by Sam Ferguson
Calhoun winked once and managed a slight bob of his head.
“Good. I am going to loose your arms and you are going to give me Boots’ address. You will also tell me everything you know about his security and any routine or habits you are aware of. Afterward, your injuries will be tended to and if the information checks out you will be set free.”
Kai plucked the chair from behind him and plunked it down in front of Calhoun. He placed the paper and pencil on the seat and then he set about releasing Calhoun’s arms. He had already searched his prisoner for other concealed weapons, so he wasn’t concerned with an attempted escape or attack. Nevertheless, he made sure to keep a firm arm-bar hold on Calhoun until he was kneeling in front of the chair.
Calhoun clumsily gripped the pencil with his left hand and started to scrawl out a few words on the paper. Kai watched for a few minutes until Calhoun set the pencil down and leaned back on his legs.
“Are you finished?” Kai asked.
Calhoun nodded once and sat still. Kai walked by and grabbed the chair as he moved toward the door. The pencil rolled off and skittered across the wooden floor, but the paper remained on the seat until Kai retrieved it and held it up in front of his face.
The scribbled sentences quickened his heart. “Are you sure?” he asked as he turned to look over his left shoulder at Calhoun.
The ex-enforcer still sat on the floor, silent as a statue. He looked up with his good eye and winked once.
“Wait here. I will have my associates bring you some food and drink.” Kai exited the room and locked the door behind him. Redbeard and Pinhead were waiting for him in the hallway.
“Well, did he cooperate?”
Kai handed the paper to Redbeard. “See for yourself.”
Redbeard mumbled the words aloud to himself as he read the paper. When he finished he furrowed his brow and let the paper flop backwards over his stubby fingers. “This can’t be true,” he said.
Kai shrugged. “I don’t see why he would write it if it weren’t true,” Kai countered. “It wouldn’t help Boots in any way.”
“But if it is true…” Redbeard let his words trail off.
“I know,” Kai said.
“What is it?” Pinhead asked. Redbeard handed him the paper and shook his head.
“It would seem that I need to make friends with Boots,” Kai responded.
Pinhead scrunched his face and pointed at the locked door behind Kai. “He has to know more than this, this doesn’t tell us anything!”
“Actually, it does,” Kai rebutted.
“Aye,” Redbeard agreed. “It tells us that Boots is a middle-man. If we want to take down the real snake behind this kidnapping business, then Kai is going to have to get close to Boots.”
Kai nodded. “I had better be on my way,” he said firmly. He thumbed the door behind him and smiled. “I hear a position for an enforcer just opened up.”
Redbeard grinned. “Am I looking at Boots’ new enforcer?”
Kai smiled back.
Pinhead shook his head. “I don’t like it,” he said. “He’ll see through it.”
Kai shrugged. “It’s been long enough now that the Rangers will have returned to Rasselin. That means they are going to be out hunting for me.”
“And for us,” Redbeard added quickly.
“We don’t have time for me to watch Boots and hope to uncover this other man,” Kai explained. “The fastest way for me to uncover who Boots answers to is to infiltrate the group and work for Boots directly.”
Pinhead pointed to the stick-bow hanging from Kai’s belt. “You better make sure to keep that with you then!”
*****
Kai turned down the last street, just outside the old trading quarter of Blundfish. The buildings here were all dilapidated and run down. Many of them were missing walls, pieces of their roof, or were altogether flattened by age and weather. That is, all but the last building on the street. It rose three stories above the ground. A green door sat invitingly on the main floor, flanked by a pair of windows shuttered tight. The second floor had three windows visible, and the third floor was larger than the two stories below. Several beams extended out from the wall to accommodate and support the third floor’s mass over the small base. An exquisitely crafted balcony reached out beyond what Kai would have thought possible for a building like this. The balcony itself was supported by iron corbels and enclosed by an intricately designed wooden balustrade.
