by Platt, Sean
“Price is right, you can have twenty-five here tomorrow.”
“How about fifty?”
“No doubt. I can get fifty, if you don’t mind a dip in quality.”
“Twenty-five ought to be more than enough.” Larry reached into his pocket, grabbed an envelope full of cash, and handed it to Tiny. “This is for tonight. I’ll let you know later if we’re gonna need an army.”
“Thanks,” Tiny said. “You need me to hang around, or are you good?”
“We’re good for now, thanks.”
Tiny walked over to his motorcycle, hopped on, and was gone before the garage door hit the floor.
Larry surveyed the warehouse, wondering if all their preparations would stand up to the coming onslaught.
The warehouse was ten thousand square feet, with an upstairs area divided into a row of small offices where Larry ran a duplicate of his motel network. The bottom floor held three cars, a living space with couches, a TV, a bar, a mini-kitchen, rows of work benches, tools, and enough parts to build just about anything they could think of. It also had a secret underground bunker with enough canned goods and food to last a year or longer and a weapons store big enough to wage war on a small army, which they might need if shit hit the fan.
Oh well, it’s now or never.
Larry walked to the van, patted the door twice before rolling it open, and fell sprawling to the ground as John jumped on top of him, screaming.
John
“You fucker!” John screamed.
Larry looked up, wide-eyed and seemingly confused. “What?”
“I know what you did. I remember … everything.”
“What are you talking about?” Larry scrambled back to his feet.
“You were supposed to kill me. You were supposed to let me die! You sold me out! You betrayed me! Why?”
John could sense Abigail watching from the van, could feel her fear growing, and tried to keep that in mind as he struggled through an urge to kill Larry.
“Got your memory back, I see?” Larry said, face shifting, losing his facade of ignorance.
“Why? And why did you kill Adam?”
“He was loyal to you; he would never have let me keep you alive.”
“Well, at least one of you was loyal.”
Larry looked at the floor, unable to meet John’s eyes.
“You killed an innocent man! That’s not who we are!”
“Hey, all’s fair in this war. Adam was hardly an innocent! You don’t know half the shit he’d done before hooking up with us. He was only loyal to you because you paid better than the bad guys. He would’ve turned on you the minute your money dried up.”
John shook his head, unable to believe his misplaced faith in Larry. “Why? Why didn’t you just let me die?”
“I couldn’t do it. There’s got to be another way.”
“No,” John said, furious. “There is no other way! That was the safest way, that was the only way to keep Hope alive. That was the way that kept Jacob from ever opening the portal. That WAS the fucking way!”
John paced, wanting to punch something, to vent his growing anger but not wanting to scare Abigail more than she already was. Now that she was connected to him, they could feel one another’s emotions, and he had to at least try to keep his in check.
“I agreed to kill myself in order to keep Hope and Caleb safe. Now you’ve put both their lives in danger! Why did you do it, Larry? This wasn’t about protecting me. No, this was something more. What was it?”
Larry shook his head. “What the hell are you talking about? You’re questioning my loyalty? Me, the guy who’s stayed by your side for years, who has repeatedly risked his life?”
“It doesn’t add up. You know the choice I had. You knew what was at stake. So, why? Was it the money I pay you? I left you enough to stay fat and happy forever. Did you need more?”
“You know that wasn’t it.”
Larry acting insulted only agitated John further.
“Then WHAT? Why would you do this?” John asked, both wanting to know and for Larry to give him a legitimate reason not to kill him for his treachery.
Larry looked down again then back up at John.
“Okay, you want to know why? Yes, it’s true, I didn’t want you to die. You’re my only real friend, John. I didn’t want to let those fuckers win. I figured if I had enough time, I could find a way for us to defeat Jacob and the Harbingers. But … ”
“But what?” John snapped.
“But that’s not the only reason. The truth, when it comes right down to it, is that for the first time in my life, I felt special. When I met you, I was down and out. I never told you this, but I was on the verge of suicide, man. Nothing was going right. You had faith in me. You took me in, and … you showed me magick. You lifted a veil to something few fuckers ever get to see. You changed my world, John. You made life worth living, and I didn’t want that to end.”
Larry’s eyes were wide and soulful — a dog begging for a bone of absolution. But John wasn’t in the mood to forgive.
“You don’t need me to work magick. Fuck, you could’ve learned more from Adam than me, and you killed him! You risked Caleb’s life! You risked Hope’s life! Fuck, you endangered the entire world, because you wanted to feel special? What the fuck kind of answer is that?”
Larry shook his head, “I know, I … ”
John couldn’t take it. He got in Larry’s face, inches from reaching out, squeezing the man’s larynx and choking him to death, since Larry was immune to John’s burning touch. But he kept his hands at his side and yelled instead.
“What kinda selfish bullshit is that? Why don’t you tell Abigail that she’s a vampire because you wanted to feel special?”
Larry looked into the van. John didn’t bother looking back to see if she met his gaze or not. It didn’t matter. All that mattered now was what Larry did in the next few seconds. John could forgive a lot, but betrayal was high on the list of things he had no tolerance for.
