by Deep Pink
Darian picked up a needle containing a green fluid and injected it into Blackjacks thigh. Slowly his body stopped contorting on the chair and the enflamed red pallor began to leave his skin. When the last of the cramps left his body his head sunk to his chest in complete exhaustion. His body was drenched in sweat and his chest heaved with relief from the searing pain.
“That’s only a fraction of the pain I went through. Pain that you caused me. I wont be so quick to end your suffering on the next injection. I’ll let the drug run its course. It takes a horse a few hours to flush it from their system. So what can we say for a man? Maybe twelve hours until its effects fade. Do you think you are strong enough to take that? Who knows maybe your heart will just give out under the pressure. Pain changes a man, it humbles him and holds a mirror up to his true self. Do you think this woman will see you in the same way when she sees you writhing around on the floor begging to be put out of your misery like a rabid animal. Pain strips away all pretences, all the swagger and fake bravado someone like you has falls away. This bitch is about to see that you are nothing more than a scared and mewling wretch.”
Darian picked up a syringe and walked towards Blackjack.
“Don’t do it please,” Linda screamed in panic.
Emily giggled at her outburst and Darian turned and winked at Linda and then plunged the syringe into Blackjacks neck. He pressed the plunger down all the way emptying the full contents of the syringe into his bloodstream. Darian bowed theatrically towards Linda while smiling broadly and creepily at her. “Enjoy the show,” he said as he and Emily walked away arm in arm towards the offices at the rear of the room.
Almost immediately the muscles in Blackjacks neck and shoulders began to twitch. He locked eyes with Linda as his face contorted with pain. Veins bulged in his neck as his skin darkened. His biceps and stomach muscles contracted painfully as the drug began to spread throughout his body. Linda couldn’t take it anymore, she couldn’t sit her and watch him as the pain ripped through his body. She frantically began to move her wrists and with each movement she could feel the rope loosen a tiny bit more. The skin on her wrists was ragged and broken and the rope burns had begun to draw blood. Linda tried her best to ignore the searing pain as nothing she was feeling could match the hell that Blackjack was going through.
The tape on Blackjacks face peeled off from one corner, loosened by his thrashing and the rivulets of cold sweat running down his beet red face. “Linda look at me,” he said in a growl, clenching his teeth through the spasms of pain. “You have to get free and kill those psychos. I’m not sure how much longer I can hold on. Kill them for me.” He threw his head back and bellowed in pain. The sound was almost inhuman in its unbridled agony. Linda could not bear it any more, she felt like she was going crazy her sanity slipping away as all hope seemed to diminish to nothing more than a lit match on a darkened night. Despair and abject horror were threatening to consume her when the rope loosened a fraction more and through a combination of her blood slicked hands and feral tenacity she freed her right hand from one of the loops.
Adrenaline was coursing through her body and her eyes were wide in fear. Linda tried to calm here self to blot out her surroundings and focus on her goal. She jerked in her chair and it hopped an inch forward, she twitched again and by painfully tiny increments she edged towards the trolley between her and Blackjack. She dared not look up at him, as the sounds of his extreme pain were enough to make her sick to her stomach with each of his shouts. Again the chair moved slightly forward in the right direction. Linda’s muscles buzzed with the exertion. Time seemed to standstill as she edged ever closer to the trolley. She looked wildly around to see if she was being watched, afraid that this was all some sort of elaborate set up to make her feel free for a brief moment only to cruelly snatch it away from her grasp. She could see neither of them watching at that moment, but she knew they could return any moment with more sick and twisted ways to torture Blackjack.
Her exertions got her closer to the trolley and she needed only one or two more hops and she would be in reaching distance of it. Her muscles felt like lead weights as she felt them weaken under the strain. She jerked her body and misjudged it, the chair began to topple and for one elongated second it looked like it was going to right itself. She toppled sideways knocking the trolley over and sending the contents spinning in every direction across the floor. The trolley clanged loudly as it slammed into the floor and Linda let out a pained “OOOFFF,” as she slammed into the floor. Her shoulder throbbed dully from the impact. The syringes glittered like jewels on the dusty floor.
