The Adventures of Lazarus Gray

by Barry Reese

  "What’s your real name?"

  "Lazarus Gray."

  Kelly laughed. "Okay. So the old you is dead and gone, then?"

  "For all intents and purposes. There’s still an organization out there that I used to have ties to… but I hope to take care of that soon."

  "Well, I’m happy for you." Kelly blew out a long stream of smoke, her lips pursed. "So what do you want me to do? Lock myself in my office until the danger’s passed?"

  "No. I’d like to keep you at Assistance Unlimited headquarters."

  "But you said The God of Hate managed to waltz right in there. What makes you think I’d be any safer there?"

  "I’d feel better if you were closer to me."

  The silence that followed was uncomfortable for them both. When Kelly decided to speak, her voice was much softer and the confidence she generally exuded seemed shaken. "Do you really think he’s going to come after me?"

  "I’m positive of it."

  Kelly ground out her cigarette in a small tray on her desk and stood up. "Okay. Let me go tell Daddy that I’m going to be going away for a few days. Then I’d like to go by my home and get some spare clothing and toiletries."

  "I can drive you there," Gray said, getting to his feet.

  "Okay." Kelly opened the door and offered him a brief smile. "Daddy’s office is just down the hall. Wait for me?"

  Gray nodded quickly, watching her go. He moved to the door and kept his eyes on her as she moved to a nearby office and stepped inside. After hearing Eun’s description of The Claw’s visit, he’d become more unnerved than before. Threats to his friends and loved ones were the worst sort: they made him feel helpless and desperate.

  A small chirruping sound emanated from the pocket of his coat and he reached inside, pulling out one of the small radio devices he used to keep in contact with his aides. To his surprise, the device was showing the numbered code that belonged to Morgan, along with the extension code for danger. Since Morgan was overseas, that meant his call had been relayed through a number of different circuits before finally arriving in the States. How long ago it had been sent was impossible to determine.

  Lazarus was about to call Samantha and Eun when a loud crash came from the office of Kelly’s father, followed by a scream of terror that could only have belonged to Kelly herself.

  Before anyone else on the floor had even poked their heads out of their own offices, Lazarus had reached the scene. When pressed, he was as fast as a cheetah and nearly as graceful.

  Unfortunately, no human alive would have been fast enough to stop what was occurring. By the time he flung open the door, gun drawn, it was too late. The Claw had somehow walked straight through the walls, just as he had back at Gray’s Robeson Avenue home. He had kidnapped Kelly and left her father lying on the floor, a deep gash in his neck.

  Gray crouched down at the man’s side, immediately applying pressure to the wound. He looked up as another museum employee looked inside. "Get an ambulance! Now!" Gray barked and the man jumped to follow the orders.

  Even as he assured Mr. Emerson that everything was going to be all right, Gray was mentally berating himself for allowing her out of his sight.

  The Claw was keeping his word so far and Gray knew that he had no choice but to play along if he wanted to ensure Kelly’s safety. His eyes caught sight of a paper hanging off the edge of the desk and, without losing the pressure he was applying to the man’s neck, he snatched it up with his other hand. The scrawled words matched those from the earlier letter he’d received: COME TO THE OLD ABANDONED CHURCH ON EISNER WAY, ALONE, AT NINE O’CLOCK TONIGHT. DO NOT IGNORE MY INSTRUCTIONS OR THE GIRL WILL SUFFER!

  Lazarus tossed the paper aside and fished out his communication device. He began speaking at once, transmitting to Eun’s radio, knowing that Samantha would hear every word as well. "The Claw’s taken her. I’m going to take care of him but I need the two of you to board a plane and head to Paris right away. Morgan needs help."

  "But what about you, Chief?" The tone in Eun’s voice made it clear that he didn’t like abandoning his employer.

  "The Claw wants me to come alone, so I’m not going to be able to use you two. Morgan’s overseas, facing The Illuminati. Without more details, we have to assume the worst. Sending one of you might not be enough to save him."

