by Steve McHugh
She moved aside and led the way up two flights of stairs to her flat. "What happened?" Holly whispered as I lowered Dani onto her couch and passed her some cushions and a throw that had been draped over the back. Within seconds, Dani was asleep.
I was about to explain what my day had consisted off, when a man walked out of Holly's bedroom. He wore only a pair of dark blue jeans and a smile, which faded when he saw me. I had to fight whatever instinct inside me reached for the gun.
"Who are you?" he asked me.
"Slight change of plans, hon," Holly said. "This is my friend, Nate. Something's come up. I don't think it's going to work tonight."
"Fucking what?" he asked her with more than a little anger in his voice. "You're the one who asked me to come over to see you. These guys can wait out here for half hour."
Holly laughed. "More like ten minutes, isn't it really? Anyway, you can get your stuff and go."
He stormed off into the bedroom, re-emerging a few minutes later wearing boots and a shirt, which was still open down the front. "You're a fucking cock tease," he said pointing at Holly.
His eyes went wide when he noticed the gun barrel against his nose.
"I'm so very much not in the mood for this shit." My voice was utterly calm. "Say sorry and leave."
"You're...fucking insane," he stammered, looking down the barrel at me. He glanced at Holly. "Sorry." He almost ran from the building.
"I could have dealt with him myself." Holly's eyes were set on the gun.
"Of that I have no doubt. But time's sort of a factor here. Besides, I'm not in the mood for assholes."
"When did you start using one of those, anyway?"
"Tonight. It was a gift from whoever decided to hire me to save Dani."
Holly stared at the gun for a moment longer and I replaced it in its holster. "What happened?"
"It'll be easier to explain once I've got my bags." One quick journey to the Nissan later and everything in the car's boot was on Holly's bed.
"Whom does the car belong to?" Holly asked.
"Me, I guess. It was left for me by my mysterious employer."
"Explain everything. Slowly."
I started the story from the job at Mars Warfare and finished when I arrived at her home. "Holy shit," she whispered. "So Mars Warfare is involved."
"Really? That's the impression you got?" I sighed. "Sorry to snap. But, yes they're as bent as a nine bob note. Unfortunately, I think going back there would have stark similarities to the end of 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'."
Holly raised an eyebrow in question.
"Seriously? The 'Charge of the Light Brigade', you've never heard of it? It's one of the most famous poems ever." Her quizzical look made me sigh. "How about Custer's last stand? Or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? Would they be better references for you?"
"Ah, right, gotcha. Everyone dies." Holly got up and left the room.
"Do you trust the woman who got you out of that hotel?" Holly asked when she returned with a bottle of vodka fresh from the freezer and two glass tumblers. She poured herself a measure and passed me the bottle. I half filled the tumbler, steam coming off the near frozen liquid, and drank a large portion. The cold in my mouth turned to warmth as it passed down my throat and chest into my stomach. I closed my eyes as the alcohol did its job and made me relax.
"She murdered a man directly in front of me. Something she didn’t seem too fussed about. But she wants Dani safe. I believe that just from her tone. She's not setting me up. It would be a ridiculously long-winded approach to kill or capture me."
"But her... lord wants you?"
"Apparently, although I have no idea why. It's not good that they're playing with a full deck and I've only got one suit. I need more information about what's going on. Is Dani okay staying here?"
Holly nodded. "She's going to be a mess. Her mum, who isn't really her mum, murdered in front of her."
I opened the briefcase, staring at the sniper rifle it contained. It was in several pieces and I wondered if my subconscious would be able to put it together without help. I closed the case and opened the duffle bag, pouring out the hundred and fifty grand onto Holly's bed.
Her eyes went wide. "That's a lot of money."
"Take what you need and hide the rest. Anything I need is in my bag by the door."
"So what's your plan?"
"I'm going to see Francis tomorrow. He might know a few things. Or at least point me in the right direction. I don't want to sit around and wait for them to find me. Especially when I have no idea what I'm up against."
"I'll keep an eye on Dani. She'll be safe with me."
"Thank you," I said. "You mind if I take a shower?"
She gestured toward her en-suite bathroom. A second later I was letting the hot water wash away the day's events. I wondered how long it was going to be before I'd need to shower again, to get blood off me. Something inside me said things were going to get much worse.
I'd been in there for a few minutes when the bathroom door opened and Holly walked in. She pulled the shower curtain aside and my eyes took in the beauty of her naked body. "Care for a back rub?"
I smiled. "My muscles ache."
She stepped inside the shower and began to stroke me until I was hard. "Let's see if I can't do something about that," she said as she dropped to her knees.
Chapter 16
My sleep was restless. More than once I woke, grabbing the gun from the bedside table next to me in preparation for an unseen assault. When I finally decided to get up, the sun had started to creep through Holly's wooden blinds.
The red numbers on the digital clock next to me said it was just after eight in the morning. "You didn't sleep well," Holly said as she appeared in the doorway. She stretched, raising the t-shirt she wore to give a small glimpse of her toned stomach. She caught me looking and smiled. "You've got no chance this morning, Nate. I don't think my other guest would be too thrilled at hearing that sort of thing."
