The Paladin (9 page)

"That's all well and good, but why did it say, ‘hungry?’"

"As you wield it, Kali feeds upon the life force of anything that contacts the blade."

"Keep the damn thing!"

"Trust me, Maggie, you will need it. Three things: once a month, feed Kali a tree to keep her happy—"

"Excuse me? Did you say a tree?"

"Trust me," said Larry. "Two, never use Kali on a particularly powerful entity, such as an angelic being. If she absorbs too much power, Kali—in theory mind you—may be able to break free of the spell that binds her. If so, she will no doubt turn on and devour you."

"Isn't that just lovely. What is the third thing?"

"Using Kali can become an addiction."

"Bullshit."

"Have to learn the hard way do we?" asked Larry, "Retrieve your companion and walk out to the oak tree standing beside the house."

With dread, Maggie picked up the heavy, well-balanced blade and walked outside.

"Hungry,"
Kali whined.

"Damn, this thing is giving me the heebie-jeebies," Maggie said.

Maggie quickly found the towering oak tree.

"Now stab the trunk," said Larry.

Maggie obediently walked up to the tree.

"Not exactly a stabbing blade," she said glancing at the forward heavy blade, "but here goes."

To her astonishment, the blade pulled itself into the dense wood as though it were tissue paper. The effect on the tree was almost instantaneous. The leaves withered and fell to the ground en masse, while the trunk shrank and cracked open.

Maggie felt a wave of euphoria as the magnificent tree died and its life force flowed through the knife and into her.

"Oh God, that feels soooooo good," she whispered. Seconds later, the rush passed.

"What the hell was that?" she said looking at the gleaming blade in her hand.

"That, my dear girl, is the most dangerous thing of all," said Larry. "While Kali feeds, you get the overflow. It can repair your body when you’re wounded, even restore and maintain youth; however, it can easily become an addiction if you aren’t careful."

"Great," she mumbled. "I have an addictive, demonic vampire blade that could turn on me. Thanks for the gift, boss."

"You are most welcome," said Larry. "One last gift."

"Will this one try to turn on me as well?"

"No, well, probably not. It's on the hood of your car."

Maggie looked over to her bug and saw a small book.

Leaving the creepy knife behind, Maggie walked over, picked up the thin hard-covered book and read the title.

"The Big Book of Secrets for Paladins,"
she said. "You have got to be kidding me, Larry."

"Not in the slightest. It is a handbook I threw together."

"Why bother?" she asked. "This thing doesn't have more than five pages—crap!" Maggie opened it, and to her surprise, the tiny book seemed endless as she thumbed through.

"How—"

"Expect the unexpected, baby girl. The best way to use the BBSP is to ask it a question."

"OK, I'll bite. Oh, Big Book of Spooky Stuff, tell me about Larry the Angel."

"What do I look like, Wikipedia?" asked the BBSP. "Besides, information about the boss is off-limits."

"It talks," said Maggie. "Of course it talks."

"Don't lose it," said Larry. "The BBSP holds the sum total of the world knowledge base, plus a little more. Think of it like a mystical Internet without all the crap."

"Cool." Maggie smiled. "I would like the launch codes for the US nuclear arsenal."

Maggie's eyes flew wide as the deadly codes flew across the pages.

"Wow."

"I don't think you need that big a stick to bring down Mr. Cole," said Larry. "Now get to work, baby girl. We are burning daylight."

9

Brenda and Zack sat together on Sara's loveseat, sipping glasses of ice tea. Brenda was nervous around the frosty elderly woman with the bulletproof eyeglasses.

"You have a beautiful home, Mrs. Johnson," said Brenda.

Sara only grunted and settled deeper into her chair.

"I really appreciate you helping me, Sara," Brenda said. "It means a lot to me."

"I'm not doing it for you, not after what you did to Will Carlson. I'm doing it because Zack is using Jesus against me."

"Whatever it takes," he said with a grin. "What would Jesus do?"

"Look, Sara, about Will; it's not what you think."

"He thought the earth revolved around you," Sara said. "He deserved better than what you gave him."

"Ladies, please," Zack said.

