by Paul Seiple
Pipes looked at Michelle.
“He knows Uncle Reid. I’ll be all right.”
Pipes nodded.
Jessie was on his sixth pass of Wendover Road looking for a place to park.
“How did you find me?” Michelle asked.
“Same way Granddaddy did.”
“But why did you save me?”
“I’ve seen what Wallace is capable of, I may not be the most upstanding guy, but I can’t sit back and let him ruin anymore lives.”
“Why are we here?”
“I have to pick up something at the post office and then we can go anywhere you want.”
“You’re not going to take me back to my mom, are you? My stepdad is a dick.”
“Don’t worry. I know all about dickhead parents.” Jessie finally parked the car. “OK, stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Jessie walked into the post office making eye contact with no one. He went straight to Box 10 registered to Robert Guiscard. He looked around before opening the box. He expected the contents to be empty. Five-hundred-thousand dollars was an insane amount of cash to come up with in such a short time. Surprise overtook him when he saw the red gym bag. He smiled, flung the straps over his shoulder and walked out, leaving the box open.
Michelle sat in the front seat of the red Camaro eating NERDS candy.
“Get what you wanted?” she asked.
Jessie tossed the bag in the backseat. He unzipped it and a stack of hundred dollar bills tumbled to the floorboard.
“Holy shit, that’s a lot of money? Did you rob a bank?”
“Anyone ever tell you that candy rots your teeth?”
“You’re not my mother? And it’s Halloween.” Michelle said, tossing a handful of NERDS into her mouth. “I want to go to Arlington. I have to find out more about my grandfather.”
“Of all the places you could go, you really want to go somewhere Wallace can find you?”
“I have to.” Michelle emptied the box of candy into her mouth. “It doesn’t matter where I go, he’ll find me. He knows everything about me. It’s time I knew everything about him.”
“Arlington it is then?”
“You’re not scared of my grandfather?”
“I’m terrified of him. But Reid scares me more. I kinda borrowed his credit card without asking.”
25
The Plague Vendor
Charlotte, North Carolina
With Jessie Walker taken care of, The Vendor had to make good on his word to Wallace. Months earlier when Monahan approached The Vendor with a plan to wage biological war against the world after reading a post on the Revenge Served message board, The Vendor couldn’t contain his excitement. The moment he dreamed of was here, but it didn’t feel the way he hoped. He wanted to be a god bringing a plague all in the name of revenge…of hatred for Mack Root. The Vendor no longer felt he was running the show. He wasn’t the puppet master. He was the puppet — dancing a jig for Wallace. Losing control of the situation infuriated The Vendor, but he no longer doubted Wallace’s words. If this plan failed, Wallace would make sure there was nothing left of him. The plan wouldn’t fail. His life depended on it.
The Vendor stared at the box housing four small vials of death. The first trick-or-treaters were spilling out into the streets. In about an hour, it would be dark. The streets filled with kids pretending to be someone else for one night. The Vendor put on his mask. It was Halloween. Even though he felt like a puppet, All Hallows’ Eve gave him the opportunity to be the puppet master. Rage overtook The Vendor. He punched the wall, leaving more knuckle imprints.
“Fuck Wallace,” he said. “I’m doing this for me. Not him.”
The Vendor took the four chocolate coins from the box and contaminated them with death.
“Trick-or-Treat.”
“OK, just a few ground rules,” Nancy Turner said to her anxious little pirate as he kicked his heels against the back of the couch.
“But, Mom, we’ve already been over the rules,” Davey Turner said. His tone mimicked a whining kid forced to eat his vegetables.
“I can’t go over them enough. You want to trick-or-treat, don’t you?”
Davey sat and listened to his mother hum the theme to The Munsters. Anticipation of getting into the streets and pillaging the neighborhood of its candy caused Davey to wave his wooden sword in the air above his head as he waited for his chaperone, his older brother, Lee. The eye patch, every good pirate had to have one, threw off his depth perception. He misjudged a swipe and took out a lamp on the end table next.
