“Let’s get a few things clear,” Devilian announced. “Unless you’ve got a gold badge wrapped in leather your day just got a whole lot worse, and as far as I can tell there’s only two of those in the room.”
“Don’t you see?” Candice said with a start. “The whole system’s about to come to a fucking standstill and you’re still worried about following orders. Open your god damn eyes! There’s a new master pulling your strings and if you keep running blind the hell to pay will be beyond anything you can ever imagine.”
Devilian shook his head as though humoured by the ramble. “The system collapses when good doctors like you decide they know better than everyone else and run away with things that don’t belong to them. Things are about to get real bad, I don’t need reminding of that, but doing our jobs is how things hold together. Unfortunately doctor, you’ve chosen to be part of the problem.”
“I’ve accessed the files,” Candice said urgently, “I’ve seen the new directives, and if you knew even half of what I know you wouldn’t be sitting here right now with that smug look on your fucking face.” She slammed her hands down onto her legs with a surprising show of force. “You just don’t get it do you? The new crown bearer that you’re so quick to follow isn’t here to help the city, he’s here to destroy whatever’s left of it.” Her voice dropped close to a whisper. “That gold badge of yours means nothing if you’re going to turn away from the truth.”
John could sense the tension rising in the room and from the corner of his eye noticed Nick trying to hide the phone in his hand, thumb tapping away a secret and eyes darting back and forth. A familiar sense of dread dripped along the inside of his stomach. He needed a way to get them out of there and the clock was ticking. The question, of course, was how.
“Let’s all just calm down for a second,” he said carefully. “There’s chaos on the streets and god knows how many people hurt or dead, so our problems here aren’t worth getting worked up about.” John pointed a quick finger at Nick. “I’m glad you got your money back mate but if you think there’s any more you’re shit out of luck. I don’t have it, and there’s no getting it. If I were you I’d be forgetting about me and bunkering down somewhere safe.” Now he pointed down at Devilian. “You know I’ve got nothing but respect for the badge but it doesn’t come unconditional, mark my words.”
“You and your new friends gunned down…” Devilian began.
“Easy there tiger,” John snapped back. “Something tells me you’re only pissed because the wrong guys went down.” The fresh faced agent warmed the metal of his gun while Nick, pushing himself off of the wall, kept looking back down the hallway. Instinctively, John felt every muscle sizzle with electricity. “There’s no winners in this game mate, not anymore. I know you’ve got a family and that’s where you should be. The job might’ve been important when you woke up this morning but you’re a fool if you think nothing’s changed.”
In the distance a symphony of wailing sirens began to grow, spilling up over the balcony and seeping through the edges of the closed curtains. John could feel Bobbie’s claws digging into his skin and could smell the beads of sweat on his lip. Caught in a room with tunnel visioned agents and a pissed off gangster looking for a big payday, there was only one option as far as he could tell. It was crazy no doubt and probably no better than pissing into the wind, but then what else was there to be done? As a plain clothes cop he’d learned that sometimes the best option was to project confidence and do the unexpected, so that’s what he was going to do. He was going to grab Candice and simply walk on out of there.
With a quick check that his friend was holding tight he reached down, grabbed Candice’s hand and ushered her to her feet. There was obvious confusion on her face but there was no point trying to explain anything.
“Look gentlemen,” he announced, “we’ve all got bigger things to worry about now. The roles you think you gotta play don’t mean shit anymore and the rule book’s out the window.” He sighed to emphasize the point. “Candice and I, we’re leaving now. The only thing left for you is to do the same.”
Together they took a step forward. Nobody else seemed to move. This could actually work, John thought, maybe they actually get it.
It was a short lived fantasy. Quick as a spark on a wire Devilian launched from the sofa with gun pointed squarely at John’s head. His fresh faced companion took less than a second to follow suit.
“Not a chance,” Devilian spat. “Conversation’s over. I’m sorry John but she’s got a piper to pay and you… let’s just say there’s no passport needed where you’re going.”
“I thought we were bringing him in,” the young agent stammered.
“You thought wrong Wickerman. Doctor comes with us, he gets a bullet.”
Devilian steadied his aim and placed a finger on the trigger. There was nothing for John to do but stare down into the dark of the barrel and somehow process that, after all the confusion and madness, he was about to die. There was no hope reaching for his gun so instead he held Bobbie as tight as he possibly could.
“Do it then,” he taunted.
“That would be mistake!” Nick said suddenly, and now he had gun drawn and pointed straight towards Devilian. “I told you my business comes first. Fuck your badge and fuck you.”
In an instant Wickerman spun on his heels and levelled his weapon. “Back down or your brains are all over the wall.”
“I back down when you back down,” Nick hissed. “He’s no good to me dead.”
“No second warning!” Wickerman barked.
Although his heart was racing against his chest John could feel time beginning to slow. In the brief second that Devilian was distracted by Nick’s outburst he grabbed the gun from his waist. Now there were barrels pointed in all directions.
“For god’s sake!” Candice cried out.