Larry’s eyes returned to John. “I didn’t want any of this to happen. If I could take it all back, I would. Shit, if I could die to take it back, I would, but … ”
“Get out.” John pointed at the open bay door.
Larry looked stunned. “What?”
“I said get out.” John pointed again. “I don’t want you in my life anymore.”
“John, I — ”
“I said get out!” John’s voice was enraged, almost beastly.
“You need me,” Larry said, not defensive, but instead almost matter of fact. “You won’t last a week without me, without my connections or someone you can trust.”
“That’s just the problem. I can’t trust you anymore. I can’t risk you doing something selfish that puts us all at risk, again.”
“I don’t know what else to say, John, I’m sorry a million times over, I swear to God, I am. But I’m not leaving.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m not leaving you,. I know I put us at risk, but I’ve been thinking of a way out ever since the night I buried you. And I have an idea. It’s not a sure bet, but it’s all you’ve got. If I leave, Jacob’s men will find you and Abigail. I don’t know what they’ll do, but it won’t end well for either of you. You know I both know it.”
That was it.
If Larry wasn’t gonna leave, John wouldn’t hold back. He balled his fist, swung hard, hit Larry square in the jaw, and knocked the bastard out cold.
Larry’s head hit the floor with a sickening thud. Abigail gasped. John spun around, having momentarily forgotten she was there.
John was flush with shame.
“He’s right,” she said, “we won’t survive without him.”
“I know.” John bent over, picked Larry up, and dragged him to the couch. “I know.”
Sixty-One
Caleb Baldwin
Caleb stood outside his uncle’s home office, fighting the butterflies. He was surprised, and slightly ashamed at how quickly he rev
erted to youthful nerves in the old man’s presence.
Duncan Alderman wasn’t really his uncle, but rather a longtime friend of Caleb’s adopted father, Ed Baldwin.
The butler, a large, stocky man named Otis, who looked more like a merchant marine than a butler, asked Caleb to wait in the hall, where Caleb found himself admiring bright art popping from dark red walls.
Duncan Alderman lived in one of the nicest homes Caleb had ever been in. As a child, he used to get lost in the sprawling halls and the home’s gigantic library. Caleb’s adopted father used to say that Duncan had done “well for himself,” which always seemed like the biggest understatement Caleb had ever heard. He wasn’t sure if it was Ed’s way of lessening his friend’s accomplishments, or if it was part of Duncan’s modesty. In any event, Alderman was easily the richest and most powerful man Caleb had ever known.
He came from old money — incredibly old — wrapped up in Alderman Enterprises, a global firm with its hands in everything from clothing to food to weapons. He was also with the agency for a long while before taking a “consulting” position, meaning that even the agency’s director answered to him.
In many ways, Duncan was more of a father than the workaholic who raised Caleb. Duncan had never had time for family or kids. So he loved having Caleb over as a child, doting on him and providing what the Baldwins couldn’t.
While this created tension when Caleb was a teenager, as he tried to play two father figures against one another in an attempt to find himself, the relationship was mostly positive. Duncan helped ensure Caleb’s rise to the top in the FBI, though professional jealousy worked against Caleb as much as it did for him. But that only made him tougher, giving Caleb the edge he needed to handle the job’s bullshit.
“Caleb!” his uncle boomed, emerging from his office to greet Caleb with a hug. “It’s been ages.”
“Too long,” Caleb said.
Duncan led Caleb into his office and gestured to an oversized chocolate leather chair. Duncan sat across from Caleb in its twin.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Caleb fought the butterflies again, trying to choose his words perfectly so he could properly gauge the man’s reaction and hopefully spot any lies.
“I want to ask about my brother John.”
Most people would have missed the split second of narrowed eyes before the mask went snug on Duncan’s face. Caleb didn’t.
“Excuse me?”
“I want to know everything you can tell me about John.”
Duncan smiled, folded his hands in his lap, and said, “Why don’t you tell me what you know?”
Caleb wasn’t entirely surprised by his uncle’s caginess. The man had always parried with words.
Caleb, not having the energy or desire for a verbal spar, decided to lay it all on the table.
“I’m having flashbacks of a brother I didn’t even know existed. Possibly two brothers, one who killed our mom. When I started looking into it, I got shut down by Cromwell faster than I could hit enter on my keyboard. Meanwhile, he’s inviting me to join Omega, on the condition that I help bring in the man who may or may not have killed my wife, and who happens to have the same name as one of my brothers. To top it all off, I’ve got agents tailing me and watching my every move. So, either I’m onto something big, or I’ve just gone off into tinfoil hat-wearing territory and you ought to lock me in a hospital right now.”
Duncan’s smile was more grimace than pleasure. His white knuckles betrayed his calm facade.
“Impressive. You’ve put quite a bit together. To be honest, I’m tired of lying. Just tired all around, really. You sure you’re ready for this?”
“Shoot,” Caleb said, bracing for whatever may come.
A bottomless sigh, then, “You have two brothers, John and Jacob. You’re all from another world, which I believe Bob told you about already. I’m also from that world. I’m one of the original Pioneers who came over here more than four thousand years ago when war erupted on our world between the technologically advanced New Kingdom and the magick-using Old Kingdom.”
