Armageddon Hyde in The Chosen and the Damned

by Joseph Terra Jr

  "There's more men in that SUV," Hellfire said, peering out at the vehicle. "I can't tell how many, though. Come on, let’s get to cover.” They hurried over to Hellfire’s truck, which was parked in the driveway behind Armageddon’s. “Brother Todd!” Hellfire called out. “Would you come join us, please? Ladies, stay in Miss Armageddon’s truck for now.”

  Todd, who had been sitting in Hellfire's truck, exited and ducked behind the vehicle. Rudy stood next his SUV, watching them. A second man had joined him, a tall, muscular fellow with a long scraggly beard.

  "Todd," Armageddon said, "could you see how many men were in that SUV?"

  Todd shook his head. "The windows have a little tint to them," he said. "It was hard to see for sure. But I could see men's shadows on the glass..."

  "Hey!" Rudy shouted. "Hey, crazy lady! Get out here! I wanna talk to you!" He stood at the head of the driveway, cracking his knuckles, but he showed no inclination to come down.

  "I don't see any guns," Hellfire murmured. He looked left and right. "His vehicle's blocking the driveway, but we could easily go around it. It's flat on both sides, no fences - we could just roll through the neighbor's yard if we had to. Hop the curb, out onto the road, and drive off before they can do anything - "

  "And if they do have guns," Armageddon said, "then we give them about a dozen clean shots at us as we go past. At close range."

  Hellfire frowned. A third man had joined Rudy in the driveway, a skinny youth of about eighteen with holes in his shirt. "You're right," Hellfire said reluctantly. "We can't risk it." He shook his head. "Curses. I've got some special ammo in my cab that would have dealt with these fellows easily - no casualties, either. But all I've got on me are regular rounds."

  Armageddon sniffed. "Well," she said, "I suppose you'll just have to make use of what you've got." She reached into her coat and pulled her gun. Hellfire reached inside his jacket pocket.

  "No!" Todd said. "Friends - we can't do this. Death and gunplay in my own house? My own yard? Please, no. This is against everything we stand for... isn't it?"

  Armageddon and Hellfire glanced at each other. "Well," Hellfire said, "there are certain precedents in the good book..."

  "Todd," Armageddon said, "we don't have much time. If you can think of a better way, I'm all ears, but we need these men out of our way now."

  "A better way, huh?" Todd nodded to himself. A look of determination came into his eyes, and he set his jaw and stood up.

  "Todd! What are you doing?"

  "Brothers!" Todd called out. "My name is Todd Field, and I am the owner of this house. I consider you my guests here. Is there anything I can help you with?"

  "You can help me by handing over the crazy lady, man!" Rudy shouted.

  "I'm afraid I can't do that, friend," Todd said. "She's a guest in my house, and I cannot put her in harm's way. You seem upset with her - what exactly did she do?"

  "Knocked over my shit, man!" Rudy called out. "Blacked my eye, too! Look!" He pointed to the side of his face.

  Hellfire shook his head disapprovingly. "Cousin, cousin," he murmured. "Really. What kind of example are we setting, here? Punching people in the face... at a market?"

  "Shut up," Armageddon snapped, reddening. She squinted around the side of the truck. "I only see three of them," she said. "Are there more in the SUV?"

  "I can't tell," Hellfire said.

  "And what of your friends?" Todd called out. "Why are they here? Do they have a grievance too?"

  The big man spoke up. "That bitch bumped into me at the market and almost knocked me down! For no reason! Din't even apologize, neither!"

  "Cousin," Hellfire said, shocked. "Is this true? What kind of name are you giving us here? Punching and shoving and hitting left and right." He shook his head. "Do you recognize this man? Did you push him for no reason?"

  "I..." Armageddon floundered. "I... don't think so? I don't know that man at all. I... it's possible I bumped him on the way out - I was in a hurry..."

  Todd looked to the third man. "And you, my friend. What is your story? I'm sure we can come up with a solution that doesn't involve violence."

  The third man did not appear to be listening. "Hey, Rudy, man - I just came here for some stuff, you know? What's goin' on here? Cuz like... I really need my stuff, man..."

  "Don't tell me you punched him too," Hellfire said, shaking his head in dismay.

  "I'll punch you in a minute," Armageddon growled.

  "Look," Todd said. "I can see you're all upset, but is it really worth resorting to violence? Can I offer you something else? Something in the way of redress, perhaps?"

