Lock & Key

 Laying within a jail cell, a doctor stirred on a dirty, uncomfortable bed. He groaned and held his head, squeezing his still closed eyes as he experienced an overwhelming surge of pain running rampant inside his skull. He breathed irrationally, turning his body to the side as he faced the light shining from beyond the bars. He finally opened his eyes as he gazed upon the world around him he was not familiar with. He was overwhelmed with confusion and shock, as he had no memory of how he got there.
The air was cold and damp and the environment felt disgusting.
He felt rather appalled that he was present in such a hole.
Slowly, he raised himself up, groaning softly at the pain he felt.
He sat up a moment to try and remember what last transpired that he was fully conscious enough for. He remembered that he and Gray were at the museum, investigating the Egyptian exhibit. And that the mummy beyond the sarcophagus was in fact missing. He also remembered running, feeling a great sense of panic and toxic doses of adrenaline shooting out to every part of his body. He had collapsed. And struggled. And then it happened.....the other side took over.

His face turned to one of horror.
Hyde had come out.
And had done something to get them both imprisoned.

"Ahem"

His bloodshot eyes darted to the other side of the room, beyond the bars, where sitting in a chair across from him was none other than Dorian himself. He had his head held high, resting his palms against his propped up cane, all the while smirking in his usual cocky manner. "Rise and shine, Doctor Jekyll."
Jekyll slowly removed his hand from the back of his head, staring at Dorian in shock. "Gray..??"
He shot up from the sagging bed. "Why are you out THERE and I'm in HERE?!"
He dashed forward and grabbed onto the bars in fury.
"What did you do?!"
"I did nothing, dear boy." Dorian eased. "The question is what did you do?"
Jekyll breathed, his body tensing.
Gray lowered his chin. "Or more specifically..your good friend, Mr. Hyde."

Henry swallowed. He slowly let go of the bars and backed away.
"No.....I can't believe......this can't be happening.....you...YOU PROMISED THIS WOULDN'T HAPPEN! YOU TOLD ME YOU WOULDN'T LET HIM COME BACK!"
"Now Henry, I had no intention of him surfacing at the museum. I wasn't really expecting it to occur so fast in our investigation.."
"I knew it..I knew this would happen! I'm too unstable, I shouldn't be out there in the real world!"
The doctor ran next to his bed, hiding his face.
"Leave me here, Dorian! This is where I should be! It's where I belong! As long as I am here, he can't hurt anyone!"
"Oh, pull yourself together, Henry!" Dorian shot up and made for the bars. "You have to stop this! You need to face the truth! You can't keep running from him and burying him, living your life in such fear. It is only granting him the power he craves! That's why he's achieved such power, such strength, and why he has weakened YOU. YOU'RE the one hiding now, Henry. YOU'RE the alter ego. Just a silly, spineless little vessel that the beast within can tear through like a ragged cloth..he is suffocating you..you need to fight him!"

Henry swiveled around and ran to face Gray.
"I was fine! I was safe! The moment you appeared, my life fell apart all over again! And now he's hurt people..and we're both in JAIL! I wouldn't have been in this position if it hadn't been for you!" "Is that what you really think?" "It's not what I think, it's the TRUTH!" Dorian narrowed his eyes. "It's not..do you wish to know why? I did nothing but reveal the true exploits of Hyde. He hasn't been under your control, Henry. You were mislead. He's been escaping your home and doing as he pleases, all while you stifle yourself in seclusion!" "You're lying!"
"He told me so himself, Henry!"
Henry's eyes widened. "He spoke to you??"
Gray nodded, solemnly. "He has had a hand in the mummy's disappearance. My only guess is, he now serves whoever it was that resided in the sarcophagus...and involved with that girl you've mistakenly put your trust in."

Jekyll straightened up, his mouth running agape.
"No! It can't be true! He..he's lying to you!!!"
"I'm sorry, Henry, but he's not..I checked into police records. There's been sightings of a man matching Hyde's description in various parts of town.. rumors of crimes committed that they can never find the culprit of. And that wouldn't be possible if it weren't for that girl...who came to you, promising to help you..and claimed to have assisted in keeping Hyde at bay."
Henry fell apart. He abruptly held his face and lamented over the situation, lowering to his knees, as tears formed in his eyes.
"No..no no, it's happening again..it's happening again!!"

Dorian's eyes lowered to the floor and he swallowed gently, then proceeding to get down at the same level of his friend.
"Henry...I must confess..I gave the police an anonymous tip ahead of time and told them that Hyde would be there....it was insurance, in case you turned and I lost sight of him...if it didn't happen, I would have ushered us both out of there before they could find us, no harm done. It was part of the investigation, I assure you. I didn't want you to turn, by any means. But I had to be safe about it."
Henry removed his hands from his face and lifted his eyes at him.
"You...you called the police??...what...what happened?"
Gray looked down. "He is stronger than I feared. Ten or so policemen surrounded him and he...he...well.."
Jekyll stared straight at him. "What?"
Gray sighed. "He put one in the hospital. He was seconds away from suffocating him to death. He held up the man by his throat with one hand as if he weighed nothing."

