InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 6: Shameless ❯ Extrication ( Chapter 36 )

~~Chapter 36~~

~Extrication~

 

 

Jillian shifted her gaze from one face to another as she struggled to understand just why everyone seemed so serious; so foreboding. Leaning back against Gavin's chest, seeking the comfort of his embrace, she tried to will away the sense that something horrible was happening. Whether he understood or not, he tightened his arms around her just the same.

 

Gavin cleared his throat. “It's there,” he finally said. “In her left side.”

 

“What's there?” Jillian asked, turning to look into Gavin's eyes. Waking up from a nap only to find him sitting beside her with a strange device in his hand, he hadn't said much of anything as he scooped her up, retrieved the device, and strode out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

 

Cain snapped the pen in his hands, wincing as thick black ink flowed over his fingers and onto the floor. “Damn it.”

 

“Gavin?” Jillian demanded, her tone rising with her anxiety.

 

He made a face and heaved a sigh, pulling her back against his chest and offering her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “It's okay. It won't hurt you.”

 

“What won't hurt me?” she whispered, the sense of foreboding growing stronger by the second.

 

Kichiro sighed and hurried over, hunkering down beside the chair where Gavin held Jillian on his lap. “It's called a bio-chip, Jilli, and all it does it hold information. That's all. It can't hurt you; I promise.”

 

“A what?”

 

“We can use that scanner to retrieve the information stored on the chip, and I swear it isn't a big deal, okay?”

 

Shaking her head, she glanced at Gavin. He rubbed her back and kissed her forehead, bringing to mind memories of her childhood, of when she'd fall off her bike and scrape her knee and Cain would put a bandage on the wound and tell her that she should get back up and try it again . . . “But . . . why? How . . .? Who put it there?”

 

“We don't know,” Kichiro went on calmly. “Chances are good that it's been there since before you were born.”

 

“How?”

 

“They can be implanted in utero,” Kichiro explained. “After we get the information off it, we can wipe the memory of the chip, and you'll never have to think about it again.”

 

Pushing herself off Gavin's lap, she stood, pushing her shirt up as she frantically looked at her abdomen. “Where is it?” she screeched.

 

Gavin shot to his feet and pulled her into a tight hug. “It's okay, Jilli. Calm down, all right?”

 

Slumping against him, she squeezed her eyes closed. “O-okay,” she finally agreed.

 

Gavin sighed, letting go of her and retrieving the scanner from the coffee table. Drawing a deep breath, he pushed the little green button on the handle and carefully hovered the metal probes over Jillian's left side just below her ribcage. The series of slow beeps emitted from the device grew faster, louder, more frantic, and Jillian winced when the beeps merged into one loud, shrill sound. Gavin turned the device off and set it down again.

 

“Jilli, why don't you go back upstairs?” Gavin suggested.

 

“But . . .”

 

He forced a smile. “Go on. It's okay. I'll be up in a minute.”

 

She glanced around again then nodded. “O-okay . . .”

 

“So how do we retrieve this information?” Cain asked, breaking the silence as the assembled men watched Jillian's retreat.

 

Kichiro sighed. “Hook the converter up to the computer, then we download the information from the chip with the scanner. Simple.”

 

“And they kidnapped her just to get this information?” Bas growled.

 

“So it would seem,” Ben agreed.

 

“Did you get any other information out of Avis?” Gunnar pressed.

 

“He's not saying much. Says he wants to talk to Zelig or not at all.”

 

“Moe should let his claws slip a little,” Bas grumbled. “I don't like having that bastard this close.”

 

“Who the fuck cares? Get that chip downloaded, will you?” Evan snapped.

 

The panic that crept up Jillian's spine was magnified by the pragmatic talk spiraling around her. Talking about this—thing—inside her, the absolute horror that grew and grew . . . as though they'd all forgotten that she was in the room, they kept talking about the best way to go about downloading the chip's information, and she bit her cheek to keep from screaming.

 

“One thing's certain,” Ben went on with a shake of his head. “If Avis knew Jillian's parents, and he knows about the existence of the chip, then it was done before she was born.”

 

“So you're saying her biological parents did this to her?” Cain growled, shooting to his feet and stomping across the room. “What the hell kind of people would do that to their child?”

