by Michael Todd
Katie chuckled as he came to a messy stop.
“Oh, bro, that is going to be a seriously acute case of road rash on your ass. You won’t be able to sit for a week. Here, let me help you out and send you back for a hot sulfur bath—in hell.”
Katie ran after the demon. She got a few paces away and jumped, raising her poles in a high arc to skewer the demon as she came down beside him. The effect of the special metal was instantaneous. The demon squalled and growled and hissed, trying unsuccessfully to flail, but he couldn’t move while she had him pinned with her blades. She pulled the blades free and steaming ichor poured from the wounds, blacker than the asphalt. Katie climbed onto the demon’s chest and looked around at the crowd, who were watching in horror as the demon snapped and growled weakly at her. A cheer went up, and Katie chuckled. She bent down on one knee and looked the demon in his big, red eyes. All she could see was mindless loathing.
There was nothing human in that body; no soul, only hate and evil.
A chill went down her spine when she saw a blue-green shimmer reflected in the demon’s eyes. The demon saw it and stared hard, confused.
Katie patted him on the chin and stood up, pulling Tom and Harry from her sides. She aimed them at his head and narrowed her eyes, tired of the demons fucking with what was now her city too. When she pulled the triggers, two steaming holes appeared in his forehead, and a splatter of brain matter sprayed out the back.
Katie holstered her weapons and waited for the inevitable result.
Hold your breath, dust bomb on its way!
Katie backflipped off the demon and landed on the ground just as he burst into a shimmering ball of dust. She brushed her hands and the front of her pants off, glad she hadn’t landed in that mess. People were still panicked, and they ran wild through the streets, fear robbing them of logic and reason. She took in the charnel house the demons had created in Times Square. Bodies lay half-chewed in pools of blood and guts. The blood ran in rivulets, trickling down the edge of the street into the sewers below. Her fists clenched and her eyes blazed red when she saw the schoolchildren sat on the edge of the road, tears wetting their dust-covered cheeks and fear gripping their innocent souls.
It only fueled Katie’s desire to finish this.
A fresh round of screams cut the air behind Katie. She gritted her teeth and set off running. The next block over was a continuation of the chaos. People ran for their lives, stumbling over the half-eaten bodies in the street. She didn’t have to look far to find the culprit: a fifty-foot demon that towered over the crowd. He shoveled handfuls of people into his gaping maw, destroying everything around him in his desire to feast.
Katie was unsure if she had seen a demon this big before, but she took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders, the stress of the situation getting stronger. She was exhausted. She wasn’t going to lie—the battles so far had taken a lot out of her. Still, she couldn’t tap out at this point. There was no way the cops could take on a monster of that size and survive, let alone win.
Katie sighed. Well, this is interesting.
That is one big stupid motherfucker, that’s for damn sure.
All right, I’m tagging you in, buddy. You’re up.
Yessss, Pandora hissed. I’ll make sure I look like you, though. It shouldn’t be too hard. I’ve morphed that booty and those funbags to be just about the same as mine. It would take a trained eye to see the difference.
Good, Katie replied. She narrowed her eyes as more screams echoed across Times Square. Take that motherfucker down.
You can count on that, my pretty little angel.
23
Calvin pulled a gun out of his holster and held it ready at his side as he slowly approached the border. Manuel and his minions were there in force, men lined up and down the crossing, their weapons drawn, staring at Calvin. He flicked his eyes along the line to count the men and take note of their weapons. It seemed the drug lords were a little more pissed than he’d thought. No matter. He was ready to take the sonsabitches down and teach them a lesson.
A man started to clap, breaking the silence. He stepped out from behind one of the posts at the gate. His hair was black and slicked back, his clothes perfectly pressed, and there was no weapon in his hands. He smiled and walked forward, stopping about five steps in front of the men.
“Manuel.”
“You almost eluded us, Calvin,” Manuel called. “Where’s the girl?”
“What girl?” Calvin smirked. “It’s just me, all alone.”
