by AnonYMous
In the interest of keeping himself alive he made a snap decision.
He would hide The Book of Death.
He took his satchel off and laid it on the floor. Then he pulled the book out. The cover was still a little bit damp and edges of the pages were looking a bit crusty courtesy of Flake hitting it with her car and knocking it into the snow earlier in the day. He carefully placed it down in the bathtub. He didn’t want anyone hearing him place it there, and in the hopes of making it reasonably difficult to find he pulled the shower curtain across to conceal it from the sight of any casual passer-by dropping in for a shit. It wasn’t the best plan by any means, but it was a plan. If he bumped into Jessica he could pretend he’d forgotten to bring it with him and claim he had to head back to the Tapioca to get it from his safe.
As he was busy congratulating himself on coming up with a half decent plan he heard the door to the bedroom open. It seemed that someone may have found him already. He heard footsteps coming towards the bathroom door. Then the handle shook. Someone was trying to open the door from the other side.
A muffled voice called through the door. ‘Who’s in there?’
Sanchez panicked. ‘Just a minute!’ he called out to buy himself some time.
There was no sense in looking like he had anything to hide, so he crept over to the toilet and flushed it. Then he picked up his empty satchel from the floor and hung it over his shoulder again. He unlocked the door and strolled out in as calm a manner as he could in the circumstances.
Standing outside the bathroom with a fierce look on her face was the Panda Girl with the stupid black eye makeup and the baseball cap.
‘All done,’ said Sanchez. He waved his hand in front of his nose and added, ‘I wouldn’t go in there for a while if I was you.’
Panda Girl looked down at Sanchez’s satchel and then back up at him. ‘Your satchel’s empty!’ she scowled. ‘Where’s the book? What have you done with it?’
Forty-Four
Bull spoke on behalf of everyone. ‘Oh sweet Jesus,’ he whispered. ‘God have mercy on us all.’
He rushed back to the window and stared down into the courtyard below. His eyes confirmed what he had seen on the monitors. Swarming into the courtyard through the large iron gates at the end of the driveway was an army of flesh hungry zombies. And there appeared to be an infinite number of them piling in from the woodland opposite the Casa de Ville.
Tex confirmed it verbally. ‘Fucking zombies!’ he said, staring at his bank of monitors. ‘Thousands of the muthafuckers. Where the hell did they come from?’
‘Devil’s Graveyard, I’m guessing,’ Bull replied.
The zombies had charged in and there was now one almighty scrap taking place in the courtyard. The vampires and werewolves were hopelessly outnumbered and the sudden onslaught had completely overwhelmed them.
Bull had seen some violence in his time. He’d been in the thick of some pretty serious war zones along with the rest of his team, but as he watched the carnage in the courtyard below, he knew he was witnessing something utterly unlike anything he’d ever encountered before. The sounds that made their way up to the window in the Control room were quite sickening. Crunching bones, ripping flesh, screaming beasts. This was not a place he really wanted to be. All he wanted was the Bourbon Kid, but since the exploding smoke bombs and arrival of thousands of zombies it was now impossible to see the serial murderer anywhere. Bull’s quest for revenge was not going according to plan.
Tex remained glued to his seat staring at the bank of monitors in front of him, watching and commentating on the events as they unfolded. Razor took up his position standing guard over Beth. He had drawn a pistol from its holster by his ribcage and had it aimed at her in case she had any thoughts of escape. Of the three, he was the most on edge. This was a man that followed orders and when there were none being barked out, he got anxious.
‘What are we gonna do, boss?’ he asked.
‘I’m trying to spot the Kid in this crowd,’ said Bull craning his neck to get a better view out of the window. ‘Hang on, I see something.’
‘What is it?’ asked Razor. ‘Is it him?’
‘It’s a fucking car,’ said Bull. ‘Someone’s driving right through the middle of the zombies and vampires, toward the front doors.’
‘Is it the Kid?’ Razor asked again.
‘I can’t tell.’
