by Michael Todd
He put the money into a large bag and put it back into the safe, where he knew it would be secure. He closed the vault door and locked it, then turned back to the others. They looked excited; all were holding firmly to their weapons, staring at them with awe and excitement.
“Now I just have to figure out who to let use these. “Amy chuckled.
William shook his head. “Shit, these bitches are mine.”
“I second that,” Brian argued. “They will get the second set.”
There was a knock, and Calvin stuck his face in. “Korbin,” he called from the doorway, “the SUV is here to pick up the team leads and head back to the airport.”
“Right,” Korbin replied. “Perfect timing, actually.”
“Good thing we rode the private jet,” Amy joked. “I don’t think they would let me carry these on the plane.”
“Probably not.” Korbin laughed. “Thank you, all, for coming. You all know how to reach me if you need more weapons. As soon as the bullets come out I will let you know, and if the groups’ priests are interested in the killer cross, have them contact me.”
The team leads shook Korbin’s hand one at a time and headed out of the conference room single file, holding their new purchases high and proud. Korbin sat down and wiped his face as the leaders got into the SUV and headed for the airport.
He knocked on the door next to the conference room, and Stephanie and Joshua came out.
“How did it go?” Joshua asked.
“We sold every piece,” Korbin confirmed.
“We decided to sell the pieces, not give them away?” he asked.
“I figured, why not? We made over half a million dollars,” Korbin answered. “We can’t fund this for everyone.”
“Wow,” Joshua exclaimed, his eyes big. “Well, I-I w-w-wanted to stop by and see how it went, but I know you two have business. I’m gonna get started on the next batch.”
“Thanks, Joshua.” Korbin waited as Stephanie hugged the younger man.
After Joshua had left the room and headed back down to his working space, Stephanie sat down in the chair in front of Korbin. She stretched her arms over her head and smiled, forcing a smile from him as well, then yawned and put her hands in her lap.
“The two of us have an appointment,” she reminded him. “We are meeting a worker out at the land to lay some concrete.”
“That was fast,” Korbin admitted. “A lot faster than I had hoped.”
“I told you…I don’t mess around.” She smiled. “You said you wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, so the girls are going there tomorrow to start cleaning the buildings at the new site.”
“What would I do without you?”
“Sleep in a pile of rubble and go belly-up on your business?” she answered. “Anyway, we need to head out there now. He’s probably already waiting for us.”
“All right.” Korbin groaned as he stood from his chair. “I only have one thing to say about the concrete: make it twice as big as you think it needs to be.”
She nodded. “That can be arranged.”
The two of them walked out of the conference room, looking around at the dust and debris that had fallen during the fight.
They were lucky they still had that side of the building to do business in, given how the empty buildings looked. Korbin was just glad Katie had decided to push the demon in that direction and not the other. It had probably been luck, but he had to start putting his confidence in her.
“This place looks terrible.” Stephanie laughed and headed to the SUV.
Korbin opened the car door for her. “We are going to fix that problem really quickly.”
Chapter 8
After reluctantly deciding not to stay at the hotel in LA because the team leads had already left and hours of driving, Damian and Katie got back to the base.
Their place looked even spookier in the dark, like some lost and ruined civilization out in the sands.
There hadn’t been any more sparking from the downed lights since the electricity had been cut to most of the buildings to avoid fires, but the moon’s glow across the tumbled stones sent a shiver up Katie’s spine.
She thought about that night. About losing a teammate, and about how everything had changed for her. She had found out new things about her powers, Korbin had started trusting her, and the team now looked to her for answers. She had never figured herself a leader, but that was what she was slowly turning into.
Damian parked the car and the two of them got out, then he went around back and opened the back doors.
“You going to do anything tonight?” Damian asked, grabbing his bags.
“Nope,” Katie replied. “I am exhausted. I’m grabbing a shower, then heading to bed. You?”
“I have to update Korbin on the happenings of the day,” he told her. “But first I will grab a shower too. I can still smell that disgusting robber’s body odor on my hands. I swear, nobody takes showers anymore.”
“They do.” Katie laughed. “But unfortunately we only deal with the foulest of the bunch, so we may be out of luck finding a clean one.”
“That’s true, and yet sad at the same time. I mean, if I was a bad guy, I would still take a damn shower,” Damian argued.
“I can see it now.” Katie laughed. “Your description on the news is: tall, dark glasses, smells like Irish Spring.”
“Damned right, but I guess I will see you in the morning.” Damian waved and walked toward the door, but stopped. “I think I might get Korbin over with first. He is going to want to hear every gory detail of today’s event, and update me on how things went with the leaders. I’m sure we will talk about it at the meeting, but you know how he is.”
“Probably a good idea to talk to him now, and yes, I know exactly how he is.” Katie smiled. “You are like the piece of paper he keeps notes on.”
“Very true.” He laughed and headed inside to make his way to Korbin’s office after dropping his bag by the stairs.
Katie grabbed the door handle, but paused when she heard a voice behind her.
