A Naked Singularity: A Novel (82 page)

“Now,” I said. “Let’s make sure.”

“Make sure of what?” Dane said. “Make sure we die? They have guns. We have these and that fucking Whale’s waking up.”

“I’ll just go get her,” I said.

“What?” Dane said.

“She’s beautiful,” I said. “Take both bags and wait for me.”

“Casi stop fucking around,” Dane said. “We’re almost there. Take your bag.”

“Take them both,” I said. “I’ll be back.”

“Fuck,” Dane said. “You crazy fuck. This is the last time I rip drug dealers off with you.”

I went down the stairs. Landro and The Whale were on the second floor. The Whale was trying to sit up. Landro lay motionless on the floor. His eyes were closed. His belly rose and fell with each breath.

I heard a loud noise downstairs. I heard screaming. Near me The Whale sat up. I looked down. Men had burst into the first floor. Guns were drawn. The woman backed into a corner. She slid to a window. No one looked at her. There was screaming. Someone fired his gun. More shots were fired. I watched the woman go out through the fire escape. Her head was down.

DeLeon put his hands around his head and ran to the back wall. He looked up and saw me. He looked right into my eyes.

I closed the door and locked it. I heard people moving up the stairs. I heard more shots. I heard more screaming. I ran to the roof stairs. My leg got caught on something. I looked down. The Whale had grabbed my ankle. It was on the floor. I swung my sword down on its arm. The sword carved into the scaly skin on its arm bounced back and fell out of my hands. The Whale didn’t let go. It pulled my leg and I fell. From the floor, with my other leg, I kicked the sword out of its reach. It slid away and stopped near Landro.

The Whale slid along the floor toward the sword. It dragged me along by the leg. People were kicking the door. The Whale stopped sliding. It was tired. It opened its mouth and went to bite my face. I stuck the baton in its mouth at the last instant. It bit down hard on it and fell back. My ankle was free. I moved to the stairs. I pulled myself up the stairs, to the landing just before the door to the roof. I heard the second floor door break open.

I opened the door to the roof. Jeckle was in the doorway. He took a step back. He looked at my hands. I looked at his. He punched me on the chin. His fist bounced down and into my neck. I saw black. My left foot dropped two steps. I held on to the rail. He punched me again somewhere. With my left hand I grabbed him by the shirt. My neck felt like it was trying to swallow my head. I pulled him forward and drove my right hand palm first into his nose. He grabbed my throat. I plunged my fingers into his eyes. He let go. I threw him down the stairs. He landed in the doorway on DeLeon and the others as they entered.

I moved out onto the roof. Dane wasn’t there. I saw Heckle on the floor of the roof. He was open from chest to waist. His insides formed a lumpy pool around him. I looked away exhaling.

I ran to the ledge. I barely managed to climb over it to 408. I was hurt. I moved toward 406. I heard Dane call out to me. I heard people behind me. I ran to the ledge and the pole that had the rope. The hook was waiting for me there. I grabbed it. My arms burned. I slid across. Gravity pulled me right to Dane. I saw the two bags at his feet. I heard voices coming. Dane took out a serrated hunting knife. With three back and forth motions he cut the rope that connected 406 to 408. We each grabbed a bag and ran to 404. When we got to 402 I looked back.

I saw two men on 408. One of them ran and jumped toward 406. I saw his body and his head disappear before reaching the ledge. I heard a truncated scream. DeLeon was the other man. He turned around and ran back.

We went inside 402. We went downstairs. We got undressed. There was blood on us. All over us. Everything except the money went into a third bag. I saw the music. We went to the basement.

“I have to get my mask,” I said. “From that alley.”

“Tomorrow,” Dane said. “It’s too hot right now.”

“Too late then,” I said. “There’s going to be cops all over here in a few.”

“Fuck,” Dane said. “Let me think.”

“My acid’s all over that mask,” I said.

“I know,” Dane said.

“Bring the money to the car and wait for me there,” I said. “These transmitters still working?” We checked and they were. “I’ll tell you where to pick me up or whether to split or whatever,” I said. “I have to go get it right now.”

“Let’s go together,” Dane said. “There’ll be guys there.”

“No get the car ready,” I said.

“What about the girl you crazy fuck?” Dane said.

