Dead Man's Hand

by Steven Meehan

  As he paused just long enough to catch his breath I realized the questions were merely rhetorical. I was barely able to keep my mouth shut, but I did it and continued to listen. “Though, when you ask questions like that I definitely lean in a very unfortunate direction.” Rubbing his face with his hands, he mumbled something unintelligible before lowering his hands to continue the conversation. “But no matter what I end up doing, if I brought you along with me now, that would send a much more powerful message.” Clenching his hands into fists he added, “And those tend to create the more lasting impression.”

  “So, you’ll take me along?” Right then I didn’t care if he thought I was dense, all I knew was I was going to get a chance to change his opinion of me. A feat I wasn’t entirely sure I could manage, but, at least I would have the chance to try.

  Then I saw the glare he leveled at me and began to wonder if the question had been all that good of an idea. He seemed to be hunting for anything to use against me, whether it was catching me in a lie or just a reckless question. And I got the feeling that I wouldn’t survive long once if he found it. In that moment I knew with absolute certainty that I would never be able to lie to him. Held spellbound by those truth seeking eyes, I almost missed his question. “Can I trust you to behave yourself and act strictly as an observer?”

  “Can I ask him a question or two?” I asked without any hesitation, what was I thinking?

  As I started cursing my big mouth I saw a glimmer of respect appear Alexis’ eyes. It was gone so quickly I thought I had merely imagined it, but then I saw it again. With this newfound respect in his eyes he chewed his lower lip as he pondered my question. After another interminable silence he focused his eyes upon me and spoke a single word, though he still managed to make the one word sound very imposing. “Questions?” He seemed slightly surprised by my request. Once he had fully regained his composer he continued. “You want to stand in front of Dempsey so that you can ask him some questions?”

  “The day I stop asking questions is the day I have nothing left to do.” I leaned closer to Alexis, or at least I would have if I hadn’t still been frozen, and added, “And I’m in no particular rush to die.” I had the feeling that he thought I was joking but I couldn’t have been more serious.

  It took him a few seconds to catch on, but he eventually did. I was expecting him to have an argument of some kind ready, no one liked to be strong-armed into something. What I wasn’t prepared for was the jolly laughter that emanated from him. I stood there, slack-jawed at his response, but before I could reply he said, “You can’t see the humor in your question can you?” I’m sure he could see the bewilderment on my face, I was not looking good in front of my would-be executioner.

  “Yes, I’ll allow you to ask your questions.” Sticking his left index finger right under my nose the intensity in his voice rose while his volume remained the same, it was an impressive trick. “But I will not threaten him for you. You’ll have to deal with whatever new target you get all on your.”

  He was getting dangerously close to the truth behind my real reason for working for Dempsey, and that was enough to send a shiver down my spine. After a couple of slow breaths I managed to make a reply, “Which is why I also have some questions I would like to ask you.” Why did I let my mouth run wild?

  This time I saw the reaction that I had expected to see earlier. His eyes narrowed and once again he began taking stock of me as if he was hoping to find something wrong. I was beginning to wonder if this man was capable of doing anything else but measure people against his standards. That certainly wouldn’t leave him much time for anything else. As if sensing my thoughts he quickly put away those mental scales, folded his arms across his chest, and asked the logical question. “And just what kind of questions do you have for me?”

  Before I could lose my nerve I quickly asked the two questions that I wanted… no that wasn’t strong enough, the questions I Needed to ask. “Well for starters, how did you stop the bullet? Not to mention how have you managed to hold me like a statue?”

  His smile slowly spread across his face and a chuckle began to emanate from those separated lips. The effect was absolutely terrifying, which was what he intended I guess. But it lost some of its effect when he waved aside my questions and his smile became more genuine. “Whoa, whoa, just hold on for a second my little would-be-assassin. You’re getting way too far ahead of yourself.”

  “What?” My eyes went wide and my words were thickly colored with exasperation. “What do you mean I’m getting ahead of myself?”

  Ignoring my question, Alexis bent over, picked up the pen from the floor, and gave it a once over before muttering something unintelligible. He placed the would-be-weapon on top of the nearest table, brought his gaze back to me, and without emotion, explained my situation to me once again. “As I told you, your crimes are still pending boy. Just because Dempsey forced you into a bad situation doesn’t mean you get a free pass on attempted murder.

  “Now I know I would have a hard time proving your guilt in a court of law, after all there isn’t even a murder weapon laying around.” He waved his hand over the pen as he finished the thought. “At least not anymore.”

  Once again turning around to face me Alexis pressed on, “And that’s where my authority comes into play. After all, we both know the traditional legal system would have… a somewhat difficult time even holding you, much less actually punishing you. But to be frank, attempted murder is not your most egregious crime.”

  “And what would that be?” I asked, hoping I was able to keep the fear from my face.

  “Your worst crime was your use of forgery to aid in your attempt.” He quietly moved right up to my ear and spoke very clearly, “To us, that is the crime that cries out for your execution.”

