Chapter 15: Hollywood Mourns

When Jewel’s phone alarm sounded both she and Cody were sound asleep. She rolled onto her side and fished for the phone before finally finding it and swiping the screen to silence the increasing noise. Cody rolled onto his side and pulled a pillow over his head.

Jewel showered and dressed without Cody making any movement. After she ate breakfast she returned to the bedroom and heard his light snore.

She kissed him on the cheek and said, “Off to work. Have a good day.”

He grunted, turned his head, and gave her a kiss on the lips.

“Have a good day, too. See you tonight. I’ll start that tuna we got yesterday if that sounds good?”

“Perfect,” she said with another kiss.

She slipped out the door as he collapsed back onto the bed.

Cody slept in another hour, then rose and dressed. He also had a small breakfast. As he ate his toast and peanut butter he thought about the plan he concocted the previous night when he explored Vivian’s house. After reflection, he still thought it was a solid plan.

At ten minutes to the hour Cody stopped time and teleported to Vivian’s house. He found her in the pool just like she said in her text message to Bobby. She was wearing a tiny bikini and sitting in one of the small curved chairs in the shallow tanning end of the pool. She had pulled the chair to the edge so her legs could dangle into the deeper water.

Vivian had her phone in her left hand and she was peering intently at the screen. It was a gossip website detailing the latest rumors from her current film. She had a smirk on her face. The top of her suit was pulled aside and one nipple was exposed. Her right hand was resting between her legs. It looked like she was entertaining herself before Bobby arrived.

Cody walked around the pool. With the new position of her chair, his plan was going to need a bit of a tweak. He stopped and scanned the pool intently. He began to nod his head as an updated plan started to form. It would take an extra step or two but it would work.

Cody stripped. He then slid into the pool. The water was warm and it felt inviting on Cody’s naked body. He swam to wear Vivian’s legs dipped into the deeper water. He set a micro-action, took a deep breath, grasped her feet and pulled. He started time for the pull to take effect then immediately stopped it again.

Vivian had come off her chair and was falling into the deep water. He needed to set two more micro-actions. First, he swam to a raft that was floating nearby. He pulled the lead line used to tie it to rail so that it would end up on top of Vivian. He climbed over the falling body and set another action. He grasped the sides of her head and made sure it struck the ledge between the shallow and deep water forcefully.

He restarted time once again and let it run for a few seconds. Vivian’s head had indeed struck the pool ledge with force. He could see a small bit of blood coming from the base of her neck. To avoid any surprises, he made sure the raft that had floated toward Vivian would be directly over her if she tried to surface. As a final insurance he wrapped the lead line around her neck so that she would not be able to get out from under the rubber raft.

When time started again, Cody was dressed and invisible. He stood off to the side of the yard and watched. Vivian was submerged in the water and was making no movement.

Bobby arrived just as he said he would, probably expecting to get naked with his lover in the pool. Instead, he saw blood seeping out from under the raft. He threw it aside and then jumped into the pool to rescue Vivian. He pulled her to the surface and half onto the pool deck. From her pallor it was clear she was dead, at least to Cody.

Cody teleported back to Jewel’s apartment knowing that the job was done.

With Jewel at work, Cody turned on the television and started a fresh pot of coffee. He sat at the table and did a little bit of his official work to keep up appearances. Just before lunch the television show that was playing in the background was interrupted with a breaking news alert: A well-known actress was found drowned in her swimming pool.

Cody shifted his attention for a moment to see that the news station really did not have anything to say other than Vivian Baller was dead from drowning in her pool.

The rest of the afternoon went quickly. Cody did a few chores at the apartment and then pulled out the food to start dinner. He had just put vegetables on the counter to dice when time stopped.

“You fucked up,” said Elaine with no preamble. “It was a great idea, and almost a flawless execution. It’ll fool the cops for sure but it will not fool Orion.”

“Orion!” shouted Cody. “Who the fuck is this Orion? You mentioned them before, but why should I give a shit?”

Elaine kept her cool as Cody began to rant. When he paused she said, “Please, have a seat and I’ll tell you everything I know. Remember, I have only been with The Onyx a bit longer than you so I don’t have too many answers.”

Cody paused as if undecided to continue his rant or listen to Elaine and have a seat. He chose the latter and stomped to a chair in the living room. He sat heavily and glared at Elaine. She sat gently on the couch.

“Orion is basically an anti-Onyx. They have been fighting us for millennia. They do not think we have the right to indiscriminately kill so they are trying to destroy The Onyx.”

This was far more than Cody had ever heard and Elaine had his undivided attention.