by N. P. Martin
“Let the girl go,” Scarlet shouted from behind me. “I’m coming out.”
“Are you crazy?” I said, stopping her. “You know what they’ll do to you?”
A look of resignation entered her green eyes. “I know what they’ll do if I don’t go out there.” Despite the torture and certain death she was facing, she showed no fear. “Find my sister, Ethan. And when you do…tell her I love her.”
She pushed past me and stepped out of the trailer. The second she did, someone shot her in the neck, not with a bullet, but with a tranquilizer dart. Scarlet’s hand went instinctively to her neck where the dart had hit, and two seconds later, she toppled to the ground unconscious.
Carlito looked at me and smiled. “I’m not taking any chances with that bitch,” he said, then shouted for his men to get her into one of the vehicles. Two guys ran over and lifted Scarlet, dragging her across the dirt before dumping her into the back of one of the SUVs.
“Let the girl go, Carlito,” I said.
Carlito smiled and held Daisy for another few seconds as if he would shoot her anyway, but then turned her loose. Daisy was hesitant at first, too afraid to move until I beckoned her over to the trailer and told her to go inside.
“You’re lucky Hood is the honorable type,” Carlito said. “She just saved your fucking life. For now.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning I haven’t decided what I’m gonna do with you yet,” he said, pointing his gun at me now. “I thought we were friends, Ethan. You disappointed me.”
“What are you going to do with her?” I asked.
“What the fuck do you care? You hardly know the bitch. But for the record, I’m gonna torture her for three whole days, and if she’s still alive after that, I’m gonna blow her brains out. Then I’m gonna feed her to my pigs.” He laughed when he saw the look on my face. “You didn’t know I had pigs, did you, Ethan? I can throw those hungry motherfuckers a body, and there’ll be nothing left of it the next day except what they shit out afterward. Who knows, maybe I’ll feed you to them too, Ethan. A pig for the pigs.” He laughed at his stupid joke before turning and walking to the vehicle closest to him. “This isn’t over, Ethan. You’ll be hearing from me again.”
When he was inside the vehicle, all three turned around and drove off, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust behind them.
In the ensuing silence left behind, Haedemus came walking out from between two mounds of scrap just up ahead.
“Well,” he said. “That was tense, wasn’t it?”
Inside the trailer, I sat next to Daisy on the couch as I did my best to comfort her, knowing she would probably have nightmares for the rest of her life about this. Her face was white as a sheet as she sat shaking with fear and adrenaline, wearing only shorts and a T-shirt. Finding a blanket, I draped it around her as she stared at the floor. “Daisy,” I said, knowing whatever words I said to her would be inadequate. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. I didn’t know—”
“They asked me if I knew you,” she said in a small, anxious voice.
“What?”
“I didn’t know who they were,” she went on. “I was too busy reading my stupid book.”
“It’s okay, Daisy. This wasn’t your fault.”
“I should’ve said I didn’t know you, then they wouldn’t have taken me, and your friend would be okay.” She started crying then, and I put my arm around her and held her, wondering at the same time why everyone who found their way into my orbit ended up getting hurt.
Cal came walking into the trailer just as Daisy finished crying. He was still carrying the Mossberg shotgun, which he rested against the wall. “Is she alright?” he asked, sounding like he hardly cared, though I knew he cared deep down somewhere in that calloused heart of his.
“What do you think?” I said.
“I’m okay,” Daisy said. “I just want to go home to my momma.”
“Does your momma know?” Cal asked her.
“Know what?” Daisy said, wiping her eyes.
“That you were taken.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. She was sleeping off a bottle of vodka.”
“What’s a little thing like you doing out of your apartment at this hour, anyway?” Cal said.
“I don’t sleep much,” Daisy said. “I sit outside and read.”
“You’re a reader, huh?” Cal nodded approvingly. “Good for you.”
I stood up. “Come on, Daisy,” I said. “Let’s get you home before your mother realizes you’re missing.”
