by Alan K Baker
The oil-black sea lapped against the slowly-rotting wood of the docks, like a tongue probing reluctantly at something unpalatable. Even though the night was warm, Lovecraft shivered slightly as he and Fort and Rusty got out of the car. They looked around at the sea and the garbage-strewn shore and the great black monolith of the old Marsh warehouse that reared up like a gigantic tombstone, soundless and solitary. Its windows were smashed and pitch-dark, silently declaring the emptiness within.
Good Lord, what a foul place! Lovecraft thought. Given back to nature… a nature that never wanted it.
‘Come on,’ said Johnny. ‘Follow me.’
He glided off, followed by his two vampires. As they followed, Lovecraft noted that only he, Fort and Rusty made any sound as they walked across the shingle; the vampires and their ghost boss made none.
‘I can’t believe you didn’t take the chance when you had it,’ Rusty muttered.
With ice in his voice, Fort replied: ‘Murder may come easily to you, Miss Links, but not to me. There’s another way to get this job done that doesn’t involve putting a bullet in an unconscious man.’
Rusty gave a contemptuous shake of her head. ‘Why didn’t you do it, Sanguine? You know what’s at stake. You could have had one of your men take care of Carter.’
Johnny smiled back at her. ‘I’m trying to save my soul, Rusty, not sully it even more.’
Rusty shook her head again but didn’t reply.
Headlamps cut through the darkness about two hundred yards away. A taxicab screeched to a halt. A door opened and closed and the cab drove away quickly, its driver clearly wanting to get away as fast as possible. A burly figure hurried towards them.
‘Cormack?’ said Fort.
‘That’s me,’ said the priest as he joined them.
‘How’s Penny? Is she okay?’
‘She’s right enough – mind you, she and her ma and pa got a nasty fright when himself showed up.’ He pointed to Sanguine, who was about to enter the warehouse through a doorway whose door was nowhere to be seen. ‘So they sprung you all right, those lads.’
‘Yeah, and not a moment too soon. John Carter’s working for Crystalman. He was about to off us when Johnny’s boys ran us off the road.’
‘Carter?’ said O’Malley. ‘Lord above, who would have thought it?’
‘Too bad,’ said Fort. ‘He was the only one of that bunch I had any liking for.’
‘What happened to him?’
‘He was knocked unconscious. We left him there. We would have brought him along for the ride, but we had to get away quickly.’
O’Malley peered at Fort’s face in the darkness, noticing his injuries for the first time. ‘Did he do that?’
‘Yeah. I hope to pay him back someday soon.’
‘Well, we’ll worry about that when the time comes.’
They followed the vampires through the doorway and into a vast, dark space, empty save for the ragged islands of detritus scattered across the floor, like a map of a place no one wanted to visit.
Fort checked his watch. ‘Five before ten,’ he said. ‘Think he’ll show?’
‘I hope so,’ Johnny replied. ‘Like I said, it’ll be a tough job without him. I hate to admit it, but the fact is we need him and his zombies.’
‘Need us for what?’
They all spun around, looking for the source of the voice, which was hard to pin down in the enormous echoing space of the warehouse.
‘Capone?’ Johnny called. ‘Where are you?’
‘Need us for what, blood-sucker?’
‘Come on over here, so we can see each other.’
‘I can see you just fine, and that’s all that matters. Why did you call this meeting?’
‘Okay, Al, okay,’ said Johnny. ‘We’ve never seen eye to eye, that’s for damn sure, but right now – believe me – we’re on the same side. We have a common enemy. The whole world has a common enemy.’
After a brief hesitation, Capone’s voice continued: ‘So it’s true, what I heard. You’re a spook.’
‘Yeah, it’s true. I can’t hurt you and you can’t hurt me. In fact, I called off my boys on the Expressway.’
‘Uh huh. Hey, Charlie, what you doin’ here? And the librarian… and Johnny’s ex, and Father O’Blivion himself! Quite a party. I’m honoured you invited me.’
