by J N Duncan
“Her baby,” Jackie said, shoulders slumping. “We have to go threaten her baby again.”
“Worked before. No reason to think it won’t work again.”
Shelby looked skeptical. “Can you handle her, Nick? You said before that she might be stronger than we can deal with.”
“Before?” Jackie wondered. “What before?”
“Cynthia went to see if Rosa was at home,” Nick said, “and nearly got strangled. This must have been before she came and took you.”
“Oh. Can you handle her?”
“Between Shelby and me, we should be able to hold her for the few seconds you’d need to cross back.”
“And after that? How do we keep her out?”
Nick gave her a grim smile. He had no ready answer for that one because he honestly had no idea if Jackie could hold Rosa off. “We’ll keep an eye on you until this Vasquez guy is tracked down and caught. Speaking of which, I should call McManus and warn him that you’re out there looking.”
Jackie shook her head and then put her face in her hands, mumbling something Nick could not quite understand. He punched in McManus’s number, who sounded like he had just woke up when he answered.
“McManus? Nick Anderson.”
“Hey . . . Nick? We’ve got a big ol’ cluster fuck going on here. I’m pretty sure Rosa has Jackie.”
His stomach tensed. “You’ve seen her, then?”
“You could call it that. We need to find her quick. She sucker-punched me and took my gun.”
Jackie’s head snapped up. She had heard McManus’s message. “Oh, shit. I’m so screwed.”
Nick raised a finger to her to be quiet. “Do you have any idea where she was heading?”
“Jackie!” Laurel shouted or tried to, but her strength was not up to it. “We’ll figure this out.”
“Yeah, she got me right after I told her where Vasquez might be,” said McManus.
Damn. “You found him?” asked Nick.
“Maybe. Reliable source, but still have to check it out.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Ten minutes, maybe,” McManus replied.
“Try and find her,” he said. “I’m going to see if we can get Rosa out, so she might be back to the same old Jackie we know and love.”
There was a pause on the other end. “Get her out, Nick? Where you at?”
“Home.”
Another pause. “OK, then. I wouldn’t mind being clued in a bit more on this.”
“Soon. Call me if you find her.” Nick hung up. “We need to act fast. Jackie, I’m going to need you to help pull Shelby and me across. Think you can do that?”
Laurel sat up. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Nick.”
“We go after Rosa’s babe, she comes back. We need to do this now before Rosa kills someone else. She may know where Vasquez is.”
Shelby stood up. “Nick’s right. Five minutes ago would’ve been better.”
“You want my help?” Laurel said.
“No,” Nick replied. “Stay here. This shouldn’t take long and I don’t want to risk you with Rosa again.”
Jackie waved her hands in warning. “Wait a sec. Laur, what about that thing we saw?”
The nervous, wide-eyed look concerned Nick. “Thing? What thing?”
Laurel shook her head. “No idea what it was. It wasn’t human, though.”
“What?” Nick and Shelby asked simultaneously.
“It was black with these long spindly arms and covered in something . . . spikes or quills, I don’t know, but it had these huge, green eyes and gave me the damnedest look when it saw me.”
“It come after you?” Nick wondered. There was something non-human in Deadworld? How was that possible? What could it be? At the moment though, it did not matter. They had to get Rosa out of Jackie’s body immediately.
“Yeah,” Jackie replied. “Freakiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“All right,” Nick said. “We’ll deal with that later, since I’m not even sure what to say about that. This won’t take us long, if the last time is any indication.”
Jackie sighed. “It freaks me out more knowing my body is out there being used by someone else.”
A clap startled him. Shelby grinned and rubbed her hands together. “Let’s do this. Jackie, you know how to open the door?”
“You could say that,” Laurel said quietly.
“Apparently I do,” Jackie said with a shrug. “But I didn’t actually do anything. It just happened.”
Nick raised an eyebrow with surprise. “You must have done something, Jackie.”
She motioned with her hands, flustered. “Not really. I just . . . um . . . closed my eyes and pictured the door and it was there.”
