Still Death: A Destiny in the Shadows Prequel Short Story
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The ‘I love you’ was probably too much of a tip off that something was wrong because she then asked, "What's really going on, Bill? I know you better than this-"
"Not on an open phone line. We can talk in the car. I'm at the house now. See you in a few."
I hung up before she could question me further. I pulled into the parking space beside our townhouse and jerked the keys out of the ignition. But before I got out, one thought occurred to me. I now had precious cargo, one that could easily spell death in itself.
I pulled out the tiny data drive Rich had given me and stared at it, hating the damn thing. While I had this, I had a permanent bullseye on my forehead. Then again, without it, I did, too. I knew too much. This was the only proof I had about what was coming. No one would believe me without it.
I shook my head and pulled out the one thing I knew could keep it safe. I never really appreciated the heavy gold locket that Cain had picked out for me last Christmas. Matrice had made me wear it even though I thought it was ridiculous for a grown man to wear such a thing. But now it came in handy. I opened the face of it and tucked the thumb drive inside. It fit perfectly. It would hide the evidence just fine until I got to the World Court. Then the real fun would begin.
I had no guarantee that they would even do anything to stop the coup. They didn’t like to involve themselves in matters like this. But I had no other cards to play. It was either rely on them or crawl back to my former best friend and help him take over the city. Like I hell I would.
“So I’m going to have a baby brother?”
I had to smile as I tucked the chain inside my shirt. Cain sounded just as stymied as I had been when my mom had told me I was getting a new brother when I was little. I peeked back at him and saw a very confused face. “Yes. Or a sister.”
“Cool,” he squealed, throwing his action figure up in the air by accident in his excitement. He stared at it as it hit the ceiling and then dropped to the floor. “Oops-”
“Let’s get inside. Your Mommy will be back soon and then we can go find your bonny lass together.”
I didn’t have to force myself to smile again. He was only ten years old and he was already chasing after girls. The mere mention of this girl he knew had him grinning. How much time I had missed, doing a thankless job that only the mad or greedy wanted. He was growing up before my eyes and now if I wasn’t careful, I’d have a third kid I’d miss out on. And I wasn’t going to let that happen.
I looked around as I got out of the car, looking for any signs of surveillance. They had to be there, but whoever they had assigned to me was nowhere in sight now. I was sure my actions were being monitored by the snakes back on base, but it didn’t matter at the moment. We just needed to get inside and wait for Matrice and John.
I scooted around to the other side of the car and opened the door, unbuckling Cain’s safety belt as fast as I could. I felt exposed just standing out here, even though pedestrians milled about on their way home from work. There were too many people around, a perfect masking device for anyone who wanted to stay unseen. I was running blind with my kid in the crosshairs.
I doubted that anything would go down considering there were so many witnesses, but I still wasn’t confident enough. And worse, the car seat jammed again, keeping Cain stuck in the car. How many times had I put fixing this damn thing on my ‘to do’ list? Too late now.
Even worse, it was too late all around. My only warning came too slow.
Cain squinted up at me as I fiddled with the seat and then looked out the window. He cocked his head confusedly, pointing at my face. “Dad, why is there a red dot on your shoulder?”
I had a split second to panic and then there was no time left to waste. I shoved Cain back into the car protectively just as I felt the bullet slam into my back. I felt it go square through my heart before my knees gave out on me.
A low grunt wheezed through my teeth at the same time I heard Cain scream. This was no flesh wound. I could feel it now. This was a deliberate kill, making sure no one would be able to fix me before I got to the hospital. The betrayal had come full circle. Friends to enemies, enemies to death. Was this how it would end?
Strangely I felt no pain as I hit the pavement. All I felt was numb fear as my eyes took in Cain jumping out of the car towards me. I put my hand up to stop him, but he was already down beside me, covering my body with his as people screamed and ran for cover.
“Dad?!” he cried, hands scrabbling on my chest. All I saw as blood when he picked them up and looked at them worriedly; my blood.
