The Perdition Score (27 page)

A smart guy once said that war is boredom punctuated by moments of terror. Stakeouts are like that, only they're boredom punctuated by moments of ennui, monotony, and finally, an utter indifference to your own survival. If death was any less awful than a stakeout, there would be about six cops left on the planet.

Maybe an hour later, something comes over the rise from where we've driven up. Bill takes out a collapsible telescope and aims it at the road.

“Got a whole caravan coming this way,” he says.

“Can I have a look?” says Candy, and Bill hands her the telescope.

“It looks like three SUVs. I can't see who's inside them.”

The vans spread out across the grounds of the old zoo. Out of the first van, six Hellion Legionnaires emerge with weapons. Three angels step out of the second van. Out of the last van come six humans.

I put out my hand.

“Bill, let me see the telescope.”

He gives it to me and it takes a second to adjust.

I don't recognize everyone from the lead van, but I know enough of them.

“See anyone you like?” says Bill.

“Not a single one. But I see a bunch I want.”

“Is that Quay feller there?”

“Yeah. And Geoff Burgess and Charlie Anpu. A couple of other men I don't recognize. Probably more Wormwoods I never met.”

“I think there's a woman down there,” says Candy.

“There is, but I don't recognize her either. She looks cozy with Quay.”

They mill around the zoo for a few minutes, then the men go into the mansion. The woman talks to the angels while the Hellions fan out around the grounds.

The jabbering goes on for a few more minutes, until the woman heads inside the mansion and the angels spread their wings and swoop into the sky.

“How about that?” says Bill. “In all my years down here, I've never seen such a sight.”

I take out a Malediction.

“Yeah. Someone ought to do a fucking painting.”

“What's your problem?” says Candy. “You wanted to see the place and we've seen it.”

Bill puts out a hand.

“Maybe you oughtn't spark that right now. There are still guards around the front of the house.”

I put the smoke away.

“So? What is it?” says Candy.

“The six Hellions don't worry me. We can handle them. They probably have a few more like them inside, but it's unlikely to be more than what's on the outside.”

“And how do you know all this?”

“I used to sneak into Hellion palaces and murder people.”

“Right.”

“That's twelve guards in total. Anything else we should be worried about?” says Bill.

“They might have wards on the place, but I think that with a setup like this, they won't. They're Wormwood. They
own this burg right now and no one is going to fuck with them.”

“Then what's got your panties in a twist?” says Candy.

“The angels. Three warrior angels is a lot bigger problem than twelve Hellion mercenaries.”

“You'll notice they didn't go inside,” says Bill. “That woman talked to them and they flew away, peaceful as doves.”

“The question is, how often are they around and how many of them are here at any one time?”

“What you're saying is that we have to stay here and see who comes and goes,” says Candy.

“I'm afraid so.”

“For how long?”

“I don't know. A day maybe.”

“Makes sense to me,” says Bill. “But no use all of us staying up, getting in each other's way the whole time. We can watch in shifts. Two hours each while the others rest. With three of us swapping turns, time shouldn't pass too disagreeably. You two rest up. You had a long journey. I'll take first watch.”

“Thanks,” says Candy.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

There's a small storage area in the cab behind the seats. It's just big enough for Candy to lie down. I shift over to the driver seat and lean it back a few inches. Bill scans the grounds with his spyglass. I close my eyes, trying to relax, and eventually drift off into a light doze.

B
ILL SHAKES ME
awake two hours later.

“Your turn, sunshine,” he says, and hands me the telescope.

“Did you see anything?”

“Just that woman. She drove away and came back in an hour with maybe some papers in her hand. And she only took two guards with her. I think you were right. These people feel above petty things like bushwhackers.”

“That's good news. I'll take it from here.”

“That gal of yours is something special,” he says.

“She is indeed.”

“She's not quite human, is she?” he says.

“Neither am I. Is that a problem?”

“It's not commentary. It's an inquiry into her nature.”

“She's a Jade. Do you know what that is?”

He chuckles.

“Oh my, yes,” he says. “I met a load of those ladies once on a trip to the Barbary Coast. San Francisco. They were guarding a Chinese merchant ship in port. Six little gals no bigger than her. And no one dared step toward 'em. An old sailor told me that their types guarded Chinese emperors and rode with Genghis Khan and Alexander himself.”

He half turns toward me.

“I'm not averse to a tall tale here and there myself, but what those men said had the ring of truth. Those gals were different. Mythological. Fierce and loyal.”

“That describes Candy.”

“Then we're lucky to have her on our side.”

“I tell myself that every day.”

“Good. Vagabonds such as we need good sorts, human or otherwise, to watch our backs. If I'd had a gal like Candy with me in Deadwood, things might not have transpired as they did. I can still remember that pair of aces I was holding,
and the pair of eights, but I'm goddamned if I can remember the fifth card. The assassin Jack McCall shot the memory clear out of my head. I'd be very pleased to someday have it returned. But I'm not counting the days on that.”

“Someday, Bill. Someday, you're going to meet someone who was in the bar and sober and then you'll know.”

“And how will I track down this benefactor?”

“I don't know, but you have all of eternity to figure it out.”

He curls his lip at the thought.

“Eternity passes slowly when you're alone. That's why you need to be good to young Candy there. I haven't had much luck with that kind of companionship, back home or here.”

“Don't worry. I'd kill for Candy.”

“Oh hell, boy. She's your friend and companion. That means
I'd
kill for her too. That's not enough.”

“What is enough?”

“If I knew that, I might not be sitting with a numb bunghole talking to a young fool about the vagaries of love.”

He looks at me.

“You do love her.”

“Of course.”

“Then never let her forget it.”

“That's the plan.”