Kai approached the building slowly. He made sure to keep his cloak open in the front with his hands clearly visible. A mountain of a man stood next to the door. A poorly wrapped cigar hung from his clamped mouth as smoke puffed from the man’s nose. His large, furry shoulders bulged from the sleeveless shirt to give way to the massive arm muscles pushing the skin tight as if they were overstuffed sausages. Kai had seen large men before, but this verged on the grotesque. As if the bare arms weren’t enough, the man’s chest heaved up and down with each draw on the cigar. Each pectoral appeared to be a small sack of flour that had been plumped and tied to the man’s upper body. Every time the man breathed in, his chest rose significantly, pulling the bottom of the shirt up just enough to reveal the man’s belt buckle.
Kai removed his cloak and set it on a nearby barrel. He then unfastened his sword belt and laid it over the top. He would have to rely on is charm, what little he had, to make this work.
The man reached behind him and pulled a massive war hammer from its harness on his back as he took two steps forward. Kai couldn’t help but stare at the man’s massive tree-trunk legs as he moved. Each step threatened to tear the breeches at the seams, but somehow everything remained intact.
“I’m Horkin,” the man said while keeping his cigar tucked into the corner of his mouth. “You have business here?”
Kai nodded and held his hands out slightly. “I have come to talk with Boots,” he said.
Horkin slowly whirled his war hammer up to slap the top into his left hand and shook his head. “You have the wrong house.”
Kai scanned the windows above and saw shadowy figures in two of them. He knew that any attempt to force his way in would result in an arrow through his heart. “I just want to speak with him, about working for him.”
Horkin let out a belly laugh, his cigar bouncing up and down as he spewed smoke from his face. “We ain’t hirin’ today. Now move along before I sweep you out like a cockroach.”
“That’s interesting,” Kai began. “You see, after Calhoun left I thought for sure there would be an opening within the group.” Kai smiled slyly as Horkin closed his mouth and took a long draw on the cigar.
Horkin set the business-end of the war hammer on the ground and reached up to remove his cigar. Horkin exhaled fully, appearing to be more of a volcano with arms and legs than a man. “Alright, little man. I will see if the boss is in. If he agrees, I will let you see him. If not…” Horkin extinguished his cigar between his palms and crumbled it to pieces so small they fell to the ground as he rubbed his hands together.
Kai nodded. “I’ll wait here.”
“If you try to leave,” Horkin began with a finger pointing to the windows behind him. “My associates will put an arrow through your spine before you can so much as scream for help.”
“Yeah, well I don’t suppose any help would come out here anyway,” Kai said with a quick glance around.
Horkin grinned. “No, it wouldn’t.” Horkin left his hammer sitting upside down on the ground and disappeared through the green door.
Kai stood in the street silently. He occasionally glanced up to the windows for a moment or two while he contemplated the wisdom in coming here. “Maybe Pinhead was right,” he mumbled to himself. The green door opened and Horkin stooped through the doorway with a smile on his face.
“Boots says you can live, for now,” Horkin announced. “Pick up my hammer and bring it to me.”
Kai reached down and hefted the weapon up. Kai was strong, but he still had to use both hands to carry it e
fficiently. “It’s quite the weapon,” Kai said when he offered it back to Horkin. Horkin responded with a toothy grin.
“Keep holding it right there.” Horkin reached forward with his massive palms and started patting Kai down. Kai had expected this, but it unsettled him to be knocked side to side as Horkin’s bear-paws swatted his sides, thighs, calves, and torso. “Alright, you can enter.” Horkin took the war hammer with his right hand and set it beside the door. “Follow me.”
Horkin turned and led the way, stooping back through the doorway. Kai followed, trying to peer around Horkin’s broad shoulders as they walked through the plain entryway into a hallway on the left. The hall was simple, with brown wainscoting reaching half way up the wall to meet red plaster cluttered with poorly drawn lilies and oak leaves. Horkin pushed a door open on the right and motioned for Kai to enter.
