Hell Is Empty

by Travis E. Hughes

  “Great detective work, there, Devil Bill,” Rex said pouring a shot of the glowing green juice and sliding it toward Talbert. The tangy, acrid smell reached his nostrils and Talbert felt his stomach lurch. He grinned, but it was some place between a grimace and a sneer.

  “No thanks,” Talbert whispered. “I gave it up.”

  “Just one? Takes that dastardly sharp edge clean off?” Rex grinned, with his reptilian lips and blinked his boyishly round eyes. “No?”

  Wild Bull stepped forward and threw the shot down his throat, slamming the glass back on the bar.

  “Ew!” Rex said. “I like that. Wild Bull. I can’t even… You know, I don’t normally get star struck but, lord, this is an honor. I’m following in your footsteps, ya know. Did you see the news? I’m doing a stun duel against the famous Kidd Wylie.”

  “Good for you,” Talbert said. “Can we talk?”

  “What would you like to talk about, Devil Bill?” asked Rex in a soft tone. “Why don’t we go up to my office?”

  “Let’s do that,” Talbert said. “Time to get to the bottom of whatever the hell this is.”

  “You want us to go with, Bill?” Frank asked.

  “No,” Talbert said, turning to them. “I’ll be fine. But stay close.”

  “All right,” Wild Bull said. “We’ll be down here.”

  Talbert followed Rex up the stairs. The two enormous Amazons walked behind Talbert. He could feel them, hands on their guns.

  The office had yet to be redecorated but Jia Fang’s things were no longer there so it was mostly blank walls, a desk, a few shelves with extra booze on them, and two chairs across from the desk.

  “As you know, I only recently purchased this place,” Rex said taking his seat behind the desk. “I’m keeping Thorton Gunderson on as the general manager. This will be his office.”

  Talbert took the seat across from him and looked around at the sparseness of the room.

  Something on the desk caught Talbert’s eye as being fundamentally out of place. He almost laughed at the irony of it. Was it for decoration? What was Rex trying to say by displaying it? Talbert couldn’t be certain. For whatever it’s purpose, a large, ornate gavel, like a judge would yield back on Earth, rested on a wooden sound block. Was Rex planning on holding trials in the near future? It all baffled Talbert.

  To make the item’s existence even more bizarre, Rex picked it up and slammed it down on the sound block.

  “I call this session into order,” Rex said.

  “What’s happening?” Talbert asked, caught so off guard that he reached for his gun.

  “Relax, Mr. Talbert,” Rex said. “No need to throw down on each other just yet. It’s time for your preliminary hearing is all. This isn’t your trial, sir. Not yet.”

  “Hearing for what?” Talbert asked, leaning forward, hand still on the butt of his pistol.

  “War crimes,” Rex said with a smile and a nod to the Amazons flanking him.

  “So this is what it’s all about?” Talbert asked, checking it finally off of his list of possibilities.

  “Not so much as directly,” Rex said. “Now, I plan to hold your trial in a public setting. Have that sexy little kitten from Channel One present with her camera drones and all. Worry not Devil Bill, we’ll keep it above board, I assure ya.”

  “How far back does this go?” Talbert asked. “Where’s my wife? Where’s my daughter?”

  “I was there,” Rex said. “I was just a boy. I was supposed to be in that church, you know. The one you ordered burned to the ground. But I was an ornery little cuss, Devil Bill. I know, hard to imagine that, right? But, the teacher, a mean old lady named Barbarella, asked me to leave sometimes for being so darned disruptive. Can you imagine that? We’re supposed to be learning the lessons the Birds have given us, and I get thrown out. Don’t you think maybe I was the one that needed those lessons the most?”

  “I would think so,” Talbert said, feeling his guts burn. Something in the back of his mind told him he deserved this. He was due. Rex was right, it was time to face the crimes of his past.

  “My step daddy was in that church,” Rex said.

  “I didn’t know there were children in there,” Talbert said, his voice trembling. “I was told rebel soldiers had taken it over as a hide out.”

