by J. N. Chaney
Despite trying to give my sister the benefit of the doubt, I was moving stealthily through the halls like I did when infiltrating a target’s home.
Several grim scenarios tumbled through my head. Maybe her story about coming to visit me was just to gain access to the complex. We hadn’t spoken since our falling out. Why would she want to reconcile now?
If she wasn’t here to see me, why was she here? Maybe she wanted to kill me, but if that were the case, she would have done it already. Her possible ties to Elias Hencher could mean she was hired after the others botched the job. The timestamps on the feed certainly matched the timeline.
But Mable was the closest thing to a mother we’d ever had—except maybe Pearl—so why would she go after the old nun? Was this really just about getting some money for a ship?
The kitchen was abandoned as well. Panic started building in my chest. I didn’t want to believe Clem came back here to hurt anyone, but as I searched for her, old memories about previous jobs we did together resurfaced. I remembered her brutality, and the sheer joy she took in murder. I had no idea what kind of violence was still inside her now after all our time apart.
Alec certainly seemed to think she was a threat. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent me the intel. That case wasn’t something I was actively working on, so he must have known Clem was here today. Which means, he realized the danger and saw fit to warn me. No doubt, Alec sent Mulberry the exact same information, but I had to assume he was still asleep. The only reason I had seen it when I did was because I awoke in the middle of the night.
If Clem infiltrated the complex to learn Mable’s whereabouts, it stood to reason we had an emergency on our hands. I needed to alert Mulberry. Thankfully, his quarters were only a short walk from here.
As I moved faster through the hall, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. I almost missed it, thanks to the dim, evening lighting.
Down the adjacent hallway, a leg stuck out of a doorway. As I neared it, my chest contracted as the sight of a dead body took me by total surprise.
I already knew who it was. The dark, wavy hair was a dead giveaway. Alonso had a stab wound through the temple of his head.
That wasn’t all. There were seven additional stab wounds throughout his torso, mostly in his stomach, but a couple in the chest.
I closed my eyes as I stood up again. I couldn’t deny who was responsible for this. Nausea gripped my stomach, a deep quivering in my gut that just wouldn’t let go.
“Gods, Clem,” I whispered, trying to keep my panic from turning into full-blown hysteria. I had to stay focused if I wanted to stop her from hurting anyone else.
In the adjacent room, Bart had four stab wounds in his back. He was probably nearby when Clem attacked Alonso and he ran away, either out of fear or to call for help. She’d caught up to him, taken him down, and finished him off by slashing his throat. These poor fools never stood a chance.
I’d never liked either of them, but seeing them dead was something else. It didn’t make me feel better about what they’d done to us when we were kids. It didn’t bring any satisfaction. It was just empty and wrong, and at this moment, I felt it.
Clem had tracked some of Bart’s blood on the floor, making it easier to follow her path. She’d gone in the direction of Mulberry’s room, the same as me. I thought about using my comm but remembered I’d left it in my dresser drawer, and I wanted to curse myself. I was so stupid.
I also hadn’t brought my gun. Perhaps that was because I knew Clem would never hurt me. She could have done that when I was asleep, but instead she’d simply left me there alone. Still, I’d let my emotions and confusion get the best of me, and I’d slipped up. It was too late to go back to my room at this point. I’d have to hurry to Mulberry.
A man’s scream erupted from down the corridor.
“Godsdammit,” I snapped, breaking into a sprint.
Everything was quiet now. The only sound was my heart pounding in my ears and my bare feet pattering over the floor. The trail of Bart’s blood had faded, but I wasn’t looking for it anymore. I was looking for another victim.
Whose body would I find?
A crack of light caught my eyes, coming from a distant door. This one wasn’t in the hall but across another room. I knew that was where Galion slept, and I was drawn to go and look.
As I eased the door open, Clem’s old knife-fighting instructor rested on his stomach. He was a smaller man, but he was a killer, born and bred. Clem had sliced a small yet deep cut in his lower back, right around the kidney.
