by Regan Black
Brian ignored the reference. "More unsavory associates?"
The Judge nodded. "With wicked tastes."
The Judge was baiting him and Brian kept his irritation to himself. "Well, keep 'em happy. If you're okay, we'll be going."
"Information is the key with allies and enemies. Know their weaknesses. Know when to use those weaknesses against them." He tapped a fleshy finger to his grayed temple.
They were discussing Jaden. He knew she was coming. Enough was enough. He pulled his weapon and aimed at Albertson's black heart. "I'm not her weakness. Why don't you give your boys the day off and show us around your playground?"
Albertson chortled. "Love is a many splendored thing. But she doesn't love you, son. She can't. She's as far from human as I."
He wouldn't let the words bother him. It was crap and he knew it. Just more of the mind games he'd applied to Jaden in the museum.
"Hand over the gun." The guards descended on Brian and Loomis. "Think on it. Then we'll talk again."
Taking weapons, the guards hauled them away. Upstairs, Brian realized. He shot Loomis a look to just play along. If they were going up to the cells, he'd lay good odds they wouldn't be confined for long.
Jaden clipped the camera to her waistband and set it to record as they walked into a narrow hallway and descended a steep half flight of stairs. At the landing, Leigh turned in circles.
"It was here. The elevator was here."
She wouldn't insult Leigh by asking useless questions. Instead, Jaden moved to each wall in turn, looking for a hidden trip of some sort.
Leigh found it first and gave a small cry as the elevator door slid back. They stepped into the car and Jaden pressed the lowest button on the panel.
"Smell right?" she asked as the car began to move.
Leigh nodded. Her breathing was shallow, her eyes wide with fear.
"You're doing great. We'll be out of here in no time."
"Sure."
The door opened, and to her benefit, Leigh's fresh terror made her stall. The hesitation saved her from a man's boot to her jaw.
Jaden shoved her back and leaped forward, dagger at the ready. The man finished the arc of his kick and faced Jaden with a sneer.
"Billy," the women said in unison.
"At your service." He bowed, just out of Jaden's reach. "Well, hey there peach," he addressed Leigh. "Back for more Big Billy, huh?"
"Pig!" Leigh screamed, launching herself at the man who'd degraded her so terribly.
Jaden followed the skirmish into a dank, brick alcove. It was best for Leigh to do as much damage as possible. Healing. Not many victims had the opportunity or courage to attack their abusers.
Billy shrieked like the girls he guarded when fingernails raked at his eyes. Foul names poured from his mouth, several interestingly new to Jaden's seasoned vocabulary, but so far he held back from causing Leigh real bodily harm.
She let them go until he tripped Leigh. As the woman went down, Jaden threw herself into the brawl before Billy could complete the damaging stomp he had in mind.
"Deal with me." She waved the dagger. "I'll go easy on you."
"Bitch!" he snarled and faced her. His lip was already swelling and blood oozed from the rakes Leigh had inflicted.
"I'm past the name calling." Jaden aimed an elbow at his jaw, let him dodge the diversion and with a swift duck and spin, she reached around to slice at his hamstring.
He dropped to the floor, howling in pain.
"That was for Brenda." She raised her knee, much as he had over Leigh and brought her foot down hard enough to crush the kneecap on his good leg. He passed out from the pain.
Sheathing the dagger, Jaden looked to Leigh. "Is this the easiest way to get the girls out?"
"Yes."
Her strong voice pleased Jaden. She'd make a full recovery. "Good. Then we'll leave him here and let them each take a shot on their way out."
Leigh's smile showed her wicked delight in the idea.
Oh, yeah, she'd get over this ordeal. Jaden searched Billy, stripping him of his communicator, taser and a small pistol she found in an ankle holster.
Jaden took the lead, gun ready, not willing to waste any more time. She kneecapped the first guard they encountered. He willingly spilled the names and locations of his only two associates. Taking his taser, Leigh agreed to divert the next man in line.
