by Michael Todd
Katie covered her mouth and laughed loudly, snorting tea out of her nose. Both guys looked at her like she was crazy.
She grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth and chin, still giggling at Pandora. She couldn’t tell them she was having a conversation with her demon about soap operas. They would think she had lost her mind. At the same time, she had just burst out laughing and squirted Earl Grey all over the front of her.
“What in God’s name?” Derek chuckled as he watched her.
“I just thought of something and couldn’t help but laugh.” She chuckled. “I didn’t want to be that bitch, though, and say it out loud.”
“No, please!” Eric smiled. “Let us in on this little secret.”
“I was just thinking how it was a shame he burnt the boat, since that shit would have been his at that point.” Katie giggled. “He totally could have gone sailing instead of sitting there in the funeral home.”
Derek looked at Eric and then back at Katie for a minute, and both men burst into laughter. Katie eased her shoulders and let out a sigh, thankful they found it as funny as she did.
That was the last thing she wanted to have to do—explain her relationship with her demon.
“That comment is both morbid and disgusting. I love it.” Eric chuckled.
“This is why we keep you around. You are inappropriate, which fits this team perfectly.” Derek shook his head.
“I try.” She smirked.
Nice coverup, Pandora said. And that did not feel good, by the way. I think you have a deviated septum.
No more from you, Katie chided the demon.
When the soap ended, Eric clapped and excused himself to get some rest. None of them seemed to be able to sleep, but with the dawn approaching they were all starting to drag. Katie was okay, and Pandora was not going to let her forget about the game shows also saved on the DVR.
I want to get caught up before tomorrow’s episode comes on, Pandora said.
You know you can watch them out of order, Katie said. They aren’t like a show where one depends on the other.
“Katie?” Damian yelled from down the hall.
Oh, great, Pandora said. It’s Holy Water Guy.
“I’m in the living room,” Katie yelled back, turning around in her chair to see what Damian wanted.
“Oh, hey,” he said, coming around the corner. “I brought you someone.”
Damian stepped to the side and Joshua waved awkwardly. There were two suitcases at his feet, and he carried his coat over his arm.
He was dressed just like he had been when she’d first met him: flawlessly-pressed brown pants, his short-sleeved button-up shirt tucked perfectly straight into his pants, and his hair parted to the side. Katie jumped up from the chair and ran across the room to pull him into a tight hug. She could feel his body stiffen in her arms and she chuckled slightly, slowly letting go and stepping back.
She patted him on the arm. “I’m so excited that you’re here.” She gave him another smile, but didn’t go for a follow-up hug.
One uncomfortable hug was enough for Joshua.
“I-I-I am too,” he stuttered, looking up and then back down and pointing a finger behind him. “I parked my van outside. I hope you don’t mind.”
“That’s perfect.” Katie nodded. “I have been waiting impatiently for you to get here. I tried out the knives last night, and they are perfect.”
“G-g-good,” he said, rubbing his hands together.
“Well, come on.” She smiled, grabbing his hand. “There’s something I want to show you.”
You keep this up and you’re going to break him.
Katie pulled Joshua back through the hall and to the elevator. When they got outside Katie slowed down, realizing she was startling Joshua a bit. It seemed he was more afraid of the demon inside her than she had thought.
They walked over to the big gates and she pushed them open, then stepped aside and let him enter first.
“This whole building is for the new business,” Katie said, walking up to the front doors. “I will get to work on the branding and stuff soon.”
They headed into the big area and Katie flipped on the lights, then turned and smiled at Joshua. He had his fingers laced together and mouth open as he took in the space.
She thought he was sweet, but she could feel the loneliness and fear inside him and it made her a little sad.
She wondered if he would ever get to the point where he trusted her.
“So, this area I’m not sure what we will do with first,” Katie told him, leading him to the door on the other side of the room. “Down here is where we will store our production, though. We are going to get it all cleaned up and ready for you so that you are comfortable.”
She led him down the stairwell and into the open space. He blinked wildly as the lights flickered on and then wandered around, examining all the corners and crevasses. She couldn’t tell if he liked it, so she just stood and waited.
A few minutes later they went back upstairs, and he started going through the main floor with even more focus.
“Hey,” Derek called, leading Eric into the room. Both were still dressed as they had been while watching the TV. “We wanted to see the space.”
She nodded to the guys. “Good. When Joshua gets comfortable, we can start talking about what we need to do to get this going.”
“So, is this the guy who made the weapons?” Eric whispered.
“Yeah.” Derek turned to him. “But no one knows this, okay?”
“Uh.” Eric narrowed his eyes. “First of all, who would I tell? Secondly, who would believe me?” He nodded toward Joshua. “This guy seems a little more than strange.”
“I think he has Asperger’s Syndrome,” Derek whispered. “But that isn’t the issue we are talking about here.”
“Can you stop talking in code?” Eric asked, irritated.
“Ix-nay elling-tay overnment-gay olks-fay,” Derek whispered, slicing his thumb across his neck and clenching his teeth.
Eric sighed in exasperation and stared at Derek. “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Crazy. This is a legit business, right?”
