Chapter 4: Hope and Headsmen
Outside of a fish-packing pier in Galveston, Texas, 8:35 PM…
"A fish-packing plant…..still wondering why they're set up in here of all places." Zom wondered with morbid confusion as she and Manako stepped out of their Challenger a short ways away from the aforementioned plant. The entire area having a largely concrete ground, it was complemented by a massive amount of wooden piers, guard-rails and paths, as well as some near-entirely wood-exterior restaurants nearby to keep the seaside/fish theme going. Still drab, bleak, and grey/brown by nature, the sad colors were only vaguely, yet depressingly combated by equally dull blues, whites, and other usually-bright colors from the restaurants that had faded from time and disrepair. Feeling like an overall morbid part of town with not much money or attention diverted to it, the hopeless decor wasn't helping either already-hopeless Monster.
"That's what those documents pointed to…supposedly Jockby's coming here to 'do the rounds' so to speak, so when he does, we get him." Manako explained, hiding her M&P in her right jacket pocket due to not having her highly-preferred under-armpit holster. Still wearing the same outfit since the day of the fireworks-shop incident, Mana's only attire-change was outright dumping the high-heels in favor of letting her stocking-clad feet go barefoot. While it wasn't an amazing feeling to be walking barefoot everywhere, it was certainly better than trying to run in high-heels if things go south.
"So…..he's a fish connoisseur?" Zom joked, knowing that wasn't really it. Being short on hope, as well as short on options, a bit of humor was the least Zom could do to brighten the times as they walked closer to this plant. Near-equally as deprived of civilians as the area they got their car from, the green-haired Zombie didn't mind, as fewer civilians meant fewer people Zom had to keep her eyes on lest they break Manako's oh-so-fragile self-esteem.
"Not sure; the documents just called it 'The Fish Job' and 'The Pier Op', so they're doing something with the fish that come through here, but I'm not sure what. Might not be a half-bad idea to tip the police off to it once we kill Jockby and clear out." Manako guessed, trying to casually speed-walk past the sightlines of whatever few pier workers were still around at this hour.
"I wonder…any exotic seafood restaurants in the area?" Zom questioned, trying to theorize on the gang's motives as they continued to sneak further towards the actual plant itself. Not usually caring very much for such a thing, the Zombie took interest this once because, depending on what it was, there might be a varying level of usefulness in turning their contraband against them if things go sour.
"….What would that have to do with anything?" Manako inquired, slightly confused. Assuming it was just Zom getting hungry again, she wasn't expecting the Zombie to have a genuinely good point to it.
"Well, some of the….riskier dishes in some seafood restaurants back home would have the little catch that, if they didn't prepare it just right, poison inside the fish it was made from might kill you. Maybe they're importing some of those fish under the sham of it being shipped to exotic restaurants so they can use the poison for assassinations." Zom theorized, having put a surprisingly large amount of thought into it.
"That's…..actually a good idea. Might have to remember that so we don't make a big show out of killing Hackett." Manako noted, glad that if she had to be stuck here with any one person she knew, it was Zom. Making it up to the actual plant itself, Zom held her arm out to stop Manako short. Eyeing a specific plant-worker nearby, Zom was fairly certain she'd found their way in.
"See that guy over there?" Zom directed as she pointed to her potential quarry, who was standing further down the pier. Lingering just outside the building they needed access to, he was not only oblivious to Mana and Zom's presence, but completely alone out here.
"The dock worker-looking guy in blue?" Manako asked for clarification, seeing a decently-sized man dressed in a blue Tyvek coverall suit. Supplementing it with the hood of a white hoodie-sweater poking up past the suit to conceal most of his head, the ensemble was topped off with a white viral mask strapped over his mouth and nose, as well as a pair of white latex gloves. Being more than concealing enough, Zom was thoroughly convinced she'd found her ticket in.
"Yeah…what I'm thinking is if I take his outfit and go in, I can pose as one of the workers while you keep an eye out from up top for Jockby. Judging by his picture, he shouldn't be hard to spot." Zom explained her little plot, moving in to corner the dock-worker in question. Not going for sly persuasions or allure this time, it was all brute-force for now.
