Dark Side Darker

by Lucas T. Harmond

In Ian’s mind a scenario was rapidly developing. “Unless he went up against someone he couldn’t handle.”

  “Seems unlikely. Besides Heath’s gone quiet. He’s not on the warpath. Narc’s got it figured it was him who had his own people done, some kind of internal dispute, taking a larger cut then they should or some such nonsense.”

  Ian spoke to himself. “Maybe,” he paused to take a sip of tea and then spoke again. “I’m thinking maybe it isn’t Heath who’s running his own organisation, not anymore.”

  “What?! Heath wouldn’t sit quiet while someone else was taking over his firm.”

  “He would if he didn’t have the choice. If he was being controlled.”

  “Controlled!? By who? Ian what are you talking about?”

  Ian was silent for a second, numerous scenarios forming in his mind. “I can’t explain. Not over the phone at least. Tell me, what fronts is he operating?”

  “A number of night clubs, restaurants. He’s got fingers in launderettes, all sorts.” He paused. “On the surface he’s nothing other than a shrewd business man.”

  “Nah, that’s not it.”

  “What do you mean ‘that’s not it?’ That’s what he runs!”

  Ian was frustrated. “Something else,” he said.

  There was a long silence.

  “Callum?”

  “I’m thinking. I think he’s still got a warehouse he rents space in over Hershaw Green, is that what you’re looking for?”

  “Christ,” said Ian. He felt like his head was going to explode. “Christ, I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. I’m just so fucking tired.”

  “Ian, you should walk away from this, enjoy your leave.”

  Ian spoke sharply. “I can’t! Leave it at that! Look, Callum can you just send a list of Heath’s properties to my house, fax them.”

  “Oh Jesus I don’t know...”

  “Callum, please...”

  Over the phone Ian heard Callum sigh. “Shit, okay. I’ll wait till a few of the suits have cleared off though. It could be quite a lot later.”

  “That’s fine lad. Look I really appreciate this.”

  “Look, just remember you owe me,” said Callum, and hung up.

  SPIDER IN THE WEB

  NICKOLOI PAUSED, STANDING TALL and lanky, looking up at the dirty-white building. A mass of white concrete slabs and rows of darkened windows, behind which figures rushed along.

  He’d asked for directions and this was the place.

  He watched the students spill down the steps with cold disdain.

  He counted to eight and then made his way up the steps towards the main building.

  He violently flung open the glass doors of the building, receiving a look of anger from a plump girl with dyed braids. He considered killing her and then remembered Zackeriah’s warning to him. He looked forward to the time when he could separate from his self-appointed leader. There would be no such considerations then. No, then he would stand as the God he was.

  He moved to the reception desk. The lady there smiled at him but when she was met with the coldness of his glare her smile quickly faded.

  “C-can I help you?” she asked nervously.

  “The Dean?” he hissed and without waiting for a reply turned his back on her and made for the lift. In a millisecond her untrained mind, opened merely by the suggestion of the word ‘Dean’ had told him the location of his office. The thought of talking to this quivering lump of meat again disgusted him.

  As the doors of the lift opened, he saw the features of its occupants become uncomfortable.

  Although humans remained unaware of the presence of his kind, at some animal level they could still sense the difference. This was why Malok, Zackeriah and he had opted to use meat puppets in the first place. First the shambling Harper and later a few days re-conditioning the crew which had foolishly attempted to take over their operation.

  “To move amongst them openly,” Zackeriah had said, “would be dangerous.”

  He, himself, regarded them as little more than cattle.

  Nickoloi smiled coldly and pushed his way into the lift. Its human occupants shifted aside to avoid touching him.

  A few minutes later he found himself in front of the university Dean’s office.

  ‘knock, knock,’ he thought.

  “Come in,” came the muffled reply.

  He opened the door smiling coldly. The Dean was looking at the door with a confused expression.

  “Did you knock? The strangest thing... I just got the feeling someone was there and before I could...”