This room was no better than the hallway. The same general design with the addition of a couple bronze busts of people Kai didn’t recognize and a couple of sparsely filled bookshelves. A large, plain oak desk sat in the middle of the room. A large, slightly pot-bellied man sat behind the desk with superbly shined knee-length black boots up on the desk in front of him. A trail of smoke wafted from the cigar in the man’s hand to join with a thickening smoke cloud above him. A small, glass snifter rested in his left hand between curled chubby fingers. A reddish liquid swirled inside as the man gently gyrated his wrist.
“Would you care for a brandy?” the man asked as Kai stepped inside.
“No, I am fine,” Kai replied. Horkin reached in and pulled the door closed.
“Suit yerself,” the man said. “Have a seat.” He gestured to a wooden chair across from him. “I hear you are looking for a job,” he said.
“You heard correctly,” Kai said as he stepped forward and took the proffered chair. He coughed a bit against the haze and cleared his throat. “I understand you have an opening within your organization.”
The man smiled and finished his brandy in a single gulp before pulling his feet down and sliding the glass to the far side of the desk. “Let’s dispense with the horse-apples,” he said. “I know what happened at Honan’s Tavern. You didn’t hear there was an opening. You created the opening by assaulting and subsequently kidnapping one of my men.” The man grinned evilly behind his salt and pepper beard and smoothed his black hair back against his scalp as he pulled another drag of his cigar. His eyes were cold and aside from his mocking grin he showed little emotion at all.
“You have heard correctly,” Kai replied as he nodded his head slightly.
“What I haven’t heard is whether you are intelligent.” The man eyed Kai coldly, as if trying to pierce into his very thoughts. “Tell me, where is Calhoun now?”
“That isn’t important,” Kai countered. “He is gone, and your organization is the better for it.”
“You must have a set of brass ones on you, boy,” the man said. He set his cigar down into a brass cigar holder and blew a ring of smoke at Kai’s face to taunt him. “You assaulted my man while he was on the job, resulting in a lost employee and lost revenue, then you have the audacity to come openly to me and ask me to reward you for it. What exactly can you hope to gain from this?”
Kai nodded his head. “Let me lay it out on the table for you,” he began. “Calhoun was stealing from you, and killing your clients by putting too much pressure on them.”
“How do you know that?”
“I saw the exchange at Honan’s tavern. I’m not sure what your price is for providing protection, but Calhoun was bleeding them for every gold piece they had. The barkeep was willing to pay me thirty gold pieces to take care of Calhoun.”
The man reached forward for his cigar and took a quick pull before pointing at Kai with the cigar clenched between his forefinger and middle finger. “You say he was willing to pay you thirty coins?”
“Exactly.”
The man shook his head and frowned. “I only charge Honan’s tavern twenty pieces of gold a month. Calhoun must have been demanding a lot more.” He took another drag on the cigar. The embers blazed brighter for a moment, then he exhaled a copious amount of thick smoke. Kai’s eyes burned and felt dry. He fought the urge to cough against the assault on his lungs.
“There is more,” Kai added.
“I’m listening,” the man said.
“I was looking for a weak link to exploit. If I hadn’t found Calhoun, I would have found another.”
“I don’t follow,” the man said.
“Allow me to finish,” Kai said with a hand raised up. “I hail from Rasselin, and my operations there were cut short when an over-zealous Ranger closed down a certain group of criminals that were smuggling women.” Boots tensed and his eyes narrowed a bit. Kai could see that he had to finish quickly, yet carefully if he wanted to live through the interview. “A contact of mine told me where I could find you,” Kai lied. “You see, Boots,” Kai paused after he spoke the man’s name and continued only after the slightest of smiles curled upon Boot’s mouth. “I realized after that night that I needed to become part of a bigger organization if I hoped to stay in business. So, naturally, with the losses your group suffered in Rasselin, and the weak link I found here, I figured we could come to an arrangement.”
“Who gave you my name?” Boots asked.
“I won’t tell you my contact’s name, that isn’t how I work,” Kai bluffed.
“Well, you better tell me something, or I will have Horkin flay you alive,” Boots replied coolly.
Kai sniggered. “I will say that my contact worked in Governor Gandle’s manor.”
