by Garth Ono
"See. She just needs the right kind of incentive and Kate cooperates nicely."
"Bloody hell I will."
Brody cocked his fist back. Max stopped him. Another punch to the face would probably knock her out cold. An unconscious woman was just a delay. A friend or neighbor could come over at any time. They needed to extract the information they needed as quickly as possible. After they had the money, then they could indulge their need for violence without any concerns about accidently killing her.
"Get us all another beer, Brody," Max said. He caught Kate's eyes. "As you may have guessed, we're going to take our time with you."
"If I take you to the money, will you let both of us go?"
"Maybe."
Kate rolled her eyes, and then she looked at the old guy with worried eyes. Max didn't understand that, unless he was a relative or close family friend. Small towns were full of complicated relationships.
"Let Mr. Rose go and I'll give you the money."
Her eyes showed more cunning than fear for a moment. Max knew the look. She had a plan. It looked like she wanted the old man safe before she took a chance. And then Brody returned with the beers.
"You seem awful concerned for Old Man Rose," he said, and then took a big swallow of beer. That tasted good. He had to give the old guy credit, he had good taste in beer. "In fact, you seemed to be more concerned about him than yourself."
"He's an innocent bystander," she said. "He doesn't have the foggiest idea about what we're talking about."
The blindfolded and gagged old man nodded vigorously. Didn't she see he didn't care about her as much as she cared about him? He just wanted out of there, despite knowing she was offering to sell herself for his survival.
"You're a strange girl," Max said. "And the answer is no."
He walked over to the old man, pulled off his blindfold, and grabbed a fistful of gray hair. Pulling his head back to expose his neck, Max placed the keen edge of his skinning knife to Mr. Rose's throat just below his Adam's apple.
"I'm going to count to three."
Kate's eyes were huge. Tears were flowing again. She shook her head.
"If you don't tell me where the money is, I'm going to slit his throat," Max said. "Your Mr. Rose's blood will be on your hands."
"No, you can't! He's innocent!"
"One," Max said. He pressed the edge in until he creased the skin. Then a trickle of blood began to roll down as the blade sliced into the skin. "Two."
"The suitcase is in my storage! It's at the bottom of the chest freezer on the far right," she said. "Please don't. Please, I'm cooperating."
It would be so satisfying to cut his throat anyway, but Max pulled the knife away. Mr. Rose was too valuable as a tool against her. First, he had to take possession of the money, and then he could take his time torturing and killing them both. The old man first, just because that would hurt her so profoundly.
"You better not be lying to me," Max snarled. "Or I'll do far worse to your precious Mr. Rose than slit his throat."
"I'm not lying. Promise," she said. "I'll take you to the money. Right now."
"Where is this storage?"
"It's the U-Stor on the highway. Unit 12. The key is in my pocket."
Max studied her a long moment. Her face was wet with tears, Kate was shaking like a leaf, and she looked utterly miserable. She couldn't be that good of an actress. He believed her, but only to a point.
"I saw the U-Stor place earlier," Max said. "Carl and Brody come with me. Nolan, you stay here and guard them. It's not far, so this shouldn't take more than a few minutes."
He patted her jeans and located her keychain. Kate told him which key opened the padlock. She gave them the PIN for the gate.
"Are we going to take her pickup?" Brody asked.
"No, we're taking the old man's Tahoe," he said.
Max stood over Kate, glaring down at her. She refused to look up. Yeah, she was completely broken and cowed now. The kickass slayer was tamed. But she still had to die.
"This is your last chance," Max said. "If you're lying to us… Oh my god, what we will do to you and the old man. You cannot imagine the pain and humiliation we will heap upon you both."
"I'm not lying," she said softly. "I just want your promise to let Mr. Rose go unharmed."
Max barked a laugh. She was a fool. Mercy was for weaklings.
He led Brody and Carl into the garage. Carl opened the garage door while Max got behind the wheel. It was good to be in a Tahoe again. It was his favorite make and model to drive and ride in. His previous Tahoe was a LT, but Mr. Rose's was a top of the line LTZ, with leather seats and all of the bells and whistles.