"Can I help y-" The worker started to ask, being cut off as Zom grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him forward, kneeing the man in the gut. Placing a hand on the back of his head, the Zombie spun the man around before driving his head into the wall repeatedly, thankful that the walls seemed thick enough to where the thumping didn't cause much of a rattling echo. Slamming his head into the wall for the sixth time, the man was still conscious, but seemed to cave a bit. "Alright, alright, what do you want?!"
"Your coveralls, hoodie, mask, and whatever sort of key I'll need to get in." Zom listed off, letting go of the man and shoving him away. Shaky and nervous, the dock-worker quickly undid the coveralls, thankfully possessing a pair of jeans under that. Tossing the suit to Zom, the man quickly followed up with his hoodie sweater and viral mask. Somewhat wobbly-legged from the beating, she could tell he suffered some damage, but thankfully not enough to where she'd be doing this herself.
"Here's my keycard, just swipe it in the door over there and you'll get in just fine. Dock security's pretty old-school." The man explained, still nervous as he tossed a small credit-card-sized ID card to Zom. Pointing to a dull iron-colored door about twenty feet further down the pier, the man had done his job admirably well, which saved him from further assault.
"Good, now get outta here." Zom suggested with a slight head-jerk, putting down the hoodie, mask, and ID card to put the coveralls on over what she was wearing. Getting it halfway on, Zom then put on the hoodie, followed by pulling the coveralls the rest of the way up and zipping it closed. Putting the viral mask on, a simple raising of the hood completed her dock-worker getup.
"So…..where do you think I can hide? Never been in a fish-packing plant before….." Manako questioned, wondering if Zom actually had a well-formulated plan for once. Having hope after the poison idea, it seemed Zom was on a roll with the forethought tonight, surprising Manako for the second time now.
"Remember the floor-plans of the plant we pulled from those documents? Hide up on the catwalks. If things get a bit…tense…..you can keep an eye on Jockby while I handle any guards he's got. I would say just put a round through the top of his head, but we'll need him to find out if Hackett's attending any 'crashable parties' soon." Zom explained, mentally frowning at the fact that her coveralls had no pockets, leaving her sidearm impossible to draw without half-removing the coveralls. Setting their plan into motion, the two Monsters entered the plant, Manako hiding along the edges where it was darker while Zom strolled out and tried to act casual. Finding a ladder, Mana took advantage of the fact that the few workers who were around had their eyes elsewhere as she climbed up to her vantage point.
Not really knowing what was properly done at a fish-packing plant, Zom mostly just stood around and tried to look interested in something until Farnell showed up. Not having to linger for too long, the man of the hour soon showed his face.
There you are….. Zom thought with a smile as a 5'8" white man with a black, gelled-back haircut in a pinstripe suit walked in, matching Farnell Jockby's image from the documents. Standing on either side of him were two slightly taller men dressed in private security-style getups with normal jeans, zipped up hoodie jackets, and plate carriers/right-thigh sidearm holsters shamelessly shown off to make a point. Not looking particularly special otherwise, they were probably just Jockby's personal taste in mindless muscle for coercing and scaring the lowest members on the group's ladder.
"Great, more fancy hardware….." Zom mumbled in annoyance, noticing that the two bodyguards were carrying FN FNC carbines. Trying to figure out how best to nail down Jockby before he could escape, the plotting was cut short as her target gave a 'come over here' gesture with his finger, having done it while looking right at her. Hesitantly walking over, the green-haired Zombie wasn't sure if this was the perfect opportunity or a serious wrench in the plan.
"I don't remember hiring anybody with dark green hair…..are you new here?" Jockby asked, a subtle smugness being noticeable in his voice. Looking her up and down, it felt like he knew the answer, and was instead just being a sadistic power-player looking to drag things out.
"Oh, um…..actually, I'm part of the day-shift. Just thought I'd hang around a bit longer, extra set of hands sort of thing." Zom meekly bluffed, trying to avoid eye contact. Painfully forgetting that Jockby would've seen her before regardless of being on the day or night shift, the slightly brain-damaged Zombie's semi-poor lying skills simply reinforced what Jockby already knew.
"You been here for a few hours straight, or did you just arrive after deciding to come back and be a hard worker?" Jockby continued to question, drawing a 1911 with custom Elephant Ivory grips from his pocket.
"Oh, no, I've been working this whole time…never left since my shift ended." Zom answered, her meek attitude turning to dread as Jockby raised his sidearm to point at her chest.
