saturated Nancy's skimpy night attire and clung to her exposing the outlines and curves of her body. Michael's strong body musk filled Nancy's nostril's and acted as an aphrodisiac. For the first time, in a very long time, she wanted him. Michael ended up on top of her; their eyes caught and they stared at each other for a fleeting moment before Michael rolled off of her and nervously said, 'Well, I'll let you go first this time." Bewildered, Nancy slowly got up. 'Alright, if you insist. Hey, you wanna shower with me?' she asked. 'I'd love to, but I've got to iron my shirt.' 'I'll iron it for you after we shower.' "Ahh, that's alright. You go on and shower, I don't want to trouble you with this.' Deflated, she numbly replied, "Oh.'
Michael could see the forlorn look in her eyes. 'It's not that I don't want to Nancy, he thought, it's just that I've been rejected so much by you that I don't know what to expect and I'm afraid of being hurt.' Trying to ease the tension that both of them were feeling, he quickly switched the subject. 'Say Nancy, I've been meaning to ask you something, would you mind accompanying me this Saturday on a trip to Atlanta.' 'Atlanta, what are you going to Atlanta for?' 'I have to finalize a business transaction. I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. I won't spend the whole time down there in an office, I promise you. I've already explained to the client that I will be in his office long enough to organize and sign the necessary papers and that's all. And that shouldn't take me any longer than an hour.' 'What about Marla?' she asked. 'Did you forget that she and Jim are coming to town this Saturday?' 'No, I didn't. I talked to Johnny and he said that he'd leave his car at the airport for them to use.' 'Why would he do that?' 'Well, he said, rather softly, because he's going to Atlanta too.' "If he's going, why do you need me?' she asked sarcastically. 'Because I didn't know if you would go and I wanted someone to talk to. Look Nancy, I don't know why you hate Johnny, he thinks the world of you. Please, come with us.' He looked pleadingly at her. She forced a weak smile, and said, 'Oh, alright. ' 'Thanks babe.' He leaped over to her and planted a kiss on her cheek. 'Hmp, she thought, that's all I get? You just missed a rare and golden opportunity buster.' With that, she spun and went into the bathroom.
Across town, Thayer and the boys had just finished their version of prayer, which consisted of sitting in-a twisted position, one that would have made a contortionist whine, while chanting the same mystic, flat, bleak words and sounds over and over: 'Ummm yon, yon katon. Ummm yon, yon, katon', over and over again. A pentagram had been drawn on a large piece of paper and placed in the center of the floor, drawn around the outer edges of the pentagram were pictures of two headed dogs, upside down crosses, scenes of sexual bestiality, dogs giving birth to human babies, daggers, and altars covered with piles of gutted, human sacrifices. Connley rolled up the diagram and put it away.
'Hurry up and get dressed, Thayer commanded, we've got a busy day ahead of us and I don't want any screw ups.' 'Ring, ring, ring.' 'Will somebody answer that cursed phone!" Thayer bellowed. Vice snatched it up. 'Hello.' "Hello, this is the desk clerk. Is Mr. Diamond in?' 'Yeah, he's here. Just a minuet.' Thayer, it's for you. He walked over and yanked the phone from Vice's hand. 'What's up with him?' Vice asked. 'My guess is that he's just antsy about getting this mission underway. His moods will probably swing back and forth until Johnny Angel is dead. Besides, I think a lot of it hinges on how well things go today and if we get whatever it is that he petitioned the strongman for.' Connley said. They listened as Thayer talked to the clerk. 'Yes. They are!? Splendid, send them right up.' Just like that, Thayer's mood had swung in the opposite direction, he was smiling. 'What was that all about?' Terron asked. 'You'll see very shortly,' Thayer answered. Minuets later, there was a knock at the door. 'Get that, will you Terron. 'Thayer politely asked. Terron looked blankly at Thayer. 'Knock, knock, knock.' 'Well, the door Terron, answer the door.' 'Who is it?" Terron asked. A voice from the other side asked, 'Is this Thayer Diamond's room?' Terron opened the door to face two stunning young women.
