by Matthew Fish
“Did you have something in particular?” Mark asked. He would definitely take these words to heart—but he felt that his father had some intent behind what he was saying. “Is…there something that I should do?”
“Seek a Perpetual named Tam Yoshihara, Daniel said as he nodded. “He was a former member of the Department of Perpetual Affairs. He left because the department is terribly corrupt in Las Vegas—the local mobsters own it. He will help you track down a man named Wilford ‘Nappy’ Pulwala. He’s a nasty creature, a member of the Hawaiian Mafia called The Company.”
“Hawaii has a mafia?” Mark asked.
“News to me as well,” Daniel said as he continued, “According to Piper, he has about fifty girls—maybe more that he’s sex trafficking, young mortals girls and Perpetuals. Do what I promised, but could not do.”
“I will,” Mark said softly. He had not wished to return to being a Conductor. However, his conscious would not let him sit by when others suffered—especially if he could help. “I promise.”
“Send that pig straight to hell,” Daniel said as he smiled. He looked to Mark once more before he turned and began to walk off into the woods.
Mark wanted to say something more, but found that he could not. A little disorientated from the encounter, he walked back to the black SUV and met the others. They all stared at him expectantly, though he could not find any words. He eventually collapsed down to the ground, his back against the hard metal of the vehicle. He freely let tears stream down from his eyes as his heart filled with an empty sadness. He remembered thinking back—so many years ago, that he had not been properly sad. That he kept waiting for the moment that it would hit him. That moment finally came and it hit him like a semi-truck.
“I’m so sorry,” Emily said as she wrapped her arms around him. Maddie knelt down beside him and pressed her lips against his forehead.
*
“So,” Daniel said as he took Piper’s hand into his. “Where are we headed?”
“It is not far, fiancé,” Piper said as she smiled at Daniel and her large green eyes flashed in the sun. “Just a short walk—then we will be somewhere else.”
Daniel eyed the wolf that led the way, the strange creature looked back with glowing blue eyes as it darted ahead into the forest and darted along the edge of a stream, it’s nose to the ground as though it was sniffing out the way. “So, how did you get control…of—the creatures?”
“I remembered,” Piper said as she placed a hand to her neck, it was odd to no longer feel the collar. “I thought that they were the ghosts of my family—however they were just bad memories of what Corveath did to them.”
“The ritual that Cernunnos requested…”
“Yes,” Piper spoke as she led Daniel deep into the woods as they stepped over a shallow part of the stream. The bluffs loomed nearby in the distance as they headed to a rock wall. “When I saw my sister there—lying across from me, I remembered happier times. I took that bad memory and turned it into a good one. Without the collar, I remembered that I was the ghost—but I was the one with the power all along. Corveath had just convinced me that I was useless—that if I ever took it off I would cease to exist.”
“Well, that memory definitely taught him a lesson,” Daniel said with a short chuckle. “So, now that you have your memories back—do you still feel the same way about me?”
“I’m still the same person,” Piper said as she paused and placed her lips against Daniels. The sound of running water echoed nearby. Piper led him into the entrance of a cave where a large pool of water filled the main entryway. “After all, you’re my fiancé.”
“What waits for you down there?” Daniel asked as he looked off into the darkness. He could hear a faint roaring sound of a waterfall.
“A window that leads to the world of memories,” Piper said as she held tightly onto Daniel’s hand. “Then…I’m not sure exactly, but home. Where I’m supposed to be now...”
“I will miss you,” Daniel said as he pressed is head against Piper’s shoulder.
“You are coming with me, silly,” Piper said as she pulled Daniel close. “Aren’t you?”
“I do not think that I am allowed,” Daniel said as he let out a heavy sigh.
“From here on out,” Piper said as she squeezed Daniel’s hand. “You are free to do whatever you want. If you want to come along, then come along. It’s your choice.”
“I see what you did there,” Daniel said with a short laugh.
“Do you trust me?” Piper asked, as she led Daniel into the darkness.
“Of course.”
“Do you love me?” Piper asked, as they continued down a darkened hallway that smelled faintly like rain and soft earth.
“I do,” Daniel said as they descended down into the earth.
“Then everything will be fine,” Piper said as they reached a great open room. The sound of the crashing water was loud all around them. She led Daniel to a far end of the cave. She placed a hand upon the smooth damp surface that was full of deep cracks. “Let’s see if we can’t return a bit of magic to this ancient place.”
The cracks along the stone wall smoothed over as a bright white light appeared. A simple looking window appeared against the surface.
“Where does it lead?” Daniel asked.
