Chapter two- You don't fuck with this.
Marcus's house is about a fifteen minute ride from Steak n' Shake- plenty of time for Mindy and Katie to tag team and give me a guilt trip about having to move out of state. I reassured them time and time again that I have no intentions of leaving, and that I will do everything humanly possible to stay. I wasn't about to leave Katie, nor was I about to just let my little waltz with Red Mist come to a close, not like this- our tune was far from over.
Katie had dropped off Mindy, but not because of a curfew. No, Mindy had to prepare for what was to come, a meeting of sorts with someone who she claims is an old friend, an old friend who has a lead on Red Mist and his current course of action.
I sat there and watched from the car as Marcus stood at the entrance of his home, smiling as always. He offered us a wave, which we returned. Mindy spun around and nodded before the large oak door fell to a close, its slight bang was loud enough to echo through the night's still. I looked at Katie, expecting her to start the car, but she didn't. She simply sat there, looking at her knees and playing with her hands. I cocked my head to the side inquisitively. I had a feeling this wasn't good.
"Katie?" I asked, placing my hand over both of hers. "You alright?"
She looked at me, her large blue eyes brimmed with tears. I felt my heart sink into my stomach.
"Dave….this, this 'moving' thing…its not just your way of ditching everyone to be kick-ass is it?" Her voice was distressed, low, nearly a whisper. She began to cry harder. "Its not just your way of leaving me right?"
I was in utter shock. I felt my eyes widen, and a loss for words came upon me. Leave her? Leave her? Was she serious?
"K-Katie…" I began slowly, It took me a minute to muster up the reasoning to continue. "Honey, no. No of course not…..I would never, never do that. You all mean to much to me- especially you…." I smiled slightly and wiped a tear from her cheek. "I love you, Katie Deauxma." She looked up at me. I sat there, my eyes tracing over the features of her face. Every detail of her never seemed so perfect as it did in that moment. I watched as her powder-pink lips curled into a smile, accentuating her cheek bones. She leaned forward and kissed me passionately, her arms wrapped around my neck.
"I love you too, Dave…" she whispered, her breath hot against the side of my face. "More then anything…" Her embraced tightened , as if she couldn't get close enough to me.
We remained in each others arms for some time before she finally pulled back, pushing the hair out of her face. I took the opportunity to wipe the tears from my own eyes. I had always been a softy, I cried at the end of the Titanic too. I still haven't heard the end of that one. When I put my glasses back on I heard the engine start. I looked over at Katie to see her smiling.
"The usual?" She said, holding out her hand. I nodded, taking it almost immediately.
"The usual." I replied. I was jolted back into my seat by her swift take off. Seatbelts are very important when your in a car with Ms. Deauxma.
You all are probably wondering what exactly we met by 'the usual'. This is code for the place that Katie always drops me off when I have to go out on official Kick-ass business, aka: Joe's pizza shack. Why Joe's pizza? Its in the middle of our neighbor hood, and it most likely wont raise a great deal of suspicion.
We pulled up to the run down pizza parlor, and Katie gave me her typical speech: Be careful , Dave. Don t do anything stupid, Dave. Make sure you call me when you get back , Dave. Are you sure you don't want me to go with you, Dave?
And in turn I had given her my usual speech: Yes, Katie. No , Katie I wont. Yes, Katie I'll call you. No, Katie, you cant come. Why? Because you'll die. Yes I know I can die too. No, no I'm not going to. Yes I'm sure. Okay Ill call you bye.
I sighed and got out of the car. She blew me a kiss before she spun out into the night. I shook my head and turned into the alleyway beside the building. It was an especially dismal, murky night, sort of serene in a way , which was very odd considering that New York is always busy. You might consider this foreshadowing. I know I should have.
After quickly changing into my signature attire I threw my street clothes behind a nearby dumpster and began walking towards the location that Mindy and I had previously discussed- the old shack on the corner of 28th and Nulville. If every superhero had a lair, this would most likely be ours. The once storage facility for a local glass business is now decrepit and near condemnable, but its decaying walls work for what we need it too- a decorous place to discuss business, and first on tonight's agenda: Red Mist.
I approached the hardly standing structure with a fiery, overwhelming since of joy filling my entire being. If this "friend" of Mindy's turns out to be as reliable as we anticipate, I'll be on that fuckers tail by tomorrow night. Just the thought of my vengeance brought a smile to my face as I opened the door, sending an echoing creek through the aged wood. I turned and tugged the door shut behind me, having to give some extra effort for the warped frame to accept the action.
