by Michael Todd
As he rounded the corner, he slammed the baseball bat on the counter, listening to it ring out. The guy didn’t move out of the shadow, but Amir could see his lip twitching in anger. There was something different about this one, but Amir couldn’t put his finger on it. He didn’t have time to think it through. His life was in danger again, especially if the so-called demon had come there for revenge.
Amir picked up the bat and held it with two hands, squaring off with the figure. “Now look here. Katie said she got all you punks. I don’t know how you got around her, but you better get the fuck out of here or I’ll teach you a lesson you won’t forget.”
The big guy stepped out of the shadows, a deep growl coming from the base of his chest. Amir’s eyes grew wide, and he stepped back. The guy was not a made-up person, it was a real demon, and it was not amused. The beast opened its mouth and roared loudly, shaking the bottles on the counter. His claws grew long and Amir whimpered, dropping the bat to the ground. He backed up against the cigarette stand and raised his arm, screaming.
19
Sirens blasting, the cop car whirled up to the hospital, parking out front. Travers and Schultz jumped out and ran for the doors, flinging them wide and charging inside. They raced to the stairs and bolted up them, taking two at a time. They knew Amir was on the fifth floor, but they had no idea where. Around the third floor, they both slowed down, bending over and putting their hands on their knees.
Schultz breathed heavily, glancing at Travers, who was doing the same thing. “Maybe we should start doing PT with the street guys again. I think all the detective donuts are taking a toll.”
Travers nodded. “Come on. Almost there.”
They climbed to the fifth floor and hurried down the hall to the nurse’s desk, where they stopped. The nurse was on the phone and she put one finger up, letting them know to wait. Travers tapped his foot, looking around the ward while Schultz stood with his hands clenched in front of him.
The nurse put the phone down and looked up at them, smiling. “How can I help you, gentlemen?”
Travers pulled out his badge and opened the folder. “Detective Travers, and this is Detective Schultz. Could you point us in the direction of Mr. Amir Aboud’s room?”
The nurse nodded across the hall to a door that was cracked open. “Just don’t get him too riled up. He is in a lot of pain, and he has refused medicine until he spoke with you.”
Travers nodded, putting his badge in his back pocket. “Thank you, ma’am. We will keep it short.”
Schultz stopped him and looked at the nurse. “How bad is he?”
The nurse sucked the air between her teeth and looked at his file. “I can’t give too much information away without his consent or a warrant, but I would say he took a really good beating. Claw marks, slashes, broken bones—the whole nine yards. To be honest, I was surprised he didn’t go into shock from the whole ordeal.”
Schultz sighed. “Thank you.”
The detectives went over to the door and peeked inside. Amir’s eyes were closed, and most of his skin was covered in bandages. There was an IV drip, and the monitor was beeping. From around the side, one of the doctors stepped into the doorway. “You must be the detectives.”
They backed out of the room and introduced themselves.
The doctor took a deep breath and put the file in the box on the wall next to the door. “You can go in, but he is asleep. He finally agreed to take some pain medication. He signed a waiver for me to talk to you gentlemen when you arrived.”
Travers glanced around. “Where is his family?”
The doctor pushed a pen into his pocket and glanced at the nurse, who stood up and said, “I sent them over to the waiting area in the back. They wanted room for prayer, and the Imam came as well. I figured that would give them a bit more privacy. You know how people in New York can get when they see Muslims praying.”
The officers nodded and turned back to the doctor. “What do you think?”
The doctor took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “He is going to live, but he is going to have scars all over his body. There is no doubt in my mind that this was a demon attack.”
Schultz cringed. “We were afraid you were going to say that. Thank you, doctor. If there is anything else we can do or any update, give us a call.”
Travers handed him a card, and the doctor walked off. The two detectives left Amir alone, knowing he needed rest. As Travers walked, he shook his head. “I think we should wait out here for when he wakes up. Keep an eye on things for a bit.”
