Armageddon Bound

by Tim Marquitz

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  One of them just happened to be mine.

  “Get inside, gentlemen,” Marcus told me through a toothy grin. “The boss wants to see you.”

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  Ambushed

  Crouched on the floor of the van, I stared up at D’anatello wishing upon him the worst plagues and venereal diseases known to demon-kind. Abraham sat beside me, staring off into space. Though as brave as anyone I’d ever known, he didn’t look up to being kidnapped. I couldn’t blame him.

  “Let Abraham go. He’s got nothing to do with our arrangement.” I spoke to Poe, bypassing the hulking moron who pointed my stolen gun at my head. Poe shook his head, his face a mask of cultured neutrality. “I’m sorry, Mr. Trigg, we cannot do that. Baalth has requested we bring both of you to him. That is what I must do.”

  Stripped of my guns yet again, I thumped the back of my head against the van wall in frustration. I wasn’t willing to risk Abraham’s well-being just to buck Baalth, so I stayed put and tried not to let my emotions get the best of me. We rode the rest of the way in silence. A short time later, the van came to a stop and we were herded out. I stepped outside, staying close to Abraham and looked about. Rows upon rows of marble headstones spread out before my eyes, poking up out of the verdant green field that stretched out for acres. A large mausoleum painted in delicate shades of pink Page 145

  and gold stood in the center, casting its shadow over us. The bastards had brought us to Restland Cemetery. I knew the place well as it was where my buddies worked and I had been here more times than I should admit. After hours though, there was no one here to see us, working or otherwise. To the left of us were two freshly dug holes. Baalth stood beside them like a preacher offering up Last Rites. He waved us over. I could tell by the way his eyebrows met in the middle he was angry. I can’t say I cared all that much.

  “What the hell is your problem, Baalth? We were in the middle of saving your ass, but I guess that doesn’t mean anything to you. I don’t appreciate you dragging us out here.”

  “And I don’t appreciate you involving Forcalor in our business.” He postured up and stepped into my face. “What possible reason could you have for bringing him into it?”

  It seemed like everyone was on the ball today but me. “How’d you find out about that?”

  “Let’s just say a little bird told me. Now answer my question.”

  What’s the world coming to when you can’t even trust the ugly servants to be loyal? Tired of being on the receiving end, I dug my heels in. “Fine, I’ll tell you why. Your best buddy Asmoday has gone on and found himself a new friend, one with wings, a great big halo, and one hell of an inferiority complex.” The confused Page 146

  look on Baalth’s face was very satisfying. “I’m talking about Gabriel. The two of them are working together to put their collective boots in your ass. You might want to start making room.”

  Baalth looked to Abraham. “Is this true?”

  Abraham nodded. I snapped my fingers in Baalth’s face. “Over here, big fella. You haven’t earned the right to speak to him.”

  Baalth growled low in his throat. “Be careful, Triggaltheron.”

  “Or what? You’ll kill me? Oh wait, Asmoday is already working on that and he’s bringing his holy enforcer to preside over the funeral. I do feel better though, knowing I’m not gonna be the only guy getting stuffed into the ground. Maybe we can be roomies.” I gestured to the open graves. “That’s the reason I made a deal with the duke. We need an equalizer.”

  Baalth paced, his fists clenched tight. “What’s his angle?”

  I laughed. “Don’t worry, big guy, he doesn’t want a piece of your not-so-humble little pie. His mission is to take on Gabriel, leaving the rest up to us. And by us, I mean DRAC, since you’re too busy running to contribute to your own deliverance.”

  “On the backs of slaves, kingdoms are made.”

  A smug smile graced his lips as he stopped his pacing.

  “Don’t worry, mutt. I’ll do my fair share when the time is right.”

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  A chill ran down my spine. I didn’t like the way that sounded. “What’s that supposed to mean? What do you have up your sleeve?”

  He shook his head. “You just live up to your part of the deal, and I’ll worry about my end.”

