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He shook his head, his throat so thick he could barely talk "No" The word caain "It’s that Slasher I know it I saw some blood on the snow back there--" He lost the ability to speak again, his throat closing over co a hand on his shoulder "Well, ‘e’s , he surveyed the street "We’ll get ‘er back, Rip I swear And then I’ll skin ‘iain at the junction of Petticoat Lane Rip was drenched in the icy water of the sewers, shaking so hard he could barely stand The rage in hi over hi holding it at bay was the thought that if he lost control, he’d never find her He needed to be rational for this

"No sign?" Blade asked

"Che froet the scent out of his nose "One o’ those chemical bombs they been usin’"

Will knelt in the snow, his ae as Rip in his oay "Found nothin’," he growled in frustration, his own eyes red-rimed "Every tunnel stinks o’ che now"

"’E planned this," Blade ths are ‘Oork Fuck"

"What you want us to do?" Will asked "Rouse the streets? See if anyone saw so?"

"That’ll take ‘ours," Rip snapped And Eset her back to his hidden lair? How long to strap her to his table, to insert the needles in her veins that would slowly steal her life away? How long until she was nothing more than a dry husk of the woman she’d once been?

Rip spun and kicked at a pile of crates against the corner, sending scraps and rubbish flying The streets becaht his ht his fist before it could land, yanking his arlared into the face of his o "Rein yourself in Now"

Rip shut his eyes and sucked in a sharp breath Wanted to kill Wanted to tear sooddaer and fury washed out of hiht He was no help to Es, the colour of the world snapping back in on hiaze "Leo and stepped back out of reach "Soin’s hides If he’s a Slasher, he’ll be sellin’ the blood down at them drainin’ factories Someone there buys it on the sly; they’ll kno to contact him"

"Go," Blade snapped "And be quick about it I’ll ‘unt down below again, see if I can make out any scent trail Maybe that chemical’s wearin’ off" He nodded at Rip "You joinin’ ’ the che Getting hard to find bodies, Rip The suddentoscent of whatever he’d used to preserve those specimens in all of the jars

The woman on the examination table, her wrists slit and her body eerily pale Like she’d been drained of life Rip swore under his breath Under his nose all along and he’d not realised until now

What better way to hide the drained bodies than to give theain? And would probably pay for theoin’ to visit an old friend"

Blade nodded "Move quick and watch your back I’ll be in Undertown"

"Aye" They all nodded at each other

"You see so to the whistle’s that would pierce through each of their hearing fro hu and went through Rip like an ice-pick to the brain

"If you find nothin’, then we’llunder his breath that he wouldn’t see theain until Esme was found

Rip stepped back and placed a solid kick to theand he shoved his way through "Creavey?" he bellowed "You in ‘ere?"

A light flickered to life as soaze focused on it with deathly intensity He was h the door into Creavey’s personal charaphs littered the walls Grainy pictures of bodies on examination tables and the jars in Creavey’s lab Rip looked away in disgust and found his prey cowering by a stuffed arown The lantern burned on a small table, next to a book on dissection and a pot of tea

"Christ," Creavey snapped "You scaredhere at this hour?"

Rip strode forward and grabbed the doctor by the throat He sla like dying ettin’ your bodies froivin’ someone vials o’ that formalde’yde?"

The colour drained out of Creavey’s face "Don’t knohat you’re… talking about…" he choked out

Rip leaned forward, his led sound "Gettin’ ‘ard to find bodies," he snapped "That’s what you said and I saw that girl what I thought done ‘erself in Drained o’ blood You still got ‘er? I’d be curious to know if there’s any needle marks in her elbows, or hs That’s ow they do it" He slaainst the wall "That’s what the Slashers do when they tie so there on Creavey’s examination table, her body pale and faint bloody marks across her wrist No He wouldn’t be too late He wouldn’t The thought tore through him like a knife and as he blinked he realized Creavey was turning purple

Rip let hi in breath through his badly bruised throat He knelt down, staring into the ot a lot o’ time Nor patience" Blackness flickered behind his vision but he reined it in Later "You know Blade’s ‘ousekeeper?"

Creavey nodded sharply

"The Slashers got ‘er," Rip said in a quiet, deadly-soft voice "And I want ‘er back A ins You ‘eard of ‘im? You knohere ‘e dwells?"