And Business Is Good

by Michael Todd

  No matter what he was into.

  Mamacita sat back in the chair, thinking about the weapons, their obvious fitness, and the grit in their eyes. It took her back.

  Back to a time before she had become what she was today.

  Was it time to accept her past? Her lips pressed together as she continued to review the clothes and make notes of where she might want to shop in town.

  The past was perhaps better left there.

  7

  There were at least three squad cars parked on the San Ysidro street. Everyone was talking—or in some cases yelling—trying to figure out what the hell happened in that drug house and where the remainder of the bodies had gone.

  The parts they had found told them nothing.

  No way the evidence was eaten. Nothing just ate body parts.

  A black SUV pulled up in front of the house and parked, and after a moment an attractive woman and a very handsome man climbed out and looked around like there was nothing surprising happening.

  “Stop right there,” one of the cops ordered, putting up his hand. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but this is a crime scene. I don’t care how much money you have—you can’t just come in here when something like this is going on.”

  “We are your backup,” Calvin replied with a smirk. “Actually, you and your partner are now our backup.”

  The cop did a double-take. “What?”

  “Let me guess,” Katie cut in with a wave toward the house. “Dead bodies or parts of dead bodies all over the house, a circle on the ground, possibly a small fire? Am I getting warm?”

  “Oh, shiiit…” The cop’s eyes widened and he took a half-step back. “I thought it was just a rumor. One of those stupid things that gets blown out of proportion.”

  “What?” Katie asked.

  “You’re the D squad,” he replied, glancing back and forth between Calvin and Katie.

  “The what?” Calvin asked

  “The D squad,” the cop repeated, pointing to the two of them. “The demon squad. We thought it was an old wives’ tale or just something our boss told us to scare the hell out of us, but when we got here today it was obvious.” He jerked a thumb toward the house. “I’m guessing this was no human killer. And now that you guys are here, I’m willing to bet that guess is almost a definite.”

  “I wouldn’t say it was definite just yet.” Katie walked toward the house.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” a second cop interrupted in disbelief. “You are going to believe little Miss Priss in her six-inch heels and the guy in the designer suit who come waltzing up here like they are in a movie of some sort? You are the most gullible asshole I have ever met.”

  Katie made a moue and walked toward the second cop. “You are so cynical,” she told him. “I know it’s really hard to believe that there is someone even more badass than you.”

  Katie put her finger on his cheek and trailed it down his face, and he stared at her for a moment, unable to say a word. Calvin looked at him and shook his head, somewhat surprised by how entranced these guys were by Katie.

  “The big bad demon guy came in and ruined your evening?” Katie pouted. She tapped the cop’s face, snapping him out of his daze. “Well, just a note for you and your friends…we like to be called The Damned.”

  Katie’s eyes flashed bright red and she let out a gleeful cackle, then walked into the house.

  Calvin snorted, thoroughly entertained by just how fast the guy’s face changed given one little sneak peek at the demon inside her.

  Nothing beat showing the truth to a non-believer, then sitting back and watching the chaos that ensued.

  Calvin patted the cop on the back and walked past him into the house, and he was still smiling when he entered. He was amused—royally amused—and he wanted to see the mischief on Katie’s face as well. However, when he reached her he saw no mischief or humor in her expression, only sadness and anger.

  Calvin stopped and took stock of the room around him. He had been so ready to see carnage that when he did, his mind had passed right over it.

  “Holy shit,” Calvin breathed, looking around at the scene.

  “I know,” Katie agreed wholeheartedly.

  “Hey, how did you do that thing?” Calvin waggled a finger in front of his eyes to demonstrate. “You know, the thing where your eyes flashed red? We have the ring around them, but I never thought we could actually make them red like that.”

  Katie shrugged. “I don’t know. I saw Korbin do it. It’s more of a control thing; like a party trick in some ways, I suppose.”

  “Well, I need to work on that. It’s nuts, and it freaks the hell out of people.” There was a hint of admiration in Calvin’s voice as he spoke the words.

  Katie grimaced. “I’d really rather not freak people out. If we do, they might think we do stuff like,” she swept an upturned palm around to indicate the gore coating the room, “this disgusting carnage for no good reason besides boredom.”

  Calvin clenched his right hand. “What freaks me out about all of it is the fact that those demons, or some like them, are inside of us,” he growled. “That means that every one of us has it in them to do this. Every damn one of us has a brutal and disgusting killer inside.”

  He scuffed his boot miserably on the one clean patch of floor. “You would think that because of that, we wouldn’t be trusted no matter who we work for,” he finished quietly.

  “I don’t think we are trusted,” Katie said, patting Calvin’s shoulder in sympathy as she looked him in the eyes. “I think that, no matter what happens in this world, we will always be feared. No one will ever fully trust us.” She shrugged. “But in the end, is that such a terrible thing? Is it wrong for them to fear people with demons so strong it affects the way they fight? Is it wrong to be scared that something will go wrong with our demons? That we too will end up creating a horror like this?”