“Don’t play games. We know you took the girl. Big mistake. She doesn’t belong to you. Here in this country, we don’t look kindly upon people who take things that aren’t theirs.”
“Yeah, well, in my country we don’t class people as things. Looks like we’re at an impasse.” Calvin stood firm, staring Manuel down, unafraid of what was to come. He knew it wouldn’t have mattered if he had given Sofia to him or not. They were still going to try to kill him, and they would probably try to kill each other afterward. Drug lords didn’t make alliances with other drug lords. That just wasn’t how it worked, so Calvin knew it was going to be a bloody showdown no matter what transpired.
Manuel steepled his hands and pressed the tips of his fingers to his lips. “Now, we can do this the hard way or the easy way. That is completely up to you. Turn Sofia over to me, and we will give you one quick bullet to the head as retribution for killing my friend’s men. You understand that can’t go unanswered, of course.”
Calvin raised an eyebrow. “Your ‘friend,’ who tried to kidnap her in the first place?”
Manuel gritted his teeth. “That is not your concern.”
Calvin snorted. “Like I give a shit if you scumbags double-cross each other. So, what is the hard way?”
Manuel chuckled. “We riddle you with bullets and find Sofia ourselves.”
“She’s somewhere you’ll never find her.”
Manuel wheezed out a laugh. He glanced at his men, and all of them began to laugh with him. He straightened his face quickly and put out his hand, stopping all the noise. He stepped forward again with a big smile on his face. “Amusing. The only way she would be safe would be if she was dead. With all the demons running around these days, she might not be safe there either. So, what is your choice—easy or hard?”
Calvin raised his weapon and pulled the trigger twice without looking. Two of Manuel’s men fell where they stood, bullet holes in their heads. All the while, Calvin kept his eyes glued to Manuel.
Manuel’s lip twitched, and he put his hands up. “Have it your way, demon.”
“If I die, I can promise you that everyone here will find their ends too. I come with a big team when I want to.”
Manuel turned back and pushed through the men. He sneered at Calvin for a moment before giving his men permission to begin with a wave of his hand. Calvin immediately dove as the bullets blasted toward him. He rolled across the ground, firing his weapon into the group, taking down one, then two, and then one more. The gun clicked empty, and he switched it for another one in his holster.
He had to keep moving. With that many guns facing him, there was no other way he could avoid getting shot. He emptied his clip into the crowd, taking three more men down. He zigzagged across the sandy ground, tucking, rolling, and flipping. A bullet grazed his arm, but he ignored the burn and his demon went to work healing him as best he could. Calvin pulled the two small pistols from their makeshift holsters and fired them into the shooters as they reloaded. He angled the barrels up and hit the edge of the cover, sending chalky dust down over the soldiers.
As they coughed and waved their hands, he stuffed the guns back into his harness. He pulled the M16 around from his back and sprayed the front line with bullets. Man after man went down, hitting the ground with groans as their blood spilled onto the sand.
Calvin caught a glimpse of Manuel’s face, which showed shock—and maybe even a little bit of fear. The other drug lord threw down the cup in his hand and shrugged his j
acket off. He passed his jacket to his bodyguard and pulled his pistol out to shoot Calvin.
Calvin ducked the bullets until the drug lord’s gun clicked.
He tossed it to the side and put his hands out wide. “Go ahead and shoot me, demon scum. I am Alejandro Juarez, the most powerful drug lord in all of Mexico. The bounty on your head will be great. Or you can surrender and be given an honorable quick death. The choice is yours.”
Alejandro smiled, cocky. He didn’t believe Calvin had the guts to kill him. Calvin stood up and dusted off his pants, staring at the guy with curiosity. He looked over his shoulder and then pointed at himself.
“Are you talking to me?” Calvin shouted. “You’re giving me an option here?”
“Of course! We’re all warriors here. I will give you a bullet to the brain, quick and easy.”