"Funny, I swear I saw someone who looked just like you shake one of my workers down and steal his outfit….regardless, there's no better place to sleep with the fishes, right?" Jockby falsely sympathized, shooting Zom directly in the chest. Waiting a few seconds, Jockby's expression turned to morbid confusion mixed with cocking his head to the side as Zom just….didn't fall over.
"Uhm….." Zom stalled, becoming alarmed as Jockby's guards raised their rifles on her. Opting to turn and dive over one of the nearby conveyor-lines, the green-haired Zombie got into cover behind it as the men opened fire. Reorienting into a sitting position with her back against the side of the solid metal conveyor-line, the Zombie braced herself as the two guards emptied their magazines, ripping into fish passing along and sending some off the conveyor onto the floor beside her.
Seeing Manako hiding away in the catwalks, Zom made a series of hand gestures that roughly meant 'Keep an eye on Jockby, I'll be fine'. Accidentally kicking one of the Mahi-Mahi fish that was knocked off, Zom's foot was met with an odd amount of solid resistance for a gutted fish. Looking over, she saw the strangest black object through the holes in the fish's body, prompting further investigation. Reaching over and grabbing the fish, the Zombie pulled it closer before reaching into the slit line along the bottom and pulling out the mysterious object. Finding it to be an empty FN FNC carbine just like what the guards had, the one difference was this FNC's completely-removed folding stock. Probably shipped separately in order to not make smuggling the gun itself inside a fish any harder than it already was, it thankfully didn't impede the gun's ability to shoot.
That explains how they were getting the military hardware….. Zom thought, never having guessed that weapons smuggling would be what they veiled under fish importation. Hoping that no serious damage had been done to the weapon, the unloaded carbine was nonetheless useless to the Zombie until she could get some ammo for it. Deciding to remove the coveralls while Jockby's guards waited for her to pop her head up, the Zombie's newly-available Glock was quickly put to good use as she popped up with a quickdraw-shot. Hitting one of Jockby's guards in the throat, the poor human went down like a brick while Jockby and the other guard moved to find some form of cover.
"How in the…..why isn't this bitch dead?!" Jockby loudly complained, obviously not used to things going against his will. Missing with some followup shots aimed at Jockby, Zom took the momentary pause while Jockby fled to fetch the FNC with her left hand. Clambering over the conveyor-line and hurrying over to the dead guard's body with the intent to loot his plate-carrier for some spare magazines, the Zombie traded one problem for another. Stowing her Glock before slapping one of the dead guard's magazines into her stockless FNC and chambering a round, the more well-armed Zombie stuffed the other mags into her hoodie's stomach-pouch before noticing gunfire outside for some odd reason.
Did the police show up and Jockby's men got too trigger-happy or somethin'? Zom thought as she kept an eye out for Jockby's other guard, almost playing a game of cat-and-mouse with him. Glancing over to one of the far windows, things made even less sense as a man in typical gang clothes was seen flying into the wall outside the plant at high speed, almost like he was hurled by some sort of behemoth. Deciding to keep her priorities on Jockby, Zom set into a light speed-walk around the conveyor line, rounding the corner to the sight of Jockby's surviving bodyguard in a kneel, reloading his weapon. Putting two rounds through the bodyguard's head on pure instinct, Zom only had to take a few more steps before she found Jockby. Defiant to the end, Jockby raised his pistol again, firing the rest of his magazine right into Zom's chest and eliciting near-no reaction.
"So….at what point are you gonna realize I'm technically dead already?" Zom asked with a smug undertone to her voice, more than willing to throw the condescending down-talk right back at the man.
"What, are you here to kill me?! You want my money?! Well here, take it!" Jockby yelled from his seated position on the floor, drawing his wallet before throwing it at Zom's face as he scooted back a little bit. Hitting the short undead right in the cheek, the mildly-perturbed Zombie exhibited enough restraint to not ruin her opportunity here.
"I'm not here for your money, I wanna know where your boss Hackett is. Honestly, if you're gonna throw something at me, your phone would be pretty useful." Zom explained, keeping her rifle raised at Jockby's chest for intimidation purposes.
"If I sell Hackett out, I'm dead anyway. You really think I'm that stupid?" Jockby seethed, becoming quite flustered.