From the back, Candy says, “As much as I appreciate you gentlemen declaring your undying devotion to me, would you mind shutting the fuck up so I can go back to sleep?”

“Sorry, ma'am,” says Bill.

“Yeah. Sorry.”

Everyone is quiet for a minute. Then Candy kicks me through the car seat.

“You loooove me,” she says like a little kid.

“Shut up.”

“No take-backs. You loooove me.”

“Go to sleep.”

“You'll make such a blushing bride when we get married.”

“Please. I'll take you to Disney World if you'll just stop talking.”

She kicks me again.

“Jim, you heard him. You're a witness. We're going to Disney World.”

“She has you trapped there,” says Bill.

“I know. Now go to sleep.”

She lies down and gets quiet. Then, in a tiny singsong whisper I hear, “You loooove me.”

Finally, she drifts off and Bill closes his eyes.

It's going to be a long day.

A
FEW HOURS
later, Candy sits up and says groggily, “Has it been two hours?”

I check the time on my phone.

“More like eight.”

“Why didn't you wake me up?”

“It was a long boring night. I got hypnotized by it.”

“No, you didn't. You just didn't trust us. You had to see it all with your own eyes.”

“Careful. Disney World is slipping away.”

She climbs back into the driver's seat and pushes me over.

“Oh, we're going to Disney World. And you're going to get some sleep.”

“What's going on?” says Bill.

“Dirty Harry here didn't wake us for our shifts. He's been watching the place for hours.”

“Is that true?”

“I just got into a groove and didn't want to break it.”

“Well, I don't know what any of that means, but we had an agreement and you broke it.”

I nod.

“You're right and I apologize.”

“Apology accepted. If it don't happen again.”

“It won't.”

“What did you learn?” says Candy.

“Lots. Let's go back to Bill's.”

“It isn't good news, is it?” says Bill.

“It's mixed. Come on. I want to get out of here.”

Candy backs us out of the stand of trees and we move down the hill.

When we get to Bill's place, we park the Unimog by the front door so we can keep an eye on it.

“What's the story?” says Bill.

Candy sits down next to me and lightly butts me with her shoulder.

“Come on. Talk to us.”

“Here it is. The person I saw most was the woman. Angels came and went. Some brought boxes and some took boxes away. My guess is they were exchanging raw black milk for the processed, nonpoisonous version. I don't know what the other Wormwood guys were doing, but they were inside most of the time.”

“That doesn't sound so bad,” says Candy.

“Here's where it gets worse. A lot more Legionnaires
arrived last night. Maybe twenty. So, there's a lot more firepower for us to contend with.”

“Anything else?” says Bill.

“I'm worried about those angels. The woman had a schedule, but the angels seemed to come and go when they wanted. If we make a move against the house, we might have to fight not only Hellions, but warrior angels.”

“Goddamn,” says Candy.

“Yeah.”

Bill scratches his lower lip, moves his finger up to brush his mustache into place in one smooth motion.

“What you're saying—and correct me if I've misconstrued the thing—but we're not preparing for an attack. This is a suicide run.”

“Not necessarily. But that's a possibility.”

“In my experience, not necessarily usually means yes. So, we're preparing to throw ourselves on the sword for king and country.”

“Like I said, maybe.”

“Twenty soldiers and maybe angels?” Candy says. “I'm with Jim. This is suicide.”

“Not if we don't run straight at them. Yesterday I wanted to rush in and kill everyone. That was when there were maybe twelve guards. Now we might be able to do something else.”

“What?” says Bill.

“The woman is the one outside doing all the work. And seeing her with Quay a couple of times, I think they're an item.”

“So, we snatch the filly.”

“That's what I was thinking.”

“How do we do it?” says Candy.

“We use the Unimog to ambush the SUV. Grab Miss America, and get Quay to come to us.”

“Which is all a fine plan, unless there are warrior angels about.”

“In which case we're fucked. Worse, we won't know if there are angels until we start the ambush because sometimes they ride in the SUV with her.”

“Well, this is all depressing,” says Candy.

She rests an elbow on the bar.

“I agree with Candy,” says Bill. “You folks are alive. The worst that can happen to you is you get killed and end up right back here in the Devil's shitter with me. On the other hand, I'm already a spirit. If I should be cut down . . .”

“It's Tartarus.”

“What's that?” Candy says.

I look at Bill.

“It's the Hell below Hell. Hell for the double damned.”

“And Jim might end up there?”

“Only if he comes with us.”

“I'm coming with you. That's not a point of discussion.”

“But you wouldn't have to do the heavy fighting, like in the house. You can stay at a safe distance and be our sniper. Take out who you can.”

Bill leans back on the shelves behind the bar.

“I never shirked from a fight back home and I'm not about to start here. I'll not be sitting in the trees like a jaybird.”

“Do we have anything going for us?” says Candy.

Bill looks at me.

“Not much. We don't have enough information or enough people. But we really don't have a choice.”

Bill lays out the shot glasses.

“We may not have a choice, but we can have a drink. I'll get the bottle.”

Three hard knocks come from the front door.

Bill sets down the bottle.

I say, “You expecting anyone?”

“Not a soul.”

Everyone raises their gun. I move as quietly as I can to the door. Just as I'm about to grab it, it bursts open.

An angel in glowing battle armor stands there. I recognize her.

It's the angel I fought in Hollywood.

I put the Glock to her head.

She drops to one knee and holds out a piece of parchment.

“Shoot me if you must,” she says. “But Samael has sent me to you.”

W
ITHOUT MOVING THE
Glock from the angel's head, I call Candy over.

“Keep the shotgun on her. If she even looks up, blow her head off.”

“Sounds like fun.”

I take the parchment from the angel's hand and get one of Bill's candles so I can read it.