“A place of our own,” Piper said as she held Daniel tightly against her and pressed her soft lips against his. “Home…”
Epilogue
2 Months Later
Mark neared the entrance of a large casino. The Las Vegas night air was dry and warm. He walked into the busy and noisy building. He held his ‘Death Tosser’ jacket slung over his shoulder as he entered the building. He spotted the elevator with golden doors off to the right. People at gambling machines stared as he made his entrance. Emily walked confidently to his left. She was wearing an old black hoodie with an embroidered cat with X’s for eyes. She had a short black and pink skirt on and high black boots with pink laces. She carried a large purse filled with lighters and hand small machine gun tucked above her rear. She pulled her long bright pink hair back and put it into a ponytail. Maddie walked to his right. She was wearing her white Conductor outfit with matching white pants and black shoes. A blue shirt that matched her eyes was beneath her Heart Sash. She had a silver handgun with a rose etched into the handle that she wore at her side. Behind them, Amelia, with her bright blue hair carried a large backpack filled with water bottles. She gave a passing man the finger, as he stared at her oddly. She wore a blue short shirt that had torn sleeves and jean shorts with striped blue leggings. Felecia was dressed in long, straight, tight fitting jeans and a buttoned up green shirt that was left open to show a bit of cleavage. She casually carried upon her shoulder a large assault rifle. Upon seeing the large gun, people got up from their seats and started to run out of the building. Following up and finishing out the small but intimidating group was a young, slender man with dark spiky hair and dark eyes. He wore a black suit and carried two Uzi’s in each hand.
The group ignored all of the chaos around them as they kept their focus on the elevator. Mark pushed the button as the doors opened. They filed in as people stared. Tam Yoshihara hit the door close button and pressed a few buttons in succession on the console.
“I thought we’d go in a bit more discreet,” Tam spoke as he finished entering the code.
“Fuck discreet,” Emily spoke in a gleeful tone. “I bet half of those people shit themselves. I bet the other half pissed their adult diapers. You worry too much, Pussy pants.”
“Emily is as discreet as a turd on a Picasso,” Amelia said as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a few bottles of water.
“It’d look just about the same, twat,” Emily spoke as she pushed herself into Amelia. “Besides, you’re a turd.”
“Alright, girls,” Felecia said as she held her assault rifle out in front of her.
“Let’s do this,” Maddie added as she placed her hand upon her Heart Sash. “Just call out t
he dates, Tam, Felecia—me and Mark will take out as many as we can. We’ve been practicing for this.”
“Got it,” Felecia spoke confidently.
“Alright,” Tam said as he nodded and let out an uneasy sigh.
“This one’s for you, dad…” Mark whispered. They reached a basement floor as the doors slid open. Mark placed his hands near his Standard. He stepped out into a room full of men seated at a large table. They were going through a large pile of money. The room was lined with couches as armed Perpetuals sat and lounged. There were about seventy armed men—they had faced much worse.
“Who the fuck are you all?” A man with white, short hair spoke as he pulled out a silver pistol and aimed it at mark. “You again…? You come for another girl? Or just to bust my fucking balls again, you dead piece of shit.”
“I’ve come for all the girls,” Mark said as he placed his hands at his side, ready to pull coins. “You can comply…”
“Or you can all die!” Emily cheerful interrupted as she tossed a handful of lighters and set the back half of the room on fire. “I’m going to finger-blast you all in the fart box!”
“I thought we were negotiating?” Tam spoke as he unleashed a spray of bullets into the nearest group of Perpetuals. He managed to take one of them down.
“That is how Emily negotiates,” Maddie said as she took cover behind a nearby vacant couch as the rest quickly followed behind her.
“Negotiating is for pussies!” Amelia shouted as she rolled a few water bottles down the length of the room. She watched as a Perpetuals stood around it, staring at it a little confused. She giggled as she caused them to freeze over and shoot shards of ice into the men, knocking them down to the ground.
“1977, 1990, 1965, 1933, 1992, and 1991,” Felecia rattled off as gunfire erupted all around them.
“On it” Mark said as he quickly sent the coins high into the air.
“1899, 1962, 1999, 1951, 1983, and 1994,” Tam spoke as he ran out from cover as a bullet grazed him in the leg. He sprayed bullet fire wildly around the room causing Perpetuals to take cover.
Maddie and Mark emerged from cover. Mark gestured with his hand in a long sweeping motion as the coins in the air began to vibrate wildly. He sent each one to its intended target. The room was filled with ash as each loud pop destroyed its Perpetual target. Maddie’s coins were above her as she spun around gracefully; she kept her fingers tightly together as she gestured towards the group of Perpetuals seated at the table. With resounding bangs, she sent coins that exploded each Perpetual into ash in rapid succession.
The room was filling with too much smoke as Amelia rolled more water bottles towards the far end of the room and extinguished the blaze. Amidst all the confusion, it seemed as though the Perpetuals they were facing were completely disorientated. Felecia laid down a heavy cover fire as she struck down about ten men that were attempt to either reach them or escape, either way—it mattered not. Tam and Felecia called out dates as Maddie and Mark quickly made short work of the nearby Perpetuals. As the ash and dust cleared from the room—a single man sat at the table looking around rather confused. His dark glasses were broken upon the table. His white suit was stained at the crotch from a yellow pee stain that matched his yellow and red hibiscus flowered tie.
“Shit…” Pulwala muttered as he began to realize that he was the last living member of The Company in this room. He glanced over to two dead bodies riddled with bullets. “You know how fucking expensive Conductors are to hire! You cunts…!”
“I’d say you have a good deal more to worry about right now,” Mark spoke as he approached the man and pulled his gun he fired two quick shots into Pulwala’s legs so that he could not get up from the table.
