The Devil Is a Gentleman

by J. L. Murray

  I nodded.

  “I’ll park over there, behind that tree.” He pointed down the block at a thick-trunked oak tree that had seen better days. It was bare, either from the long winter, or because it was dead. “My car won’t look out of place around here. Looks like part of the junk.” He smiled and I couldn’t help smiling back.

  “Be careful,” he said.

  The ghosts weren’t as thick as the ones on my street, and I managed to slip into the back door of the warehouse with only a few murmurings and formless gropings. I shook myself as I entered, trying to rid myself of the slimy feeling of their touch. I walked through the aisles of lashed-together forty-gallon drums to the loading dock. The place where Sasha had disappeared.

  Naz was pacing back and forth across the floor when I entered. Everything was eerily the same as the last time I’d been here, except for the view of the sky through the gigantic hole in the roof. Naz stopped pacing when he saw me. He was disheveled and unshaven and alone. I looked around for henchmen or cronies, or whatever the strange men in expensive suits that went everywhere with Naz were called. No one.

  “Don’t you have some lackeys around here somewhere?” I said. I walked toward him, but when I saw his pained expression and wild eyes my smile faded. “What is it?” I said. “What’s happened?”

  He motioned us over to some overturned crates and we sat down. Naz looked hard at me. “You look well,” he said.

  “Knock it off,” I said. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  He nodded and ran a shaky hand through his hair. I could see the faded tattoos peeking out from his leather jacket, crawling up his neck through his button-up shirt. He stamped a foot on the cement. “You know I love you like family, Nikita. You know this.”

  “I know you left me to die when Sasha showed up with Abaddon,” I said.

  He waved a dismissive hand. “He would never hurt you,” he said. He raised an eyebrow. “But he had every reason in the world to tell that demon to rip my heart out, just like the others.”

  “What are you talking about?” I said. “You were his closest friend. Why would he want to kill you? You took over his business when he got arrested.”

  “Yes,” he said. “I took it over.” He shook his head. He spread his hands out on his knees and looked down at them, then turned them to look at his palms. “I have done things I am not proud of, Nikita. Terrible, terrible things. I have been greedy. And a coward. But I will not do this thing.”

  “What thing?” I said. “What the hell are you talking about? Jesus, Naz, you’re scaring me. Just tell me what’s going on.”

  He looked at me and smiled, but the warmth didn’t reach his pale eyes. They had always seemed cold to me: pale and cool, like ice. He looked away. “Your father and I, we worked for some people. Bad people. But they had so much money. More than they knew what to do with. Nothing is more dangerous than a man with too much money. He gets bored, yeah? Does things no sane man would do. And he laughs. These men, they laugh often. They give us money. And we do terrible things for them.”

  I remembered the pictures from Bradley’s office. Pictures of laughing men and women, smiling with Naz. I was afraid that if I spoke it would break the spell, and Naz would stop telling me what he wanted to tell me. But I couldn’t help it, I had to know. “Who are they?” I said quietly.

  Naz took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one, looking at me. He blew out a cloud of smoke. “They call themselves The Blood,” he said. “I thought it was funny at first. I was young and stupid. I thought everything was funny. A bunch of rich old men calling themselves a scary name. Later, I did not think it so funny.”

  “The Blood,” I said. “I’ve heard that name before.”

  “Yes?” he said, surprised. “Then you are lucky you are still walking around, breathing. They do not like to be known. They make people disappear.”

  “Like Frank Bradley,” I said.

  “Yes, like him,” said Naz. “Bradley was different, though. It will be useful for him to be found, I think. Useful to Dorrance, anyway. There were other disappearances, though. I ordered many of these.”

  “Did you burn down his house last night?” I said.

  “No one was in it,” he said.

  “What if there had been?” I said. “What if his wife and daughter had been there?”

  “The women are smart,” he said. “They know when things are dangerous. I knew the wife would be far away.”

  “So, what about Sasha?” I said. “What did he do?”