  “Shut up,” Nickoloi said.

  This stunned the man into silence and he sat there looking flummoxed.

  Clearly showing no regard for his presence, Nickoloi pulled out a chair and seated himself. He sat for a moment in silence staring at the red-faced, overweight man who sat before him.

  The Dean, feeling both uncomfortable and also something he couldn’t clearly identify, spoke once more. “Sorry, can I help you in some way?”

  “I’m looking for someone.”

  “Not the police again!” He paused and then quietly to himself said. “No, not the police.”

  Nickoloi mimicked him. “No, not the police.” He pushed a thought into the Dean’s head.

  “You’re looking for Josh Holt?? Whatever has he got himself into? First the police and then—sorry, who did you say you were?”

  Nickoloi shook his head sadly. “Shut up,” he said calmly after a pause. He was enjoying the game.

  The Dean spoke quickly and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Sorry,” he said and there was a look of terror in his old eyes.

  “I need an address for this boy Josh and any friends he may have. And parents.” He sighed. This encounter had already become tiresome.

  The Dean fidgeted awkwardly. “I can’t just give out address. Not to just anyone.”

  “You can,” Nickoloi told him.

  “I can?” asked the Dean bewildered.

  “You can,” Nickoloi confirmed coldly.

  There was a pause. “Er, okay I’ll just have Jane run you off some copies.”

  “No,” said Nickoloi. “The original files will do.”

  “But,” said the Dean and then said no more as Nickoloi had jammed his central nervous system. He made the man rise abruptly to his feet and moved him towards a set of filing cabinets. As he approached, the lock clicked open and without being touched the drawer slid quickly open. Automatically the Dean began to sort out the files needed. His face was contorted under both immense strain and confusion.

  After a few minutes he had all the files Nickoloi had instructed him to retrieve.

  Cooly, Nickoloi held out his hand and the Dean placed a collection of manila folders into it. Without saying another word, Nickoloi rose to his feet and walked to the door.

  “What just happened?” asked the Dean.

  Nickoloi just looked at him icily. “Sit down,” he said and as the man fell rapidly into his chair, he exited the office and made his way to the lift.

  STATIC

  JOSH SAT BESIDE SARAH, holding her hand. Its coldness disturbed him. The sun had long since set. An ocean of smog choked golds and oranges melting above the grey concrete. Then the darkness had crept in, announcing it’s arrival with the lighting of street-lamps and tower blocks.

  Keeping his head low, he crept to the window. From the total darkness of the room he peered out. Below in the street sat the dormant car, a cigarette burning somewhere inside.

  Josh shook his head and cursed to himself. The house was still being watched. Sarah was still unconscious. And still they had no leads.

  Across the landing, Rufus, Karen and Ian stood in a darkened room while a fax machine noisily printed out a sheet of addresses. Feeling useless, Josh let go of Sarah’s hand which fell lifelessly to her side and went to join them. “Is this going to help?” he asked as he entered the room. “If we can’t even get out of the house?” Ian looked at him with disdain. “And wh
at do you suggest lad?” Josh fell silent. “Man this is bullshit,” mumbled Rufus. “Shut up Rufus,” Karen said quietly. She looked at Ian. “What makes you think this has anything to do with the drug?” “This man, Heath, he’s deep into drugs...”

  Josh cut him off, speaking without thinking. “The dealers we’re looking for aren’t even human!”

  Ian sighed. He was too tired for this kind of crap. He spoke to Josh like a patient parent speaking to an errant child. “The dealers you spoke to were. Didn’t this Carthy of yours say something about them being puppets? I think these people, have taken over the whole of Heath’s organisation in the same way.” He paused then added. “After seeing what they did to you I can believe anything.”

  “So the whole lot of them would be puppets?”

  “It makes sense if you think about it. They make use of already existing connections and networks and all without attracting any attention directly to themselves.”

  Josh shook his head. “You’re speculating though, right?”