  "You got any stuff, man?" the skinny man called out.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Todd said, blushing. “Mr Rudy - you're the chief complainant here, yes? Is there something I can do for you?"

  "I'm here for a redress of grievances!" Rudy said. "Eye for an eye, man! Like it says in the book!"

  Todd harrumphed. "Hmm. That's a strong point you make there, Rudy, but I really don't think I can let you beat up on Miss Armageddon. She's a guest in my house - "

  "Aw, enough of this!" Rudy said. "You hand her over, man, or we're gonna come down there and get her!"

  Hellfire, behind the truck, gave Armageddon a crafty look. "You know, cousin, you look like you could take a few punches. Maybe you should just go out there and let Rudy get it out of his system..."

  "Stop!" Todd shouted. "Brother Rudy, please. I can't let you do this!"

  Rudy had advanced about two steps down the driveway, and then stopped to look at his companions. "Come on, man," he said. The big man shrugged and stepped up beside him, while the skinny youth stood there looking confused.

  An odd sound cut through the air: one that took Armageddon a moment to place. It was the door to Todd's garage, rolling up on its runners.

  "Hey, man," Rudy's large companion said. "Who's the chick?"

  A slim figure appeared at the mouth of the garage, holding a bottle in one hand. Violet stepped out, cocked her arm, and threw. The bottle smashed directly at Rudy's feet, and smoke billowed out in all directions. As soon as it touched Rudy he began to cough.

  "Ohhh SHIT!" Rudy howled. "Oh my eyes - my nose - oh holy fucking SHIT!" He stumbled blindly away, crashing into Todd's letterbox. His companions, who had also been touched by the smoke, staggered away, coughing and retching.

  "Go!" Violet shouted. "Start the trucks!" She bolted around the front of the house, leaving the garage open, and dived into the back of Armageddon's vehicle. "Dad! Get in the goddamn truck!" she yelled.

  Hellfire scrambled into his own vehicle, and a moment later Todd followed suit. Armageddon rushed back to her own truck and gunned the engine.

  "Stay well clear of the smoke," Violet told her.

  "I'll do that," Armageddon said. "Nice work, Violet. I just hope we haven't wasted too much time."

  She glanced at her dash as they skirted the smoke and plowed over the neighbor's lawn. It read 1:36 p.m.

  "Ewww!" Cherry wailed as they rolled past the smoke cloud. "It smells like farts, Violet. So disgusting."

  Salty

  The dramatic conclusion!

  They raced through the city, Hellfire's truck in the lead, Armageddon's directly on its tail. The roads were quiet this way - Hellfire had at least been right about that much at least - but Armageddon wondered why he wasn't going faster. "We're already breaking the speed limit," she muttered. "If we're going to risk bringing the police down on us, why not just floor it?"

  No one replied: in the back, the girls were having their own conversation.

  "I saved our asses back there!" Violet shouted. "It's not like you were doing anything to get us out of the situation. Holy Christ, Cherry!"

  "Don't blaspheme!" Cherry shot back. "And Mr Field was handling it just fine. You put us in all kinds of danger with your smoke-bomb nonsense..."

  "He wasn't handling it," Violet said, "and I didn't put us in danger - I got us out there while th
e rest of you - "

  "SHUT UP!" Todd's wife roared suddenly. "I don't care about your damn foosball game!" The two girls fell into a confused silence. Ahead, Hellfire's truck swung abruptly to the right.

  "Tight turn coming," Armageddon said. "Hang on!"

  She touched the brake and yanked the wheel right. The truck slewed around the corner, tires squealing.

  "Arrgh!" Cherry shrieked. "Get off me, you big lump!"

  "I can't help it!" Violet shouted. "It's called inertia, damn it!"

  They sailed through a stop sign, barely slowing. The clock on the dash read 1:45 p.m. "Cherry," Armageddon said, "how far to the edge of town?"

  "Why would you ask her?" Violet said. "She's lived here for about five minutes! She doesn't know these streets - "

  "Oh yeah," Cherry said. "And you totally do - you basement-dwelling nerd..."

  "I know them better than you!"

  "SHUT UP!" This time, it was both Armageddon and Todd's wife doing the shouting.

  There was a moment's silence. "About eight miles," Cherry said sulkily. "If he's going the way I think he is."

  Armageddon felt a flash of hope. "Eight miles... I think we can make it!"