Despite the surprise attack, he’d reacted in time to grab his own knife that he was still clutching in his right hand, and it had blood on it. It wasn’t much, so I wasn’t sure how effective his strike had been, but Clem was nowhere to be found. She likely hadn’t slowed much.
Unlike Alonso and Bart, Galion’s death had been quick. That much was evident. There was no hatred in it, nothing torturous in his execution. It had been precise and immediate. Almost respectful.
I paused before leaving, clenching my jaw as I took the blade out of his lifeless fingers. It felt wrong to take this from him, but I had no other choice.
My eyes ran up the rest of the hallway. A few red drops lay in the center of the corridor. Sloppy work for her, but she had to know that already. Maybe she didn’t care.
The sounds of a struggle from down the hall made me pick up my pace. I was sprinting by the time I skidded to a halt at Mulberry’s door.
I paused. The door was usually closed, but it hung open now with a trail of blood leading through it.
I clenched my jaw and gripped the knife tighter in my hand before stepping in closer. I heard Mulberry’s recognizable growl, but breathless and in pain.
“It’s over, old man,” said Clementine. “Sorry to do it like this, but I need to find that woman.”
Mulberry coughed before answering. “Well, you’d best kill me now, girl, because I’m not telling you shit.”
My body tensed as I rounded the corner and looked into the room. Clementine stood over Mulberry, facing away from the door with a pair of bloody daggers in her hands. Mulberry was on the floor in front of her, propped up on one hand while the other covered a wound in his stomach. Blood seeped through his fingers.
Clementine laughed. “You’d sound a lot more intimidating if you weren’t on the ground bleeding to death.”
Clementine’s eyes held their familiar manic look. Her lips curled up in a sneer, and her nose flared with quickened, frantic breaths.
She looked like a predator about to go in for the kill.
“Clem, stop!” I yelled without meaning to. All my training told me to be quiet, take her by surprise, but this was different.
I wanted to talk in an attempt to stop her, not kill her. Give her a chance to fix it and make it like it was before.
She turned around, her crazed look locking onto me. She was no longer standing over a fresh kill but facing a threat.
“Please stop,” I whispered.
Her eyes shifted from mine to the knife in my hands, and she circled around to Mulberry, placing her blade at his throat.
“Drop it,” she growled, scurrying behind him and holding his neck.
I reached out a hand. “Please—”
“I said, drop it!” She pressed the knife deeper, splitting Mulberry’s skin. A line of blood ran along his neck and into his shirt.
My knife clattered to the floor. Mulberry narrowed his eyes at the knife before relaxing in Clem’s grip.
The sight of him like this shook me more than I expected. He’d always been so strong and full of vigor, never one to submit to anyone. Ever since I’d met him all those years ago, back when Sister Mable dropped us off, I had thought of him as unstoppable. Seeing him so helpless as Clem threatened his life, numbed me inside.
“What are you doing here, Abby?” she asked, eerily calmer than before, almost like she was a different person.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
>
“Abby,” Mulberry cut in. “Get out of here. Get help. Find Pearl and—”
Clementine cut him off with a hard punch to his head. “Shut up!” she screamed. “Can’t you see that I’m having a conversation with my sister?”
He gritted his teeth. The wound in his belly had bled through his shirt, so much that I could tell it was serious. She’d done that deliberately, no doubt to get information from him, but he’d bleed out if we didn’t do something soon.
I circled around, keeping my distance as I slowly moved towards the fireplace.
Clem looked back at me, immediately relaxed. “What were we talking about?”
“You were explaining just what in the hell is going on,” I said, keeping my voice low and even like I was trying to soothe a wild animal. “I’d really like to understand why you’ve come all the way here to do this, turning over our home—”
“Your home,” she interrupted. “This place was never mine. Not really.”
“—and why you’re killing the man that took us in,” I finished without pausing at her interruption.
