by Matt Abraham
“Ok, let’s go.”
“No. First let’s toss the room. Who knows what Scourge and his muscle left in this crap hole?”
And then a dark chocolate hand reached under the bed, and flipped it off of me.
Chapter 41
Swamp yelled, “Holy crap.”
Vector dove to his friend.
As I fired my Kapowitzer. It exploded loud. The kick knocked me into the corner, and when I blinked my sight back both men were on their knees, a few feet away. Completely untouched.
I looked at the hole in the ceiling that Lois’ narrow shot left. Damn. How did I miss from so close? No idea, but this wasn’t the time to complain about poor marksmanship. I rolled to my knees, aimed Rico at Swamp, and fired. His head exploded in a green slosh sending jade goo everywhere while the body beneath it flopped to the floor.
I turned to give Vector some. But Rico grew heavy in my hand. It felt like he weighed tons. I pulled up, but his muzzle fell to the carpet. I dropped Lois, grabbed the Thumper’s grip with both hands, and heaved. But it didn’t move.
I was afraid of this.
“Nice try,” Vector said. “Boss?”
I looked at Swamp’s headless corpse. The green liquid on the floor was flowing back to his neck stump. And as sure as teachers love tenure, his head reformed and turned to flesh. Then Swamp, once more whole, got to his feet. “I’m alright.”
With Rico’s nose planted firmly on the carpet I said, “I knew it, you got TK.”
Vector laughed. “Yeah. My telekinesis is pure badass.” He held out a hand and his power pushed me into the floor. My ears, my brow, the brim of my hat, it all slid downwards.
Swamp wiggled his jaw. “So, big guy, where’s your daughter?”
“How should I know?” I said.
“Wrong answer. Vector, pull back.”
His pressure let up, but not enough to escape, and Swamp took a step towards me, then wrapped his hand around my mouth. It turned to liquid. The bitter juice flowed down my nose and throat. I tried to cough it out but neither lung was up to the task. Instead pain stabbed my eyes and temples. I shook my head. But the liquid mask stuck firm. My world got dark. Again.
But Swamp removed his hand.
I gulped air.
And Vector pushed me back down.
“That bitch ex of yours,” Swamp said, “had Sketch sign my name on the caterer sheet at the gala, so when they investigated the attack it led back to me. I’ve lost my club. I’ve lost my life. I’m a wanted felon. And now she’s trying to snake my payday, too? I need that cash. So tell me where she is.”
“Even if I knew I wouldn’t say.”
Vector’s pressure eased a touch and Swamp clamped down on my mouth again. I pulled away some. It didn’t help. His thick, briny fingers formed a watery mask over my face. It ran into my eyes, and brought the now too familiar pain from asphyxiation with it. After what felt like an hour he let up and his pal crushed me some more.
Swamp said, “I don’t know what it is about this family, they all seem to enjoy choking on me.”
Vector laughed.
“Last chance, Curse. Where’re the women?”
I coughed, and said, “Screw you.”
“Since you don’t know anything there’s really no reason to keep you alive then,” Swamp said. “I’ll send your slut kid to you soon.”
The force Vector was exerting let up, and Swamp clamped down on my face for what I suspected was the final time. The two men stared at me. So intent on watching my eyes go dull they were unaware I was lifting my pistol up. I only got it an inch, but it was something. Then a cold heat ran through the back of my head. I ignored it. And kept lifting. I was. Almost there.
Vector’s eyebrows jumped. “Gun.”
I blasted off two explosive tips. They blew a hole in the floor a few feet from me.
Vector and Swamp leapt back. And the pressure on me eased up. Just enough for me to lift Rico a few inches higher. It would suffice.
I started blazing away at the carpet like a kid at a carnival booth. My bullets blasted hole after hole in the floor, and the two boys sock hopped from one foot to the other dodging the blasts. Then, with a loud crash, the wood collapsed beneath them both, and the darkness below swallowed them as they fell straight down one floor.
I grabbed Lois, got to my feet, ran around the newly made chasm, and burst into the hallway. It was all clear. But below me a door opened.