Jaden gave him a debilitating shock, cuffed him, and stuffed him in a corner. The third guard sat at a desk, oblivious to the plight of his crew. Jaden clipped him with a bullet to the shoulder and got his attention.
"Keys," she demanded, as he gaped in shock.
He reached for his weapon and Jaden shot it out of his hand.
"Keys," she repeated.
"Here," he groaned.
Jaden stepped closer, gun to his head, while Leigh approached from the opposite side with the taser in hand. They found the three electronic keys on a ring at his belt.
"Thank you," Leigh said, taking the camera from Jaden before running off to free the girls.
"Yes, thank you." Jaden moved a donut box and perched herself on his desk. "Now, what can you tell me about the subway?"
"Nothing."
She slipped her gun into her waistband and removed the dagger. "I'm very good with this. Ask Billy to tell you all about it sometime." She toyed with some paperwork, picking up the one with medications specified. "Drugs for the girls?" She didn't need him to answer; his pained look said it all.
Behind her, she heard Leigh encouraging the girls to move.
"Leigh," she called without taking her eyes from the guard. "How many girls?"
"Fourteen."
"And how's Katie?"
"She's here. Just a little groggy."
"Trade ya." She held out the paper and accepted the return of the camera. "Cleveland will know how to get them feeling better."
"Got it." Leigh hustled off.
"Leigh?"
"Yeah?"
"Good work, girlfriend." Then she put the rescue behind her and focused her significant energy on the guard. She tossed the knife in the air and caught it just before the blade landed in his crotch. "Let's try this again. What would you like to tell me about the subway?"
"You can't trust her, son," Albertson's voice came over the speaker in the cell. "Who's stood by you, watched out for you all these years?"
Brian wondered how he hadn't seen the truth of this bastard before now. Must be that blocking thing Jaden accused him of.
"Now, you think you're in love. But you can't trust what you see. She's got powers to fool you. Every woman does, but she's not just a woman."
"Does he ever shut up?" Loomis groused.
"Be grateful he doesn't know your weakness."
A grunt was the only answer from somewhere down the hall where Loomis had been locked away, out of Brian's sight.
"She's a little demon, I say. No white wings on that one, son. She's not your salvation. Think back to who's been there for you. Me. What lies has she fed you?"
Brian threw a pillow at the speaker. Then struggled to move the prison-like cot. Using the cot as a stepstool he tried to pry the speaker off the ceiling. No luck. He jumped down and began using the cot to knock the speaker down.
And still Albertson's voice droned on. "What kind of a woman spouts nonsense of past lives? She needs psychiatric help, son. You'd be helping her by bringing her in."
"Stop the damned banging, Chief," Loomis hollered. "You're letting him get to you."
Brian stopped. "No. I just want out of here."
Loomis stepped up in front of Brian's locked cell. "Then let's go."
The bars slid back as Brian gaped. "How?"
"These locks are old. Any one with a few years on the force should know how to slip past 'em."
"I've got more than a few years on the force," Brian pointed out irritably.
"He's not yanking my chain, sir."
Brian stared into the young face of a guard. "And you are?"
/> "Provost, sir. Undercover from the Central Region Investigation Authority." He offered his hand. "We've suspected Albertson of facilitating the trade of missing children."
Brian wanted credentials and knew it was stupid to ask, especially when the man was returning his weapon. Here was the gift horse, the legal way to bring down Albertson. But he knew it wouldn't be enough. The Judge had to die.
Jaden may worry for his career, but he worried for her soul. And what good was a job when a man like the Judge could breathe the same free air as honest citizens?
"Shall we?" Provost urged them out and down the hall.
"What's your plan?" Loomis asked.
"There's a subway access. You can escape that way."
"No. Not without the Judge in custody. My custody."
Loomis and Provost gave Brian equally dumbfounded stares.
"I assure you, Chief, we'll be making an arrest today. We have enough documentation."
"Gary's been annexed by Chicago. My city, my jurisdiction."
"Begging your pardon, kidnapping is a federal crime."
"He's kidnapped plenty of the locals."
