Solace Within

by Gavin Zanker

  ‘And how do I get down to the basement?’

  ‘There’s a metal door at the end of the hall. The stairs behind it lead down to the basement. But why do you want to go there?’

  ‘Any guards down there? I only saw the one coming in.’

  ‘There’s always one at the entrance, and usually another in the basement I think. They don’t need many guards here. No one would risk trying anything, not when they know the Crimson Wolves own this place.’

  Aiden reached into his jacket and pulled out a handful of coins which he handed to the girl. ‘You’ve been very helpful. Now I need you to stay here and keep quiet.’ He eyed a pair of handcuffs on the dresser and picked them up. ‘I’m going to handcuff you to the bed, okay? So if anyone asks you questions you can just tell them I cuffed you and left you here, that way you won’t get into trouble.’

  She nodded, slipping the money under the mattress as Aiden clicked the cuffs over her wrist and then to the iron bed frame. He opened the door a crack, peering out into the corridor to check it was clear. When he saw no one, he stepped out, closing the door behind him. He stalked along the corridor, quickly finding the metal door Simone had described. Trying the handle he found it was unlocked, and he slipped through and headed down a set of stone steps.

  At the bottom he emerged into the basement. An open concrete room, narrowing into a corridor at the end that was flanked on either side by cells with sturdy metal doors. A guard sat at a desk, his back to the stairs. A rifle cobbled together from old parts lay next to him on the desk.

  ‘About time you showed up for your shift, Chris. I’m dying to get away and have a drink. I swear if I hear any more crying-’

  Aiden’s pistol connected with the side of the man’s head just as he turned, sending him sprawling unconscious across the desk and knocking a ceramic mug which shattered on the floor. Aiden picked up the junk rifle and unclipped the magazine. Seeing the home-made rounds inside he tossed the magazine across the room and dropped the empty rifle back on the desk. Spotting a set of keys, he scooped them up and moved along the line of cells, glancing through the view ports for any sign of Leigh.

  CHAPTER 7

  AIDEN FOUND LEIGH sitting in the corner of one of the dark cells, hugging her legs. He turned the key in the heavy lock and swung the door open. She peered up over her knees with red-rimmed eyes, a fresh bruise on the side of her face.

  ‘Aiden?’ she said uncertainly.

  He held out a hand towards her and she leapt up and ran into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. ‘I never thought I’d see you again,’ she said, sobbing uncontrollably.

  ‘Come on, no time for that,’ he said. ‘We need to get you out of here.’

  She unlatched from him and wiped her nose, nodding firmly.

  Aiden turned and walked back towards the stairs with Leigh trailing closely behind him. As they reached the unconscious guard, she stopped and glared at him. She walked over with balled fists and kicked him ineffectually.

  ‘We need to go now,’ Aiden said, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the stairs.

  ‘But he’s wearing my jacket,’ Leigh protested. ‘I can’t leave it behind, you gave it to me.’

  The door at the top of the stairs opened and footsteps echoed down towards them as someone descended the stairs into the basement. Aiden frantically looked around the concrete room, but saw nowhere to hide. He flattened himself against the wall by the stairway, his pistol ready in one hand as he held Leigh back with the other.

  Two figures emerged into view as they stepped off the stairs, their backs to Aiden. Aiden recognised the slick red hair of Raalo. The other was a wiry dark haired woman wearing a knee-length jacket with a satchel slung over her shoulder. A scrap of crimson cloth was secured around her upper arm.

  ‘Look at this,’ Raalo said as he noticed the guard slumped across the desk. ‘Hey idiot, wake up.’ He slapped the man in the back of the head. ‘Sorry, Blanc. I’ve never found him slacking off like this before.’

  Aiden’s grip tightened around his pistol as he heard the woman’s name.

  ‘Well wake him up,’ she said. ‘There’s too much valuable commodity down here for some grunt to screw everything up.’

  ‘Hello again, Blanc,’ Aiden said, stepping forward with his pistol levelled.

  The woman turned, her blue eyes squinting at him in the shadows. ‘Aiden? Well I’ll be a son of a bitch. I thought I recognised that mutt on the way down here.’ She bit her lip and smirked. ‘I figured you were long dead.’