  Katie stepped delicately over the fast-congealing puddle of blood, shaking her head as she answered her own question. “Nope, it’s not wrong at all.”

  “How does it look?” Korbin asked, pacing back and forth behind Derek.

  “It’s getting there,” Derek grumped, typing something into the computer.

  “How did you get into this stuff?” Korbin asked, pausing to squint at the screen over Derek’s shoulder.

  Derek kept typing as he glanced up. “Honestly, I took some courses in college and then taught myself more,” he explained with a small, satisfied smile. “It fascinated me, and I’ve always related to numbers. They just come to me, like another language I understand it without really learning it. I don’t know…I guess maybe this was my true calling.”

  Korbin clapped him on the shoulder. “Well, you are using it in this world, and that is incredibly important.”

  “Okay,” Derek said, turning around to face him. “Tell me again exactly what you are looking for.”

  Korbin straightened and became serious again. “I am looking for a program of spiders; ones that can crawl over the internet, pulling data about paranormal comments from social media,” he told Derek. “I need to open up new avenues for tips; ways we can find these demons before they massacre hundreds of people again. I know it’s really ‘Big Brother’ of me, but I only want the paranormal activity. Is that even possible?”

  “Anything is possible,” Derek assured him. “So basically, you want to be able to scan the system to find every conversation that seems demonic in nature and send it to us so we can decide if we need to act on it?”

  “Yep, exactly,” Korbin confirmed. “But it is really important that the people who can use it are very restricted. I mean very restricted. The fewer people who have the ability to use this, the less likely it is to be abused.”

  “Right.” Derek nodded. “Well, I would restrict access to just me and you at first.”

  Korbin grinned. “That’s smart. So, you can do it?”

  “Yeah, no problem.” Derek resumed typing as he spoke. “You have
to use some sort of social database service. It allows for faster development, but it will increase the monthly bills.”

  Korbin raised an eyebrow. “How much higher?”

  “Noticeably higher,” Derek replied hesitantly.

  Korbin sighed. “Okay, if you do it, can you set it up to be billed directly to me?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Derek confirmed. “That’s no problem.”

  Korbin beamed and patted him on the back. “All right, do it, then.”

  Korbin left the room and walked down the hallway toward the main area. He was getting everything into place—everything he would need to be more up to speed on the whereabouts of these demons, what they were planning, and possibly how to stop an attack before it took place. He had never thought of using technology as an ally in the fight against this terrorist, but it was turning out to be one of his greatest resources.

  The only problem with all of it was the fact that he had no idea how to use it, couldn’t read it, didn’t want to learn about it, and didn’t know if he could rely on it. It was something that the others were not aware of, though, and he liked it like that.

  There were aspects of the job he had that meant he had to keep secrets even from the people who were closest to him. He wanted badly to be a part of the team like everyone else, but there was a level of secrecy that he had to keep that the others didn’t.

  He felt like he could never fully be part of the team. He always had to conceal the truth of himself and hold the curtain closed to hide the lies that were going on behind the scenes.

  It was exhausting, but it was necessary.

  Katie and Calvin combed through the tattered limbs strewn around the room, unable to miss that they had been torn from the bodies rather than removed with any kind of weapon. It was obvious that the killer had utilized these people for lunch and nothing more.

  Calvin walked into the back room and stared at the desk in the corner where the drug dealer would have sat. That was where the demon would have made a deal with him to be released from his chains and join them on Earth.

  Katie walked into the back room, wrinkling her nose as she spoke. “This demon is strong. I’m just confused about what happened here.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Calvin concurred. “There is that circle with the rope on it, but what about the human to be used as a capsule? Who did the ceremony? Who brought the demon up from hell?”

  “I don’t know,” Katie mused. “But whoever it was, they had to have a pretty powerful demon themselves. They didn’t stay long if they did it. They knew what they were bringing back. I can smell mojan dust. It was used to enclose the circle and keep the beast inside, but why use it if your whole purpose is to let it loose on the public?”

  “Fear,” Calvin stated flatly. “Whoever it was knew what this guy or demon could do, and he feared that.”

  Katie chewed her lip. “Yes. He made a failsafe, something that would give him time to get out before the demon did.”

  “That means the beast started out in the circle and knew already what to do to get out and to go out into society.” Calvin looked around nervously. “That means he is an old demon, someone who knows our kind very well. Someone who didn’t need a guide, just someone to push the buttons on this end to get him in.”

  “Someone with a very big shoe,” Katie replied, looking down in front of her.

  “That’s a damn big footprint for a human.” Calvin’s eyes widened as he examined the print.

  “That is not a human print,” Katie pointed out, “unless our human is bigger than Shaq.”

  Calvin narrowed his eyes. “I don’t get it. We thought that demons could only be in their hosts. I’ve never seen a host taken over that fast. Fast, but not that fast.”

  “Maybe we were wrong,” Katie admitted. “Maybe the demons, or at least the stronger ones, don’t need human bodies to survive.”

  “But yours is strong,” Calvin argued.

