Quarry

[Jan Claasen du Toit]

Jan sat in a nondescript, late-nineties model Honda Accord, and waited. He'd drawn short straw for this rotation, and was posted about a half click from the entrance of Cullen's School for the Gifted. This was one of those low risk, low excitement rotations. It still paid $600 USD, tax free per day, so the Afrikaaner was certainly not complaining about it. He just wished that it was a little less uneventful.

Fortunately, he had a sleeve of CD's he'd brought for the day to keep his mind occupied. He couldn't afford any more distraction beyond that, since he still most certainly needed his eyes. Fortunately, his eyesight was better than anyone's with a few possible exceptions, most notably in that school.

As he maintained his dull reconaissance, he slipped in ABBA's Greatest Hits and kept the volume at a reasonable level. Any moment now, the mail truck would arrive. After that, garbage - maybe. Several faculty lived off campus, and those would turn up all throughout the early morning.

[Evelyn Cato]

As she had told Freight Train more than a few days before, Evelyn possessed a keen enjoyment for running. There was simply something so divine and peaceful in the activity of jogging, that it was something she had never found herself to tire of.

The immortal had developed a lazy sort of schedule since she'd arrived, but running was the one thing that she was sure to make time for.

And so when leaving the grounds of the institute in the early daylight hours, it was with ready spirits and expectance. The environment that surrounded Cullens was much different than that of the other places that she had been within the last one hundred years, and Evelyn took particular delight in observing everything around her as she went about her morning ritual.

The running path that she had chosen took her far enough from the institute to give her a good idea of the lay of the land, and she soaked everything in.

[Jan Claasen du Toit]

Jan perked up slightly as he noticed a person leaving the compound. He slowly thumbed his radio on.

"A've mov'ment on de entry sector. It's a runna, female."

Silence for a moment as his comm was routed back to Virginia, and Praetorian's Eagle's Nest center.

"Jackal, can you do an ID confirm?"

Jan leaned forward in his seat a bit, bringing a cup up to his lips to spit a bit of dark-tinted saliva from his snuff tobacco.

"Looks mebbe Greek or Lebbo. A'vn't seen her before. Repeat, not on file."

Quite alert now, Jan watched the jogger behind his Wiley-X wraparound frames, looking for anything that would betray this new person of interest.

[Evelyn Cato]

It was so invigorating, to go out into the early morning hours and simply run. In some ways it reminded her of so many other times in her past that she had done just the same thing to clear her mind.

Nowdays though, Evelyn ran to prepare herself. To think, and to enjoy the life that went on around her.

She found herself happy to be in America once more; it was a fresh change, as it always was when she decided to relocate. Everywhere she went was different than the last time she'd visited, and it was wonderful to see the progress that people made.

And so she ran on, lost in her own thoughts and musings. She approached a Honda, but glossed over it as she let her mind work at a comfortable pace toward another train of thought, far removed from the here and now.

[Jan Claasen du Toit]

Jan didn't immediately pursue. That would be foolish. He could keep an eye on her far down the road from here, and move into a better position later.

What he did, however, was to snap an image of the woman when she passed. It wasn't the most elaborate shot, but it certainy captured her in profile. Fortunately, the windows were tinted to a degree to make actions like this fairly unnoticeable.

Once she passed, Jan jacked the camera into an USB outlet connected to a laptop.

"A'm sendin it ova to you now."

The laptop showed the picture taken, cordoned off to the side as dozens upon dozens of pictures flashed before it, as possible matches to the biometrics of the facial recognition software. As expected, there were no matches.

"Looks like we've got a new cowboy in the Alamo. Jackal, green light for passive pursuit. Get as much as you can on her."

Jan continued to watch her jog, and replied.

"A'm on it."

[Evelyn Cato]

The further she got from the institute, the further her mind drifted.

She thought of Asa (it seemed that present society had decided to call him Otzi, and she was content to leave it at that), and his unexpected, terrible fate. She thought of many others that she'd known in her lifetime, and each one brought a grin to her face as she continued on.