"It's always good to get an upgrade, boys."
"I think she's lying to us, boss," Brody said. "She gave up too easy."
"We'll see," Max said, and backed out of the garage. "If she is lying, then it's going to get real messy when we get back."
When they reached the highway, a State Police car sped past with lights on, but no siren. A sheriff deputy was following it. Max glowered at them. The town was crawling with local and State Police since the situation blew up. Carl said the security at the bridge was doubled when he took Dan back. Max worried it had tightened even more since.
"We'll have to go down to Memphis to cross over. The Illinois crossings are going to be too hot for the foreseeable future."
The Feds knocked down some of the bridges crossing the river to help keep the undead out. The remaining bridges were like castles. It took a lot of money for known criminals to cross. Sometimes no amount of money would allow them to pass. If they had to, they could still commandeer a boat for the crossing.
"Look for number 12," he said after passing through the U-Stor's gate. It was easy enough to find. "The moment of truth."
Max unlocked the padlock. It opened easily and looked brand new. They found four large, chest freezers. They were all old looking, with grimy, rusty exteriors. All were softly humming. Kate said the suitcase was in the far right freezer. They opened all four freezers.
"Empty," Brody said, sounding just a little satisfied.
"The bitch lied to me," Max growled, hands tightening into fists. "She lied to me."
They jumped back into the Tahoe and hit the gas. A blue Ford Explorer was approaching, forcing him to wait for it to pass before getting back on the highway. Carl cried out, pointing at the SUV.
"That's the Goth chick. Kate's best friend."
Max floored it. He quickly gained on Daphne, and then passed to her right, before turning into her. Their SUVs struck. Max forced her off the road and into a tree. She had her doors all locked, so they began pounding on the windows with their pistols while she screamed.
Chapter 26
"I can't wait to get my hands on you," Nolan said, his face just inches from hers. "I'm going to break things you didn't know you had." He leered at her another second. "We're going to kill your ass, and then take you across the river to become a zombie."
She held her breath against the stench of his beer-drenched bad breath and turned her face. His threat was terrifying. She struggled mightily, and could feel the chair joints were loose. Whether they'd prove loose enough remained to be seen.
The chair groaned as she put all of her strength into ripping it apart. Nolan smirked, obviously loving her distress and pathetic attempts to escape. Kate was encouraged by that sound. It told her she was close to breaking free, or at least pulling the chair apart.
"Step away, you stupid sot," she said.
His eyes glazed over for a second. She could see the wheels turning. Was "sot" an insult? American's didn't use the word. Kate figured he was too besotted to figure out its meaning through context. The beer was affecting him more than the others, probably due to the pain medicine he took after she hurt his left shoulder.
"I don't take orders from punk-ass foreign girls."
Kate spit in his face. Nolan stumbled back, an incredulous expression on his face. She put all of her stren
gth into breaking that chair apart. The chair practically danced on the floor she was rocking back and forth in it so violently. Torturous creaks emanated from the chair's joints stoking the fires of hope.
"You spit on me."
He was red with fury. She barely looked at him. Breaking free was all she thought about, and Kate put all of her mental and physical resources into the effort.
"Only because you're too afraid of me to untie me," she said, pausing for a second to pant furiously. Catching her breath for another try. "Craven coward! Loser."
"You suck at insults," he said.
"You suck at life, moron."
He glared daggers at her as he finished off his beer. Nolan threw the can across the room, took a deep breath, and moved toward her again. Kate's blood ran cold. It was obvious by his body language that Nolan had decided to do something to her. She didn't want to find out what.
"Max left you behind because you are the most pathetic excuse for a man imaginable. You are the weakest link," Kate snarled. Her eyes narrowed. "You're even afraid of me. A mere girl. I'm all tied up, and you are still afraid of me."
