by Adam Smith
As a man who took no chances, he had carefully delivered Papa Sal’s requested target to the crime mogul’s private district. Johnny had personally triple-checked Max’s shackles himself and stripped him of all possible weapons before leaving the mysterious hitman in the care of his jailers, surrounded by an army of gangsters inside an armored seaside fortress.
The man’s wallet rested in Johnny’s pocket. The killer had tasked the gangsters at the warehouse with searching the no-doubt fake name for internet hits, but he planned to hand the physical evidence over to Papa Sal himself.
Classical music, mournful strings underneath a lilting flute, sang out across the car’s speakers. Johnny Legion wiped his thick fingers on a second cloth napkin with meticulous care before he punched the Call Accept button on his dashboard.
“This is Johnny Legion.”
“Mister Legion, sir, there’s a problem, sir.” The voice was vibrating with nerves, and no doubt the young man on the other end was shaking like a leaf.
The expression on Johnny’s stony face did not shift in the slightest. “What kind of problem?”
“It’s… it’s the prisoner, sir. He’s escaped.”
Johnny’s knuckles tightened on the leather-wrapped steering wheel until the material squeaked. “When?”
“Th-they just busted through the wall two minutes ago, sir.”
Though Johnny’s gray eyes blazed with an internal light, his hard voice didn’t change. It didn’t have to, because Johnny Legion’s voice was always razor sharp and commanding, like lightning shattering a rocky mountainside.
“Are the idiots in charge of guarding him dead?”
“Yes, sir. He killed just about everyone in the entire warehouse through all four floors. There’s a mountain of corpses here, sir. We ran his ID and found out he’s a cop. The news stories call him Bloody Rain Cain. Most of us left to chase him, but a few of us are running security and cleaning up. It’s like a slaughterhouse in here, sir. At least three dozen dead we’ve counted so far.”
One corner of Johnny’s mouth turned down into the smallest frown. “He killed three dozen men by himself?”
“Well, not exactly by himself, sir. He took the baker woman with him.”
Johnny thought back to the cell where he’d chained up Cain and remembered a curvaceous blonde tied to the opposing wall. One of Papa Sal’s projects, he’d figured. “The baker. You’re telling me that one cop and a pastry chef are bowling through our troops like toy soldiers.” Johnny let the silence spin out. The young man on the line was smart enough to know that no possible response would please the killer, so he said nothing. “Tell me where they’re headed.”
“They’re on the run along the seashore by the Vintage Festival shopping mall, sir. On Alexander Street. Every man capable of shooting is after them, and we’ve called for air support.”
“Keep them contained. Tell the men the Legion is coming, and if they don’t do their jobs, Cain won’t be the only one in my sights.” Johnny punched the Call End button.
The hired killer set his food down on the second cloth napkin, wrapped it carefully to prevent juice from spilling on his seat, and set the burrito in a large cup holder built into his dash. When this was done, he spun the wheel to take an abrupt righthand turn and sped away down a narrow side street toward the Vintage Festival shopping mall.
Chapter 16
Afternoon Shopping Spree
Max’s pistol thundered in his hand as he fired back at the pursuing gangsters. His shot blew the lead thug’s face back inside his skull and caused the remaining group to dive into cover all over the beach.
Max and Kate took advantage of the pause in attacks to rush up the stairs to street level. A hanging green sign told Max they were on Alexander Street.
Even as Kate ran on, the thump-thump-thump of heavy blades cutting the air caused Max to skid to a stop and look out over the beach in horror. A helicopter blazed across the water in a mad charge toward the fleeing couple. A mounted gunner on a swiveling machinegun platform attached to the side of the chopper was already sighting in on their position.
“Kate, run!” Max screamed. His legs pumped like pistons as the ex-cop bolted up the sidewalk, overtook the baker, and snatched her hand to yank her along.
“Let go of my hand!” Kate squawked.
