Incubus Honeymoon

by August Li

  I kicked the pieces of clumsy angel into the corner and then returned to lie on the bed. I’d rest a few hours, and then I’d go back to the girl and her brother. I liked the boy; maybe I’d take him home with me, make him into my champion. If nothing else, he would be pretty to look at during my parties and balls. I didn’t need that stubborn, stupid demon. Now that I knew what to do, I would be home in no time. I would just rest until my storm subsided. It might take some time; I’d perhaps been overzealous. But that was all right. There was no hurry now.

  Chapter Nine

  MY TRACFONE buzzed again, bouncing across the coffee table. I knew I couldn’t keep ignoring it, as much as I wanted to stay at home with Ros after those fucking tweakers had been here. But Raf’s text message flashed in all capital letters:

  NOW, MAYFIELD. CAR’S OUTSIDE. NO TIME TO DALLY.

  I replied OMW and locked Ros’s door from the outside with the padlock only I had a key for. She’d be scared if she couldn’t get out when she woke up, but it was better than the alternative. I wished I could just decline this fucking job, but Ros needed new clothes for spring. I didn’t want her getting made fun of because her shit didn’t fit right, and I didn’t want to let down Raf—he’d been pretty good to me. I’d do this and be back by the time she had to get ready for school.

  I could even pick up some of those cinnamon rolls she liked. She’d understand.

  My .45 was still on the table, and I shoved it down the back of my pants. I kept my .38 snub-nose in the freezer, behind the brussels sprouts no one in this house fucking ate, and the leather holster was cold when I stuck it down the front of my jeans, in easy reach of my left hand. Being ambidextrous had its advantages, but that chill made my dick shrink and my balls curl up close to my body. I was sick of being cold, and it would still be a long time until spring.

  Ignoring the shitty weather, I jogged down the steps and slid into the cab of an old pickup truck with the words Carl the Junkman scrolled across the side in chipping paint. Powdery snow fanned from the back tires as the driver pulled onto the street, and I gripped the edge of the seat to brace myself as I slanted my eyes toward the old man sharing the car with me. In his thermal shirt and denim overalls, with his wild gray curls tucked beneath a beat-up 76ers cap, Carl looked like he should be puttering around in a vegetable garden.

  “Dante, my man.” Carl nodded at me, and I returned it. He fiddled with the dial on his radio, and soon Miles Davis’s voice filled the cab as we drove down the abandoned streets toward the highway, both of us bitching about the weather.

  We soon pulled up to a warehouse close to the Schuylkill River, north of the city. A tractor trailer was waiting, the back doors hanging open, exhaust fumes coming out in a black stream. Carl went to stand by the ramp leading out of the truck, where wooden boxes moved down the conveyor belt. It looked like this truck carried mostly restaurant equipment from what I could see printed on the boxes hiding our merchandise. A big guy in a heavy blue jacket flicked his cigarette into the snow and stood to retrieve our cargo, hauling out smaller wooden boxes labeled with things like cooking oil and table linens.

  As they rolled down the metal conveyor, Carl loaded the boxes into the bed of his own truck. He was fast and neat, making a Jenga of the narrow crates, packing them tight. I felt shitty not helping him, but that wasn’t why I was here. All I had to do was make sure everything went smoothly, and then I’d get paid and I could buy some new clothes for my sister. We didn’t usually have any problems picking up Raf’s shipments. Not many people knew about them, and those who did knew better than to fuck with us.

  With me.

  I’d built a decent reputation for myself since coming to work for Raf.