Stephanie, who was also coming back in for the night, was jogging across the lot to meet her.
She looked tired, but excited. Katie was glad to see her adjusting so well to her new life. Katie had worried about her at first, with so many changes going on: getting out of her business, taking over managing theirs, and becoming one of the Damned.
She looked completely different with her torn jeans and pink Chuck Taylors, but Katie liked it. Those clothes suited her a hell of a lot better than silk robes and too much makeup.
“Hey, girl!” Stephanie called. “Did you have a good trip?”
“Sure did.” Katie nodded. “How about you? How was your day in hiding?”
“Good. We nailed down the details of the new base,” she told Katie as they walked up the stairs. “We are getting the old building cleaned up to move into, and have already set the details to start pouring concrete for the new part tomorrow.”
“Damn.” Katie stifled a yawn. “That was fast.”
“I know, but we really want to get out of this rubble and into the new place.” Stephanie smiled. “Oh, and I am having an event at the old house tomorrow, for the transfer of the deeds. Will you come? You’ll get to see some of the girls. They’ve been dying to see you.”
“Absolutely.” Katie smiled back and walked into the main area. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Great!” Stephanie gave her a hug. “I will see you in the morning.”
“Night.” Katie watched as Stephanie headed to her room.
She walked the other way and breathed a sigh of relief when she walked into her bedroom.
It was good to be home; she had missed her bedroom. She put down her luggage and didn’t even unpack, heading directly into the bathroom and turning on the water. She stripped and stepped into the deluge as soon as it got hot.
The water rushed over her, and she felt the aches and pains from the day washing down the dra
in. She had worked hard almost every day since she had been Damned, and this day had been no different.
She had managed, with the help of Damian, to save fifty souls, including an injured cop and about twelve children—not to mention that the thieves had been arrested and were being charged with a slew of things.
Those dickheads wouldn’t see the light of day for a very long time.
When she was done showering, Katie threw on a set of yellow pajamas and headed to bed, super-excited to get comfy under the blankets and just straight pass out.
She climbed in and nestled down, laying her face on the pillow with a small smile playing across her lips.
The fabric was cool, soft, and smooth under her. She had initially been upset not to stay in the lush hotel, but when she got home and saw her bed, she had felt better about it. Katie had grown accustomed to her space; it now felt like home.
She only hoped that the new facility would be the same way, and that she could feel comfortable right away.
Slowly she closed her eyes, moaning in joy as she wrapped the blanket around her body. She laid that way for a moment, then turned to the other side, smiling again as she pulled the covers back around her.
About three minutes passed and she rolled again…and again…and again, until there was no smile on her face anymore. After about twenty minutes, she sat straight up and slammed the covers down. She huffed and puffed, trying to control her anger, but she was livid…and Pandora was the target of her fury.
GOD DAMN IT, PANDORA, she squealed in her mind. There is so much sugar racing through my body right now that there is no way that I can go to fucking sleep!
Uh, sorry. Pandora giggled, and there was absolutely no remorse in her tone. I was hungry.
No, you were not hungry. You had a craving, Katie argued. If you had been hungry you would have told me so, not scarfed down the last of the fucking donuts. You just couldn’t wait until the morning, could you?
Hey, you are the one who has to physically put them in your mouth, she argued back. So don’t be all yelling ‘Pandora made me do it.’
Because you wouldn’t shut up with your whining, Katie shot back. Whatever. Fine! Fuck it, I guess I’m up.
Katie rolled out of her bed and headed out to the living room, where she turned on the lights and plopped down sideways in the chair. She huffed as she grabbed the remote, feeling more than irritated that she wasn’t drifting through dreamland; getting some rest like a normal person could.
She clicked on the recordings and started her soap, figuring it was as good a time as any to catch up on her shows. Of course Pandora was all about it, but Katie ignored her, too pissed to be friends with her at that moment.
A few minutes into the show, she heard a noise and looked over her shoulder. Eric shuffled out of his room. He nodded and headed into the kitchen to grab a soda, and returned to sink down on the couch. Katie smiled, figuring he was in the same position; couldn’t sleep.
“At least I have something to do out here instead of staring at the walls,” he told her. “I have to say though, it’s not the same without Jeremy.”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “He would have flipped when he saw what happened on the last three episodes.”
“And told us how ridiculous a portal to an alternate universe in the middle of Portland was.” Eric laughed.
“I think it’s legit.” Katie giggled. “I mean, we fight demons from hell, which makes a portal not seem that crazy since I literally ran my car into one just a few weeks ago.”
“Holy shit,” Eric exclaimed, sitting up. “I didn’t even think about that. Your life is mirroring theirs.”
“Uh, or vice versa, except I don’t have shirtless men all over the place and millions of dollars,” Katie pointed out.
A few minutes after that Calvin, Stephanie, and Damian popped their heads out, rubbing their eyes, and they all gathered in the living room. Stephanie was very well versed on the show and quickly got Calvin back up to speed, since he had missed quite a few shows. Damian tried but ended up going back to his room, not at all interested.