“Seriously?” Shelby said. “Show us, Jackie.”
“But I don’t”—she started and then shrugged—“OK. No guarantees. I have no clue what I’m doing.”
She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. Nick watched her intently, focusing his senses on the space around them, ready to add his own strength to hers, but it was not necessary. It only took seconds. In the air behind Jackie, the world cracked open and the rush of Deadworld’s air hit him in the face. It wasn’t a door being cracked open like he was used to, a heavy weight to be forced open with great expense of energy. This was a sliding door, wheeled back on greased rollers, effortless and opened wide.
“Good God,” Shelby whispered in awe.
Nick couldn’t agree more. “Incredible.”
Jackie turned and stared through the opening, arms folded across her chest. “Yea for me.”
Nick laid a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure this out. Don’t go anywhere once we’re over.” Nick stepped forward wincing at the pain of transition, the instant cold ache in his bones. A moment later they were all through, standing in the monotone gray, Deadworld version of his living room. “Now then. I imagine this is going to be quick. Jackie, I don’t want you inside. Stay out of her house.” She nodded in agreement. “Once Rosa comes back, you should be able to go right back to your body.”
“How?”
“Rosa won’t be blocking your way,” he replied. “Just keep trying once we get over there. Once you’ve gone we’ll leave.”
“Don’t you think she’ll attack?”
“She will. Rosa thinks that I can drain her. She might be angry but she’s not stupid.”
Jackie appeared worried. “Can you? Drain her, I mean.”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Nick said. He hoped it did not come to that. “I’m counting on the threat being enough to get us out.”
Shelby took a hold of her hand. “Important thing is getting you back, and making sure she doesn’t get to you again.”
“You going to keep me awake for the rest of my life?”
Always the smartass. Nick gave her a fleeting smile. “No. We’ll just keep you under watch until Vasquez is caught. I think Rosa will be done once the source of her rage is dealt with. You ready to go over there?” They were wasting precious time. Nobody knew how close Rosa was to confronting Vasquez.
“No, but let’s do this. I want my body back,” Jackie said.
Nick reached out and took her hand and offered his other to Shelby. Jackie’s cold hand felt incredibly small and frail in his grasp. If Rosa proved a problem, he would have to take her out. He would not let her get close to Jackie. “Here we go.”
They arrived together on Rosa’s front steps, engulfed immediately by the baby’s keening wail. Was it any wonder Rosa was driven to kill those responsible? Jackie flinched and pulled away from his grasp. “What is it?”
“She knows we’re here,” Shelby said. “And not happy about it.”
Nick walked up and opened the door. “Stay here, Jackie. Be ready. I’ll get a hold of you as soon as I can after we’re done.”
She nodded, arms folded over her chest. She looked like a lost, homeless waif, battered and shrunk in on herself. “Be careful,” she said.
&nb
sp; Shelby followed him and they went quickly up the stairs. He figured it would not take Rosa long to jump back and she proved him right. Her presence lit up the bedroom even as he was opening the door.
“Get out!”
“Rosa—” he began, but it was as far as he got. She leaped at him, hands extended like claws, reaching for his throat. The speed at which she moved took him by surprise and she was on him before he could even get his hands up to protect himself.
“Stay away from my baby,” she screamed. Her legs clamped around his waist and the momentum carried them tumbling backward into the hall.
“Nick!” Shelby cried out, leaping to his aid.
The hands at his throat were digging in with ferocious tenacity, cutting off his air. “Rosa,” he gasped, but it was all he could muster. Shelby’s arm came around and hooked around Rosa’s throat, trying to pry her loose, but even her blood-fueled power could not pull the vengeful woman free.
“Goddamn, Rosa,” she grunted. “We’re not after your baby.”
Nick felt the power of a doorway opening nearby and then abruptly close. Jackie’s presence was no longer nearby, which hopefully meant she had returned to her body. Rosa noticed, too, and the pressure around his neck abruptly subsided. She reached up with one hand and grabbed Shelby by the hair, flinging her down the hall to crash on the floor.