They went into the empty waiting room at the front, and Schultz pulled out his phone. “Guess I better call Katie.”
Travers nodded, sitting down in the chair. “This is definitely in her area of expertise. For whatever reason, either Mr. Aboud has the worst luck of anyone I’ve met, or they are after him for some reason. Either way, she would be the best one to handle this.”
Katie lay face-down on her bed, the soft, thick comforter pulled over her head. The shades were drawn, the lights were out, and she had finally found sleep for the first time since she had arrived in France. Maybe it was the wine she’d drunk earlier or just lack of sleep finally catching up with her, but she was out like a light.
The sound of her phone buzzing on the nightstand woke Pandora inside her. She poked at Katie, trying to pull her out of sleep. Katie groaned. Shit. What?
Pandora increased her sense of hearing. Phone is ringing, and it’s a really strange time to be calling.
Katie jolted, then reached over and grabbed it. She put it to her ear, swallowing hard to moisten her dry throat before she groggily answered, “Yeah? Hello?”
Travers chuckled. “I didn’t even think about the fact that you were in a completely different country than us. What time is it there?”
Katie groaned again, rolling over in the bed and rubbing her face. She pulled herself into a sitting position and looked around, finding a clock on the other side of her. She pulled it to her face and blinked wildly at it. “Ass-early in the morning. I think it says three am. I’m just going to put this out there. There better be a damn good reason your ass is calling me so early here and so late there. Why are you even still at work?”
Travers sighed. “You know this city; it never stops, not for any clock. We get calls that bleed over. For this one, though, we were home, and it took us away from our families and to the hospital.”
Katie opened and closed her right hand, feeling the tingling from sleeping with it pressed between her and the bed. “Who’s in the hospital?”
Travers paused for a moment. “Amir Aboud.”
Katie looked up into the dark. “Amir? What happened to Amir? I thought he had his injuries taken care of and was back working at the bodega.”
Travers sniffed. “He was. That is, he was until about seven pm tonight, when he was about to close up. Someone came in. He thought it was one of those punk kids dressed as a demon, but apparently it was actually a demon. It sliced him up one side and down the other. The doc said he’ll live, but that it was definitely a demon that inflicted those kinds of wounds.”
Immediately Katie was wide awake, and anger was boiling through her blood. “Those motherfuckers. All right, all right. I’ll come in the morning. I gotta make arrangements here, but I’ll get there as fast as I can.”
After Katie got off the phone, she tried to go back to sleep, but she was absolutely beside herself with anger. She ended up getting out of bed and flying around with Pandora until the cafés were open for breakfast. She ate some croissants and drank an espresso before heading back to the apartment. Katie entered the bottom floor and headed down the hall to where Korbin’s apartment was.
She knocked hard on the door and stood there waiting for him to answer. She looked down at her watch after not hearing a peep. “There is no way he is at the site yet. It’s only six in the morning.”
Katie knocked again, this time harder. Still no answer. She grumbled to herself, pulling out her phone, flippin
g through to his number, and giving him a call. “Korbin, where are you?”
Korbin grunted. “I’m down at the end of the hall. There is a makeshift weight room down here, and I’m working out. What’s wr—”
Katie turned off the phone and hurried down the hall, stopping in the doorway as Korbin put his phone down and wiped his forehead with a towel. Katie walked inside, looking at the weight bench and the stacks of weights against the wall. “There isn’t a gym on the base?”
Korbin shrugged, taking the weights off the bar and carrying them over. “There is, but I like to work out before I start my day, and usually that gym is packed full. I talked with the commander, and they had this stuff left over after renovating the gym. He let me bring it over here to use. Better than nothing, I suppose. So, what has you up this early in the morning?”
Katie leaned against the wall and folded her arms over her chest. “I’ve been up since three. There was this case I was helping out with back in New York. A bodega owner was robbed by two idiots dressed like demons, and they ended up shooting and killing a patron. Before I came here, I found them and took care of them…you know, the Katie way.”