  Ian laughed gruffly. “Maybe, but I don’t think so. They found a number of Heath’s boys dead with ‘self-inflicted’ wounds. Short of a suicide pact, I don’t see what else it could mean. Besides, something didn’t sit right with the whole story. Just didn’t sound like the normal drug bollocks.”

  “Speaking of which,” said Rufus. “Can I roll a spliff?”

  Ian looked at him. “Not in my house lad. Drugs are just slow suicide in small doses.”

  “What about our friends outside? What are we going to do about them?” Josh asked.

  The only noise was the fax machine’s whirling.

  “Ian?”

  “I’m still working on that,” he said after awhile. He pulled the finished sheet from the machine. “Right let’s see what we got—a number of restaurants, launderettes... a warehouse over...”

  “That’s it!” Josh snapped into life. “I’ve seen it! That’s it.”

  Ian looked at him mildly baffled. “How do you know?”

  “Well, I saw it in a dream. I’m not sure when but I know that’s it!”

  “You’re sure?”

  “As much as I can be. Seriously. I saw it, it was full of cages.”

  Ian laughed. “Cages? Full of what?”

  Josh paused. “Weird shit probably.”

  “Hmmm,” said Ian, studying the sheet he held in is hand. “Well, in that case I guess we check it out.”

  “What about the guard?” asked Karen.

  Something Josh couldn’t identify flashed into his mind’s eye and left him with a question. “Do you have a gun, detective?”

  Ian looked up, blue light from the room’s computer lighting his face.

  Rufus snorted. “What’s with the ‘detective’ crap?”

  Josh seemed mildly stunned. “Huh? I was just asking a question. Do you Ian?”

  Ian paused. “Actually, yes.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” said Karen. “I don’t know if that’s the...”

  She was interrupted by Rufus. “Fuck them! They shot at us first!”

  “Ian?” Said Josh

  “I’m thinking. The trouble this will get me into is beyond measure.” He paused, looking inward. “It will probably mean an end to my time on the force but...”

  “But,” repeated Josh.

  “But I don’t take kindly to having an armed guard on my house. And that’s the least of it. I’ve been royally fucked on this one! No answers, told to keep quiet, while all the time going out of my fucking mind looking for some kind of answer. No, fuck them. In truth I’m doing this for me. I need to know what I saw!” His voice had rose steadily the whole time he had spoke, till he was almost shouting. Now he looked back up, determination burning in his eyes. “Get ready to go. I’m going to get the gun.”

  MR JACK

  “STAY HERE,” IAN SAID and flung open the front door. Even as he was walking down the path the car’s window was winding down. As he reached the car he simply smiled and thrust the gun into the driver’s face. He was visibly stunned.

  “Get the fuck out the car!” Ian growled.

  “Jesus mate,” stammered the driver. “I don’t think you’ve thought this through!”

  Ian ignored him. “Josh, Karen,” Ian called without taking his eyes from the driver. “Come on, we’re going for a ride.”

  The driver had instinctively raised his hands above his head.

  There was a gleam in Ian’s eyes he didn’t like. “Really mate, you need to think this through.”

  “Shut the fuck up, you cunt,” Ian snarled. Behind him Josh, Rufus and Karen shuffled into the street.

  “Look, it’s Ian right? Look this isn’t going to help. It’s just going...”

  “If you speak again, I’m going to shoot you. Okay?”

  The man nodded silently.

  “Good. Now give me your phone and whatever means you have of contacting you superiors.”

  “I only have a phone and the intercoms in the car.”

  “Well, give me your phone then.”

  Rufus, Karen and Josh reached the car just as the man was passing Ian the phone. Without another word Ian dropped it into the drain at his feet.

  The man grimaced “Oh god, not my phone.”

  “Just shut up and get out of the car,” Ian said abruptly.

  “Is this really wise?” Karen asked quietly from behind.

  “Fuck wise!” mumbled Rufus.