A door swung open and slammed loudly and Linda looked across the room. Emily was skipping out of one of the derelict offices towards her. Within seconds she would be on top of her. Linda looked around wildly for any syringes that had landed close to her. The closest one was outside of her reach and she would never wriggle closer to it in time. Than her hands behind her back touched something, the cold glass of a syringe. One had had been thrown to within her grasp when the trolley came crashing down. She stretched out and the tips of her fingers brushed against the needle. Please don’t let it slip away she feverishly thought to herself.
As Emily closed the gap Linda’s fingers found purchase on the needle and pulled it into the palm of her hand.
“You look like a disgusting dirty wriggling worm down there,” Emily said with a sneer. “You know what I do to worms? I crush them under my boot.” She placed the heel of her boot on Linda’s throat and began to press down all the while laughing manically. Linda became dimly aware of a succession of flashing lights as she felt her air cut off by the pressure. Her neck creaked and popped at the increasing force from her boot.
Linda’s free hand swung from behind her back and Emily’s eyes grew wide as she say the incoming tip of the needle. As the tip sunk into the flesh of her calf Linda thought to herself “What if it’s the wrong syringe and it’s the antidote?” Linda plunged the needles handle administering a full dose into the crazed and flailing woman.
The effect was nearly instantaneous on Emily. She released the pressure of her boot on Linda’s throat and fell backwards landing with a thud as her leg began to spasm and contract.
“You bitch she hissed,” as the drug travelled through her body and the muscle contractions began to take hold. “Darian,” she screamed in a high pitched wail before her teeth clamped shut as the searing pain contorted her body into painful shapes.
Linda looked behind her at the door expecting to see the twisted form of Darian hobbling towards her with an ax in his hand like an unstoppable killer from a horror movie. He was nowhere to be seen. Quickly she freed her other hand from its bounds and untied her feet. She looked down with disgust as she stepped over the depraved and contorted form of Emily. Her eyes burned like hot embers in her pale deep set sockets and she moaned feebly at Linda. As she untied the ropes from her feet she looked around for a syringe containing the antidote. The closest one to her was cracked open and its contents seeped into the dust darkening it. Blackjacks eyes were shut tight as every muscle fiber in his body twitched in painful burning waves. His skin was a deep crimson color and Linda imagined his heart couldn’t take much more of this abuse.
The ropes fell away from her feet and she stood up stiffly every joint in her body feeling like ground glass. Linda scrabbled in the dirt around the trolley and found more broken syringes. She could barely take it any more, the sounds of pain coming from Blackjack were scrabbling at the walls of her mind and it felt like they were tearing through the layers of her sanity. A splash of light in the corner of her eye caught her attention. As if illuminated by a higher power a beam of light hit a syringe lying in a pile of waste paper. Linda hobbled over to it as her muscles begin to wake up slowly from the constraints. She picked it up in fingers that felt like they were made of clay and suddenly she felt exhausted as the weight of the trauma pressed down on her. The adrenalin that had surged through her body was now making her feel shaky and spent. C
ome on she told herself pull it together there is still another psycho hiding in the shadows waiting to pounce.
She knelt beside blackjack and injected the needle into a prominent vein on his arm. Cradling his head in her lap and running her fingers through his hair the contortions slowed down and the intense red pallor of his skin abated. His breathing steadied as the pain leeched away and his limbs stopped twitching. Linda was consumed with relief for both of them. She couldn’t imagine the pain that he had been going through, a weaker man would have surely been killed by what Blackjack had endured.
