by Mason Dakota
“I can see the headstone now,” whined Michael. “Here lies Griffon Nightlock; too stubborn to ever change his ways.”
“Here lies Chamberlain Blair, killed for his loyalty to Griffon and his stubbornness,” whispered Chamberlain with a flash of a smile. He suddenly gave me a swift kick to the rear for the benefit of any watching eyes. I stumbled forward and almost fell before he caught me by the collar and yanked me back up with the ease of someone snatching a shirt off the floor. We kept the act up all the way to the guard at the bottom of the steps.
“Hold it right there! Where do you think you’re going?” barked the first man at the gate. The man stood a few inches shorter than Chamberlain. He was closer to my height, but his natural Noble blood gave him a stronger complexion.
Just like all the guards patrolling the Lady’s plaza, he wore a black trench coat and carried an illegal semi-automatic at his side, partially hidden beneath his coat. As he raised his voice, a couple of the guards nearby moved cautiously toward us to prevent any sort of escape.
Well there’s no going back now. Hopefully Chamberlain can sell his part.
“The name’s Chamberlain!”
Oh why did you use your real name?
“I’ve brought here a gift for the Lady. I recently heard about the bounty she placed on this man, and I tracked him down to receive the reward,” said Chamberlain as he suddenly punched me in the gut for dramatic effect and shoved me forward. Knowing he held back didn’t change the fact it felt like getting kicked in the gut by a horse. If that was Chamberlain holding back, then I pray to God he never hits me for real! I reeled over trying to catch my breath as I coughed all over the place—an act which didn’t take much faking.
“Oh, stop complaining, thief. You got it easy coming from me. Now, one of you let me in so I can get my reward,” Chamberlain said as I coughed up a lung. He spoke with his voice a bit deeper and scratchier with a snarl and a change in his common vocabulary. Most people who pretended to change their voices just sound fake, but somehow—though by this point I wasn’t surprised knowing Chamberlain—he sounded believable.
Chamberlain could have been a great actor in another life.
“You should have sent word to us. We would have come picked him up from you,” said the guard as he looked me up and down.
“Do I look like I’m stupid? I wasn’t under the impression I appeared to be some Outcast with little more than two cents in his brain” Chamberlain said. “How else would I be sure that I would get my reward without one of you claiming it for yourself if I didn’t bring him in? I caught this…Outcast filth…on my own. I will make certain I get the credit for it, not some doorman.”
The guard snarled at Chamberlain in disgust. Chamberlain smiled back, flashing his pearly whites in confidence. He played his role quite well. The guard studied me one more time and said, “Let’s first see what you’re hiding behind that mask.”
The man reached out his hand to yank off my mask and grazed it with his fingertips before Chamberlain intervened forcefully. His jab connected against the man’s nose like a flash of lightning. I heard a loud crack as the guard dropped to the ground unconscious with a broken nose.
The guards surrounding us moved quickly, but Chamberlain was faster. He drew the hidden revolver tucked beneath his shirt—my revolver to be exact—and placed it against my skull and clicked back the hammer. The guards froze, but none of them lowered their weapons from Chamberlain.
“Anyone moves, and I will blow his brains out. And then you’ll have to explain to the Lady why you let this thief die when she wants to question him first. How else do you plan to uncover the location of everything he took from her? So, you either best start working out your stories now or lower your weapons and keep your hands off my prisoner. I’m not looking for any trouble, but no one is going to touch this man until the Lady has paid me. Do I make myself clear?” barked Chamberlain.
“Don’t tell me Chamberlain just assaulted one of them. This is bad. This is very bad. Now they will definitely kill you guys, and I will have to listen to it,” moaned Michael in my earpiece. The four guards around us didn’t move, but they started to glance at one another as though they were using body language to discuss what they ought to do and who was in charge.
“You have until the count of three to make a decision before I blow his brains out and you’re left breaking the news to the Lady,” shouted Chamberlain.
“You’re dead—you’re dead—you’re dead—you’re soooooo dead,” moaned Michael.