“No!” Rosa let loose a tirade in Spanish and turned her burning gaze back to Nick. She balled up one small fist and cocked it above his face.
“Shel! Go!” Nick turned and brought up a forearm to block. The force of her blow snapped his arm back into his face hard enough that he heard something crack in his nose. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the hallway was now empty. Rosa pivoted and brought her other fist down, but Nick was ready for this one and caught it in his hand, diverting the blow away from his face. “Don’t force me to drain you, Rosa. I don’t want to.”
She yanked her hand free, face twisted up into rage, but her eyes widened with fear. “Devil!” Her body sprang back, one moment clamped around his body, the next several feet back, crouched to attack. Nick took a defensive stance.
“She’s not yours to use, Rosa,” he said. “We’ll stop Vasquez.”
She shifted around to his left and Nick turned to counter. “I will kill him. He must die.”
“Not by your hand,” he replied. “We’ll take him down. You need to take care of your babe.”
“He wants his blood! I will get it,” she hissed, and jumped at him once again.
Nick took the momentum of her jump, pivoted, and threw her to the ground, coming down on top of her. He summoned up the energy from the souls within him and began to draw upon Rosa’s spirit. Her eyes turned wild, her body bucking against him, nearly throwing him off, but Nick kept her arms pinned to the ground. She screamed at him, cursing in Spanish, her head thrashing side to side.
Nick could feel her pulling energy from her baby. “Rosa, you will destroy him. Stop.”
“Let me go,” she yelled. “Rennie must die.”
“Rosa!” He dug his fingers into her shoulders and slammed her against the floor. “Stop this! Or I will take your soul.”
Finally, fear seemed to take over. The bucking stopped. She began to cry. “My boy needs justice.”
“And we’ll get it,” he said. “Let us do this. If you can’t, I’ll be forced to take you. I won’t let you use Jackie again.”
Rosa went limp and began to sob. “Devil. It’s not fair. It’s not fair.”
“I’m sorry.” He knew how she felt, knew how deep-seated that need for vengeance could be. He had been there. “Take care of your baby. He needs you. Let the living deal with its own, Rosa. Let it be.” He let go of her at last and swung himself off of her body. “I’m going to go now. If I come back, Rosa, this will be finished.”
She sat up, chest heaving with sobs. “Go, Devil! I hate you.”
Nick sighed. Was it enough? Would she stop? He hoped the threat was serious enough, but he wasn’t going to count on it. He would still need to keep an eye on Jackie.
“Goodbye, Rosa. I hope you find peace.” He focused on his home and a moment later was gone.
Chapter 33
Jackie came around to familiar surroundings. She was seated in her Durango, slumped against an inflated airbag. In front of her, a minivan parked along the curb was mashed into the crumpled hood of her SUV. Sirens wailed nearby. She fumbled for the handle and opened the door, falling to her knees as she stumbled out of the vehicle. The immediacy of her exhausted body was overwhelming and for a moment she just remained on her hands and knees, trying to get her bearings and strength to get back to her feet. The pain was a welcome relief. She could feel things again. Her body was solid and living. Tires screeched to her left.
“Rosa!” It was McManus. He ran up. “Don’t move, Rosa. Just . . . stay right there.”
She could see him from the waist down, his creased slacks and polished leather shoes, but she could not motivate her head to peer up to see his face. His hands moved over her, patting her down and Jackie tried to pull away, but she only sat down on her butt. It hit her then he was looking for the gun Rosa hand taken.
“It’s the real me, McManus. Look in the car,” she said. It had to be in there. God, how was she going to explain this? The BPS people were going to be all over her.
McManus stepped around her and a moment later came out. He held the gun at his side, grip firm and ready. “Jack, is it really you?”
She nodded. “Is your daughter named Amanda? Do you come from Gang Enforcement in San Francisco? Are you a divorced guy trying to make this whole agent-family thing work?” His grip relaxed somewhat. “Sorry, Ryan. I’m really sorry.” His left eye was swollen and darkening into quite the shiner.
