Page 15

15 The Siege of Mayors Office

Long ago, I had learnt that far too often, the rule of law did not deliver justice at the most critical time when it should nor to the people who deserved it most. That there were people, Gendrian and Herms, who always lay beyond its reach. It was the singular aspect of the world that never failed to outrage me, no matter how jaded I had become. And to deliver justice to those bastards, one had to stray into their domain that lay outside the periphery of law.

Soma called it vengeance, and I was named a vigilante. I called it a balm to my bleeding soul.

That soul quietly bled now as I stared at the body of a youngest yet hostage to be executed. A herm, mayors eldest child, only thirteen years old, their body cast out on the lawn of city hall building like trash. Stateguard security raced over to retreat it, in a half crouch as warning shots rang out from the windows of the city hall.

Long ago, I had learned not to feel in this job. The same could not be said of the journalists quietly watching the scene with helpless grief in their faces, or the Stateguard’s security guards who turned away from the sight with impotent rage.

I felt none of the emotions that raced over their faces. Instead, a calm of inevitability settled over me, for I knew what end awaited us inside that building, and it was not the end Snow or Fanigan had paid for.

Leaving the scene behind, I strode into the bar a short walk down the street from the fenced garden of the City Hall.

Sykes was easy to spot. He bore the look of one belonging to the underbelly of crime and corruption, a certain ruthlessness mixed intimately with paranoid watchfulness. Like called to like, and the herm’s gaze instantly picked me out as another predator in their den. I walked towards the and placed the case of money on the table. The overt gesture drew the gazes of everyone in the pub including the publican’s.

Sykes scowled. ‘Tired of living, are you? What the fuck is this?’

‘Money,’ I said. ‘Lots of it. And I’m here to deliver it with instructions. Now how about you take me to the man who pays you to act as a messenger dog.’

From under the table came the sound of cocking gun. ‘No one in this bar will blink if I shoot your balls off.’

Spare me the stupid brutes. I sighed and stared up at the ceiling as if counting to ten, then looked at the fool. ‘The thing is, you can shoot me, and deliver the case to your employer, but then how will you deliver a very important message from Snow? There’s been a change to your plan. In about …’ I pulled out a watch from my pocket. ‘… thirty minutes, the building will be stormed and everyone inside will be killed. You see, the plan as it was, always ended with everyone inside dying, which included GLF, and which also, incidentally included you . Now, I am here to make sure that does not happen. So, go ahead, shoot me, then put that gun to your own head and do the same, for all the difference it’ll make. Or perhaps you can take me inside and let me speak to the fool who hired you to do this very thing in this exact eventuality.’

The herm blinked, scowled, twitched their arm as if truly thinking of shooting me, then growled. ‘Fine, I’ll take you and let him kill you instead, detective . I know who you are, and my employer would give me a bonus for the pleasure of cutting off your cock.’

‘Lead the way,’ I said, bored senseless by their incessant bluster.

Sykes nodded to the barman, who nodded back, and they went into the private hallway next the counter, then down the stairs to the cellar.

There, Sykes pushed back a few empty barrels from the wall to reveal a tunnel. It was rough, and freshly dug. Clearly this whole plan had been many months in the making. I suspected the pub would have been purchased in the last two years.

After giving me a lamp, Sykes ushered me forward. ‘Follow the tunnels to the end. No funny business.

They were still holding their gun.

I led the way, stooping as we went. The ceiling was too low, and the walls too close, and chest-tightening claustrophobia quickly set it. Trying to breathe through it, I focused on the image of the child’s body on the lawn above us, etched now into my brain. More food for the devil inside me. The image, however, kept my breath steady and my feet moving.

The door at the end of the passage opened as we approached, and we were greeted with pointed shot guns.

‘What the hell is this, Sykes?’ said a gruff male voice.

‘Money, is what this is. Les us through, Steve. We want to see Shade.’

The giant man at the door grunted and let us pass into a cavernous marble hall. Three other guards were pointing guns at us. They were wearing masks, unlike Steve, who seemed wholly unbothered to have his unshaven face on display. This alone told me he had every intention of leaving here alive with all the witnesses dead. That the route of their escape was certain, and that it was not through the tunnel we had arrived through. I suspected more had been dug beneath the City Hall to give them a clear way out.

‘Who’s this then?’ Steve waved his shotgun at me.

‘The one who plans to help you get out of this alive, and far richer than you had hoped to be,’ I said. ‘Seeing as you have less than twenty minutes to live, I’d suggest you hurry along and take me to the one with the brains around here.’

Steve looked like he itched to shoot me but thought better of it. No doubt relishing the thought that I would be dead no matter what happened. With a brutish grunt, he turned and led the way.

