The War Gate

by Chris Stevenson

  “You seem pensive, Avy,” Drake said. Yet he was the one wearing the glint of sweat on his temples.

  “Get to the point. What do you want?”

  “The point is that I find this grudge you’re holding against me very disturbing. Is there something deep in your psyche that compels you to torment me? Young lady, this is a side of you I’ve never seen before. To say I’m shocked at your behavior is an understatement.”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “Drake, the skeletons you have in your closet are fossilized. I don’t know who you think you’re fooling, but I can tell you that I’m on to your wicked, wicked ways. Don’t look so shocked. I’ve never been your real daughter, and I am not one of your employees you can shove around. You don’t have any control over me anymore. My days of being grounded are over.”

  He sucked in a sharp breath. “I don’t think you’re mature enough to demonstrate rationality or common sense. Maybe that’s what’s bothering you. You required more guidance than I was willing to give you. Now you resent it. Isn’t this so?”

  “Don’t even talk about rationality or common sense. You own a company you can’t even keep in the black because you’re too busy terrorizing me. Try taking care of real business matters.”

  “It escapes me why you find a persistent need to infiltrate my company, commit burglary, assault my staff, then terrorize my employee’s families with gruesome acts of property destruction. Do you know that I could have you prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law?”

  “I wouldn’t go there if I were you, Drake. You would have a lot to lose in an open court. I would hate to see your past activities and records dragged through a trial. Even if you won, you’d never get your public image back.”

  “What do you mean?” Drake held his palms up, a hurt look playing across his face, giving the impression he was misunderstood by the accusations.

  “I think you murdered Tom Labrador,” Avy spat it out. “You set my mother up to take the blame. You wanted his company. You accomplished all three with one act. We won’t talk about what you just tried to do to the grandparents.” She took a breath. “There, I can’t make it any clearer than that.”

  Avy kept her calm. She watched his eyes. He dropped his stare, which had moments before been steady on her. Now he avoided eye contact. His eyes were “runaway” eyes, like Chubby would have said. She watched the way he rubbed his fingers, like he had grit between them that he couldn’t get rid of. When he tried to pour a cup of coffee, he struck the cup against the thermos—the sound went off like a gunshot.

  “So where is your proof about this horrible deed?” he asked, breaking the silence. “It seems to me it was your mother who was found with the evidence, right down to the blood, the weapon, and the prints. Isn’t it strange that I wasn’t labeled a suspect? I even passed all the polygraph tests. Why? Because my alibi was bulletproof. So, since you seem to be an expert on our judicial system, I wonder if you wouldn’t mind telling me how I managed to perform this heinous act and escape prosecution.”

  Avy expected to be caught off guard with his rebuttals. She did not want to admit to a total lack of evidence. “I haven’t put it all together yet, Drake. I know what you did, where you did it, why you did it. The how is coming together while we speak.”

  He leered at her. “Were you on one of my commercial jets the other day? Say, a Bermuda flight?”

  This is where she would allow him to hang from the cliff by his nails. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Don’t try to blame me for all of your problems. Check your own roster to find out who else is messing with you. You have the whole world to choose from.”

  “I know the two of you are behind this felony vandalism. Are you going to stop this or continue? Trespassing on private property is a good way to get yourself shot. Is it worth the risk?”

  “I’ll stop trespassing when you do. Or until you get tired of it. Better yet, let’s drag the police in on this. Just dial the number. I dare you.”

  He took a savage bite out of a doughnut, then waved it at her. “I’ve got a company to run with zero time for investigations. I’m sure you want to get on with your life without legal entanglements. Besides, aren’t you in the throes of a brand new relationship? You should play it smart.” He leaned across the desk. “I would dump that conman loser if I were you. He’s nothing but trouble. There’s no doubt he put you up to this. So what’s left to say?” He stood up, drawing his wallet like a handgun. He fanned several one thousand dollar bills across his desk. “Is this what it’s all about? Well go ahead, indulge. You can tell him that his little extortion plan worked. There’s no need to rake good ol’ Drake Labrador over the coals any longer.”

