by Leo Romero
Aurora smiled back. She looked impressed with my negotiating and investigating skills. And so she should be. I turned back to Ming and cleared my throat. I crossed my arms over my chest. “What d’ya say, Ming?”
Ming leaned forward on her desk. “I say it’s an interesting theory, fallen angel, but incorrect. Even if I knew where to find one of the Crazy Four, I’d never seek their help. Having the Angel Guild sniffing around our operations is bad for business. Believe me, nothing made me happier to hear of our fire wielding friend turning up and burning those Russian shits alive, but unfortunately, it wasn’t me who had him summoned.”
I felt my grin melt. “Uh. Really? You expect me to believe that?”
She gave me an acidic stare. “Mr. Stone. I don’t care what you believe. The burden of proof lies with the one making the allegation. And you have no proof. The demon was not summoned by us.”
“So, it’s all just a coincidence then? You’re getting your asses handed to you by a bunch of holy water wielding bears, bears are susceptible to fire and hey look, a fire demon shows up just in time to start taking out the bears. Come on, Ming, you don’t expect me to buy that do you?”
Ming adjusted in her seat. “Has the thought occurred to you that maybe someone wants you to believe that we summoned the demon to fight the bears in order to turn the Angel Guild against us and destroy us?”
I gave her a sideways look. “That’s a bit farfetched, isn’t it? Who would do or want such a thing?”
Ming laughed. It was an emotionless sound. “Oh, Mr. Stone, don’t be so naïve. We have many enemies! And not just of the bear persuasion. I believe ‘divide and conquer’ is the apt term.”
“So what were you fighting over the other night?”
“Mr. Stone. We are gangsters. Gangsters are not generally renowned for their peace negotiations. All it takes is for a member of a rival faction to step on one of my guy’s toes to set it all off.”
“But you’re also business minded. And losing guys is bad for business. There’s gotta be a better reason for you fighting the bears.”
Ming huffed. “Have you spoken to the bears?”
“Not as yet, no.”
“Well, maybe you should. There are forces beyond us and even the Russians at work here. Someone is trying to drive a wedge between us.”
“But why?”
Ming leaned in closer, a faint smile on her ruby-red lips, a knowing in her black eyes. “That’s what you’ll have to find out, Mr. Stone.” She leaned back. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have guests awaiting my presence downstairs.”
I grumbled to myself. I wasn’t getting anything outta her. I gave her a courteous bow of my head. “Of course.” I reached over the desk for Bam Bam. Just before I touched her, Ming grabbed my wrist. Her touch was ice. A deathly shiver coursed through me, making my blood run cold. My wide eyes met hers.
“Don’t come back, Mr. Stone,” she said in a soft, but stern tone. “We won’t be so hospitable next time.”
I licked my lips. Ming held her stare for a prolonged second, the ice from her touch spreading through my body. It chilled my bones. She finally let go, releasing me from her death grip. She interlocked her fingers once more in that cobra-like pose and watched me. “Say hello to Lo Pan for me.”
I nodded, chills still jolting through me like the aftermath of an electric shock. I picked up Bam Bam and grabbed my Deck of Death. I stood upright, holstered Bam Bam and pocketed my cards. Aurora was up out of her seat already. I turned to face her. “Let’s get outta here.”
I faced Ming once last time. She still had that predator pose on. I knew she wasn’t telling me the whole story, but there was no way she was gonna fill me in. I didn’t say another word. Instead, I turned and put a friendly arm around Aurora and leaned into her. “Welcome to the real world,” I said to her.
The blinds ahead of us opened up and the goon who led us in was standing there, his hand held out toward the stairs. Very cordial. We descended, the sound of music getting louder and louder. We made it to the ground floor where the vampires were full on feeding on their victims. I breezed past them, disgusted, while Aurora gazed around in shock.
We finally made it back out and I was glad for the fresh air, the stench of vampires still caught in my nostrils. To my amusement, the guys were still huddled around Excalibur. Some were standing by the side, arguing and scratching their heads while a bunch of others were still trying to lift it to no avail.
