidence to identify the shapeshifters responsible. The episode is told from Kate’s point of view. 

It took us twenty minutes to get to Quarry Hill, and a further two hours for the forensics team to share they had nothing to work with. The space was clean of any evidence. 

Still, we hung around because, Dominic, the onsite Caretaker, had news to share and we were in a slight daze because of all the tech in their version of command central. It was a geek paradise, with monitors as far as the eye could see, each scrolling with data from different parts of the city. 

We’d learned that the RDU relied heavily on the intel coming from Quarry Hill, which didn’t surprise me, I wanted to camp out and do my own deep dive into the information. It was like a Cooperative version of the Dark Web, without the bite. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t around to speak with you earlier,” Dominic said, entering the room at last and clearing the techno fog in my brain. “It doesn’t surprise me Thomas, or his impersonator, didn’t leave a trace behind.” 

“Your colleague mentioned he hasn’t been onsite for over a week,” Dan prompted. 

“Yes, based on what we now know, I’d say he sensed the danger and fled.” Dominic fiddled with a few buttons and a face appeared on the screen; the expression definitely spoke of unease if not downright fear. When the screen panned out and showed the entire figure, the Thomas impersonator couldn’t get away from the building fast enough. 

When he pressed another button, a dark green aura, intermingled with patches of gold appeared around Thomas. 

“This is technology we didn’t even realise we had,” he explained, freezing the video and bringing up another image so we had a side-by-side comparison. This time the colours were pink in origin, in a variety of shades. 

Dominic tapped the new image. “This is Thomas six months ago, captured during a wider social gathering.” He turned to face us. 

“Can you explain what we’re looking at,” Dan asked, which was a hell of a lot nicer than the demands circling my head. 

“During the war, Quarry Hill was run by a triumvirate-” 

“A unit of the Elite,” Dan explained before he could continue. “Three members of the elfin army.” 

“Yes.” Dominic nodded. “Isra was in command, and she was the one who developed the set-up.” He motioned to all the tech. “She has what you might call a slight obsession with data mining and though she left us with all this great equipment, I’m sorry to say that nobody utilises it as well as she did.” 

“So…” I indicated the two versions of Thomas. “This is a feature you were unaware of, talk us through what it means.” 

“Well done,” Dan said under his breath. I resisted elbowing him in the ribs. 

“A week ago, Isra stopped by for a visit. Her unit set up the protections we still have in place, and she drops by to maintain them, which is just a precaution but makes the community feel safe nevertheless.” 

“Significant timing,” Dan mused. “I assume she detected an anomaly?” 

Dominic nodded so hard it had to hurt his neck. “Yes, she knows Thomas well, and made sure to stop by one of his art lessons. Something about this behaviour set off a red flag because she came right here.” 

I tapped the first frozen image on screen. “Which is when the shapeshifter scarpered, because he picked up on her unease.” 

“Exactly.” Dominic beamed. “The energy Isra’s spell detects is a kind of identifier of sorts. I’m not entirely sure how useful it will be, but I can certainly pass on your details to Isra. She’s already agreed to assist where she can.” 

“We’d appreciate that,” Dan said, holding out a hand. 

I tried my best to identify with the sentiment, but great wasn’t a word I would have chosen. Still, it was something when we had little else so far. 

“Thank you for your time,” I threw in, distracted when the tattoo on my wrist began to burn in earnest. It made me twitchy, or more accurately bitchy, so I excused myself while Dan wrapped up. 

My mood didn’t improve when we made it to the next location and got even less. No clever elves on hand to throw a breadcrumb in our path. The shapeshifters had been careful, which made them virtually impossible to identify. 

Still, we worked the case, and I stayed in the field for as long as I could. I finally admitted defeat and went home to change with just under an hour to spare. 

Grabbing a shower, I tied my hair back; trying to replicate DC Glynn’s stylish updo from earlier but missing the mark by a mile. I’d just pulled on my running gear and training shoes when all hell broke loose in my backyard. Every alarm that could go off did, but I knew exactly what I was about to face when the first notes of a familiar aroma hit my nostrils. 

“Shit!” I muttered, tempted to put in a call to Dan and then thinking better of it. There was no time. My second thought as the smell got stronger, was that I wouldn’t say no to a joint, but I’m probably need more than that when this was over. Probably a body bag. 

I felt my communication device vibrate, alerting me to a cloaked presence in my vicinity, about a second before Raul appeared. I internally berated myself for not getting a description from Carlisle. Then gave myself a break because who else could it be; the scent was the same, the oily, creepy appearance which screamed demon. 

The arrogant jerk wasn’t even attempting to look human, though I knew demons could. Instead, he was showing his face in all its ugly glory; the white, almost translucent skin which bulged and writhed with whatever horror show lived in his face. 

His crimson eyes flickered like fire, and his hair, if it could be called that, stood up like a flame of red. It gave the impression that he was unable to contain all the dark energy in his body so it simply burned on the outside scorching everything it touched. 

“You weren’t invited,” I said by way of greeting, wishing this were the movies and the ugly fucker had to ask permission to enter my home. No, shit, that was vampires, and the stories got that all wrong didn’t they. Vamps were the good guys. 

“Neither were you, and yet your foul stench is all over my property.” 

Touche.  

“I’d call us even, but regardless, I’m going to have to arrest you now.” 

The bastard actually laughed, which really got my goat. I knew I didn’t stand a chance against him, not even with all my fancy toys, but I wasn’t about to go down without a fight. 

“You humans and your bravado. I could incinerate you where you stand.”  