  Avy tried to contain herself from an outburst of laughter. Drake was not below a last ditch play of desperation, especially when he knew the cards were stacked against him. But it was worse than that. He’d just offered her a bribe to forget about everything. To top it off, Drake was convinced that Sebastian was the root cause—that he had influenced her into carrying out the acts.

  Avy shook her head, then locked eyes with him. “Keep the money, Drake. Spend it on something useless like you always do. Find some more kids to tear up the outside of the theater, sugar our gas tanks, or hire somebody to run us off the road. You go ahead, do what you think you have to do. But it won’t stop me. I’m always going to be around to remind you of what you did. This ghost is real. It’s not going to leave—ever. You can’t get rid of it with money.”

  Drake closed his eyes, then pressed his fingers into his temples.

  She would have loved to have picked up the bills, giving him the impression that she was considering the deal, and then torn them to shreds, letting the pieces flutter to his desk.

  “What can I do to stop this attack you’re perpetrating against me?” he asked.

  “Nothing. For now, your cover-up is our little secret. Soon, I’ll be ready to expose you for who you are and what you did. I don’t mind going the distance because I have plenty of energy to spend on the project.”

  “Don’t force my hand.”

  “I think we’re finished.”

  Drake slapped the desk with his palm. Some money flipped into the air. A vein on his forehead stood out like a fat worm ready to burst from the skin. “This is the thanks I get for raising you, seeing to your every need. I was always there for you. I provided you with a beautiful home and decent upbringing. Your mother slaved to see that you had everything you needed. Yet this is the thanks I get!”

  She knew there was nothing more to say, so she stepped toward the door. When she opened it, she looked back. He was punching buttons on an intercom system. She walked down the hallway, but didn’t get very far before she heard footsteps from behind. Turning, she found three of Drake’s security men making swift strides toward her. She took off at a trot and made a quick left, ending up in a dead-end hallway. Her pursuers appeared, making a flanking move toward her. A door on her left that might have lead to one of the inner offices was her sole escape route. They would be on her in a minute, if they didn’t put a bullet in her first. She didn’t have to reach very deep to conjure up thoughts of hatred—they filled her now, bristling to the surface.

  She stepped into the other realm, trying to count gates while she flashed through them. When she reached over a dozen, she froze her travel, which propelled her out of a side door located on the other side of the main production building. She ran around a corner, hitting the parking lot with long strides.

  Sebastian was parked on the street, staring through the window of the Jeep. He started the engine, then drove onto the property, screeching to a halt to pick her up. When she was secure inside, he gunned the throttle across the lot, then out onto the street.

  “I knew something was wrong when you didn’t come out where you entered,” he yelled over the squealing tires.

  She tried to catch her breath. “I don’t think he was happy with the way the meeting went. I didn’t cooperate.”
/>
  “That’s my girl. They’ll be looking for us now. But we’ll be ready for them.”

  They drove to the opposite side of town to pick up the needed groceries. They bought a full bed set at a small furniture store, which they strapped to the Jeep’s roll bar. When they made it back to the theater, Chubby helped them unpack. They settled in for a bite to eat, discussing the recent events including what needed to be done to protect themselves from a raid. Avy explained the details of the conversation she’d had with Drake, mentioning his tantrum at the end of the meeting. She told them how security had chased her through the building and how she’d managed to elude them. She did not elaborate on her means of escape, just indicated that she had slipped out a back door.

  “I can’t believe these people,” said Chubby. “They have no honor or dignity, chasing a helpless young woman around the city. I’m used to dealing with this type, but they’re always locked behind concrete walls, gun towers, and barbed wire. I just can’t figure out why it’s connected to Cyberflow, one of our city’s biggest employers.”

