The Demon Generals’ hands dropped toward the guns stuck in their waistbands. Sirens blared and red and blue lights flashed as several cop cars screamed down the street and uniformed officers popped up from behind two unmarked SUVs on the other side of the street.
The gang members dropped to their knees and laced their fingers together behind their heads as the cops swarmed them.
Trey laughed and reached into a brown paper bag to pull out his Nana’s specialty: a jelly and butter sandwich. Normal butter, not peanut butter, which was for bitch-ass motherfuckers.
“There goes some of my competition. Who knew doing a good thing could help my motherfucking ass so much?”
James stared at Shay. “Your theory?”
The tomb raider averted her eyes and took a deep breath. “You’re not from Earth, Brownstone. That’s what I think.”
“Nah.”
Shay’s gaze snapped back his way. “Nah?”
“They checked that shit. I don’t know all the details, but they had some sort of way of doing a magical test to check if I was from Oriceran or traveled there.”
“Yeah, I know you’re not from Oriceran.”
Now it was James’ turn to be surprised. “You know?”
Shay stepped forward until she was so close her hot breath fanned across his face. She grabbed his cheeks with her hands and tilted his head down until he was looking straight at her. She let her hands drop to his shoulders.
James’ heart rate increased.
What the fuck is she doing?
Shay sighed. “Before I tell you this you’ve got to know something. No matter if what I say is true I still give a shit about you, okay?”
James’ stomach tightened. Nobody started an explanation that way who didn’t end with some reveal like a person was the direct descendant of Cain or some other shit.
The bounty hunter swallowed. “Shay, you don’t give a shit about any man.”
Shay chuckled. “Well, I didn’t, and maybe I still don’t. But this is different, because you’re not just any man.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“You’re from another world.” Shay lifted a hand. “And I don’t mean Oriceran.”
“Okay, now what the fuck does that mean?” James shook his head, totally lost.
“It’s simple, Brownstone. You’re from a different planet. Not Oriceran. Like alien, from the stars. Little-green-men-in-spaceships kind of aliens.”
James stumbled back until he hit the door, then ran a hand over his face.
Strange birthmarks. Ridges. He’d just assumed they were minor deformities. They made him ugly, but they hadn’t slowed him down.
“You really think so?” James asked quietly.
“Yeah, I do. Look, after everything you told me, I’m guessing you were sent here somehow by your parents to keep you safe.”
“And the amulet? You think that was to keep me safe?”
“I don’t know. Some of the glyphs I’ve been able to decipher don’t really make it seem like it’s a protection thing...not much.” Shay blew out a breath. “It’s a weapon, really. That’s my theory.” She frowned. “No, that’s not right. It’s not so much a weapon as a tool for turning someone into a weapon, I think. A few of those glyphs have something to do with war.”
James ran his hand over his shirt until he felt the lump of the amulet. “I’m some sort of living weapon?”
“I guess. Maybe.” Shay shrugged. “I can’t be sure. So, yeah, it’s a good thing to maybe not use it 24/7.”
“But you want me to use it against the Harriken?”
“This isn’t a bounty, Brownstone. This is a war. Use it this time, then dial it back until we understand it.”
James pulled out the amulet with its metal separator still attached and stared at it. “I’ve thought a lot about why I became a bounty hunter. I wondered if I did it to get revenge for Father Thomas, or because I watched too much Lone Ranger as a kid. If what you’re saying is true…fuck, I’m just becoming what I was supposed to be.” He gritted his teeth. “I don’t know if I like the idea that I’m some sort of weapon.”
“A weapon’s not evil or good, Brownstone. It’s all about who’s holding it. Come on, you have to know that by now. You could have been one evil son of a bitch, but you’re not.” Shay snorted. “I was an evil son of a bitch, and I don’t even have your abilities.”
“If I’m the weapon, who is holding me?”
Shay shrugged. “For now, I guess maybe me?”
James chuckled. “Don’t know how I feel about that.”
“Put your big-boy pants on and let’s go kill some Harriken. You’ll feel better after that.”
23
Grandfather sighed when a Harriken subordinate ran into the room. The Harriken leader looked up from the small table he was kneeling in front of and waited for the man to speak.
His subordinate bowed deep. “Grandfather, most of the reinforcements from Osaka, Nagoya, Yokohama, and Kyoto have arrived. A large group from Sapporo have arrived as well, but others have been held up.”
“Excellent. I’m unconcerned about the stragglers. They won’t be able to share in the stories of our glory, but I’m sure that we have more than sufficient men to battle Brownstone now. “
Grandfather stroked his chin. The bulk of the might of the Harriken were now concentrated in the Tokyo headquarters. Many would undoubtedly die during Brownstone’s attack, but there was no way the foreign bounty hunter could defeat the strongest and brightest of the Harriken in the heart of their empire in the greatest city in the world.
No, the legend of James Brownstone would end at the hands of the Harriken. He would be the example that even the strongest and greatest of men was nothing before their powerful organization.
