The Hallucigenia Project

by Darren Kasenkow

  He opened the door and collapsed into the cool of the leather seat as the sweat across his forehead magnified the caress of the air conditioner. Vanessa peered at him with mild interest and kept the engine in park while the phone was still glued to his ear.

  The seconds crawled on by but Sebastian was yet to utter a response. John knew that he was probably running through his options with the hope of issuing a plausible deflection, but the silence on the line could only mean one thing.

  He waited for a few more seconds and when there was still only silence on the other end decided it was time to terminate the call.

  “I figured you wouldn’t have too much to say and it looks like I was right. All that’s left now is for me to tell you that as far as I’m concerned, the job’s over. Oh, and go fuck yourself.”

  He swiped the connection away and smiled sheepishly at Vanessa. The curls of her hair were shinier than ever and her eyes were wide and at the ready.

  “Damn,” she said with a drawl, “by the sounds of it I just lost my best customer since the jazz man who had me drive all the way to New Orleans cause he was too scared to fly.”

  “Sorry for the tease but you can’t get rid of me that easy.” He wiped the moisture from the phone’s display then brought up the address Klementina had sent him earlier. “This is where we need to be.”

  “Not too far but the traffic will be hell,” Vanessa stated. “Whole lotta motels out that way and I don’t mean the kind that fold your towels all pretty. You sure that’s the right address?”

  “That’s what it says so I guess that’s where we need to be.”

  “That friendly conversation you just had won’t be causing us no trouble now will it?”

  John couldn’t help but laugh and enjoyed a brief respite from the tension. “There’s an angry rich old man back home right now, but lucky for us that’s a long way away.”

  The glowing red of the morning clouds was ever so slowly beginning to burn away as they pushed into the traffic that was already urgent and chaotic. When the first set of lights brought them to a halt Vanessa quickly tapped their destination into the GPS and cranked the fans up a little higher.

  “So mister policeman, I’m kinda hoping you’re not going to bringing that silent treatment on me again ‘cause it would be real nice to know what today is all about.” The lights changed and she slammed down on the accelerator, weaving in and out of cars as if a trophy depended on it. “It ain’t nice to keep a girl guessing.”

  John gripped the door handle with one hand and the edge of the seat with the other as the view beyond the window began to blur. “We’re taking someone to the edge of the city, remember?”

  “Yeah I got that, but what I wanna know is why this person is so damn important and how you involved in it all?”

  “Vanessa if I tried to explain things to you right now you’ll lose control of the car, and something tells me that won’t be good.” As if to prove his point the car in front came to a sudden stop, forcing her to yank the wheel to avoid metal on metal. “You’ll get your answers the second we get there I promise.”

  She raised an eyebrow and smiled, seemingly content at the deal and the fact that her driving had John on edge. Rather than put him out of his misery she checked her mirrors and leaned onto the accelerator, forcing her way across two lanes before racing along the shoulder to the sound of blasting horns retreating in the background.

  The soft voice of the navigator was almost drowned out by the whirring of the fans but it was enough to steer them in the right direction. Conversation was minimal but in a comfortable kind of way this time, and it wasn’t long before the towering concrete monoliths began to be replaced with less dominating structures. For the moment the ocean was nowhere in sight, and as John leaned forward he could see snippets of blue where the thick clouds had broken away. At least the sky didn’t look like it was on fire anymore.

  “It’s coming up on the left,” Vanessa announced as her foot eased off the accelerator. “You sure we’re supposed to be going to some gas station?”

  “I guess so, assuming we’ve got the right address.”

  They rolled onto the concrete that was stained with oil and dirt and came to a gentle stop. Looking through the window he imagined it was the kind of place that littered the open country highways, an old wood and glass structure with an entrance shrouded with the endless shadow of the thick steel roofing that stretched out above the pumps. A workshop joined the side of the building with large double doors that looked as though they had been closed for some time, with small eye level window panes cracked and filthy and offering no chance of peeking inside.

  “Damn,” Vanessa said, “it doesn’t even look like it’s open.”

  “Guess I better take a look,” John answered as he pushed open the door to reveal the growing heat of the day. “If the place is empty we might be off the hook.”

  He stepped out and headed towards the front entrance. Noise of the passing traffic seemed to echo along the ground. Hand scrawled signs taped across the pumps declared there was no fuel to be had, and as he reached the door he had to press his face against the glass for any chance of seeing inside.

  The lights appeared to be on. Hesitantly he pushed against the door and felt it give way, but rather than walking through he turned back to the car with a wave of his hand.

  “It’s open,” he called out.

  Vanessa killed the engine and made her way to his side. “A gas station that doesn’t sell gas huh? You sure know how to pick the good spots.”

  “I do my best.”

  Feeling a little more confident he once again pushed against the door and together they stepped on through. The pumps might have been dry but the shelving was almost completely stocked. To their right sat a counter and at the back of the store a large array of flavoured sodas and milks were quietly being chilled. Oddly enough, the air seemed to carry the scent over ripe fruit.

  The relative quiet of the room was broken when a door to their left creaked open. Not for the first time since arriving to the country, John instinctively reached down to his hip for the gun that wasn’t there. Still close beside him, Vanessa pushed her shoulders back as the muscles in her neck pulled tight.

