by Michael Todd
The general pursed his lips, considering as he looked at the burning end of the cigar. “I think I like that idea. And I do remember reading your report, and how even though you lost quite a few in the final attack, the Damned were one of your keys to success. I think that anything you can do to make these bases safer should be done even if we have to pull strings and show the Council it’s necessary.”
Korbin was relieved. “I’m glad that you agree with me. That’s why all the guns, the ammo, the training—it’s all top notch. We want to make sure that we are giving them the same kind of power that we would provide for ourselves. This isn’t about being the best or most powerful country, it’s about making sure that humanity, without labels, survives and goes on to thrive.”
Brushwood smiled. “You are a breath of fresh air today, Korbin. I don’t know how you’ve stayed so upbeat over the years, but I’m glad you can share that.”
Korbin chuckled. “I have to stay positive, sir, or I just might go insane. There is one thing I will need to do to get this base fully functioning. We don’t have nearly enough special bullets to set them up and keep them running while they get their own ordering system down. It is really no use firing regular bullets in this war. It’s a waste of money and resources.”
The general nodded, leaning forward and knocking the ash from his cigar. “I agree with that, for sure. The new fort will need an initial stock, and when we leave, it should be ready for a heavy attack. They can keep up with their own ordering as time progresses.”
Korbin was glad Brushwood was so agreeable. “Perfect. I will give Joshua a call when it’s morning there, and have him send out as much as he can. I know he is trying to keep up with orders, but it should be a priority. They agreed to us building the fort because they knew we would do it the right way.”
Brushwood picked up his snifter and swirled it, then took a sip. “Sounds good, Korbin. We are heading down the right road. Let’s just hope no more surprises hit us, at least for a little while.”
It was dark. The clouds were blotting out the light from the moon, but there was more than enough illumination in the city to light the way for the two idiots who had just left the pawn shop. Duke, the tall and obese one, snickered as he lumbered next to Paulo toward the bowling alley’s entrance. “This shit is such a piece of fucking cake. Who knew we could fucking steal shit from people and they would barely put up a damn fight? Why have we not been doing this all along?”
Paulo was pale and skinny, his legs long and lanky. He rolled his eyes at Duke. “Because your ass wasn’t smart enough to come up with something like this.”
As they stepped into the lights at the front door, Paulo motioned for Duke to wait. “Let me have a smoke before we go in there.”
Duke huffed and puffed as he set the two duffels down and pulled up the back of his pants. Paulo took a pack of cigarettes from his front pocket and tapped the bottom, letting one slide out of the hole. He put it in the side of his lips and flicked his Bic, lighting the tip.
Paulo took a long drag and blew the smoke upward. His red eyes glistened in the fluorescent lights as he reached up and scratched at the base of his horns, shaking his head. “That old man was pissed as fuck. I’m just glad we didn’t have to off anyone like before.”
Duke shrugged. “Who fucking cares about these dicks? They bring it on themselves.”
Paulo smirked and flicked his cigarette into the street, then motioned to the side door. “Come on, they are probably waiting for us by now.”
They went around the side of the building to a large metal gray door. Paulo knocked four times quickly, and the door creaked open. The red eyes on the other side looked them up and down. Paulo sighed. “Come on, Dinky, let us the fuck in. We got a haul.”
The demon behind the door opened it all the way and stood to the side as Duke and Paulo moved through. They walked down the hall and into the back room, where a few more demons were standing around counting money. The radio was blaring news reports, including the robbery at the pawn shop.
Duke nudged Paulo. “What do you know? We made the fucking news.”
Paulo laughed in a high-pitched tone. “Fucking right, we did. I told you from the beginning that we were going to fucking make big moves in this business. I told you that, didn’t I?”
Duke nodded. “You sure did.”
He lifted the heavy bags onto one of the tables. One of the leaders of the operation walked over and eyed the two of them. “How did you do tonight? And it better not be fucking cartons of cigarettes, although we did appreciate the fucking gesture.”
