The Warriors Series Boxset I

by Ty Patterson

  He grinned silently when he saw the twins, poised to launch at him, relax at the sight of the gun. He stepped well back, followed them inside and shut the door behind.

  Now. Finish them off. Move on.

  No. It’s my time. I’ve waited for this.

  The twins stopped at the sight that lay before them in the apartment. Plastic sheets laid out wall to wall, except for a narrow strip at the entrance. The room was bare except for three pieces of furniture, a desk in a corner and two chairs deep inside.

  ‘You see those chairs? Those are special.’ The gun never wavered from them as he circled wide and patted the first chair.

  ‘I wanted electric chairs, but they don’t sell them on eBay do they? These come close, what do you think?’

  The wooden chairs had restraining straps for arms, legs, shoulders, and a central restraining belt that went around the waist. He sat in one of them, crossed his legs and regarded them.

  ‘Convicts used to be strapped to one of these, and then zap, their lights went out. They’ve gone the lethal injection route now. Shame. Where’s the fun in that. But hold on, there’s more to see.’

  His gun pointed to the hallway which led to his bedroom. His peculiar laugh sounded when he heard their gasps. Beth choked back a retch at the sight of the bloodied baseball bats hanging on the wall. Beneath each bat was a newspaper clipping of the victim.

  ‘My museum. There’s space for two more.’

  He reached beneath the bed and withdrew two baseball bats, still in their wrapping. ‘Just for you.’

  The gun waved again and when they were seated and restrained in the chairs, he unwrapped the bats and practiced a few swings.

  ‘Nothing like a bat. I pity all those killers who use something else.’

  Beth glared at him. ‘Why us? We don’t fit your profile.’

  The killer stopped his swings, his brow furrowed and he stared at her. ‘Profile? What profile? Oh, I get it. My victim profile. Yeah, that’s right.’

  He thumped the bat against the desk, hard, and laughed when the women jumped. He thumped it again and screamed suddenly.

  ‘Because I want my freedom back.’

  ‘Do.’

  Thump

  ‘You.’

  Thump

  ‘Get.’

  Thump

  ‘It?’

  He brought the bat hard on the desk and a corner chipped away. His eyes were wide and spittle flecked his lips as he stared at them. Something moved in his eyes.

  ‘I can’t sleep. I can’t move on. You bitches have haunted me ever since I saw you.’

  ‘Those green eyes.’

  And the bat swung.

  The phone buzzed in Zeb’s hand. Yuri.

  North Portland Avenue, Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

  He rose, showed the screen to Chang, just as the door crashed open and a cop stuck his head in. ‘We got a hit.’

  Pizaka waved him inside and the policeman recited the address breathlessly. It was the same one Yuri had texted.

  Pizaka snatched the slip from the cop’s hand and read aloud. ‘Matches the credit card receipt. Apartment is rented to one John Korda, works in the DMV. As a programmer. Shee-it, the man’s a state employee.’

  He swung around at Zeb. ‘That Korda name – isn’t that the...?’

  ‘His foster brother, yeah.’ Zeb completed his sentence. He dialed Korda’s number, headed to a corner of the room and held the phone to his ear.

  Chang waved in the air to catch his attention and held all his fingers up.

  Rolling in ten minutes.

  Zeb nodded at him just as a voice spoke in his ear. ‘John, Zeb Carter here. A quick one for you. Do you or any of your family rent property in New York?’

  He explained briefly, listened for a minute and hung up. ‘The Kordas have lived in Birmingham for generations. Never left it.’

  Pizaka donned his shades even though it was night. ‘Let’s get him.’

  Three vehicles swung out, dark, menacing, their insides stuffed with hard men and their gear. Chang introduced Zeb to the ESU team leader and led him to the last vehicle.

  ‘Thirty minutes to touch down,’ he whispered as he looked over the shoulder of one of the men at a screen that showed images of Brooklyn. ‘Drones. Not many know that we use drones in special situations.’ There was a note of pride in Chang’s voice.

  Zeb nodded, kept silent and didn’t upstage the cop. Broker and he had started drones in the agency’s ops long before any law enforcement agency in the country had. He looked out at darkness rushing past and the beast in him raged at its leash.