Jekyll looked away, slowly coming into realization.
"You're right.." His eyes darted back to Gray. "He was never that strong..he HAS been getting out!"
He pounded the floor. "I was a fool for thinking I could contain him! Stupid, blundering fool!"
"Henry, it's not too late..we can stop him and put an end to whatever it is he, the girl and that mummy are planning!"
Jekyll jerked his head back. "The mummy?"
Dorian nodded, "I was right, Jekyll. The mummy is alive and is indeed the source of the curse plaguing London. I don't know who else could be involved.. but we must find out and stop them before they do something even more drastic. And the bets are, we'll find out through that girl."

The doctor sunk. "Oh yes, because I'm in such a capable position to run off and do that."
That's when a door was opened from afar which rang through the metal surrounding them and Dorian smirked as Jekyll tensed.
"Leave that to me, old boy."
He rose up as a group of men entered inside the room, and gave the two a puzzling stare.
"You uh.." The Inspector glared at Henry, who stared up at him innocently. "You wanted to see me, Mister..Gray?"
"Yes, sir, quite so...I'm here to post bail on my friend here, James Vane." Henry glanced up at Dorian.
The group of police all gave Gray looks of bewilderment.
"Why is that?"
"Well mostly because he has committed no crime."
"That's impossible!" The senior officer shouted and pointed at the cell. "That man is.." He stopped. He peered deeper into the cell, through the poor light given from the room and a sudden look of shock enveloped his face. "That's..that's not Hyde!"
The Inspector perked and swung around to face the officer.
"Are you telling me that you arrested the wrong man?!"
"NO sir! We arrested Hyde, I swear of it..and we put him in THIS cell! But..but it's not the same man!"
The Inspector puffed up with anger. "Or you lot are seeing things! You arrested the man, believing what you want to believe!"
"No, please, Inspector, I'm not going mad..it really was him!"

The inspector glanced at another officer. "Did anyone else recognize him as Edward Hyde?"
The other officers looked away. "He..was the one who told us it was Hyde...and Hyde did respond in a manner that supported this...but this is not the same man we brought to the station, sir. We promise you that."
The Inspector looked down a moment, pursing his lips, before swiveling around in a fit of rage. "Then he must have switched on us! Put the manhunt back on, boys, and find that madman! In the meantime, let this poor bloke go!"
He turned to Dorian and shook his hand, his dignity damaged.
"Apologies for this, Mr. Gray. I can't believe we've been tricked like this. There's no bail payment required as this ain't even the same man we were after." "Ah well, Inspector, no apologies needed. This Hyde fellow sounds like a crafty beast. I hope he comes to justice very soon."
The Inspector nodded. "Yes..we all do."
- - -
Dorian and Henry rushed out of the station, the doctor a free man once again. Henry still couldn't believe it.
"How did you know that would work?! They arrested me and put me in the same cell as Hyde.. and I'm wearing the same clothes!"
"Are you now?"
Jekyll looked down and noticed he was wearing a different coat. He rose his brows. "You..you used your key, didn't you? To switch them!" "I did." "Then why didn't you just break me out?"
"I told you before, Henry, I'm out for a clean slate. I could just as well get away with things as I once did..commiting any crimes my heart sees fit. But I have left that life behind. I want to do things by the book. Yes, it was trickery what I did with the police, but necessary. They are once again on the hunt for Hyde and an innocent man is indeed out of jail. If I had have set you free by any other means, they would have been on the hunt for all three of us. Besides..I switched coats because the thing most people pay attention to is the torso of a person. And most people also don't believe in the supernatural or consider the idea that a man can turn into a completely different one. They would all lose their badges with that theory and that is something they would give even Edward Hyde up for."

Henry's eyes fell to the ground.
"That name you said.....James Vane....a bit specific for a random alias." Dorian lifted his head. "..He was the brother of the woman I once loved..."
Henry glanced at him, frowning. "..Where is she now?"
Dorian swallowed, purposely not making eye contact with him.
"..Gone....both gone."
He sighed deeply. "It was either that or absurdly naming you Jenry Hekyll." The doctor chuckled.
Gray looked to him. "Now...Henry...I do hope you're back on the case..and are willing to lead me to that girl you know?"
Jekyll thought a moment, whether it was right..whether it was true that she couldn't be trusted and that she was in league with Hyde. But the more he thought about it, however, the more angry he grew.... he took a deep breath and started charging ahead of Gray.
"This way."

CONTINUE TO..
Femme Fatale