Hard Case Page 14

  Kyo broke the silence. "Izzy said you have a plan.”

  "Yes.”

  "You are seeking our concurrence,” Saripha added thoughtfully.

  I picked my words carefully. "More than that. The fact of this matter is, I can't do this without help from all of you, and if it fails, all of us will pay a dear price. Especially you, Saripha."

  She nodded.

  "I take it then that this is a pretty high stakes gamble," Paul added.

  "That's the optimistic version. Moreover, it involves something which may be morally repugnant to some ...most... all of you."

  "And if everything goes right?” Saripha asked.

  "We will either eliminate or greatly reduce the demon threat. We will kill the shade. We may even take over Rockvale."

  "Why would we want to do that?” Zeon looked at me with the patented teenager ‘I don't care about anything’ look.

  "Because Las Vegas isn't available.” I rolled my eyes and returned my focus to the others.

  “What does this plan involve?” Saripha asked.

  "I'm going to give myself up again, very publicly."

  "And how does that help?”

  "Because it will be a trap."

  "Oh, I get it.” Paul scowled a bit. “The six of us will be waiting in the bushes to tackle the demons while they are distracted.”

  I shrugged. "Something like that, actually, but there is a bit more to it."

  "There always is with you."

  "Paul, let him talk,” Saripha chided.

  "The demons, and particularly Janovic, make a public spectacle of their control over humans. Every time there has been a new development with me, they have gathered all the humans in the square."

  "Then why did they torture you in private?” Sidney asked.

  "Because they thought I was a done deal, that they could have their fun, I would die painfully and then they would calm down the proto and train him as a pet."

  "So you are saying that when you turn yourself in, if they know about it, everyone will be gathered in the square?” Kyo was talking it through out loud as much as asking a question.

  "Yes. I hope."

  “Okay, let’s assume you are right.” Saripha stayed focused. “What happens then?”

  "We attack the square using the Gatling gun."

  Everyone was quiet while they played this out in their heads. Kyo spoke first, since she knew the arrow launcher. "We try to get all the demons with the rapid firing arrows? That's going to be difficult. Like a machine gun, the arrows don't aim well and the demons are smaller, more squat than the humans. I don't see how it will be effective in killing the demons. I think you'll kill more humans."

  "I'm counting on it. In fact, we don't worry at all about killing demons. We are shooting to kill as many humans as possible."

  Everyone fell suddenly silent, all with varying degrees of shock. I hadn't even told Izzy yet, wanting to tell the whole group at once.

  “We need to create a safe base of operations. Unfortunately, to do that, we would need all the humans to turn on their demon masters. The fact is that they are, at this point, incapable of doing so. They are walking dead.” I hesitated. I didn’t want to dish the plan out faster than they could take it in. “If we kill them while they are confined within the courtyard with Janovic and the demons, they will become violent protos lashing out at anything that moves. They kill the demons. We then can maybe calm the protos down and begin training them to join us."

  Saripha remained calm. "I see what you mean by reprehensible. So, you have decided their lives are worthless because they will not rally to your cause to fight the demons. Therefore, you have the right to painfully turn them into protos, as was done with you."

  "You forgot the part where I torture kittens, but, fair enough, that is one way to interpret what I have decided."

  "What gives you the right to make that decision?” Paul was clearly furious we were even considering this option. He was like an academic horrified at the use of the atomic bomb. And he was right—it wasn't ethical in any abstract academic sense.

  "Nothing gives me the right. We have no rights here. And no one made me general of our little army either, which is why I am running this plan by all of you. But if I were a general, this would be my plan to save my troops, the other troops be damned. No pun intended."

  "Maybe the fact that you yourself have gone through the proto experience gives you the right to suggest this?” Izzy volunteered. Izzy couldn't resist fascination with such an interesting, if inhuman, experiment.