Without thinking Linda bent down and kissed him. His hand reached up and cradled her neck as they kissed deeply. Linda’s heart beat a staccato rhythm in her chest at the intensity of emotions sweeping through her. Underneath the fear and the relief she also felt something else. She felt an intense connection to Blackjack. They had been through so much together in such a short time, it felt like their bond had been forged in the fiery depths of hell and it was something that would not be broken easily. Her skin prickled with hot intensity under his touch and her skin buzzed under the rough stubble of his chin. Amidst all the chaos and terror they had gone through the kiss felt beautiful and perfect and Linda wanted to hold this moment in her mind. She wished it could go on forever but it was broken by a sound behind her. The warm feeling was quickly replaced by fear as she spun around. Standing in the door of the office was the man with the limp. He stood still for a second appraising the scene and then turned, disappearing into the shadows.
“Don’t let him escape.” Blackjack growled as Linda got up to take chase. Blackjack stood up and swayed on his weakened legs. “I’ll be right behind you”.
Linda set off as fast as her stiff limbs could carry her and closed the gap to the office doors in what felt like an eternity. The room was dim and shadows pooled in the corners. She stood in the doorframe for a second breathing hard. A crack of light at the far end of the room leaked out from under a door. Linda stepped into the darkened room expecting the limping man to jump out at her any second like a ghoul from hell. She let her eyes adjust to the gloom as much as possible and headed for the back door. She blindly reached for the door handle and her skin crawled at the thought of the limping man clamping his hand over her wrist and pulling her back down into the waking nightmare. Her hand found the doorknob and the door swung open easily. Light spilled into the room as she stumbled out into a weed strewn courtyard. At the other end the man was mounting a motorbike. It would be impossible for her to cover the distance in time.
The limping man started up the bike and before he drove off glanced back at Linda. He smiled broadly flashing his teeth at her, then turned and gunned the engine and drove away. It was as if all strength in her body evaporated in that moment. Her muscles felt slack and weak and she fell to her knees with a sob rising in her chest. Her chest hitched as tears that streamed freely down her cheeks wracked her body. The horrors she had gone through flipped through her mind spiralling out of control until she felt the familiar pain in her chest of the onset of a panic attack. She tried to pull out of the spiral but she could feel the acrid talons of the attack begin to tear at her skin. An arm enveloped her and pulled her to her feet. Blackjack pulled her in close to him in a tight embrace. She wrapped her arms around him and held him just as tightly their bodies pressed together each seeking solace from the other. The onslaught of the attack began to fade as she become more aware of Blackjacks strong arms around her, one slung low around her waist and the other crossing her shoulders. She buried her face in his neck and kissed it gently. The furnace like warmth coming off his body calmed her. Her tears stopped and they both ended the intense embrace.
“You saved my life again,” Blackjack said, “I really owe you now.”
As inappropriate as it seemed after all they had been through Linda blurted out, “I’ll figure out a way for you to pay off your debt.” She could feel her cheeks redden as soon as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
Blackjack saluted her and said, “Yes sir.”
They both began to laugh and it felt good to have some joy coursing through her after so much misery. The sound echoed around the courtyard and for a moment the weariness and pain Linda felt throughout her body was forgotten. Blackjacks eyes twinkled full of mischief while he laughed and Linda noticed how attractive he looked in that instant. It was such a simple thing but it made her feel alive as if the shared laughter helped them break through the veil of horror and stand tall to declare that they were both alive and could take anything that was thrown at them. The laughter was an act of defiance that helped them feel human again.
When they stopped Blackjack said, “Take a look at these, they were on the floor in the office,” and handed three photographs to Linda. They had been taken with the instant camera and each one showed Linda’s struggle with the crazed Emily. One of the pictures caught the moment as Linda buried the needle in Emily’s leg.
“He was watching us the whole time,” Linda said, “he didn’t even attempt to save her. That’s a pretty strong message he left us.” Linda shivered at the thought of this madman running loose. “Do you have any idea who he is?”
