THIRTEEN

There was nobody else around. The boy was on his own. Spence stepped into the alley. The way to do it was to walk fast and focus on something way beyond your target. And the worst way to do it was to run up to the target and say, "Hahaha! I'm going to kill yyooouuu!" but you would expect something as stupid as that from our beloved moron…Spence. Seriously, now make the target feel like he's got nothing to do with anything. Spence checked his watch and glanced far ahead into the distance. He hustled along, almost running. At the last minute, he dropped his gaze to the car, like he was suddenly dragged back into the present by a huge obstacle. The boy was watching him as he dodged left, where he knew the angle of the car wouldn't let him through. He pulled up in exasperation and dodged right, turning with the pent-up fury of a hurrying man baulked by a nuisance. He swung his left arm with the turn and hit the boy square in the side of the head. The boy toppled and Spence hit him again right-handed, just a short-arm jab, relatively gentle. No reason for the trip to the hospital. "Sorry, kid."

The kid hit the alley floor with a dusty thump. Spence bent down just as Kathryn came running into the alley. "Angie, what the hell did you do?" Spence ignored her completely and rolled the kid over and checked his pockets. There was a gun in there, but it wasn't the sort of thing he was going to bear home in triumph. "Okay. Question…How did you find Plan B this quick?" He shrugged and pitched the gun out of reach under the car, "Car would stop short in some alleys and a guy would dart forward to the driver's window. Short conversation, and the money will be exchanged, the guy would dart back to a doorway and disappear like a magician. The driver would glance left and right and then accept a small drug package and force back into the traffic like nothing ever happened. Almost the same as the trade on foot."

She narrowed her eyes in question, "How do you know all this?"

A beat.

"Because I used to do it…"

Kathryn watched him straighten up and she was speechless. "You were on drugs?"

He looked around as the conversation continued. She knew he was crazy but she never knew he used to be on drugs. Or is. Maybe he was still doing it? God, of all the fucking little boys at the playground, why did she go and made friends with him? Ok. Rephrase that: She didn't go to him. He went to her. Saving her from a couple of bullies who kept, well, 'bullying' her. Actually, at first he was the one insulting and teasing her, calling her Barbie and all, but when actual problems came, he was there to help. He's a good friend…it just takes time to show it. A really long time. "Yes." he replied simply. Offering no more information. No further questions. He inched a door open with his toe and stood gazing into the gloom. Kathryn was surprised, "Really?" she managed to say. He turned to her and smiled at her adoringly, "Nah, I'm just messing with you, Boo-Boo."

She glowered at him, scowling, which made him look all the more adorable, "Shut up, asshole or I swear I'll sew your mouth together and--"

Kathryn stopped when she realized that she was talking to nothing but air. Spence had already stepped inside the doorway. She anxiously looked around at the dark alley, "Waaait." she called suddenly, tip-toeing inside after him. There was an inner door off the back hallway, leading to the right, into a room with a light on inside. It was about fifteen paces away. No point in waiting, Spence thought. The guys weren't about to take a dinner break. He walked ahead fifteen paces and stopped at the door. Kathryn's back was pressed against his as she frantically looked around. "Shh." he said, looking over his shoulder. "What's wrong with you?" he mumbled. "I'm scared of the dark." He shook his head, "Big baby."

The building stank of decay and sweat and urine. It was quiet. An abandoned building. Spence listened. There was a low voice inside the room. Then, an answer to it. Two people were in there…it was either that or the guy was mental and he was talking to himself. Nothing surprising. You would expect that from King while sleeping. "What are you going to do, Angie?" she whispered, leaning back ever so close to him, managing to actually push him against the door every time she could hear the scampering of rats. "I don't know."

"Is Plan B still a piece of cake?" she asked him, getting more and more anxious.

"I'm gonna find that out…" he said. "…if I don't die today, you owe me a cold beer for getting us a gun."

He took a breath and burst through the door like it wasn't there at all. It crashed back against the hinge. "Ow! Shit!" He rubbed his shoulder in pain and then ducked out of the way just as a bullet passed the air where his head had been a few seconds ago. There was dim light. A single electric bulb. Three men. Packages (bags with drugs in it) and money on the table. A handgun on the table.