Boots chuckled. “You want me to believe that a contact at the governor’s house told you that I live and operate in Blundfish, and that I am affiliated with a group of smugglers in Rasselin? Boy, I have heard some whoppers in my time, but this one…” Boots shook his head and wrapped on the desk three times with his fist. Horkin stormed in, bending low under the door. Kai remained in the chair and patted the air with a hand.
“Two minutes, that’s all I need. Then you do as seems best to you,” Kai said.
“Very well,” Boots said as he waved Horkin off. Horkin stood close by, a menacing scowl on his face and a pair of machetes in hand.
“I wouldn’t expect you to believe that, if that were the only bit of information I had,” Kai explained. “However, let’s dispense with the ‘horse-apples’ as you called it. We both know that Governor Gandle was working with Gildar in that particular venture. My contact led me to you for a job, because we figured that after I proved myself worthy we could reopen Rasselin for trafficking women again.” Kai cleared his throat of the smoke and leaned forward in his chair. “Now, obviously you don’t run the trafficking operations here in Blundfish, but Gildar’s brother does and you work with him. I figure I prove myself to you by rooting out a weak link and working jobs for you for a while and then you make the introduction so I can make my pitch.”
Boots was silent for a long while. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, staring into Kai’s eyes and hunting for anything that would reveal the holes in Kai’s story. Kai pressed the big toe of his right foot into the sole of his boot and then released. It was an old trick he learned to control his nerves. So long as he kept pressing his toe and releasing it, he could maintain a straight face and keep from fidgeting nervously. With each press he mentally prayed that his guess was right and the man with the “G” initial really was Gildar’s brother. He figured his odds were pretty good, since he knew that Kuscans almost always operate in a clan-like system, preferring familial partners. To a Kuscan, blood ties were sacred. Therefore, whether a Kuscan was an honorable general or a crime-lord, odds were high that his most trusted associates would be his own siblings.
Kai’s confidence began to waver as the seconds dragged on. Boots had been silent an awfully long time. Perhaps Kai had guessed incorrectly, or could it be that Calhoun had lied about Boots being an underling? Kai pressed his toe hard into his boot until he lost
feeling in the tip of the toe and then he released.
“Well,” Boots said finally. “I said before you have a brass set on ya, and it looks like I was spot on.”
Horkin sighed audibly and sheathed his machetes. “So does this mean I don’t get to kill him?”
Boots chuckled again and waved Horkin off. Horkin stomped out of the room and shut the door hard behind him. “He likes to make a certain type of impression,” Boots said with a nod to the door.
Kai nodded. “He succeeded,” Kai admitted. “If ever there was a man I would not want to take in a fair fight…” Kai let his sentence trail off.
Boots took a final drag on his cigar before extinguishing it into the brass tray. “Indeed,” he said through a mouth of smoke. “So, I know you can fight, and you are fairly good at uncovering information. What other skills do you have?”
“When you put it that way, my skillset may seem rather limited,” Kai said. “Mostly I am a protector and a bounty hunter, though I am quite good at uprooting information if the situation calls for it.”
“I see. So you are an enforcer then?” Boots asked.
“No.” Kai shook his head adamantly. “Calhoun was an enforcer. An enforcer isn’t qualified to lick my boot.”
“So, then what would you call yourself?” Boots asked.
Kai knew that Boots was trying to dig for a more detailed background. However, Kai didn’t want to spin any lies tonight. It was hard enough for him to bluff his way through the last five minutes. He had to keep this honest, which meant he would have to keep it very close. “You may call me a spy, or even an assassin, but I am no enforcer,” Kai shot back quickly.
“I see little difference,” Boots replied.
“The difference, my friend, is that an enforcer extorts merchants in an effort to promote his quality of life and advance himself financially by bringing a bit of coin into the organization. I, on the other hand, deliver information and death with such an effect as to shake the very pillars of society from their base without being detected. I don’t try to advance my standing in the world. I try to shape the world to fit my needs. Even you must see that this is much different. It would require a high level of intelligence to assassinate a nobleman and turn it to your advantage without being discovered.” Kai stopped there and let the words sink into his prospective partner.