Loomis put a beefy hand on a shoulder of each man. "Enough with the pissing contest. Isn't putting the bastard away the point?"
Brian bit his tongue. He'd make his move when Jaden showed up. If she showed up. No, he couldn't think that way.
She was fine.
She had to be fine.
"A disturbing report, son. She's destroying evidence."
Brian whipped around, but it was merely Albertson on the speaker again.
"I told you she couldn't be trusted. What sort of law-abiding official can love a woman who's–"
Brian didn't hear the rest. He was too busy laughing at the Judge's paradox. Yes, what sort of law-abiding official could love a person capable of such atrocities as destroying evidence or destroying people?
"Lead the way, Provost. It's your case."
They descended to the hallway outside the torture chamber without encountering a single guard. A fact that set Brian's teeth on edge. The Judge wouldn't just give up like this. He had to have the place wired six ways to Sunday.
Brian was about to break for the Judge's office when crying erupted from inside that horrible room. The men decided with only eyes and hand signals who would go in and how.
First through, Brian went low, gun drawn. Loomis backed him and Provost followed. The room was empty, the crying coming from the girl depicted on the panel of monitors.
"Again, I say welcome." This time the Judge was real, his rolling gait closing the distance. "I've sent the boys on an errand. It seems a dear friend has run into a bit of trouble."
"Then he shouldn't be alone in the boat," Brian sneered, raising the gun to the Judge's head. "Trouble's found you too."
Provost protested the aggression, to no avail.
Loomis didn't bother.
"I pray you'll soon realize you're under her negative influence. Put that away."
Brian held steady. "I'd think praying wouldn't be your favorite hobby."
"I have other interests, true." He waved an arm to indicate the whole room. "Why interfere with Kristoff's good work?"
The sorrowful tone didn't fool Brian. "He's juicing men for mind control. A unit here and there, soon an army. For what? World domination?"
"Such melodrama." The Judge laughed, but Brian could see he continued to calculate. "Put the gun down, son. Killing me won't stop the cycle. Ask your lady love."
"Finally the truth. What are you?"
"Only what I am." Laughter, sadistic and cruel bounced off the high, metal ceiling. "As eternal and evil as they come."
Brian felt Provost and Loomis shrink back.
He stepped forward. "My 'lady love' isn't pulling the trigger this time. Shall we see what difference I make in this circular equation?"
They were close enough, Brian could see the minute widening of Albertson's eyes. "The way I see it, I'm the one who must choose who to believe. The choice I make determines your fate, right?"
Any possible answer fell away at the rumbling beneath their feet. The Judge smiled, even winked. "I'll be going now, son. Take care with your life and don't forget your duty."
Brian cocked the gun and fired, but the shot went uselessly into the rafters as Provost tackled him.
The two men wrestled, shouting obscenities and legalities at each other while the Judge hauled his bulk into the electric chair elevator and disappeared into the floor.
"Show me the other access!" Brian demanded, earning the advantage over Provost at last.
"Hell no! We need him alive."
Brian rolled over and roared in denial. He'd failed her. With 'Protocol Provost' here, even if they killed the judge, one of them would get the death penalty for taking a life. He scrambled to his feet.
It would be him. He'd take the lethal injection, not her. That would be the change, the catalyst to allow her to live, just once, a full life.
He scrambled for the elevator, searching the floor for an access panel. Finding it, he overrode the circuit and recalled the chair.
"Hold him," he ordered Loomis to restrain Provost. He heard the officers scuffle and then looked up to see his own man had prevailed.
"Here it comes." Brian pulled back the hammer and waited for his shot.
But when the chair came into view Jaden stood behind it, her gun trained on Brian.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Saving your life." She lowered her weapon. "There's a Federal officer on site."
Seeing the Judge was bound in the chair, Brian lowered his gun too. "Loomis found him." His heart leaped at her smirk when she caught sight of the cop sitting on the undercover officer.
"I've got it all on tape," she said. "The whole nasty set up."
