1 + 2

by Kristie Lynn Higgins

  Down stairs...

  "What's going on?" Kat asked as she and Kim walked into the living room.

  Johnson pulled his gun. "We believe the Closers are making their move." He took Andrews' H.H.C. and watched the video feed.

  Outside...

  The mountain of a man emptied the gas container and set it on the stoop. Nikolai removed the Thompson Submachine Gun from its case and aimed it up in the air as if posing for a gangster photo, and then he removed a lighter, turned to the camera, and flicked it on. A small flame came to life.

  "Shoot him before he lights the gas!" Andrews shouted, moving toward the front door.

  "Wait!" Johnson yelled. "You could ignite the liquid with your gun fire, and that antique he's holding will cut you in half. Besides that..." He panned the camera, searching the street. "Wasn't there supposed to be two Closers?"

  Glancing over Johnson's arm to the H.H.C., Kat peered at the video and replied, "Yes, maybe he's trying to distract us." She turned to the kitchen. "I'm going to check the back door." Kat hurried through the kitchen and into the laundry room, unlocking the knobs as she went and then cautiously opened the door to the backyard. All seemed fine, but... There was a petroleum scent on the wind, and it was more than the smell of Tainted Rain; it was gasoline! She wondered if she was smelling the gas from the front. No, it wasn't faint, so it had to be close. Kat glanced at the wooden fence and rushed back into the house, making sure to lock the doors behind her.

  In the living room...

  "What did you find?" Johnson asked.

  "The back fence is doused with gas and that leaves both our exits blocked." She moved to his side to watch the video feed. "My guess is the second Closer is waiting somewhere outback." The camera feed showed Nikolai standing on the stoop with the lit lighter in his hand as a breeze whipped the small flame.

  "What is he waiting for? Do they plan on burning us out?" Andrews asked.

  "More like lure us out," Kim answered. "Death by fire doesn't pay that much. There's property damage the Closer is liable for and that comes out of their pay." Both bodyguards gave her an odd glance, so she added, "Or so I've heard."

  Kimberly's view...

  Hades! I'm not very good at keeping my mouth shut, and it might get me killed.

  End Kimberly's view...

  "If we don't make a move soon, they will set the fires," Johnson said.

  "What do we do?" Andrews asked.

  "What if... What if the Closers are not sure of their target?" Kat looked to Johnson. "Will they still take the shot?"

  "They aren't supposed to," he answered. "Why do you ask?"

  "I have a plan, but it'll leave everyone in the open. Are you sure they will light the gas?" Kat asked.

  "Very sure," Johnson answered. "If we don't come out of the house like they hope, either way by threat or for real, they'll get us outside."

  "I agree," Kim said. "Closers don't bluff. He'll set the fire if we don't go outside."

  "Gather everyone together." Kat grabbed her backpack from the couch and put her Ravlek vest on over her jacket. "We don't have much time."

  Chapter Forty

  Plans Into Action

  Fifteen minutes earlier...

  The raven landed next to the wolf in an alley beside the Bes Hotel, and the wolf looked to the large bird with its golden-yellow eyes. Across the street was Melissa's safe house. The raven cawed and took once more to the dark sky and from its lofty view, the large bird looked over the vicinage and surveyed the area. Death would soon be on the wind.

  About a block away from Melissa's safe house, Nikolai sat in the Cadillac. He removed his suit jacket, laid it on the back seat, reached into the glove box, and removed the Glock 19. "It is time. Are you ready, my sister? We have been given the go ahead."

  "Yes." Natasha checked the wrist sheathes and whispered to her knives, "Do not worry, my Sweets. You will taste blood soon enough."

  "Then let us begin our job. There are no restrictions on which Closing we perform first."

  "I am pleased Voice gave us the go ahead on an early Closing for the Phoenix."

  Nikolai tucked the Glock 19 in a holster strapped to his back, grabbed a box, opened it, and removed a Winnow Mask type D. He looked over the full head gear and decided the military version would do nicely. They won't have to wear other masks for the WM-D would keep their identities from prying eyes. He opened the ash tray under the vehicle's console and removed a plain metal lighter. Nikolai put the WM-D on, grabbed his jacket from the back, exited the car, and placed the jacket on. He put the lighter in its pocket and headed for the trunk.

