by Mason Dakota
I heard it.
The mobsters heard it.
It was so loud maybe even the Imperial soldiers on the street below heard it.
I stood there frozen and trapped between two firing lines. I looked left and then right to see their weapons trained on me.
“I guess it’s too late to ask for forgiveness here?”
I expected the blow to the back of my head.
Yeah, I’d say it’s been a good year.
Sixty-Nine
The skid marks they made with my knees woke me. My arms were hoisted in the air between two mobsters as my legs dragged the ground. My head drooped, and all I saw were portions of the floor and darkness through one open eye. I couldn’t open the other eye. I guess I was due for a nice shiner.
“Well, you did good, old buddy, old pal,” I muttered. “What a year! I’ll have to start a scrapbook. As soon as I figure out how to get rid of these clowns.”
“Shut it!” shouted one of the mobsters.
“Oh….,” I groaned in honest surprise. “I thought I said that in my head. You know…its rather rude to listen in on private conversations.”
“That’s enough! Your constant chatting is giving me a headache.”
“I didn’t know bottom-feeders had a brain! Sheesh! I’ve been wrong for years on that,” I muttered. I wasn’t sure how much of that was said out loud and how much of it was in my head. I was dazed and swimming between the real world and my inner thoughts. I’m guessing by how the mobster lifted me just enough to drive his knee into my chest, I was saying stuff out loud.
I coughed blood into the mask I still wore. My breath was foul and coppery. His knee pounded into already cracked or broken ribs. Needless to say, it hurt. The mobsters resumed dragging me. I chuckled and they stopped, I’m sure they shared a look between each other, and then one asked, “What’s so funny?”
For the first time I looked up to see both of their block-shaped heads. They were typical hired muscle and both Nobles. I smiled beneath my mask.
They touched me! They’ve got the virus now. That means I still beat the tar out of these two!
“Just thinking about how pretty your faces are soon to get.”
They shared a confused, twisted expression, and one of them asked, “What’s he talking about?”
“Nonsense. You rattled his brain. Come on, the boss is waiting on us.”
They resumed the dragging once more. One of them coughed, as if he was clearing his throat and I giggled.
Oh, I hope he’s the one who hit me.
Death makes me cynical.
I heard a door open, felt my feet slide across a threshold, and was thrown face first onto a rough carpeted floor.
“Thank you boys,” said a female’s voice—Alexandra Carline’s voice, “Go back to the elevator. I don’t want any of those Sabols getting in here, and if the Emperor’s men arrive lead them here, but stall them by taking the long route. They may be our allies, but I want my time with my prize before they try to take him.”
“Yes, ma’am,” one of them said. I heard the door close and the two bottom-feeders exited the room.
“Well…well…well,” she said.
I groaned. Loudly. She stopped saying whatever she was about to say. Slowly I lifted my torso off the ground and remained on my knees before her, and said, “That’s your opening line? Rather over used by too many movie villains, wouldn’t you say? Why can’t you just say something original for once, Alexandra?”
Lady Alexandra Carline sat calmly in a big cushioned leather chair behind a massive oak desk. She wore a black business suit and held a pistol in her hand. She tapped the gun on the desk to some beat in her head. She wore her hair down and straight, probably for this special occasion. Five bodyguards stood in the room. Their guns were locked on me. Alexandra was no fool, and she learned from her mistakes. I actually felt honored by all the security and guns pointed my direction.
It was well deserved, especially when I kept two small knives hidden up my sleeves that the mobster disarming me never found.
When my eyes fell upon Evelyn, I tried to hide a sigh of relief. She sat unharmed on a metal folding chair. Her hands were tied behind her back. She wore the same outfit from the previous night; dark jeans, a faded blouse, a light blue coat, and a dark playful look in her eyes. The look was an act meant just for Alexandra and her goons. I knew Evelyn. I knew her anxiety was going through the roof. She was terrified but would never show it.
