by Дж. Р. Уорд
*watches it leave*
*takes deep breath*
Grab the laptop, my brother. I’m almost at my limit, between the weapons and the MedPack.
ZSADIST
*picks up laptop* *in process, hits mouse pad, which kicks off screen saver*
HOLD UP
WHAT DOES THIS SAY
*turns to face V*
VISHOUS
*frowns* *leans into screen*
HOLY FUCKING SHIT!
DROP IT AND RUN!
ZSADIST
*throws computer*
*pounds out of farmhouse at full tilt behind V—*
I’M WAITING…V? Z?
July 12, 2006
WRATH (in the study)
What up?
What happened?
WRATH
Vishous?
Z?
PHURY (in the study)
I’m calling both of them on the cells right now. Neither are answering.
PHURY
Pick up…
Fucking pick up.
RHAGE (in the study)
Let’s go to the coordinates.
Fuck this.
*heads for door of study*
VISHOUS (out in front of ruins of farmhouse)
*answers phone* *hears Phurys voice* WHAT? I CANT HEAR A THING?
*glances up as Rhage materializes in front of him* Oh, don’t look at me like that. I landed in mud. SUE ME Hollywood—NO DON’T HUG ME!
PHURY
*prays silently to Scribe Virgin with thanks*
Z, you okay?
ZSADIST (on V’s phone)
FINE
WHOLE FUCKING PLACE BLEW TO HIGH HEAVEN
I FEEL LIKE I’VE BEEN PUNCHED IN THE HEAD
WRATH
Were you two the targets?
VISHOUS
Who the fuck knows.
We must have just missed him. Maybe he knew we’d come at dark. He’d had computer access, so he could have read it on the damn Boards.
Maybe he thought I was coming to kill him.
ZSADIST
OR HE HAS OTHER ENEMIES WHO COME AFTER DARK
WHY THE FUCK WOULD HE THINK WE’D KILL HIM AFTER WHAT HE DID LAST NIGHT THOUGH
VISHOUS
He and I ain’t exactly pen pals, feel me?
Look, I don’t know where he is. But he’s not going back to that place.
WRATH
Great. Wonderful. Fucking fantastic.
We sit. We wait. We see if he contacts us.
*narrows eyes*
V…what aren’t you telling me?
VISHOUS
We ran into a buddy of his.
A **************Edited by Admin***************
WRATH
Really?
Surprise, surprise.
Odd combination there. Well, like I said.
We sit. We wait.
And in the meantime, get out into the night, boys. You have work to do.
WRATH
*leans back in pansy chair and puts shitkickers on little froufrou desk*
*crosses arms*
*mutters* Shit. Now I know how I’m spending the rest of tonight.
*gets up* *stalks out of study in a bad mood*
******************FINIS*********************
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
July 18, 2006
BUTCH O’NEAL (in the Pit)
Yo, V.
What the hell are you doing?
VISHOUS (in the Pit)
Nothing.
BUTCH O’NEAL
Then why are you packing up all that shit?
And what’s with the—
VISHOUS
NOTHING.
Shut up, cop before you—
WRATH (in the study)
What’s up, boys?
I don’t like die sound of this.
VISHOUS
It’s all good.
Nothing—
BUTCH O’NEAL
He’s packing up a MedPack. And—shit, like a pound of sugar?
WRATH
Jesus Christ.
When did Lassiter get in touch with you? And why the fuck didn’t you talk to me about this?
VISHOUS
Just today. And I was going to tell you before I left.
WRATH
I can’t post right now.
I really fucking can’t post right now.
*signs off*
VISHOUS
Wrath? Come on, Wrath…
Shit.
Cop, hold it down at the Pit. I’ll be back…
V IN DEEP SHIT WITH THE KING
July 18, 2006
VISHOUS (at the mansion)
*runs up stairs*
*knocks on closed doors of study*
Wrath? My brother?
WRATH (in the study)
*nibs eyes underneath glasses*
*curses and fights down the childish urge to pick his mofo desk up and hurl it at the fireplace*
*yells out* V, you come in here its at your own risk. I’m on my last fucking nerve with you.
VISHOUS
*opens door*
*sees Wrath sitting at that little desk, dressed in a black T-shirt and leathers. Wrath’s hair, which is so very long now, is down over his shoulders*
Hey, man, seriously, I wasn’t going to—
WRATH
The fuck you weren’t going in alone—
VISHOUS
WHOA. Back the hell up. You don’t call me a liar.
WRATH
*slowly gets up from desk* Then you don’t play me like a fool.
You talk to Z? Phury? Who were you taking with you as backup?
I’ll bet you your balls on a plate none of them knew what you were doing. Did they?
Did they, Vishous?
VISHOUS
*measures Wrath’s stance and realizes that the two of them are about an inch and a half away from going at it*
*turns away*
*walks around*
*takes out hand-rolled*
*lights up and inhales*
WRATH
Were you going to kill him? All nice and quiet?