  Natasha threw her coat in the backseat, put on her WM-D, and joined her brother as he opened the back. "Oh... That smell. It is awful!" She waved her hand in front of her mask and motioned inside. "I can smell that thing even through the filter."

  "I almost forgot I grabbed it." Nikolai looked at the thing in the trunk. "What you smell is the smell of urine."

  "Are you going to use that thing now?" his sister asked.

  "No, not yet. It might come in handy later." Nikolai punched the thing in the face, rolled it on its side, and removed the Thompson Submachine Gun's case and a gasoline can. He set both items on the sidewalk and shut the trunk. "Tasha, are you clear on the plan?" he asked over the Winnow Mask's transmitter.

  "Yes, very clear." She straightened her red leather outfit, grabbed a gasoline can, her satchel, and started across the street.

  A few minutes passed, and her brother crossed. A couple walking down the sidewalk looked up and saw the man in the WM-D, his gasoline can, and gun case. They turned and went back the way they came. Nikolai laughed and made his way up to the stoop. He threw the gas on the house, removed the Tommy, and lit the lighter. "Alright you muckers, I'm the gee picked for this Closing, so let's do this," he shouted and then said over the WM-D transmitter, "Tasha, I'm in position."

  "As am I." Natasha stood on the roof of an adjacent house overlooking Melissa's backyard. "One of them has come out. She is the woman who was with the Phoenix. I am taking aim. It is too late, she has gone back in."

  "No matter," Nikolai replied. "They should flee the house soon and then we will have our fun."

  "Are you sure they will split into two groups?" Natasha questioned.

  "It is my guess, if they flee before I set the fire and if they prolong anymore, I will set it ablaze. If it comes to that, they may all leave at once or split into two or more groups, so be on your guard, my sister."

  Natasha removed a knife and glanced at a road flare she held in the other hand and then looked to the backdoor. "Nothing new on my end. This is boring. Do make them come out."

  "It is time." He stepped back and threw the lit lighter at the side of the house. The gas ignited, and flames quickly engulfed the wall and front door.

  "I have movement!" Natasha yelled, excited as she readied to throw her knife.

  A blur of dark colored material emerged from the house and made its way to the gate and at first, she didn't know what it was then she realized it was a large blanket or two. A hand reached up from under the forest-green comforter and opened the gate, and they started out the gate like a delirious Chinese parade dragon.

  "A group of them has come out of the house covered with two large blankets," she reported as she drew back her hand to release a deadly knife. Two bullets whizzed by her head, and she ducked behind the ledge. Natasha pulled the top of the road flare, threw it over the roof, and hit the fence. The gasoline ignited, and flames rapidly spread across the wood as a little girl screamed. The fire lapped at the comforter and hissed as it was repelled by the cloak of forest-green. The flames ate away at the wooden fence, but cowered from the comforter as the last of the Chinese parade dragon exited the gate. A second wave of bullets whizzed by Natasha, and she heard the little girl scream again.

  "Nikolai!" Natasha yelled. "They made it past the fence and are running
through the vacant lot. I don't know how many came out."

  "Understood." Nikolai aimed the Tommy at the front door consumed by flames and shot. He sent an onslaught of metal, hoping to clear a path inside for himself. He stopped, reloaded, ran at the door like a maniac, and kicked it in. Nikolai quickly checked inside the entry, then the living room, and soon he had checked the entire house. "Tasha."

  "Yes, my brother."

  "The house is clear. They all must have escaped out the back. Have you followed them?"

  "Yes, they have gone underground like rats. They have made our job much more interesting." Behind her, Melissa's safe house burned, lighting up the dark heavens in a halo of red, yellow, and orange. "Do bring the car to the back street. It is time we ashed the Phoenix."

  Chapter Forty-one

  Underground

  Earlier...

  The safe house...

  "This is the plan." Kat stood at the laundry room sink, drowning two large comforters. "We'll cover ourselves with these blankets and hopefully, they will confuse the Closers long enough for us to escape out the back fence. The wet blankets should protect us if the Closers ignite the gas. We'll position the three bodyguards up front, Melissa, Chad, and Bonnie in the middle, and me and Kimberly in the back."

