~The Hunter~
The thread was finally unraveling.
It had been bound up so tightly: his heart. When the pieces of it threatened to scatter into disjointed fragments at the base of his ribcage, he took out the thin twine. He wrapped it, looped it, tied it - did everything he could to keep the punctured fragments of the organ together. When it threatened to skip a beat, he added another layer, another loop. Bethany had started to undo the knot like a kid opening a present on Christmas morning. He let her because he thought he was the gift. He thought she would be happy to finally be his. Then, she delivered the fatal blow.
Standing there in the entryway of his parents house, staring at the door she had walked out of, he felt the string snap.
He hadn't realized it but all this time, things were leading up to this one moment. Everyone had to have been following their cues like actors on a stage. Each of them delivered blows to Grayson's gut only to step back and show the audience how close he was getting to reaching his limit. All he needed was for someone to understand him. He needed someone to be on his side. Instead, he had a room full of people that knew he was in over his head.
His heart was shattered but those pieces refused to remain purposeless at the bottom of his stomach. They were dissolved by his stomach acid, liquifying in the heat of his anger and then cooling in the bitterness of his soul. It was molded into a different shape. It had a different drive. The determination that had kept him striving for the day he'd see Beth again had pivoted to an idea that he had tried to hide from himself. It was an action he knew would define him forever. His story would no longer be the one of a hero saving a princess or an adventure or a romance or a horror.
It would be a tale of revenge.
He couldn't do it alone.
He marched back into the dining room, ignoring the wide eyes that were glued to him. His mother began to say something, something that was supposed to be comforting or soothing. She should have known he was far past that.
"I need your car keys." It was a statement not a question. His father glanced at where they were hanging beside the mail rack.
"I don't think you should go chase after her -"
"I'm not chasing after her." Grayson pulled the keys off the hook and marched towards the door. He could feel his new heart thumping against his chest with a renewed vigor. "Never again."
The police station was bustling. Everyone appeared to be more busy than usual, ironic as they never seemed to be when Bethany was still missing. He quickly discovered why through a quick chat with the man at the front desk. He informed Grayson that the superiors were visiting. This was his chance to kick up some dust.
He maneuvered through detectives, their comically giant stacks of paperwork and the desks shaking with the clacking of computer keys. Detective Brendan's desk was the one that lacked personality. No pictures of his 'missing' wife or the son he had to be very proud of. It brought a smile to his face to think that he had enough information to ruin his whole life. Maybe he would do that sometime but for now he needed to ruin his son's. He wanted the Beast, dead or alive.
The detective visibly paled at the sight of him. "What? What could you possibly want now?"
He appreciated that the detective had cut the professional charade. "He's still out there."
"We're aware of that." Brendan glanced at the other detectives surrounding them that had lifted their heads from their work to listen in on their conversation. He placed a pen behind his ears and interlaced his fingers together with a tight smile. "We're working on it tirelessly."
"I know how to catch him."
"Or maybe you've watched too many true crime shows."
A man in gray slacks and a blue button up approached the two of them. There was a pen in his hand that he spun around like a batton. His gray hair was full and the creases between his eyebrows were deep. When he was in proximity, everyone buried their faces in whatever it was they were doing. This was the man that was going to be his greatest ally.
"What's going on here?"
Grayson dared not give Detective Brendan a chance to speak. "I live with Bethany Rodriguez, victim of the Beast. She's told me things about what happened that I think can aid the capture of the Beast."
The man's white eyebrows shot up as he leaned in closer. "Things she hasn't told the police? What kind of things?"
"She's been trying to process what happened and remember things." Grayson took a breath, choosing his words carefully. He wouldn't let his eagerness mess up this integral part of the plan. "I think the Beast had some twisted affection for Bethany. If he thought she was in trouble, he'd come running."
"Captain Jacobs, sir, I should speak with you privately." Brendan stood up from his desk, rubbing his sweaty palms on his pants. "This young man is very troubled and I don't think -"
Jacobs lifted a finger, silencing Brendan. "Now, Detective, you've been on this case for two years and have not made a single ounce of progress in identifying or detaining this vigilante. If this man says he has some information that may be helpful, it is in your best interest to hear him out."
Grayson felt the muscles in his chest tighten. He could taste the restoration of justice. He could see the Beast surrounded and shaking with fear.
"What's your name?" Jacobs asked, really looking at him, really seeing him.
"Grayson Li."
"Well, Mr.Li," he said, escorting him into one of the private offices, "I want to hear what you have to say. Tell me everything. Don't leave anything out."
As the door closed behind them, Grayson felt something else closing inside of him. Something was being finalized, sealed, permanently etched into him. What he did in the last few minutes had secured something within himself that would be incredibly difficult, if not, impossible to undo or erase. He was stepping into something that would engulf him like flames drenched in gasoline. He was saying goodbye to something.
He just wasn't certain what it was.
~Beauty~
For the first time in years, Bethany was finding solace in her mother.
After the ruined brunch she had spent an hour in the parking lot of a frozen yogurt shop - the frozen yogurt spot Grayson and her used to go to. She sat there crying and feeling miserable for herself. She cried over the friendships she had lost, over how much she missed Teigan, and over how she couldn't seem to fit back into the life that had once been hers. The world had kept spinning without her in her rightful place and now that she was trying to squeeze herself back into it she had a hard time keeping up. Especially, with the added pressure of Grayson. She wouldn't have expected an outburst like that from him in a million years. It proved something was horribly wrong with him.