He clenched his jaw, hands curled into fists. Kate could see him shaking with emotion.
"I'm not afraid of anyone."
Nolan was about to lose it. Kate knew she needed to direct his fury and prick his pride. She didn't have much time, either. Max was probably already at the U-Stor. He'll be charging back in the door all too soon.
"Prove it. Untie me. We'll fight, and then I'll prove just how weak and pathetic you are," she said. "If you're still afraid, I guess you can have a knife and I'll stay unarmed."
"I ought to break your jaw."
"You ought to reach down between your legs and find a pair of balls," she said. "Or did Max take them with him?"
Nolan screamed. His right foot lashed straight out, striking her in the chest. Kate and chair went sliding across the polished wood floor to crash into the wall. And that did it.
The chair came apart. Wood splintered, joints came apart, and Kate was left sprawled on the floor. She and Nolan shared a surprised look.
"Bloody hell yes!" she cried, scrambling to her feet. Pieces of chair clung to her wrists and ankles, but she could stand and fight. She held a long piece of chair leg like a baseball bat. "Come to Mummy, little punk."
The smuggler pulled the pistol from his waistband. She charged him at the same time, swinging her makeshift cudgel with all of her strength. She struck the back of his gun hand. Nolan cried out as bones shattered and muscles spasmed. The pistol clattered across the floor, even as she brought the cudgel back across his face.
Blood and shattered teeth splattered her. Nolan cried out, but stood his ground. Kate smashed his injured shoulder. He wailed in pain.
Nolan stumbled back a step. Kate kicked the side of his knee, snapping it. She spun around him as he dropped to the other knee. And then she smacked him in the back of the head.
Nolan fell face-first to the floor and didn't move.
First thing, Kate retrieved the pistol. Then she found a knife and cut herself free.
"Get out of here," Kate said, while cutting Mr. Rose free. Nolan began stirring, moaning and groaning. "Call 911."
As soon as Mr. Rose was freed, she whacked Nolan in the back of the head with the pistol. He dropped back down unconscious, while Mr. Rose raced out of the front door and across the street. Kate picked up Nolan's smartphone and called Randy.
"Randy. The smugglers grabbed Mr. Rose and me and held us prisoner," she said as she raced out the back door. "Max and two others are at the U-Stor to get the suitcase of money."
"You turned that in."
"They don't know that! Get them. Call in every cop within a hundred miles."
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I'm fine if they aren't allowed to come back here to kill me. Hurry!"
Max took her keys, so she couldn't drive the Defender or the pickup. So she quickly armed up: Bandolier, machete, and sawed off double-barrel. Nolan's pistol was thrust into her back pocket.
Gunfire back toward the U-Stor claimed her attention. Did the cops already catch them? Kate waited a moment longer, hearing more sirens join the chorus. Car engines were revving, tires squealing, and then the gunfire intensified.
"Oh my god, it sounds like World War III over there."
Chapter 27
The stupid girl was crawling all over the inside of the SUV, desperately trying to escape them. If that wasn't bad enough, a State Police car came racing up the highway and spotted them. It skidded to a stop not fifty feet away and two cops spilled out. The commands to freeze were met with gunfire.
"Get that damn girl!" Max shouted, firing at the cops from behind the Tahoe.
The cops couldn't return fire for fear of hitting Daphne. Then Max heard two more sirens. And then another. How many cops were in Tennyson?
"Hurry. More cops are coming."
Carl smashed out the driver's window and was able to unlock all of the doors. The chick wailed in misery, and then began cursing like a sailor. She was sobbing hysterically as she kicked, twisted, and tried to keep moving toward the back. Max glanced back to find Brody had hold of her ankle, while she was trying to open the back hatch from the inside. Carl ran around to the back, opened the hatch, and yanked her out.
"Let me go! My daddy is the sheriff!" she screamed. "He'll kill you!"
"Shut her up," Max growled.
"My pleasure," Brody snarled, and knocked her out cold with a right uppercut.