‘We’re here because we need your help, Mr. Capone,’ said Fort. ‘The whole world needs your help.’
‘How about that!’ Another hesitation. ‘No more nightwalkers out there?’
‘None,’ Johnny replied. ‘Just us in here.’
‘Well… at least you ain’t lying about that. Okay boys, move in.’
A shuffling sound drifted out of the darkness, accompanied by a dozen zombies, all armed with Thompsons, all of which were trained on the small group. And then Capone himself clanked out of the shadows, the steel of his massive cybernetic frame glinting dully, his fat, cruel face peering at them.
‘All right,’ said Capone with a sneer. ‘Start talkin’.’
Johnny glanced at Fort, who shrugged and said: ‘Start talking.’
*
When Johnny had finished, Capone looked at each of them in turn, and then burst into a huge, derisive laugh. ‘You expect me to swallow that load of horseshit?’ he said. ‘Even my cast iron guts couldn’t handle that!’
‘It’s not horseshit, Mr. Capone,’ said Fort. ‘It’s the truth. You’ve got to believe us…’
‘I don’t gotta do nothin’!’
‘Listen, Mr. Capone,’ said O’Malley. ‘Johnny’s on the level. Do you think I’d be mixed up in this if he wasn’t?’
‘I was wonderin’ about that,’ said Capone. ‘You’re a good man, Father – not my type at all, and sure as hell not his type. So what’s really goin’ on?’
‘It’s just as Johnny said…’
‘You’re gonna go up against Crystalman on his home turf to stop him from releasing what’s-his-name…’
‘Azathoth,’ said Fort.
‘Yeah, that guy, who’s gonna eat the planet.’
‘That’s it,’ said O’Malley. ‘That’s the truth. You have my word on that, and you and I know what that’s worth, don’t we, Al?’
‘Yeah… yeah, I guess we do. So what’s the plan?’
Johnny smiled. ‘Thanks, Al.’
‘Don’t thank me yet, Sanguine; I ain’t said yes. I just wanna know how you think you can pull this crazy scheme off.’
Johnny nodded to Fort, who said: ‘We’re not going to knock on Crystalman’s front door, that’s for sure. We’re going in under his house on Long Island, through one of the Dero caverns which the IRT Company discovered back in ’95. He won’t know we’re coming until it’s too late.’
‘Know that for a fact, do you?’ said Capone.
‘Not really, to be honest, but we’re in with a fighting chance.’
‘And say you get in there without being eaten or butt-fucked by the Dero… what then?’
‘Then we destroy the Falcon…’
‘Destroy it?’ said Capone. ‘Is that such a good idea? Won’t destroying it set that Martian schmuck free?’
Fort shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. If that were true, there’d be no need for the rock book in the first place. All the Martians would have had to do to release the prisoners would be to break the falcons containing their minds. If we destroy the Falcon, the rock book becomes useless, and Crystalman’s game’s over. And I’ve got something up my sleeve that’ll take care of it and the Dero, if they decide to give us a hard time.’
‘Oh yeah? And what’s that?’
‘Something Nikola Tesla gave me. It’s called a Teleforce Projector…’
‘A what?’
Fort explained what the Projector was and how it worked.
‘So
unds like you’ve got it all worked out, Charlie. But the big question is, what’s in it for me?’
‘Survival,’ Fort replied simply. ‘You get to carry on living, along with everyone and everything else on Earth.’
The zombie standing closest to Capone turned and said: ‘I don’t like it, boss. Sounds like a double cross to me.’
‘No one asked you, pus-brain!’ said Capone.
‘Sorry, boss,’ said the zombie.
‘And not just survival, Mr. Capone,’ said Lovecraft. ‘You’ll be off the hook for Mr. Sanguine’s murder and the theft of the Martian Falcon, not to mention being part of the group which will bring Crystalman to justice. You’ll be a hero in the eyes of the people and the authorities. I believe that will pay off a lot of your debts to society.’
