Obligatory Disclaimer: Dark Horse and Mr. Mignola own all, save for my own original characters. A special thank you to Guillermo del Toro for bringing this wonderful character to my attention.
Hellboy stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac in a foul mood. He had been correct in his prediction – the turbulence of the flight only added fuel to the fire he was slowly stoking in his heart. The more time that elapsed, and plenty elapsed due to the bad weather, the more pissed off Hellboy became. If time wasn't of the essence, Hellboy might have appreciated the extra time to formulate a plan. But as he shook loose a cigarette from the pack he pulled out of an inside pocket of his duster, Hellboy grimaced – the closest he could come to a smile – and felt his pace begin to quicken, along with his heartbeat. She was so close he could taste it over the tobacco as he inhaled the cigarette smoke deeply.
But before he went after Torie, he needed to go to the scene of the crime and see if any additional clues were left in his apartment. Hellboy hated needing to make the detour, especially since a small arsenal was already attached to his body, waiting to be used. Normally, he'd be heading home to load up before heading out again, but this time, he needed to make sure that not only was Torie indeed abducted – rather than the note being somebody's idea of a sick joke with her safe and sound – but that there weren't any other notes left behind with further instructions.
Pushing his way through the private airport doors, Hellboy was followed by a string of apologetic, but emphatic, airport employees trailing behind, telling him in various ways that he couldn't smoke inside the building.
Statements that he emphatically ignored.
.o.o.o.o.o.
Once in his apartment, Hellboy was meticulous in looking for anything that might be amiss. Nothing could be overlooked and nothing discounted. But no matter how hard Hellboy searched, that's all he came up with – nothing. Absolutely nothing looked unusual or out of place. A few dirty dishes in the sink. A laundry basket filled to overflowing with clean clothing that Monica or Torie obviously did since Hellboy couldn't remember the last time he touched the washer. A dining room chair was upset, lying on its side – the only sign of any sort of trouble.
And since the cats liked to launch of that particular chair to the back of the couch, toppling the chair in the process, Hellboy had to chalk it up to the kitties being rambunctious. Because he couldn't prove otherwise. Which was frustrating.
But there was no sign of a note.
Hellboy generally didn't make up a game plan before he went into a situation. He got in, did what he had to do, and got the fuck out. Or he depended on others deciding the best course of action, then carried out their vision. But there was Torie to think about. He himself could take a massive beating and still be able to get back up afterwards and fight back.
But Torie…
Hellboy couldn't stand – wouldn't stand – the idea of her getting hurt again. So because of that, he had to have a game plan. And game plans weren't his forte. They were the realm of Abe. Or Liz. Sometimes even Manning. But Hellboy was always the one to execute the orders. Or just go in and make up as he went along. Game plans were generally beyond his scope of expertise.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
A sudden knock at open front door reminded Hellboy that he had rushed in and forgotten to close it behind him. As Hellboy looked over his shoulder, he saw Abe peek around the front entryway, his fingers curling around the door, a look of curiosity painting his features. "Hey Red. Thought I saw you blow in. How's it going?"
"Abe, not now! I'm busy!" Hellboy growled, throwing some food and beverages from his fridge into a tote bag. Only God knew how long ago Torie had been taken, so who knew when she got her last meal?
"You're going after Torie. You'll need help."
Hellboy stared at his best friend, not blinking for several moments, so stunned he was. Either Abe was too damn smart for his own good and was able to figure out what had him so agitated or, and this is what Hellboy figured, he wasn't as good as he thought he was in hiding Torie. The latter thought was very upsetting because it might mean Hellboy didn't do as good a job as he had thought in protecting his girlfriend. "How… how do you know about that?" Smooth. Instead of playing it off, could you have sounded any more surprised? Dumbass!
An impish smile curved Abe's lips. The big, red ape could really be an idiot at times. "Well, first of all, you weren't fooling anybody when you moved into the hospital. Taking a break, my ass. Like we didn't find out within the day. And second, Monica is recovering in the medical ward. She wasn't hurt bad enough to require hospitalization. Just badly enough to need some supervised medical care. And I actually think she's there more for security reasons than health, to be quite honest."
Well, that answered that about Monica. Hellboy made a small sign of the cross as a thank you that there was one less person he needed to worry about. Then Hellboy narrowed his eyes. Abe seemed to be a font of useful information – if he knew so much, Hellboy figured he'd pump him for some information. "If you know so much, where's Lance?" The dog had been conspicuously absent from the apartment.
Abe figured that it was safe to come in and have a seat while Hellboy collected items that he might need. Folding his hands before him on the countertop, Abe leaned back in one of the barstools that edged the kitchen counter. "With Liz. And she's going to be hard-pressed to give him up. They're thicker than thieves. But I know that dog will be glad to see his mama." Abe refrained from mentioning that he would be glad when Lance was reunited with Torie so he could get a little attention himself.