  Johnson asked, "Once we clear the fence then what?"

  "Then we head for the abandoned subway and make our stand down there." Kat dried her hands on a towel. "Do you have all your equipment?"

  The three bodyguards looked to their duffle bags, and Kim glanced at her knapsack, then everyone nodded.

  "Good." Kat slung her backpack over her Ravlek vest. "Let's head out." She picked up the dripping forest-green blankets and handed one to Johnson and the other to Daniels.

  "Mommy, I'm scared." Bonnie squeezed her mother's hand as she shook her head and her black curly hair bounced. "I don't want to play this game."

  "I know honey, but we're only going to play it for a little while." Melissa knelt beside her daughter. "All right?"

  Bonnie rubbed her eye. "I'm tired."

  "I know honey." Melissa wiped a tear from her own cheek. "I know you're tired, so for mommy, please. Please play the game."

  The little girl nodded. "All right."

  The group of eight formed a line at the backdoor and covered themselves with the two wet blankets, but the lineup had changed slightly. It became Daniels' job to hold the blankets together. Johnson led, followed by Andrews then Chad. Melissa and Bonnie were behind Daniels and then Kim and Kat. Melissa kept Bonnie by her side. It was dark under the comforters, and all each person could see was the tile floor and the person in front of them. The blankets dripped, forming small puddles and soaked the tops of the group.

  "Everyone ready?" Johnson asked.

  Andrews looked to his H.H.C. to keep an eye on Nikolai. "Johnson, the Closer threw the lighter! The front's on fire!"

  "Move!" Johnson yelled as he opened the back door.

  They all hurried out. Johnson kept a fast pace, but one Chad and Bonnie could keep up with and as they neared the gate, he reached his hand out. Kat flipped the side of her blanket up a little, looked up from the darkness of the comforter, and noticed a figure on the rooftop of the neighbor's house. Kat saw the glint of metal as Natasha raised a knife, so Kat fired two warning shots over her head, and Natasha ducked.

  "Did you get them?" Kim asked.

  "No."

  "No? I thought you're supposed to be a good shot."

  Kat didn't reply as Johnson opened the gate, and the group started through.

  "Well? Why did you miss?" Kim questioned.

  "I wasn't aiming for her," Kat answered.

  "What?" Kim yelled, but the rest of the sentence was muffled by the bodyguards' shouts.

  Natasha had thrown the road flare on the doused wood, fire consumed the fence, and Bonnie screamed. Melissa picked up the crying child and carried her. Fire lapped at the blankets and hissed as the water soaked material repelled the flames. The group felt the heat at their legs and heard the crackle and before Kat exited the gate, she fired a second time at Natasha.

  Bonnie covered her ears for the loud bangs and finally screamed again in fear. "Mommie, I want to go home!"

  Melissa broke down crying. "It will be all right. It will be all right."

  Johnson led them through the vacant lot, across the deserted street, and to the cage surrounding the entrance to the subway. He withdrew his gun, fired several times at the lock, opened the chain link gate, and started down the stairs and once they reached the bottom, they removed the two blankets and dropped the smoldering comforters to the floor. Bonnie still cried and Chad was pale with fright. The area was dark so the bodyguards, Melissa, Kim, and Kat removed flashlights and continued.

  "Everyone, this way," Johnson ordered, making his way down a hall. He glanced back several times to see if the Closers followed.

  "Johnson, what do you think?" Kat asked. "Should we split up or stay together?"

  "Split up," Johnson answered as they came to a line of turnstiles. He helped Chad over as Andrews and Daniels assisted Melissa and Bonnie.

  They continued and went down a second set of stairs and ahead of them about fifty feet, they saw lights and a crossing passage.

  "The power's still on," Daniels said surprised. "Do you think people are living down here?"

  "Never know," Andrews said. "But once the gun fire starts, we don't have to worry about it."

  Everyone turned off their flashlights as they entered the lighted passage.

  Johnson led them and stopped at the end where it opened to a platform. "We'll split up here. Me, Andrews, and Daniels will go back and hold off the Closers as long as we can."

