by D. R. Mather
Three minutes later and Judy was gaining control. “I’m sorry honey, I don’t know what happened. I knew he was going to shoot you in the head, I just knew it. After I had him all over me and I thought about how close I was to maybe making a mistake that would have cost you your life, I kind of fell apart.”
“You did just what you had to do; you didn’t make a mistake okay?”
“But it was so close.”
“It’s always close baby, it always is. It has to be or the plan doesn’t work.” Judy nodded her head and sat back.
“I need a coat.”
“One coat coming up.”
Kevin had to drive on the sidewalk to avoid the police cars, but he made it out of the bank parking lot and onto the street. Shortly after, Judy was trying on, of course, white coats with thick fur piping.
“You like?”
“I like, a lot!” Kevin smiled.
Soon after the new coat purchase, they were all heading back to the Inn.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Benny was sitting in a room alone. He was talking to someone that no one but Benny could hear, even if there had been someone else with him.
“Really, no shit, I can?” A smile came to Benny as he turned his palms up in front of him. A tiny stream of light smoke began to lift lazily from them. Within a few minutes, the smoke was much heavier and there was an orange and red glow developing from the flat of his hands.
“No, no, I’m getting it, it’s working, I just have to fine tune it.”
Within minutes, a small ball of fire was circling in each of Benny’s palms.
“I think so yeah, it kind of tickles but everything is working fine. Throw them? Where?”
Benny opened his eyes; he looked around the room and saw a space at the brick wall that had nothing near it. He pulled back his arm and let one of the fireballs fly. When it hit the wall, it exploded into a shower of sparks, then went out. Benny threw the other one with the same results.
“Fucking awesome dude!” He ran over to where they had hit and inspected the spots. Each impact left a small chunk of brick missing from the wall. He spun in a circle while laughing, “Shit man, send me up there now, I can take them all with this little trick!”
As quickly as his excitement started, it was over; some unseen force lifted him up and threw him into the wall. Benny collapsed to the floor.
“What the hell man, what was that shit?”
Benny got up, went back over to the chair and sat back down. His eyes were closed again and he talked to someone or something again.
“Okay, okay, I get it; we aren’t ready, chill alright?”
His chair began to vibrate. Apparently whatever or whoever Benny was talking to, it didn’t like his smart mouth.
An hour later, Benny left the room and walked over to Stan, who was sitting on a torn old sofa, drinking beer. He slapped the can from Stan’s hand.
“No more fucking beer, shithead.”
“But I just cracked that Benny!”
“No more booze and no more drugs. You got that, shithead?”
Stan looked a little scared now. “Sure, I got it, but the guys might not like it so much though.”
“Huh, I didn’t think of that, wait here a second.” Benny left the room. Shortly after that, Stan heard ten or twelve rounds go off, followed by Benny’s return, “Hey, you’re right, they didn’t like it.”
Stan ran from the room with Benny close behind him.
“You killed them all!” Stan spun on Benny to say something else and got the side of Benny’s gun across the side of his skull. Stan felt like he was going to puke, staggered a bit, but managed to straighten out.
“From here on, we stay clean and sober. Got that, shithead?”
Stan held the side of his head and could feel wetness flowing through his fingers, “I got it, I got it.”
“Good, keep it that way or you won’t see the next sunrise shithead.”
“But what about the guys, we need more than just the two of us, right?”
“Stan, my man, we’re relocating, we’re heading off to Alabama for the winter, how about that man?”
“Why the hell would we go there, that’s even farther away?”
“Because I said so, shithead. I already know where I’m going, it seems help is going to come to us, shithead!”
Stan could only stare; he wasn’t sure what was going on anymore. Benny was checking out the carnage in the room when he heard something, something in his head.
“Yeah, ok, can do.” He spun and faced Stan, “Shithead, it seems you have a phone call, go in the room and have a seat.”
“A phone cal…?” He stopped before he got pistol whipped to death. Stan walked into the other room and closed the door; a small stream of blood had run all the way down his neck and was now being collected by his shirt. He sat in the only chair in the room and waited, for what he didn’t know.
Stan emerged from the room an hour later and walked over to Benny, “I think I get it now. Something told me I’m to be your number two man and it said to tell you that if you ever touch me again, you won’t live to see the next minute, let alone the next sunrise.”
“Hey, man, I was just funning ya.” Benny, it seemed, had learned when to listen. “Shithea….Stan, get all of their weapons, we have to move, and I think it’s gonna be a long winter, followed by one long son of a bitch Spring.”
Stan picked up all of the old gang’s weapons, and then he and Benny headed out the door.
It was going to be a long winter.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Marie got a call in the night. It wasn’t one like most people got; this one was in her head. She tossed all night long. She wasn’t sure what the thing in her head wanted from her. By morning, she was sure. Marie dressed, walked over to her window, opened it, and threw the amulet out into the drifting snow. She had new work to do now; in fact, she wasn’t really Marie at all anymore. She spent most of her day looking around Cindy’s room; she had to decide what to do.