  Before I had a chance to object Alexis waved his hand slightly and, just like that, my jaw was immobilized, and he continued as if I hadn’t been about to speak. “Now before you can voice what I’m sure will be a very passionate objection. It is within my purview to put aside that judgment if I think you are willing, but more importantly are able, to learn from your mistake.” Alexis paused his somber explanation just long enough to let his words to sink in, he must have had plenty of opportunities to intimidate people like me. “Now you just expressed your willingness to learn from this mistake when you asked for permission to accompany me to face Dempsey. And while that is a very good first step, it is only a first step.” I could tell from his tone that this was not the time to interrupt him, which is probably why he had gagged me.

  “I have yet to make a decision concerning your ultimate fate.” And with another pause I got the impression he was unhappy having to repeat himself yet again. “Rather, I have yet to change my initial judgment.”

  He would never win an award for tact, but no one could doubt his honesty. “Now let me ask you this boy. Since there is still the chance that I might have to execute you, why would I teach you something that could possibly help you prevent yourself from being held accountable for your crimes?”

  And with another wave of his hand I could feel that vice like grip that held my jaw slacken and finally melt away. Instead of rushing to answer his question, I forced myself to take a few moments to collect myself before speaking. “So if you do decide to let me live…”

  This time instead of gagging me with a wave of his hand he just spoke over me. “If, and I strongly stress the word if, you manage to impress me to the point where I pardon you, I will let you ask your questions. In fact I may even see to your forging education myself.”

  I mentally licked my lips at the thought of such an opportunity, I didn’t want to actually show him how desperate I was. When I got myself back under control I spoke in my meekest voice. “What do I have to do to convince you to let me live?”

  With a sigh Alexis looked me squarely in the eye and answered, “I’ll be honest with you, I’m not entirely sure you can do that.” With a ferocious slap on my back he went on with a voice tha
t held far too much sincere joviality. “Cheer up boy, you’re not dead yet. We have a long night ahead of us.” With that the warmth in his voice vanished like water down the drain. “Now answer my question. Can I trust you to behave on this little outing? Aside from asking your questions, will you act strictly as an observer?”

  Great! Fantastic! So to recap my day, first I managed to let a major crime lord get his talons into me. Then I agreed to dispense with some of the thorns in his side, only to have said thorn capture me instead and threaten to execute me because I had changed a pen into a gun in my failed assassination attempt. If I was smart I would simply have stayed here and waited for him to return. There was a pretty good chance that whatever he had planned was going to end poorly. But at least with Alexis there was the hope of freedom… or at least the hope for continued existence at any rate. I could only hope that it would someday turn into freedom as well.

  Looking up at Alexis I forced a smile onto my face and answered his questions. “You have my word that, aside from my questions, I’ll remain an observer.”

  “Excellent.” Alexis exclaimed as he clapped his hands together before turning around, ready to leave. After he took a few steps I was ready to call out to him, but before I could he seemed to remember that I was still frozen in place and he spun around. When he turned he looked straight into my eyes and I saw just how harsh they were. And with a voice that was even harsher than his eyes he asked a question with just a hint of impatience. “Well, are you coming?” Without waiting for my response he spun around and walked out.

  Chapter 20

  Now while I certainly had no right to be furious with Alexis for this little stunt, I was. He had immobilized me with his forgery, though I was beginning to think he could perform genuine magic since he had never touched anything. I was about to scream at him about my current state when I realized that he had silenced me again. And to me at least, that gave me two very real and valid reasons to be angry with him. When I thought about it logically I knew he was within his rights as I had just tried to assassinate him. But since he was going to get the last laugh, seeing that he was going to be my executioner, I guess I figured that he should be nice to me while he left me alive.

  Since I couldn’t do much else I stood there watching his retreating form and when he rounded the corner, I realized that I had moved my head to watch him vanish. That was when I began testing just how much I could move. But before I could try much of anything else I felt a solid pull, like I was a resistant dog on a leash being dragged along behind his master. I wanted to swear and curse at Alexis but I swallowed my initial reaction and considered my situation. As I hurriedly moved to lessen the slack in the invisible leash I decided that I was getting a lesson in humility, which was fair considering the circumstances. So I bit my lower lip and I hustled to keep up with Alexis.

  As I ran out of the house I was hoping I would be able to avoid any more tugs when I noticed that Alexis was already sitting in his truck, a truck that was already pulling out of the driveway. Scared that Alexis had just decided to execute me, I ran as fast as I could towards the truck. The last thing I wanted to happen right now was to be dragged to death. When I was close enough I jumped into the truck’s bed and, fortunately for me, that happened just as Alexis took off down the road.

  When I landed on the truck’s bed my heart was pumping so hard that adrenaline flooded throughout my body, making it rather difficult for me to take stock of any injuries. As I gave myself that quick once over I was shocked to discover that I must have twisted my ankle while trying to catch up to the truck. I was so distracted by my examination that I failed to notice the headset that fell at my feet from the back of the cab. Truthfully the only reason I noticed it at all was because it flew into my head. My eyes widened as I saw it hovering in front of my eyes. I hesitantly picked it up and placed it up to my ear and, despite everything that had happened, I was actually shocked to hear Alexis’ voice coming out of the receiver.

