Talia sighed. “It’s a long story, Hank. The gangs, the mob, all the innocent bystanders. Butch is right. It really is war.”
I frowned. “And this is your...what, your fortress?”
“Sorta.”
“Hank!” a voice shouted overhead. “You’re just in time. Come on up!”
I craned my neck back to see Tas’s pale round face gleaming back at me from the darkness. The cave had a second level I hadn’t noticed before. It was a sort of a plateau, like another small cave overlooking the first.
“Come,” Talia said, taking me by the arm. “It’s time for you to get caught up on everything.”
They led me to a stairwell in the back wall that was hidden from view behind the crates and supplies. It was a narrow space carved into the stone, barely wide enough for my shoulders. There was no handrail, and I took my time getting to the top. Butch waited, watching me climb the last few stairs.
“You all right, Boss?”
“Just a little stiff,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”
He stood in front of me, beaming as I reached the upper level. “What is it?” I said.
“It’s just... I can hardly believe it’s you. When we heard what happened... I never thought you’d come back.”
“Neither did I.”
“No one did,” said Tas. There was a large meeting table in the center of the room, and he had taken a seat there. Actually, he was standing on a chair. Otherwise, his face would barely have reached the tabletop.
Others came filing into the room: Sam, looking just as diabolical as ever, with those two revolvers tucked into shoulder holsters over his waistcoat. Tyron, dressed in the garb of a wood-elf but looking as defiant as ever with his long blonde hair flowing over his straight, proud shoulders. Gen, no longer a cop, but a warrior, and a dangerous one at that.
I could hardly believe the changes I saw in all of them. I had so many questions. And now that I was conscious, they all wanted to greet me and get reacquainted. We exchanged brief hugs, and I got caught up on some of the changes in their lives. Butch and Talia had three kids now. The youngest had been born just before my death. Her name was Ginny. She was almost six, and just entering middle school. Her older siblings, ten and eleven years old, were taking college courses at Camelot up on the hill.
The others had stories, too. Tas had been sentenced to a year in prison for his hacking crimes, but the sentence had been commuted to six months for good behavior... and possibly due to a couple of bank transfers. I wondered whether he’d bribed a politician, or gone straight to the top and bribed one of the elders. Could an elder accept a bribe and still maintain his status? It was a question for another day, and Tas wasn’t spilling the beans.
Sam was Sam, still doing the same old things, which meant skirting the law every step of the way while trying to maintain his façade as a law-abiding private eye. Of course he’d never admit as much, but just standing there was enough to make me question my own judgment when it came to choosing friends. When it came down to it, I was the law and most of them... well, I’ll just say their relationship with the law was a bit more hazy.
On the other hand, there was Gen. She was... well, she was still Gen, but definitely changed. She had always been a by-the-book sort of cop. Now there weren’t any cops. It must have been tough on her. I couldn’t imagine what sort of things she had seen and experienced over the years to change her into the woman I saw before me. It was going to take a long time to get to know her again.
In all, it was quite an emotional event, but a bit strange for me. It seemed like it had only been a few days since I had seen them. For them, it had been five years. And in most cases, we hadn’t parted on the best of terms. To be honest, at the time of my death, I doubted most of them would even have considered me a friend anymore.
But here I was, suddenly alive, and it was like none of that had ever happened. They had forgiven me. It was like I had a chance to start all over from scratch. It made me want to do better. It made me want to make things right for them.
Throughout the entire meeting, Butch was like a puppy dog at my side. I think my death had affected him more than any of them. It was a little surprising, considering the fact that he’d been busy raising kids and taking care of his family all those years. I guess once you’ve been partners, you never really lose that bond.
Eventually, we all settled into chairs and Tas called the meeting to order. He took a long look at the faces around the table, and a seriousness came over him. “I think we all know what this is about,” he said.
I threw a glance around the room. “I don’t.”
“It’s about Zane,” Gen said. “After what happened this morning-”
“Okay, back up,” I said. “Tell me everything, from the start. Remember, I’ve been away for a while.”
They did. Most of what they said reinforced the story I had already heard, but there were a few other details. Gallan’s attack had successfully brought the city to its knees, but there was a little more to the story. Before setting his plan in action, Gallan had made a pact with the Greenbloods. He wanted them to take over the city, and had promised them the perfect opportunity.
At the same time, he had sought out a handful of unstable hobgoblins -more unstable than usual, I should say- and had taught them some very bad things. The serial killer I stumbled upon in the Canal District was but one of a half dozen. Gallan had given each a special relic with the ability to extract fairy souls before death, in essence dooming the victims to a helpless, ghostlike eternity, while at the same time allowing the murderous hobgoblins to relish their remains in the form of barbecued fae-meat. Of course, it was almost impossible to stop them, because the police department had collapsed. And some of the things going on in the undercity made a few cases of cannibalism seem like child’s play.
My stomach churned as I listened to all of this, but they weren’t through:
“Zane didn’t lose it right away,” Gen explained. “When the chief saw the city falling apart, he stepped up to the plate. He really took control and helped us to hold the line. But over time, he lost faith that we would ever take back the city. The gangs became more powerful, the mafia families formed alliances, and average citizens just gave up. We were fighting an uphill battle, and I think it broke his spirit. He knew we would never win.”