Katie didn’t blame him. He wasn’t your typical soaps fiend.
Damian read philosophy books and painted. He didn’t spend hours watching terrible acting and worse story lines. Katie, on the other hand, felt like she deserved some pointless television drama to numb her mind after everything she went through on a daily basis.
“I go to my room, and what happens? You fools start the show without me,” Derek complained, jumping over the back of the couch to land between Stephanie and Eric. “Did you see what happened last show?”
“Yes,” Katie said, gawking at his maneuver. “Alissa fell in love with the alien, but he had to leave her to go back to his planet. I mean, come on! This girl gets the short end of the love stick every time she turns around. She lives with a constant broken heart. It’s bullshit, how they treat her on there.”
“I know, right?” Eric agreed. “She is hot, and sweet too. One of these dudes needs to stop fucking with the hot-mess girls and scoop her up. I seriously think they are just all douchebag fuck-boys. Maybe she would have been better off going with the alien.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Stephanie remarked. “But it wasn’t even a choice. He ghosted her, too. I bet he doesn’t even have a mother; he was like born from a pod, or something.”
“Men!” Katie shook her head. “You can’t live with them, without them, or even a solar system away from them.”
“Amen, sister!” Stephanie winked at her.
This team seriously had the strangest bonding routine ever.
While the other teams went on raids together, played ball together, and had dinner together every night, Korbin’s Killers crowded around the television in the middle of the night and watched soap operas.
It was ridiculous, but Katie loved it. She couldn’t help but wonder if that was the reason they had all become so close. They bonded over stupid shit, which made the big stuff that much more exciting. It might not teach them anything physically, but they felt comfortable enough to be soap opera whores together.
Soap-opera whores…bwahahahahahaha! And you said “love stick” earlier.
Pandora, shut the hell up and watch the show.
Stephanie walked through her old house, making sure that all the renovations she’d had done had turned out just right. The people taking over might know what the house had been, but since it was a charitable institution now she wanted to get rid of any remnants that might have been left from her former life.
She was in an odd position. Since she hadn’t been infected in public and no one knew except their team, she wasn’t “dead.” She could still own property, still had a driver’s license and a car…all the things her fellow demon hunters couldn’t have—at least not without using Katie’s solution. Her eyes didn’t even have a red ring most of the time, since her demon wasn’t very active and she herself was usually calm. Usually. But she had made her choice, and would start shedding the things that tied her to her old life…beginning today.
This was Mamacita’s swan song. That role had been her survival for so long; her sanctuary, and protection from the life that she had run from. She had spent so much time being happy she didn’t have to live that way anymore that she forgot she had put herself in a very similar situation by starting a whorehouse.
Korbin and the Killers had pulled her out of that mindset.
They had walked in when she had nothing else in her life, and offered her and the girls a sanctuary. It had taken her a long time to get used to the idea of trusting them, but when they had shown her they were there for them no matter what, she had started to have a tiny bit more faith in humanity.
She wouldn’t wish the way she had grown up on anyone in the world, but as a Damned, those skills were coming in handy. They were being used to do good things, not bad, like the ones the cult had taught its followers when she was a child.
She turned a corner to find Damian standing in front of
her, smiling broadly and looking nice in a suit and tie. He leaned toward Stephanie and hugged her tightly, thanking her for being so generous.
“Oh, it was nothing,” she replied, patting him on the back. “It was time to move forward, so I needed to do this.”
“Well, when you decided to pass the house to members of my church, the light shone on you.” He smiled. “I’m just glad I could confirm that two of the young ladies previously under your care have been given a job here.”
“I am so thankful for that.” Stephanie looked around at the people in the house. “Those girls are very important to me, and they have been helped more by you, Korbin, and the rest than anyone else in their lives. They now feel like they have a future, for the first time.”
“And how about you?” Damian asked.
“Oh, I’m still getting used to this life change.” She chuckled. “My demon is quiet; rarely says anything and doesn’t interrupt my thoughts, which I appreciate. When necessary, she gives me a boost. She is still terrified of Katie’s demon, though, and I wish I knew why.”
“Katie’s demon can be a bit temperamental.” Damian smiled. “And she is extremely powerful.”
“I see.” Stephanie looked up as the doorbell rang. “Well, let’s get this party started.”
“Yes,” Damian agreed. “And put the past in the past. I will look in from time to time to make sure that everything is going well with the halfway house. I just want you to look forward.”
“Thank you.” Stephanie kissed Damian on the cheek. “You are a good friend.”
Stephanie walked away, putting on the “Mamacita” face on one last time for the crowd.
They were there to wish the new owners good luck on their endeavor and fundraise for a profitable first year.
Katie and the team were there too, and even Korbin showed up later in the evening, looking deliciously suave in a three-piece suit.
They were there for their family, and even though the two older ladies taking over had no idea who or what they were, they felt like they could all be comfortable there. It was a big night for Stephanie; she got to say goodbye to her past life in a way they all wished they’d had the opportunity to.