Upon walking deeper into the building I felt that something was off, though I couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was that bestowed this feeling upon me. I attempted to shrug it off by doing the stupidest thing I could have possibly done at that point in time:
"Mi- er, Hit Girl?" I called out, but there was no answer, just my voice ricocheting back to me in subtle fragments. It was that moment that confirmed my suspicions. I reached a hand behind my back and grasped my right baton, pulling it forward before my chest.
If there is one thing I know about Mindy it's that she doesn't fuck around when it comes to her duties, and she would never be late for something of this nature. Especially for a night like tonight.
I looked around, scanning the area as best I could, searching for anything that might be out of the ordinary, but in the sheer darkness of the space I could see nothing. Creeping forward, both batons out now I began to advance into the back area of the old warehouse, my heart pounding in my throat, limbs shaking violently. I don't know if it was the fear or the adrenalin that caused this in me, but truthfully I couldn't comprehend much at the moment- my mind was racing way above speed limit.
It was a clank in the rafters above me that broke the still. I looked up in time to see a rope dropping something down from the ceiling, and then a blood curtailing scream. I hurried and threw myself out of its path, landing on my side a few feet away. When I opened my eyes I experienced a pain in my chest that I haven't felt since the day that my mother passed…
I had found Mindy, hung from the roof by the neck. Her head lulled to the side lifelessly, her eyes still wide with terror. I could feel my arms dragging me backwards, distancing myself from the spectacle, tears streaming down my cheeks, absorbing themselves into the material of my mask. It took me a second to realize that she was still in her street clothes, a pair of jeans and a grey pull over, no boots, no purple wig. Someone had wanted me to see her like this- a personal message. Someone knows…
I looked up into the rafters in time to see a flash of white jolting out of view. I got to my feet, batons in hand. This fucker isn't going anywhere.
I ran, busting the large door of the warehouse open with my weapons. Looking up at the roof of a nearby building I saw her.
A woman in white with long, flowing black hair. From this distance I failed to make out the details of her appearance, but her voice I will never forget.
"Goodbye, David." she said, beginning to turn away from me as if to leave. But she stopped, looking over her shoulder for one final thought:
"Oh, It would be rude of me not to fulfill my promise to give you a lead on Red Mist, wouldn't it?" she turned to face me once again, and proceeded to walk to the edge of the roof. The lighting was better here, allowing me to make out more details of her. She had a half mask over the left portion of her face- it seemed to be a modification of the distressed theatrical mask, made of porcelain, with a single black tear coming down from the eye. "Burdens from the past are just as powerful in the present. Tell me, Mr. Lezewski , what would one acquire if they mixed a crow and a newborn child?"
The smile forming on that bitch's face is what set me off- I ran at the building, one baton raised In the air, I jumped, ready to throw it at her in hopes of knocking her to ground level, but before I could even release my weapon I felt myself being knocked to the ground, enough pain searing through my right arm to make my ears ring. I rolled on the pavement below, shaking. I brought myself to look at the limb, the material of my suit was sopping wet with blood, two knives where deeply embedded into my bicep. I heard myself moan in pain, but pulled myself to a sitting position nonetheless. Breathing heavily I looked up at the woman.
"H-how the fuck do you know me? Who the fuck are you?!"
The woman turned and before I had time to react she was gone. After a minute I slowly brought myself to my feet. With my good arm I gathered my batons and sleuthed them in their proper place.
Looking at the knives protruding from my arm, I pondered on wither or not I should attempt to remove them myself. Seeing no harm in it, I grabbed the handle of the lower one and began to tug. I cried out, I could feel myself sweating, my heart pounded, tears rolled down the slopes of my face and I became dizzy. I stopped , looking down at the weapons I realized that the blades were serrated.
It took several attempts for me to finally expulse the knives from my body, and once done I dropped to my knees, clutching the wounds, blood pouring from between my fingers. How I managed to walk into the warehouse with as dizzy as I was, I haven't the slightest clue, all I knew was that I couldn't leave Mindy there like that.
When I kicked open the door, however, I saw no Mindy, only an empty noose hung from the rafters of the old building, blood pooled in a small area beneath it, a white feather rested perfectly in the center.
I dropped to my knees, my head hung, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. How did this happen? How…and why? Why would that woman, that woman that is supposedly a long-time friend of the Macready's ,outwardly betray Mindy and take her life? And if she is our enemy, per say, then why still hold her word to help in in Red Mist's downfall? And most importantly of all- How does this lady know me? My name?
It didn't hit me until that moment, my eyes widened.
"Shit! Fuck!" I immediately pulled out my cell phone. I had one missed call…
"Dad…." I whispered as I looked at the white feather laying amongst the ever-drying blood. Innocence in the midst of evil.
What do you get when you mix a crow and a newborn child?
I flipped my phone open and began scrolling through my contact list.
You don't fuck with this.