by M. R. Forbes
I swung the wheel as we approached the Rube Goldberg that rested in front of the building, jumping onto the grass next to it and staying as tight to the entrance as I could. Evan squeezed off another round, and a second guard lost his feet.
I nailed the breaks and spun the wheel, sending the van skidding to the left with a squeal of tires. Evan planted his hand in the dash and held on while I brought us back around towards the lobby at an angle. The glass wall loomed in front of us, and then I collided with it, ducking down and feeling the glass rain in. I spun the wheel wildly again, forcing the van to spin on the smooth floor of the Machinery, and come to a heavy rest with the ass facing the front desk.
There were four guards spread out behind cover inside, and they opened up on the van again. I ducked down and held my head while Evan opened the passenger door and jumped out, returning fire. A few seconds later it was quiet.
"Hey sexy, your ride is here," Evan said.
The back doors opened, and Amos climbed up, Danelle still in his arms. "And I thought this thing was a piece of shit before."
Jin hopped in behind him. "Baron, are you okay?"
"They only shot me once. Evan, in the van."
My corpse soldier grabbed another rifle and tossed it in, then slid into the passenger seat again. I started us moving, driving over the decimated glass and hoping the tires would stay intact. They were reinforced, and they got us over and out.
I was going to go back the way we'd come, but as I maneuvered to go around the installation I saw a another car incoming, a black Hummer with tinted windows. I hit the brakes and started backing up so I could go around to the right. The Hummer stopped and the doors opened, three men stepping out.
I didn't recognize any of them. They were well-built, tall, angular, and unarmed, dressed in grey suits with white ties. What were they doing? I stopped the van and started turning the wheel, putting my foot down on the gas and cornering as best I could.
One second, the three men were walking towards us. The next, they were gone. Not visibly gone, but replaced with the biggest, meanest looking weres I'd ever seen. They ran towards us on all fours, approaching ridiculously fast.
What the fuck? Werewolves didn't shift. They got the virus, they got primitive and hairy, and that was it. At least, that was what they taught us, and that was all I had ever seen before.
I put my foot all the way to floor, and we started moving down the street, away from the incoming monsters.
Everything shook when the first one slammed into the side of the van, putting a solid dent in the side and sending it rocking and rolling, threatening to tip. The second bounced up onto the hood, and I got a great look at the inside of its massive jaws right before Evan put a bullet in its head. It fell away without a sound, rolling to a stop next to us. I saw it shake. A point-blank shot, and it was still alive.
Where was the third? I looked out the window, and checked the mirror for it, but I didn't see it. The van was struggling to accelerate now, the damage complete enough that I was amazed we were still moving. These things were fast, there was no way it hadn't caught up.
A claw tore into the roof near the back, and then another. Massive muscles started peeling the top of the van away, at the same time Evan and Amos both opened fire into it. I heard the wet slaps of the bullets finding flesh, but the were didn't seem impressed. It jumped down through the opening it had made, the motion itself threatening to throw the car off its track. It elbowed Amos, knocking him aside, and reached out for Jin.
"Eat lead, asshole," Evan said, sticking his rifle in its face.
Its head snapped around, grabbing the end of the gun in its teeth and pulling it from his grip. Then it lashed out with its other hand, raking claws though Evan's left arm. It dropped to the ground.
"Damn. I liked that arm." He took three steps forward and threw his weight into the creature, magic-powered muscles pushing against inhumanly strong ones. He got the thing off-balance, and they crashed into the back doors together, their combined force and weight too much for the locking mechanism. The doors swung open, and they both fell out, tumbling to the ground still entwined.
I kept my foot to the floor, and the van picked up speed. The good thing about the Greens is that it was small, and the leathers inside had no jurisdiction to do jack shit outside of the borders. I powered through the checkpoint, blasting the barrier arm to splinters, and drove out into greater Brooklyn.
I could feel my link to Evan fading as I moved away. He'd always been an asshole, but in the end he'd come through.
