Katie’s War

by Michael Todd

  Pandora had gone back inside Katie, wanting time to try to figure out what happened. At least this place never changes.

  Katie stood in the entryway for a moment watching the girls rushing around loading ammo. It doesn’t, and that is nice. So many other things change constantly.

  Pandora growled. Except for your lack of a fucking sex life. That seems to stay the same—miserable and dry.

  Katie rolled her eyes and walked forward, ignoring her. She waved at a couple of the girls and looked toward the back. Sitting inside a glass-fronted room was Joshua, obviously deep in thought. He looked almost as if he were talking to himself as he scribbled notes on the papers in front of him. Katie chuckled and made her way toward him.

  As she approached, Joshua glanced up, doing a double-take when he saw her. A huge smile moved over his face. She went in and closed the door behind her, shutting out the loud machine noises. Joshua got up and came around his desk to give her a big hug. It was quite the change from when he’d first come to her compound and was terrified of anyone with a demon in them. Then again, he had become not only the scientist of the operation but a warrior as well.

  He shook his head. “It’s good to see you, Katie. I was wondering when you would find your way back here again. I heard about your meeting at the World Council.”

  Katie scoffed. “Yeah, that was fun. How are things going here?”

  Joshua looked out at the floor. “It’s going really well, actually. We are working at full capacity again. I hope that doesn’t change for a while. How about you? Things good in the slayer world?”

  Katie laughed and sat down in the chair as Joshua went back around the desk. “You know me, gotta save someone. If it’s not demons, I’m doing my angel thing.”

  Pandora groaned. And it’s fucking exhausting.

  Joshua smirked. “Let me guess, you have a new project, and you need badass new weapons.”

  Katie chuckled. “You know me so well. Actually, I need one specific new weapon. I am going to be taking the fight to the demons...again. This time I need a big-ass special-metal bomb. Something that not only packs a fucking monster of an explosion but follows it up with special metal radiation raining down on those scabs.”

  Joshua’s eyes glinted with excitement. “Oh yeah, I can definitely get something put together for you. It’ll take a little bit of time.”

  Katie nodded. “Perfection always does. Just let me know when you got it.”

  Joshua leaned back in his chair, suddenly looking nervous. “I will do that. But there is something I needed to talk to you about.”

  Katie lifted an eyebrow. “You getting married or something?”

  Joshua snorted. “Uh, no. No prospects there. No, it is about you and the general.”

  Katie nodded knowingly. “Figured this would come up.”

  Joshua leaned forward. “Yeah, I was told that you aren’t working for him anymore. General Brushwood has been speaking with Korbin and me because of the whole thing Korbin has been doing for him. Nobody’s said anything about this, but I wanted to be in the know. Does this mean we won’t be selling bullets to the government anymore? Or any governments, for that matter?”

  Katie closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, no. That is not at all what it means. Look, what happened between the general and me was not bad. It may be with the other political leaders, but that is a political issue, not a safety issue. I don’t care what kind of disagreement I have with them, I would never leave people hanging in the balance out there. Those people need to be ready, they need to be armed, and they need to be protected.”

  Joshua let out a deep breath. “Okay, good. I have all these orders and we’ve been filling and sending them out, hoping you were going to say that.”

  Katie smiled. “That was a good call. Look, I like to work on my own. I don’t mean without you guys, but without military or government oversight. We tried it when I originally went to the general, but when it came down to it, there was always someone trying to call the shots. I need to be able to fight how I want and when I want in order for us to have any chance of surviving this war. Diplomatic red tape just gets in the way of that. Then, like the World Council, people start to get paranoid.”

  Joshua nodded. ‘Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of that just watching the news. The fear-mongering is ridiculous.”

  Katie crossed her legs. “I know, and I want to be able to make things safer. So no, I am not going to take verbal orders from them, but I will not deprive the people and the military of this absolutely necessary weaponry. That would only aid the demons in their conquest to take over Earth. Same reason we give private dealers a huge discount—we want everyone to be armed. The general populace will ultimately be the ones who win this war.”

  Joshua smiled. “You’re right. In the end, the humans will prevail. But I have to ask—did you really tell the World Council to go fuck itself?”

  Katie smirked mischievously. “No, of course not. Pandora gave them the bird.”

  Katie skipped out of the armory, stoked to see what kind of weapon of mass destruction Joshua would come up with next. She was itching to get in there and kick some demon ass. They had been fucking around with her for far too long. No more dainty shit, and no more answering to the bigwigs. She was going to do it on her watch, with her own ideas.

  As the door to the armory closed behind her, she put up her hand, noticing swirling sand. The sound of spinning chopper blades caught her attention, and she looked up to see a helo landing on the pad not far from where she was. Not sure who it was, she hurried over and stood next to one of the security guards. As the door slid open, she smiled, seeing Calvin step out onto the pad.

  He looked at Katie and chuckled, grabbing his bag and bending low as he ran toward her. “There’s my girl. I wasn’t positive you would be here.”

  Katie waited until the chopper took off again. “Yeah, I had some stuff I gotta take care of out here. Why are you on the chopper?”