Paulo stood up proud. “No cigarettes. We got the real shit this time, and we got some good shit too. Jewelry, collectibles, old coins, and the contents of the safe and the register.”
The leader lifted an eyebrow. “Should I expect another APB on you two?”
Duke shook his head. “Not this time. In and out, and we ain’t hurt no one. The only reason the cops will show up is the robbery. We made it clean like you told us to.”
The leader nodded and patted Duke on the back. “Good job…for once.”
They waited for him to walk away and start talking to other people, then Duke popped off his horns, and Paulo pulled the red contacts out of his eyes. “You get a load of that guy? He gets a little power, and he thinks he can talk to us that way! All the while I’m fucking painting my face and wearing red fucking contacts and horns, trying to make myself look like I’m some fucking demon.”
Duke took a towel from his bag and rubbed it down his face, wiping some of the red makeup off. “You have to admit, though, it’s a pretty solid disguise. People don’t even fucking question that we’re demons, even though personally I think it’s obvious.”
Paulo shrugged, tossing his horns on the table. “People are fucking stupid when it comes to this shit. They are so terrified of demons that all they do is focus in on the red in the eyes and the horns on our heads. I mean, for fuck’s sake, there hasn’t even been a red demon on the news before. All those fuckers are black and scaly. But hey, if it works, it works. I’ll keep riding this train until it runs out of steam, and then we’ll find something better. We’ll make our own team.”
Duke lowered his voice. “You better not let them hear you say that. You know how they can be about that shit. They don’t want no competition.”
Paulo scoffed. “Ain’t no rules about planning for our future. They know as good as we do that this shit don’t last forever. Eventually someone is going to come busting through that door, figuring shit out, and hauling people off to jail. I am not going to wait around for that day, that’s for fucking sure.”
Suddenly the door flew open, slamming against the wall. Everyone froze and whipped around finding Katie standing in the doorway with a smile on her face and her wings spread wide behind her. “You guys like to play at being demons? I’m a fuckin’ angel. Let’s tango.”
Pandora groaned. Are you fucking kidding me? “Let’s tango?” Why in God’s name are you so fucking cheesy? You are seriously embarrassing me.
Katie looked around as the guys began to shuffle around, trying to find a way out. Seems to have done the trick on these asswipes, don’t you think? I’m pretty sure the fat guy just shit himself.
Katie moved forward, grabbing a bowling pin off the wall. As one of the gang members ran toward her, she reared back and slammed it into his face. He fell to the ground unconscious, and she continued to walk forward. Paulo scooted up on the table and put his arms up. Duke shook his head, his belly hanging out of his pants.
Katie tilted her head, looking at him with amusement. “You like bowling?”
Duke swallowed hard. “No, not really.”
Katie looked at the pin in her hand. “Me either.”
She swung hard, hitting him in the face and knocking him down. Pandora laughed loudly. Big one down! I call that a fucking strike.
Katie looked at the pin, which had split in half. She tossed it to the side and reached down, grabbing a ball
from under the table. She put her fingers in the holes and backed up. Gonna just take some practice runs. You know, work on my game a little bit.
She pulled the ball up to her face and zeroed in on Paulo, who was leaning against the wall on the table, shaking. She began to move forward, pulling the ball back and then following through, releasing as she reached the highest point. Katie and Pandora watched with glee as the ball flew through the air and slammed into Paulo, knocking him off the table.
Katie went over and stared down at him. “You silly fucks. This racket is definitely over. Hope you enjoyed the game.”
The leader made a mad dash for the door. Katie grabbed another pin, and without looking, threw it hard toward him. It smashed into the back of his head and he hit the ground and slid to a stop, out cold. “I think it’s time you went to confession.”
She grabbed some rope off the shelf and tied Paulo and the others up. Using her strength, she lifted Paulo and Duke off the ground and left them hanging from a hook on the ceiling with gags in their mouths. Pulling out her phone, she texted Travers. “Bowling alley on 51st. Back room. You’ll find your perps hanging out here.”