I pulled my best "damn it all" face and walked off to have a shower. This time I remained alone for its entire duration.
When I was dried, I found Holly had left a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt on the bed. "I told you one day you might need those," she said as she went to have a shower of her own.
"Yeah, yeah." I thought back to how awkward I'd felt keeping clothes at Holly's place. I had some of my own in my suitcase, but that was still in the car, I was just grateful to wear something that didn't smell like I'd run through a burning building. My home, fucking hell that hurt more than I'd expected it to. I didn't have a huge amount of stuff, but it had still been mine.
"Your friend's been up a while," Holly said.
"She okay?"
Holly shrugged. "Not really, no. She's barely holding it together."
Holly left for the bathroom, a huge orange towel in hand. I finished getting dressed and went in search of Dani.
I found her sitting cross-legged on the couch, the blanket I'd placed on her before going to bed myself, draped over the couch's back.
"What the fuck are you?"
"Excuse me?" I asked and sat on the chair next to her.
"Yesterday I watched a woman who I thought was my mum murdered by a man I've never met. And then I was caught up in an explosion and thrown over a balcony. You stopped us from hitting the ground. So what are you?"
"It's complicated."
"People only say that when they make it complicated. My whole life is a lie. I just want some truth I can hold onto."
She had a good point. Everything in her life had just crumbled down around her, having one truth in all that mess might make the difference between despair and hanging on with her fingertips. After checking that Holly wasn't around, I told her. I didn't go into everything. But enough about who, and what, I was to set her mind at ease and I made sure to keep an ear out for Holly finishing in the shower as I spoke.
When I'd finished, Dani sat very quietly for a few seconds, hands in her lap as
she stared at me. "So, you're not human," she said eventually, her voice barely above a whisper.
I nodded as Holly's shower fell silent.
"Why do they want you too?"
I shrugged. "I plan on finding out. Don't mention what I told you to Holly. I don't want her freaking out right now."
Dani nodded as Holly entered the room.
"That woman who called you, any idea who she was?" Holly asked as she walked to the kitchen, returning a moment later with two cups of coffee and a cup of green tea for me. She passed one cup to Dani and sat next to her.
"No idea," I told them. "She said she would contact me soon. Hopefully today."
"Will you find the people responsible for what happened?" Dani asked me.
I nodded.
"Will you kill them all?"
I paused for a second, a little concerned at the ease with which Dani had asked me that question. "I'll do what I need to." I caught Holly's eye, she seemed to have the same concerns as me.
Dani shook her head. "They've taken away my life. I can't ever go home. Hell I don't even have a home. I want them to feel what I feel." Dani stood and looked down at me as tears fell in steady streaks down her cheeks. I stood and held her against me as great sobs burst from her, coating my shirt and chest in tears. Holly looked away, with tears in her own eyes, which she wiped away.
"Why am I crying?" Dani asked. "My mum..." the word seemed to cause her pain. "That woman and I. We fought all the time. She hated me. She couldn't even be done with that twat, Phil."
"She came to see me," I said, remembering Diane's visit.
Dani looked up from my tear stained top. "What? Why?"
"Just after the fight with Phil. She told me that she hated him, but that he had to be there."
"Why didn't she stop him coming over?"
"I got the feeling that she didn't have a choice in the matter. She was paying him off for something. If the attacker was being honest, then he probably knew something he shouldn't, and she was keeping him quiet."
"Was that all she said?"
"She asked me to take care of you if anything should happen to her. I don't know what she was preparing for, but she wanted to make sure you were safe. You were all that mattered."
Fresh tears rained down from Dani's puffy eyes.
"I think she loved you, Dani. Really loved you. And I'm sorry that you lost that."
Dani howled in pain and wrapped her arms around me. Her guttural sobs caused Holly to look away again, rubbing her eyes. My own eyes blurred with moisture. Dani got out whatever was inside her, until she finally succumbed to exhaustion and sagged against me.
"I'm sorry for that," she whispered.
"You never need to be," I told her and pulled away. "Holly's going to take care of you today."
"You're going away?" Dani asked, scared. "You're not staying here?"
"You'll be very safe here. But I need to find out who those people were. And that means going out."
"Can't I come with you?"
"It's too dangerous. And besides you have no shoes."
"I'm going to take you shopping," Holly said. "You need some clothes and things if you're going to be staying here."
I picked up the remote and switched on Holly's widescreen TV, turning to the news channels. A portly man, with a shit-eating grin and possible toupee, sat behind a desk going through the main stories of the day. It didn't take long to get to what I was interested in and I watched with shock as every word out of his mouth was a lie. Even if he was unaware of it.
"What the hell?" I said and sat back on the chair.
"I assume that's not what happened," Holly said.
That was putting it mildly. The news stated that a man murdered his lover after an argument. Then in an attempt to hide the body tried to burn the place down, killing himself in the process. Their daughter was missing and if anyone saw her they needed to phone the number that flashed up on the bottom of the screen along with a photo of Dani.
I'd hoped that what had happened might have slowed them down. Instead, they hadn't even missed a step. "So they can doctor the news. Which basically means, they can do whatever they feel like."
