by Matthew Fish
“Then you’ll do just fine,” The Captain said with a hearty laugh. “Really though, aside from dealing with the organized crime that’s run by Perpetuals…you won’t be dealing with the bad apples that often…here’s hoping anyway.”
“So Friday…”
“Has Bradley not caught you up to speed on that?”
“He has not,” Mark answered feeling slightly left out in the dark.
“We have a tip that drugs are coming in. It’s usually newly turned Perpetuals that are involved. There will be guns though, but with Bradley and Maddie…and your rather unusual bodyguard…I’ve been assured that you will be fine.”
“It’s Zampa’s men though, isn’t it,” Mark said, throwing out there what was already on his mind and beginning to trouble him a bit.
“That’s what the tip seems to point to,” Captain Dickson said as he nodded. “We had words…Bradley and I. I did question whether or not this was about revenge and he assured me that it was about getting back to doing his job and doing right by you. I’ve known the man for a century, so of course I have to trust him. He says his motive is justice for your father—and that you can help with that.”
“So justice and not revenge…” Mark mouthed quietly. “Is it bad that I don’t know the difference exactly?”
“He says that he sees a lot of your father in you,” Captain Dickson said as he squeezed Mark’s shoulder. “If he says it’s about justice and doing his job, then I have to take him at his word that he won’t be reckless and make this personal. However, for peace of mind for all us, I allowed this operation only under the circumstances that Maddie be present at all times.”
“He was okay with that?”
“I did not leave him an option where he had a choice.”
“There he is!” Bradley said as he rushed over to Mark. “So, how did it go with the other Conductor?”
“Good…” Mark said as he hesitated for a moment. His mind was still caught up in the whole revenge or justice thing. After all, his father died on a drug sting just like this one. He wondered if that was why Bradley had not spoken about the specifics. “I learned a lot…a lot more than with just you.”
Bradley laughed as he nodded to the Captain. “I’ll see you tomorrow, I’ll get the new recruits home—they’ve had a tiring day I’m sure.”
“That reminds me,” Captain Dickson said Bradley lead the way to the elevator. “Caesar has been asking to see you.”
“Who again…?”
“You know who I mean,” Captain Dickson said as he folded his arms. “Caesar, or George, whatever he goes by these days…Rodriguez…He’s been asking to see you once you got assigned a new Conductor.”
“I’ll try and make some time next week.”
“See that you do,” Captain Dickson said in a tone that was more of a command than a request. “He’s a good man—always up to date on things.”
“He’s definitely something…”
“Where’s Emily?” Mark asked.
“In the car already,” Bradley said as he nodded as though he was envisioning something rather negative. “Which we better go and make sure is not on fire.”
As we arrived at the car, it was neither on fire nor under any duress. Mark climbed into the passenger seat and turned to Emily who was seated in the back. She looked a little twitchy, like she was attempting to contain some intangible exciting feeling.
“How did your day go?” Mark asked, unsure what she had exactly been doing all day when he was training.
“I got a gun!” Emily shouted loudly as she pulled out a silver 9mm automatic pistol from her purse and held it up in the air triumphantly. “I can even shoot it too! That and I got to burn some mannequins—that was fun times too.”
“Put the gun down,” Bradley demanded as he turned his head slowly and a downright angry look washed over his face.
“It’s got like, a safety….geez,” Emily said as she continued to hold the gun pointed towards the ceiling. A single pop exploded through the air.
“Give me that,” Bradley said as he grabbed the gun and placed the safety correctly on. He then angrily climbed out of the car and examined the roof. “You did not just shoot a hole in my god damned car ceiling.”
“Sorry….” Emily muttered as she grimaced. “I thought it was you know…the one way. Not the other.”
Mark’s ears were ringing as he unsuccessfully attempted to contain a bit of laughter.
“That’s funny, is it?” Bradley said as he shook his head and climbed back into the car. He turned to Emily and just shook his head for a long moment. “You’ll get your gun back tomorrow when you can tell the difference between when a safety is on or off.”