Kevin walked into the living room carrying a few wrapped packages. He walked over to the tree and placed them under it, along with the growing collection that was already there. As he finished unloading he stood up. Someone was coming down the stairs.
Clop, clop…clop, clop…clop, clop…
He laughed to himself, “That’s my girl.” He faced the entrance as Judy cut the corner.
“Honey, Beth says she’s ready whenever you are… what’s that?” Her eyes focused on the new stack of Christmas gifts under the tree.
’Eyes of an Eagle,’ Kevin thought to his self.
“Those weren’t there an hour ago.”
“Maybe you just didn’t notice them baby.”
Judy placed her hands firmly on either sides of her waist, “You’re kidding right? Me, not notice Christmas gifts?”
“I suppose you know each and every package that’s under there huh?” Kevin asked.
“And even who gets which, if you must know, silly man.”
Kevin threw his hands up, “Women, we just aren’t from the same planet.” He headed off to wait for Beth at the bottom of the stairs. Judy walked behind him and slapped his butt. Kevin turned and she bolted full speed off to the kitchen, giggling as she went. Kevin just stood there shaking his head, “I really don’t know if I’ll ever be able to keep up with that energy.”
“Hey Kevin, ready to give it a try?” Beth was walking down the stairs to meet Kevin.
“Let’s do it shall we?”
“Okey dokey, after me,” She walked past him.
Kevin followed Beth over to the panel in the living room, “These women are going to be the death of me I swear it,” he said as he went through into the big hall.
“Do you have the key?”
“So let me understand this Beth, you had to get here before me, but you have to wait for me in order to get into the basement?”
“A woman has to stay one step in front of a man all the time pal, that’s ju
st the way it is.”
“Yeah, so I’m learning.” Kevin unlocked the basement door.
“After you my dear,” Kevin bowed out of the way. Beth peaked into the dark stairway and then turned to Kevin.
“Amm…you first.”
“But didn’t you just say that wom……oh never mind.” Kevin turned on the light and headed down, Beth following closely behind. In fact, until Kevin was half way down, he didn’t even notice that Beth had both of her hands on his shoulders. Then he caught her ‘peeking past him from the corner of his vision. He stopped at mid-flight and turned to her, “You’re freaking scared, aren’t you?”
“Just keep going, I’ll tell you when we get to the bottom and I can scope the place out.”
“Your call, chicken little.”
At the bottom, Beth was scanning the entire empty basement.
“Beth, you may want to check behind that steel chair, there could be a midget hiding behind it.”
“Oh ha, ha, smartass.”
Beth walked over and sat. She told Kevin that both times she was attacked, she was dragged into the basement of the apartment complex her parents lived in. “I was scared to death; I had no idea if I’d live. My parents didn’t even believe me the first time – I was twelve years old and my own mother and father didn’t believe me.” Beth was crying now.
Kevin moved to Beth and touched her arm, “Beth, you don’t have to tell me.”
“No Kevin, I’ve never told anyone, I’ve always kept it pent up inside of me. For some reason, I see you and I know I can trust you.”
“For that, I thank you Beth, it means the world to me.” She reached out and touched the side of his face.
“I never got any therapy because no one believed me. When I was fourteen, the same three boys dragged me down again, only, this time I don’t think they wanted me to hang around and point fingers.” Beth stood up and pulled the front of her pants down enough to show her belly button area. No one could miss the six marks that seemed to be in random places on her tummy.
“Christ honey that was a really big knife, those marks are almost two inches wide.”
Beth fixed her pants and sat back down. “They went deep too; I had over eight surgeries to fix all the damage. The second time, my parents had to believe me, but the pigs that did this to me took off, they were never found. The cops thought they went to Mexico or something.”
Judy startled Kevin as she slipped past him and grabbed Beth, “Sweetheart, we have your back now, it’s in the past, and you have to let it go.”
For the next half hour, Beth let it go; she really let it go. Just as Kevin thought he saw the episode coming to a close, Beth stood up and screamed the most horrendous scream he had ever heard. Beth threw her arms and hands straight out in front of her and REALLY let go. Two bolts of what he could only later describe as ‘lightning’ blasted through the basement. They were a medium blue color with streaks of white mixed in. They weren’t all over the place and they weren’t big, maybe only the thickness of two of Kevin’s cigarettes touching side by side. Across one hundred and fifty feet of basement they went, straight as an arrow, no wavering, and no wandering off. Both blasts impacted the stone on the other side, at the same height as Beth’s hands. The impact stayed blue after, it didn’t just turn orange then yellow like he would have expected to see as something lost its energy. It stayed until Beth stopped it.
“Shit.” That was the best word Kevin had in him. Judy didn’t even have that.
Beth pulled her hands to her face, “Oh crap; I hope I didn’t hurt anything.”
“You two wait here,” Kevin jogged off to the other side of the basement. When he got there he lost his ability to speak for a minute. The stone was thick in the basement, about three feet to be exact. He was standing in front of two holes the same distance apart as Beth’s hands. He fingered the stone lightly in case they were hot. It was cold, cold as stone to be precise. “Judy, run up and get me that pointer Will keeps on his desk.”