“She won’t,” Daisy said. “She never does.”
I glanced at Cal, who shook his head before saying to Daisy, “So, eh, maybe you’d like to come by sometime. I can show you my library. I guarantee you’ll be impressed.”
Daisy managed a smile. “You have a lot of books?”
Cal shrugged. “A shit ton. I can’t guarantee you’ll understand them all, though.”
“I’m smarter than you think,” Daisy said, causing Cal to laugh, and me to smile.
“Alright little missy,” Cal said. “Get on outta here before you end up stayin’. You might never go home then.”
Daisy and I went to leave the trailer, but before she left, she said to Cal, “What’s your name?”
“You can call me Cal.”
“I’m Daisy. Nice to meet you, Cal.” She gave him a smile before going outside.
“Thanks, Cal,” I said.
He gave me a curt nod. “Me and you need to have words at some point, about bringing strangers into my yard. That shit coulda went real bad out there.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
He stared at me for another second and then sighed. “Go on. Get the girl home. And Ethan?”
“Yeah?”
“You know what you gotta do about the Cuban, don’t you?”
I stared at him for a second, then nodded. “I do.”
8
It was almost dawn by the time I got Daisy home. As we stood outside her apartment, I told her once again I was sorry about what happened, and that maybe it would be best if we didn’t associate with each other anymore. Perhaps I should move out of the building altogether, I told her. At least that way she would be safe then.
Daisy frowned when I said this. “Don’t be silly,” she said. “You’re my only friend, Ethan. Why would I want you to leave?”
“I can’t be your only friend,” I said. “What about your friends at school?”
“They’re a bunch of phonies. They aren’t my friends.”
“Listen to you,” I said. “You sound like Holden Caulfield.”
“Who?”
“Catcher in the Rye?”
“I’ve never read that one. Is it good?”
I nodded. “I liked it as a kid. I think Cal might have a first edition. Ask him to lend it to you.”
“You’ll take me back there?”
“If you want.”
“I do. I like Cal. He’s grouchy, but I can tell he’s nice.”
I smiled. “Okay then. Go and get some sleep, Daisy.”
“Ethan?” she said as I was walking away.
“Yeah?”
“Are you going get your friend Scarlet back?”
I nodded. “I hope so.”
“Good. Are you going kill the men that took her, like you did Jarvis?” I stared at her, and despite me saying nothing, she said, “Good.”
Then she went inside her apartment, leaving me to stand in the hallway for a moment, shaking my head as I considered what a bad influence I was.
Thanks to the incident with Carlito’s men, my apartment was in a bit of a state, though no worse than usual. The locked bedroom door had been kicked in, but after a quick check, nothing appeared to be missing from inside.
There was no sign of the Hellbastards either, who I assumed were out frolicking somewhere, getting up to no good. Clearly, they weren’t around when Carlito showed up here, or I would’ve heard about it.
Closing the
busted front door as best I could, I went and sat down on the couch for a minute so I could gather my thoughts. Foremost in my mind was Scarlet, naturally. Carlito would have her in The Brokedown Palace probably strapped to a chair in the middle of the stage. That’s how he liked to do it, he told me once, when he had to torture or interrogate somebody. He’d put the person on the stage and shine a spotlight on them. That way, they could hardly see what was coming, which shocked and disorientated them all the more. I also knew that all of Carlito’s crew would be there, as would his dead cousin Eduardo’s crew, who would be seeking revenge for their boss’s death. There would be two dozen guys there at least, all looking for a piece of the great Scarlet Hood, all looking to have their wicked way with her.
I didn’t know Scarlet that well—hell, I hardly knew her at all—but I knew her well enough to know that she was one of the good ones and that she didn’t deserve the pain she was no doubt getting right now. No one would try to save her.
No one except me that is.