  I was thinking about the cute little outfits on display at the Gymboree at the mall when two assholes came around the corner of the building holding assault rifles, black ski masks covering their faces like something out of a bad movie. I yelled for Carl to get down, and he ducked around the side of the truck and crouched by the wheel. For all he looked like somebody’s sweet grandfather, he’d done this before, and he was old for a reason. It got quiet after that, weird and still. I could distinctly hear Louis Armstrong singing “What A Wonderful World” from Carl’s radio as snow seemed to drift down in slow motion. Skidding through the powder, I threw my back against the side of the truck and pulled my Colt from my pants just as the pop-pop-pop of their weapons broke through the eerie quiet, like a can opener piercing the metal of the semi. One of the tractor trailer drivers dropped to his knees, arms wrapped around his middle to try to hold in the blood shooting between his fingers. He fell on his face in the snow just as I got one of the assholes in my sights. I squeezed the trigger and his head exploded like a poppy, blood and brains splashing the warehouse’s aluminum siding, the red bright against the rippled metal and the spatter almost perfectly round. The other guy was crouched around the side of the long, low building, and I kept my eye on him, waiting. His frozen breath showed me every move the dumb shithead made. These motherfuckers were messing up my plans, and it pissed me the hell off. Anger makes some people sloppy. It gives me an edge, a boost to my speed and perception. I felt like I knew everything that was happening around me. As the white cloud got thicker and closer, I knew the dick who thought he was so clever was coming my way, and I got ready. He peeked around the corner, firing a few shots that pinged off the fender of the truck. I kept my head down and watched. Raf had taught me early that one good shot was worth ten minutes of carpeting everything in sight. It took time, but eventually the asshole stepped out from the edge of the building, waving his fancy gun back and forth like he’d seen too many stupid action flicks.

  I positioned the .45, held my breath, and popped that asshole right between the eyes. Some nasty shit flew out of the back of his head before he fell, a red stain expanding around him. I scanned the area, and seeing no one else, I left my cover to check on Carl, running in a crouch to where he knelt.

  Finding him unhurt, I said, “I’m going to take a look around, make sure that was all of them.”

  “Be careful, Dante.” Carl put his revolver back into the front pocket of his overalls.

  I went around the side of the warehouse where the two assholes had come from. Their tracks stood out clearly in the snow, and around the back of the building, I found a little blue hatchback. How the hell did they think they were going to get Raf’s merchandise in that shitbox, anyway? The keys were in the ignition, and there was nothing in the glove box, the back seat, or the trunk. I pocketed the keys and did a sweep of the nearby buildings. Most of the warehouses stood abandoned, but enough were in use that it wouldn’t look suspicious for a truck to head down this way. One good thing about the snow: it was hard to hide movement, and when I didn’t find any more footprints or tire tracks, I headed back.

  Carl had finished loading the crates into his truck, and the driver had dragged his associate into the trailer. It was none of my business what he did with him. As for the other two….

  “Guess we better take care of these jokers,” Carl said, clapping a hand on my shoulder.

  “Yeah.” I went over to the closest one, knelt down, and pulled back his mask. White guy with a buzz cut. He had some prison ink on his face and neck, including a big swastika next to his left eye and an iron cross on the middle of his throat. His buddy was a pudgy fucker with bad skin and a thick red beard. Neither of them had any ID, but the big bastard had a phone in his pants pocket, and I turned it off and shoved it into my coat with my own. “Assholes,” I muttered. My anger was still humming through my veins, and I resisted the urge to kick the body closest to me.

  Using some stones and gravel from around the lot, we filled their pockets to the brim before we hoisted their sorry asses into the back of the truck and covered them with the tarp. A quick detour to the river’s edge would take care of them.

  “Gimme your gun.” Carl held out his gloved hand.

  “What?”

  “Your gun. You can’t
keep it, not after this. We’ll put it on one of these guys, make it look like an inside job—if they’re ever found.”

  I pulled out the .45 and looked at it. He was right, and I’d lost weapons before, but still. “Damn, man. I love this gun.”

  One side of Carl’s mouth quirked up as he shook his head. “Boy, you work for an arms dealer. Now give it up. Ain’t worth the risk.”

  With a sigh I knew made me sound like a baby, I handed it over. Carl scrubbed it down with a disposable wipe before wedging it under the tarp. “And now we should get out of here.”

  “You’ll get no argument from me.” I followed him to the truck and got inside.

  He pulled a cigarette from the pocket of his shirt and lit up, exhaling smoke like it was some kind of gift from God. When he held the pack out to me, I took one. It wasn’t the first time I’d popped a guy, but I was jittery, my hands shaking, and I hoped it would help. Maybe it would at least take the edge off my need to fucking pound somebody. Carl looked me over as he held out his plastic lighter. “You got any blood on you?”