And try being honest. You might get off on it for a change.
VISHOUS
*stretches arm out straight from the shoulder* *points at Wrath with the cigarette*
Fuck you.
VISHOUS
*realizes he’s just told the king to fuck off*
I’m sorry.
WRATH
Screw the apology, I could care.
Answer me.
VISHOUS
If I were going to off him, why would I bring first aid?
WRATH
You know, I really feel like popping you already. And the attitude is REALLY helping here.
Who’s your backup?
VISHOUS
*inhales on hand-rolled* *opens up leather jacket, flashing butt of Glock*
Captain Nine Millimeter—
WRATH
*slams fist on desk*
You think this is a joke?
VISHOUS
*stares at Wrath, frustrated, angry*
*inhales on cigarette*
*brings gloved hand up to his mouth and bites through the clasp, then strips it off with his fangs*
*in slow motion brings lit tip of hand-rolled to his bare, glowing palm*
*light flares and the butt is ashed immediately*
I can handle myself. I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt, and we’ve got a lot of fucking heroes around here.
He’s hurt. He’s dying. And he’s hunted. I was going to go and clean him up and then get the hell away from him.
That is all.
WRATH
*slowly sits back down*
*silence*
VISHOUS
Come on, my Lord. Give me a fucking break here.
WRATH
Trust, V. It’s about trust.
You should have told me. If you get cracked tonight, how would we have known wha
t happened?
I get the motives. But don’t do us any favors, dig?
VISHOUS
*bends down and picks up glove* *slips it back on his hand*
So I can go, right.
WRATH
*has to smile*
You know, that would work a hell of a lot better if it were phrased as a question, asshole.
Yes. Go. At nightfall…which is in, what?
VISHOUS
Fifteen minutes. I’ll head out in fifteen minutes.
LITTLE TRIP INTO THE FUCKING WOODS
July 18, 2006
VISHOUS
*steps out of mansion*
*eyes sky* *winces and blinks*
*checks Glock*
*dematerializes to the north*
VISHOUS
* takes form at the side of the southbound exit 13 on the North way, I-87, in Saratoga Springs*
* standing on the shoulder of the road, he hears an occasional car go by and watches their headlights flare and fade*
*eyes shallow woods to the right*
*walks through the short grass into the trees*
*smells the fragrance of wet earth and a hot summer night*
VISHOUS
*sees thin-trunked trees, the leaves of which block the sight of the sky*
*says quietly*
Cocksucker, the ambulance has arrived.
*extends glowing hand*
*finds the center of his chest and feels his heartbeat*
*pulses emerge from his hand to the rhythm inside his rib cage, spreading outward across the landscape*
Come on, cocksucker…let up on your mhis there, big guy. Let me find you.
VISHOUS
*landscape suddenly becomes flat plane of whiteness, the trees, the grass all disappearing*
*Lassiter is revealed, lying on the ground about fifty yards away*
VISHOUS
*starts to jog over as landscape re-forms*
*slows down*
Oh, shit.
Enemy mine…
J R WARD
Lassiter lies curled on his side on the earth, silver blood saturating the ground like a mercury puddle. His black-and-blond hair is matted. Golden skin is now the color of a dove.
The woods smell like a fresh bouquet of flowers. The scent is Lassiter’s death, the sweet saturation of the soul that wandered off from the broken body.
The sun didn’t save him. And trapped the help he needed in a cold stone house far away.
VISHOUS
*kneels down*
*strips Med Pack off*
You know something, cocksucker?
Death really fucking annoys me.
VISHOUS
*pushes Lassiter over onto his back and examines wounds*
Yeah, that lesser got you right good. But it’s Good Morning, Vietnam for you, asshole.
*takes hand and holds it right over the center of Lassiter’s chest*
Wakey-wakey.
VISHOUS
*BRILLIANT EXPLOSION OF LIGHT*
LASSITER
*HAULS IN BREATH*
*CHEST JACKS UP OFF THE GROUND*
VISHOUS
*falls back onto ass*
How’s that for an alarm clock?
LASSITER
* gasps for breath*
*gasps*
* gasps*
* gasps*
*gasps*
VISHOUS
*reaches for Med Pack*
Okay, you with me? I’m going to go in and sec what’s doing with that chest wound.
Nod if you can hear me and you understand.
LASSITER
*gasps*
*gasps*
*nods*
VISHOUS
*under breath* Shit, golden hoy, you smell like a sissy when you die, you know that?
*night vision reveals unhealed gunshot wound penetrating left lung*
LASSITER
*gasps*
*slowly lifts hand*
*extends middle finger*
*gasps*
VISHOUS
*barks laughter*
Okay, Goldilocks, I can see the bullet. I’m going to remove it, and then you’re going to have to zone out and do yourself a little heal bit. Then I’ll close.
Fucking bullet probably had nickel mixed in with the lead, which was what cooked you, right?
