Right Here

Part 17: The Take Over

"Shut those damn alarms off!" The chief of police calls out to one of his officers. He looks around at some of the injured patients and wonders how things escalated this badly. "I need video cameras pulled now! Jonesey, make sure that everyone is where they're supposed to be. Give me a checklist of every patient, nurse and doctor in this section. If anyone's missing, we need to find them, and if anyone else is hurt or deceased we're going to need more body bags and gurneys.

He stands over a body that is unrecognizable. The blue scrubs are slowly being stained red.

"Poor bastard. Didn't even stand a chance. Miller! See if we can't pull any prints off of this guy. I need to find out exactly who this is. So we can inform his family." The chief of police covers his face briefly with a handkerchief. He's never seen something so gruesome. The man's head is bashed in...No... Stomped in. "I just can't believe that one person has that much strength in their body- let alone the nerve to stomp a man's skull in. This poor bastard didn't stand a chance. Didn't stand a chance at all."

"Chief... There is another body. It's in room 4- H." Looking at his officer, he follows him to 4/H: when they get there, he simply shakes his head at the sight of an older man whose throat is cut open. "We suspect that he took his own life."

"How? There's nothing sharp enough in his room to cut his throat like that! I wanna know who he is. I want to know if he's the one who caused all this. I want some goddamn answers around here."

***Four Hours Earlier***

"So then what happened?" Sitting in my office, I stare at Lauren as she sits on my couch. She just came in this afternoon telling me about her date last night with Cassian.

"Well, after he picked me up, we ended up going to dinner at some Thai food restaurant. He told me about how he grew up in South Korea and everything. He made light conversation, paid for my dinner, bought me a drink- which I didn't indulge in. He asked me why, and I told him about my past. He walked me home and proceeded to try to persuade me to let him come upstairs."

"You didn't let them upstairs did you?"

"Of course not! I wasn't about to let that psycho in my home. Besides, he's not exactly my type anyway."

"Give him any juicy gossip to go off of for today?"

"Well, I mean, I told him a lot about myself and about Reynolds. I briefly mentioned some fake lies about Max and you. Hopefully, something catches his interest. He's hard to read, Helen. You weren't lying when you said that. I almost actually believed him on some of his stories." There's something about Lauren that makes me believe something else important happened last night. As if she's holding something back for me.

"Did anything else happen? Did he say anything to you? Do anything?"

"When we were in the taxi... He tried to slide his hand up my skirt..." I knew it had to be something. I feel so sorry for Lauren. I wish I didn't put her in that situation. She doesn't deserve it. And I know how creepy Cassian can be.

"Lauren... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't of made you do that. Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. He stopped when I told him too. It's just... I felt this... Magnitude about him. Like, I don't know, like I didn't want him to stop. It's kind of fucked up of me- I know. But he has that weird charm about him. It's like he puts you in a trance and you don't know how to deny him what he wants. Was it like that with you?" Looking at my hands, I know exactly what she's talking about. Cassian makes you forget your morals. He makes you feel safe and wanted, desired – but it's only for a short time before he reminds you in the most brutal way that you're nothing to him... Nothing but upon in his own game. A game he always wins.