Looking over Terron's shoulder, Thayer beckoned for the ladies to come in. Terron looked up and down the hall to see if any more women were coming, seeking none, he closed the door and asked, 'Who are they?' They are ours. Sent directly from the strongman to us.' Thayer said. 'You mean we can do what we want with them?' Connley asked as the drool gathered in his mouth. 'That's almost right. We'll do whatever I want to do with them Thayer said. 'Well boss, do we have your permission to take them? Terron asked cynically. 'Not right now, and not until I've had them.' 'What! Why do you have to be first!' Terron shouted. Thayer fixed his eyes on him like an eagle would his prey. Terron was neither intimidated nor impressed. Nonetheless, for vengeance sake, he apologize and backed down.
Thayer turned and faced the ladies. Pleasantly smiling, he said, 'Ladies, welcome. As you know by now, I am Thayer Diamond. This is Vice, Connley , and Terron.' Each of them made a lewd gesture toward the women as their names were called. 'Now then, you know our names, suppose you tell us yours.' 'Suppose we don't.' Rayona said. 'Oooh, one with a little spunk.' Thayer said, still flashing a plastic smile. 'Listen, he continued, it's nice to know that you're outspoken but it's not necessary, neither will it be tolerated here. I'm sure that the strongman vividly illustrated what would happen to you, once you get back to hell, if you disobey my orders. However, what you were not told was what would happen to you while you're here, if you disobey my orders. So, being the gentleman that I am, I'll ask you again. What are your names?' 'My name is Sylvia, and this is Rayona.' The other
woman quickly said in hopes of deferring any retaliation by Thayer for Rayona's sassiness. 'Very good," Thayer said, nodding at Sylvia.
'Boys, I'd like you to meet Sylvia and Rayona.' They began to clap, hoot, and holler at the women. "Listen Thayer, I don't know who or what we're here for, but I'm not about to become a sex slave for a bunch of deprived zombies.' Rayona emphatically said. Thayer grabbed her face in his hand and began to squeeze. Her eyes widened and bulged as he applied pressure. 'Rayona, I can see now that you need to be dealt with; you need to be broken.' He pushed her away and she fell to the floor in a crashing thud. 'Unfortunately though, I haven't the time to deal with you the way I'd like. Get up! he shouted. She hurriedly hoisted herself from the floor and stood before him, trembling, as she had when she stood before the strongman. 'I'll tell both of you this once, and once only.' he said while pointing a stiff finger in Rayona's face. 'I am in complete control here. As he spoke, Terron, standing out of view, mimicked him. 'Obey and things will go well, disobey, and I'll become your worst nightmare. You were carefully selected to help in a mission that will gain us control of this state and, inevitably, others. Your roles are as follows: Rayona, you are now Mrs. Sisela Diamond.' 'Sisela, she retorted in a disgusted manner. 'That's right, Sisela. You want me to spell it for you? It's S.i.s.e.l.a., Sisela. And you, Sylvia, you name is Ora Stone. Got it?' She nodded yes. 'That's all that you need to know for now. I'll tell you more as it becomes necessary. The boys and I are preparing to attend an important meeting, afterwards, I'll let you know more of your roles.'
He abruptly turned toward the others and nearly caught Terron in his act. Eyeing him suspiciously, he said, 'We've wasted enough valuable time, let's get ready to leave." He turned to go into the bedroom. Something rebellious, deep within Rayona, caused her to yell at Thayer, 'Hey you, What if I don't want to be called Sisela Diamond?' He came and stood in front of her. Not knowing what to expect, she cowered just a bit. Smiling convincingly, he raised her face until their eyes met, suddenly, while she was lost in his gaze, he drove his fist into her stomach. She cried out, doubled over, and fell to the floor gasping for air. 'My dear, none of this is about what you want, so, remember that, and you won't have as much pain to endure,' he said as he towered over her. He left her quivering on the floor as he and the others went to dress.