“Where is he?” Vector yelled.
Swamp said, “Find him. He couldn’t have gotten past us.”
I turned from the stairs. At the other end of the hall was a window. Slipping my iron under my jacket I charged towards it, and crashed through the glass. The night air was cold. And I fell through it fast. Landing rough, I tumbled to the asphalt. And when I got to my feet I was near a black Jalopy.
Diving into my sled I floored it out of there, leaving Vector and Swamp to cast their aspersions at my tail through a cloud of exhaust.
I should’ve felt good. But with North Point a wash, and now Wetlands too, the hard truth was I had nowhere left to go.
Chapter 42
I took the stairs up to my apartment with the boxes from my office, and when I opened my door I flicked on the lights. But it stayed dark.
The busted bulb.
The only thing I could see was the swath of light on the floor from the hall lamp outside. I looked down for Doodle’s telegram. It hadn’t arrived. Yet.
So I dropped my office gear and walked towards the lamp in the corner.
I got two steps when the door slammed shut. And someone struck from behind, driving me to one knee and clamping their sharp fangs tight around the back of my neck.
Gunmetal.
I swung left and right, but she was dug in.
Then the lamp clicked on.
“Don’t move.” Scourge was sitting on my chair, wearing a black three-piece suit. His pair of size nine two tones were resting on the coffee table between us. Covering his dark, greasy hair was a black derby, and beneath its brim, but above a cheek full of scars, sat a left eye that was an inch larger than the right. In his hand was Doodle’s red rose. “Hey Dane. Long time. No see.”
“Scourge,” I said. “You son of a mother fu-”
“Easy there. Keep it civil or she’ll sort your hash.” He motioned to my left. “Of course you remember Gunmetal.”
I glanced back. Gunmetal’s green eyes stared at me like emerald fire. One of them winked.
Looking at Scourge I said, “What do you want?”
His smile was an ugly, twisted thing. It fit his face perfect. “You seem unhappy.”
“I’m always happy,” I said, “with a mouth like Gunmetal’s wrapped around me, but it’s a little weird with you making eye contact.”
Gunmetal sent a red jolt through me. Every muscle in my body locked up. For a few very slow seconds I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. When she finally eased up I went limp in her arms.
“Hey Dane.” Scourge dropped his feet to my floor and leaned forward. “You still with us?”
I coughed up some smoke. “Sure am.”
“Good. Now tell me.” He held out a red envelope with my name across it in a familiar feminine scrawl. “Why’s this so important?”
“No clue. I’ve never seen it.”
“Then why were you looking for it?”
“I wasn’t,” I said. “What you saw-” Without telegraphing I thrust my head back into Gunmetal’s chin. She popped off my back like a New Year’s cork and hit the wall. I jumped to my feet, pulled Rico, and shot her twice in the chest with explosive tips. Then I turned to Scourge and lunged at him head first over my coffee table, reaching out for the red envelope.
He leapt aside, yanking it out of reach. “Ole.”
I landed flat. But bounced to my feet like the king of bad checks, and spun to Scourge with my piece leveled. “Give me that letter.”
He waved the red envelope in front of him like a cape. “Come on big
boy, toro, toro.”
No more yapping. I cocked Rico. And a red bolt hit my chest. I flopped backwards, dropping the iron.
Gunmetal leaned over me, and pointed to her stomach. There were no insides hanging out. Just two large, toasty holes in her shirt with kevlar underneath. “Nice shot, but I’m wearing a vest.”
Scourge laughed.
Gunmetal held both her hands over me. And out flowed dozens of electric red charges. They dug in like spears, pinning me to the ground. My skin turned to fire. A lump of agony grew in my chest, and I couldn’t stop it. Couldn’t reach it. Seconds ticked and I felt a madness flowing in. But then finally, mercifully, it came to an end.
Gunmetal reached down, grabbed a fistful of locks, and pulled me to my knees. Then she slid behind me and clamped her fangs down like before. Only this time she twisted around in a more defensive position.