  Calvin looked up as it sped off. “I was on my way to meet Korbin on a government plane, but I wanted to swing in through here, so Timothy sent the chopper to pick me up.”

  They started walking toward the main building. “So, how was the honeymoon?”

  Calvin smiled big. “It was fucking unbelievable. The most beautiful sunsets, the most delicious dinners, the best wine. And of course, the most amazing new wife a man could ask for. I didn’t want to take my toes out of the sand even for a second. It was definitely a different experience going there without red eyes and a need to save every damsel in distress.”

  Katie laughed loudly. “Right, like you wouldn’t have saved one if you saw her.”

  Calvin tilted his head from side to side. “Maybe, but we didn’t leave our cabana and private beach that often. The water was crystal blue and the sand was warm under my feet. It was hard to leave there, and even harder leaving my new wife.”

  Katie shook her head. “I bet. I didn’t think you would be back so soon.”

  Calvin shrugged. “I needed to get back to work. It’s time, and I knew things would be different with me not being infected—and with the little one on the way, of course. I know how you feel about the government, but I think this assignment will be just what I need during this transition from Damned life to normal human life. Working in Taipei to help Korbin design fortifications sounds boring compared to what I used to do, but I’m pretty stoked about it.”

  Katie patted him on the arm. “And you should be. You doing that for the government is a lot different than me having to jump at their every whim when my life is literally on the line. I don’t begrudge anything you or the others do. In fact, it’s probably a smart thing for some of the team to keep a positive relationship with the government. You never know when we’ll all be forced to work together again.”

  Calvin put his hand out and stopped Katie. “Yeah, so how is this whole solo thing going?”

  Katie took a deep breath. “It’s good, you know? I mean, I am out there fighting demo
ns, and I’m not worried about who is fighting with me. I’m not dropping the bodies of loved ones off. I am one hundred percent focused on the task at hand when I’m out there. Besides, I am not really alone. I’ve got Pandora.”

  Pandora yawned. Damn straight, bitch, and don’t let this traitor change your mind.

  Katie snickered. “Pandora called you a traitor.”

  Calvin furrowed his brow. “Why?”

  Pandora took over Katie’s voice for a moment. “For being a meatsack again, and for going and getting some chick knocked up.”

  Katie pushed her back inside as Calvin chuckled. “I hardly think my wife is ‘some chick,’ but it’s okay, Pan. I know you’re jealous. You’ll find some hunky angel with a huge package one day, and you’ll be just fine.”

  Pandora growled. I’ll take him out. I’ll do it.

  Katie sighed. Calm your tits.

  Calvin stretched his arms over his head. “Anyway, I don’t really like this whole new solo thing you got going on. I worry about you all the time. Even on my honeymoon, I was worried about you. Shit, my wife was worried about you, too. You just always worked best when you had family around you. We have your back.”

  Katie looked at Calvin seriously. “I know you do, and in almost every fight there is a moment when I miss you guys. The thing is, it’s just too dangerous at this point, and it was much too restrictive with the government breathing down my neck. Danger and restriction are two surefire ways to get people killed when we are fighting an enemy who is constantly coming up with new ways to kill us. I gotta be on my toes at all times.”

  Calvin shook his head. “I guess I won’t be getting through to you on this one. In the past, I would have just followed you, but I made promises and have different responsibilities now, so I don’t think I can do that.”

  Katie put her hand on Calvin’s shoulder and smiled. “Nor would I want you to. Now, let’s get inside and catch up with everyone.”

  Calvin stopped her from walking. “I have to know—did you really tell the World Council to go fuck themselves?”

  Katie rolled her eyes and shook her fists in the air. “How the fuck does everyone know about that? No! I did not tell them that. I...well, Pandora gave them the bird. Totally different.”

  Baal wrinkled his nose as he walked down the damp hall into the cave’s dark living area. Beelzebub stood with his back to him, pouring two glasses of whiskey. “I was wondering when you were going to get your ass over here.”

  Baal just stared at him. “Well, I have stayed under the radar so far with Lucifer, and I would like to keep it that way. I don’t need him rearranging my limbs like he did to the others. I take pride in the fact that I have never had so much as a scratch during battle or anything else. I don’t plan on changing that now.”

  Beelzebub chuckled. “Why? It is an honor to wear the scars. They mean you fought hard and showed your bravery.”

  Baal scoffed. “Bravery is something we created to make humans think they are invincible. I’m smart, that’s what I am.”

  Beelzebub turned and walked over, handing him a glass. He raised his in the air. “A toast.”

  Baal lifted an eyebrow. “To what?”

  Beelzebub smiled, his sharp and gnarled teeth glimmering in the candlelight. “To beautifully planned, executed, and currently stable political scheming. We didn’t create politics, but I tell you, it is the best avenue for manipulation that the humans could have come up with. Bravo to the meatsacks.”

  Baal snarled and took a sip of his drink. “What now? Are you going to take them down using the government? May I remind you that never works, in hell or on Earth.”

  Beelzebub swallowed his gulp and shook his head, walking over to the bookcase. He set his glass down and strummed his claws on the stone. “No. What we need to do now is to kickstart things. We need more incursions. We need them to be strong, bold, and done in ways that really get to the heart of the humans. Haven’t you ever noticed that the more the world is divided, the quicker and harder they turn on each other? It’s almost like cheating. You get them to hate each other, and they will do the vast majority of damage to themselves.”

