17: A Formitable Foe

Always keep your foes confused. If they are never certain
who you are or what you want, they cannot know
what you are like to do next. Sometimes the best way
to baffle them is to make moves that
have no purpose, or even seem to work against you.

George R.R. Martin

Logan approached Ioana, still exiting her vehicle. “What do we know about this one?”

“Not much. They provided the basics, and as usual, you have the right to refuse if you don’t like the situation, but it seems dire. The lead priests will explain, as they’ve been here a couple of days already, but the victim is older and much stronger. Rémy’s serious this time, and he’s specifically asking about you!”

“Yeah, it was clear he wasn’t overly fond of me, and he’s obviously determined I’m the linchpin, orchestrating and directing everyone. This time, if he attacks, let Leslie defend me, but maintain your assault. I suspect our letting up once he went after me was a serious miscalculation and was part of his plan to disrupt and unsettle us.”

“That’ll be tough,” Jie said. “Image if he attacked one of us. Could you ignore the threat and pretend nothing was happening?”

He frowned. “No, I don’t think I—”

Jie froze. “Uh, guys, we ... have company!”

They all turned, staring at her. “We left Mattie and Rosie at home,” she continued, “but they’re here now. What should we do?”

“Matilda, Rosetta, what are you doing here?” Ioana turned toward him. “It seems they’ve been talking. Mattie explained how she was injured and how worried you were, but they insist on accompanying us. They ... they feel they’re members of our team, and refuse to be sidelined, as couldn’t live with themselves if one of you were hurt while they stood idle.”

“Fair enough,” Logan conceded, addressing them directly. “Just watch where you’re standing and don’t get between Leslie and the rest of us. And rather than attacking Rémy personally, do what we’ve been doing, diminishing his energy. If our assaults are coming from multiple directions, he’ll focus on me again, leaving the others to continue. If so, it’ll likely confuse him, and he’ll end his attack against me relatively quickly. In fact, position yourselves beside Jie, facing us so you won’t be impacted by our actions or come under fire.”

“They like your plan, and say they’ll follow it. Personally, I like it too,” Ioana volunteered. “It creates a multidimensional onslaught, weakening Rémy’s main strategy. But I suggest you stay in the back, so you and Leslie won’t impact anyone else while resisting him. Your sister’s power is amazing, but it’s frightening as hell!”

Logan seemed thoughtful, so recognizing how he processed things, they left him to consider it, never knowing what insights he’d conjure up.

“Ah, here they are,” she said, as two men and two younger teenagers come out to greet them.

“Andrea and Antonio,” Logan said. “It’s great seeing you again. I take it your being here isn’t entirely random. And who are your friends? Wait, isn’t that Jonnie and Tristan?”

“They’re the main Vatican experts in this field,” Ioana said, before they could respond, “and struggled with Rémy before.”

“Ioana asked us to come,” Jonnie said. “to observe your techniques. We’re eager to assist.”

“Geez, it was bad enough with the five of us, but now we’ll be tripping over ourselves whenever we turn around.”

“Not necessarily.” Ioana threw her arm around the two younger kids, hugging them. “They’re taking over the camera work for Andrea and Antonio, so they can concentrate on extracting the victim. I’ve instructed them to keep in the back, so they won’t be injured or accidentally get in the way.”

“We don’t mind the risk,” Tristan said. “We need to learn how to handle these cases, and the sooner we do, the safer we’ll all be.”

“That’s fine,” Logan said, considering it. “But I want you to ensure you remain clear of everyone else. I like this multi-pronged idea, as it should keep Rémy off-guard. But rather than standing around while recording us, I’d prefer if you remained near Andrea and Antonio, and strengthen Jacques. But, if and when he attacks us, focus on him, as it’ll distract him, not knowing where to turn.

“This will be confusing, and no one will know what’s happening, but as long as everybody protects themselves, I’m confident we’ll avoid hurting one another. We’ll surely come away with injuries, potentially serious ones, but if we all fixate on our individual tasks, Rémy’s unlikely to escape again. But whatever happens, this ends today. We can’t allow this freak of nature to go on tormenting innocent individuals!”

Everyone agreed, nodding their assent, so they headed back to their cars as the priests outlined what they faced. Anton handing them a reduced photocopied blueprint of the victim’s home. “Jacques Rappo is a martial arts fighter. He’s been struggling lately and dropped out of competition a while back. But his family reported he was acting strangely, and they sought their local priest after he started demanding they bring you to him.”

“Rappo?” Jie pressed.

Andrea shrugged. “It’s a stage name, so there’s no history behind it. Jones is his actual surname.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t have the pull something more exotic would. Any idea of his underlying condition?”

“Best we can tell, depression, though it seems too simplistic. Personally, I suspect that diagnosis was based on something he’s done, as he never discussed it with his family.”

