by S. C. Stokes
Footsteps echoed up the stairwell. There were still dozens of Night Crew willing to press the issue.
Scarface’s megaphone crackled to life. “You know, Miss Chase, while the Night Lord may have wanted you alive, I'm sure he'll settle for your corpse. If we can't drag you out of the precinct, we’ll bring it down with you all inside it. You seem to have fortified your position but a fat lot of good that's going to do when we blast the floor out from beneath you. You have until my men arrive with the blasting charges to surrender yourself to save your comrades. Otherwise, you'll die up there together. Your choice, Miss Chase. Don't take long. They’ll be back any minute.”
Kasey reached out her hand. “Help me up.”
Bishop and West took an arm each and hoisted Kasey to her feet. She limped over to the shattered window.
“What are you looking for, Kasey?” Bishop asked, following behind her.
“He mentioned that his men had to fetch the breaching charges. Look down there. There they are.” Kasey pointed to where two men were lifting a black case out of the back of a van.
“We need to take them down. If those charges reach the third floor, they’re going to blow the floor out from beneath us and drag my body back to the Night Lord as a trophy.”
“What are you suggesting?” Bishop asked.
Kasey searched the street. “Bring the rifles. We need to stop them making it back into the station.”
West beckoned to Luiz, who raced over to the window. Resting the AR15 against the window ledge, he laid down a withering hail of suppressing fire. The Night Crew dropped the crate and bolted behind the nearby van. With the explosives’ progress halted at least for the moment, Kasey breathed a sigh of relief.
As the Night Crew on the street below raised their weapons, Kasey and her companions hit the deck.
“You can't let them get that case into the building,” West shouted.
Kasey stretched up just enough to glance over the edge of the window. A Night Crewman was racing towards the case.
“One of them is making a run for it,” she said.
Luiz stood up and let off a three-round burst. The second shot found its mark and the Night Crewman went down, only a few short steps from his goal.
The thugs below returned fire. Luiz gasped, stumbling backwards. He dropped his rifle as he fell, blood pooling on his uniform from the gunshot wound in his right shoulder.
“We need something to staunch the bleeding,” Kasey said. “Don’t worry, Luiz, you’ll be fine.”
Luiz grimaced.
“There are some hand towels in my bathroom. Bishop, can you grab them?” West asked.
Bishop raced for the bathroom to fetch the towels.
“Check on the case,” Kasey said, handing Luiz’s rifle to West. “If they get it into the building, we’ll be able to measure our life expectancy with and egg timer.”
West glanced out the window. “Oh, what now? Who the hell are these fools?”
“What fools?” Kasey asked. “The Night Crew?
“I don’t think so,” West replied. “Just rounded the corner, strolling down the street like they own the place.”
Bishop appeared, towels in hand.
Kasey pressed Bishop’s hand, still gripping the towel, to Luiz’s wound. “Help Luiz hold this, please. I need to take a look.”
She stood up and spotted them immediately.
Twenty people strolled down East 5th Street. West was right, they advanced without a care in the world. Most of them were dressed from head to toe in black fatigues, balaclavas, and bullet proof vests. Many of them were packing submachine guns. More concerning perhaps were those who were seemingly unarmed.
Only two of them were not wearing masks. The first was a tall olive-skinned man whose black hair almost reached his open-necked black dress shirt. Gold suspenders held up his black slacks. The holsters slung under his arms were empty, the pistols already in his hands.
Hades.
At his side sashayed his girlfriend, Zryx. She wore tight leather pants and a tank top. Her short hair was styled into sharply pointed spikes. Her mouth was twisted into a grin that wasn’t the least bit comforting. It was a face Kasey had hoped never to see again.
“Kasey, do you know these guys? Are they friends of yours?” West asked.
Kasey scratched her neck. “Yes, I do, but I don’t know where we stand. The last time I saw her, she pulled a gun on me. We didn’t exactly part on good terms.”
“Who are they?” West asked.
Kasey pointed at the street. “The one with the pistols is Hades.”