'Beep, beep, beep.' Terron was in the car blowing the horn for the others., 'Well, this is it.' Thayer said. 'Let's go. Oh, turning toward the ladies, he continued, Sisela, Ora, we sha
ll return briefly. I want you both to have showered and prettied up yourselves by the time we return. Is that understood?" 'Yes.' Ora said. 'Sisela, do you understand?' She nodded yes. 'Very good. See, we're making progress.' He was on his way out the door when,
snapping his finger, he turned back toward the women and said, 'I'm so hurried, I almost forgot the most important thing. When you left hell, were you given anything to give to me?' 'No.' Ora answered, frightened. 'Are you sure!?' He demanded. 'Yes, yes I'm sure.' she stammered. 'Where are your purses?' 'Over there,' she pointed. He snatched them up, ripped them open, and began throwing things out, like a madman, until he came across a letter marked BA-El. 'Here it is.' he shouted while laughing heartily as he tucked it away in his pocket. 'We didn't know that it was there, honest.' Ora said as she withdrew. 'Relax, he said. I believe you. You wouldn't know what to do with it anyway.' He walked over to her and caressed her face. Then, without warning, he began to squeeze. 'Besides, I wouldn't hurt neither of you real bad, at least not before I've had some fun.' He ran his other hand in between her legs and roughly grabbed her crotch. She flinched, he laughed and kissed her pushed out lips before unhanding her cheeks. Sisela had backed into a corner. She never made a sound the whole time. 'Beep, Beep,.' Thayer turned toward the door when he heard the horn blow. 'Well, ladies, I've got to go.' He made a sexual gesture toward Ora, blew Sisela a kiss, turned, and ran out the door.
'Where to?' Terron asked. 'First, we need to find a car rental place.' Thayer said. 'I want to rent a van large enough to haul all of us plus the load I expect to return with. They found a car rental store and Vice went in to rent a van. Soon, he emerged driving a fully loaded, black van with a red and green pin stripe painted from end to end. 'Vice, Thayer yelled, follow us.' 'Now what?' Terron asked. 'Now find a garage downtown to park the Mercedes in. Then, we'll get in the van and finish our business.
Finally, after locating a garage, they were united again. Thayer reached in his pocket and pulled out the envelope that he had gotten out of the ladies' handbag and tore it open. Inside was a piece of paper with the name 'Lucifer's Lair' scrawled in large red letters. Thayer sniffed the paper, determined that the ink was actually blood and that, due to how fine each letter was, satan himself had dipped his long pointed talon into the blood of someone or something to write the name.
Thayer ran the tip of his tongue across one of the letters on the page. The tangy taste caused his taste buds to stand up like hair on the nape of a terrified person's neck. 'Definitely human blood.' he thought. He tore the letter up and ate it piece by piece, savoring the taste of the rich blood. 'Pull over.' He barked. 'Where?' Vice asked. 'Wherever you see a telephone.' Vice whipped the van into a handicapped parking space near a telephone. 'Grab that telephone directory,.' Thayer ordered Terron. Looking at Thayer as if he were a mad man, Tenon slowly got out of the van, got the directory and, like a puppy playing fetch with his master, brought it back to Thayer. Thayer flipped through the
dog eared pages until he came to the 'L' section. Scanning the listings he called out the names of businesses and yelled when he came to 'Lucifer's Lair.' 'Ah Ha! That's it! OK Vice, take us to 1666 Pringle Lane.' 'How do I get there?' Vice asked. 'Do I have to figure out everything?" Thayer snapped. 'That's the way you wanted it." Tenon quipped. 'Yeah, that's just the way I want it, Mr. Smart Guy. Now why don't you make yourself really useful and go call this number and ask for directions. Reluctantly, Tenon got back out of the van, slammed the door in defiance, and leisurely walked toward the phone. 'Just as soon as we can make it without him, I'm sending him back to hell so fast he won't have time to think. 'Thayer said. Tenon came back after a lengthy conversation with the person who had answered the phone at Lucifer's Lair. 'It's about time you got off the phone. What in hell took you so long?' Thayer shouted. 'I was talking .. . ' 'Never mind; did you get the directions?' 'Yeah, here they are.' Thayer snatched the paper from Tenon and shoved it under Vice's nose. 'Here. Now get us there and hurry we've got a lot to do today.' Thayer said.
Realizing that Thayer was in an ugly mood, Vice spared no horse power. He floored the gas pedal. The van rocked and reeled as Vice maneuvered through morning traffic. 'Eeerrn, Eeerrn.' 'There's a cop behind us,' Vice said, as he looked in his rear view minor. 'What should I do?' 'Pull over fool, I'll deal with him' Thayer said in a most hellish voice. It was more of BA-El's voice than Thayer's. Vice pulled the van onto the shoulder of the highway. The officer pulled behind him. Vice watched him as he pounded on his radio transmitter. Frustrated, he dropped the little microphone, unstraddled his motorcycle, and walked toward the van. 'Here he comes." Connley said while looking out the back window.