She even thought of Henri, and of how the years had treated him. It felt good in a way to be back in his presence, even if it was not any sort of exclusive coupling; instead it was something far deeper, as something had happened to him that even she could never have foreseen. And because of that, Evelyn felt closer to the man, as the both of them were now in the same company of peoples.

Having distanced herself well enough from Cullen's, Evelyn slowed to a stop, and breathing in deeply, she lifted her head skyward.

[Jan Claasen du Toit]

Jan finally cranked up the car, and shifted into drive, now a comfortable distance from the lady runner. He kept his camera ready for any further opportunities.

"A'vn't seen any mutant traits shown yet. Sh' could actually be human; a sympathiza."

No response from Eagle's Nest, so Jan continued business as usual.

[Evelyn Cato]

She enjoyed the morning air, taking in deep lungfulls while listening to the continuous chirping of birds all around.

The world it seemed, went on about its' business regardless of what man did or didn't do.

Speaking of which...

The Honda that she'd only passingly noticed had come back into view, and Evelyn reached up to wipe an errant black lock of hair from her face. She stared pointedly at the car, undeterred. The driver, it seemed, had decided to move from his previous position. It was enough to catch her interest, and unlike many other lone women about, Evelyn did not attempt to shy away. She simply stared openly, dark eyes blinking every so often.

[Jan Claasen du Toit]

She'd spotted him, and didn't split hairs about doing so.

"Damn."

Jan muttered, and accelerated onward. He wasn't about to keep creeping past with her watching, so he drove along by her, taking the next left as he did. With GPS, he could always drop back around on her, or find a better vantage.

[Evelyn Cato]

* * *


A week later found Evelyn sequestered in her rooms, sitting behind the large, polished redwood desk and very nearly buried behind a mountain of tests. Her students had completed their midterms, and the task of grading them loomed over her; and would most likely not be finished for the next few days. She worked diligently, immersing herself in the aromas of a lit incense burner and the soft melodies of Mozart.

Her tea, long ago forgotten, had lost its' heat, yet she seemed to take no notice as she continued to work.

So engrossed was she that the knock at her door didn't fully register. A second time, and she looked up to stare blankly at the far wall for a passing moment.

Finally, she spoke.

"The door is unlocked."

[Veritas]

Henri eased the door open and gave her what passed for a look of sympathy at her plight.

"You should consider having an assistant to mark your papers, I think."

His brow knit at the slapdash state of her desk, and he picked about the stack here and there.

"How long have you been at this?"

[Evelyn Cato]

Evelyn blinked at him, then at the papers atop her desk. She sat back in her chair for a few seconds to consider his question.

"Most of the afternoon, I believe. It is not so bad. To see how much they have learned is reward enough; I've graded enough papers and tests in the last ten years that it's no hardship."

As if noticing for the first time that her tea had grown cold, she slowly stood, grasping the small cup with the intention of remedying just that problem.

"Can I offer you a drink?"

[Veritas]

"You may."

He accompanied her on her task, his cane gently tapping on the floor as he walked.

"I find by the time it comes to a test, I understand quite well who has grasped my material and who has fallen short."

He shrugged.

"This is such a menial thing. Best deferred to the young."

[Evelyn Cato]

Pouring the dregs of her tea into the sink, she gave him a sideways smirk.

"Some may surprise you."

Reaching up into an open cupboard, Evelyn brought down a second cup, setting it beside the first before moving to take her kettle from the stovetop. Whatever was left inside was as well sent into the sink's drain, and she refilled it with practiced ease. She replaced it once more upon the burner.

"The old may have experience and knowledge, but the young have far more opportunities available. It is only a matter of removing the chaff to get at the heart's true desires."

[Veritas]

"I am not a believer in divine intervention. Last minute success is possible, but a fleeting thing."