“Get inside,” tumbled out of my locked jaw as I unsuccessfully tried to sit up.
“Help!” he shrieked, tears streaming down his face.
I shoved him weakly towards the house, rolling onto my side. “Go, Cain-”
“No,” he said, hands tugging at my shirt. “You need help-”
Help wasn’t going to come fast enough for me and I knew it. I was bleeding out too fast. Already I saw white spots in front of my eyes and my throat was getting full of blood. I knew what was coming. I wasn’t afraid of it. Death was no enemy.
I blinked, the world going into slow motion as I faded. I could see Cain sobbing over me, still shaking me to try and get me to move. But I was past that now. All I could feel was regret, staring at the one thing I had ever done right. And he was now witness to this: the murder and bloodshed of his father.
“Dad? Daddy?!” he screamed, still looking around for help. Then his eyes were back on me, the blue, exact copies of mine, red and swollen with tears. “Talk to me!”
I smiled looking at him, my hand finding his. “Keep your mom safe for me-”
“No,” he moaned, crumpling forward on me. “No! Don’t die, please!”
Watching him suffer over me was agony compared to the pain in my chest. I could see his terror, an emotion a child like him should never have been subjected to. Raw affection seared through me as he cried.
My vision was blurring out now. Only seconds left to go. But I couldn’t let those seconds go to waste.
Cain shuddered and looked up as I pressed the one last revenge I had into his hand, making sure my death wouldn’t go in vain. The evidence couldn’t be hidden now. Someday in the future, there would be a reckoning for this. And when it came, I had no doubt that fire would rain down from the sky to burn them all. Rogee wouldn’t get away with this. Someday he would pay.
Cain stared at the locket, almost transfixed as I breathed my last.
“Keep it… hidden,” I murmured, fighting to keep my eyes open, just to see him one last time.
Victory was not mine.
I... failed.
...
Cain shivered uncertainly as his father’s eyes closed for the last time. He looked up from the locket only to see them slide shut and feel the hand that had been gripping his slacken. It was only then that he knew the bitter truth.
No one ran to their side as he called out, realizing that his father had died. The only sound he could hear was the passing of the cars zooming by, their drivers with no idea nor care of what had happened as he clung to his father’s body, pleading with God to send him back. But there was no answer.
The paramedics would arrive within moments, the moment feeling like hours as the tragedy came to pass. The press would come screeching up with a news van to document the murder, profiting off the blood. And worst of all, the backroom killer who pulled the trigger would slink off, no one the wiser as he melted seamlessly into the crowd of pedestrians running for cover. In a moment, Greyson Rogee would get a call, confirming that payment was due for a successful kill.
All Cain could do was clutch the last parting gift from the person he held most dear in his hand, wiping the blood off of the gold metal. He couldn’t think past the pain enough to question his father’s last request, but only to comply with it, putting the chain around his neck and sliding it beneath his own shirt.
And as the pandemonium built to a horrible level, the world finally ackno
wledging that something horrible had indeed happened, they never heard the little boy’s oath. They never heard his vow. They never heard his promise to avenge his father’s death and to make sure that whoever had done this would pay.
But they would see it in the years to come as he rose in the ranks of the city, always hunting down his father’s murderer, keeping the secret of the locket hidden with him in plain sight. They would see him rise.
“I’ll keep it hidden,” he whispered, jamming his eyes shut and hugging him one last time. “I promise I’ll find them. This isn’t the end. This isn’t the end.”
And indeed, it never would be. It was only the beginning.
“I will find them.”
THE STORY WILL CONTINUE WITH
WAR MACHINE:
BOOK ONE OF THE DESTINY IN THE SHADOWS SERIES
READ WAR MACHINE HERE
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About the author: Maggie Lynn Heron-Heidel is an author and the President of Whatsit Productions Films. She stars in three web series, and is now working on the sequel to War Machine, her Vaktare of All Realms Series and the Wings of Caligo Series.