Katie leaned down and picked up the smashed bowling pin, throwing it over her shoulder as she strode for the door. Pandora? Fuck this. Let’s go to France.
Korbin smiled as he drove along in a Humvee that had been loaned to him and Calvin by the French military. The base was huge, much bigger than Taiwan’s, so walking everywhere would have gotten old really fast. He had put on his thick leather jacket and gloves since the weather was much different in France at this time of year. Every day he had been there it had either rained or snowed, and it went no higher than about forty degrees during the day. Still, it was France, so Korbin couldn’t complain about the scenery.
He turned the Humvee onto the airfield and drove Calvin up to the hangar bay, where the plane was waiting, then stopped the truck and looked at him. “See, it all worked out in the end, right?”
Calvin chuckled, pulling his bag onto his shoulder. “I don’t think you can call this the end, but I am definitely stoked about going home to see Sofia. She is pretty much the only thing that keeps me going, her and our baby.”
Korbin smiled. “Well, you better tell her that I was instrumental in sending you back home. I don’t need the spicy pregnant woman angry at me for a long time.”
Calvin laughed. “I will make sure she knows you were the hero of this story. I think she’ll just be glad to see my face. All the anger will, hopefully, fade right away. It’ll be good to go to the base while I’m home, too. See the team, and make sure they are doing well.”
That reminded Korbin. He reached back into the back seat and pulled out a large manila envelope. “Would you make sure that Stephanie gets these? They are lily seeds.”
Calvin took them, raising an eyebrow. “Sure.”
Korbin chuckled. “We are going to get a garden going at the base, and I figured she could get a head start on it. We’ll have to build us one, or maybe even a greenhouse, because these things really won’t like the desert.”
Calvin got out of the truck and put the envelope in his bag. “Who does? I’ll be back as soon as I can. Give Katie hell for me.”
Korbin waved as he walked off. “Always do.”
6
The seagulls called loudly, and the Tijuana parrots squawked from the trees lining the streets of San Diego. Traffic was already busy, cars moving in and out of the city and tourists walking all over in the warmth of the California winter. The breeze from the ocean was cold but would warm up to a nice sixty degrees as the day wore on.
Off in the distance, you could see the hills and cliffs. The gate to the San Diego Zoo was firmly closed, not yet open for the tourists who were beginning to come in and park their cars. As they sat excitedly waiting for the wonders of the animals inside, a demon no bigger than a mole, scurried down the fence line.
Cocxtupia, or “Coco,” as the other demons in hell had always referred to him, had come to Earth through a portal opened for an incursion. He wasn’t there to fight, though. He was there more for intelligence than anything else. He had been hiding out in the zoo for months, not wanting to get caught by one of the mercenaries he had heard stories about. On this day, though, he was tired of hiding, and he had a mission to take care of.
Coco stopped in the bushes and stood up, wrapping his tiny claws around the wrought-iron bars. His bright red eyes glared at a taxi pulling up to the curb to let three kids and an unfortunate babysitter out. He grumbled, pushing through the bars and ducking as he scurried to the cab. He hid behind the back wheel as he waited for the last kid to get out. Then he slipped into the cab after the new fare, pulling his long, scaly tail out of the way at the last second. He spat at the kid standing outside and grumbled to himself.
The taxi took off out of the zoo parking area and moved onto the highway, heading toward the outskirts of the city where the residential area was. Coco narrowed his eyes at the driver and snuck up the side of the door, pressing his snarling snout against the window. They turned down a neighborhood street that was not anywhere close to where Coco wanted to go. As the cab came to a stop, he waited for the door to open and jumped out, growling at the shocked fare.
Hurrying through the neighborhoods onto the highway and off the exit to the beach houses, he giggled to himself. When he reached the intersection, he stopped in the grass, rubbing his stomach.
