by Michael Todd
They all piled inside and headed over to a bar Damian knew. It wasn’t very crowded, or at least not as crowded as Katie thought it would be in a city like that. When they walked in, she realized that it seemed to be a hangout for people like them. Isaac smiled and waved at a few customers, and the four of them took a seat in a back table.
“This is one of my favorite bars,” Damian offered. “I have a favorite bar in twenty-one different cities.”
“A priest who drinks?” Ella whispered, leaning toward Katie but keeping her eyes on Damian.
“Apparently a lot of them do,” she whispered back.
The waitress brought menus out and handed them around. Ella looked up and down the menu, her mouth watering for some cheese fries and nachos. Melneck put a stop to that, though.
This food is disgusting. He sniffed. Made with canned things and weird packaged meats.
Ella laughed. It’s bar food.
Yes, well, that’s where it will stay, he replied. You need to focus on putting into your mouth the best and most wholesome food you can.
I am going to put cheese fries in it right now, Ella argued.
No, you are going to put a salad in it, no cheese, light vinaigrette dressing, Melneck replied.
Uh…hell, no, she snarled.
Don’t make me step on your intestines again, he threatened.
Fine, she growled, but I get to keep the cheese, and I get ranch dressing.
Light Ranch, he compromised. And the only reason I am giving in is because I don’t want you to make a scene.
Fine, Ella snapped, but you are a dick.
Katie sat quietly in the corner across the table, seeing that Ella was talking to her demon. She smiled, remembering when Derek had told her she had looked like she was talking to herself at the sex shop in Vegas. It felt like a million years ago.
Thank you for back there, Katie told Pandora.
Don’t mention it, she replied. So, what are we going to eat?
I was thinking a cheeseburger and cheese fries.
Whaaat? Pandora gasped. You want what I want? I am rubbing off on you.
You are literally inside me, Katie replied. There can’t be that much rubbing going on.
Pandora laughed. True.
So, have you ever been to New York City before? Katie asked.
Actually I have, Pandora replied. It was a long time ago, though—maybe 1844 or 1845. It looked much different then. I was dating this lovely guy; strange, but lovely. His name was Edgar. He had a brownstone over on 3rd Street. If I remember right, it was 85 West 3rd.
Katie laughed. You have a good memory.
Yeah, well, Edgar was too much fun to forget. She chuckled. We would drink and laugh, and drink more, and have sex, and then laugh more. He was the closest thing to a friend I’d had in a long time at that point. We met in the city at a party. He hated parties; liked to be alone in his room. He was one of those starving artist types. I think he was a writer. Yes, a writer. We had a lot of fun together, seeing the sights during the day and just sitting around talking all night long. I swear he never slept, except for when he would pass out after all the wine I would feed him. He always tried to keep up with me, the silly thing, not realizing I metabolized alcohol much differently than he did.
It sounds like you really liked him.
As much as a demon can like a human, I suppose, she said. He definitely liked me. Wrote some stories with me in them. At the time, though, no one really cared who he was. He had big eyes and dark hair, and never really came out of that brownstone. I guess he was the epitome of becoming famous after death.
Why do you say that? Katie asked.
I remember seeing one of his stories last time I was up here, she said. It was in the seventies, and I wandered into a bookstore and saw his picture on the wall. I asked the clerk, and she looked shocked that I didn’t know he was famous. She pulled out what was apparently his most famous work—The Raven, or something like that. Turns out he was very well known.
Wait… Katie tried to keep a straight face. You were dating Edgar Allen Poe?
Mmmhmm, Pandora agreed as the waitress came back with the food.
That is insane, Katie replied.
It was fun, she said. Oooh, look…they put bacon on the fries!
Just which Seventies was Pandora talking about?
Chapter 16
Korbin stood next to Calvin on the roof of the building looking over the scene. There was still some debris, but they had managed to clean it up pretty well since the whole event happened.
Calvin was motionless, obviously nervous about what was going on, but Korbin had managed to calm himself before the sun came up. He knew he was in a position where he didn’t have to really explain himself, but he would be as hospitable as possible.
“There they are,” Calvin said, looking off in the distance.
Over the horizon from the north came three military helicopters choppering in. It looked like a scene from a movie, sand blowing around as they landed in the clearing below them. The pilots switched off the engines and Korbin turned to Calvin with a strained smile on his face.
“You ready to go greet our guests?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“Never been less ready to do something,” Calvin answered.
“We’ll be fine.” Korbin laughed, slapped him on the shoulder, and turned for the door. “Come on, let’s get this over with, I’m tired of all the suspense.”
They headed down through the building and out the front doors to greet the guests exiting the helicopters.
First was a woman dressed in Army Blues with a colonel’s insignia on the shoulders. She had ribbons pinned in rows on the front of her coat, and her beret was slightly tipped to the side. Behind her was a general wearing Blues as well, with even more ribbons and stars on the shoulders of his jacket. He was an older man with white hair and a weathered face, while she was younger, her dark hair pulled back perfectly at the nape of her neck.