I smiled. “I think you’ll find I’m harder to kill than that.” 

With a bored expression he threw out a hand. When I didn’t go puff, or splat, or whatever sound an exploding body makes he looked royally pissed. 

I wanted to gloat a little, show off the necklace that felt like it was burning into my skin from the backlash of his power, but I didn’t want to show all my cards. The chain had been a gift from Matthew, which meant I owed him one. It also meant that whatever energy Raul used in his efforts to manipulate my body, he couldn’t easily turn me into his puppet to throw around. 

He might not have known what was blocking his abilities, but he knew I had some kind of protection because he chose to draw things out. He started by hurling one the dining chairs at me like a missile focused on its target and all he’d had to do was look at the object. 

I dropped and rolled, but I wasn’t fast enough. One of the metal legs scored a graze along my back. I didn’t even pause to register the pain because a barrage of other household apparatus followed in its wake.  

Grabbing the chair, I used it as a shield, which mostly worked, if you didn’t count the shards of glass and ceramic cutting into my skin as it smashed on impact with the hard surface. 

I was just preparing myself for the next attack when he moved without warning. He was beside me a second later, one large, slimy hand winding around my neck. Then I was up and flying across the room. He’d decided to get physical, which was not great news for me. 

Pain exploded down my right side when I hit the kitchen island, then my elbows as I dropped with no finesse to the floor. This time when a projectile came hurtling towards me, I wasn’t anywhere near fast enough and the vase – at least I think it was a vase – hit my jaw with a loud crack. 

It stunned me, the pain so intense my mind was screaming with it, but I refused to make a sound. Instead, I turned, reaching for a discreet lever at the base of the island and plucking out the laser weapon. 

I didn’t even take a breath before I aimed and fired. Unfortunately, I wasn’t aiming for the slimy bastard across the room because glass and crockery were raining down on my parade, so it started to feel like some kind of sick target practice. I could only hope the prize was my life. 

When the attack was over, I saw that there was a layer of glass coating the floor and got a flashback from a John McClane movie. Not a particularly helpful one, since there was nowhere to run and Raul was walking towards me, smug in a pair of boots. 

I actually took a second to admire them, then thought about who or what he’d killed to get them and felt bile rise in my throat. 

“I have to say, I’m disappointed. Based on the toys in your garden I expected a little more from you.” 

What could I say, my containment cuffs were in my other trousers, and they wouldn’t have been any good on the likes of Raul. They wouldn’t do much more than dilute his power and I’d have to get close enough to snap them on. 

He didn’t have same concerns about getting all up and personal in my space. He simply picked me up by my hair, the bun creating the perfect handhold, and flinging me back across the room as though I weighed no more than a doll. 

Bracing for impact, I saw the wall hurtling towards me, or me towards it, and held out my hands in defence. 

My breath whooshed out when I stopped mere inches away, the fact I was frozen in midair taking a second to process. It was then I realised I’d lost the necklace. When Raul worked that out, I was toast. 

I tried to turn my head, preferring to see what was coming, but realised I couldn’t move; not so much as a twitch. 

Finally, panic began to set in. That was until I came unstuck and drifted slowly to the ground. It was weird, like an invisible force was literally guiding my limbs so they settled exactly where they were meant to. 

Now free to confront my fate I turned slowly, every part of me hurting, but refusing to quit. 

It was then I saw Eris in all her glory. She wore a snug, fitted suit in the colour of canary yellow. It should have looked ridiculous, like something out of an animated movie, but it looked kick-ass and complemented her dark skin tone and closely cropped hair. Her eyes, a deep, caramel colour, were lit with ire, all of which was directed at Raul. 

The child in me perked up at the sight of the demon frozen in place, his flaming hair one solid stream which didn’t so much as flicker. I wanted to walk over, or more likely hobble over and kick him now that the tables had been turned. Or, better yet, throw a few things of my own. Not that there was a great deal left to hurl at the son of a bitch. 

“You overplayed your hand, Raul, and now I’m going to have to punish you for it,”” Eris said in a way that had goose bumps erupting down my arms. Now that was how to make a threat. 

Raul’s eyes blazed. “You have no right,” he spat out, the effort to speak clearly costing him. 

“On the contrary, I have every right and I grow tired of your games.” Eris meant what she said because she walked to him and slapped a palm against his forehead. It made me want to wince because that had to burn. 

Light bled from her hand, growing so big and so bright it swallowed Raul whole. I had to squeeze my eyes shut and turn my head, such was the power of the glow, and I could still feel my retinas protesting the insult. 

When I opened them again, the demon was gone, and my space was cleared of all the debris. It looked a little empty, but otherwise intact. 

“Thank you,” I said, meeting Eris’s steely gaze. 

She moved to me, her face calmer now but no less severe. When she held out the same palm, the panic resurfaced because I had no desire to follow Raul into the abyss. But when her hand touched my skin, all I felt was a warmth that travelled from the point of contact all the way to my toes. 

The pain wracking my body moments before vanished. Better yet, when Eris removed her hand, I realised my body felt as though I’d had eight solid hours of sleep, topped off with a four-course meal. 

“Even picking a fight with someone above your weight class won’t save you from the games,” Erin said in the same matter-of-fact tone. 

Laughing, I felt challenge sing through me. “I wouldn’t dream of reneging on our deal.”  

She nodded, her own amusement shining from her eyes. “Are you ready?” 

“Bring it on.” 

On a chuckle, Eris dropped a hand on my shoulder, and we were on the move.