Gothic

by Steve Hester

CHAPTER 25

  The creaking of the cabinets started again. Jacob took as deep a breath as he could and waited for the inevitable but they started to move away from him. He breathed out with relief and inched his way out, collapsing to his knees. Annie ran over to him.

  “You alright boss?” She asked. He took a few gulps of air and nodded.

  “This? Oh yeah, it's just a scratch. You know me, nothing to worry about” A thought suddenly hit him. “Where's the key? Is he..?”

  “He's fine.” Said Annie as she helped him to his feet. “He killed the demon then fainted. Smithy is with him. He's got some balls, I'll give him that.”

  She handed him his gun. “You dropped this.”

  He holstered it with a nod before pulling his sword from the wall next to him and slipping it back into its scabbard. He hobbled behind Annie, following her through the hole in the wall and into the next room where Rob was lying on the wet floor.

  “He'll be right.” Said Smithy. “Little bit much for him. Shooting a demon in the face the first time does that!”

  He took in Jacob for the first time. “You on the other hand need a medic.”

  “I'm fine.” Said Jacob cradling his wrist. “Let get him out of here.”

  Annie scooped up the recumbent Rob and slung him over her shoulder.

  “I'm guessing that I'm driving?” She said.

  Jacob nodded as they went out into the corridor. The flames from the Sympathetic Man's sword had spread considerably and most of this floor was ablaze.

  “We need to get out of here fast, between your fighting and the fires this place is starting to come down.” Said Smithy.

  “Can we get out the back way still?” asked Jacob.

  “We should be able to. Most of this fire looks like it’s on the front of the building; we just better hope it's not got as far as the stairwell.”

  They were about to move off when Smithy pointed at the unconscious body of Sarah Keenan who had been propped up against one of the walls.

  “What about her?” He asked.

  “Who is she?” Asked Jacob.

  “One of the coppers, she was still alive when we found her.” said Annie.

  “You starting to get sentimental on us?”

  “Not me, him!” she nodded to the body on her shoulder “He wouldn't leave without her.”

  “We certainly can't leave her up here.” said Jacob. “Annie has her hands full and I can't carry her with this arm which just leaves you, Smithy.”

  Smithy glared at him for a moment before he looked at Annie who just shrugged.

  “I knew it, I KNEW I'd end up doing this tonight. I didn't want to come out! I'm in computers; I'm not a field agent!”

  “Smithy, just shut up and grow a pair, will you?” said Annie.

  He looked at the sleeping body and rolled his eyes.

  “Remind me again why I work for this organisation?” he said.

  There was a creak and something that sounded important to the buildings structural integrity collapsed in the distance.

  “Smithy!” urged Jacob.

  “Fine, fine, I'm doing it. You owe me for this...” said Smithy.

  He waved his hand and it passed straight through Sarah's head. He scrunched his eyes up and leant forward.

  “I hate this bit...”

  The ghost lay down on top of Sarah and there was a moment when a brief electrical charge seemed to hang in the air. Smithy's outline faded, was absorbed into hers and then vanished.

  A second or two passed and her eyes opened. An expression of confusion washed over her face before it was quickly replaced with a look more suited to waking up with a hangover. She grabbed her head.

  “Oh god I hate doing this! Makes your skull feel like it's got a war going on inside it.” She said.

  There was a very faint masculine tinge to her voice that you could very easily miss if you weren't looking out for it. Smithy sat the body up and looked around using her eyes. She focused on Jacob and a sultry smile spread across her lips.

  “Well hello sexy! Aren't you a fine strong...”

  “Smithy!” said Jacob and Annie together.

  “Alright, alright! I'm getting up, I'm doing this. Just give me a second!”

  Smithy braced Sarah's body against the wall and unsteadily got it to her feet. She stood for a brief moment with her knees shaking like a new born calf before the ghost inside her managed to get it under control. He moved it forward in a couple of exploratory steps before looking it over.

  “Wow! She has got a really firm arse!” he said grabbing Sarah's backside “She must work out; it's like two blocks of marble! It's incredible!”

  “Smithy,” said Annie slowly “if you say one more thing about that body or touch it in that way again, I will personally exorcise you when we get back to the base.”

  He looked down and tried to put his hands into his pockets but found there weren't any in her clothes.

  “Ok. So what do you need me to do with her?” He said.

  “Follow us out then go and report that you’re alive and well. Use her memories to make up some daring escape story and then leave her, make it look like she’s fainted. Meet us back at the base.”

  They headed down the stairs, which were fine, but the rest of the building was in a far worse state. Several sections of ceiling had collapsed and the fire from the flaming sword was quickly consuming most of this side of the station. Annie led the way round and out the rear door where they parted company from Smithy as he struggled to keep Sarah's body walking in a straight line.

