Chapter XII

omething was bothering William about Russell's house.  The matter rankled with him.  There was an unmistakable something that he was unable to identify.  Was it a familiar presence?  Was it something deep within his psyche?  What was the thing haunting him?  One thing for sure, whatever it was, he had certainly experienced it before.  But the dread attached was something he did not want to experience again.

William was never able to bring to surface what the problem was.  He did not know if it was several minor details which added up to the big kahuna that was stuck in his crawl, or if it was just a large fact he was missing.  Whatever it was, he couldn't shake it, and he went to sleep with it on his mind.

Almost immediately, he went into flashback mode.  It had been quite a while since he'd had one, but this was a doozy.  Sharon finally woke him up, and he lay there with his eyes open, fearful of what he'd just experienced.  She was able to rouse him to the point of letting her change the bed while he showered and changed his clothes.

Again, he went to sleep with that thing on his mind, and immediately went right back into flashback.  In the flashback something kept telling him the job was not done.  That he must finish the job.  That to leave the job unfinished meant to hurt Emma Lorene.  He mumbled her name in his slumber, and in his dream, he loved his sweet Emma Lorene.  He must, he MUST finish the job.

There is something to be said for the feeling of accomplishment one gets when they finish a job.  No matter the size or importance, it feels good to finish a job.  On the other hand, failure to finish a job was a cut in ones self esteem.  It was a feeling of failure, and it was not just unacceptable, it rankled, it goaded one, and it was really an insult for someone to inquire about it.

That is the exact feeling which was tormenting William.  But, what was in the house that set it off?  There was no doubt about it.  William had to go back to the house.  He wanted another chance to search that house.  On the prior visit, they had quietly let themselves in, and were extremely careful to make sure they left nothing out of place.  The reason they went in the first place was to arrest Russell.

When Russell came home the afternoon the day he overheard the Team discussing 'what-if' scenarios, he knew his time in this city was short.  Like leaving today.  He knew his space had been violated the instant he walked into his house.  Someone had been here.  He could feel their aura.  He could smell them.

One of the things he had discussed with the Mayor was picking up a 'friend' and taking him out of town.  This friend would be waiting behind the Police Station, and he was to stop just after entering the alley, flash his lights twice, then move forward slowly.  The friend would join him in the truck.  Well, that was easy enough.

He had only take a few clothes out of the closet, put some food out for the animals, and headed for Stillwell Store-All, the storage place where he kept the most valuable things he owned secure from everyday lookers.  There was no doubt that any person who searched the storage bin would find his treasures, but most likely would have no idea as to what any of it was.

It would undoubtedly be merely thrown into the garbage as simply that; garbage.  But to the knowing, there were billions to be made off the contents of the discs.  The 'knowing' though, was probably less than two people in the whole world, not more than three.  Oh, there were those that knew of the programming on the discs, but to know what they were capable of, the list was very short.

Russell knew more probably than even William.  William was more of a victim and had never studied the work the old man Hastings had done  Russell had.  The difference?  Russell knew what made them tick and the original purpose behind them.  William had experienced the result of what was on them and what they could do.

But there was one thing that neither Russell or William knew was on the discs.  And that was the deliberate expiration of one man.  The man who was the mastermind of the corruption of the city.  The puppeteer, the Kingpin.  It was he who had set up all the puppets that had been eliminated one by one; Greg Wheaton, Randy Gregory, Henry Thomas, and Roy Planter.

But the Kingpin had never been addressed.  Or so thought Russell Adams and William Travis.  Neither of them had ever been through the entire program.  But it was there.

Had William not had been intercepted by Sharon and Lane, no doubt he would have taken out the Kingpin as well.  As of yet, only the beginning strains and strings had been planted in Williams mind.  Those would not be finally released until the Kingpin slept with his fathers.  That was the only thing that would ever release William from his assigned responsibilities of protecting Emma Lorene.

This was the reason for the flashbacks.  This was the reason he felt what he was feeling now.  These were the strings that kept pulling him back into the fold of murderers and assassins.  The Kingpin must die.

As of yet, William had not been programmed as to the identity of the hit, but certain traits, characteristics of the man to be hit would be picked up on by William.  William was just un-naturally kind and wanted only what was right.  Anything other than that would trigger a response of dislike in William.

Unbeknownst to William, Russell had received some of the same training, but his character, being so vastly different from Williams, would be his undoing.

When William was under the influence of the hypnosis of the programs, he went into robot mode, and his characteristics would show through, meaning he was harmless to anyone outside of the mark.  Russell had a mean streak in him that William did not possess.

So when Russell was under the hypnotic influence of the programs, he turned mean, vicious, and was a threat to anyone he encountered.  It was this very same thing that caused the odors being masked by the smell of animals cooped up in a house.  And William had experienced those odors while under hypnosis by Dr. Kny-pel in Las Vegas.