“Hades, like the Greek god?” West asked.
“Yes. He’s not from your world—he’s from mine. He runs New York’s criminal underworld.”
West shook his head. “I’ve never heard of him.”
“Consider that a blessing,” Kasey replied. “The night I met him, he tossed me into a cage to fight for my life.”
“So not a friend?” West asked.
Hades answered the question for him. Without breaking his stride, he opened fire onto the Night Crew. His men added their fire to the fray.
The Night Crew, already occupied with the police before them, were caught flat-footed by the appearance of Hades and his men. The ambush quickly became a bloodbath. The Night Crew scrambled for cover behind their vehicles but there was no reprieve.
Hades’ unarmed companions lashed out. The first hurled a fireball into a sedan. It took only moments before the conflagration superheated the vehicle and detonated its gas tank. The blast took out both Night Crewmen who were huddled behind it.
A wizard to Hades’ left hurled a blast of energy into one of the Night Crew’s van. The blast of energy flipped the van, crushing another assailant.
Without mercy, Hades and his entourage carved a path through the Night Crew arrayed before the Precinct. With a flick of his wrist, one of the wizards hauled a Night Crewman into the air. Hades executed the hovering thug with a single shot.
As the body dropped, Hades locked eyes with Kasey. Closing her mouth, Kasey blinked at the clinical display before her. Hades raised his right pistol to his brow in a mock salute, before dropping another thug with the pistol in his left.
In moments, the street was clear of Night Crewmen. Hades’ cohorts dropped their spent magazines and reloaded before entering the station.
Gunfire rang out from the floor beneath as the Night Crew found themselves in the unenviable position of being caught between Hades below and the police above.
Footsteps in the stairwell signaled the Night Crew’s renewed assault. A last-ditch effort to achieve their goal. Shielded by the door jam, Morales opened fire. The Night Crew’s disjointed assault carried them straight into the waiting guns of the Ninth Precinct.
When Morales ceased firing, Kasey glanced down the stairwell. More than a dozen bodies lined its interior. None were moving. Morales reloaded a fresh magazine, but the station had gone quiet.
Kasey was about to venture out onto the landing when a singsong tone carried up the stairwell. “Jenny, my old friend, is that you?”
It was Hades. He was using the alibi from the night they had first met. Kasey was under no misapprehensions; Hades knew exactly who she was.
“Jenny, do tell your friends to lower their weapons,” he continued. “Your thuggish friends are dead or dying. They won’t be needing them, and my Helldrakes and I would hate for any miscommunication to result in unnecessary bloodletting.”
“Jenny? Who the hell is Jenny?” West asked.
“It's me,” Kasey whispered. “It's the alias I was using when I was on the run. It's okay, Chief, lower your weapons. You saw them at work. If they were here to kill us, there isn’t a lot we could do about it anyway. We are low on ammunition and I'm exhausted. I couldn't take the lot of them, even if I wanted to. We’re better off talking it through and finding out what they are here for.”
West nodded, but his furrowed brow conveyed his skepticism. He turned to his officers. �
�It's all right, men, lower your weapons.”
The officers of the Ninth Precinct holstered their pistols and laid down their rifles.
Kasey called down the stairwell. “Okay, Hades,” Kasey shouted. “We’ve lowered our weapons. Come on up.”
There was a momentary silence from the floor beneath.
“Call me a skeptic, Jenny, but I'd really rather you came to us. Bring your friends if you like. We'll wait for you down here.”
Kasey looked at Bishop. “What do you think?”
Bishop shrugged. “I don’t know these guys, so I don’t know what to think. Luiz needs a medic though. The sooner we can get him help, the better.
“Yeah, you are right,” Kasey replied. “Besides, we can't stay up here all day. If we do, Akihiro wins.”
Bishop rested a hand on her holster. “If we die, he also wins. What’s the chance these guys are with him?”
“I doubt it. Hades thinks far too highly of himself and his little empire to let a maniac burn it down.” Kasey entered the stairwell and leaned over the balustrade. “Hades, before I come down, I just wanted to check, you are aware of the recent changes at the Council, are you not?”