Tex interrupted. ‘The Kid is already inside the building,’ he said. ‘Look!’ He pointed at one of the monitors on the top row. It showed the view from a camera in one of the Casa de Ville’s outer corridors.
Bull strode over to take a look. He recognised the figure on screen. ‘How the hell did he get inside?’
‘He must have smashed a window or something,’ said Tex, flicking a few switches on his control panel. The image on screen changed as a different camera angle came into play, this one showed the Kid from behind. He was walking towards a large black door at the end of a corridor.
‘Where exactly is he?’ Bull asked.
‘This is a corridor in the East wing,’ said Tex. ‘He’s heading towards the reception area.’
Bull pulled his pistol from its holster and double-checked that it was fully loaded. He’d checked it less than an hour earlier and not used it since, but he needed to remind himself exactly how many bullets he had at his disposal. The bullets were still there. He tapped Tex on the shoulder. ‘Come on, let’s get to the main hall. There’s a group of Jessica’s personal bodyguards in there. We can send them down to the reception area to deal with him.’
Tex didn’t look convinced. ‘How many of them are there?’
‘About ten, mostly werewolves I think.’
‘In that case, he’ll probably kill them all, right?’
Bull nodded. ‘Most likely, but they’ll slow him down. By the time he gets up to this floor, you and me can be concealed in the main hall, waiting for him, armed to the teeth. He won’t know what hit him.’
Over by Beth, Razor still looked on edge. ‘What about me?’ he asked.
Bull pointed at Beth. ‘You stay here with her. Keep the gun pointed at her head. And watch what’s happening on the monitors. If you see me get taken down, you put a bullet through her face. Understand?’
‘You got it, boss.’
Forty-Five
Kacy had been doing her best to keep the group of young girl scouts calm. In the wake of the Bourbon Kid murdering just about everyone who had been out in the streets outside the church, she was able to assure them that there wouldn’t be any more vampires flying in through the windows any time soon. She had the girls all seated in the pews at the front of the church and was doing her best to give some kind of off-the-cuff sermon about how the Good Lord would spare their lives. She was making it up as she went along because in all honesty she wasn’t the religious type. As she began to run out of stories to tell, the girls’ attention began to waver and one of them asked a question.
‘Why does the Bourbon Kid kill people?’
Kacy grimaced. This was a tough question that needed to be handled tactfully. ‘Well,’ she said. ‘The Bourbon Kid was sent by God to protect us all. When we came to the church and begged for God’s help, he sent us the Bourbon Kid, and it worked out pretty well for us all, didn’t it?’
‘Does that mean he’s like Jesus?’ one of the girls asked.
‘Yes. He’s exactly like Jesus,’ Kacy replied.
It was a lie, of course. But it seemed to make the girls feel a lot better about their predicament. Some of them even looked like they believed her. Ever since the Kid had finished shooting up anything moving in the streets outside, things had gone pretty quiet.
Dante helped out by explaining to the girls that no harm could come to them while the Bourbon Kid was alive. He even regaled them with a tale about how he’d seen the Kid stick a shotgun up a vampire’s ass once in an elevator. The girls laughed, probably because they thought he was kidding.
Vanity seemed more on edge than
anyone. He was spending a lot of time on his phone, regularly texting or chatting in a far away corner of the church where no one could hear him. After one particularly long call he came back to where Dante and Kacy were. He looked worried.
‘Whassup, man?’ Dante asked.
‘I just spoke to Moose. She says Gaius left the Casa de Ville half an hour ago. He’s probably at the museum already. We’re gonna have to go now if we want to catch him with his eye out. We’ll have to leave the girls here.’
Kacy balked at the suggestion. ‘We can’t do that. They’ll be all on their own. It’s not safe.’
Vanity turned to Dante. ‘We gotta do something. If you two are really serious about ever becoming human again then we have to go now.’
Dante puffed out his cheeks. ‘He’s right,’ he said, rubbing Kacy’s back. ‘What do you wanna do, babe?’
Kacy looked at the troubled faces of the Sunflower Girls. It had taken almost an hour to calm them down. If she now announced that she was leaving them they would be in tears again pretty quickly.