“Yes,” Derek answered, only partially rolling his eyes. “But for right now we have to keep it under wraps. We have to be careful who knows about what we are doing, because the product is so important. We don’t want the government just coming in and taking it from us, including taking the guy in the brown pants and pocket protector.”
“So you want me to not tell anyone from the government, or anyone who is close to the government,” Eric said.
“That is what I said,” Derek replied, this time completely rolling his eyes. “Didn’t you ever speak in Pig Latin in school?”
“No,” Eric said with a straight face. “And you shouldn’t as an adult.”
“Gotta be stealthy.” Derek shrugged.
“My grandma is stealthier, and she is deaf, talks really loud, and smells like coconuts,” Eric replied, still with a straight face.
Katie whirled and sighed, staring at them both. She had heard the whole conversation, and while she found it mildly amusing, she knew she had to make sure she could trust Eric.
He was new and a human, and seemed to like to buck the system a bit. It was vital that everything stayed between them.
“Look,” Katie whispered, glancing back at Joshua, who was still wandering around the room. “What Derek said came straight from Korbin. Korbin has been at this longer than anyone else on our team, and he knows when it’s important to keep a secret. He doesn’t keep many, having been loyal to the higher-ups his whole career. However, he knows this could bring us one hell of a headache. Not only that, it could put Joshua’s life in jeopardy. It’s obvious that he doesn’t have a lot of friends.”
“You think?” Eric said, looking over at Joshua, who was now scraping paint from the wall with his fingernail.
“He is brilliant,” Katie answered, following Eric’s eyes to see what Joshua was doing before returning her focus to Eric
. “And you will show him a modicum of respect when you are here in my building and in my business.”
“All right.” Eric put his hands up. “I won’t say anything to anyone, and I’ll be nice to the Weapons Master.”
“I like that.” Katie turned. “’Weapons Master.’ Hey, Joshua!”
“Yeah?” he said, looking at her.
“I think we’ve come up with a title for you,” she called to him.
“What?”
“’Weapons Master,’” Katie said enthusiastically.
Joshua just stood for a moment, thinking. “Oh, yes. Yes, I like that very much,” he said. “Very much.”
“Good,” Katie said, dropping her hands to her sides. “Now, Joshua, I would like you to meet Derek. He owns part of the company.” She pointed to Derek’s left. “And this is Eric. He is on the team.”
“Hey.” Joshua waved, keeping his distance. “Do you have demons too?”
“I don’t.” Eric pointed to Derek. “But he does.”
“I see,” Joshua said, looking down.
Katie waved for the guys to follow her and took them downstairs.
“Um, so Korbin said we will build a tunnel from our building to here, and that will become the main access point,” Katie said. “From there I think we should sweep and mop really well, put some bright lighting in, and get whatever equipment Joshua needs. He can decide where it all goes, and where it will work best for him.”
“We can also give this room a fresh coat of paint, so it isn’t so gray and dungeon-like for him,” Derek commented. “Make it look like a work or living space instead of a cell.”
“Good idea,” Katie said.
“I could build some shelves along these walls so he has places for everything,” Eric said.
“I like that,” Katie replied. “Organization is important, and I think along that wall,” she pointed, “will be the case with all the finished weapons. We can secure it somehow with a locking cabinet, or whatever we can afford. Korbin talked about it being easily rolled out of here. Maybe multiple cases with wheels.”
“I like that.” Joshua had come downstairs. “I have some contacts for those kinds of safes.”
“Perfect.” Katie nodded. “I’ll go upstairs and start doing a blueprint of what we want the finished place to look like. Will you do me a favor, Joshua?”
“Sure.” He looked at her.
“Will you come up with a budget for everything you want to get started?” she asked. “You can come and go from here as you please, but don’t bring anyone back with you without running it by us first, okay?”
“Y-yes, okay. Sure,” he said, shrugging.
“This, gentleman, is the site of our new company,” Katie said, smiling widely at Derek.
16
When Katie got back upstairs she walked past the chapel on her way to her room, pausing in the doorway for a moment.
Damian was inside praying, but to the left hung a picture of Armani. He had his normal frat-boy smile, his hair was ruffled, and his five o’clock shadow created a darker face than she remembered.
She smiled, though, thinking about him and what Damian had showed her.
She shook her head and continued to her room, where she pulled open a drawer and took a chunk of cash out. She counted out three grand and put the rest back before she headed out to the garage. She needed to visit the prostitutes Armani had been helping.
She didn’t want to forget his legacy.
She drove to the edge of town and parked the SUV, figuring it was best for her to walk the rest of the way. She shoved her hands in her pockets as she strode along. She had almost forgotten how rundown the neighborhood surrounding the estate was.
As she passed by an abandoned building she glanced up at two guys who were staring at her. She put her head down and kept moving.
“Hey, girl,” one of them cat-called. “Where you goin’ so fast?”
“Hey, come back here and give me some sugar.” The other laughed.
Katie kept walking, ignoring their jibes.
She was not in the mood to deal with idiots on a street corner, and they had no idea who they were messing with. She clutched the money in her pocket, just trying to get to the house at the end of the street.