“That could be why he was receptive to Rémy, feeling he deserved punishment.”

“The layout is a lot cleaner,” Leslie said. “There’s no back deck and thus no stairs to get caught on. It’s not a straight passage through the house, but there aren’t any blind spots either.”

They drove to the house, taking several vehicles while following the Vatican-based priests. Ioana glanced into the backseat. “We need to figure out what’s providing the energy he keeps tapping into. There’s no way he could’ve recovered this quickly, nor been able to fight you off so efficiently before. At first, I didn’t buy the theology about demonic possession, but there’s clearly an aspect we’re not aware of.”

“We have a lot more people now,” Jie argued. “Do you think it will be enough to counter his bigger size?”

“No, I agree with Ioana.” Logan stared, unseeing, out the side window, listening, but his attention somewhere else. “There’s something else at play here. Something which keeps him going, where any other spirit would have faded long ago. And until we identify it and determine how to combat it, it’ll be tough just avoiding getting killed. And the extra people make it more complicated. With so many moving bodies, there are multiple things which can go wrong. There are too many unknowns with so many people.”

“So, what’s our strategy?” Aiesha asked, rolling her eyes. “Wait outside again, or file in, one by one, until he gets bored and heads out for a snack?”

“No, we’ll need to survey the situation,” Ioana said. “I trust Andrea and Antonio, but they can’t detect what we can. Besides, rather than a fragile young girl, he’s got a strapping fighter. Given he fell for our ‘lure him out’ maneuver before, I doubt he will again, especially since he can wait us out this time. The key is Logan. He views him as our most vulnerable element, waiting till he has a clear shot before attacking him, giving us time to prepare.”

“I hope so,” Leslie said, studying her brother. “But at this point, none of us can really guess what Rémy’s thinking. He was unpredictable before, and now he’s had time to consider our weaknesses and plot his revenge.”

“Bring me the Logan kid!” Rémy screamed, thrashing against his restraints forcefully enough to jiggle the bed in a series of mini hops. His family huddled outside, holding each other, terrified of what he might do.

The door opened and Jie and Ioana entered, joining the two priests, shortly after the two younger kids joined them, everyone separating. “Rémy, what is it you’re looking for?” Ioana pressed, as she and Jie examined him closely. “What are you hoping to—”

The door swung open, slamming against the far wall as Logan strode in, stopping short of the mattress. “Hey asshole, who the hell taught you?”

“Logan? You shouldn’t be here yet,” Jie cautioned.

“Especially not without backup,” Ioana echoed, but Logan waved them both off, focusing on his nemesis.

Rémy ceased struggling, staring at the latest intruder. “Huh?”

“Can it! For as typically as you behave, you’re unlike other spirits. You’re more thoughtful, more rational. You fight it, but you’re not like most ghosts, who remain obsessed with what kept them here in the first place. So, who was it?”

“He’s pretty single minded,” Jie argued, as the other pod-members peered hesitantly through the door, unsure of the plan now.

“No, he’s not,” Ioana observed, her eyes dilating with the discovery. “Every time he responds, he stops to consider it. He screams and carries on, but he’s canny. It’s a ploy. It’s not who he really is.”

“So, who was it?” Logan pressed, seemingly unconcerned with any threat he posed, as the others filtered into the room, assuing their previously assigned positions, though unsure what they were supposed to do.

“There’s no one! I want revenge, and I’ll—”

“Cut the crap, Rémy! No one’s buying it.” Logan’s face was as stressed as his foe’s, his forehead wrinkling and temples bulging. “There is only one type of ghost who retains their rationality once they die. So, who was she?”

“Martha Fricks!” he shouted, snarling, rattling the bed again, causing those nearby to jump, but Logan remained passive, waiting.

“And why are you so angry at her? What did she do to you?”

“SHE LEFT!” he screamed, sounding like someone was ripping his heart out. “She told me she’d make things better. That she’d always be there for me, and she disappeared, abandoning me forever!”

“Really?” Logan circled round the mattress, staring at him and facing Jie and Ioana on the other side. “You can’t conceive of anything besides abandonment? There are thousands of things which might have happened. Hell, we almost eliminated the first ghost we confronted. She’d grown huge and presented too much of a risk. It was only after Ioana intervened that we learned she was like us.”

“I know!” Rémy snarled, his voice once more ice cold, seeing nothing but his designated foe.

“So, rather than waiting, or seeking assistance from someone else, you sought those like us to ensure they abandoned anyone depending on them? Have you ever considered Martha was eradicated by someone like you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he growled. “All that does is every one of you dies! I sold my soul for the power to destroy you, and I can never turn back. It is forever forfeit, all that remains is killing you and everyone you love!”