“Korbin,” the general said. “I’m General Aaron Brushwood, and this is Colonel Karen Jehovivich. It’s good to finally meet you.”
“You as well,” he said, shaking their hands. “And this is my Team Lead Two, Calvin Turnbuckle.”
“Nice to meet you,” the general replied, shaking Calvin’s hand.
The general and colonel were not only new to the teams, but new to their positions. Korbin led the two inside the building, where it was a lot less noisy. The general took off his cover and placed it under his arm, looking around the entry.
“I am aware that in the past, relationships between the military teams and your own have been strained, to say the least,” the general admitted. “I hope that can change between us.”
“As do I,” Korbin replied carefully. “I do have to ask why you decided to come here now.”
“Well, I heard through the grapevine that there had been a major incursion here, and I would like to understand what happened,” he explained. “The more knowledge I have on what your teams do, the better we can all work together.”
“Okay,” Korbin replied. “And what are you looking to learn, exactly?”
“Well, first, why you were targeted out of everyone, including the military teams. It just seemed strange that your base would have been the bullseye,” he said. “I’m interested to know what you did about it, and I’d like to know if we are sure that none of them got away?”
Korbin just stood there a moment, trying to parse what the general was asking. It almost sounded like he was questioning Korbin’s competency in his own house. He didn’t appreciate being questioned. He had put his life on the line for their country both before and since he had joined the teams.
He had seen more combat than most soldiers would see in their entire careers, and he had more than proved himself to be a competent leader.
Calvin cleared his throat, feeling the tension.
“General, with all due respect, you question me as if I were a student.” Korbin’s eyes narrowed. “I se
nt the military the necessary documents, including the after-action report that we all agreed five years ago would be part of us operating a private mercenary squad to fight the demons. There was more than enough information in those documents to answer any and all questions without you having to fly out here like this. I am, as it were, not under your command.”
“Very true, Korbin,” the general agreed, playing nice. “You are not under my command; you are a private citizen. However, I am standing on US soil, and there are foreigners—aliens if you will—who are attacking people on my watch. Can you understand why I would want to see the place for myself? And questions may arise. I am not the firing squad. I am just here to get to the bottom of things.”
“There is nothing more to tell you beyond what was in that statement, sir,” Korbin replied. “This is actually not US government land. It is private land, bought and paid for by myself and our higher-ups; also documented with the government. We have gone through this time and time again, which was why we had the Senate hearing just five years ago—to determine the rules and regulations under which the teams operate.”
“Well,” the general looked down at his cover, “it seems we are at an impasse, then.”
“It seems that way,” Korbin agreed, standing tall.
“May I take a look at the damaged buildings to the right of this one?” the colonel asked, interrupting the awkward silence.
The three men looked through the open door at the buildings Katie and the big demon had destroyed during their battle to the death. The colonel apparently had a good eye for detail, and though the area had been largely picked up, Korbin didn’t want to show her. He knew it was clear of all evidence, though.
Regardless, she had guessed what had likely caused the damage—which ultimately made her more dangerous than the general.
“I am assuming they were knocked down by one of the…” she paused and opened a folder, “three large demons who escaped the portal.”
“They were,” Korbin confirmed, glancing at Calvin. “It happened during a fight at the end of the battle. My team managed to take the beast down, but not without infrastructure destruction.”
“Right,” she agreed. “But how did the buildings get so damaged? It would take brute force to knock those down. They are stone and cinderblock construction.”
“To be honest, Colonel,” Calvin interjected. “Neither Korbin nor myself were part of that battle, so we can’t give eyewitness accounts. Those are in the file, and anything we added would be mere speculation.”
“So, who was in that part of the fight?” she asked.
“That would be Katie, Jeremy, and Eric,” Korbin replied. “Only Eric is here right now. Katie is taking care of business elsewhere, and Jeremy is deceased.”
She grimaced. “I’m sorry. However, I would like to speak to Eric later.”
“Of course,” Korbin replied. “Why don’t I give you a tour of the main area, and then we can move on to the unstable areas.”
The general and the colonel both nodded, so Korbin and Calvin led them up to the main living quarters first. As Korbin talked about the battle and what had happened there, Calvin slipped off down the hall and snuck quietly into Eric’s room. Eric looked up at him in confusion, and Calvin put his finger over his lips. He inched forward and leaned down.
“I think you should disappear for a little while,” he whispered, “to avoid any conflict or unnecessary questioning. When we go down to the pit, take the SUV and head into town for a bit. I’ll call you when the coast is clear.”
“All righty,” he agreed, and Calvin slipped back out the door.
Calvin caught back up with them before they even noticed he was gone, and they headed down to the training area to continue the tour.
When they were done with that, they went back up to the living quarters to allow the colonel to speak with Eric. Calvin led her to his room and knocked on the door, but there was no reply. Slowly he opened it, and blessed Eric in his head when the room was empty.
“That’s strange,” Calvin remarked. “He must have gone out.”
“What’s that?” Korbin asked as he walked up.