"Butt out, Zack!" Brenda said sharply. "I am sick and tired of people whispering behind my back. Let's settle this once and for all." Brenda stood and began to pace.

"Sure, Zack, we went out, but I could never be serious about you."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Zack, I could never compete with your true love," she said. "
You
."

"Wait just a damn minute!" He exclaimed.

"I love Will. He was the only man I ever loved, probably ever will love. We didn't mean to hurt you. You had your pick of any of the girls in town, but be honest, Zack: have you ever been faithful to a single one of them? To you, it was all a game. I don't believe for one moment you had feelings for me. The truth is, you got your ego bruised when I rejected you for poor Will."

"Bullshit, I never—"

"Oh, shut up, Zack," spat Sara. "Let her talk."

"Will was different. I wasn't a prize or trophy to him; Will loved me for who I really was."

"Well if you loved him so damn much, why did you run him off when he lost his money?" asked Sara. "You kicked that poor boy in the teeth."

"I…I know," she said softly. "I had no choice. Since I was a little girl, I have been getting…late night visits from my father."

Sara's jaw dropped open, and Zack choked and sputtered on his tea.

"What?" he said.

"You heard me," I was being…molested…by Reverend Johnny."

"I don't understand," Zack said. "Why didn't you go to the police?"

"In this town? Give me a break. I had no evidence, and without pictures of him caught in the act, it was my word against his."

"I had no idea," Sara said. "But what does this have to do with Will?"

"Once the right reverend found out about Will losing his money, that sorry bastard came to me with a deal. My father was the one who arranged my engagement to Justin. He didn't care about me or what I wanted; it was all about the damn money."

"Why did you go along with that sick creep?" Zack asked.

"He said that if I played ball, he would leave Mary and Grace alone and not ruin them as he had me. The only way to save my little sisters was to dump Will and marry a man old enough to be my father."

Brenda lost her composure and began to sob. Sara stood and put her thin arms around the broken woman and held her close.

"Go ahead and cry, honey, get it out," Sara said softly as she held her. Brenda embraced the older woman and held her tightly.

"I didn't mean to hurt Will, but my sisters…"

"It's OK,OK dear, we have been wrong about you…I have been wrong. I am going to make it up to you, I promise," said Sara.

***

"So, who are we protecting the kid from?" asked Jordan Costner as he checked his Glock.

"Some guy named Paladin," said Jeff Cody as he adjusted his seatback. "Supposed to be some kind of bad-ass. I figure ex-Marine or Ranger type."

"Well he can bad-ass this," said Jordan as he snapped the magazine into his pistol."How long are we going to stay on stakeout?"

"Until Mr. Paladin makes his move or the kid finds that jar for the boss. I got Al and Lynn covering the back door while Doug and Chris are on the corner."

"Zack Cole is as safe as a baby in his mother's arms," said Jordan.

"Yeah, until he finds that jar."

"Why do you think the old man wants that jar so bad?"

"Must be worth a fortune," said Jeff. "For all I know, it is full of diamonds."

"Diamonds?" asked Jordan. "A jar full of diamonds would make a great retirement package. If you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean, and get it out of your head," said Jeff. "Whatever we find, we turn over to Beck. Don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder for Harold White."

"I ain't afraid of him," said Jordan.

"Then you're an idiot. Something about that guy, well, makes me uneasy."

Jeff's cell began to ring.

"Hey Jeff," said Doug. "I got three bikers coming your way. They are moving real slow, checking out the street numbers."

"If they pass you, fall in behind them," said Jeff. "But don't spook them."

"Roger that."

"We have company, Jordan. Get ready."

The two big men checked their weapons as the deep rumble of three Harleys filled the quiet street.

The leather-clad men stopped at the edge of Sara's long drive and switched off their bikes. Well over six feet tall and extremely well built, each of the strangers was dressed alike in black leather.

One of the men sported a huge, neatly trimmed Fu Manchu, while the other two were clean-shaven.

Keeping their weapons out of sight under their sport coats, Jeff and Jordan approached the leather-clad trio.

"How y’all doing today?" asked Jeff. "You fellas look a bit lost." As he spoke, his other two teams took up position behind a thick high hedge.