  ***

  Morgan had long since forgotten about the distress signal he’d sent. Things had proceeded to a point where his thoughts were entirely shifted away from where they had been. Louis had told him that he could take him to a hidden location, a vault of artifacts where Morgan could not only find out more about The Illuminati but also personal details related to Walther Lunt.

  It had crossed Morgan’s mind that this might be another trap but he’d seen something in the other man’s eyes that made him trust the fellow. Louis hated Lunt and was willing to risk his own life if it meant striking back at his enemy.

  And so they had come to a small chateau just outside the city. The grasses were high and the entire property looked abandoned. Louis had told him that this was one of Lunt’s safe houses, one of nearly two dozen scattered throughout Europe. It was here that he stored many of his treasures and personal papers. Louis had been inside only once before, having accepted an invitation from Lunt himself several years before the incident that had severed their relations.

  Morgan had wandered around the house before rejoining Louis at the front door. Assured that there seemed to be no ambush waiting to happen, Morgan consented to follow the other man inside. The house had been quite nice, with several paintings that were probably worth more than Morgan would have made in a lifetime, even at the generous wages provided by Lazarus.

  But it was what lay in the cellar that had driven all thoughts about his friends from Morgan’s mind. Louis had shown him a small metal box about the size of a footrest. There was a knocking from within the box, a thrashing about that intensified as the men approached. It sounded like someone had locked a small dog or cat inside.

  "What’s in there?" Morgan asked, staring at the container, a sense of dread rising up from the pit of his stomach. His bowels suddenly felt loose and threatening.

  "The truth about The Illuminati and how it’s managed to become all that it is."

  Morgan frowned, not liking the overly dramatic presentation. Even so, he sensed that Louis truly meant these words and was not using them in an attempt to scare him.

  Morgan knelt in front of the box and slowly unlatched its lid, opening it a few inches at a time. When he finally saw what lay within, looking dried up and emaciated, he let out an audible gasp and backed away, letting the box lid drop shut. Though he’d only gazed upon the unholy creature for a matter of seconds, he knew the image would be burned into his mind forever: though the beast had looked half-mummified, it still lived and the drooping folds of its skin indicated that in full health, it would have possessed a bloated corpulence. The creature’s head was pulpy and tentacled, surmounting a grotesquely scaled body with rudimentary wings. The monster was vaguely anthropoid with an octopus-like head. Sharp claws on the hind and forefeet made it quite clear that this was a dangerous beast but most awful of all was its fearsome and unnatural malignancy. This was something that should not exist. And yet, it did… and it fought against its own death even now, thrashing about in the box that was its prison.

  "What in God’s name was that?" Morgan asked, once his strength of will had returned.

  "Cthulhi," Louis answered. "The Star-Spawn of a great and powerful creature. They arrived on Earth with their unholy master and most of them are trapped beneath the waves now, all locked away in the basalt city of R’lyeh. The Illuminati are the human servants of these ancient beasts. They hope to be amongst the few to survive the terrors that will come when R’lyeh rises from beneath the sea."

  Morgan turned away from the horrible box and the horror it contained. He wished that he could talk to Lazarus right now. His employer knew a lot about these sorts of things and how to deal with th
em… but Morgan was simply an old con man who had gone straight. He wasn’t really suited to dealing with fallen gods. "I’m not sure how you think this is going to help," he said at last, turning his head toward Louis.

  "Because once you understand why a man does what he does, you have a chance of beating him. Walther Lunt and all the rest of them, they’re looking to accomplish two things: the first is that they’re accumulating all the occult knowledge in the world so that they can find the key to unlocking R’lyeh’s prison. They want to raise it again, awakening all the monsters that slumber within. But before they do that, they want to make sure that they’re in positions of power the world over. When the Old Ones return, The Illuminati hope to be overseers for the human slaves who will be like cattle for the monsters. In return, they’ll be granted favors and – hopefully – be spared the full brunt of the terrors that await humanity."

  "And that’s why you work with them?"

  Louis laughed hoarsely. "No. I work for them because they pay very, very well. It’s a gamble, you see… I’m not high enough up the food chain to look forward to the raising of R’lyeh. I’d end up dead or worse in the New World Order. But The Illuminati hasn’t raised that city in all the centuries they’ve been around so I’m taking the chance they won’t do it during my lifetime, either."