By now, Thayer's mood had swung to a morbid hue. His anxiousness for the events of the day to pass had grown into bitter agitation. Even Tenon dared not to speak or irritate Thayer as he slowly metamorphosed into BA-El. His skin was pale and his eyes sat deep within his forehead like foreboding tunnels. Rough dry wrinkles appeared where none had been. His tongue was enlarged and discolored as if he had bitten down hard on it. And, his fingernails had grown a good inch and a half and were a bruised, black color.
You were going kind of fast there weren't you Buddy?' The officer asked Vice. 'Well sir, we are in a bit of a hurry and if . . . ' 'Yeah, yeah, we're all in a hurry these days, some of us more than others.' The officer said as he interrupted Vice. 'Can I see your driver's license?' He asked. 'Officer, I'm the reason he was speeding. Thayer said, You see, I'm not feeling quite well and he was just trying to accommodate my wish to reach our destination as quickly as possible." 'What's bothering you, Pops?' The cop asked. 'It's my
leg. Perhaps if you take a look at it, you'll understand our urgency.' 'Sure, why not.' He walked around to the passenger side of the van. 'Ok pops, show me what you've got.'
As he looked into Thayer's eyes, terror seized him. Instinctively, he reached for his gun. Before he could pull it from the holster, Thayer gripped the officer's head with his powerful hand and began to pray. 'In the name of all that's vile, wicked, dark, and evil, I curse you. Be thou whole no more, in the name of Lucifer.' The officer began to tremble and shake uncontrollably. His scalp felt like fire and it bubbled as large blisters appeared and quickly spread across his body. Within moments, his eyes nose and mouth were filled with large, opaque, leathery blisters that had already began to pop and ooze puss. His eyes rolled back into his head and a steamy, wax like, substance trickled from his ears. Laughing, Thayer pushed him; he fell backwards, tumbled down an embankment into a ditch, and out of view. 'Let's go.' Thayer said to Vice. Immediately, Vice engaged the van in reverse, knocked the motorcycled down into the ditch, and sped off. Thayer retreated to the back of the van and began to chant prayers unto Lucifer. By the time they reached the shop, he was his earthly self again.
Lucifer's Lair was an occult gift shop which sold everything from whips and chains to altars. Thayer walked up to the sales clerk; 'My name is Thayer Diamond and I'm here to see Mr. Jake Quinnery.' 'Yes sir, he's expecting you.' The clerk said. He pressed a button beneath the counter and a short, squat, beady eyed, little man appeared from behind some drawn curtains. He was bald on top and his hair was thinning on the sides. However, his most noticeable feature was the long, thin scar that ran from ear to ear across his neck. 'Either someone tried to slit his throat, or he had a botched thyroid operation.' Connley whispered to Vice. 'This way gentlemen,' He said in a broken, stale whisper. He held some curtains open and motioned with his hand for them to follow.
He led them through the curtains, down a flight of creaky stairs, and through a narrow corridor before coming to a dark, dank room. The sound of chirping crickets and dripping water could be heard in the far distance. The mouth of the room made the room seem rather small; however, after their eyes adjusted to the dark, they realized that it wasn't a room after all. It was more like the entrance way to a deep tunnel which turned out to be a very huge basement. Off to the other side of the basement, they heard faint humming sounds that
they couldn't make out. 'Wait here gentlemen; Mr. Quinnery shall be with you shortly,' The little man said. Thayer turned to ask him a question and he was gone. 'Impressive, Vice said. If we weren't from hell, I know I'd be scared.'
Minuets later, the short fellow returned with a taller man. A dim light was turned on. Upon seeing Thayer, the taller man fell down at Thayer's feet and worshipped him. 'Truly, master, this is the pinnacle of my life. It is such a great pleasure and honor to meet the great BA-El.' Thayer grew black with glee; he gloated as Jake Quinnery worshipped him. Thayer had not seen Jake in quite some time. The last time was when he influenced fake to commit a murder, which Quinnery happily obliged. 'You may rise Jake.' Thayer said. Slowly, Jake rose to his feet. He was dressed in a long, hooded, black robe. Facing Thayer for the very first time, he welcomed him again and said, 'I know that you are extremely busy and that you are in a hurry, my lord. Nonetheless, before I relinquish the information that you desire, please, I beseech you to inspect our operation here. I am sure that you will be both surprised and pleased.' 'Very well.' Thayer answered.
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