Chapter 94 - 95: Planning

Chapter 94: Chapter 95: Planning

Chapter 95: Planning

Axel’s apartment had never been this crowded before. He kept his promise and turned the evening into a small celebration for surviving the New Mexico mission, the Creeper, the living truck, and everything else that had nearly killed them along the way. Nobody except Lionel Cosgrove had much of an appetite, so instead of cooking, they ordered several pizzas and spread the boxes across the coffee table.

The so-called celebration consisted of Axel Vance, Dr. Seth Brundle, and Lionel sitting on the floor while Carrie White took the only available chair. It should have been a relaxed dinner marking the end of a successful mission, but the mood never quite became festive. Seth, in particular, barely touched his food and looked far too energized for someone who had just learned his own supervisor might have expected him to die.

Instead of being crushed by the situation, Seth seemed almost invigorated by it. Anger had burned away most of his earlier fear, leaving behind the manic intensity Axel had come to associate with the physicist whenever he encountered a problem worth solving. Before long, Seth grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen and began sketching out a rough plan.

"They thought I was disposable," Seth said, pressing the pen hard enough to nearly tear the paper. "That was their mistake. A scientist’s real value isn’t obedience—it’s what he can build when somebody gives him a reason to get creative."

He drew a crude chart and wrote Dr. Evans at the top, then connected it to several unanswered branches. "First problem: Evans. He’s the clearest lead we have, but we can’t confront him yet because the second he realizes we’re suspicious, whoever is behind him disappears again."

Seth drew another line and wrote TELEPODS beside it. "Second problem: my research. My equipment is still back at the lab, but the important part isn’t the machinery—it’s what I already know."

Axel took a slice of pizza and listened without interrupting. Seth’s telepod project had been close to completion even before the New Mexico mission, and exposure to the Color had seemingly accelerated his ability to process difficult theoretical problems. If that change was real, losing access to his old laboratory might slow him down, but it would not necessarily stop him.

"After what happened to my head out there, I can see solutions I was stuck on for months," Seth continued. "I don’t need a perfect government lab anymore. Give me enough used equipment and workspace, and I can rebuild a lot of what matters."

Lionel took another large bite of pizza. "You’re skipping one small problem." He gestured around the cramped apartment and added, "Where exactly are you planning to build a teleportation laboratory, between Axel’s couch and Carrie’s cleaning supplies?"

"That’s why we need the new place," Axel replied. He pointed toward Seth’s sketch and said, "Somewhere big enough for a workshop, isolated enough that nobody calls the cops every time something explodes, and private enough for Spirit Binding work."

Seth nodded immediately. "Exactly. A real base." His mood brightened further as he added, "I still know people from school and research circles who can help me find old equipment cheap, and once I have a workshop, we can start improving our defenses instead of reacting every time something tries to eat us."

He then tapped another spot on the paper and drew a rough heart shape. "And there’s the Blood Jade from the truck. I’m convinced that thing was acting as some kind of energy core or supernatural interface."

Axel glanced toward where the Blood Jade had been secured. Its exact nature was still unknown, but it had survived the destruction of a living bio-mechanical weapon and retained a steady internal pulse afterward. Seth studying it was probably inevitable no matter what Axel said.

"If we can understand how it stores or transfers energy, that gives us another advantage," Seth continued. "Maybe not another living truck, because even I have standards, but something we can actually use when these people come after us again."

Lionel swallowed and looked at him. "You absolutely do not have standards."

Seth ignored him.

While the three men argued and planned, Carrie quietly gathered pizza boxes, paper plates, wrappers, and empty bottles from around the floor. She never joined the discussion, but the simple act of restoring order seemed to calm her. After spending most of her life in Margaret White’s rigid household, clutter still made her uneasy even when nobody else noticed it.

Axel watched her for a moment but did not comment. Carrie was finally somewhere she was not being punished for every mistake, and there was no reason to force every habit out of her immediately. If cleaning helped her feel stable, he could live with a neater apartment for one night.