Alexandra looked flustered by my outburst and said, “Excuse me?”
“I mean every bad guy starts with that line when he thinks he’s won.”
She smiled, leaned back in her chair, and asked, “And I haven’t won?”
I sighed and stood to my creaking feet. Every gun in the room except for Alexandra’s clicked as they lined up on me. I pretended to ignore them as I smoothed out my suit.
“You sure looked cool laying down the law, Griffon,” I whispered to myself as I smoother out my suit.
“What was that?” she asked.
“I said,” shouting it at her, “How many men did you lose to ‘win’?”
She smiled and said, “Enough.”
I waved my hand toward Alexandra as I addressed her men in the room. “See? This is what I was trying to get the guys outside to understand. You’re expendable to her! Do you really want to be working for someone like that?”
“You’re wasting your time if you think you can turn my men against me, Shaman.”
“Yeah, I figured they were too dumb to understand what I was saying anyway.” More than one of her men snarled and Alexandra snickered.
“Have you come all this way to make jokes, Shaman?”
“That was my first priority.”
She smirked. “And your second?”
“I’ve come to accept your surrender,” I said. Both her and her men chuckled now.
“Is that so?”
I nodded. I kept my arms crossed before me, standing straight and tall. I wanted to seem as serious and intimidating as I could.
“And what army have you brought with you to make that happen?” she asked.
“I’m Shaman, baby. I am the army. But I did bring some friends along,” I said as I waved to the window where outside the Sabols and the Empire’s men battled in the street.
“You have no weapon, no hope of escape. I have what you desire. And it would seem that you are injured. Am I to take your threat seriously?” she mocked. Her men chuckled again.
I tilted my head and said, “I think my reputation speaks for itself.” Some of her men stopped laughing. They were probably remembering broken bones I’d given them in the past. Even Alexandra’s lips formed the thinnest of smiles, though wicked it still was. She raised her silver pistol right at me. It was a hand cannon capable of blowing my head off at that range.
“Then maybe I should just kill you now and save my men the humiliation,” she said.
Staring death right in the face, I found my reaction comical. I didn’t panic or beg for my life. I wasn’t heroic and ready to fight. Nope. I simply shrugged my shoulders with total lack of concern. It was such an odd feeling. I caught a few worried glances from Alexandra’s men. From what they could see it looked like I held all the power in the room. Good. In any hostage situation it was important to have the control—even if you were the captive.
“Save the bullet, baby,” I whispered.
Alexandra’s expression changed from cold deadly killer to confused little girl. “What do you mean?”
I spread my arms out wide and said, “Because I’ve got the virus. The virus! I’ll likely be dead tomorrow at the latest, if not sooner. So just save your bullet. You’ll need it for Rigs and his army outside.”
As soon as I said virus everyone in the room gasped and took a step away from me. The news of the virus hadn’t been told to the public yet, but word still got around in some circles. Some rumors were too big to hide. Alexandra knew of it, and the men in the room were some of h
er elite members, so surely they would know as well. Alexandra’s breathing grew heavier. I knew she questioned how contagious I was and how far away she needed to be.
Wouldn’t it be great if Karma worked just once in my life?
“Then maybe I should shoot you just to put you out of your misery,” replied Alexandra with a quiet demeanor of fear.
I lifted a finger and made “tsk” noises before saying, “Wouldn’t do that either, if I were you because I have some things you want. See I still have some tricks up my sleeves.”
No pun intended.
She squinted her eyes and asked, “What do you mean?”
“You’re at war and the battle is at your doorsteps. You’ve been trying to kill the Sabols, your biggest competition in Chicago, for months now, but they’ve grown stronger each time you’ve failed. They’re here to tear down this building because both of us are inside. Now, on top of that, you’ve got the Empire breathing down your neck and killing your men. You’re bleeding, Alexandra and unless you act quickly you won’t make it out of this alive.”
