And Business Is Good_A Supernatural Action Adventure Opera

by Michael Todd

  I have a question for you, Katie began haltingly.

  All right, Pandora replied. Hit me with it.

  Katie winced and shook her head as Calvin took a particularly hard knock to the face. If your dumbass brother is eventually coming for me, don’t you think that we should start practicing like he is the one up here?

  I see where you are going with this, Pandora purred. And I like every fucking bit of it.

  Katie narrowed her eyes in determination. Then get prepared. I’m tired of this bullshit. If I need to use these powers to save my teammate and the city, Korbin will just have to deal with it.

  That’s right, girl! Preach it! Pandora cheered.

  There is a reason that the two of us were brought together, Katie said, stepping up on the ledge and breathing heavily. I think it’s because somebody out there knew we could kick some serious ass together.

  Amen! Pandora sang, Ain’t nobody gonna break-a my stride…

  Katie looked at the demon. Let me ask you…what are my chances?

  I give it forty percent. Pandora sounded uncertain.

  Katie pursed her lips, considering. Ooookay, and how confident are you that I’ll land where I should?

  Pandora’s tone was airy. You know I don’t like to guess at those things, but think of it this way. You do it—you pull that shit off—and it will be the most epic moment. It will be one of those where if the humans win they will put it in the history books, maybe build a statue like. That kind of thing.

  Riiight. Katie let out a short chuckle. I was more thinking a “thank you” from my teammate for saving his ass.

  That might happen too. Pandora sighed. You humans are so boring in your aspirations.

  Because kicking ass and saving lives is so boring, Katie retorted, pulling both her knives out and holding them to her side. Here goes nothing.

  Katie’s eye’s flashed bright red and she stepped off the six-story building, falling toward the beast below.

  Calvin groaned and lifted the collar of his shirt to wipe the blood from his lips. He folded it back down and looked at the front of it, which was now covered in blood. At least he had taken the jacket and tie off before he played with Demon Psycho 332, or whatever his name was.

  Calvin rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. “You know, I paid like a hundred bucks for this shirt.” He lifted a foot and wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Not to mention my shoes; I won’t even tell you how much they were. Let’s just say that it was Sunday church clothes kind of money on this one suit. Now you got fucking blood on it, and though my drycleaner Mrs. Wong is badass, she will frown at demon blood.”

  “What about your blood?” the demon taunted.

  Calvin gritted his teeth as the demon pulled a light post out of the ground, dragging the wiring out with it. Sparks sprayed onto the ground as he tapped it in his hand like a ballplayer with his bat.

  The demon turned toward Calvin, his voice oozing contempt. “I bet this will bash your puny little head in pretty well.”

  Calvin gave the demon a hard sneer of his own and growled, “Not that puny.”

  The demon hefted the pole into position over his shoulder. “Well, you pint-sized pecker, you are the one bleeding, not me.”

  “Oh, we can change that if you would like,” Calvin gibed. “I’m sure if I look hard enough I can find your demon balls to chop off and roll down the alleyway.”

  “It’ll be hard to do that without a head,” the demon countered, smashing the pole down right next to where Calvin was standing.

  “You motherfucker!” Calvin cursed, picking himself up from the ground. “You don’t like dark meat because we make you jealous.”

  The demon roared in anger and pulled the light post to his side again, ready to sweep the whole alleyway clear. He pulled his arm back and Calvin winced, thinking about how badly it was going to hurt.

  As the demon began to swing, Katie slammed down onto the demon’s shoulders. It felt to Calvin like the entire block shook from the shockwave. She landed hard and arced her arms down from behind her head, slamming her knives straight down through the demon’s skull into his brain.

  “Holy shit!” Calvin jumped back, shocked by what he had witnessed. “That was fucking badass.”

  “Thanks.” Katie groaned, holding on tightly to the demon’s head as he roared in pain and tromped about the alleyway.

  Katie reached down and pulled her sword from her side.

  “Don’t be lying about on the fucking job!” she screamed into the demon’s ear.