  I let it go, knowing I wasn’t gonna get anywhere. Baalth was nothing, if not stubborn. My pushing him would only cause me further grief. “Now that we’re finished with the pissing contest, I need addresses for some of Asmoday’s real estate. A few of the juicier ones would be best.”

  Baalth raised an eyebrow.

  “Relax. I’m not looking to move in. I’m just looking to put a little pressure on the bastard.”

  He nodded and waved Marcus and Poe over. He turned and whispered something to the mentalist as Marcus glared at me. Poe scribbled some locations down on the back of a business card and passed it to me. I pocketed it without looking.

  “Anything else?” Baalth asked.

  “Yeah, how about you have Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Poe give us a ride into town so we can get back to work.”

  “I think we can manage that.” He turned to D’anatello. “Return Frank to wherever you found him.”

  He added, “In one piece, as much as it pains me to say.”

  Marcus snorted, before gesturing to the van. Abraham started to head that way when Poe reached Page 148

  out and laid a restraining hand on his shoulder.

  “You’ll be staying here, Mr. Solano.”

  “No he won’t.” I growled, going back to retrieve him.

  Marcus stuck the gun in my face. I stared into the black barrel, my anger building. One of these days…

  “Abraham will remain with us, for a while,”

  Baalth told me with a crooked smile. “He and I have a lot to discuss while you’re off saving the world.”

  I took another step forward and felt the cold steel of the barrel bite in as Marcus pressed it against my forehead. I was willing to risk being shot if by doing so I could rescue Abraham and I think Poe realized that. He pulled another of my confiscated guns out from beneath his jacket and pressed it into Abraham’s side.

  “I have nothing but respect for Mr. Solano, but I will not hesitate to end his life should you continue being uncooperative, Mr. Trigg.”

  I’d never seen Poe with a weapon before, but I knew he meant every word he said. He had always been a cold fish. Even worse, he was a mind-reading cold fish. I hated the thought of leaving Abraham behind. It’s not that I was afraid of what they might do to him. I was afraid of what I knew they were gonna do. Abe waved me off. “I’ll be fine, Frank. Have Rahim mobilize DRAC as necessary and do what needs to be done to end Asmoday’s threat. You have more Page 149

  important things to worry about than me.”

  “I’m not leaving you here, with him.” I pointed to Baalth.

  “I won’t hurt him, Triggaltheron. I have more respect for him than that.” He gave a nod to Abraham, then looked back to me. “Go and find the angel before Asmoday makes a meal of him.” He shooed me away.

  “I’ve prepared a surprise for our demon friend that should meet your needs sufficiently. I’ll contact you with the specifics when the time is right.”

  I felt torn, but if I didn’t focus on the job at hand, it wouldn’t matter where Abraham was. We’d all be dead. “Make it fast, Baalth. We’re up against the clock here.”

  “I understand our time restraints fully.” He smiled wide. “Now handle your business, Frank.”

  Marcus pushed me toward the van. I went grudgingly, looking back at Abraham, fighting the urge to go back for him. I could tell he didn’t like the situation anymore than I did, but he was a trooper. He’d do whatever it took to save the world, even if it cost him his life. I just didn’t want to see it come down to that.

  “If you harm him, Baalth, Asmoday will be the least of your worries,” I shouted as I was pushed into the back of
the van.

  Marcus closed the door behind me, making the smart choice of remaining outside. I wasn’t sure I’d Page 150

  have been able to restrain myself had he climbed inside with me. That would have made things messy. As it was, I’d let Abraham fall into the hands of the enemy and it didn’t get much worse than that. No, scratch that. It was gonna get worse. Even if we managed to save the world, Rahim was gonna kill me.

  I rested my head on my knees as the van pulled away. I felt like shit leaving Abraham behind, but he was right. I had a job to do. The fate of the world rested on my shoulders.

  Now would be a good time for a miracle. Page 151

  Boiling Point

  The van dropped me off at the alley where Baalth’s men had abducted us. At that point, I wasn’t so much mad as I was worried. I couldn’t get Abraham out of my head. I slammed the door to the van shut and started to storm away when the driver called out. I spun around, waiting to see what last minute BS Baalth had set into motion. My cynicism didn’t play out this time. In the driver’s hand was one of my pistols.

