Bitemarks 3.7

Bitemarks 3.7

There was a ringing sound somewhere near Ed and he fished around in the well beneath the handbrake and pulled out a mobile phone and answered it. It was Alf on the other end.
"Ed? Where's Beauclair?"
"In the backseat." said Ed, glancing in the rearview mirror at the prone form of the elderly vampire. "He's not looking so hot."
"I've cleared the main entrance for you Ed. I'll talk you through the route."


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Ed wasn't the only one on the move. Skarletta too was driving, making her way south. She'd taken the liberty earlier of memorising the basic layout of the globe and she knew where she had to go. There were many aspects of modern life she was still unsure of but something told her speed was critical. Her plan was pretty simple. She would ditch the car when she hit the southern coast, make her way across the Channel and acquire another vehicle once in France. Depending on the condition of her ship and the presence, or not, of the device she would have to consider her options once she reached that point. For now she had David left behind as one distraction and the shopkeeper as a second. With any luck they would spawn more and a cascade would begin. It wasn't ideal for her ultimate purpose but she could deal with that later.


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Ed revved the sports car along the dirt road that led to the Bureau's primary entrance. It wasn't long before he could see it looming up ahead of him, a hangar like entrance embedded in the base of the mountains. Private armed soldiers guarded the entrance but they had already been warned of Ed's arrival. The barrier was raised and Ed drove straight in, sliding the car to a stop. A group of people raced towards him, one shoving a gurney. They helped Beauclair from the back of the vehicle, looking pale and disoriented and loaded him onto the trolley. He was wheeled off as Alf approached Ed.
"I didn't send him, Ed. It was his idea."
"What was he doing here?"
"All in good time. First we need to take care of you. We've already got someone breaking into the police computers to remove your fingerprints and mugshot but we can't be too careful."
A young woman, probably in her mid twenties stepped forward.
"Ed, this is Caroline Rebert. A makeup artist we employ for such occasions. She'll look after you. I'll be in Briefing Room five when you're done."
Caroline smiled warmly.
"Come with me Ed. It's time to give you a makeover."
Ed followed Caroline as she led him off to one of the labs. It had been emptied of most obstructions and a large mirror set up against one wall. A lone scientist sat tapping away on a laptop. Caroline offered Ed a seat and he sat down.
"What exactly...?" he began.
"It's ok, Ed. I'm just going to make some temporary changes to your appearance. Alf tells me both the police and the army will be looking for you so we'll have to make a pretty drastic change to your usual appearance. First things first though."
The scientist stood up and came over.
"Dr Goeber." he introduced himself. "Your fingerprints will be off the police files soon enough and perhaps even the army's too but in the meantime, we can't be too careful." He reached over the table for a small glass bottle and a swab. "This is a compound we developed a couple of years ago. It works like acid. It's strong on a local scale but weak overall. It will take off your fingerprints, for a couple of weeks or so. It's painless, look."
He dipped the swab in the bottle and smeared it across one of his index fingers.
"It doesn't look like anything's happening." said Ed.
"It takes a few minutes." said Goeber. He showed Ed the index finger on his other hand. The finger was smooth where the print would usually be and a lighter shade of pink.
"It looks like a burn." said Ed.
"It is, really." said Goeber, "Although on a much smaller scale destructively. It will feel soft but no pain and after a week the soft skin will be replaced with your usual print coming through once more."
Ed offered his hand.
"Go ahead."
Goeber painted each one of Ed's fingers and his thumbs with the compound and applied sticking plasters over them.
"Keep the plasters on for an hour." he said, "That will be long enough."
"And now my turn." said Caroline, pointing Ed towards the mirror. "I'm afraid this hair is going to have to go." she told him, running her fingers through his locks.
Ed sighed.
"Do what you have to do."