“Make sure you hold him tight this time.” Scourge righted my chair, and took a seat on it. “I don’t want to kill you, Dane. Not yet at least, so don’t do that again. Now, we both know you want this, and we both know who it’s from. What we don’t know is what it says. So let’s find out.” Scourge slid a straight razor from his sleeve, and slit the envelope open.
He leaned back, crossed his legs, and removed the letter. As he consumed Doodle’s words his head turned side-to-side the way a hungry man cleans corn off a cob, and when he finished he looked over the top of the paper and smiled at me. “You call her Doodle. What’s that, a childhood name? It’s cute.”
Gunmetal pulled her mouth off me. “What’s it say?”
“It tells us when and where to find Sketch.”
She laughed. “That’s good news.”
I pulled against Gunmetal but she tightened her grip. I said, “You got what you came for, so scram already.”
“This?” Scourge held up the envelope. “Oh, this is candy I’ll grant you, but I crave something sweeter.”
“I can pour some sugar on my loafers and kick your teeth in,” I said.
Scourge grabbed my face and leaned closer. “Don’t get cute ape, you don’t got the gear for it. I’m talking about the diamond. They’ll see me coming a mile away but you, you can get it for me a lot easier.”
“You’re kidding?” My brow slid down like an avalanche. “After your pass with Thermite and Firewall, then last night’s stunt, the security in Wentorf Hall’s going to be tighter than a fat man’s pants. I’ll never be able to steal that thing.”
Scourge looked at Gunmetal before returning his attention to me. “Stupid comments waste time you don’t have. This says you got until sun up. That’s less than five hours away, and by then I expect the Coconut to be delivered to this address.” He removed a small piece of paper about the size of a business card, and placed it on my table.
I looked at it, then at Scourge. “Not a chance.”
“Are you sure? Don’t you want to know what’ll happen if you decline.”
A low level jolt from Gunmetal’s hands sent my neck hairs to a more attentive state. “Go on, ask him,” she said.
“Fine,” I said. “What happens when I decline?”
“I’m glad you asked,” Scourge said. “Because it’s the same thing that happened to your secretary.”
“What?”
“You must be wondering how we found your pad. Mrs. West told us.” Scourge pulled a bag from the floor. He put it in his lap, and pulled out a silver wig.
No. No no no. Wigs don’t have skin still attached. And they don’t bleed. “You scalped her, you son of a bitch!” I ripped free from Gunmetal. And lunged at Scourge. But a bolt hit me and I dropped to my back.
Scourge looked down at me. “Yeah. Mrs. West put up one hell of a fight. And she didn’t say much. Initially. But an hour under my knife and the old girl wouldn’t stop talking.” He held up the hair, then put it back in his bag. “As souvenirs go it sure beats a mug, but I’d still prefer something with a bit more sparkle. So, if you fail to deliver my diamond, or jerk me around in any way, then it’ll be us, not you, who Doodle finds waiting. And if that happens…” He leaned down lower, and whispered in my ear, “I’ll peel her like a banana, and leave your little girl as wet and red as a butcher’s block.” He straightened up, and nodded to his crony.
Then Gunmetal hit me with enough juice to power the city for most of December. It was worse than before. I writhed on the floor, trying to get away. But didn’t get far. And when she finally finished I was face down, barely awake.
Scourge dropped Doodle’s rose on the rug an inch from my face. Then he stepped on it, and ground the bloom into the carpet. “Tick tock goes the clock, Curse. Hurry up. Your daughter needs you.”
They left me smoldering on the floor, and slammed the door shut behind them.
Taking a deep breath I summoned all my strength, and tried to get up.
But I failed.
It was a habit I was getting tired of.
Chapter 43
By the time I found my feet Scourge and Gunmetal were long gone. So I grabbed the boxes from my office and plopped them on the table next to my computer. In order to save my daughter from Scourge I had to get him the Coconut. But it was locked up, and though I’m a whiz bang burglar, five hours wouldn’t be enough time to successfully plan the job, let alone execute it. And despite his sadistic streak, Scourge knew that. So the request made no sense. In fact, nothing about this case did.