 

Jillian didn't wait to hear more. Darting up the stairs as fast as she could, she burst into the bedroom with a smothered sob. Frantically jerking at her shirt, she grimaced as the delicate fabric ripped. Dropping it on the floor, she couldn't help the whimper that escaped her as she stared in complete horror into the old fashioned standing mirror at the place on her side where the scanner had detected the chip.

 

“What the hell kind of people would do that to their child?”

 

Choking on a sob, Jillian's fevered gaze raked over the room. “Why?” she gasped, closing her eyes, unable to stand the sight of herself any longer.

 

“Does the name `Kennedy' mean anything to you? Or `Liza'?”

 

Kennedy . . . Liza . . . her . . . biological parents . . .?

 

“You look just like your mother, Jillian . . . Just like Liza . . .”

 

“What the hell kind of people would do that to their child?”

 

It was too much, wasn't it? More than she could stand . . . With a harsh cry, she dug her claws into her side, squeezing her eyes closed against the pain that shot through her. The scent of her blood filled her nose, turned her stomach. With another ragged growl, she dug her other hand into her skin as the door slammed open, as Gavin's arms locked around her. “No, Jilli! Stop!”

 

“Get it out of me!” she shrieked as he pulled her hands up, gently but firmly. “I don't want it in me! Get it out!”

 

Gavin grimaced, pulling her close, locking her arms between their bodies. “It's okay, Jilli . . . if that's what you want, it's okay,” he crooned in her ear. “Calm down, all right? I . . . I won't let anything hurt you again. I promise.”

 

“Why?” she whispered, clenching his shirt tight in her fists as she cried. “Why would they . . . ? Was I just . . . just some sort of th-throw away b-baby?”

 

“What?” Gavin asked sharply, pushing her back far enough so that he could look into her face. He looked horrified—absolutely horrified, and he shook his head stubbornly before dragging her back against his chest in a fierce hug. “Don't say that! Don't you ever say that! No one would ever throw you away!”

 

“I hate them!” she railed, pounding her fists against Gavin's shoulders. “I hate them . . .”

 

“It's okay, Jilli . . . It's okay . . .”

 

Shaking her head, she struggled to breathe as she broke down in quiet sobs once more. Gavin held her close, held her tight, held her as her heart pounded painfully, held her as she willed herself not to think . . .

 

She didn't know how long she cried. Gavin picked her up, sat on the edge of the bed, cradling her against his chest. The pain inside her subsided slowly, ebbing away like the receding tide. The emptiness that filled her in its wake left her feeling numb. Clenching handfuls of Gavin's shirt—stained crimson under her reddened claws, she drew a tumultuous breath as he stroked her hair, kissed her forehead, muttered reassurances that she couldn't discern.

 

“I . . . I want it out of me,” she whispered, her voice oddly detached, empty.

 

“Okay,” Gavin agreed. He heaved a sigh, burying his lips in her hair. “Okay.”

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

`Gavin's going to be furious, you know . . .'

 

Slipping around the edge of the house, Jillian wrinkled her nose and bit her lip. `Maybe.'

 

`Maybe? There's no `maybe' involved here, Jillian. Your mate is going to be furious, your father is going to be livid, and your brothers? Good God, you'll be lucky if they both don't turn you over their knees and beat your ass.'

 

`I have to do this,' she insisted. `I . . . I have to . . .'

 

Clutching her left side as she closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, she could sense Dr. Avis close, and it didn't take long for Jillian to realize that he was being held in the utility shed toward the back of the clearing. Gavin probably was going to be irate if he discovered that she sneaked out after telling him that she was tired and wanted to rest. She was tired; that wasn't a lie. Too bad she hadn't been able to sleep. Too many things spun around her head, and she wanted answers—answers that she wasn't likely to get otherwise. Everyone was so set on protecting her that they all seemed to have forgotten that she wasn't a child anymore.

 

She sighed, sparing a moment to check the bandage that covered the wounds on her side. Gavin explained to Kichiro that Jillian just wanted the chip removed, and he'd taken care of it posthaste. It hadn't been an invasive procedure. After applying a cream that numbed her skin in the area, Kichiro had used the scanner to locate the chip. From there, he'd been able to use a larger gauge needle to extract the chip as well as a small portion of her fatty tissue—enough to keep the bio-chip from disintegrating so they could cull the information from the chip. After that, he'd cleaned off her self-inflicted wounds and covered the area with a large gauze patch, telling her to rest for a couple hours at least, just to give her body time to work off the effects of the numbing ointment.