“Me hungry,” he growled before taking off again, dodging in and out of cars toward the beach.
He moved down the sidewalk, ducking into the bushes along the side as other people passed. He turned the corner to an alley and stopped, finding himself face to face with a snarling and hissing cat. It was up on the tips of its paws, the hair standing up on its back.
Coco rubbed his claws together and smirked. “Mmm. Lunch.”
He pounced, jumping onto the back of the cat and grabbing its fur. He howled wildly as the cat bucked, riding it like a bull around the alley. When the fun had worn off, he grabbed the cat by the head and snapped its neck, riding it to the ground, then grabbed it by its clanging collar and dragged it behind the dumpster. From the alley, all you could see was fur and blood flying around.
When he was done, he sat in the sun, rubbing his belly and picking his jagged teeth with one of the bones. He looked up at the sun and jumped to his feet, tossing the bone over his shoulder into a pile with the rest of them. He hurried down the alley and took a right, heading to the end of the street. Situated right on the beach with a small driveway out front was an adorable little cottage. There were flowers in planters out front, a sandy front lawn, and a fence that surrounded the yard.
Coco reached up and unlatched the gate, hurrying to the window. He leapt up on the sill and stayed low, looking through the glass at Sofia. She was wistfully singing to herself as she pushed the vacuum with one hand and rubbed her little baby belly with the other. She was lost in her thoughts and didn’t notice Coco sitting on the sill. Coco scraped his tiny claws against the wood and smirked joyfully.
Suddenly the sound of a car drew his attention, and he fell into a bush. He peeked through, holding onto the small branches and narrowing his eyes. After the car pulled into the small driveway and stopped, the door was flung open. Coco jumped, scared of who was coming. He took off through the bushes and ran down the side of the yard, leaping over the fence.
Hurrying, he left the bungalow behind, making his way back to the city. There were people milling everywhere, so he dodged in and out, finally turning into an alley. He stopped in the shadows and put his claws on the wall, breathing heavily.
He shook his demon head and snarled. “Filthy meatsacks.”
Looking around, he spotted a coffee shop across the street. In the front window, a woman was placing her purse on the ground, her phone sticking out the top. His red eyes glimmered and he took off again, jumping off the curb and running underneath a taxi as it sped over him. He made it to the other curb and hurried
through the door as it began to swing shut.
Coco pressed his body against the wall and turned the corner, scurrying under the table. The woman was talking to someone across from her, not paying any attention to her purse, which was tucked against the window. He slowly reached down into the bag, pulling the cell phone out. He pressed it against his body, holding it with both arms, and very carefully maneuvered back out from under the table and around to the door. As he was making his way to it, a couple of girls walked in and stopped, looking down at the creature.
One of the girls turned to the other and shook her head. “I think maybe we should go somewhere else.”
Coco snarled and hurried past them, ignoring their jumps and gasps. He ran around the corner into a small park, jumping into a large bush at the edge of the play area. He sniffed and grimaced, smelling the children nearby as they laughed and screeched, playing on the jungle gym. He opened the phone app and carefully dialed one number at a time. He pressed Send and waited as it rang.
A familiar voice answered. “This is Esther.”
Coco smiled, picturing her sitting at her cubicle with her short pixie cut, long, trim human meatsack, and business-type pantsuit. She was his favorite, always treating him kindly. “This Coco.”
Esther laughed. “Well, Coco, what do you have for me today?”
Both hers and Coco’s eyes were blazing red.
Katie cracked her neck and stretched her arms over her head, waiting for the stairs to be pushed up to the door of the jet. She looked at Juntto and grinned. “You ready to go to work?”
He shrugged. “Sure. I am always ready. I just hope I get to kick some demon ass at some point. Otherwise, it might be a bit boring.”
Katie laughed. “Sometimes boring can be good. A lot fewer casualties with boring.”
Juntto shrugged. “True, but at least I get to use Juntto-sized weapons. They have yet to find me a Juntto-sized hot chocolate mug.”