“So he threw his lot in with the mafia, and built the casino?” I said.
“Exactly,” said Gen. “He decided we were fighting a war we couldn’t win. He switched sides.” I could tell from the look on her face that it was painful for her, recounting these details.
“Not just that,” said Tas. “The casino gave Zane the funds he needed to hire the Peacekeepers. The city supported him through all this because he was creating jobs and bringing back order, but that was all just a smokescreen. It was all part of his plan to consolidate power.”
“And make himself Governor.”
“Yes. Once he had his own police force, even the mob was at his mercy.”
“Zane had promised to clean up the streets,” Gen said. “And he did. Unfortunately, he did it through martial law. When we realized what he had become, it was too late to do anything about it. He was too powerful. That’s when we started meeting together in secret, trying to come up with a plan to remove him.”
“And that’s what this was all about?” I said. “That’s why you were at the casino? You’re taking the battle to him?”
“Not exactly,” said Gen. “We’ve been monitoring the place for weeks, trying to come up with a plan. We have blueprints, schedules, even shift changes.”
“Unfortunately,” said Tas, “what you witnessed earlier is pretty much the extent of our abilities. We don’t have enough fighters to seriously damage Zane. We can’t seem to recruit anyone anymore. The fae are frightened. They just want to live their lives, not die in a war they can’t win.”
“What about the Elders? The Maji?”
“It isn’t their problem,” said Tyron.
“You don’t understand, Hank,” said Tas. “The Elders have taken oaths to support and protect the fae-”
“That’s exactly my point!” I said, slamming my fist on the table. “How dare they leave the city like this? It’s their job to protect these people!”
“No,” Tyron said in a calm, disciplined voice. “It’s their job to support whatever leaders the fae choose. The Council of Elders and the Maji have sworn to do so.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said. “What kind of loophole-”
“It’s not a loophole,” he said. “It’s an oath. It’s up to the people to choose their leaders. If they choose a democracy, so much the better, but if they choose a tyrant, what are the Elders to do? They have sworn to be non-partisan; neutral.”
I leaned back in my chair, contemplating all this.
“You really do look great, Boss,” Butch said, trying to alleviate some of the tension in the room. “You look ten years younger.”
“I feel it,” I grumbled. “Or, at least I did until this morning.”
He slapped me on the back. “No worries. You’ll be as good as new in no time.”
“I still don’t understand why you were there,” I said, scanning their faces. “What are the odds that you would all be at the casino when I arrived?”
Tas tilted his head to the side, a look of utter befuddlement on his face. “Hank, we knew you’d be there. You told us you were coming back.”
I looked at the others and found them similarly perplexed. “I did what?”
“You came to us, Hank,” Gen said. “You came to me in a dream.”
“Me too, Boss. You said to be ready, ‘cause you were gonna make things right again.”
I glanced at Sam and found him staring back at me. “You, too?” I said.
He shrugged. Gen stared at me. “Are you saying it wasn’t you, Hank? If you didn’t come to us, then who did? And how?”
“Siva,” I said in a half-whisper, averting my gaze. “She must have known, somehow. She must have planned this, cast some sort of spell...”
“I don’t think so, Boss,” said Butch. “It was you in my dream. I’m sure of it.”
I sighed. “Well, if it was, I don’t remember it, and I surely don’t know how I did it. I do remember dreaming, yes, but-” My eyes widened as a thought occurred to me.
“What is it?” said Gen.
“The tree... I remember seeing things through the eyes of the Mother tree.”
“Her eyes?” Butch said skeptically. “I hate to break this to you, Boss, but the Mother tree is a tree. She don’t have any eyes.”
“I know,” I said. “I don’t mean she has literal eyes, I’m talking about her senses. She can sense things. She knows things.”
“And you think she planned this?” Tas said. “She told you everything that had been going on, and helped you talk to us?”
“I don’t know, maybe.”
“Amazing.”
“How can she do that?” Sam said with a frown. “It’s just a tree.”
“You’re wrong, Sam. She can see things. She hears things. Maybe even read thoughts.”
“Great!” he said, leaning closer over the table. “Since the Mother tree’s so smart, why don’t you go ask her what we should do next, since nobody else here seems to have a clue?”
I glanced around the room and found them all staring at me. They were waiting for me to say something, I realized. They were waiting for me to give them a plan. That was what they had been waiting for all along, ever since they realized I was coming back. They had been expecting me to do something; expecting me to know how to fix everything. Once again, I’d turned out to be nothing more than a stupid, clumsy ogre. I didn’t even know how I had come back to life, much less how I’d visited their dreams. I didn’t have the slightest idea what we should do next.
“Take some time,” Tas said. “Think about it. When you have a plan, we’ll be ready.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
They fell silent. I scanned their disappointed faces and searched for something, for words that would make it all right, but there weren’t any. “We can’t fight Zane,” I said. “You saw how many men he has. It would be insane to try. If I learned anything today, it was that we cannot fight him.”
“But, Hank-” Butch said. I glanced at him, and the crestfallen look on his face was like a kick in the gut.