  “I don’t give a damn about those children, Bill,” Rex said waving his hand dismissively. “They were all a bunch of rich, spoiled, brats. You didn’t hear me. My step daddy was in there. He burned with those kids. He was one of the teachers for the older boys.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “I hear tell,” Talbert said. “I did you a favor.”

  “You burned that church and when you realized it was full of children, you ordered the massacre of East Montgomery, to cover it up,” Rex said. “That was some cold and evil stuff, sir, if I do say so myself. It was down right inspiring. I have to admit. But the problem is, I had a ritual to perform, plans had been thoroughly laid, the chessboard was set, and you come along and step all over my ascension. Frankly, you blew it up. Literally. Blew half the town to smithereens. Just to get rid of the witnesses. My gods, ain’t that a peach. Earning the nickname Devil Bill.”

  “It was war,” Talbert said. “Desperate actions.”

  “Oh, I know. And you took those actions, didn’t you, Devil Bill?” there was true mirth in Rex’s voice. He was enjoying this, possibly more than he had ever imagined. How long had he imagined this moment? Talbert assumed over a decade, judging by the evidence thus far; the deliberate methodology and the pride that swam in his round eyes.

  “Atrocities happened on both sides,” Talbert said, through clenched jaws.

  “Oh, well ain’t that the truth. Nasty business, war. But then, I thought to myself,” Rex said, leaning back and interlocking his fingers. “What sort of man does that? I was a young impressionable lad, starting to question the outline I’d drawn for myself up to that point and looking to fill in the rest with the kind of man I wanted to be. And I asked myself if I would do that. You know, what you did. Kill all those people like that with the snap of a finger. So, then I start asking myself, what sort of man does that make me?

  “You know, sir, I would suspect you feel this way as well. But, I’d always felt out of place amongst my fellows. You know what I mean? Don’t you, Bill? You know what it’s like to see all these people, leaning on their emotions to make every last decision for themselves. They can’t see the bigger picture and realize life is but a state of being. It comes and then it goes. There’s the longer game to play. I mean, we all come back eventually anyway. Right? Or, so say the Birds.”

  Talbert swallowed. He ached to hear what became of his wife and daughter, but assumed the worst and braced for it. Time seemed to stall. He felt like he could see the dust particles drifting gracefully downward in front of him, catching the light to sparkle momentarily. He willed it to move forward again; shoving it along with all his might.

  “So you thought you’d track me down?” Talbert said. “Find where I came from and hunt me down after the war?”

  “That would be a knee-jerk reaction, Bill,” Rex said, shaking his head. “I found you fascinating. I found you to be a kindred spirit.”

  “How long have you been following me?” Talbert asked.

  “The whole time,” Rex said with a large gleeful smile. Talbert stared at him for a pregnant moment.

  “So you bought my farm?” Talbert whispered finally. “What’d you do with my family?”

  “I paid them quite generously,” Rex said. “Your wife is so beautiful, Bill. My gods, how can a man like you be so lucky? But then again, should I expect anything less from the famous Devil Bill Talbert?”

  “You son-of-a-bitch! Where are they?”

  “I don’t know where they went off to,” Rex said, shrugging. “I was busy keeping tabs on you, sir. But I lost track of you when you were shipped back to Earth for your trial and all that. Which, having read the transcripts, was a joke, I must say. Your ol
d pal Allan Fink pulled some heavy strings on that one. My lord. And you wonder why these people want nothing to do with Earth and her corrupt legal system?”

  “You’re lying. I took your family, so you took mine,” Talbert shouted.

  “Settle down, Bill,” Rex said, nodding reassuringly to the Amazons. “You’re making Diana and Rhonda nervous here.”

  “Where did they go?” Talbert said leaning forward.

  “If I’m guessing,” Rex said. “They probably went back to Earth. Seems logical. It may be crowded and corrupt, but there are laws there that protect a beautiful woman and her child from the more nefarious types.”

  Talbert leaned back, his fire losing fuel. Perhaps he was telling the truth. Where on Earth would they go? Amanda didn’t have family on Earth. She didn’t know anyone from Earth, did she? Then it struck him. Of course she did. He raced through the names of his fellow officers who had been from Earth. He narrowed it down to their wives; even further to the wives that Amanda had been friends with.