Devilian jerked at the sound and flushed red with anger at the sight of John’s gun.
“End of the road mate,” the agent snarled.
“So be it,” John snarled back.
A thunderous crack exploded through the room and Devilian’s face tore open in a burst of red flapping skin and broken teeth. John jumped back waiting for an impact that didn’t come, quickly wiped the blood from his eyes as Devilian’s body dropped to the floor like a bag of wet cement and felt a stinging adrenaline rush at the sudden sight of Vanessa standing in the shadows of the hallway, eyes wide and focussed with smoking gun in hand.
Time dilated.
He threw Candice back down onto the sofa as more deafening gunfire erupted. Utterly terrified, Bobbie dug his claws deep into his flesh and cried out in a heart breaking pitch. Nick slammed back first into the wall as Wickerman dropped to a knee, blood seeping from a hole in his hip. Before he had a chance to balance himself, Nick steadied his arm with a wince and unloaded his clip into the young agent. When the final bullet left the chamber, a moment of smoke tinged silence shook the room. Even the distant wailing sirens seemed to have paused, but Vanessa’s desperate call was quick to usher the shock riddled ambience back in with a vengeance.
“Clock’s run out and we need to get going NOW!”
Candice staggered up from the sofa but couldn’t tear her eyes from the mess that was just moments ago Devilian’s face. She had seen her fair share of death most certainly, but there was something truly unsettling about the expression that managed to linger despite most of his jaw and cheekbones now reduced to mince meat and gristle. Intent, that was it. Even in the cold light of death there was a shark like intent etched across what was left of his features.
“I need three seconds,” she said before running into the kitchen.
John watched as she retrieved something from inside the microwave, while Vanessa began to pace from one foot to the other with nervous energy. The smell of seared flesh and spent gunpowder stained the air as lingering worm like trails of smoke twisted and turned in the struggling sunlight.
“Got it!” Candice announced, revealing a small c
ylinder clasped tight in her hands.
“I’ll ask later,” John promised, “but for now let’s get the hell outta here.”
Together they marched towards the shadows of the hallway where Vanessa had already opened the door. John was about to tell her how glad he was that she’d decided to show up when a strained voice called out from behind.
“Wait…”
He froze, sure there was nothing back there but corpses.
“Friend… I want show you something…”
Against his better judgement he gently passed Bobbie to Candice, who shook her head with worry at what he was about to do.
“Please John, don’t go back there.”
“Listen to the lady!” Vanessa agreed.
“I’ll only be a second,” John mumbled, “I promise.”
He traced a quick finger along Candice’s cheek and made his way back to the living area. Knowing whose voice had defied the quiet of death he stepped past the fallen agents and knelt down beside Nick, who was slumped against the wall with bubbles of blood rising and popping at the corners of his mouth. There was anger seared in his blood shot eyes, but it wasn’t the kind of anger that sought violence and retribution. No, it was an anger born of having something so very precious about to be taken away.
“You don’t look so good,” John said, noticing a bluish tinge creeping along his skin.
“Maybe today I die. Maybe…”
“What do you want Nick? All the money in the world can’t help you now.”
Nick tried to laugh but it quickly turned into a blood soaked wretch. “There is old Russian proverb, eyes are scared but hands are doing.”
“I can’t say I see any fear in your eyes.”
“Until death, we are death.” Nick shuddered as pain ripped across his nervous system. “Fear is for fools but anger comes when dreams are broken.”
“You’ll have to forgive my lack of sympathy…”
“You know nothing!” Nick interrupted. “I come here to help you live. I told you, I have people inside agency and know they will terminate you.”
“You wanted Sebastian’s money.”
“Ha!” Nick managed with a wince. “This is true, but…”
“Let’s get the fuck outta here John!” Vanessa yelled from the hallway.
“I’m sorry Nick,” John said honestly while beginning to stand, “I didn’t want any of this to happen.”
“And yet here I sit growing cold in my own blood.” His voice was barely a whisper now. “Heaven or hell? I will be where I belong…”
With the last of his strength Nick slid a photograph from inside his jacket and placed it into John’s hand. Then, resigned to the moment, he closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall.
John edged back and looked down at the blood smeared photo. Huddled together in front of an old styled mansion in need of a paint job, a large group of kids peered back into the camera with glossy innocence, and in front of them there was Nick, arms held tight across his chest with a school boy like grin across his face. On the other side of the happy portrait was an address scrawled in blue pen. John shook his head and peered down at the Russian, knowing he was about to discover which eternity awaited him.
It was now or never if they were going to make it out alive. He grabbed Devilian’s gun from the floor, stuffed it down the back of his pants and ran towards the entrance where his new entourage was waiting.
“Glad you could make it,” Vanessa said with eyebrows raised.
“We haven’t made it yet,” he replied while easing Bobbie back onto his shoulder. “Let’s hope we live long enough to thank you for saving my life.” He grabbed the gun from the back of his pants and handed it to Candice. “You know how to use one of these?”
“Not really,” she replied while holding it awkwardly.
