by Nyssa Renay
“What the hell does that mean?” Fletcher growled.
“What goes around…comes around.” Joseph smiled. “At least, I think that’s how the phrase—”
Fletcher had heard enough and pulled the trigger, instantly knocking himself backward onto the floor, writhing in pain. He pressed his hand onto the base of his neck, just above the edge of his bulletproof vest. Fletcher’s eyes went wide when he pulled his hand away and saw it was covered in blood. The bullet had gone through his throat, forcing him to gasp desperately for air as it rapidly filled up with blood.
The members of the SWAT team were frozen in their tracks as they looked back and forth between Fletcher and Joseph, wondering how a man without a gun could have taken a shot.
“Shoot him!” Fletcher gurgled.
Allie screamed as the men opened fire. She covered her head with her arms, expecting to be showered with bullets, but when the warehouse fell into a sudden silence, Allie slowly lowered her arms to find that every gunman was now lying on the floor, either dead or rolling around in complete and utter agony.
Those who had been aiming at Joseph’s midsection merely got the wind knocked out of them when their own bullets forcefully struck their bullet-proof vests, sending them tumbling helplessly onto the floor. But, those who’d had their red target lasers locked on Joseph’s forehead were killed instantly when the bullets pierced their skulls.
Joseph noticed Sanders scrambling to pull his phone out of his pocket. “I really wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Joseph hinted loudly.
“Why not?” Sanders asked, now terrified.
“Because you’ll only be responsible for getting more people killed,” Joseph explained, approaching him.
“I-I don’t understand,” he said, backing against the wall.
“Do you think Fletcher is the only detective that works for Palencio?” Joseph asked, tilting his head to one side. “Why do you think every one of those gunmen ignored protocol and opened fire on an unarmed man? Because they were all working for Fletcher,” he said, poking the detective with his foot.
“You son of a bitch,” Fletcher’s voice wheezed as he raised his gun level with Joseph’s face and pulled the trigger, crumpling back to the floor as he shot himself in the head.
Joseph sighed. “Some people never learn,” he said, grabbing Fletcher’s gun. “Look. You’re a good detective, Sanders. One of the few left in this city who hasn’t been tainted by the mob.”
Sanders was dumbfounded about why someone who worked for a mob boss would still abide by the law. “But…don’t you work for Christoff?” he asked cautiously.
Joseph smiled, slightly shaking his head. “Let’s just say we have an arrangement, but that’s nothing for you to be concerned about right now.”
The remaining members of the SWAT team quickly made a break for the door, retreating outside.
“Are you going to kill me?” Sanders asked, realizing he was now the only surviving police officer in the building.
“No.” Joseph smiled, placing his left hand on the side of Sanders’ face. “But there might be someone coming in here any second now and he couldn’t care less who you work for. You’re just a loose end to him.”
“Who?” Sanders asked, feeling oddly light-headed.
“Let me worry about that, okay?” Joseph said calmly before shooting three rounds into Sanders’ bulletproof vest, sending him sliding down the wall in pain. Joseph squeezed the trigger one last time, shooting Sanders in the side of his leg. Sanders passed out. Joseph pulled out a handkerchief from his inner coat pocket and quickly wiped the gun before strategically placing it into Fletcher’s hand.
“God damn it, Joseph!” Allie snapped, jumping to her feet. “What the hell have you gotten me involved in?”
“What do you mean?” Joseph replied as he approached her.
“Oh, I don’t know…this mob war you’re in! You said this entire thing was about stopping some alien bounty hunter from killing you. I honestly felt sorry for you! And this whole time, it was all about helping your mob buddies instead. Why the hell did you have to kill all these people? There’s nothing even in here!”
“There was,” Joseph said, taking his glasses off and wiping away the blood spatter on the lenses with the handkerchief. “I made sure it was all removed earlier this afternoon.”
“What was?” Allie snapped.