“Fine….” Emily said as Bradley put the car into drive and worked the manual shift and sped around faster than normal—which was just a bit more terrifying than the average commute with his driving. “How’d your training go with that Conductor girl, I heard she was a snob.”
“She was quite nice, actually,” Mark said as he turned to Emily. “Where’d you hear she was a snob?”
“It was all people were talking about—that the Chicago P.D. had specially flown in some snobby girl from Europe to take your father’s place…they weren’t even secretive about it or anything…it was like she was just that good,” Emily said as she put her hands up mockingly. “Look at me, I’m from Italy and I’m a fancy tosser.”
“It’s important for communities to have a Conductor—even for our kind. The services that they perform benefit both of our peoples,” Bradley said in a rather annoyed tone. He was probably still angry that Emily had shot a hole in the roof of his precious Charger. “That info was released so that the Perpetual community would feel safer—that people considering turning down the bad route wouldn’t take it as an opportunity to act.”
“Was she cute?” Emily asked, ignoring Bradley.
“She was pretty,” Mark said as he nodded.
“Probably boring…” Emily continued as she made another pffftt sound.
“Are you jealous?” Bradley asked, finally finding a way to get a bit of revenge for his damaged vehicle and get a little jab in.
“No…maybe I’m interested,” Emily retorted.
“Are you?” Mark asked.
“No…” Emily whispered. “I like boys.”
That night we ate and joked together at the table—it reminded me of what a family was like. At least, what I felt a family would be like. I suppose in a way, at that time, we kinda were some kind of oddly cobbled together dynamic family—definitely dysfunctional. I just remember that it made me happy. It had been a long time since I was in a house that was filled with laughter.
Over the next two days I trained, I was tired—frustrated at times, but I got things down. By Friday evening I was up to thirteen coins, quite an accomplishment given my sparse training—at least that’s what Maddie said. She was growing close, like a good friend. Even though she felt very confident in the way she was training me, I could sense that in the back of her mind she was still very concerned about the operation that night. She kept making me go over things that I was sure that I had already gotten down. I know she just wanted the best for me—but her worrying caused me to be even more nervous about the events that would transpire that night. After a short nap, Bradley woke me up that evening and handed me my Standard and my ‘Death Tosser’ long coat.
“It’s time,” Bradley said as he slung a jet black automatic rifle over his shoulder and checked on two semi-automatic pistols holstered beneath his black jacket.
“Wakey wakey,” Emily spoke as she came down from the staircase. She was dressed all in black. A hoodie covered her bright pink hair and her gun was shoved in her front pocket. She fiddled with a lighter before shoving it into a half pack that she slung over her chest. “Time to cook some eggs and fuckers…”
“Right,” Mark said as he rubbed his forehead. He stretched his legs that were sore from curling up on the couch. It had been a long day. He was
surprised that he was even able to sleep. He buckled up his Standard and affixed his holster against his black t-shirt and placed the gun inside. He wished that he had spent a bit more time shooting—however he realized that Conducting was much more important. He then maneuvered into his long coat. He let it fall to just above his knees as he straightened out the collar. “I’m ready.”
“How are you doing?” Bradley asked as he climbed into car, placing his assault rifle beside him.
“I feel like throwing up, honestly,” Mark spoke as he buckled his seatbelt.
“You’re not doing it right if you don’t feel like throwing up a bit,” Emily added cheerfully. “Have you ever seen a Perpetual die?”
“Can’t say I have,” Mark said as he braced himself as the car lurched backwards for a moment and then began to fly down the roads. It was not helping his stomach in the least bit.
“We turn to dust,” Emily said in the same happy demeanor.
“That’s one thing they always got right with the vampire myths,” Bradley said as he sped the car onto the Indiana Toll Road. “With that whole wooden stake in the heart thing and us turning to dust…well the dust part—that wooden stake thing was just a way to throw off wanna-be hunters. I had a few friends that acted the part and actually pretended to die…before they would kill the person attempting to stake them.”