I was going to miss him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Referee.
The van made it about ten miles before the damage became too much, and I pulled it into a dark alley and let it rattle to a stop. It breathed a heavy sigh of relief, the engine shutting down for the last time.
The familiar whine of the secondary motor that kept the coolers chilled was the only sound remaining.
"Conor?" Jin said. We'd driven the distance in tense quiet, hunkered down, guns ready, expecting the creatures that attacked us to catch up at any moment. Now she broke the not-quite-silence.
I looked over at the empty passenger seat.
"Are either of you hurt?"
"I took an elbow to the cheek that's going to leave a nice beauty mark, and my ego's been in better shape. What the fuck was that?"
I shifted in the seat so I could look back at Jin. "Dannie died for you, Miss Red. I'd be a lot more comfortable with our agreement if you would at least give me a quarter of a clue why. And don't give me the line about the Houses again. Now that I've seen it, I know it's more personal than that."
"Whoa, wait..." Amos had his small eyes on Jin. "What do you mean Miss Red. Like, fucking Red, Red?"
Jin's eyes darted between us. I had spilled the secret, but I had only kept it to keep Dannie safe. I didn't give a shit if she had Amos killed somewhere down the line - assuming he survived this thing in the first place.
"If you're Red, why the fuck didn't you rain some kind of armageddon on those assholes? Christ, even a fucking shield or something would have helped."
"Amos-" I tried to shut him up, but I hadn't gotten the impression he was the type to start ranting and go quietly.
"No. Fuck that." He loomed over Jin. She didn't back away. "You have magic like... holy shit I don't even know the type of shit you can do. Then you just sit there and wait for me to save your ass, like I even want to help a dirty fucking elf in the first place..."
"Amos-" I tried again.
"...I was only doing this shit as a favor to Dannie, because she promised I'd get a nice fat credit to my bank account when it was over. She didn't say shit about a drama queen wizard who refused to use her damn magic to help her hired hands. You get your kicks watching us die? You think its exciting Dannie's a fucking corpse right now? What kind of bullshit game are you playing?"
"Amos!" I went into the back and put my hand on his wrist. "One more fucking word, and there will be two corpses in this van."
He shut up, looking down at my boney grey fingers wrapped around him. His face had been red with anger, but now it paled. I glanced over at Jin.
She was crying.
Great.
Nobody spoke. I took a few deep breaths, fighting back against the urge to cough and trying to calm my nerves. It was my best friend that was laying dead on the floor next to me. The person I had spent almost all of my waking life with over the last five years. Why did I have to be the one to hold everything together?
"We need to get out of here, try to find someplace safe to lay low and figure out our next move. The van is shot. Amos, I need you to keep an eye out in case whatever those damn things were show up around here. I'm going to go steal us a new ride."
I put my hands on both of them. "Right now, I don't care who you are, Jin. You want to stay alive, you do what I ask. Amos, close your mouth, and keep it that way. You don't know a damn thing, and you aren't going to learn with your lips constantl
y moving. She was my best friend. Get it?"
Jin nodded, biting her lip and blinking away the tears. Amos didn't react at all, which I took as acquiescence.
"Stay alert, I'll be right back. In the meantime, put Dannie in the cooler. Evan isn't going to need it anymore."
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Here's to yesterday.
It wasn't that hard to find a car in Brooklyn, and hot-wiring and lock-picking older models was like 'Thievery 101'. I was back at the van within ten minutes, driving a late 80s model Chevy Impala - an ugly beast of a car that had been fairly well maintained by its current owner. I had been fortunate that the rumble of its engine hadn't gained the attention of the residents living in the apartment building I stole it from. They were used to late night noises, and at least a car engine wasn't threatening.
"We aren't going to be able to keep Dannie cold," Amos said, lifting her up over his shoulder and bringing her to the trunk of the car. He was much more quiet and agreeable since I'd touched him. "She's gonna start to smell."
