End Of the Road

OOC: JP with LaserSexPanther & Jaxx

"Not local," Sasha began "it's far above their paygrade, and their knowledge of such situations is lacking." She looked at the Doctor. "Besides a few eyes and ears on the payroll the only ones involved are The Order." Sasha explained. "On the subject of living specimens however, it is reasonable to believe that they are using connections on the black market, smuggling the animals in. We'd need to mount a search of any trade ships that would pass by places where particular aggressive species call home and which of those ship would be capable of transport." she was on a roll and it was clear that when she spoke quickly her accent was thicker. Though we have yet to get conformation of this I believe it to be both. That he does batch test. Buying prisoners a prisoners death sentence, corrupt officials would do such a thing. He or she will be dead, if they vanish and are killed by a mad scientist what is the difference at the end of the day?" Sasha asked. "Test the aggression enhancer on someone already aggressive, to see where the upper limitations lie, then test it on an average John and see where it takes a meek and unassuming person."

Dr. Jackal dropped his jaw as he looked at Sasha after he listened to her perspective. He was both impressed and shocked by the logic she used to to come to her possible conclusions. He then spoke up as he replied, "Uhhh... yeah..... you would make a terrifying scientist Ms. Lagrave or an amazing detective. However your logic holds a lot of weight. Till I can verify any samples or evidence we can only plan for possibilities for now. Since I am in the dark on this "Order" you belong to I have no idea what's involved, but if you have the time and resources you should investigate the morgue, and any ships, trains and caravans shipping exotic animals for now. I'll make a list of the ingredients I used in my serum and perhaps you can find anyone who would sell them, especially the rare stuff. If you have anyone connected to the Black Market, it would be wise to check their as well. As for a large number of people to experiment on you may want to check if any small towns had any epidemics in the last five years or suffered a massive population loss. Since they have lower security they can be exploited." Dr. Jackal rubbed his temples and sighed as he had a bad feeling Sasha would find something related to his suggestions.

As Jackal spoke Sasha wordlessly worked her jaw as she nodded, seeming to repeat what he said after he said it. Making mental notes of where to work when they arrived and what to tell The Order if he forgot. "Thank you, Docteur." she said after he finished. "I've been told that before. My job requires I know much about both Animal and Man." Sasha said, pausing seemingly pondering what to say next. "Making constellations of things." she said seemingly unsure if that was the word she wanted to use. "Connecting tiny little dots to make a detailed picture." she said. "I know from previous jobs the constabulary can be easily corrupted, and I know you can get nearly anything on the black market so long as you can pay." she gave a small look at the doctor to indicate more of what she mean. "On the subject of The Order," she said quickly changing the subject, "They will fill you in when we arrive. I do not mean disrespect in saying this and you seem sold as of this moment, but we...or they need to sure you are fully with us before allowing much information to be given."

Dr. Jackal nodded as he looked at the floor. He was in no position to push his luck considering his bad position as of now. He looked up at Sasha as he replied, "That is......understandable. To be honest I am not expecting anything other than the pardon for my cooperation. I am not in any position to "rock the boat" sort of speak. To be honest I lost all my credibility the moment my experiment went South. I have no family, no lovers, no friends, no money, no work, no affiliations, no backers, no merits, no goals, no freedom, no humanity, no soul or choice but to consent to your requests." Dr. Jackal chuckled as he thought about his state in life as he said, "I can't even die."

Sasha gave the doctor a long look. "You might have a demon with a death grip on your soul, but you do not lack humanity, Docteur." Sasha said, calmly and gently. "I watched you," she said. "You helped a man with a broken leg to whom you owed nothing and asked for nothing. Someone without humanity would have taken every bit of coin they could from him, leaving the man with nothing and more so than that. Who knows if he will be able to work a job the same way again? Who can say if he'd ever be able to get back on his feel financially after something like that?" Sasha said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "You can believe that fact or disregard it, the choice of your own self worth is yours alone to decide. But just keep that fact in mind." Sasha saw the look on Dr. Jackal's face and chose to add some brevity to the situation. "Besides Lovers aren't all they are cracked up to be." she gave him a look that was easy to see she was smirking a little. Sasha went back to reading but after a short moment of heavy quite she closed the book. "Did you say you can't die?"

Dr. Jackal smirked at her brevity. He found her sharp wit humorous despite the dark tone to it. He was nervous to discuss this but it was something he needed to get off his chest for a long time. He sighed and then spoke up timidly as he said, "Five years of living like a vagrant with a demon inside while on the run from the law does things to the mind. As each day went on I could feel the depression slowly weigh on my soul and mind. I am ashamed to admit this, but I hit a real low point in my life and just wanted to end it all." Dr. Jackal sighed again before he looked up at Sasha with pained eyes as he said, "I tried many ways to die only to get stopped by the other guy. I drank poisons, jumped off buildings, overdosed on drugs and alcohol, slit my wrists and even put a gun to my mouth........and every time the other guy interfered. He won't let me die. After that I figured I would I try to atone for my sins. So what you saw when I was freelancing as a backstreet doctor was just hopeful wishing. I'm just a sinner looking for penance in some way." Then Dr. Jackal looked out the window and muttered, "Maybe one day I might find a new purpose."

"I've killed a lot of people." Sasha said almost too matter of fact. "Sinners the church would call them, I just call them monsters." she said coldly, "Men who do horrific things to children and women." in a flash she had her garrote in her hands. "Loop and pull." she said miming the motion. "Knee just above the lower back or if they are bigger a kick to the muscle and vein running down the back of the knee and you just ride out the thrashing." she said, her manner very clinical. "Those men, 'Sinners' you'd call them, lacked a redeeming quality, you in my opinion aren't that, you feel remorse for the bad you've done. Men who become true monsters do not." she put the garrote back in her coat. "Désolée Docteur, I did not mean to be so grim."

