“I had a lot of free time in the asylum.” Grim’s tone made it clear that we should change the subject. He rarely talked about the time he spent in the mental institution. I guess I couldn’t really blame him. I suppose part of it was that he was embarrassed that he had ever been there in the first place, and part of it was probably that it reminded him of the circumstances that got him placed there to begin with. Did he think about his old squad much? With Grim it’s always hard to tell what’s going on in his mind. Does he dwell on that time he spent being tortured by Alhambra? Does he wake up at night thinking about the deaths of the men in his previous squad? I honestly couldn’t say.
I finished cutting the fruits and the angel food cake. Then I searched for the graham crackers. Finally I found them. In the meantime Grim was already serving a steak to the others. It looked delicious. A thick slice of meat, covered in caramelized onions, and served with steamed vegetables. It was quick, and fairly easy to make. Once the food was on the plates, Niki and Danika started eating. Well maybe eating isn’t the most appropriate choice of words. Niki was daintily cutting up pieces, and Danika had eaten almost everything but the plate, and that she licked until there was nothing on it.
“I guess we are hungry?” Grim laughed.
Danika just glared at the steaks Grim had leftover. I knew right then if I took my eyes off her then she’d snatch the steak right off our plates. I had to keep a watchful eye on mine and Grim’s food. Grim just laughed, and said, “Well then, I better get to making you some meatballs.”
Danika’s eyes locked onto Grim with a new intensity, “Meatballs? Don’t kid with me Jarhead.” I knew the feeling. Grim’s homemade meatballs were as delicious as they were unhealthy. They should have been called little round heart attack balls. He used brown sugar, eggs, flour, and a whole lot of other ingredients. Then he fried them in a pan of cooking oil. He made them right in front of us, but his hands moved so fast as he mixed the ingredients that I couldn’t completely follow what he was doing. Then when they were mixed, he’d make little balls of meat, and drop them with a kerplunk into the hot oil. They sizzled, and crackled, but what came out were tiny brown orgasms for your mouth, and even that wasn’t doing it justice.
Grim laid some paper towels on a plate, and then filled it with meatballs. Danika kept trying to swipe them, and every single time she reached over she was smacked on the hand with a wooden spoon. It was like she and Grim were playing some weird game, and the prize was a stolen meatball. She kept trying to snatch one, and Grim kept catching her. After Grim finished making them, the only thing Danika had to show for her efforts was a sore hand.
Finally Grim nodded to Danika, and she snatched a handful of the little meaty bits of heaven. She didn’t even try to use a plate. Danika just grabbed herself a handful, and started chomping away. “Oh God these are so good.” Danika moaned in pleasure, and then looked over to Niki, “I’m sorry honey, but I’m going to have to marry your brother instead.”
Niki rolled her eyes and laughed, “Meatball slut.”
“What can I say, I’d do anything to have your brother’s balls in my mouth.” Danika’s suddenly looked incredibly embarrassed. “Meatballs! I meant meatballs! I swear I didn’t plan that to be nearly as dirty as it sounded.”
Niki almost doubled over laughing. “Sure…you say that now, but who knows what you’d be willing to do for Grim’s fried meatballs.”
“I know exactly what I’d do…whatever the hell he wanted.” Danika smiled.
Niki leaned over and kissed Danika. It was tender, and playful. “I was wrong to call you a meatball slut.”
“Really?” Danika’s eyebrow raised, waiting patiently for the comeback.
“Yeah, you can be bought off with meatballs. That makes you more of a meatball whore.” Niki laughed, and gave Danika another gentle kiss. This time she lingered. Danika melted into her lover, and by the time Niki’s lips withdrew, Danika was all dreamy eyed with love. I had to admit, it was a heck of a kiss. It nearly curled my toes, and I wasn’t even involved.
A huge, goofy smile worked its way across Danika’s face, and finally she said, “What was that for?”
“Misdirection.” Niki laughed, and held up the last two meatballs.
“Mine!” Danika grumbled.
“You’ll have to earn them.” Niki teased.