  Not now. Not our op.

  He thought of Pelling, the hunt for him and something moved in him.

  ‘What?’ Chang picked on his uneasiness.

  ‘Too easy. He’s been a ghost all along, why’s his address so obvious?’

  Chang shrugged his shoulders. ‘We’ll know soon enough.’

  ‘It could be a ruse. Ask the team leader to watch out.’

  He fired a text to Yuri.

  Check out other addresses linked to that credit card.

  The bat stopped within inches of Beth’s head.

  ‘Not so soon, not so easily.’ The killer wiped his mouth on his sleeve, the light in his eyes dimmed a little. ‘I’ll make this last. I have all the time in the world.’

  ‘You don’t. You’d better finish us off and make your getaway. Right now, Zeb Carter and the NYPD are turning the city inside out. They’ll get here.’ Meghan mustered all the contempt she could. She had traded glances with Beth and knew her sister had read her thoughts.

  Keep him talking or make him lose control. Either way we might get an opportunity.

  He sneered. ‘Carter coming here? The cops? They don’t even know who I am. Why, you dumb fucks, you didn’t even know I was following you. I jostled into you at the café. That’s when you bitches started haunting me.’

  ‘Why?’ The sneer turned to a scream. ‘Why couldn’t you keep away?’

  He breathed harshly and walked around

  Control. Steady.

  Yeah, I know.

  Meghan read Beth’s thoughts.

  The rage comes without warning. Disappears as quickly. Brace yourself for any move.

  ‘I tried to forget you.’ His voice trembled as he tried to control it. ‘Your eyes remind me of him. It’s your fault.’ The voice rose to a shout as he pointed the bat straight at them.

  It fell away as he wiped his palms against his body.

  A shaky laugh. ‘Mustn’t get carried away.’

  He felt his hand against his pocket and remembered something.

  He dug out the blade. It shone in the light as he waved it in front of them.

  ‘Remember me from the elevator? I came this close to killing you. Prick. Prick. Gone. You would’ve bled to death. Carter?’ The hyena laugh came again. ‘That dude, I walked within feet of him. He sat meek as a lamb. I’m invisible.’

  ‘Your Carter is chasing ghosts.’

  He strode to them and crouched close and mimicked Broker. ‘We’re coming after you.’

  He roared suddenly, showering them with spittle. ‘I got you, you bastard.’

  He swung around and the bat rose.

  Thump. Half the desk broke away.

  The killer closed his eyes and swayed.

  It’s time. Finish it.

  No! Will take my time. Then they will never bother me again.

  Finish them. You’re taking too long.

  He shouted.

  ‘I’m done with you and your controlling. First you. Now them.’

  His eyes opened wide and flashed fire at the twins.

  The entry was swift, brutal and coldly efficient.

  The first two set of wheels screeched to a halt on the sidewalk and ESU teams raced to the apartment.

  Crash.

  The door gave way.

  Two bangs exploded, flash bangs, one team rushed in, another covered them, and a third got the rear.

/>   All before Zeb, Pizaka and Chang had exited the third vehicle. Cruisers blocked the street and turned the night into streaks of red and blue.

  They heard muffled voices from within.

  Clear.

  Clear.

  Clear.

  The team leader came out, removed his helmet and shook his head in their direction.

  Zeb had steeled himself for it, but it still felt like a blow.

  Decoy.

  Pizaka and Chang huddled and whispered as a passing cop offered them steaming cups.

  Zeb gazed unseeingly. He turned to the vehicle and brushed the offered cup away.

  He spun. Dug his phone out, ignored Chang’s curious look and texted Yuri.

  The café. Check the cameras. You know the drill.

  Understanding dawned in Chang’s eyes when Zeb verbalized his thoughts. ‘You reckon he could’ve used a different card?’

  Pizaka frowned. ‘Your man’s a hacker? That’ll taint the case, dude.’

  Chang looked around them. No one was in earshot. He nodded in Zeb’s direction.

  Ignore my partner. Go ahead.