  "No, actually, it doesn't. It did give me the idea, though. I know firsthand what a powerful force a trapped proto is, especially if it is unexpected and there is no plan to handle them. I'm not considering the ethics of this. There is nothing ethical about this, but there is also nothing ethical about this place. It is the only weapon we have that can change the outcome. From where I sit, it is either this or we become like them and learn to just live with what this world hands out."

  "We could run. I don't think they would hunt us down if we were far away,” Sidney offered meekly.

  I thought about it, but I had run this scenario through my head before.

  "Yes, we could. You could. I guess I can't. I don't think it gets better. I don’t think we get a better chance to turn the tide than here."

  No one said anything. A breeze caught the branches above us and some of the trunks creaked.

  "You're mad, you know that.” There was no longer hostility in Paul's voice. "You are fighting the will of God."

  "Well, if this is his will, then fuck him."

  Paul smiled without humor. "I know you are not religious, but in your terms you are fighting nature, the universe. Wherever we are, it has a nature, a natural state. You are not like an insurgent fighting a dictator. You want to change the very nature of the universe you inhabit. You can't win. Cannot win! The only hope for any of us is to find a way to return to what we had before... few in number, staying below the radar, not worrying about the others."

  "I can't do that."

  "Yes.” Paul sighed. "Unfortunately, you have proved that over and over."

  "What do you think?” Saripha turned to Kyo.

  “It’s pretty good strategy. No guarantee—a lot would have to go right—but it could decimate the local demon population and let us take over."

  "Consequences?"

  Kyo spread her hands. "Hard to predict. First, we have to worry about the shade. We know it is human, but we don't know the extent of its powers or if we can kill it. Second, although this is a very isolated border town, we don't know if anyone is paying attention and what level of retaliation might be coming for such an event. Most likely, the shade’s manitor is an interested party and much more powerful."

  Saripha was still thoughtful. "Kyo, you have traveled extensively. None of the rest of us has. You don’t have any further guidance of what to expect?"

  "I'm concerned about painting too optimistic a picture. Like all of you, I always stayed below the radar. I've seen several border towns, all of which were much busier than this one. This is like some tiny town in the American Southwest, isolated from any big roads or transportation. If they didn’t have communications, they would hardly know anything about the rest of the world and the rest of the world certainly knows very little about them. If a small gang came in and took them over, someone would eventually find out, but it might take awhile."

  "Whatever we are going to do we have to act quickly. If they find the big gun, or send out too many demon patrols, we'll have missed our window.” I looked at Saripha. She had become somewhat of a leader for the group. Also, she was the only one who had chosen to be here and had the most to lose. She was mortal here. She could die.

  Saripha studied my face for a few moments. "I think Quentin is right about our choices."

  "Saripha, you can't be seriously considering this plan,” Paul objected.

  Saripha was still studying me. I realized I had no idea what age sh
e was. Her wisdom made me think of her as older but her face gave no easy clues. "Is your obsession with striking back motivated by revenge? For being here, for what they did to you... for Rox?"

  "I wish I could answer that. It is part of it, I can't help that. My resentment of being here is the fire that motivates me. I loved Rox, I still do. I will probably never understand how she could have been so evil and yet was able to touch me so deeply."

  "It was her power," Saripha said quietly.

  "You were gullible," Paul added.

  "And she was hot.” Izzy shrugged.

  I shook my head, smiling. "These things no doubt figure into what I am doing, but I am also clear that I cannot just be in this place. I must fight this place. I must change this place, at least this part of this place."

  Saripha looked away again and looked around at the others, finally returning her gaze to me. "I came here by accident, but I stayed here to try to find a way to help the people here. I have not yet found that way, beyond this small group. I think, though its extreme method bothers me, that this might be the best chance I have seen. I will join you."

  "I will also.” Kyo nodded.

  "Me too.” Izzy added.

  I looked at Zeon and Sidney. Sidney looked uncomfortable. Zeon nodded and grunted "sure.” Sidney just nodded yes. Paul sighed. I took it as a yes too.