  "You know all this… What they’re really about… and you still take their money? You still work to help them?"

  The cultist shrugged his shoulders. "The world’s never done much for me. Why should I care what happens to it?"

  Morgan had holstered his gun before unlatching the box but he drew it now, making Louis tense. "Thank you for showing me this," he said. "It does solidify something for me."

  Louis watched him warily. "And what’s that?"

  Morgan walked quickly toward the box, kicking the lid open with the toe of his shoe. He pointed his pistol at the awful thing within and pulled the trigger three quick times in succession, the bullets reducing the sickly monster to a splatter of blood and goo. When the deed was done, Morgan turned the gun on Louis, who quickly raised his hands in submission. "Monsters need to die."

  Morgan pulled the trigger twice more.

  Ten minutes later, Morgan was outside the chateau, having busied himself by pouring gasoline around the exterior of the property. He struck a match and tossed it onto the ground, moving away as the flame sent the gasoline into a sudden frenzy. He knew that Lazarus didn’t really approve of murder – and that’s what this had been, no doubt about it. But Morgan had realized something while listening to Louis: this wasn’t some gang lord they were trying to take down or a criminal enterprise, even a worldwide one. This was a war, one that would hold the continued existence of the human race in the balance. As far as Morgan was concerned, there was no murder in war, at least not so far as it concerned two combatants.

  And the sooner the rest of Assistance Unlimited realized the same thing, the better off they’d all be.

  Chapter IV

  The Beast

  Eisner Way had once been a nice residential area and the O’Reilly Church had been one of the beating hearts of the community. But like so much else in Sovereign City, it had gradually become grimier until all the beauty was hidden beneath several layers of sludge. When the economy crashed back in ’29, Eisner had slowly become a veritable graveyard as families moved to less expensive parts of the city. The church had finally shut its doors in ’32.

  Lazarus Gray stood outside the church and tried to imagine it in better times. This city was so much like him in that both had held such promise. He had been a brilliant student, for whom the whole world seemed to beckon. Sovereign had been a port city that could have become the very best of America.

  But then Lazarus had fallen prey to The Illuminati and corruption had threatened to overwhelm him, just as Sovereign had become a breeding ground for those who would use their power for abuse.

  It had taken death and resurrection for the man known as Richard Winthrop to become Lazarus Gray. What would it take for Sovereign to rise phoenix-like into a new and better form?

  Lazarus looked up at the sky and a drop of water struck him in the forehead. It felt as if the city herself was about to cry. Gray hurried toward the doors of the church and was unsurprised when they opened of their own accord at his approach. He had kept his end of the bargain, arriving alone but he was far from unarmed. Beneath his jacket he wore two guns holstered over each breast, a knife at his hip and a police baton strapped to his right calf. He wasn’t sure any of those things would help against The Claw but he was willing to give them all a try.

  Nearly two-dozen candles, arranged throughout, illuminated the interior of the church. Many pews remained though almost all had been turned over or shattered. The smells of mildew, urine and rotten wood filled Gray’s nostrils but he ignored everything except the sight above the pulpit. Kelly Emerson hung upside down, her arms and legs tied securely to an inverted cross. A gag was clenched tightly in her open mouth and her face was crimson, from the strain of her position and from the fear she obviously felt. There were no bruises or marks on her, though her shirt had been torn during the affair, revealing her white brassiere and heaving bosom. Her eyes widened when she saw her former lover and Gray could sense sudden hope springing forth from her.

  Addressing her, Lazarus said, "I’m going to get you down from there, Kelly. Trust me."

  The girl nodded quickly, indicating that she did.

  "Enticing you here proved ludicrously easy."

  Gray jerked his head around at the sudden intrusion. The Claw was stepping from the shadows to his left, looking monstrous. The villain held his arms in front of him, his hands clasped within voluminous robes. "If you wanted to face me, you could have at any point," Gray said. "You proved that when you broke into my home. So why kidnap Kelly? Why kill all those innocent children?"