  ‘Bastard abused me, my brother. She watched. He used this.’ He brandished the bat as he came closer, ran it along Beth’s cheek. ‘Not there. He used it on my back. My bottom. My ribs.’

  ‘They don’t need to know.’

  He yelled in return. ‘They do. They started it.’

  ‘Keep quiet. Neighbors’.

  ‘There aren’t any.’

  Beth twitched in her seat and Meghan looked at her. Her face was pale and beaded with sweat. She could read the fear in her sister’s eyes as Beth fought to control her emotions. Meghan widened her eyes and hoped Beth could read them.

  He’s falling apart in front of us. He might go into kill mode. Be prepared.

  ‘I would have killed him, but she took me away.’

  The killer’s T-shirt was matted with sweat as he bent in front of them again. His dark eyes were wide tunnels to emptiness.

  ‘You know my first kill? A cat. Strangled it. It had green eyes. They shone in the dark, like his eyes. Once I finish with you, I’ll remove your eyes. I’ll-– ’

  He cocked his head and looked behind him. He hurried into his bedroom and returned with another plastic sheet, placed it near the door.

  ‘You forgot. Did you open the rear window?’

  ‘I have, now,’ he mumbled. ‘My escape route. I won’t need it. They won’t find me.’

  ‘They will. Zeb will, Joshua Pelling. No matter how you hide, what your cover is, he’ll come.’ Meghan saw her sister’s fists clench and braced herself.

  A shudder ran through the killer. He approached them, his voice a whisper. ‘How?’

  Another shiver and with it a scream. ‘How?’

  The bat swung at Beth’s head and this time it didn’t stop.

  She hurled herself back against the chair, tipping it over on its rear legs and the bat swung over her head. Toward Meghan.

  Meghan lunged to her left and crashed to the floor.

  The killer roared in rage and frustration as he lost his balance, recovered, stepped to Meghan and brought the bat down. He staggered back as her chained feet caught his shin. He swiped at her feet and she screamed.

  ‘Scream. Shout.’

  He brought the bat down fast, it sizzled through the air and struck the chair’s handle, bounced off. He swung again. She groaned as the blow caught her right shoulder.

  The hyena laugh. ‘Now your head. Then hers. Then your eyes.’

  The bat lifted.

  Zeb ran, light and matter compressed in a tight ball. A glance at the van. Empty. A muffled scream from inside.

  Light became a blur.

  Three seconds to place the charges. No time for niceties.

  Two seconds to crouch back.

  The door became smoke and air, one step inside and then he was falling, sliding, his hands desperately trying to find purchase.

  Oil. Plastic. At the door.

  Two figures down. Chairs. Twins in them. Silent. Motionless. A figure above them, now above him.

  Are they alive?

  The figure turned, something raised in his hands.

  ‘Carter.’ The figure shouted and brought his hands down.

  ‘Zeb,’ two voices rang out.

  They are.

  Zeb took the blow on his right shoulder, and fire and white heat raced through him as he skidded away. His shoulder turned numb.

  Dislocated?

  Doesn’t matter.

  Another blow.

  He deflected it and grunted as the shock ran clean through him.

  The figure moved, not a blow, but a thrust that caught Zeb deep in his abdomen.

  He curled for a second in reflex and the bat sang as it came down on his back.

  He lashed out with his legs and the bat met the thick gear on them and bounced away.

  More blows as the killer went into a frenzy as the prone man kept sliding on the plastic.

  Zeb deflected or blocked some of them, took several of them on his body, one on his head. One savage swing sent him crashing into the desk.

  Purchase.

  He grabbed a leg and pulled himself up and the table went crashing down behind him.

  He ducked just in time as the figure moved and the bat sailed over his head.

  He straightened only to crash back against the wall as Pelling hurled his body at him. Zeb fell to the floor as his body suit, slick with oil, slid down the wall.

  Blade! Too slow.

  The knife went into him just below his left shoulder, seeking his heart.

  Zeb gritted his teeth, compartmentalized the ice cold flash and gripped the killer’s wrist.

  It held like a rock as the killer threw his weight behind the knife.