Calvin nodded his head. “Well, that is just so nice of you. Seriously. I didn’t think you were capable. So, in light of that option—”
Calvin lifted his gun and pulled the trigger, shooting Alejandro right in the chest. Alejandro clutched his chest, and bright red blossomed beneath his fingers. He looked down in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly. Calvin shot him again, between the eyes this time, and the drug lord crumpled, dead before he hit the ground.
Calvin released the magazine and reached in his pocket, pulling out the spare and clicking it in place.
Manuel gaped for a moment and then screamed, “What are you waiting for? Kill him!”
Calvin fired at the men, pulling the trigger until no more bullets remained. He nodded to himself, knowing it was time to get a little creative. He threw the gun to the side, and the remaining men began to move forward. Calvin ran toward the line of men and slid straight between the legs of one of them.
The guy looked down at him wide-eyed, and Calvin winked before punching him as hard as he could in the balls as he slid through. Calvin rolled out of the way, and the guy dropped to his knees with a breathless squeal. Calvin jumped up and grabbed the guy, using him as a shield as the others shot at him.
He picked up the guy’s gun and shot back. Two men fell and the others scattered, so Calvin threw the body to the ground and aimed at a man before he could escape into the desert. He shot him squarely in the back, the man’s arms flailing wide as he hit the ground.
Calvin fired at the next, but the magazine was empty. He rolled his eyes and groaned, looking at the men on the ground and then back at the four men approaching with their weapons aimed at Calvin’s chest. He chuckled, spotting the knife on the ground. He rolled across the dusty road, grabbed the knife and threw it in one of the men’s direction. The knife stuck in the guy’s throat, his body instantly collapsing to the ground.
He grabbed the automatic weapon lying by his feet and sprayed two of the three men standing with a hail of bullets. They flew back into the dirt, their eyes still open as they slid to a stop. Blood dribbled onto the ground.
Calvin let out a deep breath and wiped his forehead.
He turned and stared at the one remaining man, putting down his gun. The guy looked at him strangely but followed suit, rolling up his sleeves and cracking his knuckles as he approached. Calvin stood firm, his fists up in front of him, ready to fight. Calvin looked around him for a moment, realizing there was an amazing lack of people trying to cross the border at that moment. The people must have known trouble was near, which was probably why there had been so few of them in the town he’d stopped in.
It was a good thing, with the number of bullets flying around the place. Many more people would have been killed. Calvin was still slightly in awe that he had taken down as many men as he had. There were a lot of them. He rolled his shoulder as the guy got closer, feeling no pain.
You fixed it already?
Not quite, but I am blocking the pain. I’m not useless for everything.
No, my demon friend, you are not.
The two men squared off, circling one another. Calvin swiped out his fist, but the guy moved back. Calvin chuckled and nodded, cracking his neck from side to side. It had been a while since he had been in a fistfight with a human, and he had to admit it actually felt kind of good. The guy swung at Calvin, who ducked and took that moment to step forward and land an uppercut on the guy’s chin. The man flew back and fell to the ground, groaning and rubbing his chin as he pulled himself to his feet.
“A tough guy, huh? Okay, okay, I got you.”
Calvin lurched forward and punched him in the face with swift jabs. One, two, one, two, just like he had practiced back in Vegas with Katie.
Blood flew from the guy’s mouth and ran down his chin. He stumbled backward and swiped his thumb through the blood. He slowly looked up at Calvin with a bloody-toothed grin and came running toward him, tackling him to the ground. He got on top of Calvin and swung right and left, punching Calvin in the face, the ribs, and the neck.
Calvin put his hands up and growled, bucking his body so hard that the guy flew off and hit the ground. Calvin pulled his legs toward his chest and thrust them forward, jumping to his feet. He walked swiftly over to the guy, who was now on all fours trying to get up. He kicked the guy as hard as he could in the face, spinning him onto his back. The guy was barely conscious by that point, and Calvin stood over him. He growled, the taste of blood on his lips, deciding whether to stomp the guy’s face into the ground or let him live.