Fu Manchu took off his big aviator sunglasses and took a step toward Jeff.

"You boys have no idea," he said as he placed a hand on his hip.

Jeff and Jordan gave each other puzzled looks.

"We are supposed to have performed twenty minutes ago, but we are sooooo lost," he said as he fanned himself with a big leather-clad hand.

"Perform?" asked Jordan.

"Yes, sweetie, we are here to give a strip-o-gram to…oh Dirk, what is the name again?"

"Beckman. Paul Beckman. Paid extra for a lap dance."

"Yeah, that's it," Percy said."The address is 1220 First North, but the name on the mailbox says Johnson."

Percy gave Jeff and Jordan a lecherous once over and licked his lips.

"Can you two lovely men give me the right address?"

"Hey Jeff," whispered Jordan. "These guys are fags!"

"You just figured that one out, genius?" Jeff whispered back.

"There is a Beckman that lives over on the next block," said Jeff. "Can't miss it. Big red house with white trim."

"You boys are my heroes!" said Percy. "Here is my card."

Jeff took the offered card and snickered.

The Gay Angels Adult Parties.

"Damn, Jeff, would you look at that!" said Jordan.

Jeff turned and saw a tall, beautiful woman running down the opposite sidewalk toward them.

Wearing a pair of dark Wayfarers and little else, Maggie felt the weight of their stare and inwardly smiled.
I never turned a man's head as Harry. Their stomachs maybe, but never their heads. Man, I love this job!
Maggie turned down the next block.
Zack is too well covered. I counted six assholes with guns and it would be suicide to take them all on. I'll have to think of another way.

***

Her recon mission over, Maggie slowed to a trot and made a beeline to her car, unaware that hungry eyes followed her.

You are the one,
thought Bill Long as he followed the unsuspecting woman
. You can't hide from me.

Those fools of Beck's think the Paladin is a man. That whore ran by, flaunting her sex, and those idiots waved at her acting like a like a bunch of schoolboys. Paladin whore, when I am through, you will wish you were never born.

10

Brenda and Zack sat upon Sara's bed looking through a thick photo album.

As they gazed upon family history, Sara rummaged through a big cedar chest sitting at the foot of her bed.

Zack pointed out relatives until with a turn of a page they found a picture of Silas Cole. This was totally unlike the standard grim images Brenda had seen of the Butcher. Silas looked into the camera, his head cocked and eyes crossed. On his lap, was a little girl dressed in overalls, her dark hair in pigtails. She, too, made a silly face for the camera. Clutched in her thin arms was the all-important canister.

"Who is the little girl?" asked Brenda.

"You got me," said Zack. "Never saw this picture before."

Brenda turned the album around so Sara could see.

Sara peered through her thick frames and chuckled.

"Know her well," said Sara.

"Who is she," asked Zack. "A long lost relative?"

"Not that lost; it's me."

"Never thought about you being a little girl," he said. "Always thought you were born a ninety-year-old woman."

"Smart ass."

"So what is the picture about?" asked Brenda.

"When I was a kid, uncle would smoke his pipe and tell stories of his wild past. He had the most beautiful blue eyes and they would just dance when he spun a yarn. To this day, when I smell pipe tobacco, I think of him. Uncle Silas was the finest man I ever knew and I loved him dearly."

"Are you insane?" Zack asked. "Uncle Silas was a crazy-ass killer."

"What kind of stories?" Brenda asked, ignoring Zack's outburst.

"Silas left home when he was only sixteen and joined the Merchant Marine. According to my father, Silas was a real hellion and the whole town breathed a sigh of relief when he left."

"Imagine that," said Zack. "He was a shit when he was a kid. Isn't it great he grew out of that?"

Brenda smacked Zack sharply on the head.

"Will you please shut up and let Sara tell the story?"

"Thank you, Brenda, dear," said Sara. "Where was I? Oh, yes. Silas told tales about the sea and the exotic ports he visited."

"I didn't know he was a sailor," Zack said.

"You never asked."

"What about the stupid jar?" asked Zack. "Did he steal it from some rich guy or lift it from a museum?"

"Silas wasn't a thief."

"Oh, I forgot, he was a murderer. There
is
a difference."