  He laughed, but it turned into a cough, and then a near-sob. “Sasha thought he was working with them. Like an equal. He could not have been more wrong. When he was gone they were laughing at him. They didn’t hide it. But Sasha was getting stronger. Stronger than they ever imagined. The Blood, they get scared. Scared he would kill them all. Scared he would open up Hell and let them all fall in. They wanted me to make him disappear. But you cannot do that to a man like Alexei Slobodian. He does not disappear easy, yeah?” He ground out his burning butt with the heel of his boot. He closed his eyes, as if remembering. “I arranged the arrest,” he said softly. “The Blood gave him one last job. Job only he could do. Impossible job. Summon Abaddon, the unsummonable demon. And while he was vulnerable, I arranged the arrest. I had a man in the Police who worked for me. He made it all happen.”

  “Mike Shippley,” I said. Shipp had been Eli’s partner and his friend. He also set Eli and me up. It had been Naz that told me he was dirty.

  “Yes. All working smoothly until your friend got mixed into this.”

  “Eli was Shipp’s partner,” I said. “He could have been killed.”

  “Yes,” said Naz. “That is what Shipp said, too. He wanted out.”

  “So he disappeared, too,” I said. “He didn’t run away, did he? You took care of him.”

  “Not personally, of course,” said Naz. “My boys, they take care of it.”

  “So when Sasha escaped — ”

  “Now you see why I was coward,” said Naz. “It was shame. I am nothing. Sasha is dead because of me. He loved me like a brother, and I threw him away for a pile of money.”

  “Sasha isn’t dead,” I said.

  “What?” said Naz. “Of course he’s dead.”

  “No,” I said. “He’s not. He’s in Hell, but I have it on good authority that he’s alive. And doing quite well, I’m guessing.”

  Naz shook his head. “Of course,” he said. He smiled. “You see, Nikita, you always surprise me. You should have worked with us. I told Sasha so much, even when you were little girl. You were always thinking. And you were a fighter, I could see it in you.”

  “I would never work for you,” I said.

  “Not for me,” he said. “You should have been a leader. You would never have gotten involved with people like this. The Blood. Is dishonorable.”

  “I’m not a leader,” I said.

  He raised an eyebrow. “No?” he said. He pointed vaguely towards the front door. “This big man, he follows you, no questions. He waits outside for you while you do business with me. Many would follow you if you only asked them to. I am told even the dead follow you.”

  “Who told you that?” I said.

  His face lost its color. “Is not important.”

  “It’s important to me.”

  He looked at me solemnly. “The Morrigan,” he said. He shuddered. “She tells The Blood what to do. I met her only once, and I had to wear blindfold. I never want to hear that voice again.”

  “Frank Bradley mentioned her,” I said. “He said he couldn’t save her.”

  “The Morrigan is not one to be saved,” said Naz. “She is to be feared.”

  “What about the angelwine?” I said. “What do The Blood have to do with that?”

  “The Blood is everything to do with the angelwine,” said Naz. “Everything. They have turned themselves into monsters. You know what it is, don’t you, Nikita?” he said, putting another cigarette in his mouth. “I c
an see it in your eyes that you know.”

  “Yes,” I said softly. “I know.”

  He lit his cigarette with a silver lighter and inhaled, cocking his head at me. “You are not who you pretend to be.”

  “Don’t say that,” I said.

  “You are much like him, you know,” he said. “You don’t want to think it, but you are.” He took a long draw of his cigarette and for a moment the smoke surrounded his face like some sort of halo. “The angelwine,” he said. “I have seen what it does. The man that attacked you, Bradley. He was a foolish man. I do not know where he got the angelwine, but The Blood, they say he takes too much. Takes it without thinking, you see. And then he cries when it burns him up.” Naz took another drag of his cigarette. “He was a foolish man,” he said again.

  “He had a wife,” I said. “And a daughter.”

  “Yes,” he said. “And mistress. He killed mistress, did you know? Tore out her pretty throat. He was disgusting.” Naz spat on the ground. “His wife will be better off. She knows nothing, The Blood will leave her alone. As long as she doesn’t make a fuss. And she will get money when the body is found.”

  “Why?” I said. “Why not just make him disappear like all the others?”

  “I am not heartless, Nikita,” he said. “Dorrance has his reasons, too, but so do I. I will not leave his wife with nothing. Children are important. You know yourself what it is like growing up not knowing.”

  “Yes,” I said.

  He nodded. “I know this, too.”

  “Why are you telling me all of this?” I said. “Won’t they be upset that you’re talking to me?”

  “Nikita, you are family,” he said. “That is why I tell you this. You saved my life once, so now I save yours.”