“I’ve never seen that freak before, or his girlfriend. I meet some twisted fuckers in this line of work, him I don’t remember at all. He went to a lot of trouble to grab me. The next time I see him I’ll make sure it’s on my terms,” he said angrily. “Fuck. What time is it?” he said as he searched through his pockets for his phone.
“Judging by the height of the sun I’d say it’s close to midday”
“Fuck. We need to get to the safe house or find a phone fast. The meet at the harbor was meant to go down now. I have to contact Pops, this shit could go sideways if I don’t turn up at the designated time. Fuck that limping freak, if anything happens to one of my guys because of his twisted games I will tear this city apart until I find him. I wont play as nice with him the next time we cross paths, ill make today look like a kids birthday party.”
“What about her inside, she might have a phone,” Linda said walking towards the door.
“She doesn’t,” Blackjack growled.
“Should we give her the antidote?” Linda asked.
“Its too late she was already dead when I came out to you. Her heart probably gave out.”
Linda knew she should have felt some sort of remorse but she felt nothing but cold indifference to that crazed woman’s death. Linda had killed before in the line of duty and each time it had affected her deeply. This time was different, it was either her or that batshit insane woman and Linda knew she would choose herself anytime the choice was given. If she had any self doubt about the decision she had no time to dwell on it as they both made their way out of the industrial area to find a phone.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Safe?
The cab dropped them off a few blocks from the safe house and they walked the rest of the way. Linda knew Blackjack was being as careful as possible. His gang was under threat from two fronts now and it looked like his world was slowly unraveling before his eyes. The rival gang he could deal with through sheer force. The limping man hiding in the shadows and biding his time, waiting for the right moment to strike again was completely out of Blackjacks hands and this is what had seemed to shake him the most. He hadn’t spoken since the call to Pops and had only spoken in short terse sentences. From the fragments that Linda had heard from her side it looked like the gang had been hit by a group of heavily armed men and several member’s had been killed. At one point Blackjack had raised his voice in anger and demanded that a meet be held as soon as possible. When he had gotten off the phone, a cheap burner they picked up in a tiny corner store electronics shop, he was distant and deflated. When Linda asked what was going on all he mumbled was, “Some bad shit.”
Now they were winding their way through the tight streets of a neighborhood she wasn’t familiar with. Blackjack crossed back and forward some side streets taking a circuitous route to the safe house.
When he was sure that they weren’t being tailed he stopped outside a house with a high wooden fence. A metal sign was nailed to the gate. A snarling dog with snarling jaws wide open was painted on it. Flecks of spittle flew in all directions and in bright white letters was stencilled, “This beast bites. Enter at your peril”.
Blackjack keyed in a code on the pad beside the gate and a bolt slid soundlessly back allowing their entry. “Stay behind me.” Blackjack said as he closed the gate. Linda pressed into him tight as a large dog barrelled towards them from behind the house. It looked like the dog in the warning sign except this one was bigger and meaner looking. The brute was all muscle and looked like a slick torpedo of gnashing teeth as it neared them. Linda pressed in close to Blackjack using him as a shield. “Sit.” Blackjack said in a firm commanding voice. The dog immediately stopped dead on the spot and sat with its large pink tongue lolling out of its mouth. “Roll over.” Blackjack said and the dog obeyed. Blackjack knelt and scratched the dogs belly vigorously and the dog’s tail thwacked in excitement against the ground.
“Come over. Once he knows you are with me you will be ok. I got him as a puppy and he is trained to attack on sight. The only people who can step on this property safely are a guest and me. Anyone else who climbs that fence is taking their life into their own hands. Once he clamps his jaws onto you he wont let go. This place is for me and me alone. We will be safe to hole up here the night.”
Linda knelt and hesitantly stroked the matted fur on the dog’s belly. His tail wagged even faster as he enjoyed the dual attention. The dog spun around and sniffed at Linda’s hand and then gave it a broad lick.
“He’s bonded to you now,” Blackjack said, “if anyone tries to harm you he will protect you with his life.”