Then it was on. Danika chased her lover around the room. Niki was remarkably agile. Maybe it was all that time being a cheerleader, but she twisted, turned, and twirled around the room. When Danika had her almost cornered, Niki would use Penny like a blocker, and then dart away to safety.
“Give me those meatballs.” Danika growled playfully, and lunged for Niki’s legs. She stuck out her arm, “Heisman” style, and slipped away again. Meanwhile, Grim and I were eating our steaks. They were a little cold after waiting for Grim to finish the meatballs, but neither of us minded. After all, we were now getting a hilarious floor show.
Niki tried to slip around Penny again, and use her as a blocker one last time, but this time Danika was waiting for it. Danika feinted a lunge, and then when Niki committed to one direction, Danika shifted her hips and leapt for her lover. The impact wasn’t particularly rough. Danika would never hurt Niki, but it was enough to make one of the meatballs fall onto the floor.
“Noooooooooo! Why, God why?” Danika chased after the little rolling ball. Finally, she caught up to it, “Five second rule!” Then the meatball disappeared down her throat.
“Yuck, don’t eat off the floor. It’s unhygienic.” Niki laughed.
“But…five second ru-u-u-u-u-u-u-le!”
“Honey…there is no such thing as a five second rule.”
Danika smiled sheepishly, “Five second suggestion then?”
“Yuck…and no.” Niki was still holding onto the last meatball like it was some treasure.
“Last one! I call dibs!” Danika screamed.
“It’s in my hand.”
“I call dibs on your hand and all its contents!” Danika squealed, and lunged for the meaty goodness in Niki’s hand. The plucky blonde twisted over to all fours, and Danika missed the meatball, and went rolling. Grim and I both lifted our feet up just as she rolled past our chair. Penny hopped up onto the kitchen island to keep from getting bowled over. Meanwhile, Janine just became intangible, and let the werewolf just pass right through.
Unfortunately for Niki, a werewolf is nothing if not athletic, and Danika was bounding back across the room before Niki could get to her feet. Danika landed on her lover and rode her down to the ground. It was right then that I heard Twilight whisper to Who, “They have some strange methods of interrogation? I was expecting pain and torture, not…whatever this is.”
“Shhh, don’t give them any ideas.” Who whispered back.
Grim chuckled, “We’ll get to you guys soon enough, but there’s no reason we should go hungry. Besides, if I don’t get answers, then none of us are going to have much of an appetite afterward anyway.”
Who and Twilight squeaked in fear, and immediately got very quiet. Meanwhile, Sunset was still describing the various horrible ways he was going to celebrate all our impending deaths. Luckily, he was in a rage, and his voice was so high and squeaky that we could barely understand him.
“Give me the meatball!” Danika growled, and started climbing up her lover’s prone body. Niki was sprawled out on the floor, but she was smart enough to hold the meatball in both hands.
“Nuh-uh!” Niki screamed.
“Almost there!” Danika’s hand was just inches from grabbing Niki’s fist holding the last meatball, and so in a last ditch effort, Niki put the meatball in her mouth.
“No fair! My meatball!” Danika cried.
“Gesth you’ll haffta cum’n geth ith!” Niki bellowed with her mouth full.
“My pleasure.” Danika spun the little blond onto her back, and then clamped her mouth over Niki’s soft lips. When Danika pulled away she had a mouth full of meatball, and Niki was smiling like she’d
just felt the earth move, and maybe she had.
“I love you.” Danika said.
“I love you too, you dirty little meatball whore!” Niki laughed.
“I do like my meatballs.”
“You sure you got it all?” Niki teased.
“I don’t know…this might require further examination.” Danika leaned in and planted a kiss on Niki that put most movie kisses to shame.
“Break it up you two, or I’ll break out the hose. Sheesh…it’s like dealing with two horny rabbits.” Grim grumbled.
Niki and Danika both laughed, and Janine pointed at the big guy, “Pot.” She then pointed at Niki and Danika, “Meet Kettle. Now, who to call black first.”
“African-American.” Penny interjected.
“Oh, God no! We are not starting that again.” I said.
“Spoilsport.” Penny pouted.