Max rose up and emptied his pistol at the two State Troopers. Another cop car came around the bend. A local sheriff's car. He reloaded, took aim, and popped a few holes into its windshield. The squad car veered off the road and into the ditch.
He scrambled into the passenger side door, over the console, and into the driver's seat. The engine was still running. Brody and Carl piled into the back seat, with the girl between them. She was still unconscious and limp. As his two men leaned out their windows to fire at different cop cars, he put it in gear and floored it.
Max sideswiped the State Police car in an attempt to kill the cop behind the driver's door. The cop bailed and escaped just in time. Another sheriff's department car came around the bend behind them, and the chase was on.
"I'm going to break Brokenshire's neck," Max snarled. The State Police and first sheriff's car both joined the chase. He scowled at them in the rearview. "Damn her."
He needed to shake them long enough to get his hands on Kate. Yet, as much as he wanted to strangle her to death, she wasn't worth getting killed over. Hell, he knew where she lived. They could always come back after things settled down.
Max turned onto Sherwood and floored it. The Victorian was up ahead. The cops were far enough behind that they could get inside to kill that lying bitch, but he doubted they'd escape. So he was faced with the decision: take the chance to kill her immediately, or wait for another chance?
And then he spotted her. Kate was running out of the driveway and into the street.
"She escaped! Nolan! You idiot!"
He hit the gas, aiming straight at Kate.
Chapter 28
"That's Mr. Rose's SUV," Kate said.
The Tahoe was accelerating up Sherwood. She couldn't see any police cars yet, but it was obvious they were chasing that SUV. The sirens were getting closer real fast. So Kate ran down the driveway and into the street. It only took a second to spot Max behind the wheel. Their eyes locked. Two sets of eyes narrowed, and Kate lifted Nolan's pistol.
Pap-pap-pap-pap!
Kate fired as fast as her finger would move. She got a pretty good shot pattern over the driver's side, too, but the vehicle continued to accelerate at her. The slider locked back on the pistol. She tossed it aside and darted back up the driveway.
Max went over the curb after her. Kate juked left, and then went right. The Tahoe barely missed her, but then barreled straight into the side of Mr. Rose's garage. A huge BOOM reverberated through the nei
ghborhood. Only the back of the Tahoe was sticking out of the side of the garage, wheels off the ground and still spinning.
Kate ran up to the back of the Tahoe and popped open the back hatch. They were still sorting themselves out after the crash. She took aim with the shotgun at the back of Max's head, and just before she squeezed the trigger a woman's head popped out between them.
"Daphne?"
"Help, Kate!"
"Kill the slayer," Max shouted. "Kill her! Kill her!"
Kate started shooting, but she had to be careful with Daphne between two of them. She pumped two shots in, both as far from her friend as she could. The men opened the doors and bailed. Carl dragged Daphne out with him. Kate had to drop to one knee to break open her weapon and load two more 12-gauge shotgun shells.
"Give up, Max," Kate shouted. "Here come the police. If you hurt the girl, I swear you will not survive this fight."
"If I don't survive, neither does your little friend," he said. "You better make those cops let us go."
"I'm going to mess you up, Kate!" Brody shouted. "Did you hear me?"
"Yeah, I heard the pathetic wail of a North American Fraidy cat."
He cried out in rage. Kate knew he had to come around the corner at any second. She had her finger on the trigger, weapon pointed at the spot he would appear. Brody was about to get both barrels.
Come to Mummy, you bloody bastard.
Max shouted something she couldn't make out as the police sirens overwhelmed her hearing. Three police cars sped up Sherwood, with the Sheriff leading the charge. More sirens could be heard in the distance. Someone started shooting through the truck, and bullets whizzed past her way too close.
Kate quickly retreated and took cover behind an ancient oak. They shot at her the whole run. The cops came skidding to a stop.
"Three men in the garage, one in the house," Kate called. "They have Daphne."
"What the hell have you done?" Sheriff Coleman screamed at her. "They have my daughter because of you."