"That's all it says anywhere," Dani said. "Even the net is quiet about it. I checked the statuses of a few people I know in our building. No one else was hurt. Although, I've got a lot of messages asking where I am."
Dani's photo appeared on screen once more. "You didn't respond, did you?"
"Of course not," she said. "And I switched my phone off."
"Well we won't be going anywhere with your picture all over the news," Holly said. "Not with you looking like that." She took Dani's hair in her hand and bunched it up at the back. "I've got hair dye, and used to cut hair when I was younger. By the time I'm done you'll look like a whole new person."
"You could always stay in," I said.
"Dani needs clothes, and we all need food. She's about my size. She can borrow some of my clothes until we get her some of her own. Besides, like you said, she needs shoes. Those high heels won't be much good if we need to move fast."
"Just be careful. Right now we have the advantage of being invisible. I'd like to keep it that way until we know what's going on."
"Are you a cop or something?" Dani asked.
Holly's riotous laughter pretty much put stop to that idea. "He's a thief," she said once she'd calmed down.
"You're a criminal?" Dani asked, shocked.
"I’m a thief." I tried not to smile at the notion that Dani was more shocked that I was a criminal, than she was that I wasn’t human. "Is that going to be a problem?"
Dani shook her head. "No, I just wanted to know."
"I'm going to see Francis," I said. "Maybe he'll have some idea as to what's going on here. And maybe he can help."
"For a small fee, I'm sure he’ll help," Holly snapped.
"It'll be worth it, if we can stay ahead." I passed Dani my mobile. "This is untraceable. As I seem to have acquired another, it'll be a good idea if you have this."
She nodded thanks and started playing with her new electronic toy.
Holly gave me a hug. "Take care."
I grabbed my jacket and walked to the front door. I picked up the gun and placed it in my holster, fastening my jacket up afterwards. I caught a glimpse of Holly's worried expression.
"Just in case," I said. "I won't use it unless I have to." Somewhere inside me a voice whispered—but if I have to use it, I'll make sure I'll be the one walking away.
*****
The phone in my pocket began to vibrate before I'd even made it down the stairs to the front door of Holly's building. The number said 'withheld'. I answered it and a familiar female voice filled my ear. "Is she safe?"
"I'm good, thanks. Blew up my flat, got shot at. Oh, killed a man in cold blood. Been quite an eventful day. Least it's not raining though, eh?"
"Are you quite finished?"
I had more, but I thought it better to save them for a more willing audience. "Dani's fine."
"Dani." Her tone was hard to pinpoint. She sounded angry, but sad too. "Where is she?"
"At a friend's."
"I told you not to involve anyone else."
I pushed the front door to Holly's building open with more force than strictly necessary. It slammed against the fence behind it. "Yeah, well I was running out of options. Did I mention the being shot at and blowing up incident?"
"Involving others will lead to complications."
I stopped walking. "Look, I did the best I could." Anger rose inside me and I had to force myself from snapping at her any further.
"Yes, I'm sure you did." She sounded a little sorry, but maybe it was just the sleep deprivation on my part. "Where are you?"
"London, why?"
"You need to get to Tower Hill within the next hour. Is that possible?"
It would take me about twenty minutes from where I was. "No problem. Who am I looking for, you?"
"No, not me. That would be fooli
sh. Once out of the tube, go to a nearby pub, The Friar. It's five minutes walk from the station. My advice would be to get a cab in case you're followed. You'll know your contact. Just keep... Dani safe. I'll contact you when possible."
"Whom do you work for? And what do they actually want from me?"
"See your contact. Good luck, Mister Garrett.”
"Wait," I snapped. "Just tell me, why is Dani so important?"
"My lord is interested in having control over fate itself. With Dani's help he will ensure that happens." And she hung up.
"More cryptic shit!" I shouted at the now disconnected phone. A young woman walked past with a small yappy dog trailing after her on a bright pink lead, which matched the colour of the woman's tiny skirt. She turned and gave me a stare of disgust. "Lovely day we're having," I said tipping an imaginary hat. The woman glanced away and increased her pace, her heels clicking against the pavement.
Great, now I'm scaring members of the public, I thought and made my way to the tube station at Bank, which as usual was full of people all vying for that little bit of extra space. Luckily it was a short ride to Liverpool Street and then an only slightly longer one from there to Tower Hill.
Tower Hill is the closest tube station to the Tower of London. The huge and impressive building looms above everything else around it. The fact that it used to be a prison, and that more than a few people died in it, seemed to be all the reason it needed to become a massive tourist attraction. People from all over the world have congregated outside the Tower’s imposing gates, which is probably why every shop in the area charged three times more than anywhere else.
I walked past a group consisting of a mother, father and their two children, a boy and girl, both I guessed to be younger than ten. The dad was telling the girl off in rapidly spoken Italian, which I immediately translated in my head without thinking. Apparently Italian was one of the languages I could understand, something I hadn’t been aware of beforehand. The girl didn’t want to wear the beefeater style hat she had on and the dad wasn't happy with his daughter's tantrum. To be fair, it was an ugly hat and making his child wear one probably went against the Geneva Convention.