It was only about forty-five degrees outside. "We can get some ice at a gas station, it'll take a while to melt. We'll need to keep the heat off in the car."
"Not a problem for me, I got plenty of blubber to keep me warm. What about our princess?"
Jin was standing on the corner, keeping lookout while we unloaded the van. She didn't seem cold from here.
"She'll be fine. You already saw she's tougher than she looks."
He licked his lips. "Come on, Baldie. We were knee deep in shit and she didn't lift a finger to help us. We're supposed to be keeping her alive for fuck's sake."
"Are you really as dumb as you sound, or do you just like to act it?Why do you think the head of a House would need anyone to protect them?"
He looked back at her again, and then at me. "You're saying..."
I nodded.
"No shit?"
"No shit."
"Ah, fuck." He pulled his bulk into the van and picked up one of the assault rifles from the ground. He held it to his shoulder and looked through the sight. "At least we got some artillery out of it."
"Three extra clips. What is that, a hundred, hundred-fifty rounds?"
"More or less."
"Amos, I wanted to ask you. How did you know Dannie, anyway?"
He tossed the rifle to me so I could put it in the back seat of the car.
"I knew Dannie from the time she was this high." He put his hand to his knee. "Scrawny little thing, but she always had that spunk. She wasn't afraid of squat." A sad smile. "I was different too, back then. Used to work for Black, directly for Black. Oh, not in the early days when I was young. Started out as a ghost, doing protection. Made a name for myself keeping people safe. Did, I don't know, fifteen, sixteen jobs in a row for Black. Didn't know what I was guarding, didn't care. Nobody got past me. Nobody.
"Didn't even know Black had a kid until she was five. Get a call one day, telling me to look out for her, teach her guns and shit. How to fight. Black's kid and she needs to fight? I do what I'm told, you know?"
"No offense, but Dannie never mentioned you."
He laughed. "She wouldn't. Shit, she was pissed when Black kicked her out of the house, told her to go figure it out for herself. No magic, no family. That's how it is with Black. Anyway, she didn't want anything to do with the House once she wasn't part of it. Ain't seen her for... I don't know... twelve, thirteen years before she called me. She was desperate. Worried about you." His eyes filled with tears. "Between you and me, I don't give a fuck about the money. I made enough with Black I never have to worry. She was like my kid. Taught her everything I know."
I stared at Amos for longer than I should have. In five years, Danelle had never said a kind word about Black or anyone in the House. She'd barely said a word about her childhood at all. Then I had taken a job from Black. Then I had fucked it up. She had gone to the only person she knew would help her without question, in order to help me.
I thanked her by getting her killed.
"So you can say she was your best friend, Baldie, and I'll give you that. She was the closest thing I ever had to a family." He laughed weakly. "I guess that makes us brothers or something. Or your fucked up uncle. I won't lie. I'm dirty, and disgusting. I ain't got shit for manners, and I fucking hate elves. I hate all the so-called 'new humans'. They say it's the way it's really supposed to be, but I think that's bullshit. That ain't why I went off on the princess, though. Now you know why."
He grabbed the other rifle and tossed it to me. I caught it and dropped it in the car. I had one more thing to do before we could go.
"We'll kill the bastards who caused this." I pointed back towards Jin. "She knows more than she's told me. That's going to change."
He hopped down from the van, his legs somehow supporting his mass. He opened the driver's side door and slipped in behind the wheel. "At least we upgraded our ride."
Maybe he thought it was an upgrade. I'd lost Evan to the kill team. Now I was going to lose Kerry to attrition. I thought about waking her up to say goodbye, but I'd be doing that for me, not for her. Instead, I found the jug of gasoline near the wheel well and started splashing it all over everything.
I opened her cooler and looked down at her. She had been less macabre looking than Evan, with most of her damage on her hand and arms. Mr. Timms was resting at her feet. I couldn't take Danelle and not take her cat. I lifted him from the cooler and held him under my arm.