  An old man with receding grey hair and weathered features that promised the kind of wisdom that only came from heartache and pain shuffled into view. He blinked several times and offered a polite smile.

  “What is it I can do for you folks? If it’s gas you’re after I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you both. Plenty of cool drinks if the heat’s beginning to bother you though.”

  “Actually we were hoping to meet some friends, but I guess we took a wrong turn somewhere.” John looked over the old man’s shoulders and spotted only darkness through the doorway. “Sorry for the interruption.”

  “Never say sorry for something that hasn’t happened,” the old man declared. “You would have seen the signs outside, so you know we’re all dried up. Not one of you have taken a look at what I got on these here shelves, so I’m pretty sure you’re not hungry.” He nodded slowly at having answered his own unasked question. “I have to assume I’m talking to John.”

  “That’s a pretty good assumption,” John replied.

  “Oh don’t go building me up now. Accent like that has a way of making a man stand out.” The old man chuckled to himself and pointed back over his shoulder. “This is where you folks want to be heading.”

  John looked at Vanessa with a shrug of his shoulders and together they followed the self entertained host through the door into the dark of the shadows. It took a few moments for their eyes to adjust but, when shapes and form began to reveal, it was obvious they were in a workshop that had only memories of tools and activity considering the thick musty air smelled as if it hadn’t moved in years.

  As things turned out there wasn’t much time to soak up the museum like ambience of the automotive relic because the old man was quick to usher them towards the back of the room where a se
ction of the floor seemed to drop away.

  “You’re gonna be needing this,” he said casually while handing John a bulky torch. “It’s a little rickety and doesn’t mind making a bit of noise but it’s nothing to worry about.”

  John pressed the button and threw a dust strewn beam of light along the concrete floor, but with a slight swing of his wrist the beam illuminated a small square hole leading to a set of stairs that disappeared into the darkness. No surprises here, John muttered to himself. He stepped up to the edge and washed the beam across the visibly exhausted timber.

  “Now’s when you can tell me to go fuck myself,” he whispered to Vanessa while he stared down with concern.

  “Already been running through my mind,” she replied while leaning forward for a better look. “Thing is, I love me an adventure.”

  He swung the beam and lit up her face. “You think heading down to god knows where counts as an adventure and not a serious dice roll?”

  “This is Miami baby. The dice get rolled the minute you walk out the front door.”

  “Okay,” he said with a smirk, “but I’ll be going down first.”

  The old man stood quietly to the side as John began the descent. The space was narrow and, as promised, each tentative step teased an unsettling groan from the haggard timber steps. As Vanessa began to follow it became an eerie concerto that spoke of potential injury. Down and down they went, moulding concrete pressing against their shoulders until an undulated dirt floor brought an end to the wooden cries.

  John could feel Vanessa’s breath at the back of his neck. Looming before them was a long tunnel with a roof that touched the top of his head if he pulled his shoulders back, and in the distance were several candles sending a golden glow from the floor that flickered across a graffiti covered door.

  Vanessa gently nudged him forward. When they reached the door and could feel the heat from the flames there was a muffled echo of what sounded like frantic drums.

  “Helluva way to make an impression,” she remarked.

  John switched off the torch and knocked on the door, softly at first but then with a little more force. Even though he’d put himself there willingly there was still a growing anxiety at maybe having made a big mistake.

  A sudden rattling noise interrupted his self analysis and the door opened. Piercing bright light and loud music rushed into the tunnel, forcing him to squint his eyes as he found Klementina staring back at him.

  “Welcome to the show,” she said with a wink.

  “Glad to be here… I think.”

  “Well don’t just stand there, come on in.”

  They stepped into the light. The space was enormous but empty, nothing but a dirt floor, concrete walls and rows of fluorescent tubes hastily wired to several half eaten beams. On the far side of the room there was what looked like an entrance to another tunnel, and in the corner he could see Aaron and Eric caught in a heated conversation while Talitha watched them with curiosity from her chair.

  “It’s pretty cool right?” Klementina continued. “Back in the day this gas station was part of a chain owned by a Columbian cartel. The tunnel covers about twenty miles and linked up with a bunch of stash houses where the cocaine was moved as soon as it was pulled from shipping containers. Then it was transported here where the powdered mana was processed and distributed across the city, and we’re not talking nickel bags. Who knows how many tons of coke got lifted up those stairs?”

  “I gotta say I’m impressed,” John said as he soaked up the atmosphere.

  “Narco logistics wise this is only a baby, but for what we need it’s a good investment.” She gazed around as if somehow able to see back in time to watch the powder being carried. “As far as mother nature is concerned cocaine manages to pack the biggest punch when it comes to central nervous stimulation, and happens to activate the same part of the brain that lights up with love. Maybe the world doesn’t have a drug problem. Maybe it’s a romance problem that was always going to be a tragedy.”

  “Love was never meant to be about doing what’s right,” Vanessa added.