It was fortunate that the Harriken spies in the police department tipped the group off that the police were going to isolate their area. When Grandfather had received that news he’d immediately put out the order for reinforcements. If they’d waited until they saw the police deploy it might have been too late. Recognizing that his men would defeat Brownstone wasn’t the same thing as believing it wouldn’t be difficult.
A drone spotted Brownstone driving in their general direction, but he’d jammed the machine, and now they couldn’t be sure when he would attack—only that it was soon. Not only that, but he had a companion. A woman. They could only assume she was an associate with at least some similar level of lethality.
Unfortunately, they hadn’t gotten a good image of her face from the drone’s camera so they couldn’t identify her.
Twice the danger for twice the glory.
The man’s heart raced with an excitement he hadn’t felt in decades. The Harriken had grown too far and too fast because their enemies were unworthy and weak.
Brownstone had to be destroyed to reclaim their honor, but the man had provided a valuable service. He’d reminded the Harriken that victory was always fleeting.
“And the authorities?” Grandfather inquired. “What are they doing now?”
Brownstone was only one man, and his whore was only one woman. Two people, even powerful people, would be manageable. Hundreds of police storming the building would be far more difficult to handle.
“They’re doing nothing.”
“Nothing?”
His subordinate frowned. “Nothing besides keeping people out of the area. We haven’t seen any anti-magic teams. No special assault teams, and only a few drones. They’ve brought in a lot of patrol officers, but they’ve let our men through with no resistance. They are also staying a huge distance from the building. They actually moved their men farther back than when they set up.”
Grandfather narrowed his eyes. “Cowards. They don’t even intend to fight.” He sneered. “They will let this foreigner fight for them.” He laughed. “No matter. It makes this far less difficult. Once Brownstone is dead, perhaps the police will know our wrath. I thought they respected our right to rule the underworld, but the
first chance they get they try to kill us. Their hopes are misplaced in this man and his whore.”
“Are they?” The man looked away. “Maybe we should consider other options.”
“Other options? You suggest we flee from our headquarters? From this, the heart of the Harriken empire?”
The Harriken underling swallowed. “Brownstone has killed so many. Are we sure we can win? The men in America weren’t weak.”
“No, but they weren’t led by me.” Grandfather looked down at the enchanted Masamune tachi lying across his table. “Brownstone is powerful. No one denies that, and I will grant him the respect he’s earned as a worthy foe, but he’s just a man. He has trinkets, but so do we. He bleeds, and his heart can stop.” He nodded at the sword. “I trust that our bravest men have been given our best weapons?”
“Yes, Grandfather. We’ve taken everything out of the vault. Special teams have been set up on each floor.”
“Damage to the building is irrelevant. We can always repair it. Does everyone understand that?”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
The Harriken leader ran his finger along the magical blade. “All this is as it should be. Destiny has guided us to this moment. We should have never relied on pathetic hitmen or assassins. We should have sent an invitation to Brownstone and challenged him directly. No matter. Once he dies today no one will ever question the Harriken again, and our power will stretch to every city on this planet.” He curled his hand into a fist. “Come, Brownstone. Come to your death.”
“This was easier than I thought it would be,” Shay told James as they stepped out of a maintenance tunnel into the underground parking lot beneath the Harriken headquarters. “Their electronic security is pretty pathetic.”
James lowered the two heavy duffel bags he’d been carrying over his shoulders to the ground and adjusted his backpack. “Because they think they are too badass for anyone to mess with them.”
“Yeah, but they also know we’re coming.”
James tossed Shay one of the duffle bags. “They also expect me to kick open the front door.”
“That is more your style. Well, we still have to execute the next part of your plan.” Shay opened the duffel bag.
“This time I’ll try to be more thorough.” James shrugged. “I don’t want to have to travel again to deal with Harriken fuckers.” He started pulling plastic explosive charges from his duffel bag. “I’m no demolitions expert. Just set ‘em up at all the supports, I guess.”
“We brought enough to blow up half of Tokyo. Did you make sure the cops pulled their perimeter back?”
“Yeah.”
Shay nodded and pulled out explosives from her bag as well, then jogged over to a concrete pillar and pulled off an adhesive strip to place the charge on it. “Man, look at all these sweet cars.”
James glanced around the parking garage. A good eighty percent were shiny sports cars, with a few creepy vans for good measure. Couldn’t be a proper criminal gang without a few creepy vans for when you needed to grab someone, put a bag over their head, and toss them inside. He spotted only a handful of trucks.
Don’t these fuckers ever have to haul anything?
He placed a few more charges. “Need more trucks, especially Fords.”
Shay laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure a bunch of Japanese gangsters are going to ride around Tokyo in American-made trucks. That makes perfect sense.”
James shrugged. “Quality is quality. Ford makes good trucks.”
“Yeah, I’ll stick to my Fiat.”
The pair spent the next five minutes planting the rest of their charges.
With the first step of the plan finished, James pulled a small triangular amulet that appeared to be made of frosted quartz from his bag and slipped it around his neck.
Shay peered at him. “Another amulet? Double bling? What, are you a rapper now, Brownstone?”
James grunted. “Yeah, Sir Kicks-Ass-A-Lot.” He pulled out an identical amulet and tossed it to Shay.