“There’s not much to it. If someone aims at you, aim straight back and squeeze the trigger.”
John stepped up to the door and placed his ear against the wood, finding nothing but the distant wailing sirens. The looking glass also revealed little and so the moment held little to no choice. If they were going to find out what was waiting for them, they’d have to open the door.
“Whatever happens,” he said softly, “we stick together and head straight down to the car. Anybody, and I mean anybody, wants to get in our way? We do what we have to do.”
With his words heavy in the air he sucked in a deep breath, pulled open the door and ever so slowly leaned out for a look along the hallway. Surprise mixed with suspicion when he found the area quiet and devoid of any activity.
“Let’s head down,” he commanded.
One by one they left the hotel room and stood anxiously as John called one of the elevators. It was hard not to feel vulnerable beneath the bright lights and rows of doors that could spring open at any second. Vanessa stood at the rear looking left and right while Candice struggled to grip her gun properly, and together they willed the elevator to hurry up. The fact that Bobbie seemed relaxed on John’s shoulder helped to ease the edge in the air, but only a little.
Suddenly a voice erupted from the end of the hallway.
“Weapons down and on your knees right now!”
John whipped his head to the right and felt blood rush to his temples at the sight of Special Agent Halls crouched an armed. We should’ve checked the fire escapes, he thought with a curse. Her school teacher like features made for a stark contrast to the deadly threat she now represented.
“On your knees alive or on your back dead.” It was a man’s voice this time, loud and assertive. John craned his neck to the left to spot the source and found three agents in formation and ready to blow them away. His brain began to scramble for options but besides divine intervention he knew any hope was futile.
“What’s it going to be John?” Halls asked, softer this time but still just as threatening.
“This is all a real big mistake,” John said over his shoulder, now wedged between hell and a bad place. “We’re way past telling little lies so don’t tell me you don’t know what the hell’s happening out there.” He could see the agents at the end of the hallway preparing their trigger fingers and knew the inevitable was mere seconds away. “We just want to live Agent Halls. Killing us isn’t going to solve anything.”
“You’re right John, no more little lies. Unfortunately I can’t let you…”
Ding.
John’s eyes widened before it happened again.
Ding.
The first elevator to reach the floor slid open. Bobbie’s claws pushed back into John’s shoulder and whether it was divine intervention, or blind luck, the soft ambience of an empty carriage welcomed them. Either way John couldn’t care, he’d take it.
Knowing the seconds had run out he shoved Candice and Vanessa through the open doors just as the first shot rang out, the bullet slamming into the chrome panel with a sharp hiss. With one hand clamped on Bobbie he leapt into the elevator and slammed his back against the rear wall as the agents unleashed all they had.
Candice screamed and Vanessa edged back into the corner. The sound of lead tearing across wood and metal was like a demonic rain desperate to break through anything in its way, and with a grunt born of adrenaline and fear John lurched forward and smashed frantically at the close door button. Across the hallway the other elevator opened wide.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me…” John managed through gritted teeth.
“Hit that damn button again!” Vanessa cried out.
“I’m trying, I’m trying!”
“Oh Jesus that’s not good…” Candice muttered as the gunfire suddenly paused.
Together they looked across what had become a vast expanse promising only death and watched as five heavily tattooed and heavily armed gangsters stepped into the hall as if the smoking holes along the walls and doors meant nothing. John knew straight away they had come for Nick.
Gunfire erupted yet again but this time the agents didn’t own the advanta
ge as the gangsters unleashed assault rifles in all directions. Lights shattered and pockets of darkness appeared like falling black sheets that crackled with fleeting reds. The largest of Nick’s rescue team screamed as his cheek opened up and a bullet seared through his stomach, sending him spinning into the wall with a sharp grunt. John watched as he squirmed in agony, and then the elevator doors closed.
The explosive gunfire and screams became muffled and distant as a violin concerto regained the din of the elevator. Candice made no attempt to wipe the tears streaming down her face, her knuckles now white around the steel of the gun. Vanessa placed a hand on her shoulder and turned to inspect the fresh bullet holes along the top of the wall, a soft whistle escaping her lips.
“Dodging a bullet ain’t just a saying no more.”
“And classical music sure as hell will never be the same,” John replied.
“What are we supposed to do?” Candice asked, “where are we supposed to go?”
Vanessa thought for a moment then smiled at her solution. “Leave that to me honey, I’ve got just the place.”
The violins swelled in volume and fluttered along intricate scales. John began to tap his gun against his leg as Bobbie pushed closer against his neck. They’d been lucky no doubt about it, but escaping the frying pan meant the oven was waiting.
“We’re getting off early,” he announced while punching the button for the second floor.
“Amen to that,” Vanessa hummed.
The doors slid open and together they staggered into the hall. John broke away to the right, scanning the walls until he found what he was looking for.
“The fire alarm should lock the elevators down and send whoever’s left downstairs in a panic,” he figured, “so it’ll be messy but we might get the edge we need.”
“I don’t care how bad it gets I just want to get out of here,” Candice said.
The Hallucigenia Project Page 61