He hit the first guy a wide swinging roundhouse blow square on the temple. The guy fell sideways and Spence drove through him with a knee in the gut on his way back to the second guy, who was coming up out of his chair with his eyes wide and his mouth open in shock. Spence smacked him with a forearm smash exactly horizontal between his eyebrows and his hairline. Do it hard enough, and the guy goes down but the skull stays in one piece…doctors should know. Spence swore creatively, and waved his arm around like a chicken. "Ow, ow, ow--" he saw the third guy swinging a handgun at his direction-- "Oh shit!" he ducked and quickly looked over his shoulder at the bullet hole on the wall before turning back--

Click.

--No more bullets. The guy paused and stared dumbly at the gun, as did Spence, not believing his luck. The guy looked up at Spence who chuckled nervously before slamming his fist at the male's weakest link. He hit the metal belt instead and shook his hand in pain. "Ahh...oww…" And dumb guy over there just laughed deeply at him. Spence slowly stopped shaking his hand but had a frozen look on his face. Kathryn tapped the guy on the shoulder and when he turned, she slammed a phone book on his face (nearby phone booth, don't ask). The two watched the guy down. Spence laughed, rubbing his hand and then looking up at Kathryn. "Nice!" But she had a serious expression on her face, "I just saved your fucking life."

He, too, turned serious. Then, he whined and complained. "Aw, come on! That doesn't count anymore! We're not kids!"

"Oh, it still counts."

"No it don't."

"Wanna bet?"

"Yeah--ow! Oww…"

She held the phone book by his face and smiled, "Quit whining, it's not that thick…I'm sure you won't get a concussion, or brain damage…whatever…that sort of thing."

"Yeah and if I die, I'm blaming you."

After some time of searching, Kathryn had found them a Colt Detective Special. A six-shot .38-calibre revolver in blued steel with black plastic grips. It was okay. Nowhere near the thing he was looking for but okay. At least, it's something.

"Okay. Shopping's done." she said, quickly handing over the gun as if disgusted by it. Needless to say, she probably was. Killing wasn't really her thing, ya know what I mean?

Spence nodded to her and jammed it under his belt in the small of his back and smiled. He stayed down next to the unconscious dumb guy and whispered, "I'll buy your gun for a buck. Shake your head if you've got a problem with that, 'kay?" he smiled again and stood up, peeled a dollar bill off his roll and left it at the table, right next to the other useless handgun. He turned to Kathryn, "See? I told you the gun would cost less than the pizza." The two started walking back out the door. Spence was happy. Kathryn was just…Kathryn.

"I'm gonna miss this place, can I get some souvenirs?" he asked her.

"Man, that's how it starts." She said, being all lawyer like. "Next, you'll be working for the bad guys, accepting bribes, selling drugs, making money…drinking too much beer…Your gonna like that…" she patted him on the rear, "Pull it out." Spence groaned and unbuckled his belt, pulling out one of the bags from his pants, "Don't use that devil sensor with me."

"Ha. Devil? Stop talking to yourself, Spence…'sides, your easy….."

Spence rolled his eyes and mimicked her talking, while he buckled up his belt.

"--and the other one…"

Spence groaned and did the whole routine all over again, handing her another bag which she threw over her shoulder.

"I swear to god, there is something so very wrong with you, Angie. I'm deeply, deeply concerned."

"Your concerned about me?"

"No…about those around you."

It was so sudden. It had happened without warning. As soon as the 'client' was inside and the door was closed, the man reached up under his left armpit. She saw the gun arcing at her, coming straight at her. The gun was made of dark metal, grey, dewed with oil. It stopped level with her chest and she stared down at it, frozen, hands clamped to her face and her eyes open so wide she thought the skin on her face would tear. He smiled, "I assure you that all this would be over very soon."

For you,

Your husband,

And your step-daughter…

Reeford Royals sat alone in the bathroom of Daniel Nightshade's office. Danny had forced him to go in there. Not physically. It wasn't even threatening. He just sat there, still and quiet, talking to him softly and Reeford had scuttled across the carpet. What had went on in that room in the past twenty minutes wasn't worth talking about. It was all a simple explanation of everything. Of everything. There had been muffled sounds out in the office, and after a few minutes, it sounded like everyone had left. Then, it had gone dark and silent. Reeford listened carefully. Nothing. He eased himself up off the floor and stepped to the sunk. Turned the faucet and listened again over the trickle of water. Still nothing. Reeford stared at his reflection in the mirror. Kathryn was running around somewhere, along with that scruffy boy from next door. He was saving her. Helping her. He chuckled at that. He was helping her. He was helping someone. Even the words sounded absolutely silly to him.