The evening stretched late into the night as Seth filled more pages with ideas, Lionel steadily worked through the remaining food, and Axel tried to separate useful plans from Seth’s revenge-fueled enthusiasm. Eventually everyone had to sleep, which created a new problem because the apartment only had one bedroom and one couch. Axel gave the bedroom to Carrie, Lionel claimed the couch, and Axel and Seth spread blankets across the living-room floor.

Seth barely slept. Throughout the night, Axel repeatedly heard him muttering the names of scientific instruments, power systems, and pieces of laboratory equipment as though he were constructing an entire research facility in his dreams. By morning, all four of them looked tired enough that the idea of immediately buying a house somehow seemed reasonable.

Miami sunlight was already bright when Axel led the others across town using the address and contact information Steve had given him. They eventually stopped in front of a small real-estate office with SUNSHINE COAST REAL ESTATE written across the front window. Inside, Axel placed the property address on the desk of an agent named Mr. Finch and said, "We want to take a look at this house."

Finch’s professional smile froze the instant he read the address. He adjusted his glasses, checked it again, and then sprang from his chair with enough enthusiasm to make Axel suspicious. "That house? Sir, you have excellent taste."

Finch grabbed Axel’s hand and shook it vigorously. "Huge amount of space, classic architecture, complete privacy, no irritating neighbors, a basement, and an enormous yard. Best of all, the price is extremely reasonable."

Lionel leaned toward Axel and muttered, "He forgot the part where an entire family died there."

Finch clearly heard him, but his smile barely moved. "There were some unfortunate events associated with the property, yes, but all those stories about ghosts and curses are just rumors." He cleared his throat and added, "The house has been professionally cleaned and maintained."

Axel skipped the sales pitch. "Price?"

Finch’s expression brightened. "Very negotiable." He rubbed his hands together and said, "The original listing was around two hundred thousand dollars, but for a serious buyer, we can go to one-fifty."

Axel stared at him.

Finch immediately corrected himself. "One-twenty."

Lionel looked away to hide a grin.

"One hundred and twenty thousand dollars," Finch said quickly. "For a detached house with that much land and a full basement, that is practically a gift."

Axel and Lionel exchanged a glance. The speed at which Finch was cutting the price told them everything they needed to know. Whatever had happened at that house, the agency wanted it gone badly.

"Fifty thousand," Axel said.

Finch’s jaw dropped. "Fifty?"

Axel held up five fingers. "Cash-equivalent payment, immediate contract, and you never have to explain the dead-family story to another buyer again."

Finch looked physically wounded. "Sir, one hundred and twenty is already below what this property should be worth."

"The house has been sitting for almost two years," Axel replied. "Every month you keep it costs somebody money, and anyone who hears the history walks away."

Finch began sweating.

Axel leaned back. "Who else is buying it?"

The agent stared at him like he had accidentally invited a police interrogation into his office. After several seconds, he threw up his hands and said, "Seventy thousand. That is absolutely the lowest I can possibly go."

Axel shook his head. "Sixty."

Finch opened his mouth.

Axel added, "And we sign today."

"Deal."

The answer came so quickly that even Seth looked surprised. Finch immediately pulled the paperwork from a drawer as though afraid Axel might regain common sense before the ink dried.

The transaction moved with suspicious efficiency. Axel signed what needed signing, provided payment, and soon found a set of house keys sliding across the desk toward him. Finch sank back into his chair afterward with the relief of a man who had finally escaped a problem that had been following him for years.

"Here you are," Finch said. "Enjoy the property."

Seth stared at the keys as they walked out of Sunshine Coast Real Estate. "That’s it? Sixty thousand dollars for a detached house outside Miami?"

Lionel sighed. "That probably means the story behind it is much worse than we think."

Axel weighed the keys in his palm and looked back at the three people following him. A large isolated house, a basement, plenty of land, no close neighbors, and a history frightening enough to destroy its market value sounded almost perfect.

He smiled.

"Let’s go check out our new home."

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