I shook my head. “Amateurs,” I said to myself. I strolled up to them and began pushing them aside. “Mind out the way. Coming through!” They parted.
“Ha ha! You fiends don’t have the fortitude to wield a sword such as I!” Art declared in triumph.
With a nonchalant sigh, I bent down, snatched up Excalibur like he was nothing but a twig and placed the blade over my shoulder. Gasps and confused exclamations filled the air. I turned in small semi-circles so they all could see. They backed off in fear.
I gave them a firm nod. “Pah! Normies!” I said. “Come on, Art. Let’s go.” I swung Excalibur across the air. Some of the goons recoiled in shock. I brought the blade down to my scabbard and sheathed him. A half smile slid up my cheek. Watching these assholes cringe was cool enough. I cocked a thumb back at that frickin’ pagoda. “Now, go get your fixes!”
I spun away and began buttoning up my jacket, my breath coming outta my mouth in small puffs of smoke.
Aurora scampered up to my side. “She’s lying!” she spat.
I nodded. “Ya think? What gave it away, the smug grin or the way she morphed into a bat creature?”
Aurora shuddered. “Both!”
I gave the pagoda one more glance. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll be back sometime for round two.”
We marched off back toward the Chinatown entrance where I left my bike. “Where to now?” Aurora asked.
“You heard her. Now we go talk to some Russian Bears.”
Chapter 6
I got us up to Lakeview in good time. I pulled up outside probably the biggest mansion in the whole district, only NBA and NFL stars could rival. I stared through the wrought iron gates. Expensive cars lined the inner grounds. I spotted guys patrolling the area, the bulges beneath the jackets of their sharp suits a giveaway they were packing heat. Someone was paranoid, and I knew for good reason.
“Nice place,” Aurora said, climbing off the Harley.
I nodded, my gaze fixed past the gates. “Yeah, crime sure does pay well.”
She came and stood next to me. “Who are those guys?”
“Bears. Russian mafia. Bad guys.”
“And we’re gonna have a meeting with them?”
“Yep! It can’t be as bad as the ancient vampire we just spoke with, can it?”
“I dunno, Stone. I’m starting to wish Frogface won me.”
I gave her an incredulous stare. “With that giant pink tongue?” I shrugged. “I can maybe see the allure.” I went over to the intercom on the perimeter wall by the gates. “Here goes.”
I pushed the button, after a brief moment a gruff voice said, “Dah?”
“I need to speak with Olev,” I replied.
“Olev not take visitors,” the guy growled in his heavy Russian accent.
I’ve already heard that line once tonight. I grumbled to myself. “Tell him Gabriel Stone wants to speak with him.”
Silence answered me. I glanced back at Aurora while we waited. She gave me a shrug.
After a while, that voice came back. “Enter!” he yapped. A second later and the gates began to swing open.
“Open sesame,” I said to the gates, waving my hands across the air as if I was the one opening them, which elicited giggles from Aurora, the sound making me smile. The kid wasn’t bad to have around.
I led her into the mansion grounds, the gates closing up immediately behind us. Before we had a chance to blink, guys resembling secret service agents came running toward us. Suits, shades, guns. “Oh boy,” I sighed to myself as
they reached us.
I expected them to search me and confiscate my weapons, but instead, they surrounded us in a tight circle and shepherded us toward the mansion, constantly looking around them as we went. They urged us to move faster, all the while whirling in semi-circles as if at any moment an invisible enemy was about to strike. We made it past the Ferraris and Porsches to the mansion entrance, where more guys on the door ushered us inside. We got in and the front door was slammed behind us.
“Wait here!” a guy with a submachine gun hanging from his shoulder ordered.
“You got it,” I retorted. He went off, leaving us in the foyer where stocky guys armed with AK-47s stalked the hallways, their faces in perma-frowns. I caught Aurora’s gaze as she stared at the hardware in trepidation. I patted the air ahead of me with my hand. It’s cool.