  Ahead, a large, four-lane road crossed the one they were driving. Hellfire tapped the brakes several times, slowing to about 25. Armageddon frowned, wondering why he'd slowed, but she followed suit. A moment later, she understood. As they turned onto the main road, she saw a police car rolling past in the opposite direction. "Oh, Lord," she muttered, casting her eyes down. "Please don't let them see me..."

  She held her breath, following Hellfire's tail closely. She did not allow herself to look at the cops. The cruiser rolled by, and Hellfire's truck began gently picking up speed.

  As they drove on, a siren sounded behind them. The police lights flashed suddenly into life. In her rear view, Armageddon saw the cruiser suddenly turn, cutting across the median strip, and race after them.

  "What do they want?" Todd's wife demanded. "I'm clean, damn it. Those pigs have got nothing on me!"

  Armageddon groaned. "They're here for me," she said. "We've got to lose them." She revved the engine. "Step on it, Hellfire!" she shouted, though he had no way of hearing her. As the cop car bore down on them, however, Hellfire stepped on the gas and the truck sprang forward with a roar. A voice sounded over the cops' speaker, but the words were not what Armageddon expected.

  "HELLFIRE PRICE! THIS IS THE BPD. PULL YOUR VEHICLE OVER, NOW!"

  "Huh?" Cherry said. "What did uncle Heck do?"

  "What didn't he do?" Armageddon muttered, and stomped on the gas.

  "I can't believe that Uncle Heck is involved with drugs," Cherry said. "I don't believe it!"

  The car veered left. The clock on the dash read 1:49 p.m. They were still bearing generally west, but Hellfire had led them off the main road and through a series of turns, trying to lose the cops. So far, they had not succeeded, but at least there was still only one car on their tail. Armageddon was worried about the time, but she could see the sense in what Hellfire was doing - if they stayed on the main route and ran into a roadblock...

  "I don't like it any more than you, Cherry," Armageddon said. "I don't know why he's doing what he's doing, or what he stands to gain. But I know what I know. Why do you think he was in with Werner/Roberts if it wasn't about drugs?"

  "Hmm," Violet sounded rather interested. "Well - Werner/Roberts - they are a pharmaceutical company, right? So, shady business practices aside, the drugs they're making are legit. And who knows? There might even be - "

  "Oh yeah," Cherry sniffed. "Take the drug maker's side. Of course you would do that..."

  Violet snorted. "I smoke a joint about once a goddamn month, you idiot. I guess in your world that makes me a raging junkie, huh?"

  "EW!" Cherry said "I can't believe you just admitted it out loud!"

  "Oh my god you are such a self-righteous little - "

  "SHUT UP!" Todd's wife bellowed. "Cherry - go get me a coffee."

  "Um... Mrs Field..." Cherry said sweetly. "The truck is like... moving? I can't get you coffee right now."

  "You never do what I tell you!" Todd's wife snapped. "Either of you. I'm sick of both of you, you know that?"

  Ahead, Hellfire came up on a four way intersection. He looked to be passing straight through, but at the last possible moment he threw his truck into a hard left turn. Tires screamed; the truck drifted and drifted and almost slammed into a shop front. Armageddon gritted her teeth and followed him, wishing he'd given her more warning. Her truck slewed around the corner, this time throwing Cherry into Violet, who gave a grunt and a curse. They mounted the curb briefly, but missed the shop front by about a foot. Armageddon yanked the truck back onto the road and drove on, looking back in her rear view. The police were nowhere in sight; they appeared to have missed the turn.

  "Violet!" Todd's wife said. "Go make yourself useful for once and get me a coffee!"

  Violet, still winded from having her step sister thrown into her at close to fifty miles per hour, muttered something Armageddon didn't quite catch. There were curse words, though, lots of them.

  "They never do what I tell them," Todd's wife said, glancing over at Armageddon. "I wish they were more like our boys, you know. Especially that nice young man Dillon."

  The clock on the dash said 1:53 p.m. The sign on the side of the road said BUTTFUK CITY LIMITS. Ahead, the road went straight for about a quarter mile and then wound its way up a steep hill.

  "I think we're clear," Armageddon breathed. "Oh Lord, I think we're clear." She honked her horn. "Slow down, Hellfire! I want to talk to you." But Price drove on, barely slowing, running at about 60. Armageddon muttered and shook her head, but she kept driving. Ahead, in the distance, she saw something moving at the side of the road. "Uh oh," she said. "What's this?"

  Hellfire's truck began to slow. Armageddon stayed on his tail as his speed dropped down to 40, 30, 20. She edged her truck to the left a little, wanting a clear view of the road ahead...