  ‘Don’t even try it,’ Aiden warned, seeing Blanc slowly reach towards the holster at her waist. ‘You know I’ll shoot you before you can draw that.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Blanc said with a slow nod. ‘I think you might at that.’ She spread her arms wide, showing she was holding no weapon.

  ‘So you’re just a pimp for the Crimson Wolves now?’ Aiden asked as he edged towards the stairs.

  Blanc threw back her head and cackled. There were new lines and weathered marks on her face since their last encounter. Aiden also noticed a raised scar on the back of her hand where the crossed revolver tattoo used to be from her time in the Kiln Boys.

  ‘Me? Work for the Crimson Wolves? Who do you think runs them?’ she said, flashing a menacing smile. ‘That’s right. Someone had to fill the hole once you dispatched Trent so theatrically. And who better than the person willing to go one step further than anyone else?’

  ‘What happened to the shy girl I used to know?’ Aiden said. ‘I never would’ve expected you to fall this far.’

  ‘Fall? You said it perfectly way back when we were in the Seekers together, Aiden. “You just do what you have to to survive.” Me and you, we’re survivors. Unlike most people, we’re capable of planning ahead and taking that extra step.’ She looked past Aiden at Leigh who peered out from behind him. ‘Stealing my merchandise, eh? I had no idea you were in to kids.’

  ‘Merchandise? You really have changed.’ Aiden nudged Leigh towards the stairs. ‘The girl’s leaving with me, she doesn’t deserve to suffer here just to fill your pockets.’

  ‘I can’t let you walk out with my property. A leader who can’t protect her own belongings? How would that look to my men?’

  ‘I have no quarrel with you, Blanc. I’m just going to walk out of here with the girl, and no one needs to get hurt.’

  Behind Blanc, Raalo swept up the rifle from the desk. Aiden didn’t react as the man aimed the rifle at him and pulled the trigger. It clicked empty, the magazine still lying somewhere across the room where Aiden had tossed it.

  ‘I’m surrounded by the inept,’ Blanc said, tutting and shaking her head. ‘You sure you don’t want to come work for me, Aiden? I could use someone like you.’

  Aiden nudged Leigh towards the stairs and started after her, his pistol still trained on the Crimson Wolf leader. ‘A pleasure, Blanc,’ he said, touching his forehead.

  ‘As always,’ Blanc said, an amused smirk still parked on her face. ‘See you real soon.’

  Once Aiden had backed up a few more steps, he grabbed Leigh and they sprinted up the stairs. As they passed the metal door, gunfire erupted from the basement, peppering the wall of the corridor. Aiden reached around and blind-fired his pistol down the stairs as clouds of plaster from the bullets hitting the wall mingled with the taste of spent powder. A stinging sensation flared along his forearm, and he recoiled. He touched the area and saw his fingers come back stained with red.

  He heaved his shoulder into the metal door and slammed it shut. Then he sprinted for the lobby with Leigh chasing after him as confused customers and girls alike started poking their heads out into the corridor to get a look at the chaos. Emerging into the lobby, Aiden slid across the floor to Hitch who was still tied to the chair and barking furiously. He pulled the knot loose, releasing the dog, and the three of them dashed out into the street.

  As Aiden burst out through the main doors, he collided with the surprised bouncer. ‘Quick, there’s trouble insi
de,’ Aiden said, breathing hard. ‘Blanc needs help!’

  ‘Damn, why always on my shift?’ the bouncer growled, drawing his pistol and disappearing into the brothel.

  Aiden held out his hand which Leigh grasped firmly, and they bolted into a nearby alley with Hitch bounding after them.

  CHAPTER 8

  ‘THIS MAN WANDERS into one of my establishments,’ Blanc said, her voice rising, ‘finds his way down here into the basement, takes out the guard, and then just strolls out. With my property! How did you let him just walk out? Was everyone sleeping? Are you all completely god-damn useless?’ Blanc rose from her chair as she screamed at her men, causing the doctor to drop the bloody gauze he was trying to dab against her forehead.

  Her driver, Berkley, a sinewy man with an oversized moustache, glanced at Raalo and the bouncer who stood beside him. When neither spoke, he took a step forward. ‘We’ll find him,’ he said, his voice calm. ‘It’s just a matter of time.’