Then the machinegun opened up, spitting fire through the street and tearing up pavement with every explosive impact. Max pulled Kate along just ahead of the destruction.
“Don’t let go! Don’t let go!” Kate shrieked.
Knowing they couldn’t outrun the chopper, Max hurled himself behind an SUV and dragged Kate with him. He wrapped his arms around her small body and dropped to the pavement, bracing himself to take the hit if the large-caliber bullets chewed through the vehicle.
The helicopter overshot the SUV. As it flew up Alexander Street, bullets decimated the cars parked all around Max and Kate. Shattered glass washed over the two fugitives like a rainstorm as car alarms shrieked. The chopper continued up the street for nearly a block before the pilot pulled around and headed back out to sea for another pass.
Max jumped to his feet and pulled Kate up after him. It looked like she wanted to say something, but Max cut her off. “We’ve got to get deeper into the city where that bird can’t follow!”
“The mall!” Kate said. Max’s gaze followed her pointing finger to a cluster of glass doors underneath a large sign which said Vintage Festival Shopping Mall. The mall was several stories tall and just a block away.
“We can hide in there,” said Kate. “Shouldn’t be any way a helicopter could get to us.”
“Good thinking,” Max agreed.
The two fugitives charged up the street toward the mall, but two black sedans screeched to a halt in front of the entrance. More gangsters in black suits poured out of the cars, took shelter behind their doors, and opened fire with heavy pistols.
Max and Kate ducked behind a parked car which was instantly riddled with bullets. Max returned fire with his pistol and dropped two of the six gangsters. Another shot under the car door blew a chunk out of a thug’s ankle, and his loud screaming unnerved the other gangsters. They piled back into one of the cars, and the driver floored the gas pedal.
As the back sedan bore down on them, Max shoved Kate to one side and rolled the opposite direction. He opened fire as the car blazed past. The driver and front seat passenger died in a hail of bullets, and the car slammed into a parked SUV.
Max leaped to his feet and charged the car. The last gangster was still alive in the back seat, looking disoriented but still trying to raise his gun. Max plugged him with the last two shots in the pistol before the slide locked back. The ex-cop tossed the empty gun aside. He scavenged the car for the three dead men’s guns and was considering hauling the dead men out to use the car for a quick getaway when Kate came running up.
“Max! The chopper is coming back!”
Max glanced over his shoulder for a split second before diving into the car. “Get down, Kate!”
Kate took cover behind a parked pickup truck just as the chopper swept over them again. This time, the pilot came in slow and stopped to hover a few dozen feet away. Machinegun fire rattled windows up and down the street and set off more car alarms as the bullets shredded every vehicle on their side of Alexander Street. Broken glass rained down all over Max’s body. The car vibrated around him as Kate screamed.
The gunner obviously had very little practice with the weaponry, adopting a spray-and-pray tactic that quickly drained his ammunition. The guns clicked empty and then clicked several more times before the gunner realized he needed to reload.
Max shoved through the pulverized car door on the other side. He crawled from the car and grabbed Kate who was sheltering behind the pickup truck with both hands covering her ears. Together they bolted up the sidewalk toward the mall entrance and hurled thems
elves through the swinging glass doors just as the machinegun opened fire again.
The hail of bullets tore through the glass front of the shopping mall and sent an avalanche of glittering fragments cascading inward to jingle like windchimes across the stone tiles of the entryway.
Fleeing the storm of glass, Max and Kate ran into a large clothing store. Dozens of racks displayed fashionable men’s clothing at outrageous prices.
Ahead of them, a mocha-skinned male customer in garish purple clothing was arguing loudly with one of the female employees about a brilliant silver shirt designed to resemble a disco ball. The customer stood with one hand on his hip and the other hand waving in the air as he belted out his demands. His bleached blond hair was shaved on one side and coiffed up to resemble a crashing tsunami wave breaking on the other side of his head. Compared to the eccentric customer, the miserable employee looked drab in her black polo shirt with khaki pants.