“What are you proposing then?” she asked. She was taking the bait. Good.
“A trade.”
“What sort of trade?”
I looked at Evelyn and suddenly remembered how she pleaded with me not to put on the mask, how she said I could never give it up, and how it was a part of me. She said my selfishness would never let the idea of Shaman die for anyone, not even her. I think Evelyn understood what I was thinking. Her eyes grew wide with realization and she shook her head, hoping I wouldn’t do the very thing she had pleaded me to do from the beginning. The very thing I came here to do.
Her eyes were so convincing I had to force myself to look away from her. I strode confidently across the room, around Alexandra’s desk, and past Evelyn toward the window. Every gun stayed carefully trained on me, but nobody tried to stop me. They merely scooted away as if I had, well, the plague. I guess that analogy was actually true that time.
“You asked for the devil tonight. That’s what you got and what I offer,” I spoke softly. As I passed Evelyn I very quickly flashed the small blade up my sleeve. Her eyes sparkled. That was all that I needed to see that she understood.
“Are you offering your life in exchange for hers? That’s not a fair trade coming from a dead man, now is it?” Alexandra asked.
I spun around the moment I passed Evelyn to place both hands on her shoulders. I leaned in somewhat toward her head as I spoke to Alexandra, “I have shown you my capabilities. Imagine being in control of them, like in your situation with Rigs. While your men have failed to kill him, I’ve beaten him three times. I can do it again, even tonight. I caused the war outside your doors. I can end it in your favor. Release Miss Chambers, and I promise I will kill Rigs myself and fix the problem with the Empire’s men. You sitting in that chair should tell you I keep my promises. Kill me if you like, but you’ll be killing a dead man and your opportunity to get everything you wanted without the consequences.”
I stood up and slipped my hands free of Evelyn’s shoulders. As I did I slipped one of the small knives into Evelyn’s tied up hands behind her back. I’m good with my hands and nobody saw me make the move. I immediately stepped away from Evelyn to keep the attention on me.
I moved again to the window and stared out at the streets below. Several military vehicles surrounded the building. Soldiers in red battle armor were bunkered down and firing blaster rifles into a horde of Sabols coming upon them. Red streaks colored the air between them. Gunfire answered blasters. That horde was made up of every citizen convinced of Rig’s mantra for anarchy. They swarmed like bees upon the soldiers caught between a horde and NPFC mobsters. Bodies were stacking up in the streets, but the horde still came and they still surged like a desert wash after a three day thunderstorm toward the soldiers.
I questioned where the reinforcements were for the soldiers, for Adam’s men. When I looked farther out across the city, and my eyes fell upon the Stinks, my gut dropped. Even from far away, I saw soldiers marching through the Stinks. They carried flamethrowers. Tongues of fire lashed from their weapons set buildings ablaze.
The Stinks were burning.
My home was burning.
My friends were there.
They’re trying to kill the virus.
I looked toward the Noble District and saw soldiers move from home to home to test citizens for the virus. They left most untouched, but once in a rare dozen they dragged entire families out of their homes and loaded them up into vehicles.
I did what my father wanted. I spread the virus.
“They’re burning the city,” I whispered so quietly I was sure nobody but Evelyn, who was closest to me, heard.
So this is how it all ends.
“And what if I lack confidence in your promise?” Alexandra asked my back.
“If you let Evelyn go safely…you get me either way. Sell me if you like. The Empire has a high price on my head. You could be rich, maybe even richer when they discover I am Patient Zero. Or I can fight you now, and die, and likely infect you and the others in this room in the process, and you get nothing in return. You’ve got some options, so what’s it gonna be?” I asked.
Alexandra was quiet for a minute in thought. So I turned around from the window, sickened by what I saw going outside,and said, “I suggest you take the deal, Alexandra. It’s your best chance to get some reward after tonight. You’ll be sparing the lives of your men.”
Alexandra looked from me to Evelyn and then asked, “How do I know your word is good?”