"Well, you were dumb enough to go walking into a dingy fish-packing plant with a pinstripe suit, an attitude that just screams 'rich asshole', and two armed guards dressed like a PMC, so I figured selling Hackett out was only a stone's throw away for you." Zom insulted, questioning Jockby's intelligence for his presentation, which was self-absorbed to say the least. Before Jockby could spit out a reply, a resounding crash echoed out from the rising metal garage door at the far end of the room, over in the direction Zom and Manako had come from. Looking at the door, Zom noticed the most peculiar detail as what looked to be a prominent metal dent had been punched into the door.
A few seconds going by, things only got worse as the door was forced upwards, slamming into a fully-open position as a roughly 10' tall man in a midnight-black leather trench coat covered in all manner of buckles and belts stood on the other side. Carrying a threateningly massive poleax fit for his size, one side was a crescent-shaped axe-blade while the other side possessed a somewhat smaller hammer attachment. The poleax-wielder's face not being visible, it was instead hidden by a loose, black hood and a dark void lit up by two glowing, orange dots. Squatting slightly to fit through the door, the massive man rose back to his full height and slowly began trudging towards them.
"Still think I'm the one that'll kill you?" Zom asked, quickly looting Jockby's other guard for more mags before this freakish ax-murderer got any closer.
"W-what in the world is that thing?!" Jockby stammered, rising to his feet and running to stand behind Zom now. Both backing up in tandem, Zom began to futilely open fire on the Dullahan in hopes of slowing him down. The rounds actually causing holes and squirts of blood despite doing quite obviously nothing to slow the behemoth down, the most she got out of the big guy were some mildly-perturbed, long, deep-voiced groans as he advanced.
"It's a Dullahan, they're like Death's enforcers. When it's someone's time to die, they come for them, kill 'em, and drag their carcass back to god-knows-where. It's nothing personal to them, just their job. If this one's here, he's probably after you. See back to the part about me being dead already before you try hoping it's me he's after." Zom explained, making a hand-gesture for Manako to try and follow them into the next section of the plant as she forced open the door behind her and Jockby. With the interior of the plant almost seeming skeletal by comparison, a much more industrial design full of bare metal framework rather than solid walls would make hiding from the Dullahan next to impossible. Pulling the sleazy business-gangster through, the man had a small moment of realization.
"Wait a minute…..I think I know that guy! Calls himself Karl, guy's been terrorizing our men all up and down this side'a Texas!" Jockby realized, leaving Zom just a bit dumbfounded.
"…..a giant hooded guy in a black trench coat's slaughtering your men all over Texas, and his height gets you blubbering?!" Zom yelled, unable to resist questioning this man's logic.
"Well I didn't know the guy was eight frickin' feet tall! All I heard was stories and rumors about some dude with an axe; they never specifically mentioned the guy's so big he could take out a bank drive-through with his fuckin' forehead!" Jockby ranted back, both irate criminals being interrupted as they noticed Karl getting closer.
"For the record, your estimate's off by a couple feet." Zom pointed out, pushing Jockby on the shoulder to get him to keep going back. "Now, if you'll just tell me where I can find Hackett, I won't throw you to the big scary Dullahan. Sound fair?"
"Alright, fine! If we get to my office in the back, maybe we'll have enough peace and quiet for me to get something good outta Hackett." Jockby caved, figuring potential reprimanding from his boss was better than being thrown to a giant axe-murderer. Doubting a flimsy office would stop Karl very much, the Zombie didn't particularly have a better idea to give, and so she ran with it.
"Mana, get down here! We're actually getting somewhere!" Zom yelled, opening fire on Karl some more to distract him as Manako found a way down. Getting off at a ladder near the back of the room, the Monoeye scrambled over a conveyor line onto Zom's side of the room before she and Zom went after Jockby. Heading into a back manager's office on the first floor that Karl couldn't fit into, there was a single, very big complication.
"Ok, so….good news: Hackett wanted me to text him once I stopped by here, said he was gonna give me details about a meet-up in a few days. Bad news: I forgot I don't get a signal back here." Jockby explained with a slight tone of dread in his voice.
"So…..we've gotta be out there with the Dullahan for you to text Hackett?" Manako asked, shrinking back slightly as Jockby stifled a surprised yelp upon making eye contact with her.
"Uh…..yeah. If you guys can just distract Karl, I'll get the texts out." Jockby offered, unable to shirk a sheepish grin on his face.