  Klementina raised an eyebrow and flashed a welcoming grin. “Now there’s a truth that’s older than time itself and probably comes close to explaining the history of the world.” She reached out to embrace Vanessa’s hands. “John made a pretty strong case for you joining us today so the least I can do is let you know why we’re here. Let’s step somewhere quiet and get to know each other a little better shall we?”

  “It would be my pleasure.”

  John watched as they made their way across the dirt floor to the other side of the room and wondered just how the hell Klementina was going to explain everything that was happening with just a whispered conversation. Well, maybe it would have to be a bit more than a whisper because the music seemed to be getting louder, and now there was the sound of laughter in the mix.

  With a quick curious glance down by his feet to see if there might be any cocaine residue left to twinkle beneath the lights he shuffled his way to the party in the corner. Talitha, head still shaking from the laughter, clapped her unsteady hands as he knelt beside her wheelchair.

  “I knew you’d make it!” she sang out. “I told Eric how cool you are and that your cat’s name is Bobbie. You didn’t bring him with you?”

  “Sorry Talitha, he was super lazy this morning and wanted to stay close to his cookies. Next time I promise.” He ruffled the top of her hair and stared at the speaker vibrating on a small card table. “So what’s going on here?”

  “Aaron’s teaching me what a good guitar solo is cause he thinks Eric has bad taste.”

  “Talitha,” Aaron said with an exaggerated seriousness, “I know his taste is in his arse. Now hold tight because here comes what I’m talking about, Marty Friedman at his best.”

  He placed a finger on his lips and turned the volume up a little more. Eric folded his arms across his chest and rolled his eyes as intricately woven notes born of bending steel screamed and wailed against a machine gun beat, but if he was hoping to project indifference it wasn’t quite working. His head was obviously caught in the rhythm and the fingers on his left hand seemed to have mistaken the skin of his arm for a fret board.

  Talitha sneakily looked at John and twirled a finger against the side of her head, but quickly dropped her hand when the last note of the solo faded away and the volume eased back down. John nodded his agreement and topped it off with a wink.

  “Now that’s how you work a six string,” Aaron announced with a slap of his thigh.

  Eric ran a hand through his hair and adjusted his glasses. “Look, I’m not saying it isn’t some quality playing…”

  Aaron clenched his jaw and cocked his head with an audible crack. “Seriously, you really think there’s anything recorded that’s any better?”

  “I could spend all day putting a playlist together for ya,” Eric proclaimed proudly.

  “Only boys fight about music,” Talitha said.

  “That’s because a real man knows Marty Friedman is the master,” Aaron responded though somewhat sheepishly.

  Eric reached out for John’s hand. “It’s good to see you again man. Didn’t think we’d be meeting up in a narco basement when you first walked into the shop that’s for sure.”

  “Makes writing postcards a little tricky,” John joked.

  “I bet it does,” Eric laughed.

  “So will you friend be driving with us?” Talitha asked.

  “Of course,” John answered, “as long as you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind. It’s gonna be fun. I don’t like it so much down here.”

  “Don’t worry trooper, we’ll be leaving real soon.” Aaron switched off the music and turned to John. “Thanks for following through mate. On paper this should be a walk in the park, but it only takes a good gust of wind to send it flying.”

  “I guess we’ll know once we hit the road,” John figured.

  “No doubt.” Quick as can be Aaron scowled with serious
concentration. “Now listen, the main leg of the run is pretty much nothing but straight concrete which means we don’t have too many options until we hit the town. You’ll have a car front and back with encrypted comms so none of us drop any surprises, but between leaving here and getting there the only thing that’s important is nobody coming near Talitha.” He lifted his burn scarred arm and gently but firmly shuffled John to the side for privacy. “I know you can fix a chamber jam with your eyes closed and I also know you don’t panic when the shit hits the fan, and today’s not the day to make a liar out of me.”

  There was no threat in the declaration just a confirmation that the day carried weight, though John wasn’t sure what his gun skills had to do with anything considering he was unarmed.

  “If that’s your way of saying be careful,” he said, “transmission received.”

  There was the sudden sound of quick heavy footsteps and struggling timber. In less time that it took for John to blink an eye Eric jumped in front of Talitha and Aaron produced a weapon as if by magic, the metal still as a frozen lake and pointed straight at the stairs.

  Pure reflex brought John’s hand to his waist as all eyes locked across the room. The last crunch of timber sent a sharp crack along the concrete wall and the source of the speed of light tension that ripped through the air stomped a heavy foot in the dirt and smiled. When he saw the gun pointed directly at this head Joey couldn’t help but flash a straight outta New York grin.

  “I love lookin’ down the barrel of a gun,” he laughed, “it’s a good way to help focus on what matters.”

  Aaron lowered his arm and shook his head. “Jesus Joey you’re supposed to watching the cars out back. And what the fuck you doing using the front entrance?”

  “The gun I get but maybe the language can simmer back while the girl’s here.” He flicked out a wrist and tapped his watch. “We’re nearly ten minutes behind schedule and that means sliding closer to the fly zone, so unless you wanna be on the road when the birds go past we gotta dance. Oh,” he said with a shrug of the shoulders, “I had to come through the store cause the elevator can only be sent up from the inside, and someone left that door there open.”