 

She wasn't sure when the idea had first occurred to her. She supposed it might have been sometime while she'd been waiting for Kichiro to gather the necessary supplies to perform the extraction. As it was, the whisper of a thought had grown larger in her mind until she'd realized that she actually had every intention of seeing it through, so while Gavin was downstairs with the rest of the men trying to make sense of the information stored on the bio-chip, Jillian had padded across the hallway to one of the unused guest rooms where she'd carefully dropped out of the window and ran off into the forest, heading toward Moe and Natalie Jamison's house.

 

Sparing a glance at the house and thanking her luck that Natalie was over visiting with the rest of Jillian's family at the moment, Jillian hurried across the lawn to the padlocked doors of the shed. Moe was nowhere to be seen—she wasn't sure where he was at the moment—and she scowled at the lock, biting her lip as she carefully slipped the tip of her claw into the keyhole. Years ago, Evan had taught her how to pick generic locks like this one. He'd probably be cursing that lesson later, but for now, she was relieved when the lock fell open with a soft click, and Jillian glanced around quickly as she yanked the padlock out of the loop and dropped it into her pocket before she slipped into the darkened shed.

 

It took a moment for her vision to adjust to the paltry light siphoning through the slats on the weathered walls. Shrunken from years of intermittent heat and cold, the strips of light brightened the room enough to see. Old yard equipment hung from hooks on the wall by the door. A faded green lawnmower sat on four flat tires beside an old work table and a greasy-smelling tool chest. In the center of the room sat Dr. Avis on a cold metal chair with his hands secured behind his back with ofuda handcuffs and his feet chained to a huge iron anvil. `Secure enough,' she supposed. The youkai's eyes were covered with a dark blue bandana. He kept turning his head to and fro as though he could sense her presence, but if he recognized her scent, he gave no indication at all.

 

“You knew my biological parents?” she asked without preamble. She didn't have any time to spare. The odds that she could afford to stay here longer than a few minutes weren't good, and she did intend to try to make it back to the house before anyone actually realized that she was gone . . .

 

He started, his head snapping to face her though he couldn't actually see her. “Jillian?” he said quietly, as though he were afraid that he was suffering delusions.

 

“Please, Dr. Avis, I have to know . . . did you know them?”

 

He swallowed hard but didn't answer right away. Jillian was starting to think that he wasn't going to. She had no way of coaxing him to tell her. She only wished she could understand something—anything—no matter how small. Maybe if she did, she wouldn't feel so betrayed, so helpless . . . so alone . . .

 

“I . . . I knew your mother,” he admitted softly. “Well, I knew your father, too, but . . . Liza . . . she was my . . . friend.”

 

“Your friend?” Jillian echoed, brows furrowing as her confusion grew. “If she was your friend, why did you kidnap me? Why would you do that?”

 

“It's not as simple as all that,” he replied, turning his head from side to side as if he believed that his inability to see had something to do with the way he was sitting. “I just wanted the chip . . . just the chip . . .”

 

Crossing her arms over her chest, rubbing her forearms as a cold chill crept up her spine, Jillian shook her head. “What's on the chip?” she forced herself to ask, hating the way her voice caught on the words.

 

“The world is on that chip!” he exclaimed, his tone taking on a passionate fire where it was bland just moments before. “Everything—everything! Or maybe nothing at all . . .” Laughing suddenly, he sounded almost insane. Jillian recoiled then bit her cheek, forcing herself to close the distance between herself and the doctor. Leaning in, she carefully tugged the handkerchief off Dr. Avis' face. He blinked quickly, his eyes slowly focusing, and when he finally dared to meet her gaze, she was shocked to see tears pooling in his eyes. “I didn't want to hurt you, you see? I really didn't . . . I swear.”

