by Mark Harritt
Lazarus was dealing with two on his side. He turned, grabbed Darcy, and pushed her into the back seat of the van. He ducked, and talons ripped through the air where his head had been. He whirled on one foot, and Faith arced through the air, cutting the ghoul in half. The sword was preternaturally sharp, and the blade flamed as it intersected the ghoul’s body. Fire consumed the corpse. Two more loped across the floor towards Lazarus, joining the one that he was fighting.
On the other side of the van, Sam was engaging two of the ghouls. He was weaving Mercy in an intricate pattern to keep them at bay. He had been caught flat footed as the magazine in his XDM hit the floor. The only thing that saved him was Eli’s yell. He looked up just in time to keep the sword from skewering him. Since then, he was on defense to keep the two ghouls from ripping him apart. They tried to slash and rend the giant that was facing them, but the angel forged sword kept them at bay.
Lilith was on the offense. She leaped over the munitions cases and ripped into the other ghoul that was standing next to them. One of the ghoul’s arms was shattered as she grabbed and twisted. The possessed howled as the arm turned to pulp. She punched into its spine, and ripped it out through the ghoul’s abdomen. The howl crescendoed into a shriek as it died.
Lazarus was dancing a dance of death. He swayed and shifted like a reed in the wind as the three ghouls tried to reach him. His movement ensured that one of the ghouls was always in front of and interfering with the other two. They grew frustrated that they couldn’t get to him. Their frustration led to mistakes. One of the ghouls screamed as its hand flew through the air. It flinched from the pain and Lazarus danced forward to drive the sword into the ghoul’s chest. It flamed out of existence, and its loss of physical presence didn’t register with the other two ghouls as a tactical advantage until Lazarus burst through the ashes to engage one. He cleaved the ghoul’s leg through the thigh, and it collapsed onto the floor. He leaped over the flailing body, and stabbed the blade forward into the body of the last ghoul. Cut through the spine, the possessed flared, and the ghoul flashed into ash.
Sam slipped past the raking talons of one of the ghouls, and he surged forward to grab the other by the throat. He picked it up and heaved it. They collided and he stepped forward and rammed Mercy through both their chests. Curlicues of flame ate them from the inside out as they flashed into ash and died.
The last of the ghouls Lazarus had fought was crawling towards him. It was foaming at the mouth as it left a trail of blood on the floor from its severed leg. Lazarus walked forward, kicked it in the head. When it stilled, he cut the head off. With his part in the fighting finished, he noticed the smell of sulfur and ash. He hated that smell.
“Oh my, isn’t that dramatic.”
Lazarus turned around to see what Lilith was talking about. There was one ghoul left. It posed no danger, though. In fact, it was whimpering, an incongruent sound from the monster. It was suspended four feet in the air. A force field seemed to surround it. The ghoul wasn’t enjoying the experience at all.
Lazarus looked over at the van. Darcy was lying back on the back seat. He could see the shock on her face, fear making her pant. There was nothing in her world but that ghoul. Her arms were thrown wide. She was sweating profusely, and she was mumbling. Her legs were pulled in tight, trying to keep away from the monster.
As Lazarus watched, the sphere shrank, and compressed the ghoul’s body. Its whimpers grew louder as the force caused its body to transform. Lazarus was dumbfounded at the display. The body morphed, sharp edges rounding. Lazarus listened as bones cracked. The whimpering turned into a moan, then it turned into a scream. The scream stopped suddenly as the body imploded, and red liquid filled the sphere.
Lazarus stepped back, unsure about the sphere, hoping that it didn’t suddenly explode. Blood and gore would fly everywhere. He didn’t relish the idea of being covered in ghoul’s blood. He couldn’t even imagine the pressure inside of the dwindling sphere. The sphere continued contracting. It became the size of a large party balloon. Then it was the size of a bowling ball. It shrank to the size of a baseball, then a pea. A blood red pea. Then it disappeared completely.