Korbin chuckled. “You didn’t get them all?”
Katie shook her head. “No, I got them all. But apparently, last night when the bodega owner was closing up shop after finally being able to come back to work, someone else kicked his ass six ways from Sunday. Slashes, gashes, the whole nine. And from what the doctor’s saying, it was most definitely a demon.”
Korbin was surprised. “He beat him up but didn’t kill him? What did he want with this guy?”
Katie shrugged. “I don’t know, and that’s why I want to head back to New York, at least just long enough to figure out what the hell happened and track this motherfucker down. Something isn’t right with this shit.”
Korbin took a gulp of his water. “I understand, Katie, but remember, you agreed to train the Damned troops. They are sending these guys over to get set up in the temp barracks with the rest of the soldiers. We’ve got to make sure they are ready to go. They are seriously important to these battles. I’ve been there and watched Damned—good people who haven’t been trained—be torn apart by the demons.”
Katie nodded. “I get it. I wouldn’t ever leave these guys out in the cold like that. You know me.”
Korbin smiled. “I know. I just need to make sure everyone knows how important it is.”
Katie rubbed her chin. “I’ll be back in a few. I think there’s a way we can accomplish both.”
Katie opened her bedroom door and stepped inside, taking a deep breath. Hey, can you come out for a second?
Pandora cleared her throat. Why do I feel like this isn’t going to be a conversation I want to have?
Katie rolled her eyes. Just come out here, please.
Pandora groaned, pulling herself out of Katie slowly to make it as uncomfortable for her as possible. Katie narrowed her eyes, holding her chest for a minute. She wasn’t going to complain, because at least Pandora was dressed. She just wanted to talk to her face to face so she couldn’t hide if she was pissed.
Pandora put out her arms and walked over to the bed, plopping down on it. “Here I am in all my glory. How may I service you?”
Katie chuckled and shook her head. “You are so dramatic. So, you heard everything about Amir, and you know that this has gotten out of hand.”
Pandora growled. “Sure as fuck has. That poor old guy; he’s just trying to make a fucking living. These fuckers keep messing with him.”
Katie nodded, pacing back and forth. “Which is why I want to go back to New York to handle this.”
Pandora slapped her hands on her knees. “Damn straight. Fuck some shit up.”
Katie put up her hand. “I want to go to New York while you stay here and handle training the troops.”
Pandora paused, tilting her head to the side. “Wait, it just sounded like you said you want to roll out and leave me here by myself to train the troops.”
Katie shook her head. “Not by yourself. Korbin and Juntto will be here. Look, I can’t be in two places at once, no matter how much I would like to be. But KatieDora can, and that is a huge advantage we have not yet used. I can go handle this Amir situation, and you can kick some soldiers’ butts and get them into shape. Personally, I think you would like that job.”
Pandora crossed her arms and sneered. “Why? Because I’m a bitch?”
Katie shrugged. “Yeah, actually. And you can talk to their demons while whipping the human bodies into shape. Show them what it takes to fight a demon without dying.”
Pandora shook her head. “This is bullshit. Here you go again, making all the decisions and leaving me here to do your cleanup. I think it’s a terrible idea to split us up. What if you get hurt and I can’t heal you?”
Katie sat down next to her. “Then I’ll use my angel powers to heal. They work now. I just don’t use them because you get to it first. I’m not going to hell to battle Lucifer, just some asshole wreaking havoc on innocent people.”
Pandora was hesitant. “I don’t know. I mean, fine. I guess that’s fine. I can’t just sit here and not have you go beat the shit out of this demon. He deserves to be sliced and diced and to never come back again.”
Katie tilted her head toward Pandora. “So is that a yes?”
Pandora rolled her eyes. “Yes. Go. But for fuck’s sake, hurry. Don’t move at the snail’s pace you usually do.”
Katie jumped up, rubbing her hands together. “Perfect. I will be back soon. Report to Korbin this morning and tell him what the deal is, okay?”