“I got staked once,” Emily added. “True story, you remember my bitch sisters—they convinced me when I was like ten that I was a vampire and that if I got staked in the heart I would die. Then one day, I had annoyed them and they actually staked me. Hurt like hell and I was convinced that I was dying and all that—but I didn’t.”
“You did not have a very good childhood,” Mark said as he turned to look at Emily who seemed perfectly happy relaying this rather disturbing information.
“I had fun,” Emily said as she shrugged. “That’s what matters, right?”
“I guess,” Mark said as he turned his attention back towards the road. They were nearing Lake Michigan. Mark could make out the reflection of the moon on the surface of the lake and tiny little white shimmers from small waves. He took a moment to take it in—might be the last beautiful nature scene he’d see. It reminded him of the ocean, or at least, what he’d imagine it looked like. With his father’s job, he had never really gone on any kind of vacation. They went to St. Louis once and had gone up in the Arch. It had made Mark feel a little sick and wasn’t really a fun experience. The elevators creaked a lot and the space was very cramped. Aside from having a pretty cool large zoo and some good food, that’s all he remembered of the trip. He must have been around twelve, he figured. He found it rather sad that they didn’t go on more trips—they did the occasional day trip into Downtown Chicago, the Navy Pier, stuff like that. The only thing he really cared for was the aquarium. He found a strange sense of calm as he remembered back to being younger and just standing there in awe at the large varieties of fish and sea life from all around the world. His mind snapped back into the moment as they passed the bright lights of a casino. He turned for a moment and felt an odd bit of jealousy—all those cars parked there…people doing normal things. People having normal lives and he was doing…well, he was doing this.
“You’re all awfully quiet all of a sudden,” Bradley said as he turned down an alley way, one of those kinds that you see in movies that look shady with the various darkened warehouses and the sewer grates pluming out dancing spirals of white smoke.
“What’s the difference…,” Mark said, voicing something that had still been on his mind these past three days. “Between…well—justice and revenge?”
“Justice is doing what’s right for the right reasons,” Bradley said as he averted his eyes out to the various dark alleyways as though he was searching for some kind of trouble. “Revenge is doing what you think is right for the wrong reason.”
“Revenge is finding someone that picked on you when you were little, shoving a light bulb up their ass, and then hitting it with a baseball bat,” Emily added. “They’ll be shitting glass for days…not that I’d do something like that…to someone who didn’t deserve it.”
No one replied to Emily’s version of revenge as they slowly pulled up next to an unfamiliar all black Ford Mustang. Maddie climbed out of the driver’s seat. She wore a black, thin rain jacket and small flashes of her white Conductor uniform could be seen beneath.
“Go introduce yourself,” Bradley said, turning to Emily who sat in the backseat whistling happily. “I need a moment with Mark.”
“Ten-hut…or ten-four,” Emily said as she climbed out of the car and slung her half pack full of lighters over her shoulder. “Whatever that means…”
Once the door shut behind her, Bradley turned to Mark. “You still have that quarter—the one from her birth year?”
“Yeah,” Mark said as he nodded with a look of confusion. “It’s in one of my canisters.”
“Keep it handy,” Bradley said. “Just in case she tries anything…”
“What?” Mark asked as he shook his head. “No, she’s cool—you were the one that brought her onboard and now you’re bringing this up. What the hell?”
“I’m just saying,” Bradley said as he placed his hand upon Mark’s shoulder. “This is your first time—if things turn bad we have to plan for every contingency…and I need you do to exactly as I tell you too—no matter what the circumstances.”
“Alright, you’re in charge.”
“Promise me,” Bradley insisted as he squeezed his grip a little tighter. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Alright, I promise…”
Mark approached Emily and Maddie and nodded to the both of them.