“An extremely profitable counterfeiting operation,” he said with a sly smile as he put his glasses back on. “You see, when Palencio found out what was in this warehouse, he used a couple of his moles from Christoff’s organization to help set up an ambush to steal all our equipment. Let’s just say it didn’t go so well for the moles,” Joseph said coldly, looking up at the three hanging corpses.
“Then who are these guys?” Allie asked, pointing to the mutilated bodies on the floor.
“Ah! Well, they are the men who were supposed to help with the ambush and then clean this place out. But unfortunately, they showed up a few hours early, which means someone probably tipped them off that we knew about the raid.”
Allie glared angrily at Joseph. “You honestly have no any idea how screwed up this is? What am I even doing here? Is there really a bounty hunter after you, or not?”
Suddenly, the warehouse was filled with the haunting echoes of the remaining SWAT team members screaming in pain as they were slaughtered one by one, just outside.
“It would appear so.” Joseph let out a long, worried sigh. “I guess I was right about the detective after all,” he said calmly. “You might want to sit back down.”
Allie quickly felt her anger dissolve into a wave of panic as she sat on the chair, waiting for Detective Gerard to come in. It seemed like an eternity before the horrible screaming stopped. When at last it did, Allie’s heart raced in her chest as a thought suddenly crept into her mind.
What if Joseph can’t stop Gerard? she wondered nervously.
Allie knew firsthand what Joseph could do, and it seemed to her there wasn’t a human being that could withstand his abilities. But now, Joseph might be dealing with someone truly dangerous, and the uncertainty of what may happen weighed heavily on her mind as Gerard calmly entered the warehouse, his clothing splattered with blood.
“Please, take your time.” Joseph smiled. “We can commence our business when you’re ready.”
Gerard looked around as he took off his bloodstained coat, glancing up at the three hanging corpses with a slight air of interest. “Your work?”
“Yes.” Joseph smiled. “I was trying to send a message to Palencio…I think he’ll get it.”
Gerard chucked. “Or you might have just started an all-out mob war in Bloodburg.”
“Maybe.” Joseph smirked, tilting his head.
“Either way…well done,” Gerard offered.
“Why are you guys acting like friends?” Allie asked nervously. “Do you two know each other?”
“Of course not,” Joseph chuckled. He turned back toward Gerard. “You’ll have to excuse my friend, Gerard. May I call you Gerard?” Joseph said with a sarcastic smirk.
“Why not?” He returned the smirk.
“You see, Gerard, just this morning, she learned that life on other worlds really exists. It’s all new to her.” Joseph slapped his forehead. “Goodness, me! Where are my manners? Please make yourself comfortable before we begin. I wouldn’t want to have any unfair advantage in our…negotiations.”
Gerard pulled up his sleeve to reveal a long metallic panel painfully grafted into his forearm. The device had several small tubes connecting both the top and bottom edges of the panel with his skin. In the middle was a rectangular screen displaying several large blue symbols, which looked like nothing Allie had ever seen. Gerard hit a sequence of buttons on the screen, and Allie watched in amazement as the detective’s pale white skin slowly changed to a bluish-green and every strand of his white hair fell from his head to the ground like snow. His neck seemed
to elongate as multiple brown horns sprouted from his neck and head.
“Better?” Joseph asked pleasantly.
“Yes. Thank you, Joseph. Assuming that is your real name these days?” he said with a cunning smile.
“It is now.” Joseph laughed, taking a step toward him. “Funny things…names. I wasn’t given one when they created me. Can you imagine that? Living your whole life as a barcoded number?” He sighed. “I took the name Joseph about four hundred years ago, when I first crashed on this planet. The poor old farmer that found me had no idea what a ship like mine even was…well, what was left of it. But he just walked right into the wreckage and discovered my charred remains laying there. Poor bastard.”
“You killed him, didn’t you?” Allied asked somberly.
Joseph turned around to face Allie. “Yes, but not on purpose. You see, the crash left me in a rather exposed state. The farmer saw the burnt remnants of my skeleton. But what really caught his attention was that my blackened bones looked like they were imbedded with jewels; probably the largest he’d ever seen. Unfortunately, he couldn’t resist the urge to try to pull one of the fused crystals out of my corpse while my body was in the middle of its…rebuilding process, which I can only assume became the biggest mistake of the man’s life.”