  Katie used the sword to block the pole that he was still swinging around violently. She held onto the handle of one of the knives in his head tightly and blocked several rogue advances, while the demon was screaming in pain, thrashing around, and slamming into all sorts of shit.

  His head was on fire, and she had Joshua and his knives to thank for that little fact. The demon wouldn’t even be halfway down by that point if it weren’t for the new weapons, and she wouldn’t waste the opportunity.

  “Die, you bastard!” Katie stood back up on the beast’s shoulders and pushed the knife farther into his head.

  The beast groaned and bucked, not wanting to give in, not wanting to let go of the body he had found himself in on their plane of existence. The demon shifted and Katie lost her footing, slipping down his back and onto the ground.

  She sheathed her sword and growled, “Fuck!”

  She kept dodging the beast’s maddened swipes. Calvin stood in the background, leaning against the dumpster and just watching the show.

  Katie was pretty sure he was wishing for popcorn right at that moment. It probably was quite amusing to watch her struggle like that.

  She rolled across the ground, dodging the beast’s pole again, and looked up to find a path back to her knives. She ran forward and catapulted herself off the ground from the demon’s arm to latch onto a handy metal pole sticking out of the wall, then turned her body, pushed off with her legs, and soared toward the demon. She grabbed her knife handles and planted her feet on his shoulders.

  “Fuck you, beast,” Katie growled.

  No! Pandora screamed. Don’t do it!

  It was too late. Katie had twisted her knives and yanked them out of his head.

  The demon’s eyes began to flash, and a deep chuckle moved through his body and out of his mouth.

  Katie wasn’t sure what the hell was happening, but she jumped down and moved toward Calvin, looking back at the demon. He smiled one last time, and disappeared as if into thin air. Katie knitted her eyebrows together and started kicking the trash aside, looking for the demon or dust or anything that would show her where he had gone.

  Pandora didn’t try to hide her outrage. Fucking hell! Great fucking job. Now he’s back in hell…with my brother. This will definitely not be the last we fucking see of him. What the fuck! That was so damn frustrating, Katie!

  I’m sorry! Katie apologized. I thought he would turn to dust like the others.

  You were dead wrong, Pandora grumbled, mollified.

  10

  “Shit.” Calvin groaned as he bent over and grabbed his notebook off the ground. “My back is killing me. That demon kicked my fucking ass.”

  Katie patted him on the back, which made him flinch. “You gave him hell.” She chuckled.

  Everyone came in to help clean up the area, but they kept the police presence light so they’d have fewer people to try to explain everything to. The incidents were getting harder and harder to cover up, especially since the demons were now the size of the Hulk and had a nasty habit of throwing their afternoon human snacks over the sides of buildings.

  “All right,” Calvin announced to the assembled officers, “I need everyone to gather over here. I know a lot of you are mind-blown completely from what you saw today, and I know you have a serious desire to talk to someone about that. I get that completely, but you need to make sure the only people you talk to are the therapists specifically appointed by your police chief.” He looked from face t
o face. “This is not a game. This can change everything, if the word gets out. Your job is to protect and serve your citizens. It is for the greater good of San Diego that this stays under the radar.”

  “Now,” Katie added, “if you spill the beans while you are drunk at a bar or freaking out at home with the little wifey, you will have a big problem on your hands. We have the power to make sure that you don’t remember a thing, and I don’t mean just the event. We can wipe years of your memories. I promise you will not remember the girl you’re dating, the one you just married, or the little baby you just had if you let this information slip.” She softened her tone just a touch. “We are not playing here. There is a reason that the Damned don’t really exist, at least not on paper. We are enigmas. People of the past, people who are dead to everyone who ever loved them. Our only objective is to protect you. We are the angels in the shadows, the ones who keep the cops safe while you officers protect everyone else.”

  “Think about it before you open those lips, folks,” Calvin picked up the spiel. “Because we are always watching, and your faces? They are ingrained in our minds.”