I looked her straight in the eyes and said, “When I give my word you can be sure it’s good, and just to prove it, I give my word that if she doesn’t get out safely I will kill you and everyone that matters to you. How’s that for a promise?”
That wickedly evil and yet very attractive smile spread across Alexandra’s face. She glowed like a victorious queen. “Prove your word to me by taking off the mask,” she said.
I quickly looked away from her and stared once again out the window. “No,” I whispered.
Alexandra fired her pistol.
The deep throated bark of the gun left me feeling dizzy as the bullet punctured the window and shattered it into millions of tiny pieces. Cold air sucked inside as though the room took a deep breath of arctic air. Shards of glass rained crystallized, jagged drops to the streets below. I sympathized with the window. I knew right then how it felt. I heard the hammer of the pistol click back as Alexandra pointed the gun at Evelyn and said, “Enough games or the next one is in Miss Chambers’s head.”
I held my breath and my tongue. I looked at Evelyn, and I remembered her questioning plea. “Would you give up the mask for me?” Her eyes spoke that same question even now.
For you, in a heartbeat.
Very slowly I raised a hand and took off my fedora. I grazed my gloved finger around the brim before stretching out my head and tossing the hat out the window. It spiraled down with the breeze and disappeared into a dying city. I hoped it would find a safer place.
I loved that hat.
It felt like separating from my child.
What I loved even more was my mask. I kept my face turned away from everyone as I reached up with resisting hands. Taking a weak grasp of the mask I slowly slipped it off my face. I held it and stared into its lenses before dropping my hands to my side. Another gentle breeze struck and reluctantly I released the mask to float away from me forever.
Goodbye Shaman…
If giving up the hat felt like sending my child away to college, giving up my mask felt like discovering my child was dead. Perhaps the child in me was dying. I slowly turned around and for the second time that evening witnessed others gasping in fear at the sight of me. Evelyn, eyes huge and teary-eyed, tried to say something through the duct tape over her mouth. I noticed that she took to cutting through her bonds at an increased rate, nearly careless to whether or anyone saw her do it.
Alexandra’s expression showed
textbook disbelief at my true identity. Her mouth hung wide open and her eyes grew vastly in dimension. She mouthed words that never reached her tongue and a small quiet sound resembling a laugh slipped from her throat. She shook her head. I made the coldest woman I knew speechless.
…Hello Griffon Nightlock.
I waited until finally Alexandra got enough control of herself to start laughing. Her men looked around at each other and slowly laughed—though in a more nervous and uncomfortable way than Alexandra. She was hysterical.
“Griffon…Nightlock? Well then, and all this time I thought you were some third grade educated fool who won the lottery. Never did I imagine you as Shaman. You had me convinced with that trick during the ball with having someone else disguised as Shaman while Ziavir beat you.”
“Thank you for bringing up that pleasant memory,” I said.
She smiled and said, “That was quite the trick. I just can’t believe that the nightmare terrifying my men has been the weak puppet working down the hall from me these past six months. Unbelievable.”
“What can I say, Alexandra?” I asked as I shrugged, “I’m a master of disguise.”
“You look like death,” she mocked. I really didn’t want to get into or see how bad I looked. I felt like a ghoul and probably resembled one.
“Yeah, I’m scheduled to meet with my stylist tomorrow. She works wonders on my skin like you wouldn’t believe,” I said. Some of her men snickered. “So, do we have an agreement, Alexandra? You get me and Evelyn goes free,” I said.
Alexandra smiled and it was all the confirmation I needed. Evelyn wasn’t pleased. She wasn’t the sort of girl to play the damsel in distress, and she certainly wasn’t about to let someone she loved suffer in her place. With a snap her bonds were cut and she leapt to her feet driving the knife I gave her into the nearest unsuspecting mobster.
That’s my girl!
Alexandra, with shock spreading across her face, screamed, “Kill them both!”