The stench of a corpse is unmistakable.  It is different even than that of an animal.  But the effort in masking the smell was quite successful in that a person untrained to that smell cannot discern it.  But it was enough to reach into the deep chasms of Williams memory, and rouse the hypnotic demons there.

And now, William was feeling like he was losing control of his body, of his mind, of his will.  There was something that was pulling at him, but he did not know what it was.  But the truth was simple.  It was the pull of the unfinished job of protecting his sweet Emma Lorene.

Sharon was in a private confab with Lane, and while she explained his nightmares and his verbal utterances, Lane was getting a mental picture.  He had seen William in these modes, and it fit the pattern.  After Sharon paused for a moment, he quietly said "something has awakened an unfinished responsibility in him.  That unfinished job is the simply the job of protecting Emma Lorene."

"I feel," Lane paused for a moment to choose the right words, then continued. "I feel there is another person under contract to William to eliminate."

"But who?"  Sharon was aghast at the implication.  "How can we find out and prevent it?  How can we stop him?"

"I don't know the answer to that, but if we keep an extra close eye on William, I believe we can see something of those things which triggers these emotions in his subconscious."

Lane paused and studied what he had just said then corrected it.  "No, it's not emotion.  It's stronger than that.  I think it goes back to the primordial instinct of protecting someone you love more than your own life.  And hidden deep in the unreachable confines of his deepest memory banks, and, quite possibly even stronger than his love for you, is a love for Emma Lorene."

Sharon was incredulous to the fact, and yet, she knew they were fact.  In her own mind there was always one little bit of doubt that William loved her with all his heart.  And now, she realized what it was.  It wasn't in William to lie, but, this was much deeper.  This was something that had been bred into him and hidden deep where only the hypnotic strings could reach, and then, only when something triggered it.

Lane brought her back from the deep and private thoughts.  "I'm going to bring Len and Melinda into the picture, and between you three as well as myself, I feel that we can not only identify this monster lying dormant, but defeat it as well.  I've noticed a strange characteristic of Williams that prints when he is around something that is wrong."

"He gets a strange look on his face.  He hates evil and wrong doing.  He hates blatant lawbreakers, or people who have deliberately harmed others.  It moves him into another realm.  It transforms him into something that will fight and right the wrong.  I believe old man Hastings picked up on the pureness of Williams' being and discovered how to exploit that."

"So, the bottom line to what you're saying is, someone will die at the hand of William.  Won't that put him back into trouble with the law?  Will the courts be obliged to rule in his favor again?"

"No, they won't.  Their sympathy will be toward the victim.  And, depending on who the mark is, it could even mean the death sentence for him.  I, as his lawyer, and being as I have this close involvement with him, could not be his lawyer.  It would be a conflict of interest.  The courts would hang us both."

"So, the bottom line is this Sharon.  We absolutely must prevent this hit from happening.  There just is no other option."

William was waiting in the outer office of Lane Wardlow.  He was supposed to meet Sharon there a half hour ago, but she was still in private conference with Lane.  William was getting impatient, so the secretary attempted to engage him in conversation.

But William was not his old self today, and merely grunted short answers to the questions the secretary posed.  Finally, the door opened and Sharon stepped through it, pausing long enough to give Uncle Lane a hug.  Williams eyes lit up when he saw his bride, and he stood and walked toward her to give her a hug.  After the short embrace, he shook Lanes hand.

"You ready to go Sharon? he asked.

She shook her head to the affirmative.  "I am too.  Let's go!" he said.

"Wait a second.  Have you been to the office to pick up our schedules and assignments for the day?" she inquired.

"Oh yeah.  And I asked Jake to re-assign us and the Mathers to the Adams case again.  He had some other plans, but changed them for us.  And I have here another search warrant for his place.  This time, we're going to find some answers."

"Do you think he has the weapons Will?" Lane asked.

"Yes, I do.  He's the only with the opportunity to switch out the briefcase or remove it's contents since he had the combination.  I just haven't figured out when he did the deed.  But, Lane, that's not all.  I think he has copies of the discs.  I can't imagine the severity of war if armies of those people hypnotized robots were set on each other.  There would be no stopping them."

"I agree William." Lane responded, then he asked "William, do you feel there is another person to be eliminated?"  He paused again for effect.  "Like the Kingpin for example?"

William froze.  In his eye was a strange and far off look.  He stood emotionless, expressionless.  For several seconds.  Then he asked.  Where did you hear that?"

"I heard it from Dr. Kny-pel in Las Vegas.  I didn't know the meaning of it at the time, but have thought about it many times.  Why is that important? Lane finished with the question.

"Because that just clicked in my mind.  Now, I know what it is about the Adams house that has affected me so roughly."

"What is it William?" Lane asked softly.

"There is death of a human in that house.  Someone is buried at that house."

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