LASSITER
*gasps*
*hoarsely* Couldn’t get it out
VISHOUS
Yeah, hard to operate on yourself. *reaches down with calipers*
This is going to hurt like a—
LASSITER
FUCK
VISHOUS
*continuing to work*
*Lassiter is writhing on the ground*
VISHOUS
Got it.
Okay, do your thing.
LASSITER
******************EDITED by Admin.*******************
VISHOUS
*leaning far away, arm up to eyes*
*creates shield to block force*
VISHOUS
*drops arm*
*sees before him a golden glow*
You know, all things considered, it’s a wonder we don’t get along better.
LASSITER
*takes a deep breath and looks at chest*
*glances at Vishous*
How fucking ironic is this?
VISHOUS
Yeah…
Anyway, you want me to close you up? Or are you planning on walking around with that big. gaping, nasty- ass hole in your chest?
No offense, but you look like a Rick Baker special here. All Werewolf of London and shit.
LASSITER
Close me.
VISHOUS
*smiles* Never been so glad to be on the business end of a needle before.
Even when I’m tatting.
*closes wound in a series of precise stitches—black thread on golden skin*
*Lassiter doesn’t even flinch now—just watches V*
VISHOUS
*bites off thread* *pitches needle into MedPack*
*sits back on heels*
*silence*
LASSITER
*puts hand out*
VISHOUS
*looks at it*
*accepts invitation and their palms meet briefly*
*V stands up* *puts on MedPack*
You don’t have to say it.
LASSITER
Honor’s going to make me.
Circle will be closed. Sometime.
VISHOUS
*inclines head*
*looks at the sky*
Yeah, well, in the words of my roommate, we ain’t datin’.
I’ll tell the others you’re alive.
LATER—
LASSITER
You know the future.
So you know the when and the where and the why.
VISHOUS
That program isn’t working so well right now.
Guess it’s on your word.
*looks down at Lassiter*
Yeah, ironic as fuck. That’s what this is.
You know where to find me.
LATER.
******************FINIS*********************
Lassiter and V definitely share history, and the fallen angel has a lot of enemies. But he does return Tohrment to the fold after having taken a bullet for Wrath, so there are a lot of ties that bind him and the Brotherhood. Watching him with the Brothers over the next couple of books (and on the boards, if he chooses to appear) is going to be a wild ride, I promise you!
For the most part, when the Brothers show up on the boards, it’s totally unexpected. I’m the only one who goes on as them, and I usually have no idea who will come out or what will happen or when they’ll demand to be heard. In a few cases, though, I have known what was doing. The rollout of V going after Lassiter and saving him, for example, was one that I knew about, and accordingly, I gave notice to the Cellies that something was going to go down that night.
The below is another occasion when I was aware of the whole thing. I put out an invitation and said that the Brothers were going to be on the board, but what I didn’t tell folks was that it was going to be for Phury and Cormia’s mating ceremony. I had just finished their book and gotten it off to my editor, and I was feeling like I wanted to involve everyone in their joy.
What transpired, though, was absolutely incredible. There were so many people posting and so many refreshes to the board within every given moment that we killed the server. Which is traumatic, but kind of cool. Fortunately, everyone stayed with us and we fixed the problem, and the result…is my single favorite thing on the message board. To date, the Ceremony, which is located in the Brother Interaction Thread Forum, has well over two hundred fifty thousand views. When we closed the thread, there were over seventy pages of posts, and as you can see, the Cell was having a ball, toasting to the mating of a male and a female of worth.
Yeah, this is my favorite thing out of the over fifty-five hundred different threads we’ve made. I love the community of readers that make up the BDB board, and if you read the unedited version of the Ceremony, you’ll see how great they all are.
And now, without further ado, I give you Phury and Cormia…
THE FOYER
January 20, 2008
FRITZ
*brings in sterling silver bowl of salt and pitcher of water*
*places both on low-slung table*
*lights black candles*
*departs*
WRATH
*looks around*
*nods*
* takes crown*
*settles on head*
RHAGE
Takes a brother back…
Don’t it?
*double-checks daggers on chest*
IN PHURY’S BEDROOM
January 20, 2008
ZSADIST
*knocks* Yo, my brother?
PHURY
*straightens white satin robing*
*clears throat*
Yeah…I’m…
Come on in.
ZSADIST
*opens door*
Aw, shit. Check you out.
You’re ready. So fucking ready.
PHURY
*laughs*
You know, I think I am.
*brushes out hair*
ZSADIST
I feel like I should give you advice or some shit.
But I’m coming up with a whole lot of nothing.
PHURY
You’re here. That’s all that matters.
Hey…did you think about them?
You know, when you and Bella…
ZSADIST
You mean the parents? I thought about them more after Nalla’s birth. I mean, for this kind of thing, the most important thing was having you and the brothers with me.
Family is where you find them.
And listen, if you want a blunt, it’s cool to want one.
PHURY
Yeah…not going to light up, though.