“One,” shouted Chamberlain. Still the guards just looked around questionably to each other.
“Oh, Griffon, why did you have to be such a fool? You and Chamberlain are going to die, and I will have to explain to Alison and Gabriel why,” said Michael.
“Two,” said Chamberlain. He pressed the gun harder to my temple to stress his point. If he got to three I had no idea what he might do. That wasn’t exactly part of the plan. The guards adjusted their grips on their guns, and I started to believe Michael’s rant in my earpiece.
“Well, it’s been nice knowing you guys,” said Michael. It almost sounded like he was about to start sobbing again.
“Three!” snarled Chamberlain.
“Wait—,” shouted one of the guards. I couldn’t help but release the breath I held in, and I think Chamberlain did the same.
“I’ll take you to see her,” said a guard. He was a young kid, probably not even drinking age. His hands were shaking and the others looked angry with him. The runt must have been new and not brave enough to call Chamberlain’s bluff like the rest of the men.
“Lead the way, Boy,” said Chamberlain in his obnoxiously arrogant voice. He holstered the revolver and pushed me forward as the young guard led us through the courtyard and inside the Lady’s mansion.
“Did I not I tell you this plan would work? And you guys were all worried over nothing,” said Michael, burying his fears behind a bad joke. I gritted my teeth behind my mask. My stress level was just a bit too high, and unlike Michael, bad jokes don’t relieve stress for me. Kicking him in the rear, however, just might have been the thing I needed.
This wasn’t the first time I’d been in the Lady’s mansion; of course, that was a long time ago—a time with far less security. It was a few years after my parents were killed and before I met Chamberlain. I’d just snuck out of the orphanage and was living on the streets. At the time it wasn’t the Lady in charge, but some other mobster. I was young and desperate, so I went begging to be part of his crew hoping for a better life than the cruel one under Mistress Walgrove—the mean old lady who ran the orphanage. I remember getting laughed at and watching the door slam in my face.
Looking back, I felt no hard feelings for his rejection because on the way home I met Chamberlain and his adopted family who stepped in to help take care of me. I likely would have ended up dead if that man had said yes. When the Lady’s gang rose to take power, killing the former mansion owner and every member of his gang in a rather un-lady like fashion, she took possession of the mansion and Chicago’s underworld.
People started calling her the Lady after that gruesome day.
The house opened into a white marbled foyer with a matching white marble staircase directly ahead of us. Just under the staircase was a hallway that led to the back part of the house. To my right and left were open pathways leading to other rooms, the one to my left led to a carpeted sitting room and the one to my right lead to a massive dining room. Above me hung a chandelier of diamond shaped glass that magnified the small central light bulb.
The chandelier’s new.
A servant, the butler I assumed, came forward to address us. “Can I help you gentlemen?” he asked all proper-like.
The kid guard cleared his throat and said, “Yeah, um, can you go get Ms. Carline? Tell her that a mister—.” He looked toward Chamberlain wanting a name to tell the butler.
“Chamberlain,” replied Chamberlain.
“Does this Chamberlai
n have a last name?” asked the butler.
Chamberlain just smiled, flashing every pearly white tooth.
The butler stood there for a moment, clearly irritated and too impatient to press more information out of Chamberlain. The man was surely accustomed to dealing with the scum of our city. He scoffed, gave a disgusted look, and left to ascend the marble staircase. We stood there and waited for about two minutes before the Lady came gliding down the stairs.
A deep beauty, as cold as ice, fell from her like a fresh snowfall. Her beauty was alluring, and almost caused me to forget the danger we were in. Her looks were exquisite—like diamonds, with a ferocity in her eyes just as sharp as the precious stones.
Her dark hair hung past her shoulders in large, soft waves. Her feline eyes locked upon us like a panther does just before it strikes its prey. Her devious smile screamed trouble and temptation, and her silky skin begged to be touched. Her aura of lethal beauty both captivated and terrified me at the same time.