  Katie shook her head, dismissing Calvin’s reasoning. “She didn’t need my body. She was forced into it.” She thought back to her drug-clouded possession night. “I saw her as plain as day in her own human-looking body that night.”

  Pandora snickered. I’m damned good-looking, you must admit.

  I’m not admitting anything more to Calvin!

  Calvin considered that for a moment. “Okay, but could a human capsule arrive through this process? One who had been sent to hell?”

  “We are not our human bodies,” Katie told him. “The bodies are just capsules, and when we die those capsules allow the soul to escape, to move on. There would be no human body in hell, just its soul.”

  Not always technically true, Pandora whispered.

  Katie figured she would go down that rabbit hole another time

  He looked around. “So, here we had a demon who scared the person conjuring it so much they were afraid to stay and help it enter the world, but still thought it was a good idea to do so. A full-fledged demon came through whatever portal was opened, fed, and then went into the city. Why have there been no reports about sightings yet? Why are people not completely freaking out about this?”

  Katie enlightened him. “It hasn’t shown itself yet. It is hiding and growing in strength by eating anyone that gets in its way, but it is lying low. Waiting.”

  Calvin made a face. “Waiting for what?”

  Katie walked around the room, sensing the creatures that had been there before. She ran her hand through the air over the circle.

  She paused and looked at Calvin, meeting his eyes. “It’s waiting for us.”

  “For us?” Calvin exclaimed, slipping his hand to the butt of his pistol. “Why us?”

  “It knows we are hunting its kind,” she told him. “It wants to grow an army to fight us.”

  Katie leaned down and picked up a small strand of hair. She held it up to the light. She wasn’t sure who it belonged to, but it was just about the only clue that she had. For a creature that had just completely slaughtered so many, it was apparently incredibly hygienic.

  “Not that hygienic,” Pandora said, and sniffed the air using Katie’s nose. Oh, shit.

  “What?” Katie panicked. “What is ‘oh shit?’”

  “Open your senses, because this is about to get ugly,” she said.

  Katie straightened up and took a deep breath, her eyes darting to the front door. She could smell the demon, almost as if its scent were some sort of tracking device. She turned to Calvin with wide eyes.

  “I can smell it,” she exclaimed. “It’s close.”

  She kicked off her heels and reached into her backpack, pulling out her normal calf-high black boots. She laced them tightly, making sure every single string was latched. When she was done she tightened her bag’s straps, ensuring it was secure. She looked at Calvin with a growl and a grin. “You ready to kick some motherfucking demon ass?”

  He matched her grin with one of his own. “Fuck yeah, I am!”

  “Come on!” They darted toward the door, and Katie threw it open.

  “Follow us in the cars,” Calvin yelled as they sprinted past the two cops they had talked to before and down the block, twisting and turning through the streets.

  The cops scrambled, dropping their coffees as they raced for their patrol car. When they got in they took off after Katie and Calvin, leaving the others at the house.

  “These are some super-fast motherfucking human beings,” Stone marveled.

  “Yeah,” Holden replied, shaking his head as Stone hit the brakes, squealed around a corner, and slammed the accelerator to the floor. “It’s unnatural,” he continued, “but it’s part of the job, so step on it. Don’t lose those fucking freaks.”

  8

  Katie bolted down the alleyway faster than Calvin had seen anyone move before. He was fast, but not that fast.

  Her boots glided over the surface of the street, barely touching the ground at all. She leapt and rebounded objects like they were trampolines placed there just for her.

  Calv
in couldn’t keep up, but he needed to stay in contact with her, no matter what. It was vital that they not split up, but he couldn’t hang.

  “Katie,” he called, slowing his pace.

  She looked over her shoulder at him, stopping as he came up to her. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” Calvin huffed, breathing heavily. “I can’t keep up with you, and neither can the cops. Look at them with their lights flashing, almost killing people trying to keep up with you. We need to catch the demon and I don’t want you to slow down, but I need to be able to communicate with you. Turn on your earbud. I can triangulate the cops’ system with that and your updates, so I can zero in on you. And every time you make a turn, yell it out. That way we can be right behind you.”

  “All right,” Katie said reaching up and pressing the button on her earpiece. “It’s on.”

  “Good, now go.” Calvin waved her away. “But be careful. Don’t be a fucking hero, Katie. Keep your space, but let this son of a bitch know you didn’t come alone. That today it’s just us, but tomorrow it will be an entire army. Protect your stomach and face just like we taught you, and ask your demon for a little bit of help.”

  No need to ask, Pandora growled.

  “All right.” Katie nodded. “I’ll be okay. I always am, and I don’t plan on dying today.”

  “Better fucking not.” Calvin laughed, slapping hands with her.

  As she bolted away, the wind from her departure blew old papers and trash around in the alleyway.

  Calvin watched as she disappeared down the street and around a corner, smiling to himself. She was definitely a badass—no one could deny that. Calvin closed his eyes and centered on the sound of the cop car, which was quickly approaching. He turned to his right and started sprinting for the street. As he approached, he leapt through the air and landed on the hood of the patrol car.