The target was a man named Dr. Harrison Webb, a researcher at the University of Chicago who had been asking uncomfortable questions about unusual phenomena in the area. According to the file Alex had given Dario, Webb had connections to a government task force that investigated supernatural activities.
"He's not a bad person," Alex explained as they sat in his car outside Webb's apartment building. "Just someone who's gotten too close to the truth."
"And that's worth killing him for?"
"We're not necessarily going to kill him. We're going to make him stop asking questions."
"How?"
"That's up to you. Cassius can make people forget things, can't he? Make them see things that aren't there?"
Can you? Dario asked silently.
I can influence perception, yes. But altering memories is... complicated. And dangerous.
Dangerous how?
If I make a mistake, I could destroy his mind completely. Leave him a vegetable.
And if we don't do anything?
Then Lucian will probably have David or Maya kill him.
Dario weighed his options. Risk destroying someone's mind or let him be murdered by people who saw him as nothing more than an obstacle.
"I'll try," he said aloud.
"Good. Elena's people have been watching his routine. He should be coming home any minute now."
As if summoned by Alex's words, a middle-aged man in a rumpled suit appeared at the corner, walking slowly toward the building. He looked tired, distracted, and completely ordinary.
"That's him," Alex said. "Remember—we just need him to stop investigating. Whatever it takes."
Dario got out of the car, his heart pounding. This was it—the point where he crossed a line he'd never be able to uncross.
He approached Webb as he fumbled with his keys at the building entrance.
"Dr. Webb?"
The man looked up, startled. "Yes? Do I know you?"
"My name is Dario. I think we need to talk."
"About what?"
Dario glanced around, making sure they were alone. "About your research into unusual phenomena. About the questions you've been asking."
Webb's expression shifted from confusion to wariness. "I'm sorry, but I don't discuss my work with strangers."
"Even when that work might get you killed?"
Now Webb looked genuinely alarmed. "Is that a threat?"
"It's a warning. There are people who don't want the truth to come out, and they're willing to do whatever it takes to stop you."
"What truth?"
Dario took a deep breath and let Cassius rise to the surface. He felt the familiar sensation of stepping back as another consciousness took control.
"The truth about people like us," Cassius said, his voice carrying undertones that made Webb step backward instinctively.
"Like you?"
"People who host other consciousnesses. People with abilities that conventional science can't explain. People who your government task force would very much like to study and dissect."
Webb's face had gone pale. "How do you know about—"
"I know because they've tried to capture me before. I know because there are others like me, and some of them haven't been as lucky as I have."
Cassius stepped closer, and Webb found himself unable to move, pinned in place by an invisible force.
"You're going to stop your research, Dr. Webb. You're going to destroy your files, forget the questions you've been asking, and find a nice, safe, boring field to study instead."
"I... I can't just—"
"You can and you will. Because the alternative is that some very dangerous people decide you're too much of a threat to live."
Cassius placed his hand on Webb's forehead, and the man's eyes rolled back. Dario felt the strain as Cassius carefully sifted through the researcher's memories, finding the relevant ones and wrapping them in layers of confusion and fear.
Don't destroy him, Dario pleaded internally.
I'm being as gentle as I can, Cassius replied. But some damage is unavoidable.
When Cassius removed his hand, Webb staggered backward, blinking in confusion.
"What... where am I?"
"You're going home," Cassius said softly. "You've been working too hard. You need to rest, maybe take a vacation. Maybe consider a career change."
Webb nodded slowly, his expression vacant. He fumbled with his keys, let himself into the building, and disappeared without another word.
Cassius withdrew, leaving Dario in control again. He felt sick.
"Is he going to be okay?" he asked Alex as he got back in the car.
"He'll be fine. A little confused for a while, but fine. You did good work."
"I violated his mind. I stole his memories."
"You saved his life. And you protected our community. That's what matters."
As they drove away, Dario tried to tell himself that Alex was right. That what he'd done was necessary, justified, the lesser of two evils. But the sick feeling in his stomach wouldn't go away.