 

Jillian knelt in front of the doctor and shook her head. “Then why? Why kidnap me? Why not just ask me? If you were their friend—”

 

He sighed, shoulders slumping as his gaze skittered away from hers once more. “I wasn't sure. It was just a rumor . . . the chip might not have existed at all . . . and you wouldn't have believed me. Why not? I don't have anything to back up my claims. For all you know, I'm just some crazy old doctor . . .”

 

“Tell me about them? Kennedy and . . . and Liza?”

 

Dr. Avis sighed again, his chin dropping onto his chest as his shoulders slumped a little more. “Liza,” he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. “Liza . . . she was my friend . . . my best friend . . . I thought that she and I . . .” He trailed off just before choking out a rather sad little laugh. “It doesn't matter what I thought . . . she met Kennedy in college, and they were mated before I ever met him. He was a good man; I'll give him that . . . and he loved Liza, but sometimes . . . sometimes he'd get so immersed in his research that he'd lose track of everything, Liza included. She always said that he and his research partner—his brother, Carl—were just dedicated to his work. I guess you could call it that . . .” He coughed then cleared his throat, casing Jillian a nervous sort of glance. “Do you think . . .? Is there . . .? I'd really love a drink of water . . .”

 

Jillian glanced around, spotting a bright blue sports bottle with a capped plastic straw sitting on the work table. Moe must have brought it out to give Dr. Avis a drink earlier. She got up and retrieved the bottle. It was still half-full with perspiration dripping down the rubbery-plastic sides as the ice cubes inside slowly melted. Uncapping the straw as she slipped it between the doctor's lips. He gulped down a few swallows and smiled almost despite himself. Jillian waited until he was finished drinking before replacing the cap and setting the bottle back on the shelf.

 

“Thank you,” he said, his voice a little stronger than it had been before. “Thank you . . .”

 

“What was . . . she . . . like?”

 

Dr. Avis blinked. “Liza, you mean?”

 

Jillian nodded. “Yes . . .”

 

He smiled a little sadly. “Liza . . . she was beautiful . . . warm, gentle . . . always smiling . . . That's how I remember her. She loved to laugh.”

 

“And my father?”

 

“I didn't really know Kennedy as well. I mean, I went to work for him. Back then I was sort of a gofer—still finishing up med school . . . I did my internship for Kennedy and his brother. I wasn't really privy to the secrets and the intricacies of their research, but I heard whispers . . . rumors . . .”

 

“Do you know . . . why? Why they'd put this chip . . . in me?” she forced herself to ask.

 

Dr. Avis blinked. “I don't know . . . it wasn't something that I figured out until later. The notes were gone, you see? All the research notes that they'd worked on for so long . . . just vanished.”

 

“But what does that have to do with me?”

 

“I'm sorry, Jillian,” he murmured, and he really did look sorry . . . staring at his feet, he looked as though he were entirely defeated . . . maybe he was. “You were never supposed to be harmed,” he went on, more to himself than to her. “I . . . I couldn't have hurt you . . .”

 

She shook her head slowly. “Dr. Avis . . .?”

 

“Jillian! Damn it, what the hell are you doing here?” Bas growled, throwing open the shed door and glowering at his sister as though he believed that she'd lost her mind.

 

Jillian grimaced inwardly, cursing the luck that had brought this particular brother to find her. She might have been able to reason with Evan—at least enough to get a few more moments with Dr. Avis. Bas was having none of that. Stomping into the shed, he grabbed her arm firmly but gently and tugged her out of the shed before slamming the door closed and pinning her with his formidable glower. Holding up a finger under her nose, he pulled his cell phone out and dialed a number. “Yeah, I found her. I'm bringing her home,” he said then hung up. “Explain. Fast,” he demanded.

 

“I wanted some answers,” she admitted. “I just . . .” She shrugged. “I'm sorry.”

 

Bas heaved a sigh, still looking completely disgruntled. With a muttered curse, he reached out, dragging Jillian into a tight hug. “Don't go near him again. I mean it. He's dangerous.”

 

“He's not,” Jillian insisted. “He said I wasn't supposed to have gotten hurt.”

 

“Easy for him to say,” Bas grumbled. “He's facing serious charges.”

