Jabberwock Jack (27 page)

After lacing up my boots, I found the stairs and returned to the main part of the warehouse. I found Jericho going over the plan with the others.

"Looks like sleeping beauty is up," said Meat.

I was surprised that all three were here. I expected they wouldn't be taking Jericho's calls. But I saw Meat, Paulie, and Delilah were all standing around going over gear and talking with Jericho.

"So I guess it's not a completely terrible plan?" I said groggily.

"Nah, you did good, kid," said Paulie.

"You usually call Szandor 'kid'," I noted.

"Yeah, but he's not around, so you're 'kid'." Paulie paused and looked at his cigarette thoughtfully. "Sorry he's in the hospital and all that stuff."

"There are some changes we need to make to the plan based on tactical efficiency," said Meat.

"And gear," added Delilah.

"But otherwise it's a solid plan at its core," finished Meat.

"The beast will fall," said Jericho, but otherwise he was subdued. I got the feeling that I had missed the arrival of the other three, where each had chewed him out. It occurred to me that my involvement was probably the only reason they were there.

"And as long as we have the gear and the setup, we can do it two man," I said. "Do we have access to that gear, or is that going to take a day or two?" I hoped we didn't have to wait. I wanted to do this as soon as possible.

"Oh, we have the gear," said Delilah.

"And you're not doing it alone," said Meat. He must have noticed my confused expression. "We got your back."

"But you don't have to do this," I said. "It's already been dangerous. And this plan is reckless. Jericho and I are the ones who can't let this rest. I wouldn't be doing this if Szandor wasn't in the hospital."

"While that's all true," said Meat, "you're a friend and I got your back. I'm doing this for you. Not for him." He looked sourly at Jericho.

"And you need me to prime the charges and set everything up," said Delilah. "Trust me. You don't want to mess this up. I'll be staying out of danger and not taking the risks you will, but I'll be down there with you."

I looked over to the last of the three, Paulie. Under my look, he smiled and shook his head. "Nope, I'm staying up here. Good luck, though."

I shrugged. No surprise there.

"And I have some stuff for you," said Delilah, grabbing some things from her bag. She seemed almost embarrassed when she continued. "So I was upset about... well, everything. And when I feel that way, I need to do stuff. Keep busy. So first." She pulled out a bottle of Bushmill whiskey. "For when your brother gets better."

Hearing my brother mentioned made me hurt again, but I very much appreciated that she said
when
he gets better, not
if
. I nodded in acknowledgement.

"And this is what I spent most of the time on," she said as she pulled out something very familiar from her pack.

It was my katana. She had wrapped it in cloth because its sheath was still with me. I hadn't picked it up in Jack's lair, as my brother was more important. She must have grabbed it when we left. As I unwrapped the blade, I realized what she had done. It had been covered with filth and Jack's blood. Now it was clean. And oiled. It gleamed even in the meager light of the warehouse.

"Proper weapons care is important to me," she said, her tone still embarrassed. "And I did have all that energy, as I said so I -"

Her words were cut off into an alarmed squeak as I hugged her immediately. She was tense at first and then relaxed.

When I let go of her, she simply said, "I figured you'd need the katana."

"And that brings us to the real problem with the plan," said Meat. "Well, I guess it's not a problem, but you may not like it."

"What?" I asked.

"I'm sure that you expected this, I mean it's your plan. We've gone over the strengths and weaknesses, all our assets and possible gear. We've talked it over backwards and forwards and there's no avoiding it," he continued awkwardly. "You gotta be the bait."

This Means War

I was okay with being bait. It had been my plan. I had expected to have a risky role. But more than that, it got me into the action. No waiting, no watching. My vengeance could be personal. Then again, so could Jack's.

Getting back down to the Undersystem was easier this time. We didn't have to walk for nearly a day. When we had come up carrying Szandor, Delilah had kept track of that location. That alley wasn't quite as private as Meat's parking garage in Chinatown, but since it was raining heavily and our crew was smaller, we didn't attract any attention. We parked Meat's SUV at the opening of the alley and unloaded all our gear. Four people instead of two made it much easier than I planned. We then took the long ladder back down. I barely recognized this route due to the fugue I had been in last time. I was glad that Meat and Delilah had decided to come as well. They were the ones who had mapped the route and paid attention to the signs. Jericho was still sullen and silent, so this trip probably would have been worse with just him for company.