  “I have a question.” one of the officers said, raising his hand. “Can you make me forget my six-month marriage?”

  Katie chuckled as she stepped forward with a butter-wouldn’t-melt smile for the cocky officer.

  “Yes, Officer.” She made her eyes flash for a fraction of a second, just long enough to see the surprise ripple his confident expression. “It just so happens that we can.”

  “Okay, then,” said the officer croaked, swallowing.

  “I hate smartasses,” Calvin grumbled.

  “Calm down. They are just making light of it to deal with everything,” Katie told him. “Not everyone is a superhero like you.”

  “I wonder how much time we have before he comes back,” Calvin said, looking up at the roof.

  You have at least twenty-four hours, Pandora told them, but after that it’s up in the air. Both of you need food and rest. He won’t come back the same.

  “I don’t know.” Katie sighed. “But I do know he will come back stronger than before. We should get some food and rest before that happens.”

  “You’re right,” Calvin agreed, limping toward the police car so they could get a ride to their SUV. “Come on, let’s go get some donuts.”

  Calvin and Katie left the scene and headed to The Donut Bar, one of the best donut places in San Diego. Calvin and Katie went inside and picked out a dozen rings of sugary goodness and sat down in the corner with them and their coffee. She bit into one of the crème brûlée-stuffed donuts and felt the sugar rush into her bloodstream.

  Holy hell! Pandora exclaimed. This donut thing is fucking amazing. There is dough and sugar, and there is shit inside! How do they get it inside!

  They squirt it into the hole, Katie replied, licking the dusting of icing sugar from the tip of her finger.

  Heh heh heh.

  You are such a child, Katie chided. Seriously?

  I am impressed that you caught on this time without having to be told the meaning of life,” Pandora teased. “But seriously, my life was not complete until I tried this donut. Why have you hidden this from me?

  Honestly, I don’t think I have ever eaten this kind of donut, Katie confessed. They aren’t good for you, so they were off-limits for volleyball, and when I was a kid my mom didn’t spend her money on things like donuts. We were too poor for shit like that. I guess because I hadn’t had them often, I never thought about donuts as an adult.

  Pandora feigned a sob. Well, we have them now, and that is all that matters.

  Okay, but we cannot eat like gluttons again. I’ll get fat,” Katie maintained. “NOTHING tastes as good as skinny feels.”

  Pandora didn’t miss a beat. She grumbled, Except donuts. Donuts tell skinny it can go fuck itself.

  Why do you want me to be overweight? Katie asked. I’d move slowly. Slow people become victims. Dead people can’t have demons inside them, so you will end up having a happy little family reunion with your brother, at least after you get out of the depths. Maybe he will bake you a fucking cake, too.

  Still might be worth another of these donuts, Pandora grumped.

  Katie had to restrain herself from slapping her forehead, settling for a sigh instead. You are hopeless, Pandora.

  “So how does it work?” Liza asked Joshua. “Do you have to say spells?”

  “N-n-no,” he stuttered. “All you see is the fire and the coal, right? Well, underneath this is a tunnel that moves air up and ash down. It keeps the fire burning.”

  “Oh,” Liza remarked brightly, twirling her hair. “And then you stick the metal in there?”

  Joshua blushed under her gaze. “Pretty much,” he explained. “You have to get it to a certain temperature before you can put the metal in. Heat it up so it gets red and fiery, then you hit it with that hammer to shape it into what you want it to look like.”

  “So you don’t start out with a knife like that?” Liza asked.

  “No.” Joshua shook his head, pulling out a fresh billet to show her. “You start with something more like this.”

  Liza’s mouth formed a little ‘o’ of amazement. “Well, how do you do the small ones without burning yourself?”

  Joshua had trouble meeting her eyes. “You use these long tongs,” he mumbled shyly. “You grip it with these, and put it in the fire and do the same thing. When you’ve gotten it to the shape you want, you want to dip it into water to cool it off before the blade warps. That allows it to keep its shape. Then you move on to the other tools to get a sharp edge, and so on and so forth.”