Bethany sniffled. The apartment smelt of lavender and springtime. The springtime was nice and all but it brought a lot of rain - tons of rain. Beth's life was flooded with it.
Her mother bit her nails, her expression as stunned as the Li's had been. "I can't believe he did that."
It was reliving that her mother was still managing to keep her sobriety. She was holding down her job with no issues, paying all the bills on time, and staying far from the shady figures that had feeded into her bad habits. While Beth did not allow herself to fully revel in her mother's victory for fear that it might turn out to be short lived, she did appreciate the little stability it provided for her. Perhaps it was naive of Beth to think that she would come back and be the only one a little broken. Of course, Grayson had been hurting. Of course, it had messed him up. He loved her and she had been in danger of dying.
She wished she could have helped him with that hurt.
"I might have to stay with you for a couple of days, if that's alright. Until I can find a new place."
Living on her own wasn't an option for Beth as it would be too expensive but neither was remaining with her mother. Even if she was clean, that bridge had been burned. When Beth had mentioned she was moving out of her mother's place, Carina said that she would always have a place to stay with her. Carina said she wouldn't mind having a roommate to knock off the rent a little bit.
"Whatever you need, sweetie." Her mother lifted her arm as if to stroke her daughter's hair. It was a display of affection that went back to the years where it wouldn't follow an apology for being late or messing up - but an action of comfort after patching up a skinned knee or missing toy. But Bethany wasn't back there yet. Her mother dropped her arm.
"Grayson is a good man. He probably needs time to process the trauma and grief he had been carrying for so long apart from you. This might be the wake up call he needs."
"You're right. He'll come back to himself eventually." Beth got up, deciding it would be best to hang up her jean jacket that was soggy from the rain. As she passed the hallway to reach the coat rack, she noticed several new picture frames hung on the wall. She focused on the one with her father in it. He had Beth on his shoulders as they walked the Coney Island Boardwalk with Luna Park in the background. The image filled her with warmth.
"You put the pictures of him back up."
Her mother smiled. "It still hurts to look at them but I refuse to numb that pain anymore."
A pounding at the door startled them both. Bethany took a look through the peephole to see a badge. Instinctively, she was staring at her mother, wondering what she could have done to get the police on her. Stealing from her job? Possession of illegal substances? She knew their Brady Bunch moment wouldn't last long.
"Mrs.Rodriguez, I'm Detective Jacobs and I'm looking for your daughter Bethany." His eye was magnified through the peephole, comically enlarging it. "Could you open up, please?"
Bethany stepped back, her hand on her chest. The only reason they could have for wanting to speak with her was to ask about the Beast. Yet, they had already interviewed her. Had they found evidence to support their theory that she had been an accomplice to his crimes?
Her mother joined her as she opened the door.
"I'm Bethany," she said, extending her hand for the officer. He was dressed in business casual attire, with a thick head of white hair. He shook it with a firm grasp.
"My name is Detective Jacobs." A few other officers stood behind him. Beth felt a knot forming in her stomach. "We have a plan to capture the Beast. We believe that you could help to rid the city of the threat he poses. All we require of you is that you stay in the police station for the next few hours."
Her fist curled at her sides as she felt all her muscles tense. She had never anticipated she would be approached by the police again. Maybe news reporters, journalists, filmmakers - but she had thought her time aiding the police gather information on Tiegan would be over the second she proved herself to know nothing of use. Sitting at the station was barely asking anything of her but if it meant Teigan would be at risk- she didn't want to do it.
How could she refuse the police? She couldn't.
Her mother had found her voice before Beth could. It was probably for the best seeing as her ignorance of who the Beast truly was kept her from having her words dripping in terror like Beth's would be.
"What are you going to do?"
"We are going to issue a news broadcast that Mrs.Rodriguez is being held hostage and use it as bait for the Beast. We have reason to believe that he may have a special interest in Bethany that would lure him to come to her rescue." Jacobs adjusted his blazer, his sharp eyes landing on Beth. "Would you agree?"
She opened her mouth but couldn't seem to get a full coherent sentence out. "I -"
"That's alright. All we ask is that you cooperate as we try it out." He turned to the men with him. "We have a car out front to escort you."
She grabbed her jacket off the rack, lips stuck together and brain frozen on the image of Teigan being lured into a trap. She shook out her hands as she followed the police to the elevator. It would be unhelpful of her to simply go along with everything without doing anything to warn Teigan.
She could tell Carina! Carina could warn him not to show up - that Beth was okay and it was all a hoax.
She pulled out her phone. Her fingers swiped and tapped against the screen as the police formed a circle around her in the elevator.
"Oh, we'll need to take that," Jacobs said, holding out his hand for her device. "We want everyone to believe you've been taken into captivity to ensure the best chance at success."
Her heart fell to her stomach.
With all eyes on her, she dropped Tiegan's only means of protection into the palm of his hand.
A few hours later, she was sitting on a chair in an interrogation room with a TV monitor rolled in on a cart. She watched as a news anchor from the city's most viewed news channel sat at her desk, reading Teigan's death sentence off of a teleprompter. When she saw the picture they had taken of her: tied up to a chair in a dark room - she felt her stomach lurch.
The news anchor went on, "Her captors do not want money. They want to meet the Beast for themselves. They have stated that if he does not arrive at their designated location within 12 hours, Bethany Rodriguez will be killed."