  Baal chuckled. “It seems we demons share that trait with the humans.”

  Beelzebub snickered. “There’s always a plan behind it, but I want these incursions to stay under the radar.”

  Baal raised his eyebrows and joined Beelzebub, setting his glass down. “There is no ‘under the radar’ with Lucifer. He sees all, and right now he is desperately trying to see everything you do. And I won’t lie—he probably keeps an eye on me too. He knows I tend to be behind-the-scenes on these things. Nonetheless, our plan will work. I don’t get involved like this in things I don’t think will work.”

  Beelzebub rubbed his hands together. “You are right in that aspect, Baal—our plan will work. The one thing we have to remember is that the key to it all is making the humans hate Katie.”

  Baal chuckled. “Which is seemingly harder and harder to do.”

  Beelzebub shook his head. “It’s all about tactics here, my friend. They won’t hate her for killing demons, but if she kills humans instead of demons? They’ll hate her more than anything we could inflict on them. So, instead of sending demons in to do your dirty work, you send in infected. You send in so many infected that she won’t be able to exorcise them all. She will be forced to mass-execute them.”

  Baal smirked. “Yes, I have been dabbling in that recently.”

  Beelzebub put his hands in the air. “Picture it: woman, children, and young men’s and women’s faces splashed across the news. They are all dead, mourned by their families and loved ones. An angry mob quickly begins to grow when they realize that Katie could have saved their lives. That she can pull the demons right out of the infected. They won’t care about numbers or impossibility in the situation. All they will care about is little Susie from daycare’s dead face on their television sets.”

  Baal took a deep breath. “Well, at least you seem to be thinking straight again. We will get right on that. In the meantime, don’t do anything stupid.”

  Beelzebub picked up a plate and offered Baal a chocolate-covered hamster. “One for the road? I know they are your favorite.”

  Baal groaned, waving the plate away. “No, I’m watching my figure.”

  Beelzebub looked him up and down. “You do look slimmer and more muscular, especially your arms.”

  Baal looked down at himself. “You think so? I’ve been trying this human workout called yoga. You do all these bends and stretches and it helps slim you down, increase flexibility, and burn fat. I have been planking my ass off, and that downward-facing dog—that is so refreshing.”

  Beelzebub lifted an eyebrow. “Yoga. Interesting. Do you use any tools for that?”

  Baal shook his head. “No, just a yoga mat, although I had one specially made down here. The others either burst into flames or melted to my floor, and none of them were big enough. They pretty much fit under one of my hands.”

  Beelzebub shook his head as he put away the plate. “I keep telling you, go get you a terrible human, bring them down here, and join one of those demon Jazzercise-torture groups. You will drop weight like crazy. We are the ones who coined it in the first place. Some idiot demon infected a human and took out the torture part, and all of a sudden you have meatsacks in scrunchy socks jumping all over the place.”

  Baal chuckled. “I don’t look good in a headband. I’ll stick with yoga.”

  Baal turned to leave, waving his paw in the air. “Anyway, I’ll keep you in the loop. Try not to fuck anything up in the meantime.”

  4

  Juntto stood at the front door, shrinking his body to normal size. He turned toward Angie and smiled, looking like Channing Tatum again. She smirked and handed him some cash. “Here. Pick up the pizzas and come right back. And put your hood up. You will get mobbed by teenage girls and thirsty housewives if you don’t.”

  Juntto teased her. “And that’s a bad thing because�
�”

  Angie narrowed her eyes and opened the door, pointing out. “Go. I’ll be here waiting for you. And I promise I have way more attributes and tricks up my sleeve than any thirsty housewife.”

  Juntto chuckled as he backed out of the condo and watched the door shut in his face. He tucked the cash in his back pocket and flipped the hood of his red sweatshirt over his head. He took the elevator down and nodded at the attendants as he left, listening to them whisper as he pushed out of the front doors. It was raining in New York, and incredibly cold. It was a good thing he loved the cold weather like he did, considering he was only wearing a pair of basketball shorts and the hoodie.

  As he walked the four blocks to the pizza place, he swore he could feel someone watching him. Every time he turned around, though, there was no one there. He continued down another block and crossed the street, cutting through an alley. There was a pizza place closer, but Angie liked this one, and Juntto didn’t mind walking in New York at night.

  As he passed a dumpster about halfway down, he stopped, hearing footsteps behind him. He turned to find four guys walking up, all of them dressed in black. One of them slowly pulled a gun from the back of his pants and pointed it at Juntto.

  The guy in the middle snickered. “Look who it is—Mr. Channing Tatum. It’s our lucky night, boys. This guy should have a lot of good stuff on him.”

  Juntto clenched his fists, trying to restrain himself from jumping the lot of them and taking them down. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

  The guys laughed. “Give us your cash and jewelry, Tatum. Just hand it over, and we’ll disappear.”

  Another guy nodded. “Yeah. You don’t want to be that actor who dies in a dirty New York alley, do you?”