Dr. Jackal chuckled a bit. He spoke up, "You are very considerate for one in your line of work. I'm almost afraid to ask how you ended up in this line of work, but that would be overstepping my bounds. I can see why they sent you to bring me in. I wouldn't be surprised if my new employer had more employees like you to keep me in check.....................but just so you know I am very willing to comply to whatever rules my new employer demands. Granted my word of honor couldn't get me a cup of coffee in a poor church these days but I am serious about making amends."

Sasha shrugged. "I do not mind telling you. My father taught me, he was a hunter like me." she pointed to her hat. "This was his hat. A bit ripped in places but it's a mark and and honor to wear. Most of what he taught me was more to defend myself against such men, but when he noticed my talent for the work he taught me more and more. Now I carry his legacy." She said, "Though my gender at times does complicate matters, one benefit of The Order is they don't mind other employers did." she said.

Dr. Jackal was a bit curious as Sasha quickly shared that personal information. He replied, "I see.......... even one with your skills has their own troubles. I must admit this Order is rather curious in many ways. However I am curious as to this Legacy of Monster Hunters. I don't recall many in my situation so what monsters would you hunt?"

"Myself?" Sasha questioned "I've hunted a fair number of monsters. Undead, living dead, a werewolf or two. Though my bailiwick tends to me the more dangerous game, man." she said. "Thing about the other things that dwell in the dark, they no matter their intelligence tend to have a primal drive, not necessarily a need, think of it as instinct or intuition. Undead, hunger for flesh, vampires for blood, what ever it might be doesn't really matter, they require it for their survival. Man tends to want, they take they are greedy, their drive is gratification. It could be sexual, it could be for power, it could be cruelty, the list goes on. Man, humans are a danger because they want, and when they get that want they want more, and more and more." she said looking the doctor in the eyes. "And those kinds of men become sick and bloated with bile. Even if you can't see it even if it's a metaphor. The things man does for their own gratification is what makes me hunt them."

Dr. Jackal was taken back by Sasha's lifestyle. It was clear she would hunt just about anything that went bump in the night. Her devotion to her job was impressive. He chuckled then replied, "Wow...... That is dedication. Before my failed experiment the most I killed was a bug or two that snuck into my lab. Now...... I.............wish it was different. Sometimes I get nightmares from what the other guy did. Its a lot like watching a play from someone's eyes and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I have to wait till he gets tired so I can get back in control. Its like a demented game of tag." Dr. Jackal seemed curious as he looked at Sasha and asked, "Does your job ever make it hard to sleep?"

"Sometimes." Sasha said, "Only when a job is less than ideal. Like a child turned monster, or a woman I don't get to in time and they are too injured to move, and the only help I can give is to make the death quick." She said pained.

Dr. Jackal nodded as he understood that pain. He lived with that pain each time his inner demon that he referred to as "The Other Guy" or "Big Red", would take a life. He replied, "Yeah..............I still can't deal well with that part." Then he sighed as he felt he needed to change this mournful topic. After a minute of looking out the window, he asked, "So what hobbies do you do............... outside your job that is?"

"I do a fair amount of reading." Sasha said, "Both academic and not." she added, "What about you Docteur, what did you do before you became a wanted man?"

Dr. Jackal smirked as he nodded. He was surprised that a monster hunter would enjoy such a hobby. Perhaps it helped her avoid dark thoughts while distracting her mind with a good read. He remembered reading with his mother as a kid and how she would entertain him with a bed time story. Sadly after she passed on he lost interest in books for fun and only read science books, journals and dissertations since then. He rubbed his temples as he recalled the painful memory of loosing his mother. He replied, "Mostly science related stuff. I haven't read anything else in a long time. I guess I was so consumed by my work I stopped taking pleasure in the simple things in life. Now that I have been deprived of them............" Dr. Jackal looked out the window for a dramatic pause before finishing his sentence, "I miss those things. I miss showers, coffee, hot and good food, clean water, a bed, clean clothing and even a good book. I guess you don't know what you have till its gone. As I was focused on my research I forgot the little things in life that make it good. Sadly since I am like this now.....I will be denied some of those things I took for granted."

Sasha leaned forward and grabbed a leather satchel from the floor of the carriage. Pulling out a book with the title 'The Brothers Karamazov' scrawled across its face, and place the medical text she'd shown him before. Sasha looked at them for a moment. "Docteur, you may borrow these." she said offering them over. "I very much doubt you are caught up on the latest in medical research, the the other one is for just for the pleasurer of reading. If you don't find it to your liking after giving it a few chapters I'll glad let you look at my other books. Find something you can enjoy." she tapped her temple, "Keeps the mind sharp."

Dr. Jackal looked at Sasha with a bit of confusion as he accepted her loaner books. He replied, “Ummmm thank you. I’ll be careful with them..”. He looked at the book covers and spines before he put them to the side next to him. He gave Sasha a small smile and a nod as he replied, “It may be best for me to wash up before my dirty hands soil the pages.” Then he wondered something before he spoke up again, “This does make me wander where I will be staying during my employment.” Dr. Jackal was looking at Sasha for a possible answer but she then told him they had arrived at Elizabeth's estate. He was a bit nervous as he looked like crap at the moment. Hopefully he could get properly groomed before meeting his new employer.

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