As they blew past, Max heard the garish customer shout, “Sure this shirt is bright, but where’s the sizzle? Where are the sparks? I’m looking for avant-garde, not uninspired trash!”
Bullets swept through the store and punched through the disco ball shirt, leaving clean circles spaced randomly through the gleaming material.
The garish customer gasped and shrieked, “It’s perfect!” even as the female employee dragged him into cover.
Max and Kate headed plunged into the air-conditioned mall. The cavernous building ran in a strip, a mile long but only a few hundred feet wide. Up above, the mall rose to three stories, and the open space between balconies was covered with walkways and escalators.
Storefronts lined both sides of the spacious central path. Perfumes, lemony cleaners, and body odor competed for space in Max’s nose, and sickeningly repetitive pop music droned in his ears.
The mall buzzed with activity, and shoppers shot the two fugitives weird looks as they took in the guns and bloody clothes. Still, the sight wasn’t unusual enough in San Pajita to cause a panic. People just gave them a wide berth to stay out of whatever ugly business the two were obviously engaged in.
Max shoved one of the three scavenged black pistols into Kate’s hand, and she gave him a tired smile in return.
“Thanks, Max. You give me the most thoughtful gifts. Think we’ve got time to take a breather, maybe do some window shopping?” Kate joked.
“Only if those guys don’t catch us,” Max said, pointing to the other side of the wide tile walkway where several men in black suits had entered the mall and were scanning the crowds. One of them spotted Max and Kate and started pointing with frantic jabs of his finger. “Come on, Kate, let’s duck in here.”
The nearest shopfront was lit up with flashing lights, and as they drew closer Max realized why. The two rushed into the video game arcade and dodged between loud machines. Max passed a fighting game which seemed to center around scantily-clad women with enormous breasts beating the ever-loving crap out of each other. Another machine had large plastic cockpits where the player sat to simulate piloting a giant combat mech in space.
A flash of movement lunging at him from the right with a loud roar startled Max, and he raised his pistol, snapping off a shot before he realized what the danger even was. He had just enough time to register some sort of rotting man in a green business suit before his bullet punched through the zombie’s chest and shattered the screen. The picture flickered before going black. The title of the game written along the top of the machine was Brutal Dead. Plastic blue pistols rested in holding brackets along the front console and were tethered to the machine with long cables.
“Hey,” Kate scolded. “Max, you jerk! That’s my favorite game!”
Still feeling sheepish at having shot a cartoon zombie, Max lowered his two pistols. “Play it a lot, do you?”
“Every Saturday! Way to ruin my hobby.”
Max glanced at the entrance of the arcade and saw the suited thugs splitting up to find the two of them. “Kate,” he said as he turned away and headed deeper into the forest of jangling machines, “if you’re spending every Saturday fighting zombies at the mall, you need to find a boyfriend.”
The blonde bristled and was about to retort when a hail of gunfire cut her off. She ducked down as sparks exploded from punctured machines all around her. Fire blazed in her piercing blue eyes as she jumped up and returned fire.
“Stop ruining my weekend paradise!” the blonde baker shouted as she stroked her trigger again and again. Gangsters fell in waves before her fury, and the survivors retreated to the entryway of the shop to take cover behind the cinderblock walls on either side of the door.
Kate turned to leave but stopped when her boots crunched through glass. The thugs had blown open a claw machine full of plushies, and she bent down to scoop up a fallen small African dog covered in tan-and-black spots, with huge black eyes and enormous brown ears. “Hey,” she said cheerfully, waving the stuffed animal at Max, “I’ve been trying to get this one for months!”
“Put it back,” Max said. “That’s stealing.”
“You stole that red car,” Kate pouted.
“Commandeered. Police officers don’t steal. I commandeered that red car, and I returned it before we left.”
“Then I’m commandeering this cute little guy,” Kate huffed. She gave the African dog in question a quick hug. “I’m gonna name him Oscar.”
Max sighed. “Whatever. I’ll arrest you later. Let’s just get out of here.”