Once we were back in familiar territory near Jack's lair, we started planning and setting the trap. Once again, I was glad for the extra help. We had a lot of gear to setup, and we'd be in compromising positions while doing it. We hadn't forgotten that there was a pack of ghouls down here that had both chased us and dropped a deuce at our camp. We didn't want to attract their attention or get ambushed by them. Our numbers were less than before. Then again, so were theirs.

We did what we could without power tools. Then when they were necessary, the rest of us stood guard while Delilah used them. I actually got to hold her custom P90. I didn't think she would let anyone touch it, but she saw the need for having an automatic weapon when she was suspended by climbing hooks dug into the walls and using a loud drill. The sound echoed when she did that, so that was when we were most vulnerable. Meat was already armed to the teeth, so I was the best candidate for the P90. It felt nice holding it, like being in a rich guy's Ferrari. Except in this case, it was something not bought due to midlife crisis but instead to cause death in rapid succession.

Luckily, no ghouls had come to attack us by the time Delilah had finally pulled herself back up.

"We're done," she said, stowing her drill and taking back the P90.

I nodded and took a deep breath. Time to psych myself up to being bait. I was nervous, but it was the right call. It wasn't just about my plan and my vengeance, it just made sense for me to go. I was going to Jack's crevice to wake the beast and then run like hell. Jericho had a prosthetic leg, and while he could walk well and even run, we didn't want to depend on a leg like that for the plan. Delilah was staying with the equipment and we had agreed she would not be taking any risk. That meant it was Meat or me. Of the two of us, I was the better runner and was younger than him by a few decades. And this was my risk to take, not his. He could walk away. I couldn't.

Delilah handed me two flares. I would only need one, but things go wrong so easily. I put them into my jacket and strapped on my katana. I shouldn't need it, but I felt safer with it than without it.

"Here, take this," said Meat. He handed me one of his pistols. "You might need it."

It wasn't one of his gigantic pistols, but it was still a solid pistol, one I could swear I had seen him hug lovingly when he thought no one was looking. "For serious?" I asked. While Meat handed out some of his less interesting hardware, he tended to keep a tight hold on the guns he loved.

"Rutger 22/45 MKII," said Meat. "Enough stopping power for all your needs, assuming your need isn't shooting Jack. And hopefully light enough for your arm."

"Thanks," I said, somewhat surprised. "I mean, I'll use it well -"

"Just bring it back to me... and yourself alive too," said Meat, not making eye contact during the surprisingly sentimental moment.

"Seriously, don't die," said Delilah. "It will fuck up the plan. Also, cause it would be nice to have you back."

I nodded to Delilah and then turned to Jericho. He grunted his readiness and we turned down the tunnel. While he was not making the run with me, he was my backup. The route between Jack's lair and the trap needed to be clear. If a ghoul or alligator pounced on me while I was running, it would kill both the trap and me. Jericho would be the one to take care of any interference before I got there.

"This is where we part ways. There's nothing worthwhile I can say here," said Jericho. "I have lost your respect and you ally with me begrudgingly. I will not try to defend myself or how I have spent my life. I will say that it has just been an honor serving with you. We will kill the beast today."

"I'll do my fucking best to make that happens," I said.

Jericho shook his head sadly at my attitude but stuck out his hand nonetheless. I grabbed it and shook it, finding his grip as firm as ever. Then he stepped away, carrying his harpoon and his body ready for action. As I walked my own way, I spared one look at him, seeing both the badass I first thought he was and the old, tired man I knew he really was. With luck, a chapter in his life would close today. And then hopefully I'd never fucking see him again.

I pulled on my night vision goggles and made my way to Jack's lair - that was what we were calling the room with the big crevice. Jack had been lurking there and clearly had been having his meals there, so that was a lair for our purposes. My only hope was that he was still there. I hoped that Jack hadn't fled after the wounds we had given him. If it was already too late... well, for the sake of my vengeance, I tried not to think about it. I didn't want to return to the side of Szandor's bed to whisper my failure to his comatose body.