 

She pushed away to stare into her brother's face. Handsome, surely—Bas looked just like Cain with the exception of his eye color, which he got from their mother—he tended to look intense most of the time, which accounted for why he tended to come off as being more intimidating than Cain ever had. It was a face she'd known all her life, but as much as she adored him, Bas had never really been the one who had understood her, either. “He knew my biological parents,” she whispered, willing him to understand just what that meant to her, why she had to know . . .

 

Bas grimaced. “Does it really matter?” he challenged. “Mom and Dad . . . they're your parents. They've always been your parents.”

 

“Of course they are,” she agreed as Bas snagged the padlock out of Jillian's pocket and snapped it back into place. “I love them . . . it's just . . .”

 

“Just what?” Bas prompted, grabbing her hand and pulling her back toward the forest once more.

 

“I just needed to know,” she said. “I just needed to know why they'd put something like that in me . . .”

 

Bas shook his head, dragging a hand over his face as though he were weary. “And did you find out anything?”

 

She sighed. “No . . . at least, nothing about that.”

 

Bas nodded, trudging along with a thoughtful scowl on his face and, Jillian noticed with a frown, Triumvirate, his sword, strapped to his hip. “It's an address,” he admitted at length.

 

“What?”

 

Bas kept his gaze focused straight ahead. “The information on the bio-chip . . . it was an address.”

 

“An address . . .” she repeated.

 

“Yeah . . . thing is . . . the address? It's right next to the facility where you were being held.”

 

“What does that mean?”

 

Bas shook his head, squinting as he lifted his gaze heavenward, gazing at the afternoon sky shining through the network of tree branches high overhead. “Wish I knew, Jilli.”

 

“Dr. Avis said that my biological father was a medical researcher,” she ventured. “He said that the research that my father and his partner were studying disappeared after he died . . . Dr. Avis said he didn't figure it out until later . . . I just don't know exactly what he meant by that.”

 

Bas stopped short and slowly turned to stare at Jillian, his scowl deepening though he wasn't frowning exactly. “Come on, Jillian,” he said, grasping her wrist and tugging her onto his back.

 

Jillian wrapped her arms around Bas' neck as he caught her knees and held her in place seconds before he broke into a sprint. “Bas? What're you doing?”

 

He shook his head but quickened his pace. “The address on that chip,” he replied as they tore through the trees, “maybe that's what they were looking for all along.”

 

“They were looking for an address?”

 

“No . . . you said that Avis told you that the research notes disappeared, right?”

 

“Yeah . . .”

 

“Yeah . . . so maybe that address . . . maybe that's where the research notes are.”

 

Jillian didn't answer that. She didn't know what she could say. It made sense, sure, but . . .

 

But it only served to make her feel just a little worse, too . . .

 

`How could they?' she wondered as she rested her cheek on Bas' wide shoulder. `How could they put that chip in me if it might put me in danger . . .?'

 

The only answer she got was the whisper of the wind in the trees.

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

The door opened and Ryomaru held the door as Nezumi stepped into the room. Jillian got up and hurried over to hug her aunt. The woman was a little thinner than Jillian remembered, but she smiled warmly. “Congratulations, Jillian,” she said as she hugged Gin and Belle in turns.

 

“Are you tired? Do you want to rest awhile?” Jillian asked, frowning in concern.

 

Nezumi shook her head and wrinkled her nose, tucking a strand of long black hair behind her ear as Kagome strolled into the house with Sierra. “I'm fine,” she assured Jillian. “I slept on the plane.”

 

“Keh! It's unnatural, I tell you!” Ryomaru grumbled but grinned as he grabbed two suitcases and got out of the way moments before InuYasha stomped inside with Toga following close behind. “No one should be able to sleep on a fucking plane.” He paused, cocking his head to the side as he gazed at his mate. “Maybe you ought to lie down awhile, Nez,” he said thoughtfully.

 

Nezumi's back stiffened though she didn't turn to face Ryomaru. “I'm fine,” she insisted. “You know, Jillian, I think I'd rather go on a walk . . . unless you're not feeling up to it . . .?”

 

Jillian shook her head quickly, linking her arm through Nezumi's since she could see Gavin out of the corner of her eye, and he looked like he was getting ready to gainsay the excursion. “That sounds wonderful,” she hurried to say. “In fact, we could all go . . . get some last-minute wedding talk out of the way.”

 

“Jilli,” Gavin began.