A loud shot crackled through the air, and a searing pain ripped through Calvin’s leg, forcing him to drop to one knee. Another shot rang out, taking out his other leg. Calvin creased over, slamming his hands on the ground as the pain hit him. Marty went crazy, immediately sending his minimal powers to the two sites to block as much pain as he could as he worked to stop the bleeding.
With the pain subsiding to no more than a dull ache, Calvin put his hands on his thighs and pulled himself up to his feet with a groan. He turned around, growling angrily at Manuel, who held a gun out in front of him in shaky hands. He pointed it at Calvin’s chest, and as Calvin moved toward him Manuel pulled the trigger again, but the clip was empty. He panicked, pulling the trigger again and again. Calvin swatted the gun from his hands, grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him high into the air.
“You chose to seduce that woman away from a bright future and cage her like an animal,” Calvin growled into Manuel’s face. “Then, when it suited you, you used your fists to beat her. You are no man, and you will remember for the rest of your life what happens to men who put their hands on a woman.”
Calvin slammed Manuel to the ground and climbed on top of the drug lord to pin him so he could punch him in the face over and over. Manuel struggled to get free, but Calvin was too strong and too angry. As his fists contacted with Manuel’s face, he could hear Katie in his mind, telling him to calm himself. It was hard. All of Manuel’s men had tried to kill him, and he had been shot three times.
“This was supposed to be my fucking vacation!” Calvin screamed, punching the drug lord one last time before leaning forward on his hand and rolling over on his back.
He lay there breathing heavily, staring at the blue sky. The sound of voices behind him made him tilt his head back. On the other side of the border was a row of US military, who were waiting for Calvin to come over the border. The general stepped forward from between them and nodded at Calvin.
“You won, Calvin. Don’t kill someone who doesn’t need it. A little birdie told me Manuel is wanted in this country on seventeen counts of drug trafficking and three counts of murder. If he just happened to trip and fall over the line, he would never see the light of day again.”
Calvin chuckled and groaned, sitting up. He looked at Manuel and smiled, smacking him in the chest. Blood trickled from the drug lord’s mouth, and his face was already swollen.
“You hear that, Manny?” Calvin groaned as he got to his feet. “The US has a nice dark cell on some remote military base all set up for you. They might even serve some mystery-meat tacos once in a while.”
C
alvin grabbed Manuel by the front of the shirt and walked toward the border, Manuel’s feet dragging in the dirt and his head lolling. Calvin stood at the border and set him down, watching as he teetered. He slowly reached out with one finger and pushed him, and Manuel fell over the border into US territory, groaning as several of the general’s men ran forward and dragged him off.
Calvin looked at the border guard, who smirked and waved him through. “Tell Katie ‘hi’ for me when you see her next.”
Calvin chuckled and slapped his hand into the border guard’s shoulder, nodding and walking into the US. In the background, Sofia stood wrapped in a military jacket, her bangs blowing back off her face. She looked worried to death. Calvin moved toward her, but one of the general’s men put his hand up.
“Oh, right,” Calvin nodded, handing over the last gun he had in his possession, which was empty of bullets.
The guard knelt and did a quick search to make sure he wasn’t carrying any more weapons over the border. When he was clear, the soldier nodded and stuck out his hand, shaking Calvin’s.
“Good work out there. That was pretty much the most badass thing I’ve ever seen. Good work.”
“Thanks.” Calvin chuckled. “All in a day’s work.”
“Right.” The soldier scoffed. “Go ahead. You’re all clear.”
“Thanks.”
Calvin kept his eyes on Sofia as he hobbled toward her, stopping only momentarily to shake a couple of soldiers’ hands. She was a sight for sore eyes, and he couldn’t be happier that she’d made it over the border safely. He had to remember that he owed Katie a huge one. She had put the company assets out there, had the plane flown into Mexico, and picked up someone she didn’t know, all on Calvin’s word. That alone made him realize just how close the two of them were. They were family, and she trusted him.
Sofia sighed and tilted her head to the side, putting out her hand to help him over to her. She leaned in, wrapping her arms gently around him. He groaned, and she pulled back, wrinkling her nose.