  “You have to consider who runs the place,” said Sebastian. “The guy is lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon rut. He was not even a father to Avy. Now he’s running a company like a dictator, using an army of thugs to do his bidding.”

  “He’s a frickin sociopath,” said Avy. “They’ll be here tonight. He doesn’t allow his temper to fester. He acts on it, like a child who has been kicked in the shins. We should get ready, like yesterday.”

  The conversation ended at that point. They spent the next two hours rigging traps, setting up snares and mechanical devices. They spoke about using lethal weapons, but decided against it, unless they were fired upon or it became necessary to defend themselves. They stowed the animals on the stage away from the doors. Chubby placed Gretchen in a large cardboard box to keep her from underfoot.

  When night came, they sat on the floor facing each other, drinking coffee. They kept their voices low. There were no sounds other than Gretchen’s occasional gagging fit or the soft cooing noises of the doves from the rafters. After a while, a digital clock blinked ten after four in the morning. Avy fell asleep at last, her back up against a workbench leg.

  ###

  The sound of thunderclaps roused Avy awake. She got to her feet. Sebastian fell in close to her side saying, “Sonic boom?” She had no idea.

  The noise came again, this time louder.

  The rear theater door buckled with an impact. Chubby ran from around the wing, brandishing a baton.

  Sebastian backed Avy away from the door. “They’re coming in,” he said. “Don’t go near it!”

  The steel door took a final blow that burst it open. Two men appeared, dropping an iron battering ram on the floor. The screech alarm went off. The two men stepped in, looked around. A laser beam attached to the wall activated, shooting a stream at them. One of them threw his hands up to his face, screaming, “My eyes!” He ducked. The pinpoint laser hit the other in the face, throwing him backward out of the doorway where he sprawled on the pavement.

  Sebastian and Avy grabbed two open pails of paint. They hurried outside, heaving the contents onto the two intruders. The men thrashed in the thick liquid, attempting to stand up, but they slipped, losing their footing.

  Another crash came from inside the main theater auditorium. Sebastian yelled, “They’re coming in the other doors!” The threesome rushed through the wing, arriving at the north exit door. They watched the door take repeated blows.

  Chubby passed out two more batons with the instructions, “Knees or collar bones.”

  Avy reared her baton upward in a striking position, the alarm piercing her ears. She saw the door give way with a final blow, then swing open on bent hinges. Two men rushed in, crouching low. Their feet tangled in the piano wire strung from the doorway posts. They tumbled face down onto the carpet. Avy jumped at one, raining blows on his shoulders. Sebastian and Chubby placed well-aimed swats on the other, smacking his knees. Some of Avy’s strikes went wild, hitting the man over the head. He scrambled across the carpet, yelping. She gave him a hard kick in the rear, forcing him to crawl out of the door and into the alley. Chubby took the other by the collar, then flung him outside. “And stay out!”

  They heard another crash coming from the front of the theater. They ran down the aisle toward the main entrance doors, just when they were beginning to buckle. They could see three men on the other side putting their shoulders against the frames. Two panels of glass popped from the doorframes to shatter on the floor. The men scrambled on their knees to crawl through the openings.

  Sebastian stood by a cord on the wall that led to a large package hoisted up to the ceiling. Before he yanked the cord, he waited until the intruders got to their feet. The huge carpet roll sitting atop the makeshift frame broke from its mooring, tumbling down. The men went to their bellies, disappearing under five hundred pounds of musty cinema carpet. Like pigs in a blanket, they thrashed under the suffocating load.

  Chubby leapt in the air, coming down with all his weight on a struggling form. A gush of air along with a muffled cry for help escaped from underneath.

  Avy picked out what looked like a head and gave it a sound crack with the baton. Sebastian pounded his fists on one man who seemed to be upside down flailing his legs. A leg popped up, tearing through the rotted pile. Sebastian twisted the ankle, tearing a shoe off, which he then began to use as a weapon.