“Don’t you get it?” she asked, scoffing. “You said it yourself, remember? You said you wanted to leave with me and get away from this place. We were never meant to live in a place like this, doing whatever this old fool told us.”
“He gave us a home when no one else would. He fed us, taught us how to survive, and loved us. Look at him, Clem. That man you’re killing is the closest thing to a father you or I have ever had, but you’re just going to—”
She shook her head, furiously. “No, no, no! Fuck him! He doesn’t care about us! Don’t you remember what happened with Alonso and Bart? This bastard let it happen. They were going to—” She paused, swallowing. “He didn’t kick them out. He didn’t send them away. He just put them on some extra kitchen work and that was it! He’s not a father to anyone, Abby. Fathers don’t betray. They protect!”
“But he has protected us!” I pleaded. “Every step of the way, he’s tried his best to help. You’ve just blinded yourself from it. You’ve—”
She laughed. “Says the girl who hasn’t seen real pain. You don’t know anything, Abigail. I made sure you didn’t have to suffer through anything. Don’t you remember? I looked after you! Me! Not him!” She clenched Mulberry by the hair, staring down at him with wide, terrible eyes, and then she shook her head. “All that matters is our dream, Abby. Don’t you want to leave with me and be free of this? We could get our own ship, and all we’d have to do is kill a few more people.”
“A few more people?” I echoed, taken aback by the absurdity of such a statement. “You’re talking about the only good people we’ve ever known! Mable and Mulberry never did anything to you. You’ve twisted everything in your head so you can blame them both, but the truth is, they were the only people who ever tried to help us. You could have saved your money by staying here with me. You didn’t have to leave. You didn’t have to do what you’re doing right now!”
“Murder is murder!” she yelled. “You think you’re better than me because this old man tells you that you’re going after bad people? We’re all bad people, Abby. Look at us!”
Mulberry was barely conscious. His eyelids were drooping halfway. Any second now, he was going to pass out.
Noticing my concerns, Clementine scoffed and shook her head. “He’s fine. I didn’t hit anything vital.” She yanked his hair, forcing him back awake. “Isn’t that right, you old crook? Hm?”
As Clem’s gaze left me, I moved toward the fireplace’s tool stand right beside me holding a brush, a dustpan, a pick, and a poker.
Clem looked at me again after nudging Mulberry back into a state of semi-consciousness. “Look, I’m sure this isn’t exactly how you imagined our reunion. Neither did I really, but it’s how it has to be. We’re here, so let’s make the best of it. Help me finish this job so we can get our ship and be free of all of this.”
“Killing Mulberry and Mable shouldn’t be part of that plan, Clem. You had your own career going. You could’ve done whatever you wanted.”
She pointed at Mulberry with her knife. “Did you really think this bastard would just let me run around on my own without his supervision? They would have sent someone after me eventually. Possibly even you, thinking that I wouldn’t kill you. I’m just taking action before it gets to that point. If I can score a ship in the process, why should I turn that down?”
I shook my head. “No,” I said, sharply. “Mable walked away. He let her go, even though he loved her, even though she could have betrayed him later. He still did it, because Mulberry is a good and decent man. He would have done the same for us.”
She laughed, sounding frantic. “You’re so delusional, Abby. I know what they’re about. Mulberry and Sister Mable were busy in their early days. You think what I do is bad? They did a hell of a lot worse.” She glared down at him. “That’s right. I know all about your sordid little past. I know what you’ve done.”
I sighed, my shoulders sagging. “So, this is what you want,” I said, quietly.
“Look, Abby, step back and think. Killing Mulberry is just a means to an end for me, but consider what we stand to gain. We’ll have access to all the organization’s assets. All their contacts, money, and even this complex. We can sell it or use the network for ourselves.” She shrugged. “All we have to do is kill everyone here.”
“Put the knives down, Clem,” I said, forcing the resistance out and focusing on what I had to do. “Or I’ll make you.”
“Don’t make jokes, Abby. It doesn’t suit you,” she said, rolling her eyes.