"Thanks for everything, K. I'm sorry I can't give you a proper burial."
There was a book of matches in the glove compartment. I took it out and lit one, and then threw it in the cooler. Then I left the van behind, putting Timmsie in the trunk and getting into the Impala on the passenger side. Amos eased it up to where Jin was waiting on the corner.
"Care for a ride, Miss Red?"
She smiled, opened the door behind me, and climbed in.
"Where are we going?"
"Right now? Westchester. After that? Well... that depends on you."
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Touched.
We drove up to Westchester, stopping at three gas stations to gather enough ice to keep Dannie cold, and enough coffee to keep us warm. We didn't speak much during the trip, and Amos turned on the radio fifteen minutes in so that the silence wouldn't be too awkward. At some point, I fell asleep.
When I woke up, we were driving slowly down a residential street. The radio was off, and Amos was scanning the rows of houses, looking for one that wasn't currently occupied. I held back a cough and checked on Jin. She was laying across the back seat, asleep. The tiniest bit of drool was pooled at the corner of her mouth. It reminded me of Karen.
"How'd you get through the gate?" I asked, keeping my voice low.
"Don't need to be a surgeon to get into a community. Just kept trying all zeros until one of them opened up."
Of course. I winced when a shot of pain jolted from my stomach up through my chest. I put my fingers on my wrist to check my heartbeat. Then I put my hand on my head. I was cold, and slowing down. Symptoms of the treatment beginning to wane. I'd been using too much, too often. At this rate, I'd be lucky to last the week.
"That one looks good." He pointed ahead to a four bedroom colonial with a 'For Sale' sign out in front.
Amos brought the car into the driveway and we got out, carrying two of the rifles but leaving everything else. We went in through the back, keeping the lights off. If anybody woke up and looked outside, they would think somebody had used the driveway to park while they visited a neighbor. There was no outward sign we were in the house at all, and the gate probably made them feel more secure than they really were.
"What a fucking day," Amos said once we were inside. "Looks like they have this place set up for modeling, so I'm gonna go upstairs and try out the bed."
He didn't wait for a response, or permission. He disappeared through a doorway, and a moment later his heavy footfalls shook the ceiling above us, leaving Jin an
d me alone in the kitchen. Before, I would have thought he was just being an asshole. Now, I knew he was giving me space to deal with Miss Red.
"Let's talk." I pointed to the living room, where a thick leather couch was waiting.
She sat, I stood. There was just enough light filtering in through the window for me to see her face. She looked tired and defeated. Not like when she had been asking me to be bold.
"Conor, before you say anything... I'm sorry about Danelle. I never wanted this to happen. I hope you believe that."
Her apology was sincere.
It also wasn't good enough.
"Tell me about Tarakona."
Her face blanched at the name, and she started to tremble. "Where did you hear that word?"
"Inside the Machine. A friend of Dannie's dropped it, along with the suggestion to hide in the deepest, darkest hole I could find. Where did you hear that word?"
She took a deep breath. I got another sharp pain and bent over to cough. It was a rough one, lasting a minute or so and leaving me winded.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her concern visible, her other fear momentarily forgotten.
"Just answer the question." I took a deep breath and held it. Why did I have to touch the damn goblin? I'd let my anger get the best of me.
"Conor... I..."
"Whatever is happening here, Jin, it's not a straight up power play. I think you already know that. When I look at you, I don't see a cold-hearted bitch who thinks watching ghosts die is fun. What I see is a young woman who's in deep shit and doesn't know how to get out of it. You can either be the person that Amos thinks you are, or you can be the person I think you are. You don't get to be both."
She looked out the window. The light caught her face, and I saw a tear in her eye. "I already told you about my aunt, and the situation she was in. No children, no users to carry on the family name and to maintain the House. Without a wizard at our head we're doomed to be consumed by the others, if not through violence, then by attrition. Either way, House Red falls." She looked at the ground and laughed. "An empath can't pass as a wizard."