That Spencer kid had always been trouble and Katie would always talk about him, asking questions. She found his actions very weird but very interesting. She would say, "Daddy, that boy from next door brought his skateboard to school. He did stuff with it…and…he ate gum. Can I eat gum? And then, he said this long scary speech to some kids who were bugging him. Something about shoving his foot up their…umm…'asses'… if they don't start being useful. I came and asked him why he said that and I think he said that it would teach them a very valuable lesson." And Reeford would be unconcerned, replying just to make her happy, "What lesson would that be honey?"

She would smile and say, "The lesson of getting off their asses and helping people who truly need help." and before Reeford could even reply, she would continue, relaxed and happy, "He helps people. And once, I saw him talking to a homeless man. They seemed like friends…he's balanced, daddy."

"And what does 'balanced' mean?"

"He's mean…and then, he's not mean."

Reeford replayed the whole thing back on his mind. This was the last happy conversation he had with his daughter…before things happened. Before he left. He smiled sadly at the reflection and let out a sigh, "Spencer, you better bring my daughter back in one piece."

Spence walked through to the kitchen with the pizza in one hand, and a sports bag with the other. "I brought…uh…dinner." he stated to no one in particular. Kathryn was somewhere around the house, probably changing in her room. He put the bag on the floor and the pizza box on the counter and opened it up. She had set the table. There were two place settings, opposite each other. Plates, knives and forks, paper napkins, a glass of iced water and a bottle of Jack Daniels. He smiled as soon as he saw it. What was she, some sort of mind reader? "Hey, can we eat now?" he called. There was no reply and all he could hear was the shower running. He sighed and tried opening the bottle, but failed at first, then he tried with his mouth, whining as he got more and more impatient. "Ropen yoo dahm ting."

"What are you Scooby Doo?" She was standing close behind him. He could feel her there. He could smell her perfume as he finally managed to open the bottle. He felt the flat of her hand touch his back. It was moist. She left it there for a second, then she used it to move him out of the way. "Cool." she said. "I get the big piece." He blinked in confusion then reacted, "What? Nooo. Aw, come on. The bet was--"

She walked past him, hair damp and dripping wet from the shower, wearing nothing but a towel around her slim body. She balanced the box on her arm and carried it back to the table, pulling the biggest slice off of another while the box canted and wobbled. She sat down and smiled up at him, "What? No cute scary speeches about you shoving something that doesn't exist up my ass?"

He paused a fraction of a second longer but that was enough for Kathryn. She smiled again as he sat down, her foot hitting his knee under the table. He gave her a tired, annoyed look and she fluttered her eyelashes innocently at him. He rolled his eyes and settled in his seat, arms folded. She shrugged and tossed her hair behind her shoulders and held her head at an angle for the first bite. She rolled the wedge into a point, attacking it hungrily. He raised an eyebrow at her, making one of his 'Oo-kay, weirdo. You need to find a highly qualified psychiatrist not a psychologist… you need some drugs.' looks. She laughed slightly, shaking her head defensively, "Oh, leave me alone you big meanie. You told me not to leave the office so I couldn't get lunch besides coffee and a sandwich. And you know that's not enough for me…"

You need to find a highly qualified psychiatrist not a psychologist… you need some drugs.' looks. She laughed slightly, shaking her head defensively, "Oh, leave me alone you big meanie. You told me not to leave the office so I couldn't get lunch besides coffee and a sandwich. And you know that's not enough for me…"

He looked surprised. "You listened to me?"

She darted out her tongue and smiled and caught a thread of cheese. She smiled self-consciously at him as she hooked it back between her lips. They shone with oil. He pursed his lips together to keep from smiling but ended up laughing when she pouted and fluttered her eyelashes again. She smiled and looked down at the pizza, "Anchovies. My favourite. How can you still remember all that?"