“Of course,” he bellowed. “Out with the old, in with the new, I always say. I understand your dear husband has been appointed interim Chancellor. I suppose congratulations are in order.” Hades' emphasis told her he knew exactly who Sanders was. He'd likely surmised it when Sanders had threatened him in the underworld.
“Husband?” Bishop asked, her jaw dropping. “You have been busy.”
“It was an alias. Things didn't get that crazy. Don’t worry, you didn’t miss the ceremony.” Kasey replied, giving her a small shove. “Okay, Hades, we're coming down. Keep in mind, if anything does happen to me, you'll have earned the undying attention of the Council's current chancellor. He'll be most displeased if anything was to happen to his wife.”
“Of course, Jenny. Who do you think it was that sent us?”
Kasey let out a sigh of relief. “Alright, Hades, we’re coming down.”
She made her way down the stairwell with West and Bishop right behind her.
The grenades West had lobbed down the stairs had found their mark. Five Night Crew had been caught in the blast and had died horribly. Others had retreated into the room, likely taking cover from Hades and his men.
The third floor of the Ninth Precinct was an open plan office, with lengthy workbenches running in rows down the room. On a normal day, officers would have been manning the stations and working on case files. Today, it was a charnel house.
More than a dozen Night Crew lay draped over benches or dead on the floor. There wasn’t a single Night Crew man still moving. Hades and his men had been swift, efficient, and deadly.
Inside the battered office, they found Hades changing the magazine on his pistol. His pet was at his side, knife in hand, cleaning her nails.
Kasey was loath to go anywhere near her. Not because she was afraid of the knife. In Kasey’s estimation, Hades’ pet was unhinged. There was no telling what she might do or why. Even Hades’ presence seemed little guarantee she would behave herself.
Hades’ other men were scattered throughout the room. It took Kasey a moment to realize they were relieving the Night Crew of their weapons and were stacking the guns in a pile in the center of the room.
“Oh, Jenny. I’ve missed you,” Hades began. His pet snarled, but didn’t look up. “Shall I call you Jenny, or can we dispense with that charade now that it has served its purpose?”
Kasey approached him. “I'm not gonna lie, Hades, I was hoping to never see you again.”
Hades places hand on his chest. “You wound me, Miss Chase. After all, I'm one of your biggest fans. Dozer is still recovering from that walloping you gave him, but I digress. Is that any way to talk to someone who just saved your life?”
Kasey bit her lip. “You’re right, Hades. I'm glad you showed up when you did. Things were starting to get a little rocky. How did you know we were in trouble?”
“Sanders called us earlier, looking for help with your genocidal wizard. When I asked to speak with you, he told me you were out rallying reinforcements. When I heard the Night Crew were on the move, we put two and two together. Between you and me, paying us with cash you stole from the Night Crew should have earned you both a death sentence, but let's face it, the two of you are so damn crazy, I love it. You have balls the size of Brooklyn. Figuratively speaking.”
It had been brazen, to be sure. After Kasey had been confronted by the Night Crew assassin, she had been worried about what might have blown back on Hades. She had no way of knowing how he would react to being dragged into the feud.
Being hunted by the Night Crew was one thing; being hunted by Hades as well would have taken her problems to a whole new level.
“May I ask, what you are planning to do with the weapons?” West asked, pointing to the mounting pile of munitions in the center of the room.
“Spoils of war,” Hades replied. “We don't work for free, you know.”
West shook his head, “You can't just take those. They’re evidence.”
“We can, and we are, officer. Their previous owners no longer require them, and frankly, you are in no position to stop us. In fact, you’d be better off pretending you never saw us at all.” Hades smiled as he gestured emphatically with his pistol.
Kasey squirmed. West would not take well to being threatened.
“Are you threatening me?” West asked, his cheeks flushing. “Do that again and you’ll spend the rest of your life in a cell.”