  “We'll see you later, sweet cheeks.” Said Annie. Smithy raised his middle finger over his shoulder.

  “Bugger off!” he said.

  They watched him go and made their way back to where they'd parked their car.

  “Thank you for coming back for me.” Said Jacob.

  Annie dropped Rob on the backseat and closed the door.

  “I didn't. We got lost.” She said opening her door.

  “I know you didn't. I know you didn't get lost either. I just happened to be where you needed to be.”

  She slammed her door shut. “You knew that I wanted him from the very beginning!”

  “Yes and I also told you not to let it get in the way of your job. You put all our lives in danger by chasing after it.”

  “If I hadn't, you'd be dead.”

  “Yes I would. I'm glad I'm not but you can't let your personal feelings get in the way of what we're trying to do here.” He pointed at Rob. “You practically handed him to that thing and if he hadn't manifested when he did then it could all have been over. You think it's what Connor would have wanted?”

  Annie stormed round the front of the car and squared up to him.

  “Don't you dare, don't you DARE mention him like that, you hypocrite! You of all people should know what it's like to lose someone on the job. You know full well how it feels and I've seen what you did when it happened. You wanted revenge as much as I did so don't stand there and lecture me on what is right and proper when you have blood on your hands as well!”

  She left him standing there as she climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

  There was a muffled voice and a banging from the boot. Jacob punched it.

  “Shut up Kordian.”

  He stood there for a moment. Annie was right but this was more important, wasn't it? Had Andrea been more important? He was hurting and tired and his head was as clear as a ball of cotton wool. Right now he wanted some prescription medication, a hot shower and to sleep for a fortnight but that would have to wait. He clenched his jaw and then slipped into the passenger side.

  There was a squeal of tyres and the car pulled away, heading back towards the city centre.

  …

  From across the road a man in another car watched them leave. He took one last drag on his cigarette and tossed it out the window. Thick blue smoke filled the car up as he exhaled and reached for the mobile phone that was sitting on the passenge
r seat beside him. He scrolled through the phones menu before he found a particular number and dialled it. There was a moment’s pause before he heard a voice on the other end answer.

  “He failed.” said the man.

  Within forty-five minutes a black limousine was gliding through the streets of Wythenshawe as a few spots of rain started to drip onto the windscreen signalling the arrival of yet another shower very shortly. It eventually pulled to a stop by a park, the soft rumble of the nearby motorway cascading through the air like the distant roar of a mighty river.

  In the park a tramp shuffled along, his almost toothless mouth seemingly working by its own agenda as he gummed his jaws together forcing his lips out like bright pink sausages under his scraggly beard. He paused by a litterbin next to one of the paths through the park and started to poke through its contents. There was a bright light out on the road and he looked up to see the limousine come to a stop. He found a polystyrene tray with a number of cold, discarded chips and half a chicken burger and started to tuck in.

  A security man stepped out of the passenger side of the limousine and walked over to the door in the back as another opened the boot and pulled out a wheelchair. He unfolded it and wheeled it over to his colleague.

  The tramp looked up from his meal for a moment and watched as the two security men helped the car’s owner into his wheelchair. One of them unhooked an umbrella he’d been carrying over his arm and opened it above the man’s head before pushing him into the park. The tramp continued eating, savouring the cold, damp salt and vinegar covered chip as he approached.

  “You know you don’t need to do that, don’t you?” said the man in the wheelchair. “You can get a house, money, real food. Maybe even wash?”

  The tramp nodded. “You of all people know the value of keeping up appearances.”

  He picked up the burger and bit into it, mayonnaise dripping out and mingling in the tattered hair on his chin.

  “My people are ready and waiting,” said the tramp “but it looks like your man has failed. Pity about that.”

  “It’s a setback but nothing we can’t deal with.” Said Ventriss.

  “I really do hope so. And that’s why you got me down here, to tell me that?”

  “Of course not! You think I’d jeopardise everything at this stage to say something so ridiculous and petty?”

  “Then what was so important that you had to break protocol and meet in person? It’s dangerous if we get seen together.”

  “You always did have a talent for stating the damn obvious.”

  The tramp grabbed the last few chips out and dropped the polystyrene back into the bin.

  “And you have a habit of never getting to the point.” said the tramp.

  “The Key is still alive.” Said Ventriss.

  “Yes we know and it will have to be dealt with for the plan to go ahead.”

  “The plan will need to be altered.”

  The tramp walked back a ways along the path, rubbing his hands together and muttering for a moment in frustration.

  “You know that we can’t do that! We can’t alter it at this stage, everything else is in place! Everything that we have worked for is almost within reach! The fact that this Key is still alive causes problems and changes too many variables as it stands and now you’re saying we should alter it further? Are you starting to go mad?”

  Gregor grinned. He’d been expecting an outburst like this.

  “Oh no, my old friend. This boy will give us everything…”