  Pelling’s eyes flared in triumph and as the knife sank an inch. A knee came up to clamp down on Zeb’s left hand, but that left his right hand free, which swept up in a rabbit punch.

  The killer ducked and rocked back on his heels as Zeb’s hand found his chin.

  He roared and pulled the knife out and prepared to thrust again.

  Big mistake.

  The beast raced through Zeb, blackness flooded him and his hands blurred as they grabbed Pelling in a lock and threw him away.

  The killer swiftly got to his feet but instead of attacking Zeb, his crazed eyes lit on the bat and the girls.

  The next second he was standing over Meghan, his scream echoing in the room. ‘You can’t stop me.’

  Zeb’s eyes burnt with perspiration and blood and his vision dimmed as the scream became a roar inside him.

  Move, die later.

  He lunged, stumbled, and then he was flying, falling, as his leap was mistimed and misjudged. He landed on Meghan, awkwardly, and the chair slammed into his body.

  Something lanced into him. A broken rib.

  The blur above him became speed.

  He moved his head just in time, groaned deeply as the bat landed on his left shoulder. His body went numb.

  Fresh blood washed from his wound.

  The bat rose again, a keening sound accompanying it. The killer chanting something.

  Try.

  Zeb shut down everything, light, sound, life, and kept just the killer and the bat in his universe.

  He slid down an inch on the chair’s arm and lashed out with his feet.

  The killer stumbled and stepped back.

  Now.

  The beast sprang, its jaws snapping silently inside and took Zeb along with it as his hands reached out for the killer.

  The men fell, Zeb on top. The bat smashed into Zeb’s back.

  Ignore.

  His left hand locked the killer’s left.

  The killer tried to aim for his head and didn’t find room and the blow bludgeoned Zeb’s left shoulder.

  Let him.

  Zeb’s right hand snaked out, reached and got the hold he wanted.

  The killer’s eyes widened as he got Zeb�
��s intention. His dark crazed eyes stared up into those that were dark tunnels with no light at the end.

  Squeeze.

  The killer’s lips moved.

  ‘I’m a ghost.’

  You will be.

  Squeeze.

  Thwack.

  The bat landed viciously.

  The beast shrugged it off.

  My friend. The sisters. You went after them.

  The hold tightened.

  Panic flooded the killer’s eyes.

  The bat dropped, his hand pushed Zeb away.

  Too late.

  The grip was remorseless.

  Darkness flooded the killer’s eyes as he struggled for breath.

  ‘Freedom.’ He gasped out.

  You’ll have it.

  Zeb bore down, grinding the life out of Pelling.

  ‘Zeb.’

  ‘Zeb.’

  The sounds came from far, he ignored them, the beast ignored them.

  ‘Zebbb!’

  A male voice. Familiar. Women’s voices.

  The forearm slackened.

  Legs appeared in front of him. They turned into a body as someone crouched in front of him.

  Broker.

  ‘Let him go, Zeb. The cops will take it from here.’

  ‘Let go, Zeb.’ Meghan.

  The darkness slowed and faded, the beast uncoiled reluctantly and drew back.

  Till the next time.

  Zeb looked down at Pelling who was drawing hoarse breaths.

  He slid off the killer and Broker helped him up.

  More feet appeared lots of them. Cops flooded the apartment.

  Beth came, holding Meghan. Medics surrounded and attended to them.

  Zeb looked at them and rage flooded through him and stiffened his body.

  ‘No. Stand down.’ Broker shouted and barred his move. ‘She’s got minor injuries. She’ll be fine.’

  Meghan’s pale face twisted in a smile.

  ‘Those guys who hit on us with war stories? We’ve got better ones.’

  Beth beamed and light swept away the dark. ‘We knew you’d come. We were trying to buy time.’

  Broker grumped as the medics and Chang lead them away.

  ‘I am brutally attacked but despite that, I rush from the hospital. I don’t change, don’t even brush my hair. Do I get any thanks? Heck no. Batman here gets all the glory.’

  Chapter 20

  ‘The whole world and its dog knows us now.’ Broker turned off the TV in his hospital room and addressed Zeb and the twins.