It was time to force it to.
By going back to the beginning, and focusing on what I knew.
Bundy Strong put the boys up to the job by convincing them that Margaret Shelly needed a large amount of money for her son. He had Scourge plan the gig, and Swamp equip them, and then he sent the pair into Wentorf Hall to snatch the Coconut, but inside those walls the two boys died. Those deaths were covered up by Scourge who’s protected by Gunmetal, and both have been working hard to keep me off this case.
Now for what I didn’t know.
Is there a moneywoman behind all of this, or was Bundy lying to me? He’s definitely capable of putting this into motion himself. After all, he knows the players. And since Swamp, Vector, Scourge, and Gunmetal were at throats looking for Doodle and her mom, instead of him, maybe he was hiding out somewhere, pulling the strings. But if so, what’re they all after? The payout from the attack on Greenie? How much could that be?
No. That’s too much distraction. Let’s solve the original question: who killed the boys?
I had no clue.
But they were light enough to walk over the pressure sensors, small enough to get through the lasers, and strong enough to lift the Kessel Glass.
There was only one person that stuck out. Vector. Initially I thought he had strength, but now I knew that show of power the other night was the result of telekinesis. That was helpful to float over the tiles and lift the glass, but it wouldn’t do squat for lasers. Still though, it was time to dig deeper.
I fired up my home computer, typed his name into Sandtrout, and pressed enter.
Staring at the screen I shook my heavy head.
I had to be pretty desperate. If I never heard of this black cape, it was doubtful any law enforcement or press outlets had. And even if there was something out there, it might take hours for Sandtrout to come back with it.
In the meantime, I’d turn my attention to the box from my office. I reached in for the pictures from the crime scene. And next to them was the gift that Mrs. West left me. I opened it up to find a bottle of scotch. I popped the cap and lifted it up. “Here’s to you, Wags. Sorry about… everything.”
I shot it straight from the bottle. The booze tasted like the crisp, late autumn air. I took another gulp. And from inside the scotch came a clink.
What the hell?
I held the bottle up to the light. Floating inside was some sort of tube. That was weird enough, but what really had my noodle bent was that the vial was wider than the neck. So how did Mrs. West get it in there without breaking the glass? Or the seal?
&n
bsp; Whatever the answer, I wouldn’t be so crafty.
I smacked the bottle against the table’s edge. Its neck cracked off, spilling glass and liquor onto my floor. Reaching in I retrieved a plastic bag. It held a vial full of red liquid.
And a note.
Dear Dane,
I know we’ve never been too sweet on each other, but Carl saw good in you and so do I. We helped so many people over the years, and now it’s your turn. I know you’ll make him proud. For the record, I already am. Oh, also enclosed is a small gift from Ms. Marcus.
With very warm regards,
Mrs. Laura West
Ms. Marcus? I looked at the vial. This was the anti-venom from Redback I asked Widow for. Finally, some good news. The next time I met Gunmetal I’d be prepared. Now I just had to figure out a way to inject it. And also become impervious to electricity. Then all my problems would be solved.
From my computer came a ping. Sandtrout was done. But that was too quick for an in-depth search. When I turned to the screen I saw why.
I hadn’t switched over from the normal search engine setting I’d used for Margaret Shelly, so all I got was a list of words that went with Vector, and its definition. But not the black cape it applied to.
I read it for hoo-hahs. After all, a black cape’s name often implies a lot about-
What the?
I didn’t get three lines in before every last clue, each bit of evidence, finally made sense.
A botched robbery that went according to plan.
The double murder for cover.
That sloppy assassination which was dead on target.
Even the joke outside of Wetlands about being attractive.
And finally, four deadly black capes on a quest to kill my kid.
My guts tightened. Doodle. What have you done?
I had to save her. But I couldn’t do it alone. I’d need help.
From the one man in town who trusted me least.
Chapter 44
I grabbed the phone and dialed my office. It rang. And rang again. In fact that bell tolled eight times before Monday picked up. “Hello?”