‘I don’t owe society nothin’, librarian!’ Capone thundered; then, in a calmer voice, he added: ‘But you’re right about the other stuff. This situation’s bad for business; can’t get a damned thing done while I’m on the lam like this. Yeah… bad for business…’
‘So what do you say, Al?’ said Johnny. ‘Are you in?’
Capone considered for a moment and then nodded. ‘Yeah, okay, I’m in.’ He indicated the zombies. ‘Are these twelve boys enough for you? I hope so, ’cause I don’t got no more, not the way things are right now.’
‘They’ll be enough,’ said Johnny.
‘We’ll need some weapons as well,’ said O’Malley. ‘Tommy guns, if you have them.’
‘We got them,’ said Capone.
‘When are you moving?’ asked Capone.
‘Tonight,’ Fort replied. ‘We left Carter unconscious but not badly injured. My guess is he’ll take the rock book to Crystalman as soon as he can. It could be tonight or it could be tomorrow, but it’s going to be soon. We need to get to Crystalman first. With the Falcon destroyed, the rock book will be useless.’
Capone nodded. ‘All right. Let’s do it.’
CHAPTER 31
Conversation with a Dero
Crystalman stood in front of the telaug machine, looking through the eyes of Rusty Links, watching and listening as the meeting with Al Capone progressed. He hadn’t counted on Sanguine and his vampires intercepting the police wagon. He realised that that was a mistake, but not a particularly serious one. With hindsight, it would have been better to have Carter go to Fort’s office alone and kill him and the others there. But no matter: they would be coming here, and it would be here that they met their fates.
In fact, the option which had presented itself was neater than Crystalman’s original plan: there would be no bodies requiring a cover story; Fort, Lovecraft, Links and O’Malley would simply vanish from the world. No one else knew their plan. No one else would ever know. As for Johnny Sanguine… what he called the Primal Mind had spoken to him; Crystalman had listened to the echoes of his dreams and was well aware of what he wanted. Well, the prize would be given to him, but not quite in the manner he was expecting…
‘Vampires!’ said Crystalman contemptuously. ‘What a tiresome lot you are. So many worse things than you!’
He manipulated the controls of the telaug, switching the psychic connection from Rusty Links to John Carter. The detective had been Crystalman’s guest in the Dero caverns some time ago – not that he remembered, of course – as had the Chief of Police. They had been placed, unconscious, in the telaug machine and their brain patterns recorded, so that they might serve as Crystalman’s spies in the Police Department. Carter had no memory of being taken over by Crystalman, or of pointing his gun at Fort’s head and speaking with a voice that was not his. From his point of view, he had been taking Fort and the others in – that was all – until they had been ambushed.
Carter was sitting in a hospital examination room, being attended to by a doctor.
‘Mild concussion, Lieutenant,’ said the doctor. ‘Nothing to worry about, but I’d take it easy for the next day or so.’
‘Wish I could, doc,’ Carter replied, ‘but that’s not going to be possible.’
The doctor sighed. ‘Well… try, huh?’
Crystalman watched as Carter left the hospital and drove back to the stationhouse, where Dave Wiseman was waiting for him. Once he had assured his partner that he was all right, he asked Wiseman where he had put the rock book.
‘In the evidence room, like you told me to,’ Wiseman replied.
‘Okay, good.’
‘Listen, John,’ said Wiseman. ‘Concussion, the doc said, right?’
‘Right.’
‘Why don’t you call it a night? We’ve got things covered here; got patrol cars out looking for Fort and the others. You need some rest, and there’s not a whole lot more you can do here.’
Carter sighed and tentatively rubbed his aching head. ‘I guess you’re right, Dave. I’ll go and grab some shuteye. You’ll call me if anything happens?’
‘I sure will.’
‘Okay.’
Carter walked along the corridor leading to the main entrance. As he approached the stairs leading to the basement containing the evidence room, Crystalman reached for one of the controls of the telaug.
‘No sleep for you just yet, Lieutenant Carter,’ he murmured. ‘I need the rock book, and I need it now. You will take it from the evidence room and bring it to me.’