Hades smile disappeared and his eyes narrowed on West. “Don’t push your luck, Chief. Circumstances may have put us on the same side today, but if you ever try to make good on that threat, you’ll be as dead as these fools here. My Helldrakes will see to that, understand?”
West ground his teeth so hard it was audible. If he had more to say, he was holding it in.
“Good.” Hades gave a cold smile. “I’m glad to see we have an understanding. Boys, take the guns and toss them in the cars. Miss Chase and I have a lot to discuss.”
The Helldrakes scooped up armloads of rifles and proceeded to carry them straight out the door and down the stairs, past the watchful eyes of the Ninth Precinct.
Kasey looked around the room, at the Night Crew bodies scattered everywhere. Her gaze darted from body to body.
“What are you looking for?” Hades asked. “They’re not getting back up, I can promise you that.”
“It’s not that,” Kasey replied, turning to look at the bodies in the stairwell. “On your way through, did you see a short one with a scar over his left eye? He should have been carrying a megaphone. He was their leader.”
Hades shook his head. “Can’t say that I did. I’ll be honest, though, I wasn’t exactly paying close attention. If it moved, we shot it. If it didn’t stop, we shot it again. The one with the scar, he a friend of yours?”
Exhaustion overtook her. Everything was getting to be too much. She leaned on the edge of a desk as she drew in a breath and let it out. “Not really, but I would have liked to have a chat with him about his boss. Their love for me and Sanders is starting to get in the way of us saving the city. They’ll die with the rest of us when Akihiro detonates his weapon. They need to understand that.”
“The Night Lord is not a forgiving foe, Kasey. When this business with the Shinigami is done, you are going to have your work cut out dealing with him,” Hades warned.
“A problem for another day,” Kasey replied, straightening. She folded her arms. “I take it Sanders told you what we are up against.”
Hades slipped his pistols back into their holsters. “Yes. I didn’t leave him much choice. After Akihiro butchered a dozen of my Helldrakes on prime-time TV, I demanded answers. Outing our community like that may have bought Akihiro some breathing room, but it’s also forced our hands. While we may see the world very differently, Miss Chase, rest assured, we still want it to continue
, and no ancient death cult is going to take it from us. Before the day is through, I’ll see him suffer for what he has done.”
“You’ll have to get in line,” West answered. “There are more than a few of us with an axe to grind with these Shinigami. They killed more than twenty of my men.”
Hades turned to the chief. “My apologies, with all the excitement earlier, we haven’t been properly introduced, Chief…?”
“West. Chief West,” West replied.
Hades placed a hand on his chest. “Of course, I forget my manners. Chief West, it’s a genuine pleasure. I’m Hades, Lord of the Underworld, delighted to make your acquaintance.”
He stretched out his palm.
West took it, his steel gray eyes studying Hades intently.
“Come now, Chief, you may not know me, you may not like me—in fact, that look in your eye says I make your skin crawl—but why not belay that thought. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. So today, that makes us friends. Let us set our differences aside while we destroy the Shinigami. What say you?”
West nodded. “What about tomorrow?”
“If there is a tomorrow,” Kasey replied forcing the two men’s hands apart. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime, you all play nice, while I track down Sanders and his agents. We’ll have them rally here, lay the final plans for the assault, and be on our way. Chief, can you get the other precincts moving? We’re going to need a clear run to Park Avenue, and any transportation you can get us.”
“I’ll get it done,” West replied, heading for the stairs.
Kasey turned to face the room. “Bishop and Vida, can you see to the wounded?”
“What are you going to do?” Bishop asked, coming up beside her.
“Once Sanders is on his way, I’m going to steal as much rest as I can get, and then Akihiro is going to rue the day he decided to set foot in my city.”
Chapter Eight
The ground floor of the Ninth Precinct station had been obliterated. Broken glass and shattered concrete were strewn across the length of the once pristine lobby. The information desk that Kasey had taken shelter behind was no longer in existence. Its broken remnants lay scattered to the four corners of the room. Bullet holes pockmarked the wall, the floors, and even the ceiling. The steel doors of the station along with ten feet of concrete wall had been demolished.