Pandora, nodding, grumped, “Fine, but don’t make me get mushy, Katie. I don’t do mushy well. I’m better at stone-cold bitch.”
Katie laughed. “I won’t be long. Promise.”
She turned away and opened a portal.
Katie stepped through the portal and let it close behind her without looking back at Pandora. She didn’t want her to change her mind. She lifted her foot and looked down, seeing strings of tar webbing from her sole. The heat was stifling, and for a moment she thought she’d walked into hell, but it wasn’t that hot. She glanced around as she prepared to open another portal, finding that she was on some sort of volcano world. She could see them in all directions, steam and smoke billowing upward. Behind her about five hundred feet was a bubbling, flowing river of lava.
She shook her head and opened another portal, seeing the snow falling on the other side. Katie stepped through, her feet sizzling into the snow on the New York sidewalk. She shivered, bringing her hands up and rubbing her arms. The snow was coming down hard, and it was at most twenty degrees outside.
The sound of footsteps put Katie on the defensive since she hadn’t gotten her bearings yet. She didn’t know exactly where she had come out in the city. At that moment, all she could see was the dank alleyway that she was standing in. Suddenly several guys rushed toward her, putting their hands out like they were warming up at a fire. They were all homeless people, taking any heat they could find, not even noticing it was a portal to another world.
Katie threw her head back and laughed hard, mostly at herself for being frightened. One of the bums gave a toothless grin. “This is a good one.”
Katie shook her head. “I love New York.”
Calvin turned over in the bed, finding Sofia curled up next to him, hugging the sheet to her. He smiled, pulled the comforter up to her shoulders, and leaned forward, kissing her forehead. He had missed waking up next to his wife. She was so beautiful.
He sighed and carefully scooted to the edge of the bed, then slowly stood up. Grabbing his pants, he hopped around on one foot and then the other, trying to get dressed without waking her. He grabbed his shirt and flinched as his wallet fell to the ground with a thump.
Sofia groaned, moving her feet in the blankets. Slowly she opened her eyes and blinked. “What are you doing? It’s so early, and you were so damn warm.”
Calvin chuckled and walked over
to sit on the edge of the bed. He pulled his boots on and slid his hand down her hair. “I’m going to make my evening rounds, just like I used to. Force of habit.”
Sofia frowned, keeping her eyes shut. “Evening? I should get up.”
Calvin chuckled, standing up and kissing her cheek. “No way. We’ve all needed sleep. Stay asleep. I won’t be too late.”
Calvin walked out, shutting the door quietly behind him. Sofia wrapped her arms around his pillow and shoved her face in it, smelling his leftover scent. Quickly she drifted back to sleep, finally without any worries.
A few minutes after she began to breathe heavily in dreams, the door creaked lightly and opened just a tad. The light from the hall shone on the floor, but it was quickly blocked as Coco slipped through the crack and scurried up onto the bed. He snickered as he rubbed his claws together and then dove head-first into Sofia.
20
Katie landed in front of the hospital, shaking the snow from her hair and wings before folding them back. Several people came out of the front doors and looked at her with worry for a moment. She smiled cordially and waited for them to pass. When she approached the front desk, the clerk looked up. “I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over.”
Katie flashed her blue eyes. “I’m going up to Floor Five to speak to the detectives. I won’t be long.”
The person behind the counter blinked, recognizing her. “Of course. I’m sorry, go on up.”
Katie nodded and headed over, climbing into the elevator. A man was in there in a gown, pushing his IV. He glanced at her and gave a nervous smile. Katie pressed her lips together and nodded back, feeling very awkward. “Cold night.”
The guy nodded but didn’t speak, a bandage wrapped around his head and jaw. Kate pursed her lips and tapped her hands together as the doors opened. She waved and hurried to the waiting room, where she found both detectives asleep in the chairs. It was very late at night, but she didn’t want to wait until morning.