As I stood up to go into the bedroom, my phone rang in my pocket, and I stopped to answer it, seeing from the caller ID that it was Hannah. “Hey,” I said. “How’s the girl?”
“Fucked up,” Hannah said. “As you’d expect. I drove her to Salem Hospital about an hour ago. She’s on the verge of giving birth to the hybrid inside her. I’m not sure what the doctors will make of it. Clare said the hybrids look human, but you never know.”
“Did you contact the parents yet?”
“Clare asked me not to. She’s an adult, what could I say?”
“Contact them,” I said. “They have a right to know their daughter is alive.”
“Okay, I will.”
“What about the cult leader, Gretchen Carmichael? Anything on her?”
“I ran her name through the system,” Hannah said. “She’s in her early thirties, from a wealthy family. Her father is a hedge fund manager. She was arrested at the age eighteen for cocaine possession, but apart from that and a few speeding tickets, that’s it. Her record seems clean.”
“Did you get a location for the boarding school?”
“Yes. It’s in Charlesburg, just outside the city limits. When do you want to move on it?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “There’s something I gotta do first.”
“What is it? Can I help?”
“I don’t think so.”
She went silent for a second, before asking, “What’s wrong, Ethan? Did something happen?”
I was reluctant to tell her anything because I knew she would try to involve herself, and I didn’t want her risking herself over something that had nothing to do with her. But I didn’t enjoy lying to her either, so I told her what happened to Scarlet. “Carlito has her at his club,” I said. “I’m going to get her.”
“You’re going there alone?”
“I’ll take the Hellbastards with me.”
“Fuck that,” she said. “You’re not doing this alone. I’m going with you.”
“You know how dangerous this will be?”
“I don’t care. Anyway, you forget what I am, Ethan. I don’t go down that easily.”
“We must remedy that,” I joked.
“Seriously,” she said. “Are you at your apartment?”
“Yeah.”
“Gimme twenty minutes.”
“You don’t have to do this just for me, you know.”
“Of course I do,” she said. “Who else am I gonna do it for?”
I smiled as she hung up. I had to give it to her; she was coming along just fine on her journey of redemption, and on becoming a decent human being. I didn’t know many others who would join me in such a dangerous endeavor. Even Cal was staying out of it, though that was fine by me. He’d done his fair share of running into dangerous situations over the years. He’d earned his retirement if you could call what he does retirement. Either way, I wasn’t about to hold a grudge. I’d rather he stay alive as die trying to back me up.
While I had the phone still in my hand, I found the number for Pan Demic and Artemis and called it. A few seconds later, Artemis answered. “What’s up, Drakester? How’s the lovely Scarlet doing? Still reeling from the blinding charisma of the two world’s best Technomancers?”
“Not exactly,” I said. “She’s been taken.”
“Taken?” Pan Demic was now on the line too. “What do you mean taken? By who?”
“Carlito Martinez took her. I’m going to get her back, but I need your help.”
“Anything,” they both said at the same time.
“Can you hack the power grid of The Brokedown Palace?”
“Dude,” Pan Demic said. “We could do that in our sleep.”
“Alright,” I said. “Wait for my text. Then cut the power.”
“You got it,” Artemis said. “And if you need us to come down there, just call.”
“Dude,” Pan Demic said. “What the fuck?”
“What?” Artemis said. “We have guns, don’t we? Plus, it’s Scarlet, man, come on. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”
“You’re right, man,” Pan Demic said. “Drakester, you want us to lock and load?”
“No, I don’t want you to lock and fucking load. Just cut the power when I tell you to,” I said. “I’ll handle the rest.”
Hanging up on the two mooncats, I put the phone in my pocket before contacting Scroteface.
Yes, boss?
I need you back here. We have a mission.
A real one? Like the old days?
Not exactly, but near enough.
Wait till the boys hear. I’m getting hard, boss.
Too much info. Don’t be long.