 

Kichiro laid a hand on Gavin's shoulder. “She's fine, pup.”

 

Gavin didn't look like he wanted to listen, but he nodded curtly, crossing his arms over his chest.

 

Bas got up to hug his grandmother and aunts before sinking back down on the sofa. Gunnar brushed a chaste kiss in the air near his mother's cheek then hugged his aunts. Evan picked Kagome up and swung her around while InuYasha rolled his eyes and pulled Kagome away from her overzealous grandson. Kichiro greeted the ladies as well, sparing a few extra moments to whisper something in Sierra's ear that drew a giggle and a blush while Toga narrowed his eyes but smiled nearby. Cain bowed and kissed Kagome's cheek while InuYasha muttered something that Jillian was probably better off not hearing moments before Ryomaru pulled her into a tight hug that lifted her off her feet and sent her into a fit of giggles. The men took turns shaking Gavin's hand and teasing him unmercifully.

 

When the greetings were finished, Gavin pulled Jillian aside. “Be careful,” he cautioned her, still looking like he wanted nothing more than to argue with her over her choice to go for a long walk.

 

“I will,” she assured him, kissing his cheek and smiling at him.

 

He sighed but didn't argue with him though he looked like he was contemplating it. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned against the wall as the women filed out the glass doors with collective reassurances that they'd be careful. Ryomaru scowled as they headed toward the path that led into the forest and sighed. “They're safe, right?” he muttered.

 

“Yes,” Cain remarked. “Moe and Hank are out there at the moment. It's fine.”

 

“Where's Ben?” Toga asked.

 

Bas sighed. “Questioning Avis again.”

 

“Still not talking?”

 

Gavin growled. “Nope . . . All we know is that the bio-chip had an address on it.”

 

“Any word on the address?”

 

Gunnar grunted. “It's a residential . . . thing is, the house that used to be there was torn down some thirty years ago, so even if it had some significance, it's gone now.”

 

Ryomaru dragged his attention off the doors long enough to glance over his shoulder. “Then why go through all the trouble kidnapping Jillian?”

 

Cain sighed, rubbing his face in a tired sort of way. “Considering the chip only had an address on it, I'd say that Avis didn't know anything about the address in question.”

 

Gavin shook his head. “That still doesn't make sense,” he mused. “I mean, you said that the house was torn down thirty years ago . . . that's well before Jillian was conceived, so the chip still has to have some sort of viable information, doesn't it?”

 

“Who owned the house?” Toga asked.

 

Gunnar clicked the mouse a few times, scowling at the laptop screen. “Says here it was owned by a Liza Merriwether Carradine.”

 

Gavin's chin snapped up at that. “Liza?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Jilli said that Avis told her that her mother's name was Liza . . .”

 

“Liza Merriwether Carradine . . .” Kichiro repeated. “Really . . .”

 

“What?”

 

He shook his head, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Well . . . Carradine Medical . . . They were youkai researchers . . . Kennedy, I think his name was . . . He was . . . a water-youkai . . .”

 

Silence reigned in the room for several minutes, each man contemplating the things that were said. “Gunnar . . . cross-reference Kennedy Carradine and Liza Merriwether Carradine. See what you get.”

 

Gunnar nodded, typing in the information. The few moments that passed as the computer searched the database seemed like a lifetime. “Kennedy Carradine married Liza Merriwether in July of 2000 . . . medical research . . . land purchased to construct the Carradine Medical Center with his younger brother, Carl . . . house purchased adjacent to the facility—the address on the chip . . .” Trailing off with a scowl, Gunnar clicked through a few links before turning the computer to face Cain. “This is strange . . . the blueprints of Carradine Medical show a corridor that extends to the property line, but the house plans aren't in the records, ostensibly because the house no longer exists.”

 

“A tunnel?” Cain mused.

 

Bas shot to his feet and headed for the door. “I'm on it.”

 

“Wait! You don't even know what y you're looking for!” Gunnar hollered.

 

Bas stopped and glowered back over his shoulder. “You mean that's not obvious? He was a medical researcher, right? Stands to reason that's what they'd be after, don't you think?”

 

Cain stood up, too, striding over and grabbing the door handle.

 

“Where are you going?” Bas demanded.