Judy was gone in a flash. Beth walked to Kevin.
“Did I do that?”
“Yeah honey, you sure did.” Both of them were examining the two holes. The stone was cold, but the stone was also melted at the holes. Kevin heard Judy’s boots coming across the basement and she was behind him before he could turn around.
“Here you go honey.”
“Thanks.” Kevin opened the pointer and slipped it in a hole. “Amm…this pointer is three feet; I’m not hitting stone. Beth, you went out into the ground kid.” Kevin drew the pointer back in; it had dirt on the tip of it.
“Oh, I was pissed.”
Kevin could only start laughing; he took the back of Beth’s neck and pulled her forehead until it touches his.
“Note to Kevin, never piss Beth off.”
He kissed her cheek and released her. He looked at Judy to the side of him and she was sweeping one foot left and right, her head tilted forward but her eyes looking up at Kevin. “Oh come here you silly bird,” he said, then grabbed her to his side. Now Judy was safely nestled on her man.
“Kevin, what does this all mean?” asked Beth.
“What it means Beth, is that we need to get you some training so you can learn to control it. We can’t have you blasting a hole into the side of Colorado because your paycheck was late now, can we?”
“I suppose not, but train how?”
“We need some things, stuff we can knock around and such.”
“How about some chairs as well? We can establish a safe zone, if you’re sitting, you’re out of the way,” said Judy.
Kevin looked at the holes again and thought to himself, ‘There’s a ‘safe zone?’
“Good idea honey,” he said, “can you see to it? I saw a bunch of them leaning over against the ballroom wall.”
Judy’s was doing her little excited bunny hops again, “Yes sir, can do sir.” She saluted and grinned at the same time.
“I think we could use a few more lights as well,” Kevin said. “It’s kind of dim here; I don’t want anyone to miss anything.”
“Ah Kevin, I don’t know how to do wiring,” said Beth.
He looked her in the eyes and saw she wasn’t kidding, “HA, come on nut job, ole Kevin will take care of that.” They walked off together.
***
The next morning, Kevin was standing at the main desk talking to Will when Marie came walking over. She was carrying a single suitcase. Kevin and Will turned to each other with an inquisitive look.
“Hi Will, I’m going to stay with my sister in Bolder for a few weeks, you know, celebrate Christmas and all.”
Kevin started to ask about Cindy but he got cut off.
“Don’t worry Kevin, I’ll be back at the start of the second week of January, she should be just fine until then.”
“Have a very Merry Christmas Marie.” Kevin hugged her and kissed her cheek, then headed out to the living room. Kevin heard the main doors close before he got over to Judy and Cindy, “Cindy, did you know Marie was leaving for a while?” he asked.
“Yip, she told me yesterday afternoon.”
“Huh,” was all Kevin said, then he joined them. Something didn’t feel right when he had touched Marie, not that it was bad, but more like a feeling of nothing; as if he couldn’t even feel her mind.
Marie didn’t have a sister in Bolder. She had to get away for a while so she could make her plans and not be influenced by Kevin. She had to meet with someone or something that no one else could see save a few men down south.
***
The week before Christmas, Judy and April were begging Kevin to take them shopping.
“Why don’t you just use your car April?” he asked.
“Because both of us decided we needed a package-carrying slave. Your name was drawn from a hat.”
“Yeah I’ll just bet, and who else’s name was in the hat?”
Judy slapped April’s arm, “Shit we forgot to put other names in the hat!”
“Aha, I figure
d as much,” Kevin said with a grin.
Kevin took the women to town and had to confess at the end of the day that he had actually enjoyed himself. The girls were coming out of the final store –Judy had kicked Kevin out about a half hour earlier with some lame excuse about ‘ducks roaming where geese should fly’, or some such nonsense. Kevin saw them exiting the store, jumped out of the truck and ran to them.
“Wait, wait,” said Judy, and she looked the packages over.
Once she’d done this, she allowed Kevin to advance. They tallied quite a load by the end of the day; nothing was going to fit in the cab anymore, so Kevin put some more protected items in the back of the truck. He looked up at the dark clouds that were moving in over the mountains.
“We should get back; it looks like something’s coming.”
Everyone jumped into the truck and headed off to home.
After the truck was unloaded and the girls were all snuggly warm in house slippers, Kevin went out to the truck and got what he had purchased while the girls were shopping at the last store. It was right across the street so he decided to get them. Snowflakes were beginning to fall lightly while Kevin took the four one inch thick, four foot by three foot, steel plates off the truck and put them near the entrance doors. He headed back to the truck to put it away, then heard the doors open and Alex and Roland call out.
“We can get these for you Kevin.”
He waved an arm up into the air, “Knock yourselves out guys.” He laughed as he got into the truck. Three minutes later, he came around the corner to the Inn and there sat the four plates of steel in the same place as he’d left them. “Aha.” He grabbed two with one arm, opened the door and headed out towards the basement. In a few minutes, the other two had joined the first ones. “There, that should get us started.”
He then walked out of the basement.