As they headed toward a side exit back into the mall, Kate passed the ticket counter. A short man with dark tanned skin and a thick mop of black hair was huddled into the back corner, and he squeaked when he saw Max stomp by with both pistols raised. Kate leaned over the counter and waved the African dog plush at the man.
“Miguel! Put Oscar here on my tab. I’ll be back next weekend. Oh, and stay down so you don’t get shot. Bye!”
Miguel let out a small whimper of confusion.
The side exit led to a narrow alleyway between shops. The gangsters hadn’t blocked it yet, but Max could hear the rolling thunder of their footsteps through the arcade. He and Kate bolted across the narrow pathway to the next shop.
The stench of sickeningly sweet body lotion slapped Max across the face like a wet glove. Upbeat girly rock assaulted his ears, and the giggling of young women caused a spike of instant irritation. Rows of blouses, jackets, and dresses stretched out before him.
“Ooh,” Kate cooed. “Dress Bucket. My favorite.”
“We are not stopping,” Max growled.
“Yeah, I know, but—” Kate cut off with a gasp. Max spun around, expecting to see gunmen bearing down on them. Instead, he saw Kate clutching some sort of blue dress.
“What the hell are you doing? This isn’t the time to shop!”
“But this sundress is gorgeous, Max.”
“We are fighting for our lives!” Max roared.
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a sundress with a modest neckline?” Kate demanded. “I’ve been in fear for my life for months now, with Papa Sal’s goons breathing down my neck. I deserve a reward. And this dress is my favorite shade, sapphire blue. Look at it, Max. Isn’t it perfect? It’s perfect. I’m getting this.”
“You can’t just keep snatching things you want!” Max gestured dramatically, forgetting that each hand held a pistol. The shop employees and customers who’d been watching the argument dove for the floor.
“I’m not snatching!” Kate shouted back. She turned to the cashiers huddling behind the counter. “Excuse me!” She waved the hand not clutching the dress, also forgetting that she held a pistol. “How much for the dress?”
“Fine! I’ll buy you the damned thing, let’s just go!” Max roared. He reached into his back pocket, but his hand came out empty and a shocked expression crossed his face. “Those miserable bastards. They stole my wallet!”
; “Take the dress!” one of the employees screamed, a woman with black hair in a French braid. She wore a dress similar to the one Kate held but in a faded lavender color instead of sapphire blue and had a thin yellow jacket on over the top. “Just take it!”
“Wait, what? That’s…. Oh.” Kate finally realized she’d been waving a gun. She searched around in the dress until the found the tag and checked the price. “Well, I guess that’s pretty reasonable.” The blonde baker reached down into her boot, plucked out a small roll of cash, and counted out a couple of twenties, which was all she had.
Max ground his teeth. “Can we go now?”
“I need a bag,” Kate retorted sharply as she strolled to the front counter. The employees recoiled with a gasp as she dropped the cash payment on the counter and pulled out a paper bag with thick rolled paper handles. She stuffed the dress and Oscar inside and let the bag dangle from her left hand as she held the pistol in her right.
When she was done bagging her purchase, Kate turned to the employees. “Thanks! Just keep the change,” she said cheerfully. “And by the way…” Her expression suddenly turned deathly serious. “You should seriously consider changing your return policy. It’s draconian.”
The women huddled closer together and shrieked in terror. “We will!” promised the girl in the lavender dress.
Gunfire erupted from the doorway where they’d entered as gangsters stormed the clothing store.
The employees screamed again and dropped to the floor in a sobbing pile as Max grabbed Kate’s arm and dragged her to the main exit. She returned fire and killed several men as she was yanked out into the main thoroughfare.
Mobsters with pistols were ready for them to emerge. Bullets shattered the plaster around the entryway to the shop as Max ducked back and returned fire. He shot a man on the third floor who fell over the railing and plummeted two stories before splashing into a large circular fountain in the center of the ground floor walkway.