She wore a dark pin-striped power suit and a silk red blouse beneath it. Her high-heeled shoes were weapons. Her nails were polished a crimson red to match her blouse…unless those were blood stains. She wore jewelry, three times more expensive than Chamberlain’s car, the way I wear a worn out pair of socks or a hat with common comfortability.
She moved with a ballerina’s grace and a panther’s precision. As she stepped down the marble staircase, her left hand slid across the railing with long fingernails tapping on the wood. I grew more terrified as the space between us shrank with each of her steps. Not once did her piercing gaze leave my face. I was grateful that my face was hidden beneath a mask, so she couldn’t see my expression.
“Now who might this be?” she asked with honeyed words.
The kid that took us in stumbled over his words as he kept his gaze focused. I couldn’t blame him for his struggle to speak in her presence. “This is…M—Mister Chamberlain…and he is here to bring you a gift—M—My Lady.” He bowed his head respectfully, almost touching his knees with his lips.
She glided forward and offered her hand to Chamberlain who appeared unaffected by her beauty. His eyes were hard, his face like stone, and his expression locked his distaste. It was like he saw past her disguise and into her soul. I’ve seen Chamberlain do this before, seeing past the masks people wear, and nobody enjoyed it.
I think Alexandra figured that out quickly. She looked at Chamberlain directly, eye to eye, and her face fell a bit. Her disguise was pointless. He saw the real her. And in that moment her cold beauty broke, and I almost felt sorry for her. But Chamberlain, aware, acted quickly and took her hand in his mighty grip. He smiled a lion’s smile and said, “Hello Alexandra Carline.”
Almost as quickly as it came, her shocked expression fled and was replaced with the calm and confident Queen of Chicago. “You may leave us now,” she nearly shouted to the kid.
The kid didn’t catch at first what she meant and by the time he did, he stuttered, “Who…me?”
Oh, big mistake kid.
Her glare lost its seductive, alluring appeal and turned vicious like a cobra prepared to strike. I was right. She struck him forcibly across the cheek, raking him with her nails, and he fell back in surprise. Her nails left scratches that drew faint red lines of blood.
This kitten’s got claws.
“I gave you a command,” she growled through her teeth. I looked to Chamberlain and saw a man fighting with every nerve in his body not to crush Alexandra. But we all knew Alexandra was compensating in response to whatever Chamberlain saw in her. Stepping in would only reinforce her need to compensate more. It was best to let her think she’d regained power than to escalate the situation.
The kid quickly bobbed his head up and down in several bows as he said, “Yes, My Lady, right away, My Lady.”
Then turned and all but ran out the front door, leaving the three of us there. Of course, we weren’t entirely alone. A guard twice my size stood outside the door and another stood at the bottom of the staircase, but to me they might as well have been robots or statues instead of people.
Alexandra put on the seductive look again and turned toward Chamberlain like nothing happened. “Mr. Chamberlain, correct?” She began using that honeyed tone of voice. “Please tell me the tale of how you came about capturing this thief? I must express my gratitude, of course, for your delivery of this wonderful gift. But I’m ever curious—and, if I’m honest, a bit excited, to hear—how you managed to accomplish such a task.”
The woman is good. I’ll give her that.
Chamberlain stared down at her and said politely, “Well… I guess you can say I caught him red handed on the streets.” The look he gave her communicated enough. Likely her mind played various possible outcomes of a fight between Chamberlain and me. Her smile grew, and she chuckled. Yes, even her chuckle was attractive and oddly innocent, or at least it would have been if I hadn’t known she could stab my eyes out with the nearest utensil.
“I like you Mr. Chamberlain. You’ve shown more guile and skill than most of my men. Tell me; does ten grand and a job as my…personal…bodyguard sound good to you?” she asked as she took a step closer to him, past the normal conversational space between individuals.
Well this just got awkward.