“You are a pretty little thing with that tight ass,” one yelled. “Maybe you can come back over here and sit on my face.”
Katie raised her hand and flipped them off over her shoulder.
“Bitch,” he called.
Katie’s feet stopped, and without even a thought she turned around and stared back at them.
She could feel her rage mix with Pandora’s, which would make a seriously ugly combination. Carefully she stepped forward, narrowing her eyes. The taller of the two guys stepped forward and pulled out a knife.
“Or maybe you can give me some cash, or some slit.” He eyed her. “And if you ain’t got none of that, I can just take my frustration out on you in blood.”
Oh, fuck no, Pandora spat. Let me have them.
Katie looked around. We can’t go around beating up assholes in broad daylight, Katie said.
Are you kidding me? There is no one around, and the streets will be much better without them on it, Pandora argued. You don’t have to do a thing. I’ll take over.
Katie was about to tell Pandora no when the guy with the knife stepped closer and the smell of sweat and booze hit her nose.
He was disgusting, and the thought of him touching her or any other woman made her sick to her stomach. Katie clenched her fists.
Yesss, Pandora hissed.
Katie nodded once. Fine, but make it quick.
Not a problem, Pandora growled.
When Katie told her to make it fast, Pandora abided.
When she left the area less than ten seconds later, the two guys were royally fucked up.
Blood was splattered across the wall of the building. Pandora had punched the guy so viciously that a couple teeth flew out and he hit the ground hard. The other guy tried to run, but the demon was having none of that. She grabbed him before he made it ten steps.
He had whined as Katie dragged his ass back to his friend.
Katie wiped her hands on an old rag on the sidewalk and walked away.
Do you feel better? Pandora asked.
No, Katie grumped, eyeing the torn flesh on her knuckles.
Well, I feel a shit-ton better. Pandora laughed.
Katie stood nervously outside the house, waiting for someone to answer the door.
She didn’t know what made her so nervous about going into a brothel, but it was a lot worse than when she faced a demon head-on. The same girl as before answered and stepped aside to allow Katie to come in before she walked Katie silently back to the main office.
She remembered Katie, and Katie didn’t know if that was a good thing.
“Katie!” Mamacita said, welcoming her into the office. “It’s good to see you again. Is Damian with you? The priest?”
“No.” Katie shook her head. “It’s just me this time.”
“Oh,” she said, sitting down behind her desk and waving Katie to one of the chairs. “Please have a seat.”
“Thank you.” Katie nodded, sitting nervously in the chair in front of her.
“Are you interested in working for me? Is that why you’ve come here?” Mamacita asked with a smile.
“Oh,” Katie said in surprise, her back straightening. “No. Uh, no.” She shook her head with force.
Bwahahaha. Pandora exploded in laughter. Yes! Yes, she is interested in working for you. She’s gotten really flexible since I’ve been training her. And she knows how to ward off a succubus.
Shut up, Katie told the demon.
Oh, I am so glad we got those bras from Italy, Pandora exclaimed. You can please all the fine gentleman who come through this exquisite facility. Don’t worry, if you are scared I can just take over. You’ll have men lined up around the block waiting to get a piece of that pretty little volleyball ass. I would sug
gest changing your name, though. You would be surprised at how many men you know will come through that door.
Enough, Katie growled, trying to keep her composure.
“Too bad,” Mamacita said. “Then what brings you here today?”
“Actually, I came to deliver some money from Armani’s estate to the girls for their families,” Katie answered, pulling the money from her pocket and handing it over after counting it in front of Mamacita. “It’s three thousand dollars. I hope that will help, and I will come back when I can with more.”
“My sweet girl.” Mamacita wiped a tear from her eyes. “You make me wish we didn’t have to do what we do. Sweet, kind Armani speaking from the grave.” She nodded toward something outside her office. “We miss him around here. The girls miss him and his words so much. He always made them feel special, made them feel like more than they think they are. This is of course a business, but I would never hold my girls back, and he gave them the motivation to be more. That was priceless. This money will do many things for their families here and abroad. I only wish that he could have been with you.”
“I do too.” Katie shrugged. She didn’t know exactly what to say, but she gave it a try. “We miss him all the time, but we know Armani is happy and at peace now. He deserved that.”
“Of course.” Mamacita pulled open a desk drawer. “I will give this to the girls right away.”
Katie watched as she leaned down and pulled out a book. She opened it and flipped to the current date. Grabbing a pen, she wrote the name “Suitman” and the amount of money next to it. Everyone’s names were in code, from “Blackbelt” to “The Father.” Katie tilted her head slightly as the madam wrote.
Mamacita’s eyes flicked up at Katie’s movement. “Suitman.” She laughed. “Because his name is Armani, and my father used to say that no one cut a suit like Armani.”
“Oh.” Katie giggled. “I never thought of it that way.”
“We like to maintain our clients’ anonymity, and though not a client, Armani insisted that his name and identity be concealed for work purposes,” she said.
“Understandable,” Katie replied.
“Here.” Mamacita grabbed a rectangle of paper off her desk. “Take my card. if you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me straight away.”