"I don't trust him. Mana, keep your pistol out and send the texts yourself, make sure nothing else tries to sneak up on Jockby. Jockby, just stay by my friend here while I find something to keep Karl distracted." Zom explained, reaching into her hoodie for another mag. Noticing it felt oddly empty, the green-haired Zombie had a small moment of mental face-palming as she realized her gung-ho full-auto blazing had caused her to waste all her spare mags already. Completely bone-dry with not a single loaded mag on-hand, it meant other, more improvised means would need to be taken.
Reluctantly handing his phone over, Jockby and Manako waited for Zom to make her move, bracing herself before sprinting out the door and past the giant Dullahan's leg. Startled by the action, Karl swung his axe in attempted retaliation, only to get it lodged in the wall instead. Wrenching his axe back out, the Dullahan decided to pursue temporarily, leaving Jockby and Manako in the clear. Climbing over some of the conveyor lines, the two decided to try and hide a bit despite the admitted futility of it.
Fish job's checked on, you wanted to tell me something? Manako texted, posing as Jockby to Hackett. Just in case that didn't work, the Monoeye thought of a backup idea. While Ms. Smith was most likely a lost cause for calling, she knew someone else whom she could hopefully reach. Dialing the number, Manako could only wish for the best.
Inside the Kimihito residence, Japan…
Perplexed by the long-distance phone call he was receiving, Kurusu picked up the house phone, wondering who it could be.
"Uhm…hello?" Kurusu asked, hoping this wasn't a prank.
"Darling! It's me, Manako. Can you get a hold of Ms. Smith?" Manako frantically questioned amidst the sound of metal banging and clanging in the background as Karl continued to swing his axe at Zom, narrowly missing each swing as he instead wiped out machinery of all kinds.
"Ah…probably not right now….why? And what's all that noise in the background?" Kurusu questioned, finding more questions than answers here.
"It's a long story, but me and Zombina are trapped in America, and Zom's currently trying to hold off an axe-wielding Dullahan…..who just threw a large fish at her. Point is, we need Ms. Smith to come back to the States and get us, please!" Manako pleaded, a faint 'Ya missed!' being heard in the background, followed by a loud, wet smacking noise before the same voice yelled 'Fuck!'. Confusing Kurusu even more, nothing about this conversation was making sense to him.
"Uhm….ok, I'll let her know….did you just say a Dullahan threw a fish at Zombina?" Kurusu asked, truly befuddled.
"That's not important, what is important is Ms. Smith needs to-" Manako's voice cut out, the call hanging up abruptly. Putting the phone back on the wall, Kurusu could only sit and ponder what he just heard for a moment.
Back in Galveston, Texas…
"What?! Out of minutes?!" Manako exasperatedly yelled, feeling like today was full of ups and downs.
"Did you get a reply yet?! This asshat won't stop throwing fish at me!" Zom called out, ducking to avoid another Mahi-Mahi sailing towards her. Karl having gotten sick of missing his axe swings, the giant Dullahan instead resorted to snatching said fish off the conveyor line and hurling them at her. Hearing a small ding come from the phone, Manako's heart almost skipped a beat at what she saw.
Yeah, Dancing Tail club over in Houston, week from now at 3PM. See you there. A text from Hackett came in, making Manako's day.
"I got it! I know where Hackett'll be!" Manako yelled to get Zom's attention, the Zombie dodging past Karl again to make it over to them. Vaulting over the conveyor line, the undead Monster did the last thing Jockby was hoping for.
"Wait, the hell are you-?!" Jockby started to yell, being grabbed by the collar of his suit jacket and hoisted up onto the conveyor line towards Karl.
"You really thought I was gonna keep a promise to someone who tried to kill me?" Zom sadistically smiled, shoving Jockby head-over-heels over the conveyor and towards Karl, to which he met his end as the Dullahan brought his poleax's bladed end down executioner-style. Eerily seeing nothing but a splatter of blood as Jockby ceased to make any noise, both Monsters opted to silently back away as Karl retrieved his prize and left, paying them no mind anymore.
"I've seen plenty of Dullahan executions before, and no amount of them is ever gonna make that calmness they do it with any bit less eerie." Manako commented, wanting nothing more than to be out of here. Not having any contrary comments, and quite preferring to be as far away from here as possible, Zom kept quiet as the two hurried for the exit, making sure to take a different route out than the lumbering Dullahan.