  “All right, Bill,” Rex said, throwing his hands up. “I must come clean here. I see you strugglin’ over there with all this. Piecing it together and what not. I may have cheated in the big game a bit. I apologize. I was very young and new to the world of reality, if that’s what you want to call it. So I may have forged some documents.”

  “What are you talking about?” Talbert looked back up to him. He’d been staring at the floor, his eyes focused on nothing.

  “Well, I told you before I was an ornery little cuss back then,” Rex continued. He grinned and bowed his head. “I just couldn’t have you settling back down with your family and living out the rest of your life as a farmer. I mean that wouldn’t do for my hero Devil Bill.”

  “What did you do?” Talbert asked.

  “You’re going to be so sore with me, Bill,” Rex said, acting like a child admitting to a prank. But at the same time finding it irresistibly funny.

  “Say it,” Talbert shouted.

  “I may have presented your wife with some very authentic looking documents stating that you had been killed in the war. I hired a couple guys to pose as military police and they brought them out to your farm,” Rex said. “They fired a twenty-one-gun salute at your otherwise private and discrete funeral. Your wife wore black and cried hysterically the whole dang time. Oh, Lord, it was sad.”

  “You did what?” Talbert’s eyes flashed with fire. He tried not to tremble. “Wait. What happened? You were at my funeral?”

  “Lovely affair, yes. Now, Bill, you must remember, it was a very chaotic time, those days after everything was trying to settle,” shrugged Rex. “The satellites had all been shot down. Hubs blown to pieces. Communication was shut down. Hell, some people didn’t even know the war was over for months. Little skirmishes were being played out across Orion’s Arm for almost another year. Oh, but, that was when you were busy passing through that dang old Oort Cloud. You spent three years in that cloud counting the way there and the way back.”

  Talbert’s gun was in his hand before he knew it. But the Amazons were faster than he gave them credit. And so was Rex. The laser bolt cut a quarter-sized hole in the back of the chair, where half a second before Rex’s forehead had been. The wealthy psychopath had managed to duck before the shot went off. It was as if he knew before it happened. Diana and Rhonda grabbed him from behind as Rex straightened in his chair, placed his hands on his thighs and then pushed himself to his full height. He poked his finger through the hole and whistled.

  “Now you’re thinking I told your wife that just so I could buy your farm,” Rex said, coming around the desk as the Amazons held him down. “And that would be partly true, Bill. I am a businessman first. The cattle industry is pretty damn lucrative if you can just get along with the locals. And I didn’t come by my ever-expanding empire on accident. But I also couldn’t have my Devil Bill wasting away on some cattle farm. There were adventures to be had. There were gun fights and all sorts of fun things I knew you would do once you were free of those domestic tethers.”

  “So I was entertainment for you? Is that it?” shouted Talbert as Rhonda grabbed his left hand and put it on the desk. Her grip was firm and no amount of struggle would free him.

  “But it would seem, once again, Devil Bill, that you are in my way,” Rex said. “We can’t have that. I’m getting there. But after seeing you put Wild Bull down and Krave Allison, even though that one didn’t know you were going to draw on him, but still, I must admit Wild Bull’s fight was impressive. I’m still practicing for our duel, let’s just say. But I need a bit more time and a few more rituals, I would suppose.”

  Talbert’s hand tightened into a fist, but Diana slammed her hand down on top of it and his hand opened and flattened.

  Rex picked up the gavel. “Let’s just call this, me biding some time. You can’t throw down on me with a broken left hand, now can you, Bill?”

  Rex brought the gavel down with blinding force. The streaks of pain shot up his arm. Talbert bit his bottom lip and willed himself not to shout out; not to show his pain. The agony couldn’t be localized. It hurt him to his toes for all he could tell. Shock and blinding rage mixed in a red stew. His stomach turned upside down. But he refused to vomit.

  “So I would suggest from here on, you stay out of my way,” Rex said. “Until I call for you. Then we’ll have our day.”

  The Amazons lifted Talbert out of his seat and carried him out of the office. From the top of the stairs they threw him down, tumbling head over ass all the way to the dance floor. He landed and splayed out.