Lazarus looked into the van. He looked at Darcy’s face. She was in shock, confused. She didn’t recognize her surroundings. Lazarus moved to the side to avoid her gaze. He didn’t want to emulate her last victim. He waved at Sam. Sam saw, and understood. He walked forward, and reaching through the driver’s seat window, he put his hand over hers. She started as she felt human contact. She glanced over, and recognized Sam. That seemed to break the trance. She began breathing normally, and looked around. She said something low, that he could barely hear; something that sounded like, “Mommy.”
Lazarus walked to the side door, “you okay Darcy?”
Her chest heaved as she blurted out the words, “What the hell was that?”
“That was a possessed.”
“You mean, that was a demon?”
“No, that’s not a demon,” he motioned to her, and Lilith walked forward, “Lilith, your friend and mentor, she’s a demon.” He pointed at one of the drifting piles of ash, “What you saw was a human, who corrupted his soul for power, was possessed by a lesser demon, and ultimately consumed by hellfire.”
She looked at Lilith and Lazarus, finally comprehending what they were telling her. She looked at one, then the other, “So, you’re really Lilith, and you’re Lazarus, as in Lazarus, raised from the dead?”
Lazarus nodded, “Are you okay now?”
She didn’t do anything for a good, long moment. Then she nodded back at him. The bewilderment disappeared from her face and she gave a tentative smile. Lazarus smiled as he realized that Darcy was herself again. Lazarus held out his hand, and she took it as she slid out of the van.
Lilith stepped up, and put her arms around Darcy, “It’s okay, honey. If you continue in this line of work, you’ll get used to it. Sam did.” She looked over at Sam, “didn’t you Sam?”
“Oh hell no, I’ve never gotten used to it. I’m just not as surprised when it happens.”
Lilith waved him off, “Don’t listen to him. It’s not that bad.”
Lazarus disagreed, “Oh, I think it’s that bad. The smell alone is enough to make me retch.”
While Lilith consoled Darcy, Lazarus got Sam’s attention and pointed towards the cases, “Let’s check that out and make sure that the missiles are actually there.”
They walked over to the munition cases. There were six cases, instead of the four that they had ordered. Sam pointed that out, “What the hell, there are too many cases.”
Lazarus shook his head, “I don’t know. Let’s check them.”
The nomenclature of the missiles was written in yellow on the outside of the plastic cases. Four of them had AT-4 antitank missile written on them. Two of them had FGM-148 Javelin written on them. Sam whistled low when he saw that on the boxes.
“What is it, Sam?” Lazarus asked.
“Looks like we got a little more than we bargained for. Somehow, we acquired two javelin missiles as well as the AT-4s we asked for.”
“What are javelin missiles?”
“They’re antitank missiles also, but they’re much better than the AT-4s. They have better penetration. Heat seeking, they launch out of the tube to shoot straight up, then they come down on top of the armored vehicle, where the armor’s much thinner. Much more likely to get an armor kill from the top than from the side.”
“But we didn’t order these javelins?”
“No, we just ordered the AT-4s. You didn’t ask for javelins, so I didn’t order any.”
“I didn’t even know about javelins.”
Sam separated the cases and put them on the ground in a line. He turned the butterfly latches, and opened the boxes. While Sam was busy with the cases, Lazarus thought about it. He didn’t like the inclusion of the extra missiles.
“Sam, I hate to tell you this, but I think your contact may not have survived his contact with Agent Johnsto
n.”
“Why do you think that, Eli?”
“The javelins. There’s no reason for them to be here. We didn’t pay for them, and I don’t think your contact would throw them in for free. There has to be a reason they’re here. I think the javelins may have been in the same stash that the AT-4s were in. If the ATF agents compromised the location where the AT-4s were, then they probably just loaded everything up and brought it here so that they could pile a few more weapons charges against us. Somehow, I don’t think that your weapons dealer survived the exchange. At the least, he’s locked up somewhere.”
“Why do you think he’s dead?”
“I don’t think Agent Johnston wanted anybody else to get wind of what he was doing here. So the odds are against your weapons dealer surviving to lockup.”