“Be careful,” Nancy said, picking up the lamp. “You could take an eye out with that thing.” She smiled and pointed to the eye patch. “Where’s your brother?”
“Get in here, Lee. We got a village to plunder. Ain’t that right, Rascal?” Davey pet the top of a German Shepherd’s head. The dog broke away, barked, and headed for the door after the bell rang.
“Kids are beating me to it. Hurry, Lee. There’s not gonna be any candy left.”
Nancy laughed and handed a few trick-or-treaters a handful of penny candy. “Don’t worry, honey. There’s never a shortage of candy on Halloween.”
Davey tapped his foot and watched two superheroes and a princess skip down the sidewalk. The setting sun, lighting the tips of the trees reminded Davey of the glow-in-the-dark planets stuck to his bedroom ceiling. “That’s Jupiter.” He pointed to the Oak in the front yard. Shrills of children’s laughter stole his attention, cutting the astronomy lesson short. “Everyone’s already out…Lee”
Lee stumbled into the room, zipping his fly. “Stop yelling at me peg leg. I was taking a leak.”
“Lee!” Nancy said. “Tone down the crude language and take a seat next to your brother.” She patted the space next to Davey.
Lee ignored here and sat in his father’s recliner. Nancy let out a gush of air and shook her head. “OK, here are the rules — Lee, stay with your brother at all times. Do not let him out of your sight. Do you understand?”
“I won’t drop him off in the woods,” Lee said.
“I’m not joking.” Nancy placed a hand under Lee’s chin and made him look at her. “Do you understand?”
“Yeah.”
Nancy wasn’t completely satisfied with his answer, but she continued. “Rule number two — do not let your little brother take candy from strangers. Go with him to every door and check each piece of candy before he eats it. Understand?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sitting right here. I’m twelve. I can take care of myself,” Davey said, swinging the wooden sword.
“I know you can, honey.” Nancy turned her attention back to Lee. “I’m serious. Halloween brings the crazies out. You watch your little brother.”
“I will.” Lee stood up. “Can we go now?”
“One last thing.” Nancy grabbed Lee, pulled him close, and kissed him on the cheek.
Davey chanted “Mama’s Boy” while Lee tried to rub Nancy’s lipstick from his face.
“I’m leaving him in the woods,” Lee said.
Nancy smirked. “Have fun, you two.” She grabbed the bowl of penny candy and returned to the door.
As soon as the door opened, a kid dressed as a zombie blew by Nancy.
“Come on, man, we’re missing all the good stuff.”
“Philip is that you?” Nancy asked. “Do I need to have a talk with your mother about manners?”
“No, ma’am.”
Philip ran out of the house. Davey followed. Standing on the porch was another pirate.
“How girly of you. Did you two plan to dress the same?” Lee asked.
“I’m the captain,” Davey said. “Mark is my second in command.”
“No way, I’m the captain.”
“Girls, girls, let’s calm down. Can we at least agree that you’re both dorks?”
Mark and Philip were Davey’s best friends. Every Saturday, they spent hours in Davey’s basement playing the latest video games. They were used to Lee
being an ass. His drive-by insults didn’t sting.
“You dorks go up to Old Man Carpenter’s house.” Lee pointed to the lit porch.
Leon Carpenter’s wife, dressed as a witch, was handing out candy. Ignoring his mother’s rules, Davey was happy to break free from his older brother. He raced up the sidewalk with Mark right behind. Philip lagged, dragging his leg and holding his arms straight out. The movements made him look more like Frankenstein than a zombie, but at least he wasn’t breaking character.
“Well, look at you two. Aren’t you the cutest pirates I’ve ever seen,” the witch said.
“Thank you, ma’am. Trick-or-treat?” Davey help open his plastic bag covered with Jack-o’-lanterns and black cats. He took offense to the cute comment, but bit his lip.
Mark couldn’t hide his disdain. “Pirates aren’t cute. They’re killers and thieves. Call one cute and you’ll walk the plank.” He caught his breath. “If you’re lucky.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” the witch said, rummaging the bowl of candy. She dropped several candy bars into Davey’s bag and one piece of gum into Mark’s. He looked into the bag. Davey laughed and ran away just as Philip made it to the porch.