They all fell silent, staring at me. I stared back, wishing I had an answer for them, knowing deep down that anything I tried would just get them hurt. That risk was unacceptable. I didn’t like what I had seen in the undercity that morning -hated it, in fact- but living in misery is better than being dead, and I had already seen too many people I cared about lose their lives.
“I have to go somewhere,” I said, my sudden words shattering the silence.
“Where?” said Talia. “Do you have a plan?”
I didn’t answer.
“You need some help, Boss?” Butch said.
I heaved a sigh. “Butch, where are your kids?”
He exchanged a glance with Talia. “At home...”
“Go home, Butch. Go be with your family. If I need anything, I’ll call you.”
Tas cleared his throat. “Cell phones don’t work in the undercity anymore,” he said. “Zane ripped out all the towers.”
I pressed my lips together. “Fine. If I need you, I’ll send a dream.”
Chapter 8
On my way out, Tas handed me a small two-way radio. “The reception’s not very good,” he warned. “It might work, it might not, but it’s better than nothing. If you need us, give us a call.”
I thanked him, and was about to leave when I realized I had a problem. I’d left my stolen Hummer at the trailer park. I gave him an awkward look. “Uh... Tas, I could use some wheels.”
“Sure,” he said, digging a set of keys out of his pocket. “My truck’s in the lot.”
“Your truck? You mean that old army truck? Isn’t that thing a little big for the undercity?”
“Don’t sweat it,” he said. “Hardly anybody drives down here anymore, except the Peacekeepers. And if it comes to it, my M-715 will tear through those Hummers like aluminum cans.” As improbable as that sounded, I believed him. I’d seen his truck before.
I left the cave and found myself alone in an isolated neighborhood at the far northeastern edge of the city. Tas’s truck was parked on the street a couple blocks down the hill. I hurried in that direction. When I got there, I had to stand there a second just staring at it. That truck was a beast.
If you haven’t seen one before, an M-715 is a United States military truck from the sixties. It’s built in the old way, with rock-solid steel panels and framing, heavy-duty axles, and a bulletproof diesel engine. The things were built like tanks because they had to be the next best thing. On top of all that, Tas had lifted his truck, and fitted it with tires about four feet tall. It also had massive steel bumpers with a winch on the front and rows of high-power lights. And a roll cage.
When he was done with the modifications, Tas had painted the thing a spooky-looking olive-drab green with a white star on the side. It was one of those vehicles that’s beautiful and terrifying all at once, and I was a little hesitant to get in and turn the key. Knowing Tas, there were more surprises waiting inside.
When I hit the unlock button on the remote, the alarm chirped and a tiny ladder rolled out for me under the door. Being six-foot-six, I didn’t need the ladder, but after the beating I’d had, I wasn’t too proud to use it. I opened the door and climbed up into the truck.
As expected, the interior was something else. Tas had appointed the truck with leather seats, custom embroidered carpeting and panels, and a ton of gadgets that I couldn’t begin to guess how to use. There was a big screen in the center of the dash that turned on when I crawled inside. It looked like a high-resolution GPS display, but it display
ed an image of a seatbelt clasp closing and opening. As I closed the door, a friendly female voice said, “Good morning! Please buckle up before driving.”
I rolled my eyes. The only thing worse than technology you don’t understand is technology that thinks it’s smarter than you. I buckled up, and then searched the dash, looking for the keyhole. I opened the little panels and turned a few switches, but only managed to turn on the headlights and the heater.
“Where would you like to go today?” said the computer voice.
“I’d like to go downtown,” I said. “That is, if I could figure out how to start the engine.”
“Would you like me to operate the pedals for you?”
I chuckled. “No, I can reach the pedals just fine.”
I heard a click, and the diesel fired up. The truck vibrated with the massive engine’s torque. The lights in the cab dimmed, and the female computer voice said, “Downtown: Drive straight ahead for three blocks, and then turn right on Hemlock Street.”
I checked the brakes before putting it in drive, just to be sure. Thankfully, the rest of the controls seemed to function normally. As soon as I was moving, the screen changed to an image of clouds floating in front of the sun. “San Francisco will be partially cloudy today, with a high of seventy degrees,” said the computer, “and seventy-five percent humidity. The undercity will reach a high of sixty-four degrees with one hundred percent humidity and scattered showers. Would you like to listen to some music?”
“No, thanks.”
“How about talk radio?”
“God, no. How about a few minutes of peace and quiet?”
“Fine, jerk. Next time, start the car yourself.”
The screen went black. I did a double take. Had I just offended Tas’s truck? I didn’t know what to think. It’s bad enough having a car that won’t shut up. Why on earth would Tas teach it to insult people?
Knowing Tas, he had probably given it some sort of artificial intelligence and then just let it learn whatever it picked up. If the truck had AI, I couldn’t help wondering, did that mean it had feelings? I normally would never even consider the idea, but once you’ve been around an enchanted sword or two, you never can be sure about such things. I thought of my old Blazer and felt a pang of regret. I had to admit, even a plain old vehicle like that had seemed to have a personality of its own. What about a vehicle designed to think for itself?
A Dame to Die For Page 6