Their leader, Shade, was sitting in the mayor’s office, feet on the table, cigar in the mouth. The moment my eyes fell on Shade, I stuttered in surprise. The leader of this cell of GLF was a herm. It should not have surprised me, based on what I had already deduced about GLF. Still, the sense of betrayal that a herm would be part of GLF, reverberated through me. They had betrayed their own kind for nothing more than the paltry contents of the suitcase in my hand.

I strode forward. ‘Kyle sends their greetings.’

Emotionless, dark eyes met mine. A smile spread slowly over their face. ‘My, my. Could this be the notorious detective we have read so much about in the papers. Have you come here to kill us all then?’

I placed the suitcase on the table and opened it. ‘I’m here to deliver the money you are owed and to tell you there is a change of plan.’

Shade released a long trail of smoke. ‘Is that so?’

‘There’ll be no more killings here.’

A chuckle, followed by a violent cough. ‘You know, if you weren’t so amusing, your brains would already be spread all over this floor. Tell you what, seeing as I’m such a fan of your work, I’ll let you join the hostages and …’

‘Secureforce plan to storm the building in exactly …’ I made a show of checking my watch, before returning it to my pocket. ‘… ten minutes. Kyle betrayed you.’

The smile vanished from their face. ‘Kyle would not dare betray us.’

‘Unfortunately, the papers published some things today about his office, which forced his hand.’ I produced the paper from my pocket and threw it at the table in front of them.

Shade glanced at it for long enough to read the article, then raised their dark, hard eyes to me. ‘Then why should I not kill you now and then the hostages, take the money and disappear? Why are you here detective? And who do your work for, if not Kyle?’

‘I work for myself, and I’m here because I want to help you escape … in exchange for a favour of course.’

‘I don’t need your help in escaping.’

‘Your escape tunnels are already blocked, and one of them is currently being used by our swat team to get inside and kill you.’

‘I don’t believe you.’

‘Kyle knows every part of your plan. Their intention is to make sure no one is alive to blackmail them, and that they come out the hero from this.’

Shade considered this thoughtfully and no doubt came to the conclusion that even if I wasn’t telling the truth, the risk that I might be was not worth the gamble to their life. That was the thing about hungry dogs in the same room. Eventually they would start eating each other.

‘And what do you want?’ Shade asked me.

‘Get rid of your men and let us talk.’

They smiled. ‘Do you take me for a fool.’

‘There is no sense in me killing you, Shade. Your men will gun me down as I leave. On this occasion, I think you can trust me to simply talk and not put a bullet in your head. What I have to say is only for your ears.’

Shade scrutinised me, then nodded to the others to leave. When I heard the door close behind me, I sat down and crossed my legs.

‘So, what is it you want, detective?’

‘I want you to be the only one of them to get out of here alive. And for sparing your life, I only ask for your loyal support in my future endeavours which, I can assure you, will benefit us both.’

Shade casually put out the cigar. ‘A big demand but go on. I’m intrigued.’

I smiled and quickly told Shade my plan, of our future collaboration and why it would be in their best interest to give me their loyalty.

After the laughter died, Shade wiped their eyes. ‘Truly, detective, I never suspected there to be such a cunning and ambitious streak in you. Your words belie your feelings, however. I can see that you hate me.’

‘With a passion,’ I said coolly.

‘And yet you would make a pact between us.’

‘I never allow hate to cloud my judgment.’ I checked my watch. ‘Time’s up.’ An explosion sounded outside followed by many shots being fired. I glanced up calmly at Shade, who reached for their own gun. ‘Do you want to shoot me and take your chances with them, or let me show you the way out?’

Shade regarded me, then raised their gun. ‘Fuck this. If you betray me Rockhall …’

‘Wy does everyone keep saying that to me? Do I have a particularly untrustworthy face?’

After quickly checking the money, Shade slammed shut the case. ‘Fine, we have a deal. Now get me out of here.’

I rose to my feet, pulled out my guns, threw open the door, and shot the three guards in the head before they had a chance to looked surprised.

‘How many more of you are there?’ I asked as I strode down the hall.

‘Twenty-three in total. Most are Gendrians, eight Herms.’

‘Then ready yourself.’ I said just as all hell broke out around us in the shower of smoke and bullets.

Fanigan’s voice yelled for the GLF to surrender. In the distance I saw their slightly rotund shape. They carried a rifle, shooting at the gunmen taking cover in the great hall, as shrapnel of marble flew around us.

There were four of them here, a pack made up of Briggs with young Cody close to their side, and Tate next to Fanigan.

As we burst into the hall, Shade began to fire on their own men from the rear. Surrounded and disorientated, they began to flee towards the back of the building.