The Judge started spouting vile threats and nonsense. Jaden walked over to the table, picked up the scarf and returning to the Judge deliberately gagged him with it.
"Statements from guards too," she continued. "I've wired a copy to Cleveland."
"Knock out Provost there and let me kill him," Brian snapped, glaring at the Judge.
"No. Legal's the only way." She took a step toward him. "You were right. It's our time. Let's not continue as prisoners of fate."
"Oh, Jaden." He opened his arms and she fell into the embrace. Closing his eyes, he rubbed his jaw over her hair and just savored the miracle of her.
Then the gates of hell opened.
Loomis shouted a warning as gunfire erupted around them. Provost rolled and scrambled, leaving Loomis alone and bleeding.
Brian's first shot, hands full of Jaden, only nicked the Judge, who'd freed a hand and was punching the panel of the chair-elevator. The chair began to sink into the floor.
He fired again, but the bastard only smiled. A smug, immortal expression that turned Brian's gut inside out. He loosed his weapon on the chair, disabling the electronics and slowing the Judge's escape.
Slowly, he trained his weapon on the Judge's brow, envisioning the end result. Positive. Permanent.
He pulled the trigger.
"No!"
Someone screamed. Jaden? The Judge? He wasn't sure.
Jaden launched and felt the bullet tear through her side. More gunfire and voices erupted, the sounds popping and ricocheting from every angle. She wouldn't let Brian kill the Judge and with him, their chance for life. Pain blinded her, but it beat the tragic frustration of knowing she'd have to live again. Knowing she'd face this damned demon again.
Just once, she'd wanted the normal life of those around her. The regular, mundane aches and pains. It apparently had been too much to hope for.
Her vision clearing, she saw the Judge circling her, a long, familiar blade in his hand.
"That's mine," she hissed, coming to her feet with a grace born of a thousand lives as a warrior.
He laughed, morphing into his true demonic form: tall and muscled with leathered skin smelling of sulphur and death. "Come t
ry and claim it."
The change fueled her. She recognized this would at last be the true and final battle. Everything fell away. Her pain, spectators, victims. Nothing mattered but winning.
They engaged in the fatal dance and she let him get cocky. He taunted her, inviting her to meet hate with hate. He lunged, she blocked. He speared, she dodged. He had the advantage of reach with the longer blade, but she had two daggers, agility and a secret in her favor.
She alone knew who'd forged that weapon.
The sword slid past her face, splitting the air with a rush and leaving a fine line of blood in its wake. She smiled, sensing the beginning of the end and spun in closer, grazing his sword arm on the way.
Even the demonic would bleed and blood made for a loose grip. Furious, the demon attacked. Jaden lowered her daggers to absorb the lethal strike as she made her choice.
"I have chosen love."
It didn't even hurt. Just a flash of metal disappearing into her chest. An agonized scream and it was done. At last.
In the eerie quiet of the aftermath, she sensed a presence from her past. Comfort, concern and assurance all blended in the dark recesses of her mind. Her heart at peace, Jaden wanted to sink into the glory of it.
But someone was calling her name and she felt his touch.
Brian.
"Jaden? Can you hear me?"
Her vision hemmed by the darkness, she reveled in the strength of his voice. He was alive. "Mmm-hmm."
"Stay with me."
"Mmm. Touch me..." she managed.
He did. "Hang in there. Cleveland called reinforcements." His fingers combed through her hair. His hand pressed into the raw wound. "God, I'm so sorry."
"You shot me."
"Did not. You jumped into the bullet. And dropped your guard. Why, Jaden?"
True enough. "To finish." She felt different, free. "Won't lose you." Never again.
And that's what she'd never said aloud. She needed to tell him she couldn't bear to ever live without him. Someone came between them to dress her wound. She clung to Brian and tried again to get the words out.
"Shh. I'm right here. Let them help."
"You help more. I love you. More–" She struggled for breath. "More than I hated him."
Other voices crowded in on them, but she heard only his, felt only his hands. "I love you, too."