Henri opened the refrigerator momentarily, peering inside for anything worthwhile. Not finding something suitable, he closed it soon after.

"You have seemed guarded of late. Is anything wrong?"

[Evelyn Cato]

Divine intervention is far too human a thing for my tastes, so you may rest well knowing that the success I speak of is brought through motivation; whether it be from the self or from another outside physical presence."

Evelyn watched him as the water began to slowly heat, digesting his last question while keeping an ever mindful gaze upon him.

She inclined her head downwards, staring at him from over the tops of her eyes and grinning.

"I'm not the one looking through other people's refrigerators, Henri."

A hand reached out to calm any more wandering through the kitchen cabinets that his own hands might stray towards.

"So, I might ask you the same question.

[Veritas]

He waved off her question with his hand as he cleaned his glasses.

"I am just an old man with little optimism, and an ability to elicit honesty in everyone but myself."

He breathed on the lenses, held them up to the light, and put them back on.

"I think that real trouble is coming to this place, Evelyn."

[Evelyn Cato]

The water was still a short ways off from coming to a boil. She fixed her eyes to Henri, wondering what was pressing upon him. That he would come to her with such thoughts came as no surprise however.

"Is that so," she started slowly.

[Veritas]

"How long do you think that we will just be allowed to do as we are?"

The Frenchman wasn't keen on vocal introspection, save for around a few people. Evelyn was foremost of those.

"The attacks are increasing, not decreasing. The other people are afraid. Then what of the visits by strangers?"

He shook his head.

"The man John met, Jack Brocius, I know of him."

Henri tsked.

"In my other life, I knew of people like him. Trouble follows them."

[Evelyn Cato]

Evelyn seemed to consider his words. What he spoke of was true in its' own sense, and resting herself against the counter, she stared at the tiled floor. She thought of her follower, a week previous, when she'd taken a jog outside Cullen's school grounds. The incident hadn't alarmed her in any way, but in light of Henri's mention of the strangers coming and going, it stood to reason that her shadow that day had been just one such individual.

"For as tenacious as men and women are, our own kind is just as much so. We will persevere; it is not a question of if, it simply is a fact."

Her tone took on a timbre that Henri would most certainly recognize, the normally soft lilt of her accent becoming minutely rougher.

"Humanity goes through phases every hundred or so years. Whereas theology was used to explain away people like us, science has now replaced that. It is much better for us in the long view, but the immediate repercussions and initial growth of others' understanding will be painful... "

A soft whistle began, growing in pitch and volume, and she turned about to take the kettle from the stove.

"... for all of us," Evelyn finished while pouring steaming water into the two cups.

[Veritas]

Henri's mouth turned down into a frown.

"It sounds like a clinical diagnosis of an ailment when you speak of it."

He took one of the cups offered.

"I am not sure many can appreciate your panache for the so-called long view. In the end, few may survive to do just that."

[Evelyn Cato]

"I suppose. It's something one learns to see after so many years of watching."

The tea was a soft blend, one of her own that she'd perfected in her years, and taking her own cup, she moved past him. A hand reached up however as she paused momentarily, and Evelyn turned his head so that their eyes locked.

"You are a Frenchman, Henri. You have many passions," she gave a light kiss to his cheek, "... but pessimism is not one of them no matter how old you are or how jaded with life you may feel yourself to be."

[Veritas]

"Life is always open to the pursuit of a new hobby."

He smirked, and sipped his tea. He had never taken to the stuff, and was a firm coffee drinker. Still, he drank what he was offered.

"It is not so strange to me. After all, I was once Gendarmerie. Suspecting the worst is as a pig roots for truffles. Occasionally you find the most pleasant thing on earth, but only after spending hours digging through dirt and merde."

[Evelyn Cato]

She smiled, giving a nod as she sipped her tea. Leading him back into the main living area of her rooms, Evelyn gestured to the sofa. Her small glass was set on the low coffee table, and she pulled a large, leatherbound photo album from beneath. This she set in her lap.