The tomb raider snatched it out of the air and eyed it with suspicion. “Another loan from the Professor?”
“Yeah.”
“That man must be expecting a hell of a dirty-limerick show.”
James grimaced. “Don’t remind me.” He gestured at the necklace. “Put it on, and don’t lose it if you don’t want to die.”
“That’s reassuring. I don’t recognize it. What does it do?”
“You’ll see soon enough.” James then fished out a little clay urn with cuneiform symbols near the top and set it on top of some asshole’s bright-yellow GTO.
Fucking gaudy. It’s a good thing I’m blowing it up.
The bounty hunter grunted as he remembered the Professor’s words about the urn.
And I’ve brought you another present, lad. This one you don’t even have to bring back. Some things are useful, but we shouldn’t like using them. Kind of like nuclear weapons that way.
“Okay,” Shay said, “and what does that Sumerian urn do?”
“You’ll also see that soon enough. Basic version is, it kicks a lot of ass.”
Shay laughed. “Of course.”
Fifteen minutes later James and Shay were back outside removing the last of their supplies from the trunk of the rental car. They dropped their backpacks into it after retrieving all the goodies.
“Hope this car doesn’t get blown up,” the bounty hunter mumbled as he closed the trunk. “I’d like to go a while without having to replace a rental car.”
Eventually, no one’s gonna rent me a car.
“It’s like I told you before. I couldn’t spot any snipers with the drone. I think these assholes believe they can take us as long as they get us inside.” Shay pointed toward the glass doors in the distance. “You can even see a few of the fuckers watching us, so if they wanted to start dropping bullets on high toward us they could.”
James looked that way. Shay was right. The Harriken might not have caught them in the parking garage, but they knew they were there. Now it was time to give them the show they expected of him.
He picked up a rocket launcher he’d hidden on the opposite side of the car and the men near the doors scattered as James hoisted it to his shoulder.
James glanced at Shay. “Okay, I think I have their attention. You ready?”
The tomb raider nodded grimly. “Yeah, I’ll head to the side door. Give me about a minute to get into position after the first shot.”
James nodded. “Just so you Harriken assholes know,” the bounty hunter muttered to himself, “this is very, very fucking personal.” He launched the rocket.
24
The rocket flew toward the entrance, exploding on impact and sending a plume of fire, smoke, and glass fragments into the air.
James waited about a minute, then grabbed the second rocket from the ground, loaded the launcher, and aimed again.
“This shit’s fun. I should do this more often.”
The second rocket zoomed through the demolished entryway deep enough that only the loud boom and the smoke spilling out proved it hit anything. A few distant screams sounded.
Sorry, douchebags.
James yanked out his .45 and jogged toward the smoke-spewing maw that had once been the entrance to the Harriken’s headquarters. His arrival at the ruins of the entrance confirmed the destruction. Glass, wood, and metal were strewn about the entrance along with several charred bodies.
“Seems like I keep fucking up your doors.”
Movement on his left had him spinning with his gun raised. The source was Shay, her gun in her hands.
“Killed three guys on the way here,” the woman told him with a grin. “Things aren’t starting out well for the home team.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
They charged down the hallway and a half-dozen Harriken spun around the corners, sub-machine guns ready. Shay and James put them down without even slowing their pace.
The amulet whispered in the back of James’ mind, but it wasn’t as in
sistent today. Maybe it didn’t care because it was getting exactly what it wanted: lots of sacrifices.
You like that, you angry alien piece of shit? Or have you been telling me to stop this whole time and finally just gave the fuck up?
The heavy footsteps of reinforcements keyed James into the need to ready a frag grenade, so he pulled the pin and tossed it. The new arrivals didn’t even have time to realize what was happening before they died in a shower of flame and shrapnel.
“Yeah, take that, fuckers!”
The roar of a rocket sounded from behind him. James spun to see a bloodied man holding a rocket launcher. A triumphant smile appeared on his face just before he collapsed, screaming, “Die, oni!”
“Fuck,” James yelled.
Shay leapt into a nearby hallway as the bounty hunter threw himself to the ground. The rocket exploded into the wall and the force slammed James into the other wall. The amulet’s whispers became more insistent.
Oh, it’s not okay when I got blown up. Thanks for the newsflash.
“Brownstone?” Shay shouted. “You still alive?”
James pushed himself off the ground, wiping some blood from a minor cut. A few minor burns and lacerations were a small price to pay for being caught in a rocket explosion. The amulet might be whispering more, but it was still keeping his ass alive.
“Talk about ironic reversal!” Shay laughed.
“I’m glad you found that funny.”
“You’ve got to admit it was a little funny.”
The bounty hunter shrugged. “I killed people when I used mine.” He took point and rushed off without another word.
They jogged farther down the hall and the door to the main stairs came into sight. Several Harriken popped out of side rooms and got off rounds, but when their bullets struck the amulet-enhanced James he just grunted. Shay and James’ counterattack left the hallway littered with bodies and the walls splattered with blood.
Bring The Pain_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Page 18