Caleb stared at Duncan. Two months ago, Caleb would’ve called bullshit on stories about four-thousand-year-old men before leaving the room. But his old world had left its orbit.
“There were forty-eight Pioneers who came over using magickal portals between our worlds. Earth was far less advanced then, so we never saw a reason to cross over until we were escaping persecution on our world. Once here, the Pioneers were faced with a moral dilemma — should we share our knowledge with the natives or try to blend in?”
Duncan stood and paced.
“Our group was split almost in half; one half called itself the Guardians. They sought to protect Earth’s people from magick and its dark influences. The other group, the Harbingers, believed our magick and technology could help the natives evolve dramatically and usher in a new age of unified worlds.”
Duncan paused. Caleb wasn’t sure if it the old man was reflecting on the past or having difficulty remembering the details.
“So, what happened?”
Duncan continued, “The Harbingers’ goal, if left pure, was a good one. Our tech and magick could, and did, help the natives. But some within the group were using their magick to exploit others and seize power. The magick was corrupting good people. So I fought for the Guardians, destroying portals and artifacts. The irony of the infighting was not lost on us — we, who fled from persecution, had begun to persecute our own to protect the natives. The Guardians managed to close all the portals, and then, just as things were escalating toward a bloody war, the sides signed a truce. We’d leave the Harbingers alone as long as they didn’t interfere with humanity’s development. And we lived in relative peace for thousands of years. The Guardians infiltrated world governments to help steer humanity right in a less intrusive manner while the Harbingers lived among the people, practicing their magick in relative secrecy.”
“So, what happened?”
“Your mother happened.”
“What?”
“Thirty years ago or so, your mother escaped the other world, bringing you and your younger brother, John, over here. No one was sure why she left or how she found a magician left on our home world who could create a portal, as we thought they’d all been killed. But she did. She found a new life living with a boyfriend, the man you knew as your father, under the radar.”
Duncan sat. “We’re not sure how, but your brother Jacob followed. From what we’ve pieced together in the post interviews with you as a child, Jacob came seeking vengeance against his mother, but left you and John alive.”
“So, the dreams I had, where the dark thing killed my mother. That’s all real? It really happened?”
“Yes,” Duncan said. “But your brother also infected you with The Darkness, a parasite that infects some of our kind, turning us into vampire-like creatures. To be fair, I’m not sure if he actually infected you both or if you’d been carriers all along and he simply woke it within you both.”
Something wasn’t making sense to Caleb. “Are you saying I’m a … feeder, too?”
“Let me finish,” Duncan said. “I was working for the FBI at the time, and was first on the scene of your mother’s murder. I saw what had been done. You and your brother were traumatized. Your early signs of infection were clear. We took you to a special hospital. The Guardians above me at the time wanted to kill you both to prevent the possible spread of The Darkness to others like ourselves, or humans. While our kind can coexist with the parasites, humans don’t fare as well. If The Darkness were to spread, it could wipe out humanity.”
“So, why did they let us live? How did we, or at least I, get cured?”
“Oh, they wanted to kill you. But under questioning, you both mentioned a portal home, how the magician had created a way back that you could access, should you ever need to return. But you could only do it together, as the spell doesn’t work without you both. While the Guardians wanted to prevent the portal
s from ever being opened again, some among us felt we should have a way back … just in case. But we couldn’t trust everyone with that knowledge. So we split you and your brother up, erasing your memories and, in effect, your disease.”
“How does erasing our memories cure a parasitic disease?”
“It’s a bit more than erasing your memories. It’s experimental, even still, and involves some of the same magick we tried to stamp out. But we were determined to save you and John. I found a home for you with one of our best agents, and my best friend at the time, Ed Baldwin. John was harder to cure, so we had to keep him in a special hospital. No matter how many times we wiped his memory and cured him of The Darkness, he kept relapsing. His memories always came back. So did the disease.”
Caleb’s head was spinning with new information. Pieces of the unseen puzzle were finally snapping into place, though giant chunks were still missing.
“So, then what?”
“At some point, and we’re not sure how, Jacob, who had meanwhile taken over a then-leaderless Harbinger group, found out about the portal and started searching for you and John. While he’s come close, we’ve been able to keep that from happening so far. But his group will stop at nothing to get to you both. They’ll hurt or kill anyone standing in their way.”
Caleb, still trying to piece everything together, said, “So, what happens if he finds me and John? He gets us to open the portal, and then what? Why not let him, and all the Harbingers, go home?”
“He killed your mother. Don’t you want to see him punished?”
“Until these dreams, I barely remembered my mother, and certainly didn’t remember her murder. Sure, I’d like to see justice, but I don’t understand why you all are so hell-bent on not allowing him to go home.”
Duncan sighed and leaned forward. “We know what Jacob is capable of here. If he can get home, he can keep the portal open on his side, and there’s nothing we can do to close it like last time. We have no idea what’s happened since we left, but in all likelihood, that world would come here, annihilate Earth, and strip its resources.”