We ate the chocolate fondue, and chatted away until we were scraped the last few bits of chocolate up. We were all stuffed, and when you have a werewolf complaining that they ate too much…well that’s an accomplishment. Finally, I helped Grim clean the dishes. He whispered something to Penny, and then went back to scrubbing like there was no tomorrow. The man cooks, cleans, and if the sounds I’ve heard Penny make are any indication, makes love like a walking sex machine. I really need to reopen our cloning program. Although I’d have to do some tinkering with that big thing lurking between his legs. From what I saw under that table it’s pretty safe to say there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
“Okay, I got what you asked for.” Penny said as she walked into the room.
“Where’d you go?” I asked.
“One of the rooms looks like a working lab. It’s kind of cheesy looking, but there’s a few things in there we can use, like these jars to contain our little friends, and this rubbing alcohol.” Penny set the jars down.
Grim put Twilight in the first jar, and then opened the rubbing alcohol. After pouring some into the jar with her, he screwed the lid down and handed her to Penny, “Here, take this back to the lab. We can come get her when it’s over.”
I stared in shock as Penny disappeared out of the room with Twilight screaming in terror. Grim had just poured alcohol into the jar and sealed it up. He was treating her like she was an insect about to be added to a collection.
Who lost it, “What are you doing? You said you wouldn’t hurt her!”
“And I’m not going to as long as you tell me everything you know. I figure she’s got a couple of minutes before the alcohol suffocates her. Of course you might want to talk fast because with all that screaming, she’ll use up her oxygen pretty quickly.”
We were all in shock. Niki and Danika left in a hurry after Penny. I think they were going to try and talk her out of this. I was just frozen. I wanted to tell Grim how wrong this was, but I just couldn’t find the words.
“Please! I don’t know anything.” Who begged.
“Well, if you don’t, then who does? I mean, someone has to know where Katy’s parents are.” Grim spoke calmly.
“I don’t know anything. I just did this so Sunset would grant me permission to marry his sister. Sunset, please…tell them what they want to know!” Who pleaded.
“Good riddance. I was hoping this mission would rid me of one or both of you. Neither of you have ever been loyal to The Darkness. Did you really think I’d allow a bastard to have one of my kin? Even if I had allowed it, our chief would certainly have taken your head. There will be no new lines. Now that we’ve failed, our lives are forfeit to The Darkness. You two just wanted to live in your happy little love nest. What good are either of you? You are practically Lightbringers yourselves. My greatest consolation is knowing that I denied you both what you wanted so badly.” Sunset grinned. He was actually enjoying the thought that Twilight was dying. For someone so tiny, he was surprisingly full of hate. “I will tell this human nothing, nor will I tell these others. The best thing my sister ever did was die for our cause. I finally have something to be proud of her for.”
Who was howling, sobbing, and screaming incoherently, but when he finally regained his composure he simply said, “Kill me.” It wasn’t a request. It was a demand. Without Twilight, Who just didn’t want to live anymore.
“What does he mean, no new lines?” Grim asked.
“What does it matter now?” Who cried.
“Well, tell me what he meant, and I’ll kill you, otherwise I’m pretty sure I can keep you alive for a very long time.” Grim grinned maliciously.
“Fine…you are a truly cruel man. I am a bastard. Therefore any children I have would be considered a new line. We would truly be creating a new family.”
“So, what’s the big deal with that?” Grim questioned.
Who sighed, “As a new line, we wouldn’t have to answer to any of the chiefs. I would be a chief, and Twilight would be my bride. We would be able to build our own clan, with our own rules. We’d planned on building a clan ruled by our love for one another, but I see now that it was just a foolish fantasy. Sunset would never have kept his word, and our chief would have never allowed us to leave. Now please…kill me.”
“My pleasure.” Grim tossed Who into the second jar, and poured some alcohol into it. Then he called for Penny. Instead of Penny, Danika came in and took the jar away. What? Why was she now helping? Something was fishy, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I watched as Who was carried away. He embraced the death that was coming, and it broke my heart.