“She got away,” I said.

We went out the back of 402. Dane went to the car. I went through the backyards to the alley between 408 and 406.

The man who had jumped was there. I moved slowly. He didn’t move. I saw that it was Jeckle. He was on a car fender. The fender’s end had gone deeply into his back. His eyes were open.

I didn’t see the mask. I looked for it. I heard screaming. A woman. I saw my mask hanging from a pole on the side of 408. I couldn’t reach it. I found a stick. I used it to knock the mask off and I caught it. I stuck it in my pocket. The woman screamed again.

I went to the street and stuck my head out. I looked toward the scream. I saw four people down the street by 402. Escalera had a gun in his hand. The Whale was next to him. DeLeon was in front of them talking. In Escalera’s other hand was hair. A woman’s hair. The beautiful woman was being pulled by the hair. She was screaming. She was pregnant.

DeLeon spoke to Escalera. Escalera nodded. Escalera raised his gun and squeezed a round into DeLeon’s face. Ramon fell to the street, a copper mist where his head had been. The woman swallowed her voice. Escalera spun her around towards me. I pulled my head back in. The streets were quiet. I put my mask back on.

I looked at Jeckle in the alley again. His radio stuck out of his pocket. I went over and took it. It looked fine. I stuck my head back out. They hadn’t moved. Escalera still had the beautiful hair in his hands. The Whale was looking around in a circle. I put the radio to my mouth.

“That’s no way to get your money back,” I said.

“Who the fuck is that?” Escalera screamed. He pulled his radio out. “Who is it?” he said and I heard The Whale say “that’s him.”

“He’s right it’s me,” I said. “Let the girl go and we can discuss how you go about getting your money back.”

“There’s that. Or I can shoot her in the neck if I don’t see your face in the next five seconds,” Escalera said.

“Well I’m two blocks away so that’s not going to happen,” I said. “Meaning you can’t see me but I can certainly see you you worthless fuck and if you so much as leave a bruise on her from here on out you’ll never hear from me or your money again. Well I shouldn’t say never. Just that the next time you do see me will be the day I kill you.”

I saw Escalera put down the radio. He looked around. The Whale paced.

“What do you want?” he said.

“I want the girl,” I said.

“Come get her,” he said. “Bring the money and I’ll turn her over to you you thief.”

“No let’s do it my way I think,” I said.

“What way is that?” he said.

“Let her go and I’ll tell you where to go to get your money,” I said.

“Fuck you,” he said.

“Okay goodbye,” I said.

“No wait,” he said.

“Let her go right now,” I said.

“How do I know you’ll give me the money?” he said.

“I guess you don’t,” I said. “But you know exactly what will happen if you don’t let her go don’t you?”

“Her blood will be on your hands if you don’t bring that money here immediately my friend,” he said.

“I’m not your friend,” I said. “As for blood, I’m already covered in it and I’m going to let all yours next if you hurt her.”

“You fucking threatening me?” he said. “Do you have any idea who I am? Who this person standing next to me is? All your friends who came running in are dead do you understand that? Do you want to join them because that was just the beginning? Do you think there won’t be retribution for some of the people back there? Angel Colon is dead do you understand that? That’s a heavy fuck. You think that shit’s going to go unanswered?”

“You have a choice,” I said. “Make it. I don’t want your money anymore. You can let her go and take it. Or you can hurt her, never see the money again and die tonight or soon thereafter. It seems an easy choice. Make it.”

“Answer my question you fuck!” he said. “Do you know who we are?”

“Yeah I know who your friend is because he was lying unconscious at my feet twenty minutes ago,” I said. “I
allowed
him to live. And I know who you are and we both know you’re nothing close to your big friend there. No, you’re the coward who threatens women and shoots an unarmed friend in the face. So I will not extend you the same courtesy I did your humpback friend, decide now.”

Escalera pushed the woman away by the head. She ran away down First Avenue. I called to Dane on the transmitter.

“Where are you?” I said.

“Sitting in the car,” Dane said.

“See the woman?” I said.

“Yeah she just ran past,” he said.

“She being followed?” I said.

“No she’s good,” he said. “I hear cops though.”

“Yeah come get me,” I said.

“Did you get the mask?” he said.