  "Oh, no," she said.

  From behind a rocky outcropping, a large SWAT-style water tank rolled out into the middle of the road. An APC drove up next to the tank, and then two jeeps came up on either side, effectively blocking the way forward. A dozen or so soldiers ran out to join them, forming up with guns ready. Hellfire continued to crawl forward, but slowly. He rolled down his window; Armageddon could just barely hear him shout.

  "Don't shoot!" Hellfire said. "There's been a misunderstanding!"

  "STOP THE TRUCK, PRICE," a megaphoned voice said. And then, as an afterthought: "YOU DICK HEAD."

  Hellfire stopped the truck. Armageddon put them at about forty yards distance. Armageddon pulled her truck up next to his.

  "OUT OF THE TRUCKS!" the voice called. Armageddon spotted its owner, a husky man wearing a sergeant's uniform and what appeared to be an armored breastplate. "OUT OF THE TRUCKS, NICE AND SLOW."

  "Stay in the truck until I tell you otherwise," Armageddon said.

  "But - " the girls spoke with one voice.

  "Do as I say," Armageddon snapped, and exited the truck. She walked out between the two vehicles; Hellfire joined her there. She noticed that Todd, also, had stayed inside his vehicle.

  Hellfire stopped at Armageddon's left side. "Sergeant," he said, "why are you stopping us? Calling the army out in response to a little speeding... well, that's a little extreme, don't you think?"

  "WE'RE NOT HERE ABOUT THE SPEEDING, PRICE. WE'RE HERE ABOUT WERNER/ROBERTS. YOUR LITTLE PROJECT, WHATEVER IT IS, HAS CAUSED A CIVIL DEFENSE EMERGENCY. ROBERTS CALLED YOU IN - WE KNOW HE CALLED YOU IN. IT'S YOUR PROJECT, SO START TALKING."

  Hellfire looked genuinely confused. "What do you want me to say? I'm not involved on the technical side of things at all. I simply gave the people at Werner/Roberts some specifications for a brand new... medicine... that I believed would do a lot of good in the world. I know very little of the actual science; that is their domain. And as for today - why, I didn't even k
now they were working until Mr Roberts called me! In fact, I very much suspect they were messing around behind my back - doing something I had not authorized..." He spread his hands. "So I don't know what kind of information you could possibly want from me."

  "WELL, WE'LL SEE. WE'LL SEE WHEN WE TAKE YOU BACK TO GUERRERO." The sergeant looked Armageddon's way. "YOU - AND YOUR ASSOCIATES HERE. CAN'T BE TOO CAREFUL, RIGHT?"

  Armageddon huffed. "I am not this man's associate!"

  "I don't think we're going to talk our way out of this, cousin," Hellfire muttered. He looked up at the sergeant. "Where's Guerrero? You said he wants to talk to us. Is he going to come here?"

  "NOPE. WE'RE TAKING YOU TO HIM."

  "In town?"

  "OF COURSE IN TOWN, DICK. IT'S SUNDAY, SO THE GENERAL WILL BE GAMING. YOU THINK HE'S GONNA SKIP GAMING FOR THE LIKES OF YOU?"

  Armageddon leaned closer to Hellfire. "They are not taking us back into town."

  "You're darn right they're not," Hellfire said. "So tell me, cousin - are you as good with that gun as you used to be?"

  "Better," Armageddon said. "Better than you'll ever be, Price."

  "No doubt," Hellfire said, smiling faintly. "Listen: while we were driving up, I loaded some special rounds into my gun. Flare rounds - designed to blind anyone within twenty yards or so of impact. Also, in my pocket, I have gas rounds. They release knockout gas on contact, and should subdue anyone within a few feet."

  "Marvelous," Armageddon said. "More of your ridiculous technology. Good for you, Hellfire. Me, I'll stick with hollow points." She nodded toward the SWAT tank. "If I know anything about Guerrero's army, I'll bet that water cannon is full of drugs. You got anything explosive?"

  "Not on me," Hellfire said regretfully. "In my truck - I've got some rounds locked in the glove box - but I'll never get to them now."

  "ENOUGH YAPPING, PRICE. TOSS YOUR WEAPONS AND GET OVER HERE. PASSENGERS, TOO."

  "I'm a man of God, Sergeant," Hellfire called back. "I have no love for weapons and violence. Please, just give me a moment here." He turned to Armageddon again. "Your truck - is that bulletproof glass?"

  Armageddon nodded.