“What does that mean?” Allie asked, unsure if she really wanted to know.
“It means Joseph absorbed the farmer’s body to regrow his own,” Gerard replied, reveling in her discomfort.
“That’s sick,” she grimaced.
“Yes.” Joseph let out a heavy sigh. “It’s not one of my finest moments, but I decided to wear his face as a reminder, if it makes you feel any better.”
“It doesn’t,” she replied coldly, realizing she had no idea who the real Joseph really was; that the Joseph she knew was only the image of a man he’d killed.
Joseph smiled before quickly changing the subject. “Anyway, back to your earlier question about why we seem like friends. We’re not. When you told Gerard about my special ring, he realized that he can’t attack me without hurting himself. Isn’t that correct, Gerard.”
“Of course,” he replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small metallic object. It was the size of a cigarette lighter and covered with colored wires. He held up the device triumphantly, his thumb hovering over a small red button on top. “Which is why I have this.”
“What’s that?” Allie asked.
Joseph smiled, smug. “It’s the detonator to the bomb you have strapped around your chest. It’s the only way he knew I’d fight fair, but he needed an excuse to get you to put it on. He called in the tip about the mob gunfight himself. That way, Fletcher and the other cops working for Palencio would think something went wrong with the warehouse heist and rush down here before you did, causing enough of a dangerous situation that you’d feel comfortable wearing that phony bulletproof vest.”
“Exactly.” Gerard smirked. “Now, take off the ring and toss it over here. I don’t want you trying to get to it once you start losing.”
“Fair is fair.” Joseph smiled, muttering under his breath as he tore off the amber-colored ring, fused flesh and all, before tossing it toward Gerard. “Are we good?”
Gerard picked up the ring and put it in his pocket. Then he pulled out his revolver and shot Joseph in the arm, grazing the skin as a bloom of blood opened on the sleeve of his coat.
“I had to make sure you weren’t hiding another one…you understand, don’t you?” Gerard tossed the feeble human weapon onto the floor before putting the detonator back into his pocket.
“Absolutely!” Joseph answered pleasantly as he took off his fedora and placed it on the ground behind him. “Shall we?” he asked, slowly moving away from Allie.
She noticed Joseph’s fingers were slightly twitching in anticipation, causing the gemstones on his remaining fingers to shimmer with the movement.
Gerard hit a few buttons on the panel in his arm. A shield of blue electricity shot out; the strange, rectangular force field curving inward at the top and bottom.
The detective reached behind him and up under his shirt and pulled out what looked to Allie like a five-pronged star made of polished dark metal. He held it away from his body before quickly snapping his wrist. Suddenly, each limb of the weapon extended into a long glowing blade covered in the same blue energy as his shield.
Allie watched helplessly as the two men slowly circled, each waiting for the right opportunity to strike. The impasse lasted a few moments until Gerard’s heel landed in congealed blood, causing him to sway.
Joseph raised his hand and shouted, “No’yento!” A small spear of solid ice appeared in front of his hand and rocketed toward Gerard.
In one fluid motion, Gerard slid the shield in front of his face, deflecting the icy dagger with its electric barrier as he quickly spun to release his weapon. The detective hurled the spinning blades toward his adversary, but before Joseph could get out of the way, the spinning blades quickly ripped a large gash in his leg, sending him tumbling to the ground in agony.
Panicked, Allie watched the whirling blade boomerang and whiz back through the air toward Joseph.
“Frazistacha!” Joseph boomed, sending a large chunk of the cement floor into the air between him and the star-shaped weapon, blocking its returning attack. It bounced off the cement before swiftly returning to Gerard’s hand, ready for another throw.
Joseph staggered to his feet as Gerard hurled the weapon at his face. Joseph had only enough time to cast a solid block of ice around the spinning blade, instantly stopping its rotation. Too fast for him to clear the way, he was knocked onto the floor when the block of ice smashed against the side of his head. He sprawled, stunned and nearly unconscious.