  "Okay." Kat studied the platform and the narrow sidewalk that continued to another passage through a tunnel. "Me and Kimberly will take Melissa and the children to the next platform and there, we'll find somewhere to hide." She looked to Kim. "We'll protect them with our lives." Kat emphasized the next statement. "No harm will come to them." She noticed Kim glared at her, and it was a subtle glare.

  Kat led, followed by Melissa carrying Bonnie, then Chad and Kim hurried behind them, and they quickly walked across the narrow sidewalk that ran along the tunnel and then they rushed through the passage. After about fifteen minutes, they heard gunfire.

  Melissa paused. "The men!"

  "We have to hurry and stick with the plan," Kat insisted, and Melissa nodded to her and followed.

  The five of them continued across the narrow sidewalk as it curved around a corner and then it headed for a second platform, and there a subway train stood where it had been abandoned nearly three decades ago. They passed many posters on the walls that depicted a by gone era, and one caught Kat's eye; it was of a sunny beach and written on it was Wish you were somewhere else?

  Kat moved to the first car. "Kimberly, give me a hand." She tried to pry the sliding doors open.

  "What are you thinking?" Kim asked.

  "That we don't have much time."

  Together they forced the doors opened, and then Kat said, "Quickly, everyone in. The Closers will be here soon."

  Melissa ushered the children in and whispered, "You don't think Johnson and the others will stop them?"

  Kat looked to Kim who shook her head, and Kat replied, "It's better to be prepared in case they don't succeed. Now quickly get in." Kat took one last look at the tunnel they had come through then she followed Melissa and the others.

  Chapter Forty-two

  Red Brick Street

  5:59 P.M...

  The next road over from Brownstone Street...

  Red Brick Street was for the most part empty. A tall iron clock chimed six times as a stray brown cat scurried up a Transgenic Maple and scanned the road below. Something stalked it from the shadows, and it was something that didn't belong in the city. A breeze rustled the leaves of the maple and parted the veil of green that concealed the f
eline and within the safety of the tree, the cat turned its attention above. A large raven cawed from the dark sky like an omen of death, then the cat hissed at the black bird, and it hissed till a howl sounded across the neighborhood. The feline lay low on the branch, hiding from the foreign invader as the wolf walked across the vacant lot to the tree, looked to the cat, then to her brother in the feather. The raven floated on the wind and then soared with the drafts. The house behind the wolf burned as sirens blared in the distance, and she sniffed the air filled with the scent of smoke and petroleum as hunger rumbled her stomach. The wolf studied the feline, knowing this dinner had evaded her and stood still as the breeze brushed her thick fur. She would not be able to resist her hunger or her blood lust for much longer.

  Across the street...

  Nikolai and Natasha stood at the back of the Cadillac and stared inside the open trunk, and Natasha winked at the thing in the trunk.

  "Tasha, the bodyguards and the Phoenix will be waiting for us." He spoke over the transmitter of the Winnow Mask as he lifted the Tommy to rest his elbow on his side.

  "Yes, I know." She glanced at two of the small canisters she retrieved from the backseat. "These will make things more fair, that is, more fair for us, and do not forget the Phoenix has a friend. The woman who mocked us with the piece of candy must also be eliminated."

  "I have not forgotten about her, and her death should be easy enough to write off in our report for Voice." He looked to his sister. "When the time comes, do you want to take care of her?"

  "Yes, she is mine and the Phoenix is yours." She looked to the canisters. "Will these be enough to break their lines?"

  "Those and the surprise I picked up from Wayfaring Lane should be enough, my sister." He reached into the trunk and grabbed the thing. "Time to go, my friend." Nikolai curled his lip and in his best impression of a gangster, said, "Time to bring this show to an end."

  Down in the subway...

  Johnson waited at one of the corners across the hall about fifty feet from the bottom of the second set of stairs. The lighted passage stood behind them along with the first platform and the subway track, and he glanced at Daniels who knelt beside him and took aim for the steps. Andrews waited at the other corner, watching the hall, and Andrew glanced at the grenades and spare magazines in his duffle bag.