"Come and sit. I wish to show you something."

[Veritas]

"A history lesson?"

He cast an amused expression at her as he sat opposite. With Evelyn, history often did feature into her discussion.

He sipped at her tea, and finally surmising that he had put on enough of a show of it, set the teacup and saucer aside on the table in deference to looking at his ageless companion's photographs.

[Evelyn Cato]

"In its' on way."

She opened the cover, letting slender fingers trace down the clear plastic covering of pictures that seemed more recent; pictures that had only been taken within the last few years.

The further back she turned each page, the further back in time each photograph took them. Rome, Sicily, Venice, Siberia, St. Petersburg; there were even a few pages of a much younger Henri. These she couldn't help but smile at, and passing a hand over one of them, gave him a sidelong grin.

"Do you remember when this picture was taken?"

[Veritas]

He reached forward, taking hold of a corner of the book to pivot it for a better look. Judging by the cut of his clothes and the boxy-looking Peugot in the background of one of the pictures, it helped narrow things.

"Either 1982 or 83. I had just joined service I believe."

[Evelyn Cato]

Still that phantom grin, and Evelyn once more set to turning back time.

She stopped when she reached the beginning of a distinct set of black and white pictures. There was no mistaking when these had been taken, or the face of the woman now sitting beside him.

Now she was healthy, full of life and vigor. Yet, in the photograph she was starved and emaciated, her cheekbones prominent and her limbs rail thin. The camera had managed to catch the life still within her eyes, buried though it had been.

And behind that Evelyn Cato, mounted in overhanging metal, was a single word.

Dachau

[Veritas]

Henri stiffened at the sight of that. Of course she was ageless, so it should not be surprising that she should experience humanity at the peaks of its transcendence, and the valleys of its depravity.

After a moment, he found words.

"What brought you to that terrible place?"

[Evelyn Cato]

She sat quietly, her eyes on the start black and white photographs for a few moments before lifting up to take him in.

Finally, she spoke.

"You do not wish to know how it happened, only that it did."

Leaning back against the soft cushions of the sofa, Evelyn folded her hands into her lap. She watched as he turned each page, shedding light on horrors that seemed to only get worse with each picture. She herself was in most of them, though there were a few that her presence was absent.

"We each live through times that would otherwise strike out the hope and optimism that many keep within themselves.

"You cannot allow men who act through hatred and fear of the unknown to destroy your hopes for a better future."

[Veritas]

The more he looked, the more he reviled what he saw. Massaging at his temples, Henri eventually turned away from the sight.

"Did it seem so bleak, on the eve? Before those terrible times? I know there's wisdom in your experience. I'm not ignorant of history's lessons, but I'm faced with the present and it is perhaps easy to despair."

[Evelyn Cato]

"It was an eventuality that was bound to happen. I certainly could not stop it, nor would I if the ability was there.

"The only thing we can do is prepare. Prepare ourselves and prepare those around us."

An uplifting smile touched her lips.

"But amidst that, before the horrors begin, we cannot forget to stop every once in a while and enjoy what we have for the time we're allowed. It's a simple action that helps beyond what most would think."

[Veritas]

Not content to dwell on the metaphysics, Henri's brow knit.

"If only I was able to find one of these troublemakers. I would ask them a great many questions."

[Evelyn Cato]

"Henri stop."

It wasn't so much a plea as it was a gentle order. Leaning forward, Evelyn closed the album and pushed it to the side.

"You have found yourself in the lull before whatever storm will be raining down upon our heads. Take advantage of it... "

She smiled then, rising to stand. She'd not been so blind as to see that his old preference for coffee hadn't died.

"... and take me out for coffee."

[Veritas]

Relieved at this, Henri's thin smile emerged momentarily.

"I know a place that will do."

He extended a hand to her own. There was still enough daylight to spend a few hours out, and it would do them both good to take advantage of the fresh air.