“Eric isn’t here,” Calvin told him.
“That’s strange,” Korbin repeated, surprised. “I asked him to stick around. He must have had an important call or something take him away. Hopefully he will be back before you leave.”
It was obvious that they were suspicious, but they kept their thoughts to themselves. Korbin was either a damned good liar, which was possible, or he really didn’t know that the man had left.
The four of them headed to the ruined buildings and did a tour and checked one more time to see if Eric had returned before walking the general and colonel back out to the helicopters. Calvin and Korbin stood quietly until the choppers were speeding off, then Korbin dropped his hands and growled angrily.
“How did they know all that?” Calvin asked.
“I’ll tell you how,” Korbin snarled. “Either they have bugs here in our base, or someone I spoke to from the other teams updated the military. Either way you look at it, there are spies in the ranks of the Damned.”
Katie breathed in the smell of the city. She was enjoying a stroll through the streets: listening to the cars honking, smelling the mixture of car exhaust and hot dog stands, and just being a tourist for a moment. Pandora was excited to be back, but was absolutely shocked at how different everything was from the last time she had been there.
Katie still couldn’t believe that she had dated Edgar Allen Poe.
You know what I don’t understand? Pandora asked. Why there is a damn Dunkin’ Donuts on nearly every corner?
People like their donuts, I guess. Katie laughed.
It’s like someone decided that those were the only donuts we were allowed to eat, and then they built one on every corner to make it impossible for the competition, she griped.
Yeah, Katie replied. Welcome to the American way. Besides, you are just upset because you really don’t like Dunkin Donuts. If it were any other donut shop, you would be all about it. You would be in heaven, and I probably would have to talk you out of moving here.
You are damn right I don’t like them, Pandora snapped. Sure, it’s round and it has a hole in it and it’s made of dough, but these are not high-quality donuts. They are not made by hand every morning. I read that the dough is shipped to them, and they just put it in the proofer and oven. While they are being lazy, there are hardworking donut-makers out there mixing and preparing every morning.
You are really passionate about this. Katie laughed. I mean, it’s just a donut. I think I created a monster. Or worse, I created a donut snob. Katie thought for a moment. You are a damned donut snob, which I didn’t even think could be a thing.
I don’t know what the hell you are talking about, Pandora retorted. I am all kinds of snob. Donut snob, sex snob, length-and-girth snob, Italian food snob, and the list goes on. I mean, I could seriously be a snob about underwear, hair, makeup, jelly, jam—which I still don’t know the difference between—toast, cars, and just about anything else, really.
You seriously need to relax and just enjoy things. Katie laughed and bought another piece of pizza. For example, we are walking around tasting all the different slices. I am not a snob because the last place sucked; they just have sucky pizza—that’s on them. You can’t change these things, so why get so uptight and upset about it? I just move on to the next slice, and if it’s that bad, I toss it. Plain and simple.
That is the exact definition of you. Pandora scoffed. “Plain and freaking simple.” If you don’t have standards for your pizza and for your donuts, what do you stand for?
You know, there was a place I ate at when I was a kid that took pizza dough, rolled it into balls, deep fried it, and served it as donut holes, Katie told her.
That is disgusting, and frankly, I am offended, Pandora shot back. Who were those people? I do have to admit though, I am more than enjoying our exploration of New York pizz
a. And don’t worry, it’s not going to your ass.
Please stay away from my boobs too, at least for now, Katie whined. Like seriously…these things are getting heavy. They look great, but I’m gonna have back problems.
Fine, the demon said, exasperated. I swear, you are the hardest person to please. I give you curves, a flat stomach, a perfect ass, and tits a plastic surgeon can’t replicate, and you still complain.
Katie laughed and kept walking. She was looking ahead at a kid standing next to his mom, playing on his tablet, when suddenly a man in rough clothes with a long scraggly beard lunged forward and grabbed the tablet right out of the kid’s hand. The mom yelled, but no one else made any kind of move to help.
Katie popped the rest of the pizza in her mouth and wiped off her hands as the guy ran toward her.
When he got close enough she calmly reached out and grabbed him by the throat with one hand, using the other to punch him three times in the face. Before she let him go, she grabbed the tablet from his hands.
“I’ll take that, thank you.” She dropped him to the sidewalk, where he lay unconscious.
She nonchalantly walked up to the kid and handed him the tablet, then patted him on the head and continued past him like it had been no big deal.
Pandora giggled.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her as she walked away, having no clue what to do or what had just happened.
Finally a cop ran up, trying to figure out why the man was on the sidewalk. The mother told him what had happened, and everyone pointed in Katie’s direction. For a moment Katie was nervous, but the cop looking down at the perp, shrugged, and nodded.
Apparently he thought the man had gotten exactly what was coming to him. Katie was just glad she could help.
You could be a vigilante in this town. A real superhero, even, Pandora suggested. You could wear a mask and call yourself “Donut Girl.”
Nope, nope, nope. Katie laughed, tossed her napkin in the trash, and walked around the corner.
Chapter 17