He flipped the lever that would switch the telaug from its observation mode to the more profound connection that would allow him to control Carter’s actions.
Carter changed direction suddenly and took the stairs down to the basement. He walked swiftly along a corridor and entered the Evidence Room. The duty officer behind the counter looked up from some paperwork and said: ‘Evening, Lieutenant. What can I do for you?’
‘Evening, Hank. Dave Wiseman brought an item in here not too long ago.’
Hank nodded. ‘Uh huh. The Falcon case, right?’
‘Right. I need it. The Chief wants to take a look.’
‘Okay, hold on.’
Hank went through into another room, and returned a few moments later with a large, brown evidence bag, which he placed on the counter.
Carter signed for it, said goodnight and left the Evidence Room.
Crystalman smiled, and said in barely more than a whisper: ‘Now… bring it to me, Lieutenant Carter… bring it to me.’
He threw some more switches and watched the display screen. Presently, a face appeared – or rather, a twisted caricature of a face: bloated, pockmarked, slobbering, a landscape of malice and depravity from which stared two pitch-black, soulless eyes.
The face of a Dero.
‘What you want?’ grunted the apparition.
‘You have visitors coming soon.’
‘When you leave? When you give us back places you took?’
Crystalman sighed. ‘When I’m ready, and not before.’
‘You stole from us. You stole places from us. When you give back?’
‘We have had this conversation before.’
The hideous face sneered at him.
‘I tell you again, you have visitors coming soon.’
‘Visitors?’
‘People from the surface. Food for you. Playthings for you.’
The wide, flabby mouth twisted into a leering travesty of a smile. ‘We like people. People taste good. People scream loud when we play.’
‘I thought you’d be pleased.’
‘Why they come? They not know Dero? They not know be scared?’
‘Oh, they know about you. They’re coming to take more things from you, more caverns, more machines. They’re coming to kill you.’
The face of the Dero twitched several times and then twisted into an expression of utter, mindless rage and hatred. ‘They come to take? They come to kill? No! They not take, not kill. We kill! We kill and eat! But first we play… we show them games… game
s to make them scream loud! Scream for long time! We eat them while they live! Ha! We eat them while they live and scream!’
The Dero lifted something into view. Crystalman peered at the screen, unsure at first of what he was looking at. It took him a few seconds to realise that it was part of a man’s head. Probably some poor derelict they had snatched from the street under cover of night, as was their habit. The Dero fingered the shattered skull, scraping out the last few gobs of brain, which it shoved into its slavering mouth.
‘He play long time. He scream long and loud, like music. We sex him long time, many of us.’
Crystalman grimaced behind his mask.
‘We sex him hard! And he scream!’
‘And you can do all that to the visitors who are coming. The visitors who are coming to kill you and take your places and your machines.’
The Dero’s face suddenly became expressionless. ‘When they come?’
‘Tonight. They will descend from Long Island into the caverns.’
‘Long… Island.’
‘The island where I live, where my house stands. The island containing the caverns I took from you. Do you understand?’
The Dero nodded. ‘The caverns you took from us.’
‘And you will be waiting for them, yes?’
‘We will wait for them.’
‘And when they enter the caverns, they will be yours.’
‘Ours, yes, and we play and eat and sex.’
‘They are yours to do with as you please. You can spare me the details.’
The tragic remnants of a once-great race, Crystalman thought. How the mighty can fall, when the universe decides it has no further use for them. I almost feel sorry for you and your kind. Were the Atlans to return from their great exodus into the cosmic depths, they would annihilate you without hesitation, even though you be their kin.
‘When you go?’ demanded the Dero again. ‘When… you… go?’ The question had bubbled up once again in the creature’s quagmire of a brain. They never tired of asking it, even though the answer was always the same.
On this occasion, however, Crystalman said something he had never said to the Dero before: ‘If you kill these visitors… I will give your caverns back to you. I will leave and never return. You will never see me again.’