She diverted her stare elsewhere. I joined her, gazing around me. Standing left and right upon the black and white checkered marble floor were Greco-Roman statues in all their naked etched glory. High above us, a dazzling multi-layered crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling directly between the staircases either side of the foyer that led up to a balcony. Man, this was a classy place. I bet my life many a cocaine-fueled orgy took place inside this pad. I was suddenly kinda jealous.
“Stone. Good to see you!” a booming voice echoed through the foyer as in stepped Olev Stravinsky.
He was decked out in a white shirt and black slacks, the sleeves of the shirt rolled up, the buttons on the front half undone, exposing his big hairy chest. He led out his entourage of thick-set guys to greet us, his hands out to the sides. Even though his greeting was warm enough, he wasn’t smiling. That’s cause Olev didn’t smile for anyone. He was one of the hardest mofos I’ve ever met. I was pretty sure the guy was made of steel. He stomped over to us, all six feet four of him, his broad shoulders standing at right angles, his face and head as hairless as a cue ball. His thin black eyebrows seemed to be glued together as he wore a constant furrowed brow. His eyes were two piercing cold chips of ice. His face was a zigzag of lines and scars, but there was something else captured in there. Worry. Something had him spooked, and it took a lot to scare Olev Stravinsky.
He stopped ahead of us and offered his baseball-glove-sized hand. I took it. Olev gripped mine like a vise, and I winced. He wagged my hand up and down, the joint in my shoulder almost dislocating.
“Hey, Olev!” I replied, gritting my teeth under the strain of his handshake.
“I’ve been meaning to contact you,” he said, finally releasing me. He turned to Aurora. “Who’s your friend?”
“Aurora,” I answered, shaking my throbbing hand on the air.
“Aurora,” Olev echoed looking her up and down, his brow still furrowed. “Hmm,” he said and it wasn’t a ‘hmm, she’s hot’ kinda ‘hmm’ that I’d expect from Olev, it was something else. A ‘hmm, interesting...’ kinda ‘hmm’, which I found interesting.
Olev snapped back into life. He whirled toward one of his guys. “Sergei, get Stone a drink.” Sergei nodded and stomped off.
Olev cocked a thumb over his shoulder. “Stone. Follow me, we need to talk.”
I shrugged. “Okay.” This was looking good, better than Chinatown. Unlike most of the organized gangs of paranormal freaks, the Russians were the ones I got on with best. By that I mean they didn’t wanna kill me. It goes back to the time when Olev in all his wisdom decided to date a black witch, something about sex magic rituals or something or other. Well, once Olev had his fill of her and sent her packing, she retaliated by sending a scarecrow his way. Now, if you’ve ever had to battle a scarecrow, you’ll know just how evil and maladjusted they can be. All those nightmares you had as a kid about scarecrows with pumpkin heads coming after you armed with machetes? Yeah, those are very, very real. And Olev found out all about it. Scarecrows are hard to kill. Unless you use fire, and as the Russians are pyrophobes, they had no choice but to call in the exterminators. Namely, me. I came along and saved the day, banishing that particular asshole in a blaze of magic-laced Molotov cocktails. Bagged myself a neat thousand dollars and a bottle of Ambrosia for that. And got into Olev’s good books, which is always helpful.
He led us into a large room laden with plush leather furnishings and giant TV screens.
“Take a seat,” Olev said. I held out my hand for Aurora to sit on a couch. As I took my seat next to her, Aurora began adjusting herself on the couch like she was uncomfortable. She reached beneath her ass and pulled something out. She stared in bemusement at the pair of neon pink suspenders in her hand. She met my stare, those suspenders dangling from the tips of her index finger and thumb. I shrugged. She slung them away like they were a dead rat.
Olev slumped down into a nearby armchair with a heavy sigh.
I looked around. “So, what’s all the paranoia for, Olev?” I asked. I kinda knew, but wanted to hear his side of the story.
“Bad shit is happening, Stone,” he said, rubbing his forehead.
“I gathered. Anything to do with the triads?”
“Those vampire bastards!” Olev spat to the side of his chair.