  ‘A matter of time,’ Blanc repeated, rubbing her forehead with her palm and gritting her teeth.

  ‘Please sit still so I can see to your wound,’ the physician said as he wiped his bloody fingers across his apron. ‘It’s hard enough to stitch with the lack of light down here.’

  ‘Be quick about it, doc,’ Blanc said, slumping back in to the chair. ‘I have business to attend to. And idiots to punish.’

  ‘You’re lucky,’ the physician said continuing to stitch the gash above her eye. ‘Ballistic trauma is unpredictable, what with the fragmentation of the bullet. This wound could have been much worse.’

  ‘Really?’ Blanc said sarcastically as she glared at him.

  The physician fell silent and continued his work.

  ‘That should do it,’ he said, tying off the stitch. ‘I’ve removed the fragment, but you’ll have a sizeable scar left after it heals. Make sure you keep the wound clean and dry if you don’t want an infection.’

  Blanc fingered the long, bloody gash that ran across the side of her head, wincing at the fiery pain. ‘Berkley, you’re the least incompetent here,’ she said, her tone short. ‘Talk to me.’

  ‘I’ve sent out men to track him,’ the sinewy man said. ‘But so far there’s been no word.’

  Blanc rose and paced in front of the desk. The nerve of Aiden, coming into her place of business and stealing from her. And then to add more insult, he actually had the balls to shoot at her! She dragged her hands across the desk, scattering papers over the floor before slamming her fists down.

  ‘I want Aiden found, you understand? I’ll kill him slowly for this. I’ll bury him alive and savour the sounds of his dying screams.’

  ‘You mean for the wound, or for taking one of the attractions?’ Raalo asked. Blanc stopped and glared at him wide-eyed causing him to visibly shrink back into the gloom.

  ‘We’re running short of manpower, but I’ll assign any remaining men we have,’ Berkley said, shaking his head at Raalo’s stupidity. ‘Aiden won’t get far. Everyone knows who owns this town.’

  ‘What about the whore he paid for?’ Blanc asked. ‘The one upstairs. What did she say?’

  Everyone looked to Raalo, who fidgeted uncomfortably. ‘Simone? She didn’t say much,’ he said. ‘We just found her handcuffed to the bed. Apparently he didn’t say anything to her. In fact, he didn’t even get his money’s worth out of her.’

  A sob drifted out of a nearby cell causing Blanc to wince as a shooting pain surged through her head. ‘Someone better stop that whimpering before I go in there and do something I regret,’ she said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

  Berkley looked to the bouncer who hurried away to the cell with relief on his face. There was a sharp gasp followed by a dull thud.

  Then silence.

  Blanc turned to the physician who was packing away his tools. ‘Doc, you have anything for the pain? I can’t think straight with this throbbing in my head.’

  ‘You could try some Echo, it’s an effective opioid that can work as an analgesic. I wouldn’t advise taking too much though. It’s highly addictive and can-’

  ‘I’ve seen what it can do to people. Who do you think manufactures the stuff? Those blue flowers growing up on the mountain slopes have more uses that just prettying up the scenery. Hand some over, I’m a big girl.’

  The doctor hesitated, then reached into his bag and passed her a small bottle. Blanc cracked the top and swallowed one of the bitter tasting blue pills. She pocketed the bottle and sighed as she looked around the room. Her gaze fell on the unconscious guard, still slumped over the desk. She grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head up before letting it drop back to the solid wood with a jarring thud before he slid from the chair to the floor.

  ‘Hang on,’ Blanc said, catching sight of the broken shield stitched in to the chest of the man’s jacket. ‘Where did this jacket come from?’

  ‘The girl was wearing it when she was brought in,’ Raalo said. ‘We take any belongings from-’

  ‘You mean the girl Aiden took off with?’ Blanc asked, cutting him off.

  ‘I believe that was the case.’

  ‘Did she have anything else on her?’

  ‘Just the jacket and er, a potato.’

  ‘A potato? You think that’s pertinent information?’

  Raalo coughed nervously. ‘Er… I don’t know. We picked her up from the orphanage, so… that was all she carried.’

