Chapter Text
The atmosphere in the hotel room feels like high noon, a scene from one of Mitch's black and white movies of the moment right before the shootout. Knowing that more than half of them are armed, Mitch feels the comparison is pretty adept.
He’s been finding himself taking stock of everyone, making sure he knows what they’re all doing at all times. Dominic, standing by the door, arms crossed like he’s holding himself. Syd, glaring at Eli. If it’s possible to nurse a hot chocolate, she’s doing that. June, hovering over her shoulder like always. Eli, where Mitch left him, unable to move.
He’s managing to avoid meeting either June or Sydney’s eyes, a resigned expression on his face. One arm is twisted back somewhat uncomfortably, where Mitch handcuffed him to a nearby bedpost. The other is flexed over the end of the chair he’s in that had to be pulled over, nails biting into the fabric of its arms.
They’ve been in the room nearly an hour, and no one, save for Syd, has gotten anything to eat or drink. Barely anyone has spoken, too tense from the intruder in their midst to let their guards drop. The hotel reservation was for three nights. This is the third. By noon tomorrow, everyone will have to be up and gone.
The prospect of trying to pack up for everyone makes Mitch exhausted just thinking about it. Eli’s been placid so far, but if he tries to give them trouble in the morning… Mitch’s mind whirls though scenarios Eli could cause for them, the lies he could spin to hotel staff, to passersby, to the cops.
He gives a second look at the listless way Eli stares at the ground. He knows Eli acts, pretends, but somehow, he doesn’t believe this is that. The absence of signs of life are what convince him, the complete lack of microexpressions or any sign of response to conversation. Mitch allows himself to ignore the concerns about the morning for tonight- or at least, for this next hour of tonight. For now, he has something more pressing to deal with: their second reanimated roommate.
Dominic hasn’t left his spot by the door yet. He hasn’t been all there either, in both a figurative and literal sense- every now and then, Mitch will catch the air around the vet flickering like a light is going out, a telltale sign of a return from his shadowed world.
Coming up to his side, Mitch places a hand on his elbow. “You okay?” he asks, and Dominic jumps despite the gentle tone of Mitch’s voice.
"I'm… adjusting."
"Adjusting is a start. I know you have questions."
Dominic offers a shaky laugh. "You see anywhere good for me to ask those questions without the serial killer overhearing?"
Mitch purses his lips. "You know no one will let him hurt you, right? Especially not me."
He pauses. "Actually, especially not Syd. She's armed to the teeth these days."
"I'm not too worried. He's not the one who managed to kill me, anyways."
He doesn't meet Mitch's eyes when he says that.
"There's a pool. And a gym. If either of those are still open after it gets dark we could talk. I just have to make sure everything will be fine here."
Dominic's gaze flicks to Mitch. "Asking me to meet you outside again?" he says with a slight smile.
Mitch rolls his eyes. "I think you’re misremembering what I said."
"Right, sorry, you told me to meet Victor instead."
The sound of Victor’s name gets the most reaction out from Eli of anything that whole night. His face shifts like he’s been bitten, nearly flinching.
Dom cringes. "Right. Noted. We'll talk?"
Mitch nods. "We'll talk."
He crosses the room to where Sydney is, standing over Eli.
"You just been staring at him threateningly, kid?"
"I'm thinking. It takes focus."
"That's good, because I need your help."
She turns away from Eli and looks at him, young face serious. "What is it?"
"We got passengers now. Him, mostly-" -he waves a hand at Eli- "But Dominic will need time to readjust before he's ready to carry his own weight. We’ll have to figure out before morning… where to next?"
He feels a pull of sadness in his chest, thinking of the first time he asked those words, looking at Victor across the hood of their stolen car. The moon had shone down on the two of them, and his heart had been full of dread that either the prison guards would catch up to them, or Victor would want to leave. Either way his curse would have won.
He wonders if it's futile to fight it now, to try and bring back what he's already lost.
"Has your little news machine caught any stories?" June asks from behind him, referring to the code matrix Mitch is running on stories matching Victor's description.
Mitch shakes his head. "Not yet. We're looking at hospitals, medical schools, and clinics. Anywhere he might be able to steal lab equipment from. It's possible he could be buying too, but without me… well, he doesn't have connections anymore. My bet would be he's taking matters into his own hands."
“We could start sweeping hospitals and asking around,” Sydney suggests. “That’s the best I’ve got for now.”
Mitch nods. “It would be hard work, but better than staying in one place.”
Syd pulls out her phone, and begins tapping at her navigation app. “There’s a pretty big hospital only about 45 minutes away. We could ask there and then find another hotel.”
“He might go to a clinic,” June says. “Less people to catch him and less chance of security. Especially if he goes at night. Smashing a window, maybe.”
Mitch idly wonders if she’s speaking from experience, genuinely considering despite the face that Syd is making. It would definitely be easier, but Victor likes drama.
"What about his parents' house?" Dominic asks from his spot by the door. Everyone turns to look at him, and he shrugs. "When I was a kid, I used to run away a lot. From school, mostly. That's where I would always end up eventually."
Mitch weighs the option, unconsciously working his hands against each other, cracking his knuckles. "I like that idea, but I don't know. He's pretty estranged from his parents- he might be too proud to go back to them."
"Proud or not, from what I heard his parents were a lot like mine. The first set, I mean," Syd says. "They're not really people to lean on, are they?"