 

Cain shot him a cursory glance. “I think it's time I talked to Dr. Avis, myself. You and Gunnar head to Denver. I want this taken care of as quickly as possible. After all, Jillian's getting married in three days, right?”

 

Bas nodded. “Yes, sir.”

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

Cain stood back, arms crossed over his chest as he waited for Ben to remove the blindfold that covered Dr. Avis' face. “You know why I'm here,” Cain said without preamble. “Tell me what you were looking for.”

 

Dr. Avis grimaced visibly. “I . . . I don't want to die,” he muttered.

 

Cain kept his features blank. “You kidnap my daughter and you tell me you don't want to die?” he challenged.

 

He swallowed hard, clenching his fists tight, as though he were mustering the last vestiges of his courage. “All the same . . . I-I want your word that you won't kill me after I tell you what I know.”

 

Cain shook his head. “Be very careful, Dr. Avis. Eli was in your employ when I killed him. You can be held responsible for his actions, and if I wished, I could turn you over to the authorities in Cancun for the death of the man driving Jillian's rental car.”

 

Avis paled visibly. “I didn't . . . I wasn't trying to hurt her.”

 

Cocking an eyebrow, Cain couldn't contain the snort that slipped out. “Pfft! You weren't trying to hurt her but you sabotaged her car down in Cancun?”

 

Avis winced, having the grace to blush at the reminder. “That . . . that wasn't supposed to happen. Eli . . . he was just trying to get her to pull over so he could bring her back.”

 

“For the bio-chip.”

 

“Yes . . . for that.”

 

“How did you know my daughter had a chip in her?”

 

“I didn't. It was a hunch . . . it didn't make sense that Carl would just disappear after Kennedy was killed—”

 

“Killed?” Cain echoed. “It says in the reports that Kennedy Carradine died in a river rafting accident.”

 

Dr. Avis shook his head slowly, hesitantly lifting his gaze to meet Cain's. “And you think a water-youkai could be killed in a rafting accident?”

 

Cain considered that slowly. It was true enough, he knew. A water-youkai . . . could not drown. His face, however, did not give away his thoughts. “Why didn't I hear of this?”

 

Avis sighed. “Dr. Carradine didn't want it to get out. They were working on something—something top secret. That's all I knew . . . I think Carl was afraid that he'd be killed, too, if he went to you. Even then, there wasn't any real proof . . . just speculation. I mean, he was a water-youkai, right? Carl got kind of paranoid after that. Only he and Kennedy knew what their research really was. It had to be big . . . keeping it secret like that . . . it had to be something really, really big.” He grimaced, gaze dropping away. “Anyway, he, uh . . . he told me a few weeks later that Liza had died. He disappeared a couple days after that.”

 

“But she didn't die,” Cain growled. “She came to me. She lived long enough to give birth to Jillian, and she died on my land in my forest. She asked me to take care of her daughter—my daughter, and I have. I have . . .”

 

Avis flinched. “I didn't know . . . I-it wasn't until I saw her—Jillian—on the cover of the magazines . . . She looks just like Liza except . . . well, she's a water-youkai, like Kennedy.”

 

Cain digested that for a moment before nodding slowly. “So this chip . . . you believe it holds the location of this research?”

 

Avis jerked his head once in a nod. “Yes.”

 

“And that's the only reason you wanted it.”

 

Avis nodded again. “Yes.”

 

Sauntering over to the doctor, he leaned down, one hand on each side of the chair, his face mere inches from Avis'. The doctor paled but didn't look away. “You answer one question right now or the question of whether you'll live or die will be moot.”

 

Avis swallowed hard but nodded.

 

“Are you working for someone else? Is there someone else who might try to hurt my daughter?”

 

“I . . .” He grimaced. “Th-there's no one else.”

 

“Did you kill Kennedy Carradine?”

 

“N-no!”

 

Cain straightened up and glanced back at Ben, who was standing beside the door with a stoic expression on his face. Ben intercepted the look Cain shot him and nodded. Cain nodded once in silent reply. The general believed the man's story. Cain, on the other hand . . .

 

He wasn't so sure . . .

 

 

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A/N:

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Final Thought fromCain:

Just what the hell sort of research was it …?

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Shameless): I do not claim any rights to InuYashaor the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~