‘I’m staying here,’ she said. ‘Why don’t you two go. If you can get the Eye from Gaius you can bring it back here, can’t you?’
‘That’s not such a bad idea,’ said Dante. ‘You’ll be safe here. If things with Gaius get ugly I wouldn’t want you there anyway. Me and Vanity can go on our own. Right, Vanity?’
Vanity didn’t look convinced. ‘I think the three of us should go together. We’ll be stronger.’
‘I can’t leave the girls,’ said Kacy.
Vanity shrugged. ‘Why don’t you bring them along with us?’
‘That’s a shitty idea,’ said Dante immediately. ‘They’re Sunflower Girls, not Ewoks!’
‘Fine,’ said Vanity. ‘Just us two should go then. But we’ve gotta go now.’
Kacy sensed that Dante just needed some reassurance that she would be okay without him. She slipped her arm around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder.
‘Go do what you gotta do with Vanity,’ she said. ‘You don’t need me. I’ll text the Bourbon Kid and let him know what you’re doing. Hopefully he’ll get there and be able to help you out.’
Dante kissed her then ran his hand through her long dark hair. ‘This’ll be a piece of cake,’ he said. ‘We’ll be in and out of the museum and back here before you know it.’
‘You’d better be.’
Vanity interrupted their tender moment. ‘Let’s get moving,’ he said, nodding toward the front doors.
Dante kissed Kacy on the forehead and pulled himself away. ‘See you soon, babe,’ he said.
Vanity started jogging down the aisle towards the front doors with Dante following on just behind. Kacy watched them go and wondered for one awful moment if she would see them again. She’d acted calm so that Dante wouldn’t worry, but deep down she was terrified of what might happen to him when he confronted Gaius. She was also having suspicions about how trustworthy Vanity was. Why was he being so secretive with his phone? Had he really been talking to his friend Moose? And if so, why did he have to do it out of earshot?
As Dante was following Vanity through the door and out into the street, she called after him. ‘I love you.’
Dante stopped and looked back. ‘I love you too, babe.’
As he pulled the door shut behind him, Kacy made one last plea that he probably didn’t hear. ‘Try not to get yourself killed this time!’
Forty-Six
Bull’s palms were sweating. He’d been in far more dangerous predicaments than this and remained completely calm. But this was different. He was standing in a giant hall in the Casa de Ville waiting for the conclusion to a plan he’d waited over half his life to complete: the opportunity to avenge his father’s death. On a couple of previous occasions he’d come close. Two days ago he’d even sawn off a man’s head only to find he and his men had been outwitted and had killed the wrong guy. This time would be different. With all the chaos and carnage going on outside there was a feeling of finality about this situation. It would all end tonight. Unfortunately at this point, the outcome was unclear. Either he would kill the Bourbon Kid, or die trying.
He kept his stare fixed on the doors at the end of the hall. Any second now his nemesis could come storming through those doors. For that reason, he was glad to have Tex with him. Tex specialised in counterintelligence and would have every possible route into the hall etched into his mind. From the obvious selection, the doors, right through to the less obvious possibilities, like air vents, if there were any. And Tex had his own reasons for wanting to kill the Kid. He wanted to avenge the death of Silvinho.
Bull concealed himself behind a white concrete pillar on the left hand side of the huge hall. Tex was a few yards behind him, tucked out of sight behind a large unsightly statue of a centaur situated by the side of the flight of stairs that led up to the control room where Razor was guarding Beth.
Bull kept his gun pointed at the doors. Every second felt like a minute as he waited for his enemy to arrive. He only took his eyes off the doors momentarily to glance over at Tex. Tex was checking all around him, his head constantly on the move. If anything or anyone tried sneaking up on them, he would see it. The two men’s eyes met for a fleeting moment. They’d shared looks like this many times over the course of their careers. It was a look of trust and mutual respect. Bull turned his gaze back on the doors, secure in the knowledge that he had his best man with him, watching his back.
Then in one horrible moment the whole scenario changed. The entire hall was plunged into total darkness.
