Present Day

I was slowly roused out of a dream that I was being burnt alive but for some reason I was treating it more as an annoyance than death. I slowly came to as I head the sound of someone trying to navigate the minefield of old plates of food and dirty clothes piles that were strewn around the floor of my generously labelled “Office”.

I tried to crack an encrusted eye but it wouldn’t play ball. I relaxed slightly when I heard them swear softly when they hit one of the piles of clothes that were particularly obstinate. Anyone intent on harm would not be swearing at dirty laundry. I hope.

My good eye managed to finally open and lazily report back an image of Levi Prime coming towards me, hand outstretched to shake me awake. That jarred me to consciousness rapidly.

“I’m up, I’m up” I mumbled, jerking upright in seat.

Avoiding his hand, I waved the man to the only spare seat in the room as I fished out a bottle of gut rot from the box next to me and shook it in his direction.

“Breakfast?”

The walking dead man had the gall to look at me askance. Shrugging I pulled the top off and tried to wake up. It hit the ribs reminding me in no uncertain terms, that yes they were still cracked and yes they were still pissed.

Levi sat there watching me, his bloodshot eyes matching mine as his thoughts visibly assembled themselves.

“You look like shit.”

I looked down, realising I had fallen asleep in my overcoat.

“You don’t look so great yourself mate.” I replied and as he flinched I knew I shouldn’t have said it. The man had lost his wife, his child and his life all in the space of an afternoon, I should probably cut the guy some slack. Anyway, I knew he was not here to enquire on my health and fitness.

“I have not found him yet Levi, have some damn good leads though.”

He shifted as my mind swam back into the current day I realised what I was doing. Spinning the cap back on I disgustedly dropped it back in the box. I nudged aside a pile of books giving me access to the music and put on something to match my mood. A plate of long discarded food was dislodged from the top of the speakers as sound filled the room, thankfully my freshly set nose couldn’t process it. Though from Levi’s reaction I should seriously consider making a charitable donation to my cleaner. God, I wanted another swig. Or burn the place down and start again.

“You had leads last time, why is this any different?” He still sounded like he was speaking from the bottom of a damp well.

“This time, from Bronski.” There was a glint in his eyes. Not hope, that had long since died in the man. A faint spark maybe.

I considered how much to give him, this was a man who could only see the edge if he looked up as he was falling, I didn’t want to be the one who destroyed him. Working my tongue around in my mouth, tasting the gunk from sleep mixing with the rotgut.

I had to stop.

“The Seeker. He ran with the Barley Boys. Last time I thought he was clean, I was looking in all the wrong places. He is as bent as a police captain, he ran with the Boys, learnt the tricks, got into the dodge, stole some glitter and scarpered. He had enough scratch to set up his own runners. But that was not what he was after.” This drew him in closer, a dangerous position to be in on that traitor of an armchair.

“What was he after then?” Levi asked anxiously.

“The Seeker had run with the Barley Boys for a while to get the lay of the land, to understand how a crew should be run. Remember back then they were the only ones who were not filling the streets with bodies.”

Levi nodded impatiently for me to continue.

“I can only assume he had finally learnt how to use the Powers and saw his chance to grab a nice little seed fund.”

Mentioning that the Seeker had learnt how to control the powers was a guess on my part but from the look on Levi Primes face he might need some private time after this.

I ignored the naked yearning on his face and pushed on, “Once he had that seed fund he begun to work on the heads of the groups, all except the Barley Boys and Bronski. I can only guess he was not sure what would happen going up against either crew. For the others it was a simple proposition, work for me or everyone you know and love, anyone you might have even just met in passing, dies. The lower ranks of the crew wouldn’t even need to know that there was a change in leadership so the heads of the crews get to save face. Pretty perfect really.”

I had begun to admire the man, I was still not sure what I was going to do with him even if I managed to find him. However I knew what he would have gone through from the beginning and it could not have been easy. Being a copy of another man and being set on the path of life without a choice. He had overcome the soul crushing ennui of not knowing who you were and what your place in this world was and obviously worked his way into a position of power that was unmatched in this city.

Levi Prime was oblivious to my thoughts as usual and he obviously knew what he was going to do. The same thing he always did. Levi stares at me a little too long for comfort then starts slapping himself. I have my piece cocked and half drawn, sitting across from five new Levis. One of them starts screaming like a gutted pig. Without breaking gaze with me Levi calmly reaches out and runs his fingertips across the newborns face. There is a sucking feeling to my eyes as where a man stood, suddenly there is empty air, the dying sounds still hanging in the room fighting with the music to be heard.

“Lets go pay him a visit.” Levi Prime says as if he had not just snuffed out a mans life in front of me. The copies shuffle around unsure of their new existence.

Shaking my head “Levi, we are not going in blazing to these guys. You asked me to find your Seeker and I will. My way.”

I will admit my skin crawled as eight sleep deprived, slightly crazed eyes stared at me. The Prime closes his, the air shimmers again, and suddenly we are alone.

“Okay.”

Easing the hammer back, I take the bottle out for a swig and offer it to Levi again. He takes it this time.

“What would happen if you created another Prime?” I ask as casually as you can while watching a man kill a bottle and 5 men.

“Never happened before.” A smile starts to play around his lips, a dangerous place to play “Would be a lot of fun finding out.”

He dumps the empty and abruptly stands to leave. “Call me if…” He trails off “Just… call me”

“How is Miranda?” I ask. The door clicks shut. That was my answer I suppose.

The music filling the air, I needed to make my next move I just didn’t know what that was. I felt a slight twinge lying to Levi. Bronski had told me where he thought he was hiding out, the Sunken Grand. A luxury three-story restaurant/smoke den on the edge of Old Town.

The meeting with Bronski had been fruitful, he had a good guess as to where the Seeker was but had no way of confirming it. Except for just showing up at his door…that was not helpful. I had came up with more and more incredibly stupid plans of how to get to the Seeker. Once I realised that I was trying to find a way of getting my hands on a maids outfit I knew I needed a break. No matter what I came up with it would give away that I was finally at the proverbial door and the Seeker would scarper again, just like he had done so many years ago.

That brought me to a stop though. I had always assumed that he kept an eye on my investigation back then and fed me those clues. That I had been sloppy. However, yes, I am a terrible friend and questionable lover but I am a goddamn great detective. How was he always one step ahead of me? I was not shit at my job, even back then I didn’t telegraph what I was doing. I played it close to the chest yet he always knew what I was up to. How?

A sour thought occurred. I tried to dismiss it but as much as it hurt it felt right. I know knew how I could put that ghost to rest and confirm the Seekers hideout in one stroke. I just really did not want to be right.