From my jacket pocket, I plucked out the holy water dart and held it up. “I pulled this from a tree in Lincoln Park after your guys had a fight with the vamps.”
An ‘I’ve been caught’ look emerged on Olev’s face.
“Where are you getting the darts from, Olev?” I pressed. “Come on, tell me. This looks hi-tech. Way too technical for you guys. You’re old school; slugs, iron bars and bear claws are your thing, not tranqs filled with holy water.”
Olev turned his mouth downward. “I got a deal going with the Dark Suits.”
I raised my eyebrows. “The Dark Suits?”
“Yeah, right. They produce these for us and we use them against the vampires. Very effective. You should watch those bastards melt. It’s glorious, Stone. Glorious!”
“And what’s the score for the Dark Suits? What do they get outta this?”
Olev shrugged. “Money. We pay them to produce these for us and we use them.”
“Come on, Olev. If there’s one thing the Dark Suits don’t need, it’s money. There must be some other motivation for them. They want you to take down the vampires, don’t they? What have the triads got that the Dark Suits want? You guys are moving in on the heroin trade, arent’cha? Gonna team up with the Dark Suits to monopolize the heroin market?”
Olev gave me a confused stare. “What? No! We don’t want to get involved in any of that shit!”
“So what is it, then? Come on, Olev, you’re holding something back. Remember who helped you when you needed it with that scarecrow business.”
Olev held firm for a second or two, his mind ticking over. Then, he caved. “Ugh, all right, Stone.” He got up from his seat with an exasperated sigh and went off to get something. He came back with a tatty looking cardboard box. He plopped it down on the coffee table ahead of us.
My gaze fell on it. “What’s in the box, Olev?” I asked.
Olev released an exasperated breath. “Ach, Stone. We got problems,” he said, avoiding the question. Olev ran his hands over his bald head like he was trying to scrub it clean. “This fire demon bastard is after us,” he said. He met my stare. “He’s killing my guys.”
“Why?” I asked.
Olev leaned forward in his seat, his eyes gleaming with fear. “You heard of the Reckoning, Stone?”
I frowned. “Sure. The apocalypse. Armageddon. Judgement Day. I’m an angel, Olev, I know all about it.”
His face went dark and he gave me a serious stare. “Then you’ll know it’s upon us.”
“Impossible!” I scoffed. “The Big Kahuna would’ve put out some signs if that were the case. Okay, we’re not far off, but the Angel Guild would know if it was the end of times.” I glanced at Aurora and gave her a sure nod.
“What if everything is out of God’s hands?” Olev asked.
I faced him once more. “Nothing’s out of his hands, Olev.”
&nbs
p; “I’m not so sure, Stone. Eternal darkness. Plague. Pestilence.”
“Man, what’s got into you? Where’s Olev the party animal?”
“What if the apocalypse is not God’s will, but someone else’s? What if the Reckoning is...” He gulped. “About Satan getting revenge and conquering the Earth.”
Tension released inside me and I laughed. “Pff, he’s got a legion of fallen angels to get through first! Man, Olev, you had me going for a minute there, buddy!”
“I’m serious, Stone. The time is coming. His time is coming. Satan. The one you used to call Lucifer. His hordes are coming for the Earth. We’re trying to stop him.”
“That’s our job, Olev.”
“And ours.”
“Oh right, yeah I forgot. You guys are trying to earn your passage back into Heaven.”
“We are believers, Stone. It’s our duty.”
Yeah, shifter souls were barred from Heaven. Don’t ask me why, it’s just the Big Kahuna’s will. The Russians are staunch Orthodox Christians, which means they hate all things Hell and Satan with a passion. But that also means they see Satan in everything, which then gives them the perceived right to battle and defeat it in the vain hope the Big Kahuna will see their good deeds and one day grant their souls passage to Heaven. I admired their values, but the Big Kahuna had a weird way of going about things and it took a lot to sway him. The bears had plenty of work to do before they’d be considered Heaven material. Things like maybe giving up the gangster lifestyle and not profiting from flesh might go a long way to scoring points in Heaven. But hey, at least they were believers, right?