"Because I'm smarter than you."

"Yeah, yeah." she finished off a slice and wiped her fingers on a napkin and tossed her damp, dark hair over her shoulders. "Well, that's half true. You've got the brains but never the ba--" Outside, tyres screeched and horns blared. "--lls…" she looked up and smiled sweetly.

Later

Kathryn laughed heartily, her head resting on the table, the whole room spinning around her, "That was really funny!" she said, looking up at him, pushing her self up from the table with the bottle of Jack Daniels in her hand. "I can't believe you dyed your mom and dads' hair when they were sleeping! All that just because they wouldn't let you light fireworks under your principles' desk." she laughed again and eased off the computer chair from her desk and skipped her way across the room. She tripped and giggled as she flopped down on the bed beside Spence who was smiling up at the ceiling, many empty bottles of beer beside him. They both stared happily at the ceiling, talking and laughing. "They grounded me after that. And our neighbour-- you know, Steven? Yeah, once…he ran over my car!"

"You mean, he nearly ran over your car. I remember that, it was a few years after the rainbow-dyed hair."

"No, he literally ran over my car on Halloween. And I have never felt more of a pussy in my whole life." They laughed at that. "A few days before that, I've been getting calls of someone threatening to kill me. Turns out it was Steven trying to scare me. Nothing worked until he crashed my car. But it was okay, that old car I found at the dump." She rolled around to her stomach and looked at him, "Really?" she laughed, "What did you say to Steven?" He coughed and cleared his throat, "When he threatened me with phone calls? Nothing, all I said was "Well, I'm kind of busy planning how to rain chaos at my school. Is Saturday fine?""She laughed again, losing control over herself. "You are so wasted!" he said, laughing, as if this was some sort of triumph over the boring side of her.

"So are you…" she pointed out before burping and then laughing.

"Whoa. You okay there, burpy?" Spence joked as he finished off another bottle. She shrugged then nodded, "Well, I didn't explode, didn't I?"

"How did we get from eating pizza to getting beyond drunk?"

"I dunno. I insulted what's left of your manhood?"

"Yeah…oh, and I needed an excuse to drink some beer."

"It's like not no excuses has ever stopped you before."

"True. I mean, we were so crazy back then you'd think we were aliens on cocaine."

"Agreed. Anyway," she laughed. "That was the best and worst drinking competition I've ever had with you. Oh, god. I'm gonna get a hangover…I think I might not go to work tomorrow so I can, you know, go help you so you would actually do something." He didn't reply and everything went silent. "Dude, you not talking turns out to be a very weird wish. It's like I'm in a different dimension." Kathryn said. He shrugged. Another pause.

"Kat?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I tell you something weird?"

"Sure."

"I mean, really weird?"

"I'll try to look surprised when you tell me your gay…"

He chuckled. But he didn't sound too happy. It was like one of those serious, awkward moments…ya know? The kind of things that happen when words get to superfluous?--- Ok, ok, I'll stop using words I don't know…but if I do that, this is gonna be a very, very wordi-less story! Yes, I did use the word 'wordi-less' but that's not the point. The point is I'm a loser who doesn't have a life…what am I saying! I'm brilliant! Okay! Moving on!---

"I think…" he said. "…I like you more than I thought."

She quickly sat up and stared at him. She was very still. "What do you mean?"

"At-at…first I thought I just liked you because you didn't treat me like everyone else does. You didn't hate me. You weren't scared of me like most people who would piss their pants every time I said something to them. But now…I don't know…"

Kathryn was still staring at him. Still breathless. She should've walked out that door but she didn't. "Your drunk. This is just the beer talking here. I mean, how many beers have you had? Can you even see straight because I might look a lot like Betty from high school to you…we kind of looked alike, only I wasn't such a bitch. Maybe your thinking of her…do you remember her? She was the one my cousin had a thing for. Come on, she was pretty. Your thinking about her, I know it!" she said suddenly, all of the words spilling out of her mouth. She took another breath, "This 'feeling' your feeling right now is just an illusion, so don't…don't think much about it." And with one more look at Spence, she left the guest room. Out the door…

…and only reason Spence didn't run after her was because he was too stunned to say anything…

Crying, she went back to her bedroom, shutting the door and locking it.