“Start talking, piss-pants,” Emily stated as she pulled a lighter from her purse and tossed it onto the man’s crotch. She ignited a small fire as he began to squeal like a stuck pig.
Amelia rolled a bottle of water upon the table. “Tell us where the girls are, and I’ll do you a small favor.”
“Thirteen floor—“Pulwala said in great distress as his genitals burned.
“Which Room…?” Tam asked as he searched to room to make sure that they were alone.
“All…all of them…!” Pulwala shouted as the burning intensified.
“The code…?” Felecia asked.
“Don’t you fucks know it already?” Pulwala said as he bounced up and down in the chair. “You keep figuring it out; figure it out you fucking fucks!”
“Oh we know it,” Felecia added. “We just like to see you in pain.”
“I’ll fucking talk, alright!” Pulwala exclaimed as the fire started to crawl up to his stomach.
“Put it out,” Felecia said as she nodded.
Amelia allowed the bottle to open and expel its contents onto Pulwala’s freshly seared crotch. “That looks like the saddest campfire hotdog I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s fucking gross,” Emily spoke as she looked down. “Hilarious, but still…gross…”
“Give us information,” Maddie said as she fingered a coin in her hand. “Maybe I will not turn you into ash.”
“What do you want to know?” Pulwala said as he looked down to the floor rather dejectedly, like a sad puppy.
“Who are you working for?” Mark asked. “Tell us about The Company.”
“I run The Company here in Las Vegas,” Pulwala admitted as he looked at the sad shape of his lower half. It was embarrassing enough when he had to explain how he was blown out of his own suite window. He imagined this would be much worse. “Or, what used to be—the Perpetual cops over at the police station, they’re in it as much as I am.”
“Yeah,” Emily said as she tossed a charred badge across the table. “They’ve been taken care of.”
“Then it’s just me,” Pulwala admitted. “But I’m just a small part of the operation. The rest of it comes from Hawaii—they deal in the young girls and the meth over there. They wanted to branch out here, but fuck all if you all haven’t fucked that up.”
“That was rather the plan,” Maddie said as she tossed the coin to Mark.
“That’s all I know, if you want to go after the rest of them you’ll have to go to Hawaii and track them down,” Pulwala spoke as Mark approached him twirling the coin between his fingers. “You said I wouldn’t get turned to ash…”
“I said I wouldn’t do it,” Maddie corrected.
“You fucks, you’ll pay for this!” Pulwala shouted as he attempted to get up, but found that his burned and shot bottom half was not cooperating.
“My father sends his regards,” Mark spoke as he allowed the coin to vibrate in his hand. He sent it up in the air as he held it there for a few moments. He gestured straight, with tightly wound fingers. A gunshot sound boomed through the air as the coin embedded itself into the man’s flesh. He quickly turned to ember and ash upon the urine stained chair he had been sitting upon.
“While your methods were very unorthodox,” Tam Yoshihara said as he shrugged. “I have to admit, you’ve accomplished in a few days what we could not in years.”
“Our Captain Dickson will ensure that new, non-corrupt people are in place at the Perpetual Affairs office,” Felecia spoke as she looked around at the destruction they had caused. They were rather efficient.
“Well, let’s go release some girls,” Maddie spoke as she patted Mark on the back. “Then your father’s mission will be a success.”
“And after that…?” Tam asked.
“We could go and ensure that this doesn’t ever happen again,” Mark said as he looked to Tam. “Would you be onboard for that?”
“Go after The Company at its source?” Tam spoke as he nodded. “Yes, I would be up for that.”
“Fuck yeah!” Emily shouted. “Vacation and killing! Much better than that Pacific Trail bullshit…”
“That was still your idea, Em,” Maddie said as she shook her head. “I don’t think it’d be a vacation.”
“Shut it, nipples!
” Emily said as she playfully pushed Maddie. “Causing chaos counts as vacation to me…”
“I’ll let William know that we are headed on another assignment,” Felecia said with a short sigh. She did find the cause to be rather just. It was simply the idea of being with both of her sisters that caused her to be a little weary of the trip. “It’ll be fine, he’s got new recruits training over there—Chicago should still be there when we get back, it’ll be nice to see some new scenery anyway.”
“Sounds like a fun time to me,” Amelia added.
Mark nodded as he placed an arm around Emily and Maddie. The life that he thought he did not want—ended up being the life he exactly needed. He realized, once he freed those girls, that his life really had meaning, much more than he had been giving it in the past four years. He was proud to be a Conductor—proud to assume his father’s role, wherever he was. He just hoped that Daniel Argent could see what he was doing…at least, in public. The idea of him seeing what went on in the bedroom gave him a rather uncomfortable feeling.
“Let’s not keep them waiting any longer,” Maddie said as she led the way.
Ultimately, Daniel Argent’s promise to Piper Embry was kept. Soon, Mark would take that a step further and hunt down the problem at its source. Everyone felt good about what they accomplished that day—and hopeful for what was to come.
-The End of Mark Argent’s Story
Author Notes
Included is a short called Children of Damara. It was written a long time before any of the Children of the Pomme novels and served as inspiration when reinventing the world that Mark and company would soon come to occupy.