  “No, got ’em from a distance.”

  “Good. Let’s get rid of these clowns and get this shipment to Raf and then hit up the Denny’s. What do you say, man? All-you-can-eat pancakes. You like pancakes, right?”

  “I don’t dislike them,” I said. “But if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather get home. I have to help my little sister get ready for school. She’s smart, you know? I bet she’ll be a scientist or an engineer. But I gotta make sure her attendance is good. I think she can really get somewhere, as long as I do that.”

  “That’s great to hear, man.” Carl lifted his hand, and I slapped it. “I’ll drop you off. Just as soon as we pay a visit to the scenic banks of the Schuylkill.”

  “Thanks. Hey, could we stop by a Wawa or a Kangaroo Express? My sister likes donuts. I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”

  “Sure, man. I like donuts too.” After we did what we needed to do, Carl maneuvered the truck into the parking lot of a convenience store. We went inside, and I made a beeline to the men’s room to scrub my hands and arms down. There wasn’t anything visible on me, but I’d had to touch those bodies, and I would think about it every time I rubbed my face if I didn’t wash up. It probably would’ve sounded stupid, but I didn’t want to touch my sister or make her breakfast after having my hands on those pieces of shit, even if I had been wearing a pair of old work gloves Carl kept behind the truck seat. After I left the bathroom, I filled a cardboard box with a dozen assorted donuts while he poured himself a coffee and heated a sausage-and-egg biscuit in the store’s microwave. When it beeped, we met at the register, and I pulled a twenty from my pants pocket to pay.

  “Raf’s gonna need to know what happened, brother,” Carl said as he situated himself in the driver’s seat, donut crumbs clinging to his chin and the wiry gray hairs around his lips.

  “Yeah, I know. Look, can you fill him in? I gotta get home. Help my little sister get dressed and shit. She’s there by herself.”

  “Sure, man.” Carl pulled the truck onto the road. “I understand, and Raf will too. You did good work today, Dante. You’re one hell of a shot. Glad I had you along.”

  I nodded. “Can you drop me off?”

  Carl grunted out an affirmative response, but we’d only made it a few blocks before the storm started, pelting snow so thick the truck’s wipers couldn’t keep up.

  “Good Lord Almighty. I might have to pull over.” Carl shifted the truck into Park and put his four-ways on. “I can’t see a foot in front of me. We’ll have to wait until this settles down.”

  I couldn’t wait. “Tell Raf what happened, okay? Tell him to give me a call. I’ll be at home.” I opened the door and dropped out of the cab, hitting snow that already reached past my ankles. I didn’t wait for Carl’s response; I had fourteen blocks to go before I made it home. I pulled my hood over my head and did my best to cover my face with my sleeve. Even for Philadelphia, this was a motherfucker of a snowstorm. I’d never seen anything like it. Ros’s school would probably be cancelled, and that was all the more reason for me to make it back as fast as I could. I trudged through the drifts, trying to ignore the stinging pieces of ice hitting me in the face.

  My skin was numb by the time I made it to our building, my pant legs were soaked, and another six inches of snow had come down. The door to our apartment was still locked, and it was quiet, though not a whole lot warmer than it was outside. After unlocking Ros’s door, I went into my room and stripped off my wet clothes, tucking the contents of my pockets into a dresser drawer. I slipped on some sweats and a long-sleeved T-shirt and went to make some hot chocolate for my sister and more coffee for myself. I’d been up all night, and I was going to need it, especially now that the adrenaline and anger were burning off and all I wanted to do was sleep.

  After breakfast, I got the Wii from the safe by my bed, where I kept it so my mom couldn’t trade it for glass, and we spent the rest of the day playing Mario Kart.

  I was at the stove making grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for dinner when my phone rang—Raf. I hurried to turn the stove off, went into the bathroom, and turned the faucet on so Ros wouldn’t hear what I was saying. Sitting down on the edge of the tub, I answered the call.

  “Carl tells me you had some trouble picking up today’s shipment,” Raf said.

  “Not too much. Just two guys. They’re taken care of.”