Walking into the bedroom, I took off my trench and my tie before putting on the police issue body armor that I’d swiped from the precinct a few years ago. While it didn’t exactly make me bulletproof, it was better than nothing. Back when I was in Blackstar, we wore fully armored suits that protected us not only from bullets but from teeth and claws, mostly anyway. Nothing was invulnerable and a tooth or a claw would often get through. Plus, if a MURK wanted to pull you apart, the suit wouldn’t stop it.
With your self-protection—and your survival—the things that will protect you the most are your skills and experience. Without those two things, all the armor in the world will not protect you against something determined to kill you.
Luckily, I was long enough in the tooth that I had an excellent skill-set and bags of experience. I’ve been a soldier all my life in one way or another, something Carlito in his arrogance has neglected to realize. If he was as ruthless as he wanted everybody to think, he should’ve killed me when he had the chance. As it was, it would be a decision he would come to regret. I’d make certain of that.
After tightening the body armor around me, I put my trench back on over the top of it. Then I went to a shelf and opened a military-green metal box, inside of which were several grenades of various types. It would be easy to bust the doors of The Brokedown Palace down and toss in a load of frag grenades, blowing the whole place and everyone in it to hell, but that would also include Scarlet, and I couldn’t have that. So I selected a few smoke grenades instead and put them into my trench pockets.
Closing the box, I stared at the guns for a minute before selecting a Heckler and Koch MP5K-PDW with folding stock and extended barrel, my go-to submachine gun for any medium scale assault like the one I had planned. From a shelf next to the guns, I took three forty-round magazines and put them into my right trench pocket. Then I took another mag and slid it into the mag well of the MP5K before placing the submachine gun back on the rack for a moment while I exchanged my service pistol for a Heckler and Koch P30L pistol, loading it with a full magazine of 9mm Parabellum rounds, adding two more clips to the holsters on my belt.
Finally, I went to the medicine shelves and got the jar with the Snake Bite in it, emptying no small amount onto the back of my hand before snorting it up, gasping as the stuff kicked my ass straight a
way, filling my veins with fire.
After putting the jar back, I retrieved the MP5K from the rack and carried it out into the living room just as the Hellbastards came walking through the door. Cracka and Scroteface were still sporting their cat and dog headdresses. Toast still paraded around in his ridiculous Day-Glo outfit like some monster from the eighties. Reggie was now smoking what smelled like a massive joint, and Snot Skull, well, he appeared to have gotten a tattoo of Animal from The Muppets on one of his four arms. I didn’t even ask.
“What’s up, boys?” I said as they all piled in looking excited.
“We get to kill, boss?” Cracka asked. “Scroteface say we get to kill. Do we, boss?”
“Till your little heart is content, Cracka,” I told him.
They all cheered. “Fucking A!” Snot Skull shouted.
“When do we leave, boss?” Scroteface asked.
“Just waiting on someone,” I said.
“He waiting on the woman,” Cracka practically whispered to Reggie, and they both giggled.
“You have something to say, Cracka?” I asked him.
“You horny for the woman, boss,” Cracka said. “We know it.”
“Do you now?” I said, smiling despite myself, the effects of the Snake Bite making me grind my jaw and widen my eyes as I stared.
“Yeah, boss,” Toast said and then began to swivel his hips in a manner that I suppose was meant to be sexy, helped along by his slimy tongue sliding slowly over his rubbery lips. “You luuuuvvve her, don’t you, boss?”
My fatal mistake was hesitating before answering, for as soon as I told Snot Skull to fuck off, they all started laughing and jeering, pointing at me like a bunch of idiot school kids. It was at that point that Hannah walked in, and all the Hellbastards went quiet and stared at her.
“Did I interrupt something?” Hannah asked, looking at the Hellbastards, and then at me.
“No, Miss,” Cracka said.
Then Scroteface said, “The boss was just saying—”
“Time to move,” I said, cutting him off. “Let’s go.”
“You alright?” Hannah asked me. “You look a bit flushed.”