“Oh no, a zombie. I only have candy bars. I don’t have any brains,” the witch said, digging around the bowl.
“You can say that again,” Mark said, shoving the piece of gum in his mouth.
Lee stood against a street sign with kids his own age, passing a cigarette back and forth. Lee and his friends weren’t about to win any model teenager awards, but for the most part they rarely caused much trouble, other than a mischievous prank every once in a while. They were planning a toilet paper attack on Old Man Carpenter’s house when Davey ran into the middle of crowd.
“Look, she gave me three Snickers,” Davey said, holding the bag open for Lee to inspect. His breathing was shallow from the sprint.
Lee reached into the bag and pulled out two Snickers. “Sweet. I’ll take these as payment for watching you dorks.” He tore the paper from one of the mini-candy bars and forced the entire thing into his mouth. “You got this, right?”
“Huh? Got what?” Confusion clouded Davey’s anger toward his brother for stealing the candy, but the smear of chocolate on Lee’s cheek cleared the air quick.
“You got this?” Lee made a swooping motion, with his hand, toward the street. “You and your little clone, and that half-assed zombie.” He pointed to Philip as he was just joining the group. “You don’t need me, right?”
“I guess.”
“Good. I’ve got some things to do. Finish getting your candy and meet me back here in thirty minutes.”
“OK.”
As Davey turned to walk away, Lee grabbed his shoulder. “And don’t think of going home without me. If you do, I’ll shove that wooden sword in your….”
“I won’t.”
Philip limped back to the group, staying in character until he looked into his bag. “Dude, she gave me three Snickers. What did you get?”
“I got three too,” Davey said.
Mark spit the piece of gum onto the street. “That witch gave me one piece of gum. One piece.”
They laughed.
“It’s been thirty minutes,” Davey said, opening his bag, admiring his pirate booty. “We need to get back to Lee before he throws a fit.”
Channeling the living dead was exhausting. Philip dragged his bag against the asphalt and moaned about a stomachache. Mark couldn’t get over the shafting at Old Man Carpenter’s house.
“Let’s egg her house.”
“We don’t have any eggs,” Davey said. “Besides she gave the best candy. It’s your fault you only got gum. You should have kept your mouth shut.” He pointed to his chest. “That’s why I am the captain.”
“It was spearmint too.” Mark spit on the ground. “I hate spearmint.”
“Bet you’ll keep your mouth shut next time,” Philip said.
“Zombies don’t talk, shithead,” Mark said.
Laughter and screams were dying down. Most of the kids were finished trick-or-treating and safely in their homes preparing to assault their digestive systems with sweets. A slight wind blew, humming through the bare trees, creating a clicking sound. Rustling leaves mimicked footsteps.
“Am I the only one who feels like we’re in a horror movie?” Davey asked, lifting his eye patch to look for Lee.
“It’s pretty creepy,” Mark said.
Philip moaned. “I think I’m gonna puke.”
The air grew chilly. Lee was late.
A silhouette appeared underneath a streetlight and moved toward the boys.
“It’s about time, ass face. Mom is gonna be mad.”
“I don’t think that’s Lee,” Mark said.
The man grew closer. Shine from the street light illuminated his mask — white, with a long snout, like a bird, and covered in red speckles.
“I think we should leave,” Mark said. “He looks like a killer.”
The man kept walking toward the boys.
“You’ve watched Halloween too many times. I bet you a Snickers that this is one of Lee’s jokes. He’s just trying to scare us.”
“Way to rub it in, ass face. You know I don’t have a Snickers.”
Davey and Philip laughed.
“Let’s show Lee what kind of pirates we are,” Davey said.
“But, I’m a zombie,” Philip said.
Fear struck Mark, but he hid it well. He didn’t flinch when the man got within arms’ reach.
Mark whispered, “You sure Lee’s behind this.”
“Positive. I bet this is what he was planning when he ran off,” Davey said. “He’s not going to scare us.”
The man cocked his head to the side, but didn’t speak. His heavy breath pushed through the mask as if he had been running.