  “It’s about time. Now I know you’re probably a little mad about the rough treatment but I’m not going to apologize for it. I’m sure you can understand that I’m only willing to trust you so far, hence the gag and the leash. But just so you don’t get the wrong idea you were never in danger of being dragged to death, and don’t bother trying to lie to me or yourself, it defeats the purpose of what you’re trying to do. I know you were worried about it because everyone I put through that stunt is, and you’re certainly no exception.”

  Stunt? That was just a stunt? He hadn’t intended to drag me? If that was true then Alexis certainly knew how to motivate people. Wait a second, did he say “everyone he put through this?” How many people has Alexis done this to? As I was trying to process that piece of information he continued to speak to me as if he had been speaking about a trip to the grocery store. “Now I’m fairly certain you don’t know where Dempsey lives. But I’ve been wrong a time or two before so if this happens to be one of those times just nod your head.”

  As I was trying to convince him that he should stay my execution I figured honesty would be in my best interest. Besides, this would be a very stupid thing to lie about as he would quickly discover my deception. I shook my head. “I figured that, fortunately for you I do know where he lives. I just never had a reason to bother with him until now. He has no idea what I am capable of, which is probably one of the reasons he was hoping someone like you could kill me. To be honest, I was perfectly willing to just leave him alone for the most part. However now I’m going to make him wish you two had never met. Before you have a conniption fit, I haven’t decided what I’m going to do exactly, but the most likely scenario is that I’m just going to pull him out of his house. And since that’ll take me all of a minute or two I’ll just leave you in the bed of my truck. So I’m going to tie your leash to my truck to ensure your safety, as well as your continued presence. I’m sorry if that bruises your ego, but that isn’t my concern. For now just sit back, relax, and enjoy the scenery.”

  With that the headset was ripped from my hand and pulled back through the wall of the cab, once more leaving me in silence. Letting my head sink as far as it could I began thinking that I have definitely been in worse spots, for instance waking up in Dempsey’s freezer. But instead of watching the sights as Alexis suggested I set my mind to work on what I had seen, or more accurately, felt him do with his “forging” as he called it.

  How had he managed to stop the bullet? That feat had been on my short list before I ever entered Alexis’ home and witnessed him do it. Now that I knew it could be done I was desperate to learn how it worked. Before today I had never given the problem a lot of thought. Before today I had never needed to give it a lot of thought. Now, I certainly knew just how useful it could be.

  As I started trying to unravel the puzzle at hand, I couldn’t help thinking of Kevlar. But the problem with that was Kevlar, while it certainly would provide protection from bullets, offered little to no protection from bladed objects or arrows. No, if I was going to tackle this issue I wouldn’t rest until I found something that would protect me from everything, well most everything. I had briefly thought about layering my protection, Kevlar in conjunction with something else, but that just seemed too unwieldy. Whatever the solution was I knew Alexis had cracked it; he had a more complete, maybe even a totally complete form of protection, and he didn’t need body armor to achieve it. So how did he do it?

  I just needed time to piece everything together. I took a deep breath and replayed the assassination attempt in my mind. After I had pulled the trigger I watched the bullet fly through the air until it came within a few feet of his head, where it stopped. What had he done to stop it like that? Was it even done through forging? Then I thought about how he had managed to hogtie me so quickly and completely. Could the answer for both be related in some way? At no time tonight had Alexis actually touched me, he was never even close enough until I was already secured. Even then he had been careful not to touch me, almost as if he thought I
was diseased or something.

  Was he trying to show off his superiority with forgery? Scratch that, he was clearly superior to me, there was no need for a show. But there had also been no line of sight, so how had he located me so quickly? I rubbed my wrists as the memory of my binding washed over me. Neither my bonds nor whatever stopped the bullet were visible, it was as if he had wrapped them up with nothing but air. Wait, could the answer really be that simple? Is it even possible? I almost laughed as I thought of the simple solution. Had Alexis somehow managed to learn how to forge air?

  I considered the possibility. Air was technically made up of molecules just like everything else. But I had always thought they weren’t dense enough to manipulate. Did he manage to do it by dealing with one molecule of air at a time? Is this how he had managed to affect things at a distance? Air does connect everything together. Could it really be that simple? No! It had to be something else; there was no way the answer could be that easy.

  But what if it is? After all, the best magic tricks were always deceptively simple. It was a rule of the universe, the more complicated you tried to make something, the more spectacular the inevitable failure. Am I right? I had to test my theory. I concentrated on my left hand and pictured a marble, about the size of a dime that was made entirely out of air, condensed air. But when I tried to fuel the transformation nothing happened. What am I missing?

  Before I could try again the truck pulled to a stop. Did the two of them live that close together or had I just been so absorbed with the puzzle that I hadn’t noticed how much time had passed? As I tried to stand I abruptly came to the end of my leash and stumbled ungracefully back into a sitting position. How did he manage to fix my leash like that while driving? Wait, dumb question. Apparently, he could do anything.