  "Then let’s do it. We need to find a way to let them know I am going to turn myself in so they will gather."

  "That should be easy. Let a patrolling demon find you. They'll not dare harm you and will send runners ahead to alert the shade.” Kyo offered.

  "Okay. Not my favorite plan, but that should work. Kyo, I'll need your help on tactics. Izzy, I need to know the physics of the fight, how to properly set up the big gun."

  "I thought you said no one made you general.” Paul snorted.

  "You did, when you accepted my plan.” I winked.

  17.

  Getting captured was the easy part. In fact, I worried it was too easy, that the demons would smell a trap. I needn't have worried. Demons are a lot of things. Thick skinned, savage, dangerous and ugly. Smart is not one of the things they are. Probably there were a few evolutionary biologists in this place who could explain why they never adapted the need for smart.

  Basically, I just hiked to the main road through the woods and started walking down it like I didn't have a care. They were patrolling and found me. I acted surprised, they knocked me down, kicked me a few times, swiped me with claws just to show me who was boss and made that screaming laughter that drove me nuts. Still, I wasn't too bad off. Two of the patrol ran off gleefully towards Rockvale, obviously to report the news. They hoisted me up and prodded me in the same direction. They didn't even bind me or take away my belted staff. I love it when a plan comes together.

  I knew, however, that the rest wasn't going to be easy. This plan hinged on such a convoluted number of pieces connecting and going right that I had no idea what would end up happening. It didn’t really matter if it was a good plan or a bad plan. It was the only plan I had.

  Janovic was the biggest unknown. He had not demonstrated much of his real power when he tortured me. It could mean he didn't have much power, but we didn't know that. He was also irrational, although so far he had been wholly predictable: Every time I showed up he stuck sharp pointy objects in me until I died. I wasn't sure it wasn't going to happen again, nor could I be sure my personality would survive another proto rebirth, but if everything else went according to plan it would be worth it.

  After a bit of a trek, we crested the hill over Rockvale. I looked down and drew a breath. Everyone in town was there. The humans stood uncomfortably, showing little thought or emotion. The demons jostled in front of them, barely able to contain their glee. At the very front, floating inches above the surface, was the shade, Janovic, a slight purplish glow enveloping him. He didn't bother with the helmet. In front of him was a completely robed figure, shorter than him. It was impossible to tell fully if it was even human as the gray robe that enveloped it was so large, coming over the head and hiding the face. I had an uneasy feeling about the robed figure. This was an unknown element.

  The demons with me bellowed to the town square and all the demons waiting there opened their foul mouths and screamed back in unison. It was startling and more than a little creepy. My “captors” dragged me down the hill and we approached. We had two surprises up our sleeve. One was, of course, the Gatling gun. The other was the steel hidden in the staff at my waist. The rest was timing and luck. I still had some slim hope of drawing Janovic out and taking him down, ending this battle before it began. I was betting that if the shade was gone, the demons would be confused and leaderless.

  All of this depended on me to start the dance. If I drew my blade, the attack would commence. If they had taken the staff from me, a fist pump in the air was the backup. It was a bit cornball, being a writer and all, but I needed something that could be easily perceived from a distance. If I were attacked before being able to signal, that would also begin the attack. However, there was one other piece to the plan, a chance to end it before it began.

  Janovic stood amongst the demons and well in front of the humans. Even the crouched robed figure was only chest high on him. I needed to occupy his attention for a few moments. That wouldn't be hard. He already had me in a baleful stare-down.

  "Mr. J, you ever get around to fixing the boiler?"

  A nasty but genuinely amused half smile flickered on his lips.

  "Showing off your memory, Mr. Case? Yes, I am quite impressed. Do you remember all the pain I have caused you?"

  "Actually, no. Didn't make much of an impression."

  The darkness deepened in his eyes. Always nice to hit a nerve. "I will have to make sure I do a better job this time.” I was sure he would. I was really hoping he wouldn’t get the chance.