  “Do you burn yourself a lot?” she wondered.

  Joshua shrugged. “I did with my old forge because it was so small, but I have these big thick gloves now, so I rarely even feel the heat except on my face and my arms. We’ve taken a lot of precautions here to keep me safe while I’m working.”

  “You are the only one who can do this,” Liza told him with a megawatt grin. “We wouldn’t want to lose you, because then there would be no business.”

  “I know, right?” Joshua laughed nervously.

  “Liza?” Mamacita called from the top of the stairs. “Come help me with something.”

  “I gotta go.” She smiled and left Joshua to get on with his work.

  When she reached the top of the stairs Mamacita grabbed her by the arm and led her into the office. She shut the door and looked at her angrily. Liza had no idea what she had done, but she never wanted to make Mamacita upset.

  “What did I do?” she asked nervously, licking her lips.

  Mamacita’s expression was flat. “What were you asking Joshua?”

  “I asked him how a forge worked, and how you bent the metal, and how you made the sharp part of a sword,” she explained slowly.

  “And that was it?”

  “Yeah.” She shrugged. “He explained it really well.”

  “Look.” Mamacita leaned forward to stress her point. “I will not allow any of the women in our home to ‘trick’ Joshua into a relationship. He has a…well, an alternative personality, I will say, and he will not understand when a woman is trying to use him for something. I know you tricky bitches. You like to get yourselves into situations with men you believe will set you free. Well, Joshua is just as imprisoned as you, although he has more money in his bank account.”

  Liza spluttered her denial. “I don’t want his money!”

  Mamacita gave her a knowing smile. “Good. When you think of Joshua, I want you to think of him as my boy—as if he were my flesh and blood.” She paused to make sure Liza was getting the message. “So if you don’t want to shit my high-heels out of your ass, you’d better treat him the right way! And I don’t mean giving him your sexual favors, like at the house. I mean like a real man, with feelings and a heart.”

  “Mamacita,” Liza said, putting her hands up. “I am sure that Joshua is a fine man, and great person. He seems very sweet. But honestly, I was j
ust interested in forging. I’ve always wanted to work with my hands and make things.”

  “Right,” Mamacita said, her hands on her hips. “Well, I can give you plenty of things to work on with your hands back at the house, and then poof—magically you’ve made money.”

  “I meant something more than just turning tricks.” Liza let out a heavy sigh. “Something I could really do, you know? Like Armani told me. He said I could do anything if I put my mind to it, and I believed him. I just have to have the right opportunity. There aren’t a lot of opportunities at the house, you know? It’s work most of the time, so when I am out, I try to learn new things. I didn’t think of Joshua in that way at all. I just liked hearing about making different kinds of weapons. He is really talented.”

  “Hmmm.” Mamacita’s mouth quirked dubiously. “He is, and we are going to leave it at that. Now, if you want to help, there are floors to be swept and walls to be painted to brighten this place up a little, and then we will run and get some food. I’m sure Joshua is starting to get hungry.”

  Liza capitulated. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you for giving me the day off from the house and letting me work here instead. I really like it. Maybe one day I’ll have a job like you, working out of an office, wearing nice clothes like your suit, and driving a car.”

  “I’m sure you can do it if you put your mind to it.” Mamacita watched her walk away. “And someone else’s, for good measure.” She rolled her eyes.

  Katie entered the team’s San Diego house, which was situated in a smaller area outside the city proper called Imperial Beach. It was quiet there. No one asked too many questions, and they had a big place right on the water. Katie hadn’t been there before, but she was more than happy to have some time in the sun and sand.

  “I’m gonna go grab a shower,” Calvin told her. “There are clothes—bathing suits, etc.—up in the bedrooms. Feel free to do whatever you like, but don’t go far. Korbin and the team will be here soon.”

  “Gotcha,” Katie replied, pulling up a chair. “I think I might be just fine sitting here in this chair staring out at the ocean. I’ll take one later.”