Chapter 44
Golden Handshake
An American in Paris
Part 2 of 4

Before Noah Bennet, Claude, the invisible agent for the company, partnered with a different man: Haram.  Together, they trailed Fusor, an elusive killer with a withering touch.  Haram had a grudge against Fusor, who had escaped Haram several times in the past.  Haram, unfortunately, found the tables turned on him when Fusor laid a deadly trap for the company men…

Sorry for the delay on this post, the comic not posted last night like normal.  Click here to get caught up on last week’s installment.

Haram is crawling out of the riviera, pulling the shrivelled, disembodied arm that used to belong to the body that was dragging him down to the depths.  When Claude touches the arm, it falls apart.

In the narative, styled as his ”status report”, Claude has this to say: “Subject Rollo Fusor took two hostages.  Haram moved in to rescue; I circled to intercept Fusor’s escape.  On arrival, one hostage dead - dehydrated - the other - a decoy who attempted to murder Haram.  I was force to choose between Fusor’s cature and my partner’s life.  This should in no way be recorded as another field loss for Haram, though.  If our roles were reversed things would probably have turned out the same…probably.”

After receiving new intel, the duo track Fusor into Paris.  As they are surveying his location, Haram muses, “Ironic, huh?  Fusor was my first case - eleven years ago - and I botched it.  Now he’s my last case and I botched it again.”  He goes on to say that he looks forward to the time that he can put Fusor behind him and retire. 

Fusor’s MO is to find rich, wealthy, lonely men and, with his female accomplice, win them over “with promises of a menage a trois and Lord knows what else.”  Once they’ve taken their fortune, Fusor will literally suck them dry, and move on. 

Outside the door where Fusor, his accomplice and the soon-to-be victim are residing, Claude reminds Haram that Fusor’s power only works on organic material, so he needs to be sure that he keeps his skin covered up.  He is interrupted by a scream.  They burst into the room to find a shrivelled body on the floor, and a shadow looming on the open balcony.  Haram immediately opens fire, but the body does not fall.  They approach slowly, to find that the body of the man, thought to be Fusor has also been sucked dry. 

“Forget the butler,” Claude says.  “It’s always the girl.”

They both make for the roof in pursuit.

To be continued…

The easter egg this week is a behind the scenes shot of Masi Oka.