  “Baalth thought you might need this.” He tossed it out the window to me.

  I caught it and sighed, looking it over. At least they didn’t steal them both. I thanked the guy as he drove off, stuffing the gun into my waistband and pulling my shirt over it. It wouldn’t help to be seen waving a gun downtown. I didn’t need any more problems. I had far more than enough on my plate already. Feeling out of touch, and not a little bit adrift, I decided contacting DRAC would be my best bet. I went to a nearby phone booth and dug some change out of my pocket. I deposited fifty cents and called one of the dummy corporation numbers that would put me in touch with DRAC. I gave them the call signs, before hanging up. A few seconds later, I felt my head tingle, Rachelle’s wispy voice reverberating inside my head. Page 152

  “What can I do for you, Frank?”

  I paused for a second, not sure how to tell her what happened. I edged toward the alley and turned to face the wall. It wouldn’t do to have people think I was some lunatic carrying on a conversation with himself.

  “I’ve some bad news. Baalth has kidnapped Abraham.”

  I felt her concern through the connection. “Is he well?”

  I tried my best to sound sincere. “I don’t think they’ll hurt him, but I’m not sure he’s okay, exactly.”

  “I’ll alert Rahim and Katon. They can help retrieve him.”

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Abe thinks we need to stay focused on the task at hand. If we veer off to rescue him, we put the world in danger. He doesn’t want that on his conscience. Sadly, I agree.”

  I hated saying that, no matter how true it might be.

  “Baalth said he intends to stick to his word and go after Asmoday. He’ll pass on the specifics of what he intends before it goes down. I’ll forward them on to you as soon as I know.”

  I could hear the hesitation in her voice. She understood the situation, even if she didn’t like it. “Then we will stick to the plan.” I knew leaving Abraham in Baalth’s clutches was tearing her up as much as it was me, maybe even more so. I’d always imagined the two had a thing for each other. The pain in her voice all but confirmed it. I felt like a schmuck. Page 153

  I changed the subject to avoid rubbing salt in the wound. “Have there been any more magical hot spots popping up, recently?”

  “The last one to occur was Asmoday’s trap.”

  “What about the gates? Any traffic through them?”

  “The usual travelers, but no one out of the ordinary. I’ve been keeping a close watch hoping we’ll stumble across something, but so far there’s been nothing.”

  I shook my head, trying to think of a way to track Asmoday down before it was too late. A thought popped into my head, hard as that may be to believe.

  “What about any dead zones? You were telling me Asmoday was using some sort of magical dampener to mask the magic he was calling up. He’d have to activate them before he actually performed anything, so that’d give us a small window of detection. Have you noticed any areas where your senses drop off, maybe?”

  She took a second to think about it. “I hadn’t noticed any, but I hadn’t been looking. I’ll start another scan and see what I can find. Is there anything else?”

  “Yeah. Can you please send a message to Scarlett and ask her to meet me here? I know you’re not supposed to do stuff like that, but I don’t have time to try and track her down. I need her help with this.”

  Fortunately, Rachelle wasn’t a stickler for the rules when it helped the cause. “Of course.” She paused. Page 154

  I figured she was just off in her own world, so I waited patiently. A few seconds later, she continued. “Be careful, but do what you must. I’m sure Abraham will be fine.” She cut the contact before I could respond. I thought I heard a quiet sob right before the connection was severed. That only made me feel worse about Abraham’s kidnapping, it being my fault and all. I am a horrible friend.

  Sick to my stomach, and no longer in the mood for coffee, I figured it best to get off the street while I waited for Scarlett. I wandered around the corner and back into the alley where Abraham and I had been ambushed. I paced back and forth for a while, replaying the scene where I’d left Abraham behind. My conscience gnawed at me as I thought about the things I could have done to avoid it. Caught up in my head, I barely heard the quiet squeak of brakes at the opposite end of the alley. I looked up to see a gray van parked there, the side door sliding open. I watched in disbelief as the Black Metal trio hopped out and started toward me.