  Everything hurt. The world turned over and over before his eyes could adjust. When they did he realized the bar area and the dance floor were littered with Red Scarves. Wild Bull and Frank were being held at gunpoint.

  “Take Devil Bill to see Dr. Gonzo. He’s had an accident,” Rex said from the landing outside of Thorton Gunderson’s office. He then turned and headed back inside. Wild Bull and Frank hurried to collect Talbert and he waved them away and stood on his own. Trying to mask his pain with pride, he walked out on his own power. Wild Bull and Frank followed him.

  Dr. Gonzo, smelling of gin, sprayed Talbert’s hand with a numbing spray and set the breaks. In total he’d broken four bones in his hand and fingers.

  Wild Bull stood at the door of the doctor’s cabin while Frank assisted the procedure. Roslyn, Grace, Siringo, and ten junior agents were on their way down Fourth Street toward the cabin where the doctor hung his shingle.

  Before they could reach them, a half dozen Red Scarves appeared on the sidewalk across the street.

  “We got company,” Wild Bull said over his shoulder.

  “What setting is your gun on?” Talbert asked, wincing from the doctor’s tug.

  “Stun,” Wild Bull said.

  “Switch to lethal,” Talbert grunted. Wild Bull nodded, as if to say, it’s about damn time, and clicked his gun to lethal.

  Roslyn and her agents fanned out when they saw the Red Scarves.

  “We’re all on lethal, now!” shouted Roslyn. Pedestrians and merchants moved away, clearing the street.

  Bat Matters and Earl Wyatt raced toward them up D Street. “Stop! Hold on now!”

  A black hover bike roared up the street from the opposite direction. Ed’s purple scarf furrowed behind. He pulled up next to the Red Scarves and stepped off, as the kickstands descended.

  “Stand down, everyone!” Bat Matters shouted with his hand on his gun, but still holstered.

  “We have orders not to engage you, unless you come after us,” Ed said. “We’re just here to make sure you guys don’t do something stupid.”

  “Like what? Kill you all?” Roslyn said.

  “Now, now,” said Rex Omnious stepping through the crowd with his two Amazon guards. “It’s time we re-evaluated our arrangement in this town. I thought we could co-exist, but it seems that’s not going to work any longer, so…”

  On the surrounding rooftops several more Red Scarves appeared. The
rest of the Amazons arrived from both the north and the south, shoving tiny humans out of their way until the rest got the hint and cleared a path.

  “Now, I would like to be the first to say, thank you,” Rex said. “Thank you for your service to this community. Everyone, give the Finx Crew a round of applause as way of gratitude. Yes.”

  Rex led the crowd in clapping. Several people obliged, as did the Red Scarves and the Amazons.

  “But this town has seen enough of your corruption,” Rex said. “We won’t let your kind turn this into New Earth!”

  Some people in the gathering crowd cheered and said things like, “Amen” and “Damn right.”

  “Corruption?” Roslyn asked, incredulously.

  “That’s what people are saying,” Rex said, shaking his head. “Your entire agency was founded by a corrupt General from Earth who had powerful friends. But, my real point for coming here is to let y’all know, I’ll be putting the Red Scarves in charge of town security from now on. You, Mr. Matters, and Mr. Wyatt are officially relieved of duty. Ed, you are now acting sheriff of this town. Affective immediately.”

  “By what authority?” Roslyn asked.

  “Exactly,” Rex said, pointing at her. “That’s what people are saying about you and your brand of justice. The Red Scarves are more than capable of keeping the peace in this town. Perhaps you could go try your little social experiment somewhere else?”

  “Social experiment?” Roslyn asked, looking around at the faces in the crowd.

  “Whatever you want to call it, darlin’,” Rex said. “Point is, it was a quaint idea, but not reality. Not out here. You should be thankful, Miss Fink.”

  “Thankful?” Roslyn asked. She felt like a parrot.

  “That I don’t order your deaths right here and now,” Rex said. “Best you all pack up and leave town. I’d say, shortly after my fight with Kidd Wylie. I’d like for Devil Bill to see that before he goes. But then, after the fight is over, I expect you all to pack up and leave town. By sundown, let’s say.”