Sam sighed, “What a shame. It took me three years to establish trust with that guy. Plus, he had great access to the weapons I wanted. It’s going to be a long time before I find somebody else with access like that. The CIA is a hard organization to penetrate.”
Lazarus waved his hand, and ash swirled around him, “Not as hard as you think, apparently.” Lazarus motioned towards the missiles, “how do you want to take care of this?”
Sam looked at the cases, and then looked back at the van, “There’s no way that all of this is going to fit in there. We’re going to have to take the other weapons out of the cases in the van. We have to take the missiles out of the cases, and put them on the floor in the back. We’ll leave all of the cases here.”
Lazarus concurred and began pulling a missile out of the foam padding that lined the cases. He walked past Darcy and Lilith to the back. He sat the missile down on the ground, and opened up the back of the van. He began moving ammunition crates to one side, pulling weapons out of pelican cases, and lined up the M60 machineguns. Next, he picked up the tube that contained the missile, and laid it in the back, next to the M60s. He walked the rifles and pistols forward, and placed them under the back bench seat. Sam brought another missile back, and placed it on the floor, next to the first. Lazarus walked back to grab another missile. Darcy was already at the cases, pulling an AT-4 out to take to the back of the van. Lilith was sitting in the front seat, drinking her coke. Lazarus looked at Lilith, and spread his hands in question.
Lilith looked at him, “What?”
Lazarus shook his head, and kept walking. “Beautiful, sexy, evil, and lazy,” he thought.
They quickly transferred the remaining missiles, then pulled the electronic sight components from the cases, and put them into the van, next to the missiles. They took the tarps and blankets, and spread them out over the weapons and munitions. Sam, Darcy, and Lilith climbed into the van, and Lazarus went over to the controls for the warehouse door. He pressed the green button, and the door began rolling up, sunlight cascading through, lighting up the warehouse with an intensity that made Lazarus blink.
He looked outside to see if there was anyone out there that had an interest in the warehouse or them. He didn’t see anyone or anything. He waved to Sam, and Sam backed the van out of the door. Once the van was out, Lazarus walked out the door, over to the van, and sat down in the back seat next to Darcy. He slid the van door shut. He motioned for Sam to go ahead and drive. They pulled away from the warehouse.
“Where do you want to go?”
Lazarus thought, then spoke, “I think it would be better if we go ahead and head on to Benson. We’ll be closer to the target, and there will be less of a chance of interference. It’s only about thirty, forty minutes from Benson down to the Copper Queen. Plus, we can stop at the Bisbee Coffee Company in the morning and get some good coffee, before we drive in.”
He turned to Darcy, “Is that okay with you?”
She nodded. He turned to Lilith, “Good for you?”
She waved a hand in the air, “Sure, whatever.”
They turned onto Valencia, drove to Interstate 19, then turned east onto Interstate 10. Another thirty minutes, and they were pulling off Interstate 10, and into the parking lot of the Benson Best Western.
They climbed out of the van. Sam locked the door, and they headed into the lobby of the hotel. All four filled out registry cards and Lazarus paid for the rooms.
“Hey, Eli, you want to get something to eat?”
Lazarus shook his head, “No, not right now. I’m not too hungry. I might get some Wendy’s later on. Or maybe go to the Denny’s and get takeout.”
“What time do you want to head out in the morning?”
“Well, we don’t have to be anywhere early. We have to be at the Copper Queen in the afternoon. If you guys want to go to Denny’s in the morning, we can drive down after that.”
“I thought we were going to eat at the coffee place?” Lilith said.
“No, we’ll just get coffee there. The only thing they have is baked goods. I want a good breakfast in the morning.”
“You want to eat something greasy before you go into a fight?” Darcy asked.
Lazarus shrugged, “Not necessarily greasy. But yeah, I want a good meal. You never know when it’s going to be your last.”
Darcy looked uneasy at his explanation. The fight with the ghouls had taken the luster off of their mission. Magic wasn’t as glamorous to Darcy, anymore.