"Aye," June says. "I agree. After a certain point, I wouldn't go back to my parents for anything."
Dominic looks disappointed at the no his suggestion is seemingly about to get.
"I didn't say no for sure," Syd says, if only to spite June. "Just that we need to think more."
"Where else, then?" Mitch asks. "Think what he needs-" he starts, but his sentence is cut off by a short laugh.
Everyone stares at Eli, and he shakes his head, the most movement he's made since EON's tomb.
"You're all fools," he says, voice straining like it needs water. "I know where Victor is."
Sydney doesn't waste a second. "Really? Why don't you enlighten us, then, huh?"
Eli attempts to spread his hands, but the handcuffs pulls back on them, metal biting into his skin. He doesn't react a bit, all the more unsettling to Mitch who remembers too well the way he himself has winced and gritted his teeth against the soreness of cuffs.
"It should be obvious. Victor wants completion, he wants closure. He's going back to where we started all this."
Eli speaks like he's delivering a sermon, Bible clutched in his hand. Snakes and devils, every one of them.
"And where would that be?" Mitch asks, voice dry. He knows what Ever is getting at, but he wants to keep him talking. Normally, he doesn't like to ask needless questions, but it's evident Eli already thinks he's stupid.
"Where else? Lockland."
Mitch and Sydney turn matching scrutinizing glares on him.
"Wouldn't that be a bit too obvious?" Syd asks. "That's where he killed Angie, and he tried to kill you. That’s even where Stell first met you two. It might be the only real thing EON knows about him. Going back there would be… kind of stupid, honestly?”
Dominic points at her, making a face to show he agrees, and Mitch could swear to God Eli rolls his eyes at them.
“Poets love parallelism. Killers return to the scene of their crimes. Victor is both, and as much as you all may claim to know him, I’m the one who’s seen what he really is. He’ll return to Lockland, sooner rather than later, make pilgrimage to where this all started. If you all want to find him, the smart move would be getting there before he does.”
Sydney scoffs. “Man, you would know all about returning to the scene of the crime, huh? You’re an expert.”
Mitch bites at the inside of his cheek, thinking. He doesn’t want to listen to Eli, but they brought him back for a reason, and he does have a point. Victor, as much as he tries to divide himself up with logic and science, is impulsive, emotional. And he’ll be needing a lab.
“Yeah. Yeah,” Dominic says from his corner. “I’m still with Sydney. How can we know this guy doesn’t just want to get himself back to Lockland so he can like, jerk off all over his old crime scenes? I don’t trust it.”
Eli’s lip curls back into a disgusted expression, but he doesn’t say anything in response to the insult. Mitch can see his face closing off- this is all the insight they’ll get from him for the night. He scans the room, trying to see what the rest of the group is thinking. Syd is shaking her head. Dominic’s hands are balled into fists, knuckles gone white. June is wearing the form of an older man in a raincoat, eyes narrowed.
“I mean,” she says, voice surprisingly quiet. “Sydney. Think about it. After all those years… the three of you ended up back in Merit.”
The words are meant for his daughter, but Mitch’s stomach churns. A memory flashes through his mind- Victor’s mouth to a glass, an argument in the kitchen. ”Do you think I like killing people?” he’d asked.
Mitch had needed to hesitate before he said no.
Judging from the way she flinches, Syd is just as stung. There’s a telling second of silence before she rounds on June.
“Of course you’d agree with him,” she says, voice biting. “Of course you would. Just to make my life fucking harder.”
At this point, the finely spun web of the room has been swept through by a giant brush. Syd is skillfully holding back tears, June holding up her hands in defense, and Dominic looks like a strobe light the way he’s blinking in and out of the room. Mitch himself feels like a frayed end, and he doesn’t want Eli seeing any of this.
“That’s enough,” he says, using a voice usually reserved for when Dol or Sydney are misbehaving. The tone works- he has everyone’s attention. “Dominic, go get something from the vending machine. June, go with him and pay. Eli, don’t try anything.”
Dominic shrugs, and heads for the door. With a last glance at Syd, June follows. Eli doesn’t show any sign of recognition, but Mitch is getting used to that. He heads to the kitchenette, opening the fridge and pouring himself a glass of chocolate milk. Syd hops up on the counter next to him, and he offers her a glass, which she takes.
“What do you think?” she asks.
He makes a face. “You’re not gonna like it.”
Syd groans. “You really wanna go back there? For real?”
“Hey, I’ve never been. It wouldn’t be back.”
“We’re going to look literally so suspicious on a college campus. And I’ve looked up pictures of Lockland, it’s all gated and shit.”
“Language,” Mitch says without really meaning it. Between he and Victor, there was really never any chance of Syd not swearing. “Yeah, not all five of us, but you and June and Eli could make it work. Ask around.”
“You want me to ‘make it work’. With June and Eli.”
“I want you to try getting us information in disguise. With June and Eli.”
Syd sticks out her tongue. “Yuck.”
“I know. I don’t like it either. I don’t think there are any options to like right now.”
Syd takes a long drink of her chocolate milk. “Yeah. You’re right.”
Mitch sighs, and they’re silent, gazing at Eli despondent in his chair.
After a while, Syd finishes her drink and sets the glass down on the counter with a definitive clink. “So. Lockland in the morning?”
Mitch closes his eyes, and tilts his head up towards the ceiling, feeling the cool plastic of the fridge against his head. “Lockland in the morning.”