  "You know the answer to that," The Claw responded. "I did those things because I enjoyed them."

  Gray took a deep breath, not enjoying this confrontation at all. He was on someone else’s home field with a loved one in danger. And the creature behind it all was insane enough that he was capable of anything. "Let her go and we can settle this."

  The God of Hate laughed and in that bubbling sound there was no mirth, only promises of pain and death. "I think not. Don’t you want her to see your heroism as you seek to stop me? I’m sure it will warm the embers of romance within her breast."

  Lazarus had heard enough. He reached into his jacket and pulled out one of his pistols, firing it in the same motion. He snapped off four quick shots and all of the bullets hit home, striking The Claw between his neck and stomach. The villain jerked wildly before toppling backwards, his body vanishing as it fell over a church pew.

  Gray did not pretend to think that this was the end of his opponent. Even as Kelly began to scream into her gag, wanting him to cut her down, he slowly began to approach the spot where he’d last seen The Claw. As he moved within a few feet, he caught a brief glimpse of the monster’s robe on the floor. He sprang forward, leaping over the pew. He landed directly atop the robe but found that it was empty, having obviously been discarded. A sudden flurry of movement from behind him was coupled by another scream from Kelly. He realized that she was trying to warn him but in truth, she was doing more harm than good: with her making so much noise, he was unable to hear The Claw with any effectiveness.

  Still, he managed to turn his body just in time to see the villain rushing toward him, claws extended. Gray ducked under one swipe of the deadly knives but the second caught him on the left shoulder, slicing through fabric and skin easily enough. Gray dropped his gun deliberately at this point, the weapon clattering at his feet. He used both hands to grab hold of The Claw’s arm and yanked him forward. The motion took The God of Hate by surprise and he nearly lost his footing. Gray drove a hard punch into The Claw’s chin and the villain’s sharp teeth bit through a section of his own bottom lip, causing blood to flow freely.

&nbs
p; The Claw jerked away, anger clouding his eyes. He roared like a trapped lion and swiped out with his claws again, narrowly missing taking off Gray’s head.

  Gray bent to retrieve his pistol and charged forward, lowering his shoulder and slamming it hard into The Claw’s midsection, lifting the villain off his feet. Gray drove him back into the wall and plaster rained down on them both. Lazarus began pummeling the villain’s body with punches, slamming them home with all the strength of a desperate man.

  The Claw seemed shocked by the way the combat was going and he angrily shoved Gray away from him, giving him just enough time to indulge in one of his most useful spells: before Gray’s shocked eyes, The Claw began to grow in size, his entire body expanding until he was so tall that his head scraped against the high vaulted ceiling. He looked down at Gray and laughed at the man’s expression. "Do you see now? Do you now grasp what it is you face? I am no mere goon for you to batter with your fists! I am a force of nature! I am Hate personified!"

  Before Gray could respond, The Claw reached out with one of his hands and swiped at Kelly’s back like he was swatting a fly. The inverted cross that held her aloft snapped in two and she was sent hurtling to the floor. Lazarus burst into action, throwing himself toward her. He made it just in time, slowing the woman’s impact by literally placing his body between her and the floor. Gray screamed in pain as a shard of the cross buried itself in his midsection, pinning him to the floor. His hands were free and, despite the pain, he quickly undid Kelly’s bonds as The Claw stomped toward them.

  "Get out of here," he wheezed.

  Kelly looked indecisive. Her eyes kept flitting back to the mammoth horror that was now towering over them but she was obviously hesitant to leave Lazarus. "Maybe I can get you free," she said.

  "No." Lazarus gripped her arm painfully hard. "If you stay here, you’ll get hurt. I need you to get out of here."

  "The argument is moot," The Claw stated. "Because there is no freedom to be had for either of you." The villain raised his foot, obviously intending to grind both Kelly and Gray into paste. Before he could do so, however, a powerful spear-like object passed through his chest, entering from the back and exiting in the front. The object, which upon closer inspection Kelly recognized as a harpoon, imbedded itself in the wall. Blood spurted from The Claw’s wound and he whirled about to see where the attack had come from.