  Steadily the young suit stepped out of the car and again put his hands in the air.

  Ian kept the gun on him. “Okay, everyone in the car.”

  Saying little, the three friends got into the large car. In the back Rufus stretched out, admiring the white leather interior. “Now this is living,” he said.

  Outside Ian gestured to the pavement with his gun. “Okay, get on the ground and put your hands behind your head.”

  “You serious?”

  “Deadly!”

  “Okay, okay,” the man said and began lowering himself to the pavement.

  Once he was lying face-down, Ian opened the car’s door. He checked the keys were in the ignition and then spoke to him again. “Okay, we’re going for a little drive now. If you get up before we’re gone I’m going to shoot you. Understand?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” the man mumbled.

  Ian started up the big engine and they roared away.

  “Man that was cool!” Rufus said, looking back at the prone figure of the man from the back window.

  “I can’t believe I just did that,” mumbled Ian.

  “What choice did they leave you?” asked Karen seriously.

  Ian hit the steering wheel in frustration. “Damn it!! This means the end of my time on the force for sure. I can’t believe I did it. Jesus! It barely seemed like me!”

  Josh was hardly listening. “Were we right to leave Sarah? Will she be alright?”

  “I don’t see we could have done much for her,” said Rufus.

  “Besides,” added Ian. “If we do find your dealers and Carthy was right, they’re the only people who have the cure anyway.”

  “What if she gets worse though? Besides I’m not sure if he was lying.”

  “We can’t go back now anyway, so it’s a moot point,” snapped Karen, after which there followed a period of silence broken only by Ian again mumbling. “Damn, I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

  After this they drove on in silence.

  THE SITE

  “WE’VE GOT MOVEMENT. It, it looks like one of our cars?”

  The man was standing at the window of a large abandoned dusty building. Beside him there sat an expensive digital camera with a top of the line zoom on a tripod. Behind him, another younger suit sat at an old wooden desk wearing a pair of earphones and listening to a hyper-sensitive sound mic aimed at the warehouse opposite. He looked up at his partner with intrigue.

  Around the room a series of runes had been carefully drawn with chalk and both agents stood inside drawn circles marked with simil
ar figures and designs. Around the room, a series of what looked like dreamcatchers hung from the warping ceiling. Lastly, complicated talismans hung around the necks of the two men. As an extra precaution they kept their minds largely blank, in deep meditation as they had been trained to do.

  The first agent stood with the whole of his attention fixed on the phone he held. On the other end there was only silence.

  “Sir?”

  “It’s that damn detective,” came the reply. “The man outside his house just called in on a public phone. The detective was holding the students and they stole our man’s car.”

  “But how did they know to come here?”

  “That’s not important right now. Both of you get down there now and for God’s sake don’t let them reach the warehouse. If they alert the others to our presence before the Casendrull’s arrive we may never find them again. Remember the detective’s armed, but don’t shoot them unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

  “Understood.”

  “WELL THIS IS IT,” said Ian as he pulled the car to the curb.

  “It looks deserted,” said Karen looking at the unlit, decaying building which stood beyond a rusty chain-link fence.

  “What should we do now?” asked Rufus.

  “Well, we could just ask them for the cure,” quipped Josh.

  “No, I’m serious,” said Rufus. “These guys have some serious powers! They possessed you from somewhere else in the city. Shit, who knows, maybe they even know we’re here now. Maybe they brought us here!”

  “You’re getting too paranoid Rufus. I think you should give the weed a rest.”

  “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” said Ian. “Well, I guess we check it out.”

  “What if they’re here?” asked Rufus. “We can’t take these guys!”

  “I’ve got a gun,” said Ian.

  “So what? you’ll probably end up shooting yourself, or us.”

  The car fell into silence, broken only by Ian speaking all their minds.

  “He’s right! We’re totally out of our league here!”

  Josh could think only of Sarah. “But we’ve got to do something!”

  “Yeah, but what?” asked Rufus.