He knelt down beside her. “Thank Christ you’re back. Are you hurt?”
“No more than I was.” She swallowed hard. “Put me in the back of your car.”
“What?”
“I need a safe place. In case Rosa comes back.”
“Oh, yeah. OK. Here, let me help you up.” He gripped her arm and Jackie dug her fingers into his jacket and struggled to her feet. Her legs shook with the effort.
She shuffled with him back to his car and flopped down into the seat. At that moment, her cell rang. She dug it out and sighed with relief. It was Nick. “Hey. You made it out OK?”
“We did,” he said. “Hopefully Rosa will stay put. How’s it going there?”
“Ryan’s here,” she said, “and I crashed the damn Durango.”
His voice tensed. “You weren’t hurt, were you?”
“I hurt all over Nick, but not from that. I don’t think my body has slept for three days, and my head is still killing me.”
“No meds, Jackie,” he said. “You need to stay awake until we can get out there. Rosa is probably waiting for her chance to come back.”
That was news she wanted to hear. “Thanks for that. You can take me home after I get fired.”
“You won’t get fired. Belgerman won’t let them fire you for this.”
“Nick, I punched a fellow agent and took his weapon. Even if I can tell the BPS the reason why and they actually believed me, I don’t think it would matter. I’m screwed.” Another car pulled up alongside McManus’s car. It was Pernetti. “And now the fun really begins. Just . . . hurry, Nick. What if Rosa tries to come back while I’m awake?”
There was a pause, long enough to tell Jackie that he was not sure of the answer. “I think she would have tried already if she could. She’s weakening, Jackie. Her strength comes from the babe and it’s waning. You’re too strong for her while you’re awake, Jackie. Remember that.”
Strong. That was so not true. She had never felt weaker, entirely at the whims of things she did not fully comprehend, like the sadistic stepfather who tortured and tormented her mother to the point of suicide. How or why did such things exist in this world? “I’ll see you soon?”
“We’re on our way now.�
�
Jackie clicked off and lay back against the seat. They could not get there fast enough. All she wanted to do right now was curl up and go to sleep. Better yet, if Laurel could show up, that would go a long way to alleviating her stress. She muttered quietly to herself, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Laurel right over.”
Pernetti rapped his knuckles on the window. “What the fuck, Jack? Have you lost your mind? Why are you locked up in McManus’s car?”
“Pretty much and long story,” she snapped back. “Go away.”
“What were you doing? Chasing ghosts again?”
“Not now, Pernetti.”
He stared at her through the window. “Yeah. You look like shit. McManus!” He walked away, thankfully leaving her alone.
Something swelled and stretched the fabric of space around her and Jackie lurched up.
You tricked me.
The air froze in Jackie’s lungs. “Rosa,” she whispered.
Let me in, so we may finish this. My little boy needs justice!
Jackie could feel Rosa pushing at the door, nudging and prying with her throat-clenching fingers. Once the moment of utter panic had subsided to a dull quaking in her boots, Jackie realized a different tone to Rosa’s rants. She was desperate. “We’ll get Vasquez. We’ll get your justice, Rosa.” I’m strong. I am strong.
Jail? That’s your justice? Fuck your justice! The desperation was pure anger again. Rennie Vasquez must die. He will be killed like he killed me and my poor little boy! And I don’t care if your Devil destroys me.
A sudden cramp gripped Jackie’s stomach, twisting it into a violent knot. She doubled over in the seat, sucking in her breath. “Oh, fuck. Rosa, stop!” A kaleidoscope of images tumbled through her brain, drenched in a sheen of red: a flashing knife thrust between her thighs, plunging into her womb, unzipped from sternum to navel with everything fumbling out through panicked fingers, all at the hand of the psychopathic Rennie Vasquez.
Jackie fell over in the seat, swatting at the imaginary knife, kicking at the drug-fueled insanity of Rennie, and then covering her head as the pistol aimed itself at her forehead. “No!” she screamed. “No, stop!”