  “I heard you performed admirably. I should give you a raise. But first, we need to talk, and we shouldn’t do it over the phone. I’ll send a car to pick you up.”

  “Ah… is that absolutely necessary?”

  “I think you know it is,” Raf answered. “Is there a problem?”

  I raked my hair out of my eyes and rested my forehead against my palm. “Just… my mom’s been out for two days now. She’s gotta be running low on cash, and that means she’ll be dragging herself back here. Probably that piece of shit Blaker too. I’d rather not leave Ros alone with them.”

  “I respect that you want to take care of your family, Dante. But I have to protect my interests, for the benefit of all of us. We can’t let something like this go—not even for a night. We have to decide what needs to be done, and I’d like to have you here for that.”

  Shit. He was depending on me, and I didn’t want him to lose his faith in me or start thinking I was a deadbeat. I couldn’t let that happen. I’d busted my ass—fucking risked it more than once too—to get where I was, and I needed this job. Needed it to take care of Ros. “I’ll be there.”

  “An Uber’s on its way.” Raf hung up.

  Steam had filled our closet of a bathroom by now, fogging the chipped mirror. I turned the water off and braced my hands on the edge of the sink. I could do this, make it work. I had to.

  In the kitchen, I put a sandwich and a bowl of soup on a plastic TV tray. “How about if you have dinner in your room tonight?” I said to Ros.

  She stuck out her lower lip. “But I want to watch TV.”

  “Come on, now. We’ve been watching all day. It’s time to go into your room.”

  Ros narrowed her eyes but got off the couch and picked up Touchstone. “Where will you be?”

  “I have to go into work for a little bit,” I said as I went into her room and turned on the lamp beside the bed. I set the food down and patted the yellow quilt with the pink flowers, and Ros sat where I’d indicated.

  “I don’t like being here by myself.”

  Those words and the scared and abandoned look in her big eyes hit me like a punch to the gut. She shouldn’t have to be scared… shouldn’t have to be locked in here to stay safe…. I was doing the best I could, but she wouldn’t understand. She shouldn’t have to. I forced a smile and waved toward the dolls on her desk, positioned around the children’s sewing machine I’d bought her for Christmas. Since then, I’d been picking up scraps of fabric from the remnant bins at craft stores. I lifted up one of the plastic dolls. “Hey, it looks like
Mustardseed has a new dress.” The little figure wore puffy yellow pants beneath a skirt that looked made from cut leaves, with a little leaf crown to match. Damn, my sister was talented. When I was her age, I still put my underwear on backwards half the time.

  She frowned at me. “That one’s Ariel, silly. He’s a boy. Can you bring him to me?”

  Her room was so small I didn’t even have to take a step to set the doll on the pillow next to her.

  “Can you bring me Oberon and Robin Goodfellow too?”

  I surveyed the dolls, not wanting to pick up the wrong ones. Most of them were off-brand knockoffs from Chinatown, but Ros was always changing their clothes and hair. I chose a boy in a silver vest and an androgynous figure with a mop of frizzy white hair and a patchwork tunic. Her smile told me I’d scored.

  “I need you to keep these guys safe while I’m away,” I told her, sitting down and running my hand over her springy curls. “These guys are pretty small, so I’m going to lock the door. Don’t open it, okay? Even if you hear Mom come in. Especially if you hear her. You know she’s… sick, right? She’ll need to get her rest.”

  “I know, Dante,” she whispered, looking down and plucking at the little leaves on Ariel’s head. “She’s always sick.”

  “Sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say, how to explain to my sister that our mother couldn’t take care of her. I kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll tell you what. You be good and stay in here until I get back, and this weekend we’ll go shopping and get some new clothes for you. Maybe even another doll.”

  She smiled wide. “Could we get me a deer? I really need one of those. A hart.”

  “Sure, if we can find one.”

  “I love you, Dante.” She wrapped her skinny little arms around my neck, and I couldn’t breathe, could hardly see past the tears stinging my eyes. It took a few minutes before I could tell her I loved her too. Then I hurried to leave, securing the padlock on the outside of her door when I reached the hall.