She practically pressed herself against him, standing so close that he could probably feel her breath on his neck. Close enough for a lover to slip a knife into someone’s gut. My eyes darted to her hands in search of a knife which wasn’t there. Unlike me, Chamberlain showed no fear, but I knew he was uncomfortable with Alexandra’s proximity. But, step back or push Alexandra away would be enough for her guards to kill us both.
He has to either dance with the devil or suffer the consequences now.
Chamberlain nodded slowly and said, “I live to serve.” It was more a personal statement of character than any sort of promise made to the Lady. The Lady didn’t know any difference.
“Good thing Alison had to work tonight,” I heard Michael say in my earpiece.
Alexandra smiled and I felt my knees shake.
Man, she’s good at this.
“Please, a charming fella like you can call me Alex. Now what do you suggest we do with this gift? Shall we open him up together?”
Gulp.
Chamberlain looked me up and down with a mocked snarl on his face that made even me terrified that he had suddenly turned evil.
He gave the Lady a charming smile and said, “I can tell you already have plans for him. I bet a woman such as yourself has something very…exciting…in store for him.” If I did not know any better, I would say Chamberlain was purposely trying to have me killed.
“You’re as intuitive as you are handsome. I love that in a man,” she said with a wink. “You’re right! I do have plans for him. You, Guardsman, take my gift to the isolation room until I’m ready for him. Also bring the reward for our friend, Mr. Chamberlain, here,” she said to one of the guards.
“My dear Lady, if you would be so kind, I would like to watch you work on him. I’ve heard stories of you in action for years and would like to see for myself. If you would not mind that is,” asked Chamberlain.
She looked him over slowly up and down before nodding. “I don’t believe I could ever turn down the offer of you watching me do anything. I think maybe I like the idea of your eyes upon me a bit too much. Come, follow me.”
“Is she actually into him, or is it just an act? Cough once for act, twice for not an act,” said Michael.
I carefully coughed once. Alexandra was too good of a con artist. I knew she’d wrapped her fingers around the Mayor with the same tactics, and he was still paying for it years down the road. I just hoped Chamberlain knew it and could remain unaffected.
She turned and walked out like a proud peacock. When nobody was looking our way, Chamberlain nodded once to me as if he had read my mind. He pushed me forward, careful to keep a strong grip on my arm to keep his cover up, as we followed behind Alexandra and her gua
rdsman.
We came to a door and waited as the guardsman unlocked it. Once opened, it revealed a small staircase leading down. We followed Alexandra down the flight of stairs. The door shut behind us and locked.
Gulp.
We came to another door. The guardsman unlocked it and swung it open. Inside was a small room made completely of concrete with a pair of chairs; one had leg and arm straps. A copper pipe ran across the ceiling and stopped at a small spout that hung directly above the strapped chair. There was a small surgical table on wheels holding all sorts of knives and strange tools.
“My favorite form of torture is ancient Chinese water torture. A couple of hours in here and he’ll be singing everything I want to know. It does have some nasty side effects. Like…insanity. It’s really quite enjoyable to watch, if you ask me,” said Alexandra as much to Chamberlain as to me.
A gentleman shouldn’t allow a pretty face to fantasize such evil thoughts.
“That is going to be a problem, Beautiful,” I said.
She turned toward me with a confused and vicious look on her face and spat, “What gave you the right to speak to me?”
I lifted my cuffed arms and said, “Why, this of course, Princess.”
I broke the links apart like a loaf of bread.
Allow me to clarify something here, I didn’t suddenly acquire super strength, though that was the impression I hoped to make. Seeing a strong man, like Chamberlain, pull off such a feat was terrifying enough, but seeing a skinny man like me do it should have been even more impressive. Our secret was that we’d replaced the cuff’s center link with a steel colored plastic one that could be easily broken. In the dark night it went completely unnoticed, as planned.
Sometimes things do go according to plan.
In less than a second, the flawless Lady’s face went from beauty to shock to anger before settling into rage. She reached for a concealed gun on her person, but I was already on the move. From the corner of my eye, I saw the guardsman draw his pistol just before Chamberlain struck and knocked him out cold.