Hellboy stopped mid-stride as a thought occurred to him. "Hey, I thought you two were going to New York. What are you doing here?"
Abe had the decency to blush. Unable to make eye contact, he mumbled, "Liz, uh… she got a voucher for the hotel to use at a later date and turned in the tickets in exchange for ones to be used as a yet to be determined date. Unless you want it all back."
Waving his right hand in dismissal in Abe general direction as he disappeared into his bedroom, Hellboy's voice drifted back into the kitchen. "Naw. I'm just glad that Liz found someone who would go with her. I owed her about a million gifts, but the one I finally give her she can't use on her own. Thanks for stepping up and helping out."
Ducking his head, Abe smiled slightly as he ran his tongue along the inside of his bottom lip. Hellboy knew exactly what was going on between the two of them. The fact that Hellboy was pretending otherwise seemed odd, but Abe also realized that Hellboy had greater matters on his mind. So maybe rather than being intentionally obtuse, Hellboy was being playful and teasing.
But it was high time to change the topic back to Torie.
"So, do you know where she is?" Abe asked.
Hellboy sighed as he walked back into the room, his shoulders surging upwards towards the ceiling before sinking back to normal. He was about as sure as his muddled mind would let him be, which meant that Hellboy had no definitive answer. "Yeah, I got this note and as far as I can figure, she's at that old church that burned down a couple months back." Hoping the tone of his voice didn't betray his doubt, Hellboy handed his friend the note and waited for a reaction from Abe.
After a few moments, which seemed like an eternity to Hellboy, Abe looked up and said, "You could take this more literally."
His brow furrowing, Hellboy stopped mid-stride. He then pivoted on his foot and frowned in the direction of Abe. "What do you mean?"
Shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to deflect some of the irritation that started to flare in his friend's eyes, Abe said quietly, "Maybe they mean your sins."
"My sins?" The incredulous tone in Hellboy's voice made Abe suddenly regret his suggestion.
But knowing there was no sugar-coating the truth, Abe pointed at the note and plowed right in. "You're taking it to mean confession. So thus the church would be correct. But I'm seeing it as they mean the literal form of your sins. What you are… What your hand can bring about… Armageddon… I think she's at the old Club Apocalypse. If I can remember correctly, the club had a basement with several 'play' rooms that they called the Dungeon. Betcha you'll find Torie down there. I could be wrong, but I think whoever has Torie will want you to atone for your… background… by going to the very place you could bring about."
What he was – a half-demon – was not something Hellboy ever liked talking about. So he did what he always did when the topic of his parentage came up… Hellboy changed the subject. "We're not going to talk about that any more. But what we are going to talk about is how they – whoever 'they' are – this is the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense! How did it… they… whatever… get in?" That was the biggest conundrum of the whole affair.
Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap. Abe was not looking to this question, which he knew was inevitable, and had to remind himself not to physically wince. Slipping off his seat, Abe wandered over to the fridge to grab a bottled water. Anything to avoid making eye contract with his best friend. A small headache behind his eyes threatened to explode into a full-blown migraine. "From what I can gather, Torie was outside on your patio when she was snatched," Abe replied, after downing the whole bottle in one nervous gesture.
"She was where?" The ferocity in Hellboy's voice caused the framed artwork on the walls to rattle. His tail whipped through the air so fast that it made an audible slicing sound.
Oh shit. He's pissed. Sorry Torie. Abe dropped his gaze as he repeated softly, "Outside."
"Fuck!" Hellboy began to pace. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. What in the world was she thinking?" He slapped his hand against his forehead, wincing slightly when his thumb brushed his horn stump.
There was no mistaking Hellboy's irritation – or his concern. Abe knew he needed to tread carefully. The big red idiot was obviously an idiot over Torie. Abe had seen Hellboy get all ga-ga over women before, but none of them had been this bad. As much as Abe wanted to say that the women hadn't been in similar circumstances, that would have been an untruth. Any sort of relationship with a Bureau member pretty much guaranteed danger became a part of your life. It was just nice for both Hellboy and Torie that it took so long for it to appear, but it was unfortunate that the danger seemed to make up for lost time.
"That she hated being cooped up?" Abe's voice was soft, but he looked Hellboy straight in the eye when he spoke.
That stopped Hellboy in his tracks. He understood the feeling of being caged. For many years, that was a way of life that he was forced to live. But it was only for a few days… a few weeks at the most. And then, like it was for him, she would be free. And things would be back to normal. Although I'm starting to forget what normal was like with her. I know we had it once, but it seems like it was a million years ago.
Hellboy shouldered his bag and headed towards the door, forcing Abe to follow or get left behind. "Enough chit chat, we're burning daylight. Let's get out of here and go find her."