That left just Sunset. The mean little freak that just kept laughing that his sister and the love of her life were dead. Grim smiled, “Oh, I’m going to enjoy this.”
“I’m not afraid of you.” Sunset spat.
“You will be.” Grim’s voice had an almost evil glee to it.
Grim grabbed some more ingredients, and before I realized what he was up to, Grim was cooking again. This time it seemed different. Grim was mixing sugar with corn syrup and water, and heating it. I stared in confusion. I couldn’t really understand how this was going to make the little faery talk, but Grim just kept cooking it until it was three hundred degrees.
“What? Are you going to make another desert? Keep it up and those cows you spend so much time around will get fat like this one here.” Sunset laughed, and I suddenly wished I owned an industrial strength flyswatter.
“Keep talking, and remember this moment.” Grim said menacingly.
“Why should I remember this moment over any other? What? Are you trying to bore me to talk?” Sunset taunted.
“I was tortured.” Grim’s face was cold, and expressionless.
“Oooh…so is this the part where you tell me that if I talk, you’ll let me go? I think we crossed that bridge already. You promised that to those two morons, and we saw how that worked out.” Sunset kept taunting us, but strangely Grim stared calmly at him until the faery finally shut up.
“As I was saying, I was tortured. Torture can teach you a few things about pain. A jinn kept me as her own personal plaything for…well let’s just say it was more than an overnight visit. Jinn’s have a very unique way of torturing a person. They can’t actually physically harm you. It’s against some bizarre cosmic rule or something. So instead they give you so much pleasure that when they remove all the good feelings…well at that point you will pretty much do, or say anything to bring the feeling back. It’s like being an addict. When pleasure is intense enough, it will border on the edges of pain, but stop the feeling, and that sudden drop... I swear, it’s like waking up in hell.” Grim’s eyes took on a thousand yard stare, like he was remembering things. His hands trembled a little, but then he shook himself out of it. “See, after Alhambra, that was her name by the way, got done trying her own methods of torture on me, she got the men from my squad to step in and take over. They…don’t have any rules, and by the time she was done with them…they weren’t sane enough to care anymore.”
“Oh…that’s so sad. Does the big man want a tissue?” Sunset howled with lau
ghter.
Grim leaned back and smiled. It wasn’t a happy smile. It was one built on too much pain. I’d never seen that look on his face before, and yet right then I knew…this was the real Grim. This was what all the joking, the bizarre behavior, and just the general weirdness was covering up. I just wanted to hold him. He looked…brittle. “The first time my men…raped me. Well, they say that sometimes victims just sort of zone out. Well, that didn’t happen. It didn’t happen the second time, or the third. In fact, even after I lost count…I still never had that moment that they talk about. I actually prayed that I might just space out a few times, or maybe lose consciousness, but no. I was awake, and painfully alert through it all. After having their fill of me, my men then started turning to mutilating me. They actually cut my dick off…more than once actually. Of course, Alhambra just healed it right back, along with adding foreskin. I was circumcised before she got a hold of me. You really don’t understand the relationship you have with your dick until someone removes it. It’s a part of you…like an arm, or a leg. So just picture waking up one day and your arm is suddenly a different color, and has an extra finger. You can’t really do it, can you? Yeah, that’s how it was with my wang. One day I was a guy packing a normal-sized, circumcised pecker, and the next it was bigger, and looked like it was wearing a scarf. Then each time they…removed it…Alhambra made it bigger, and frankly, scarier. I still don’t know how the woman I love is able to take me inside her without screaming in agony. I’m thicker than her forearm. Also, Alhambra made sure that at the absolute most painful moment, I would suddenly feel extreme pleasure. Now, a part of me is twisted beyond ever being repaired. I like pain. I get off on it now. Not just mine, but others'. Alhambra is dead, but she taught me everything she knew about suffering. Now, the thought that I might hurt them a little gets me hard.”
Grim was talking casually about this. It was weird, but I got the feeling he really wasn’t talking to either of us. It was like he was just rehashing his own personal demons the same way a person might go over some key points in front of a mirror before they gave a speech. It was…eerie.
Midnight Squad: The Ties That Bind Page 29