Gerard watched as his frozen weapon slid inertly across the floor, slamming into a corpse. Frustrated, he reached behind his back and pulled a small metal cylinder from his waistband. He snapped his wrist, and two curved blades sprang out from each end of the weapon.
“Joseph, look out!” Allie screamed as Gerard raised the weapon and charged toward Joseph, who still lie dazed and wounded on the ground.
“Inti mosacha!” Joseph bellowed as a small patch of thorny vines burst through the floor and snaked upward between Gerard and himself. Gerard stumbled, losing control of the blade and missing Joseph’s head by mere inches.
Gerard rose and lunged at Joseph. The two clashed, throwing violent punches and wrestling to the ground until Gerard pinned Joseph on his back, preparing for one final strike. The point of the blade was only a few inches from Joseph’s eye as he croaked out his spell.
“Io’ condesta!” Joseph growled angrily as a large ball of white electricity crashed onto Gerard’s chest and violently exploded.
Allie watched in amazement as Gerard’s scorched body hurtled across the warehouse, slamming into the wall on the opposite side of the room. She looked back toward Joseph as he struggled to stand.
“Enough!” Gerard howled in rage as he got back to his feet. He pulled out the remote detonator from his pocket and held it up as a threat for Joseph to back off.
“Absolutely typical,” Joseph said to Allie, trying to regain his breath as he stumbled back toward her. “Just when they start to realize they’ve lost…out comes the dirty tricks. There’s just no honor among assassins anymore.”
“There is,” Gerard said, grimacing in pain as he slowly walked toward Allie and Joseph. “Just not when so many credits are at stake.”
“Out of curiosity…how much am I worth to Emperor Vizatchi these days?” Joseph asked, slowly regaining his breath. “He is the one funding this little bounty hunter field day, isn’t he?”
Gerard laughed. “Of course! No one else could afford thirty million credits for your ass.”
“Thirty million?” Joseph put his hand on Allie’s shoulder. “You hear that? That’s like three hundred billion in your currency.”
“You have tons of money,”
Allie replied. “Why don’t you just pay him off instead?”
Joseph shook his head. “I’m afraid your currency is worthless anywhere but on this planet, including all the precious minerals your money’s backed by.”
“There must be something you can offer him?” Allie begged Joseph.
“I’m afraid not.” Joseph let out a long sigh. “Once he pushes that button, your vest explodes and I’m burnt to a crisp. But I’m sure he has the right equipment to transport my corpse safely back to Vizatchi without suffering the same fate as my old farmer friend.”
“Of course.” Gerard gave a sly smile. “All I have to do is pack up your remains and call for my ride…easy money.”
“Joseph, do something!” Allie urged.
“I’m sorry, Allison. Just close your eyes…it’ll be over nice and quick.”
Allie closed her eyes and began to cry. She fiddled with the ring her sister gave her, trying to focus on something happy before she died.
“Ready?” Gerard taunted.
Joseph closed his eyes. “Just get on with it.”
Gerard anxiously pressed the button. Instead of watching Allie’s body burst into bits, successfully killing Joseph in the process, Gerard’s bluish-green body exploded into a thousand pieces, covering Joseph and Allie in a thick splatter of dark blue blood. The force of the explosion shook the warehouse, unleashing a rumbling echo that lasted for several seconds.
“Why does it always have to be so thick?” Joseph groaned as he wiped the blood and bits of charred flesh off his glasses. “Well, I guess this suit is ruined.” He sighed.
Allie slowly wiped Gerard’s blood from her face. “But h-how did you do that without your ring?”
“Easy.” Joseph smiled, retrieving his bloodstained fedora. “The spell I cast in front of Fletcher earlier wasn’t to activate my ring…it was to activate yours.” He slid the hat back on his head, slowly adjusting it.
“My ring? I don’t understand.”
“Before we arrived at the diner this morning, I modified the ring your sister gave you. You were sort of unconscious…I hope you don’t mind.” He grinned slyly.