“Cut it out, Lee. It didn’t work,” Davey said.
The man straightened his neck. “What do we have here? Two pirates and a zombie.”
Philip hunched over and grabbed his stomach. He dry-heaved.
“Kid, you’re gonna win an Oscar for your zombie.” His voice seemed to have a hint of static to it as it vibrated through the mouthpiece of the mask. He laughed when Philip doubled over again. “You’re really good.”
“He’s just sick. He ate too much candy,” Davey said. “Did Lee tell you I’m afraid of skinny men dressed in all black wearing creepy masks? Cause I’m not.”
“Who’s Lee? I was just catching a breather after trick-or-treating.” The man placed his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths.
“You trick-or-treated?” Mark asked. Disbelief accented his words.
The man let out a short laugh, more like a grunt. “I’m a little too old for that, kid. I was handing out candy. You kids are like rabid animals when it comes to your sugar fixes.”
“Yeah, so, this isn’t working. Where’s my brother? I know he put you up to this, but it’s not working. I’m not scared.”
“Kid, I don’t know your brother. I was taking a break from handing out candy. I have a few pieces left. Want ’em?” The man opened his hand, revealing three gold coins and one white one.
“Nah, I got enough candy,” Davey said
Mark, still upset over the gum said, “We’ll I don’t.” He snatched one of the gold coins out of the man’s hand.
“Smart move, young man, that’s chocolate through and through.” The man turned to Davey. “You look like you would prefer a little more pizzazz.” He rolled the white coin between his knuckles. “This one has a caramel center. You like caramel, don’t you?” He stopped rolling the coin and slid it down his fingers until he could grab it with his index finger and thumb. He inched the candy toward Davey.
“Don’t eat that candy.”
The voice startled the man. He dropped the coin and spun toward the words. Mark had unwrapped his candy and just as it was about to touch his lips, Davey smacked it to the ground.
“It’s over, Hiatt.”
<
br /> “Root?”
Mack Root stepped out of the shadows flanked by three uniformed officers.
The Plague Vendor dropped the other coins on the street. He grabbed a syringe from his pocket and jerked Davey by his arm, pulling him close. “I’m sure you already know how little of this stuff it takes to kill someone.” He held the syringe to Davey’s neck. “Take one more step and this kid’s death is on you.”
Mack motioned for the cops to back up. “This is the end of the line, Hiatt. You’re surrounded. And you will not kill the boy. There’s an antidote.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s true. Injecting him will do nothing. I’ll have the antidote in him, and you’ll be dead. You stick him. They shoot.”
“There is no cure for this.” The Plague Vendor pressed the syringe tight against Davey’s neck. He tried to gauge Mack’s reaction, but it was too dark.
“There are survivors, Hiatt. Your apocalypse bug isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. From the survivors we developed the antidote. It’s over. Let the kid go.” Mack hoped his tone was convincing.
“I don’t believe you.” The Vendor walked backwards using the boy as a shield. “You’re gonna let me leave here, and I’ll let the kid go when I feel I’m safe.”
A bang cut Mack off before he could respond. The officer to his right fell to his knees before face planting on the asphalt. Another bang dropped the cop on Mack’s left. “Take cover.” Mack dove behind a Mustang seconds before a bullet shattered its driver’s window. Another bullet pierced the car’s quarter panel.
“Shots coming from the north,” an officer said, before a near miss with a bullet caused him to dive behind a tree.
The Vendor thought about injecting the kid, but the substance in the syringe was more valuable than some brat’s life. Killing one would do nothing. He pushed Davey away. The boy tripped over his own feet and tumbled to the street just as another shot spider-webbed the windshield of a pickup truck. The Vendor darted between two houses, scaled a fence, and disappeared into a patch of overgrown weeds. He took a moment to catch his breath as two more shots made contact with glass. Sirens grew louder. The Vendor didn’t have time to waste. He shed the black robe and tossed the mask onto a pile of rotting wood. His car was two blocks away, but surely Mack had eyes on it. Walker lied. He took the money and still told Root.