As the first bullet grazed me, the world slowed and focused on gunfire, smoke and cries of pain. My body moved to the rhythm of the violence. I fired, rolled, ducked for cover, then ran amidst the trail of exploding plaster, marble and glass. Something impacted my shoulder, just as one of my guns run out of bullets. I threw it aside and pulled out my knife.

There was a cry of rage. I ducked behind a column, as a GLF woman ran past me. I sidestepped out from behind the column, pulled back her head and cut her throat with the knife, then threw it at another GLF member running at me with a gun drawn. The knife found his throat.

I raced forward, yanked it out, turned and threw. In the chaos, it found its mark. Tate gazed down in shock at the knife sticking out of their stomach, as I grabbed the rifle from the loose fingers of a dead man and shot through Tate’s chest, before ducking behind a marble column.

To my right behind another column, Shade was creating their own chaos. They nodded at me and began to fire again giving me the cover I needed. I strode out, took three shots, killing two more GLF assailants, threw aside the spent shotgun, pulled out two revolvers from behind my back and shot Briggs between the eyes. They did not see me coming, but Cody did.

Poor fool, I thought as I shot them with my other revolver.

Shade watched me with grim amusement, before shooting dead a fleeing GLF man.

As Cody’s body crumbled to the floor, I said to Shade, ‘Take their uniform, go free the hostages, and lead them outside. Tell them you are one of Fanigan’s officers.’

Shade glanced at the remainder of men firing at Fanigan behind a statue. ‘And you?’ admiration entered their voice.

‘I’ll finish it here.’

Shade nodded. ‘Pleasure doing business with you detective. Until we meet again.’

I nodded to them and strode out of the cover again, picked up a double-barrelled rifle belonging to a fallen GLF member, rolled, shot out Fanigan’s leg from underneath them, then killed the last GLF shooting at me.

Suddenly there was silence, save for Finigan’s moaning. Slowly, I rose to my feet, and only then registered pain through my entire body. I took a step forward and found myself limping. Blood was seeping from my left thigh. My shoulder was burning, and my chest and back were stinging where shrapnel had grazed my body.

I limped towards Fanigan, whilst pulling out my hunting knife from its holder on my thigh. One of Fanigan’s legs lay apart from their body, their stump bleeding thickly. When they saw me, they tried to reach for their own gun. I kicked it aside, stepped on their arm and looked them in the eyes.

‘You will die for this, Rockhall. Do you think GLF won’t find out what happened here? They will come after you.’

I knelt wordlessly, and with a quick downwards strike I imbedded my knife in Fanigan’s chest.

They tried to fight me off, their effort growing weaker.

‘Time for you to die, Fanigan,’ I uttered with a strange sense of detachment and pulled out the knife from their chest. They groaned, their eyes growing wide with horror, their breath rasping.

A moment later, I heard running footsteps, coming to an abrupt halt. I turned my head see Rain Wild followed by the Serpent. Three more agents ran in after them. From what I knew of Hawk’s team, I guessed they were Wolf, Spider, and Tick. They staggered to a halt, looking over the scene of carnage and death, over the spread of bodies. Slowly, their faces turned to me with a mix of horror and morbid awe.

‘Stand down, Ari,’ said Rain calmly, soothingly as if I was a wild beast.

I was anything but wild. I was the sea of calm.

I looked him in the eyes, and sharply drove my knife through the underside of Fanigan’s chin, up into their brain. Their eyes rolled back, their body stiffening.

Then I rose to my feet and faced the agents, dropping my gun to the floor. They just stood there, staring at what was undoubtedly a bloody sight. I could feel mine and others blood all over my face, dribbling down my leg and torso. I was soaked in it

‘Bloody hell,’ said one of them, gaping at me with horrified wonder and respect. ‘This was not in their file.’

‘The hostages are safe. The threat is neutralised.’ I said calmly and began to walk towards the daylight at the end of the hall.

As I strode past Rain without meeting his eyes. Nevertheless, my body vibrated with awareness. Somehow, these last few days my body had become so utterly his, his nearness was a punch to the gut, followed by deep shame of what I had done and what I had yet to do.

I did not look at any of them, did not feel anything but the rising sense of pain and exhaustion. And then I was out in daylight. It suddenly seemed so bright and loud. Cameras were flashing, voices were yelling. More guards ran towards the building. At a distance, I saw Shade, wearing Cody’s uniform, helping with the hostages, before merging into the crowd with a last glance and a brisk nod at me.

Someone threw a blanket over my shoulders, and then my arm was flung over a broad shoulder. It may have been Rain’s. Suddenly my weight was being supported as I limped towards the flashing lights, cameras and waves of questions.

Then there was a blur as paramedics lay me down on a stretcher and grey sky swirled above me. They carried me into the back of the van and faded away. The last thing I felt was Rain’s large hand on my shoulder, and his rumbling calm words, ‘We’ll take care of you, Ari. You are safe now.’