Bull analysed the situation immediately. Either the power had been cut or someone had switched off the lights from within the hall. He listened carefully. Unfortunately the only sounds were coming from far away. The undead war in the courtyard outside was not relenting. But inside the main hall, things were very different. Nothing moved. Nothing made a noise.
The lights had been off for almost thirty seconds before he finally heard something. From behind him there was a quiet slapping noise, followed by a muffled yelp. He swivelled around, the toes of his boots turning on a dime. All he could see was pitch darkness. He still knew his bearings. He knew exactly how far he was from every pillar, every statue and every wall in the hall. But was Tex still with him?
‘Tex,’ he whispered loudly. ‘You okay?’
Tex did not respond. Bull was no fool. He knew what that meant. Tex was most likely dead. That would explain the muffled yelp. The Bourbon Kid was in the hall with them. In the darkness.
Another sound broke the deathly silence. It came from high above on the opposite side of the room. It sounded like glass breaking. Two more almost identical sounds followed moments later, from different areas of the giant hall. Bull had no choice. He had to get some lights back on. On the wall behind him there was a light switch. He just had to get to it before the Kid got to him. Drawing on much of the experience he’d picked up working behind enemy lines, he moved silently across the floor with his free hand outstretched until his fingertips touched the wall. He scoured the smooth plastered wall, hoping to find the light switch. With his other hand, he continued to point his gun out into the hall, his finger ready on the trigger, itching to fire if he heard even the faintest sound.
As soon as he felt his fingertips brush against the light switch, he flicked it on. The room lit up, the sudden brightness dazzling him for a split second. As his eyes grew accustomed to the light he scoured the room for any sign of his enemy. The first thing he saw was the body of Tex, slumped on the floor in a heap behind the statue of the centaur. His neck had been broken. It only took a millisecond for Bull to recognise that. He didn’t have time to dwell on it though. His eyes continued scouring the room, moving at a million miles an hour. He could see statues, staircases, pillars and all kinds of other things in the hall. But no Bourbon Kid.
He exhaled hard, suddenly realising that he had been holding his breath for an unusually long time. As he inhaled again, a shadow flashed before h
is eyes.
It came from above.
And just like that, the face of the Bourbon Kid appeared right in front of him. From nowhere, suddenly the two of them were only inches apart. Before he could react, Bull’s gun hand was knocked back against the wall. His nose cracked too, courtesy of a head-butt from his enemy. His skull crashed back against the wall behind him and his gun slipped from his grip as his knuckles bashed against the wall. The lightning speed of the attack dazed him and by the time he’d reacted and attempted to lunge forward into his attacker, the Bourbon Kid had a hand wrapped tightly around his throat.
Bull instinctively shaped to throw a punch into the Kid’s ribs. But then he spotted a small silver crossbow pointed at him. The Kid had it in his right hand. He slowly lifted it towards Bull’s face, stopping just below his nose with a silver dart aimed up his left nostril.
Bull had seen weapons of its kind before. It was a specially designed semiautomatic lightweight crossbow, the kind that made no noise when fired and could easily be concealed within a baggy sleeve. A fine weapon to have in the dark, or when trying not to make a sound.
And in the face of the man he saw before him he recognised his father’s killer. The hood pulled over his face covered much of it in shadow, but he was still easily recognisable. A gravelly voice from within the hood spoke out.
‘How did you get mixed up with all these vampire cunts?’
Struggling for air due to the Kid’s grip on his throat, Bull only just managed to splutter out an answer. ‘Given the choice between them and you, I choose vampires every time.’
The Kid nodded at the body of Tex behind him. ‘And now your men are dead. Do you like the way I broke that guy’s neck? Very symbolic don’tcha think?’
He eased his grip on Bull’s neck, allowing him to take in a decent breath of air. After taking in a lungful Bull responded, all the while eyeing up the crossbow that was aimed up his nose. ‘You’re fucking scum, man. I did nothing to you,’ he said wheezing. ‘You’re the one that killed my father. It should be me here killing you, not the other way around. I don’t deserve this.’