  "Are we going to dance around like this all day? You know and I know that you and all these demons can take me down-- eventually. Why not make this a little more sporting? You and me. Right here. Right now. You win, you do what you want with me. I win, you agree to leave Rockvale to the lost souls here."

  He laughed. "You are crazier than I am if you think the—powers that be—would leave you alone."

  "You let me worry about them. This is you and me."

  "There is more to this than just you, Mr. Case. If you lose, I want those who have been supporting you."

  "I have no idea what you are talking about. I've tried over and over to get people to help me, but they are just zombies."

  "It doesn't matter. I will not let you die before you tell me."

  I had his interest. He may have not noticed the high-pitched hum of moving air. The arrow moving almost faster than the eye could follow was right on mark, hitting right about the ear. There was a sharp crack as the arrow shattered, a bellow of startled rage and a bright explosion of purple and white light.

  "CASE!"

  The roar of my name felt like it emanated from everywhere. As my eyes adjusted, he was now standing in a bubble of purple black light with jagged licks of energy arcing around him. It was an energy field projected further than it needed to be as it had been quite effective when it just covered him. The arrow had shattered, never penetrating his skull despite Izzy's skillful long-distance shot. Janovic had real powers and I was about to find out the extent of them. Furthermore, this cast into doubt the assumptions of my original plan. If nothing could touch him, nothing could kill him.

  Janovic was angry, uncontrollably so. It didn't matter that, in fact, I appeared to pose no credible threat or that he could have been gloating about his absolute power over me. He was hopelessly outraged at the affront the sneak attack represented to him. Perhaps this was also partly the pent-up frustration of failing to get rid of me.

  The demons had all pulled back and were in a bit of a panic. They were afraid of Janovic's power and unsure where that arrow came from, but as they saw that Janovic had the upper hand, they began
to relax more and strut again. A few of them, towards the back, punished nearby humans with raking claws and impulsive, enraged sexual assault.

  Janovic bellowed my name again, returning my attention to him. He reached and took the robed figure by the scruff of the robe and hefted it up with such jarring force that the hood and cowl fell back off the head. What I saw shattered me. It was Rox under the hood.

  "Speaking of memory..." Janovic howled loudly, playing to the demons, "...here is Rox!"

  My blood started pumping. The seething anger was immediate like metal in my mouth.

  "Or is it Rox? Is this the woman who betrayed you? Or the innocent, frightened proto she became?"

  My eyes fell on her face, on her eyes, and my passion drained out of me. Her face showed no understanding of her situation, only horror. Her eyes revealed only basic animal fear. As completely as I had been misled, her eyes had never lied. I had only chosen not to read them. The Rox I hated, that had betrayed me and those now close to me, was dead. This resurrected proto knew nothing of what evil she had done. She was just another victim of Janovic. Janovic shot out a hand, holding a sharpened stone knife to her throat. She struggled, horror mounting, but he held her fast.

  "Come to me, Mr. Case, or I will cut her throat and cover you in her blood.” There was a terrifying leer on his face, as if he hoped I would make him do what he threatened.

  There weren't a lot of options here, so I chose walking slowly forward as the best chance of buying a desperate minute or two to cast about for a plan B. The demons were getting braver and started screaming and running up and taking clawed swipes at me. I ignored the pain and I ignored them. My steps seemed like slow motion to me as my mind raced to find some detail of my situation I could grab onto. Janovic smiled as he drew the blade carefully along her throat, making only a nick or two, only breaking skin with trickles of blood. He was taunting me. However, in doing so, he inadvertently drew my attention to a detail that might be helpful.

  It was hard to notice in all the confusion of black purple light and arcing tongues of energy, but on the hand that held the blade, the purple glow on Janovic's body ended at the wrist of the hand that held the knife. It confused me for a moment, but then I realized that it made sense. The knife could not cut if it was being protected in an energy field and he clearly either chose not to or could not include Rox in the energy field around him.