  Avy threw a bear hug on a shapeless form near the floor that rose up tent-like—the squirming mass pitched her backward. A knife drove up through the fabric, making frantic sawing motions. A slit appeared, then a gun thrust out from the opening. The barrel flashed several times. One bullet went through a display case. Another ricocheted off the floor and struck a wall poster. She swung the baton at the gun wielding hand but missed. The barrel panned around in front of her face. She ducked just before another shot zinged by her ear.

  Chubby jumped on the upright mass, knocking it over. He wrestled the gun hand, prying the fingers back. Something snapped, followed by a howl of pain. Chubby wrenched the gun loose and pitched it against a wall. “I’ll cap your ass if you try that again.” said the guard.

  A voice answered, “Okay—I give up!”

  The three stepped off the carpet. Sebastian threw a heavy flap back, ordering the intruders out. He held his gun on the men while they crawled on their knees from under the carpet. Out in the open, the sweaty men backed up against the lobby wall with their hands up, breathing hard, staring down the barrel of Sebastian’s pistol.

  “I’ve already called the cops,” Sebastian lied. “You’ve really dug yourself a hole this time.”

  The men looked at each other dumfounded. One peeled off, running for the door. The others lingered for a moment before they broke into a run. The sounds of their footsteps faded down the sidewalk.

  Avy rubbed a carpet burn on her elbow. “That was close. I think he parted my hair.”

  Sebastian checked her scalp, running his fingers over it. “Thank God,” he said. “I didn’t expect gunfire. I almost let loose with some lead myself.”

  “Sebastian, you’re not a killer. You’re not like them. They—” Something tweaked her nose. A heady, burning scent wafted in the air. It smelled like burnt toast. She turned around, aghast. Smoke billowed from both theater wings.

  Chubby pointed to the back of the theater. “We’re on fire!”

  Clouds of black soot frothed out of the theater wings in tornado-like swirls. An orange glare backlit the walls, evidence that the storeroom had caught. The decorative auditorium drapes were scant yards from the source of the fire. The animal cages sat next to them. They would catch any minute.

  “Chubby and I will get the animals off the stage, then take them through the front,” said Sebastian. “Avy, you get out to the street.”

  Before she could object, the two were running down the aisle. She had no intention of standing around just watching them. She remembered Gretchen in the
backroom.

  Avy squeezed through the broken front doors and turned around to face the entrance. She took two steps to get through it. She counted the Gates, ending at the rear exit door. Crouching low, she entered the backroom.

  The top of the workbench was ablaze. A bright orange wall of flame had climbed up into the joist beams. Acrid smoke lay like a blanket just above eye level. She duck-walked across the floor, stepping over the mattress until she came to the cardboard box. The radiant heat broiled the side of her face and forearms. When she leaned down to get the dog by the scruff of the neck, a paint can exploded, showering a lava-like spray across the room. Falling to her knees, she screamed, feeling certain she was on fire. Avy brought the dog up under her jacket, pulling it tight to her breasts. She crawled over the mattress, noticed her purse on the floor and managed to hook her fingers in the strap.

  Once outside, another explosion sent a heat wave up against her back. She started the Jeep, pulled away from the building, not stopping until she was a safe distance from the inferno. The dog cowered on her lap. Avy’s hair was singed, giving off a putrid odor. Though she’d received some hot spots on her arms and back, she had no serious burns.

  From the safety of the vehicle, she saw a backdraft twister roiling out of the rear theater door, curling up the back wall toward the roof. A small window exploded, showering the parking lot with shards. Above the roar of the fire, she could hear combustibles popping inside. A shaft of flames shot straight up from the top of the building, turning the roof hatch into a missile. Sirens wailed in the distance. She backed her Jeep even further, reaching the far end of the parking lot, making room for any emergency vehicles that would need access.

  And they would definitely need access to this, she thought. There couldn’t have been a more dismal scene.