  “Not again,” I muttered to myself. You gotta hand it to them. They were nothing if not persistent. Not in the mood, I snarled. They were pissing me off. I looked the motley crew over as they stalked forward. Meinie had recovered from his injuries, no doubt thanks to Veronica and her gifts. He’d paid for that help though. His face was unhealthy thin, almost Page 155

  skeleton-ish. His clothes hung loosely from his narrow frame. He’d probably lost twenty pounds since I’d last seen him, pinned between the van and dumpster. The other two looked a little better, but not much. My ex-wife had left her mark on all of them. They looked used up, desiccated. Though in their case, looks were deceiving. As long as Veronica had her psychic hooks in, they were a threat. Stronger, faster, and armed with magical weapons, they could take me out, given the chance.

  As they spread out across the alley, I noticed Eenie had replaced the knife I’d confiscated from the demon assassin with a samurai sword of some sort. I imagined it was wrought by the same supernatural hands that had created the weapons the other two wielded. I wasn’t interested in finding out. Unlike the last time, when they’d caught me unarmed, I was prepared to fight. As they got a little closer, I whipped my gun out and went to work. I pumped three rounds into Meenie. The first two slammed into his chest, the third crashed into his nose. He didn’t even have time to scream as the back of his head exploded in a spray of crimson tendrils and gray chunks. Before his body hit the ground, I was firing at Eenie. He caught two to the face. In a flash, his head was like a melted candle, streams of ruby pouring down his neck.

  As his friends crumpled around him, their Page 156

  weapons clattering to the ground, Meinie closed on me. His eyes were like two pieces of coal, simmering with rage. He was looking for vengeance, but I was ready. He swung his short sword in a wide, downward arc, which I easily sidestepped. The blade bit into the cement, throwing up sparks as I moved behind him. Before he could spin about, I shot him in the back of the knee. He screamed like a banshee as his leg buckled and he fell, face first. I was on him like white on rice. My next shot was to his wrist, the bones shattering on impact. His sword bounced from his hand and skittered across the ground to land a few feet away.

  I added insult to injury. I stepped on his broken wrist and pressed the barrel of my .45 hard against the base of his skull.

  “E Nomine Satanas, motherfucker.” I pressed harder, his
face grinding against the rough pavement. His grunted moans made me happy. “I know my ex is a hot little number, but trust me, nothing she’s got is worth dying for.”

  He muttered something incoherent and bucked against me. Despite his wounds, he was still pretty strong, Veronica’s magic coursing through his veins. I increased the pressure on his wrist and leaned my weight into my gun. After an initial groan, he went quiet. He was smarter than he looked.

  “I’m trying to give you an out. Don’t give me any more of a reason to kill you than I already have. Page 157

  Do you understand?”

  I could feel his resistance crumbling as he thought about his options. He grunted affirmative.

  “Good. Now play nice and I won’t have to blow your balls off, you hear?”

  He gave the thumbs up gesture with his good hand and I took a step back, kicking his sword further away as I did. Moaning, he pulled himself into a seated position, his back against the wall. He looked up at me, his eyes awash with fear, his body too dehydrated to form tears. But for all his bravado, he hadn’t signed up to die.

  “How’d you find me?”

  “Veronica told us where you’d be.”

  “How did she know? Is she working with Baalth?”

  He shrugged. “No idea about Baalth. All I know is she said she could track you. That she knew where you’d be. I don’t know how she does it.”

  I thought I did. As a succubus, Veronica was drawn to the essence of life. She fed on it, devoured it, leaving behind an empty husk. I don’t mean just our marriage either. She’d always been able to seek out the most potent of humans to feed on, but it had been more of an instinctual thing. It happened without her conscious control. At least it had. We’d been separated for the last twenty years. A lot could change in that time. The possibilities were intriguing. Page 158

  “It’s too scrawny. You’ll have to throw it back,”

  a voice from behind me said, interrupting my thoughts with a start.

  I turned to see Scarlett strolling up to me.

  “We’re gonna have to stop meeting like this.” I gestured to the alley. “People are starting to talk.”