I grabbed the poker in the stand, holding it like a sword. It was still warm from the fire.
Clem chuckled. “You know I love you, Abby, but in what universe do you think you’d ever be able to hurt me?”
I gritted my teeth. “I’ll do whatever it takes to snap you out of this delusion.”
Clem flashed that condescending smile of hers.
“There’s something wrong with you,” I said. “Something that broke a long time ago. It’s not your fault. It’s okay. I was there. I understand it. Put those knives down, and we’ll leave this place for good. I’m giving you the chance, but this is the last time.”
Her smile turned into a sneer. “Go to hell and take that pathetic offer with you.” She glared down at Mulberry, and her hand tensed, indicating she was about to do the thing I feared most.
I moved before I had time to think, springing towards her. She wasn’t going to slit his throat like she had the others. I wouldn’t let her.
I clutched the fire poker in my hand, then threw it towards Clementine like a javelin.
She yelped as it dug into her flesh with enough force to make her let go of the knife. I couldn’t tell if I’d broken any bones, but the impact had been enough to give me the chance I needed to act. She had another dagger, and she wouldn’t be so dramatic about trying to kill Mulberry on the second try, which meant I had to hurry.
I came in close, knowing it would give her the advantage, but reversed my strike at the last second, swinging at her head.
Clem was already dodging. She let Mulberry go, rolling away and jumping to her feet. That murderous gleam was in her eyes again, reflecting the firelight. She rubbed her arm where I’d hit it and held her other blade up.
“It didn’t have to be like this, Abby,” she said.
I swung the poker at her face. She leaned her head back to dodge. I backhanded another strike, hammering the poker into her ribs. This time, I heard and felt a soft crack as at least one rib broke.
She brought her arm down to trap the poker against her body, twisting to pull it out of my hand. I let it go, coming closer and hammering my elbow across her cheekbone.
Her head snapped back, but right away, I could tell I’d made a mistake. Her hand came back around, still holding a knife. I ducked down, bunching my body up, preparing for impact.
It came. I’d managed to avoid her gutting me like Mulberry, but th
e knife buried itself into my hip. The pain knocked the breath out of me, but it also sent my mind into overdrive.
Galion had managed to get one of Clem’s knives when she’d hit him from behind. He had acted on instinct, obviously, but I needed to disarm her like he did. Somehow.
I dropped my elbow on her arm, loosening her grip on the knife and then twisting my body around. Locked in my body as the knife was, I wrenched it free from her hand and hammered my fist into her broken rib. She winced and grunted in pain, backing away.
I reached around, trying to draw the knife out. It hadn’t worked out so well for Galion, but I needed an advantage. I couldn’t beat Clem in an even fight.
She recovered quickly, and before I could start pulling the knife out, she roared and charged at me. I didn’t move quickly enough, and she tackled me, gripping one of my thighs and lifting as she shoved. I hit the floor hard with a loud thud, gasping for breath as the impact pushed the knife deeper into my side.
Clem punched me hard in the gut. My training kicked in, and my legs caught her midsection, keeping her from mounting me.
The horrible look was in her eyes again, that manic need to kill. She’d drawn blood, and she wanted more. She was even grinning as her fists rained down on my body, knocking the breath out of me. I scrambled backward, trying to ward off her attacks. She grabbed the knife jutting out of me, yanking it painfully.
I screamed as the blade twisted, sending jolts of agony through me. I pushed her away desperately, feeling like I was going to pass out.
“Oh, no you don’t,” she hissed at me, trying to pull the knife out, but I reacted by kicking her in the face. Hard. The blow staggered her to her feet, stumbling backward. I turned around and tried to crawl away.
My hand connected with the hard rubber grip of a knife. I clutched it out of instinct and looked up in surprise. Mulberry’s eyes locked with mine. He’d handed me the knife I’d knocked out of Clem’s hand. His eyes glanced up behind me, and I turned to see Clem rushing forward, bloodlust in her eyes.
Knife in hand, I twisted around as Clem closed in on me.