  “What do you mean?” I said.

  “I mean,” he said, “The Blood want you to disappear. And they want me to do it.”

  “Jesus,” I said. “Why?”

  “You are dangerous,” he said. “You have friends that scare them. And that business with Abaddon,” he laughed, “they pissed all over themselves about that.”

  “But I didn’t even know they existed,” I said. “Until today.”

  “You spoke with the commissioner of the police,” he said. “They know this. You spoke with Frank Bradley, too. And the other one, the one everyone is afraid of, you are the best of friends with him.”

  “Who?” I said.

  “The Death-Man,” he said. “He disappears when he wants and no one can find him but you. We have tried. The Blood would like him to disappear, but I fear he is bigger than all of them, monsters or no.”

  “Are you talking about Sam?” I said. “He’s just my boss.”

  “And this chief of police. Smithy. The way they see it, Nikita, you have your hands in many pockets. Powerful pockets. They fear you.”

  “So now what,” I said.

  He eyed me for a long moment. “I’ve thought about it,” he said. “Long time, I think about it. If I kill you, there is no hope for me. No hope at all. I am a bad man, worse than The Blood because I do this for money. Maybe they do it for power or because their money made them crazy. I do not know why. But I do it only for money. If I kill you, I will be damned.”

  “You might be damned already,” I said.

  “Perhaps,” he said. His cigarette had burned down to the butt and he tossed it away. “But maybe you can save me, yeah?” He tried to smile, but it flickered into a grimace. “I sent my men away,” he said. “They work for me. I always prided myself that my guys, they are all loyal. Like a family.” He sighed. “They love the money as I loved it at their age. So stupid. If they know I talk to you, they kill me. Loyal, yes, but not to me. They love the deepest pocket.”

  “Are we supposed to just disappear? Run away and start a new life? I’m not doing that.”

  “There is no running away, Nikita,” said Naz. “They can find you. They can find anyone. We are all dead men.”

  “Well, I’m no man,” I said.

  “Yes,” said Naz, “but you’ll die just as well as the rest of us.”

  I heard the sound of a car coming, getting louder. After a few seconds the sound was right outside the large front door, the sound of tires on gravel louder than it had any right to be.

  I looked at Naz. “You see?” he said. “They find us wherever we are.” The engine turned off and for a second the world was silent. Then I heard a car door open and close, followed by three others.

  “We parked in the back,” I said.

  “Is good,” said Naz. “They come from the front. They do not see you.” He was so calm. I felt my heart beating in my throat, my breath was coming faster. The last time I’d seen Naz’s men they’d carried submachine guns. I sure as hell didn’t want to be on the receiving end of a bunch of those.

  “Come on, Naz,” I said. “We have to go. Bobby’s just around the corner.” Naz was still sitting and looked at me dejectedly. He shook his head.

  “No escape,” he said. He took out another cigarette and began to put it in his mouth. I smacked it out of his hand and it went flying, bouncing on the cement. He looked at me in surprise.

  “Bullshit,” I said. “Are you goddamn kidding me with this shit? We have to fight. We can’t just lay down and die, Naz. We fight and we die if we have to, but they won’t make us disappear. I saved your life once, just help me. Please.”

  He smiled. “You are a leader, Nikita,” he said.

  “Are you armed?” I said.

  “Of course.” He pulled a deadly-looking black .45 out from under his jacket. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I ignored it, pulling out my Beretta.

  “How many do you suppose?” I said.

  “I heard only one SUV,” said Naz. “Which means they are not here for you, Nikita.”

  “What do you mean?” I hissed. I could hear them talking on the other side of the door, their voices muffled. One of them laughed. “How can you know that?”

  “They are here for me,” said Naz. “So that’s what they will get. They must have followed me here. If they saw you or your friend, they would not come in. I told you, they think you’re dangerous. They bring more people for you.”

  “More than for Nazar Polzin?” I said. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Is the way of the world. This world, anyway. You go. Into the stacks back there. The barrels, is like a maze, very confusing. I will distract them. Give you time to get away. I am already dead. You have a little more time left.”

  “That’s stupid,” I said. “Just come with me.” I had started edging toward the forty-gallon drums. “I can get you out. We’ll take you somewhere safe.”