They split up after that. Lazarus went to his room, turned on the TV, and undressed for a long, hot shower. The stench of brimstone and rot faded from his memory. He walked out of the shower, and toweled off. He wrapped a towel around his waist, then shaved. The foam and the razor blade felt good against his face as he scraped the whiskers off. He took a towel and wiped away the last of the foam. He pulled out scissors and trimmed the mustache and beard. He brushed his teeth.
It was mundane, it was boring, but it felt very good to do something this ordinary. The movement of the razor against his skin, the movement of the brush across his teeth, was rhythmic and lulled him into a sense of normality, of banality. The phone rang, jarring him back to reality.
He crossed over to the phone and picked it up, “Hello?”
“Hi, Eli,” Darcy paused, “can I talk to you?” she asked.
“Sure, where do you want to talk?”
“I haven’t eaten yet. You want to go down to Denny’s?”
Lazarus really didn’t want to leave his room, but he knew that Darcy was pretty unsettled by the events of the day, “Yeah, I can meet you downstairs in the lobby. Can you give me about twenty minutes? I need to get dressed.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“No interruption at all. I just wanted to get rid of the sulfur smell. Just give me twenty minutes and I’ll be there.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you.”
He dropped the towel and put clothes on. He pulled on his jacket. It was warm in the desert during the day, but the night could cool off pretty quick. Plus, he had his pistol on. He walked out of the room and walked down the stairs.
Darcy was in the lobby waiting for him. She was as lovely as ever. The difference between her beauty and Lilith’s was striking. With her it was as natural as the world around them. There was no artifice, no makeup. A smile lit up her face as she saw Lazarus. Lazarus couldn’t help himself, he smiled in response. He walked over to her, “how are you tonight, sweetheart?”
Her smile dimpled when he called her sweetheart, “I’m doing okay.”
“You ready for dinner?” he asked.
“Yes. I’m sorry interrupted your night, Eli.”
He waved off her concerns, “Don’t worry about it. I need to get out and get some fresh air anyway. Do you mind if we walk?”
“No, I don’t mind. Are we going to Denny’s?”
He shook his head, “No, I looked up restaurants on the internet. There’s a steak house not too far away.”
A look of concern crossed her face, “Do you mind if we do something different? I want something a little simpler.”
“Okay, how about Wendy’s? I haven’t had a frosty in a long time.”
/> Her smile dimpled again. He motioned with his hand that she should walk in front of him. She started, and Lazarus stepped forward to open the door. She stepped through the door, and Lazarus walked out behind her. He was right about the night air, it was cooler. Darcy crossed her arms against the temperature.
The walked for a few minutes in silence, then Lazarus spoke, “Is this about what happened in Tucson?”
She was noncommittal for a few moments, then she nodded.
“Freaked you out, didn’t it?” he asked.
Again, a cautious nod.
“You want to talk about it?”
She was pensive, and it was a few seconds before she began talking, “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”
“Few people do. When they do, it’s often the last thing they see before they die.”
She glanced over at him, “Have you seen a lot of that kind of thing?”
“More than you can even imagine.”
“How do you deal with something like that?”
“One at a time, until they’re all dead.”
“No, I mean, mentally. How do you deal with the nightmares?”
He shrugged, “I don’t have nightmares.”
She stopped, “How can you not have nightmares about things like that?”
“I don’t know. I guess I come from a different time, a different place. Things like that don’t really affect me. I’ve been dealing with monsters like that for a very, very long time. I think that if I was the kind of person that it could affect, I wouldn’t still be here. One of the possessed would have killed me long ago.”
“Do you have someone you talk to about it?”
He shook his head, “No, I just don’t talk about it.”
They began walking again.
She frowned, “I don’t think that’s good for you, to bottle it up inside.”
He smiled, “I’m not bottling it up inside. For me, it’s done when it’s done.” He brushed his hands together as if brushing away dust.
She shook her head, “How can you kill all those people and not be touched, someway, by what you’ve done?”