I took a left at the split at the intersection where we had the argument and ultimately divided our group, condemning one half to injury and death. I carefully walked down the slime-covered incline, trying not to trip and not to make noise. Yes, I did want Jack's attention, but I wanted when I was ready and on my own terms. I didn't want Jack to find me flat on my ass from slipping down the sloped tunnel. When I finally reached the landing, I steadied myself. The plan was that I run into the room with the lit flare, make a bunch of noise, wait for Jack to come up, and then run, leading him back to the trap. Similar to what Fala did, but without betraying her friends and getting eaten.

At this moment, when I needed my head in the game, my focus absolute, I'll admit I thought of Carly. For a moment I thought of her smile and wondered if she was waiting for me or if she had gone her own way already and I had lost her for good. I thought I should be up there, not down here. Then I shook my head. It was too late to turn back. It was too late to change my mind.

Pulling my goggles off, I took a deep breath. Then I lit the flare. It burned brightly, the fizzing sound filling the small tunnel. Then I ran forward, entering the chamber and running across it to the crevice.

And I found that I had interrupted a party.

Standing by the crevice were three ghouls. Two carried spears, clearly guards. They were already looking in my direction because of the sound of my boots and the hissing flare; the light just added to the disruption. The third was the ghoul shaman. He still wore the skin of an albino alligator. The shaman had his arms up in supplication or ritual. His mouth moved, but whatever he said was in whispering tones and covered up by the hissing of the flare.

But that wasn't even the most surprising part of this strange scene. In the flickering flare light before them was Jabberwock Jack. His white form was raised up from the great crack in the rock, his single ruby red eye facing the shaman and his guards. But rather than roaring or attacking, Jack swayed back and forth hypnotically, almost like the entranced cobra in a fakir's act.

The guard ghouls wasted no time in responding to my intrusion. Their faces twisted into anger and they screeched. Then they came at me. I jumped to my right, dropping the flare and just narrowly evading a thrown spear. I fumbled in my jacket for Meat's pistol. As the other ghoul guard moved toward me, brandishing his spear rather than throwing it, I finally got the pistol into my hand. I switched the safety off and fired.

Unlike my brother, I am actually a good shot with most weapons. The pistol discharged with the sound of thunder. A red spot blossomed on the forehead of the ghoul with the spear. He fell backward, the spear clattering to the ground. But then the now-unarmed ghoul rushed forward before I could aim at him, his clawed hand batting the gun out of my hand. It clattered to the floor as the ghoul charged me. I spun like a matador and the ghoul narrowly missed me, stumbling a few steps past me. Turning toward him, I pulled the katana from my back and settled into a stance I had copied from a samurai film.

The ghoul hissed at me threateningly but seemed to acknowledge that I had the weapon advantage, keeping its distance when it clearly wanted to leap at me to claw my eyes out and feast upon my flesh. I'm not sure if the ghoul understood that this was a mutual impasse. He was holding back because he was unarmed and had the shorter reach, but I was also reluctant to make a move. We had moved away from the light partially into the darkness. I was slowly backing toward the fallen flare without making my disadvantage obvious. The only light I had was the flare - the last thing I wanted to do was charge the ghoul and start fighting in the dark.

Ultimately it was the shaman that broke the stalemate. The chanting shaman was behind me when I heard his voice raise from a whisper into something more throaty and guttural. I turned my head, making sure the shaman wasn't trying to attack me, but he was still in supplication, chanting as Jack swayed. But in the moment I turned my head, the other ghoul attacked.

When I swiveled my head back forward, I had a face full of frothing ghoul leaping toward me. I acted instinctively, swinging my katana and taking a step back. At first I wasn't sure how I did. I had felt the resistance in my arms as the katana hit something and then came free. I felt warm blood splash on me. I wasn't sure if the wound was superficial or not, because the ghoul was still standing, almost right on top of me. However, in a moment I noticed that the ghoul had frozen in place. I took a step back and the ghoul fell forward, dead. His guts spilled out onto the ground.