“Yes,” I said. “Northwest corner of 122nd and Second Avenue, right now.”

I used the radio to Escalera. “Good,” I said. “Go two blocks east with Ballena. I’ll leave the bag in front of 312. I’m watching you too. If you do anything other than what I just said the bag won’t be there.” They went. I left. I went to the corner and seconds later Dane pulled up. I got in and he drove Westbound.

“Money’s in the trunk,” Dane said. “We good? We’re clean right?”

I looked at Dane.

“Well?” he said. “We good?”

“We’re something.”

“Good.”

“Fucking Dane man.”

“You all right?”

“No,” I said. “I’m all wrong.”

“This is it, what we wanted, we got the money.”

“Fuck. God.”

“Easy.”

“The fuck happened?”

“A true mess is what it was. Take the mask off man. What happened when you went back?”

“You were right. Some fuckers walked in there and started demanding the money. Then just like that they started shooting each other up.”

“It was taking too long they lost their cool and I don’t think Escalera was sure he wanted to part with the money. I could tell it was going to get bad out there. Why’d you go back? I fucking told you not to go back.”

“ . . .”

“What did you do when it exploded?”

“I tried to split. DeLeon saw me. Then The Whale grabbed me.”

“Fucking Whale. You were right, I should have killed it when I had the chance.”

“I never said kill it.”

“You should have.”

“I’m not sure it’s fully vincible anyway.”

“Wait DeLeon saw you? Your face?”

“DeLeon’s dead.”

“What?”

“Escalera just shot him in the face on the street.”

“What?”

“That.”

“You sure?”

“I am.”

“That fuck, he’ll regret that.”

“Colon’s dead too.”

“Really?”

“Jeckle’s dead, he fell trying to jump across.”

“You saw him?”

“Up close.”

“Fuck.”

“What happened with Heckle, Dane?”

“Oh he’s gone.”

“What happened?”

“He died.”

“How?”

“Who lived Casi? Let’s put it that way.”

“Escalera and The Whale, maybe Landro. That’s it.”

“A disaster. Except for the money a perfect disaster. Fucking human endeavors. God damn it. Almost nothing was where it was supposed to be. Stupid fucks, look at them now.”

I gave Dane the radio to put in the bag with the other things to be destroyed. The pain in my neck rose to the top of my head and out to my ears. Dane stopped the car and got out.

“Take the money too,” I said.

“You take the money for now remember?”

“Take it.”

“Why?”

“Just get it out.”

“What’s up?”

“Nothing’s up, I just don’t want that stuff in the car in case I get stopped.”

Dane popped the trunk and took the bags with the money. He carried the three bags to my window where I sat. “Like I said before,” he said. “These bags will soften the blow.” He left.

I drove home. Over the bridge, the streets were empty. Everything was empty. I parked the car and went inside. I heard laughter coming from Angus’s apartment as I approached. I sped up to get away from it. I went inside my place and sat on the floor with my back to the wall.

I had a message. Alana said I should call her back regardless of the time. Marcela had had the baby, a fat boy, and Mary had spoken again. Now no one could shut her up.

For some reason my alarm clock went on then. The radio said I could have the world provided I gave them twenty-two minutes in return. The woman said that
a man was shot in the face and killed on 123rd street while horrified witnesses looked on from their windows. Police responding have made the grisly discovery of several more bodies in a nearby apartment as well as in the surrounding area. No word yet on a possible motive for the killing but police are urging anyone with information to call the NYPD’s tips hotline.
The woman then added that a car must have its oil changed every three thousand miles in order to operate optimally but that nothing prevented one from doing so more often than that. She then identified what she felt was the best place to go for that purpose.

The radio kept getting louder and louder until it died abruptly. The lights went off. The blinking red light on the answering machine disappeared. The little blue clock on the VCR was gone. I felt my way to my apartment door and opened it. The lights in the hall were extinguished. I went to my front window. The street lights were dead, the traffic signals blank. I looked at the Promenade. Nothing.

Across the river, the city was completely black. There was no bridge anymore, no buildings or structures of any kind. The colors of the rainbow no longer shone there; only monochromatic, primordial black everywhere. The deep blackness of the evening waters surrounding Manhattan had risen, engulfing what they once supported and submerging the newly-benighted island of lights.