  “Is nowhere safe, Nikita,” he said. “Besides, I think they will listen to me. They are my boys. I can talk sense to them. And if I can’t, then I may as well die, yeah? I’m no good anymore.”

  “No way,” I said. “We’ll both go into the stacks and even the odds. They can come after us, but we’ll have the advantage. We can pick them off. Together.”

  “Yes,” said Naz, shrugging. “Okay. We go now. They are coming.” He was right. The men outside were pulling on the rusty tin, the sound of metal on metal screeching. “I’m right behind you, Nikita, I promise.”

  I flicked the safety off on my Beretta and wished it were the Makarov. I checked the clip as we went. Quickly I looked over my shoulder to make sure Naz was following. He was, but he didn’t look happy about it. Tough shit. This was serious. I couldn’t worry about Naz being happy. Light was coming in through the widening gap in the door now. We got to the rows just as a man in a suit walked in through the gap. I peered through the gap between the metal drums. He took off his sunglasses and blinked in the dim light. I wondered if Gage had seen the SUV.

  I turned to look at Naz but no one was there. “Shit,” I said.

  Chapter 6

  I heard Naz’s voice and saw him walking boldly across the floor. Three more men in suits had followed the first one in. They were all tall and
broad. The first one had a craggy face and a red nose. The other three kept looking at him, like they wanted to know how he reacted to everything.

  The men weren’t carrying submachine guns like last time, but I could see sizable bulges in their jackets. I checked my clip and looked back through the drums. Naz had reached the men and embraced the first one, patting him aggressively on the back as he did so. The man with the craggy face responded, with less enthusiasm. He looked at Naz with no expression when they parted again. I could hear Naz’s voice, but couldn’t tell what he was saying. I caught reminisce and follow me. He shook hands with the other three who, again, kept looking to the first man as if for directions.

  I had to go out there. They were going to kill him. This wasn’t right. Sofi’s face popped into my head. I was probably going to die if I just ran out there. What would Sofi do if I died? She could move in with Karen, but what kind of life would that be? She would be heartbroken. I had to use my head. Maybe they wouldn’t kill Naz. Maybe he was right and he could talk sense to them. I looked at the first man’s face. It was hard and cruel-looking. I looked around me. The barrels were metal, some rusting and corroding in spots. There was tiny writing, blurred, on the tops. I looked at another to try to make it out. Where the label was legible, it said Acetone. There was a symbol on the side that looked like a red diamond with a flame inside of it. Flammable, then. It would be bad to start shooting and have the whole place go up with me in it. I had to think.

  The talking was escalating into arguing. The big craggy man, younger than Naz, said something to him. Naz was raising his voice, apparently angry his orders had been ignored. The other three were looking back and forth like they were watching a tennis match. Naz still had his gun out and was using it to gesture wildly as he spoke heatedly. The bigger man was clenching his fists open and closed and staring down Naz. He said something quietly to Naz when the older man had paused for breath, and Naz took a step back, looking shocked. That wasn’t good. I had to go out there, no matter what the consequences were. I couldn’t watch Naz die.

  I stepped from behind the drums into the aisle and the whole scene was visible in front of me. I was going to call out, but stopped still as the big man took out his gun fast, in a blur. Twice now I’d seen someone move like that: Frank Bradley in my apartment, and when Sam had moved to help me down from my barstool. They had both been a blur. The guy with the gun had the muzzle pointed straight at Naz’s chest. He was on angelwine. I didn’t dare breathe. Naz didn’t move, just looked at the man hard. “Is this how you want it to be?” I heard Naz say. The shot echoed off the walls and for a moment I was disconcerted. My eardrums felt like they exploded from the noise. I couldn’t hear anything, and I staggered against the stack of barrels. I felt the top ones shift a little against my weight. I looked to see that Naz’s chest had opened up. A dark puddle was spreading around him, pouring out of the crater in his torso. He raised his arm towards the man, who tensed at the movement. At first I thought Naz was just pointing at the man, and it took me a moment to realize the gun was still in Naz’s hand. I put my hands over my ears just in time for the second shot to explode and see the back of the craggy man’s head open up. The three men took out their guns. They had all been sprayed with brains. One of them lurched forward and vomited. The other two took out their guns, unable to decide whether to shoot Naz or the other man. The craggy man lay unmoving, though. And Naz gave a gurgling croak, and then he, too, was still.