  Blanc spun the silver ring on her finger as she stared at the symbol on the jacket. ‘Well now Aiden, what secrets have you been unearthing lately?’ she muttered.

  She heard the door at the top of the stairs open, followed by the sound of heavy boots descending the stairs. The atmosphere in the room changed immediately as a hulking figure stepped into the dim light of the basement.

  ‘Ah, Adam,’ Blanc said, relishing the sight of the greasy pimp, Raalo, taking a fearful step backwards. ‘I wondered where you’d got to. We’ve had a bit of drama today.’

  Adam ignored the other men and approached Blanc, a frown forming above his splayed nose. ‘You’re hurt,’ he said in a rumbling bass, reaching out a hand towards her bandaged head.

  Blanc patted his bulky forearm. ‘It’ll heal. We have more important things to worry about. An old face reappeared tonight, and it seems that they might have opened up some interesting opportunities for us.’

  Adam stared blankly, clearly not understanding. ‘Don’t worry,’ Blanc said with a soft smile. ‘You just let me handle it.’

  ‘So what’s the plan?’ Berkley asked.

  ‘When this idiot wakes up, send him to me,’ Blanc said, her smile fading as she nodded towards the unconscious guard. ‘We need to have a little chat about his recent performance.’ She glanced again at the obscure badge on the jacket. ‘In the meantime, send out more red bands. I want Aiden and that girl found.’

  LEIGH STUMBLED AND fell to the rough asphalt, unable to run any further as they reached the deserted outskirts of town. Even Hitch was panting heavily now. Aiden came to a stop and helped her to her feet, studying their surroundings for a place to rest. A chain-link fence bordered the road, and on the other side, shadowy heaps of twisted metal and discarded debris rose up out of the darkness. Aiden wrenched up the bottom of the fence and the three of them ducked underneath.

  ‘Are we safe here?’ Leigh asked, her rib cage heaving with each breath as she slumped down behind a stack of tyres.

  ‘For the moment,’ Aiden said, suppressing a grunt as he lowered himself to the ground.

  The temperature was dropping fast now, and remembering Leigh no longer had her jacket, Aiden reached into his pack and pulled out one of his spare shirts. It would hang low on her meager frame, but it would help keep her warm.

  ‘I’m too hot,’ she said, waving it away between breaths.

  ‘Wear it anyway,’ Aiden said, thrusting it into her hands. ‘You’ll be glad of it soon enough.’

  Aiden peered over the stack of tyres, studying the road north as Leigh pulled o
n the shirt. So far there had been no signs of pursuit, but Blanc wouldn’t let him get away easily. He had known her long ago during their time in the Seekers, a private security force that was contracted by the Dawnist church in the Rim. She had been a quiet girl back then, but quickly turned vicious after killing a deserter in cold blood. Afterwards, she even went on to betray the Seekers to their end, driven by her hatred of the Dawnists. Aiden had heard no news of her for many years, assuming her murderous streak had finally caught up with her.

  Now he realised he had underestimated her.

  ‘Thanks for coming back for me,’ Leigh said. ‘I wouldn’t have survived back there. Not with the things they wanted me to do.’

  Aiden nodded, taking out his canteen and pouring some water into his cupped hand for Hitch to lap up before passing it to Leigh. ‘What happened back at the orphanage then?’

  ‘The creepy old woman with the doll rounded up a few of us soon after you left. Told us we were going on a field trip. Then she handed us over to these two mean looking men. They had guns and forced us to go with them.’

  ‘Sisters of Grace,’ Aiden said, his voice edged with disdain. ‘Some charity.’

  ‘The men marched us through town and into that rabbit place where we were locked up in those cells,’ Leigh said as tears welled up in her eyes. ‘They wanted me to do things. When I said I wouldn’t, they started hitting me.’

  Aiden put his arm around Leigh, wincing as he put pressure on the wound in his forearm. ‘It’s all right, you’re with me now.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she said, her voice muffled as she buried her face in his shoulder. As she pulled away, she caught sight of the blood on his sleeve. ‘You’re hurt?’

  ‘It’s not bad,’ he said, ‘just a graze.’

  ‘Let me see it,’ Leigh said, concern in her eyes.