“You alright there…?” Maddie asked, she could probably tell that Mark was more than a little nervous.
“Fine,” Mark lied, he still felt as though he could easily lose his dinner at any moment. “Just…yeah, I’m fine.”
“You’re totally right by the way,” Emily whispered. “She’s kinda a snob.”
“I didn’t say that,” Mark said as he shook his head. “I really didn’t—I think you’re wonderful and nice.”
“Don’t worry,” Maddie said as she looked to Emily with a heavy dose of disdain. “I’d never trust anything a fire Elemental would say anyway.”
“See…snobbery,” Emily added.
“Alright kids, let’s save it for another time,” Bradley said as he slung his rifle on his back and headed to meet the group. “Did you have a chance to scout out the dock building?”
“Yes, sir,” Maddie said as she pointed to a rusty old building at the far end of the dock. “Looks to be about seven Perpetuals—look like the usual new grunt recruits. Two men waiting by the dock, looks like their armed with just handguns—one lookout posted outside with a shotgun, two more standing on a second level looking over the entrance to the water also armed with shotguns, and finally you have two drivers in the black SUV...couldn’t make out what they were packing.”
“This place smells like dead fish,” Emily said as she eyed her surroundings. “Why do they always do this in creepy obvious places like this…I mean if I were doing bad things—I’d do it where no one would expect…like a nursing home, or a library.”
“Do you understand anything about how the world works?” Bradley asked rhetorically as he let out a sigh. “Don’t interrupt.”
“I’m just saying.”
“So how do we do this…exactly?” Mark asked as he looked to the building off in the distance as his heart filled with dread.
“Quietly…until we do it the messy way,” Bradley said as he slowly began to advance upon the building.
“What’s the messy way?” Mark whispered.
“Well,” Maddie whispered back, “It’s not like we can stealthily take out any of these guys without the others knowing. You can’t silence that boom the coins make, so we always have to go in the messy way…so just stay behind Bradley and don’t get shot.”
&
nbsp; “Best plan ever,” Mark muttered as he kept close to Bradley’s back.
As the group approached, they paused as they spotted the single lookout. He was carrying a shotgun with a flashlight on it, but he seemed to be rather lax in his duties as he was resting his back against the side of the building and checking his watch.
“1972,” Bradley whispered as both Mark and Maddie instinctively pulled out a quarter.
“You take this one,” Maddie said as she nodded to Mark.
Mark nodded back as he allowed the coin to vibrate in his hand. He hesitated for a moment—he had never taken a life before…he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Faced with the reality of the situation, for a moment he froze. A loud bang and a hiss filled the air as a coin went flying into the man—the shotgun fell to the floor as he turned to dust and ash.
“Hesitate again like that and it might cost you your life,” Maddie said as placed her hand upon Mark’s back. “It’s okay to be afraid the first time—but don’t do it again.”
The two men in the SUV climbed out of vehicle guns blazing randomly towards the group’s direction. Following quickly behind Bradley, they took refuge behind a metal divider.
“Automatic rifles,” Bradley muttered as bullets penetrated right above their heads. “Didn’t figure they’d be that heavily armed…1977 and 1982….”
“You can do this,” Maddie said as she placed her hand upon Marks’ back. “You got these two.”
Another barrage of heavy fire sent sparks flying all around the group as more bullets came their way.
“Fuck waiting,” Emily said as she emerged from the hiding spot, lighter in hand. She tossed the lighter and exploded it at the feet of the two assailants. Their clothing quickly caught on fire and they began to scream.
“End it,” Maddie spoke as she dragged Mark away from the hiding spot.
Mark swiftly pulled two quarters from his Standard and bounced them high into the air. He kept his eyes on the flailing targets as Emily rushed back at inhuman speed to stand as a shield for Mark from the stray bullet fire. His mind and body in synch—he gestured one wide swing with wide open fingers. With two loud pops the quarters respectively found their marks and the two men erupted into dust.
