Love, Lies & Lizard Babies by PoorQueequeg
Chapter Six
Two hours later, Helen sat looking out of the windshield at the dark water of the docks. A bell was clanging erratically in the distance and the soothing slap of the water against the harbor defences was marred only by the drizzle of rain on the roof of the car. They were parked between a stack of crates printed with Chinese characters in red ink to one side and a mottled concrete wall on the other. There were a few bodies about even at this late hour, men in waterproof pants hauling white, plastic containers of fish onto the dock or hosing down the sides of the boats. She turned her head as the door opened and Jason climbed into the driver's seat.
"Still no sign?" she asked. He shook his head and pulled a face.
"Nah, nothin'" he replied shifting around a little and pulling his sleeve up to glance at his watch. Helen turned back to the windshield and shook her head.
"You're sure this is the right place?" she asked as she peered through the rain streaked glass. Jason sighed.
"This is the fish market," he replied tapping his fingers on the dash. Helen glanced sideways and eyed a short queue of people in front a white van where a man was stooped behind a tiny window, serving dim sum in polystyrene containers.
"I wonder if they've got tea," she muttered idly. Jason pursed his lips and tilted his head to one side.
"It smelled really good," he said with a small sigh. She looked at him for a moment and raised her eyebrows. He touched his tongue to his lower lip and she leaned back in her seat, raising her hips to dig around in the pocket of her pants. His eyes dropped to admire the curve of her ass until she slumped back down and shoved a handful of bills towards him.
"Go on," she told him. "But if they've only got coffee, don't bother." He took the notes and opened the door. She watched his back as he trotted over and joined the line. Her stomach growled and she smacked her lips in anticipation. A man walked in front of the car, hunching forward as he stuffed a glutinous, white mass into his mouth with chopsticks and her eyes followed him hungrily. Minutes passed and when she looked back towards the truck Jason was just reaching up to take a paper bag from the vendor. He turned towards the car, two cups stacked one of top of the other in one hand and the food clutched in the other. He had only taken a few steps when he raised his head and Helen saw him freeze for a second before he darted suddenly to the side behind a stack of empty blue crates. She jerked her head to see Tattoos standing, half hidden by a pillar, engaged in conversation with another man and slid down as low in her seat as her long legs would allow.
Helen stayed hunched low behind the dash for a few minutes and watched as they conducted their business, noting the way Worrall's eyes darted about. She glanced towards Jason but couldn't see anything, her view obscured by the steering wheel. There was no way either of them would be able to sneak up on him from their positions. Her brain ran through a myriad of possibilities and she concluded the best option would be to hang back and follow him when he got tired of waiting. Before she had the chance to mull the possibilities over any further, a loud beeping sound filled her ears and a truck began to reverse across the concrete in front of the car. She pushed up in her seat and gripped the dash for a moment, before pulling on the handle and stepping out into the rain. She pulled her Sig from her pants and tugged her sleeve down as far as she could over her hand to obscure it as she sloped forward. Sideways she slid alongside the reversing truck and crossed in front of the cab, the bright headlights blinding her. She raised a hand and squinted, jogging forward until she had a clear view of Worrall and his associate. She leaned backward, trying to stay out of sight but not before Worrall raised his head and looked directly at her.
His blinked in his odd, reptilian way, the black slits of his pupils expanding to dark ellipses that seemed to fill his eyes. He shoved his associate roughly on the chest, knocking him down in an effort to block her path and fled in the opposite direction. Helen began to sprint forward when Jason tore across the dock after him. She slowed and backed up a few steps before turning around and running back to the car as fast as she could. She yanked open the door and flopped heavily behind the wheel, reaching her fingers down to twist the key in the ignition. The engine sputtered and the car lurched forward a foot or so before coming to a stop with an unnerving rattle.
"No, no..." she cried, jerking the stick and turning the key once more. "Stupid bloody thing!" The starter motor wheezed, mocking her as she clenched her jaw in frustration until finally after the third attempt it submitted and the engine roared to life.
Jason meanwhile was tearing along the uneven surface of the access road, rain hitting him directly in the face. His feet pounded against the ground with a wet slap as his arms swung furiously up and down. Worrall, only a few yards ahead of him, careened into a pedestrian and clutched tightly at the man's coat, swinging him around and flinging him to the ground so that Jason had to leap over his crumpled form. He landed heavily in a puddle, his arms flailing out as he tried to keep his balance, water soaking his pants. Worrall jerked sideways suddenly down a gap between two old trawlers that were out of the water for repairs, spinning around to tip up an old steel barrel in an effort to slow down his pursuer.
He exited the boats onto a narrow strip of asphalt bordered by wide, open sheds. He weaved between the steel struts that rose up from the ground and skidded to a stop behind a stack of wooden pallets. Shoving hard, they collapsed across the floor with a tremendous crash. Jason careened into them hard, falling forward with a loud "Oof!" Worrall staggered backwards, hopping from foot to foot before turning once more and sprinting out the other side of the shed onto a wide open road.
Jason heard the squeal of tires against wet stone as he pushed himself up on his arms. He reached forward to clamber over the fallen pallets only to fall on his face again and slide backwards as they shifted under his feet. He raised his head to see a streak of green through the rain as the Helen tore down the road in the car.
Worrall turned his head to glance over his shoulder, jerking it back around sharply as the beam of the Mustang's headlights shone in his eyes. Dazzled he stumbled forward and smacked chin first into the mesh of a chain fence, gripping on blindly to keep from falling on his ass. Helen slammed on the brakes and they squealed ineffectually, the tires skidding on the wet stone. She glanced up to see Worrall climbing lizard like up the fence as the bumper impacted it at the base and the entire section was torn from the supporting struts on either side. Worrall landed against the windshield with a heavy thump and a concrete post listed sideways, shunting the car so that it veered to the side.
Helen clutched at the wheel with a death grip, bracing herself against the seat as the car swerved out of control and smacked into a railing with a loud crunch. Worrall, still clinging desperately to the mesh fence, let out a yowl and slid off the hood to land in a crumpled heap a few feet away.
"Aah!" Helen squealed as she was shoved forward forcefully against the wheel and then slammed back against the chair, the tender spot on the crown of her head smacking against the headrest. She screwed her eyes shut for a second before shaking her head and letting out a few short pants of breath. She gazed ahead through the cracked glass of the windshield to see a small column of steam coming from the crumpled hood. "Bloody hell!" she exclaimed.
Jason came to a skittering halt beside her window and she turned to look at him, hands still gripping the wheel as he let out a wail.
"What the hell? Jesus Christ, my car! My fucking car!" he screeched, his arms bent up at the elbows as he smacked his palms down onto his bald head. He turned to look at her through the door with a deranged look on his face. Helen returned his gaze sheepishly, her eyebrows glued to her hairline. Panting heavily, she pushed her foot down on the clutch and yanked the stick into reverse, the engine wheezing unhappily before the car rolled backwards. The metal railing scraped against the front with a long, scratching sound that made Jason's teeth ache and the bumper stuck to it for a second before finally coming free. It clanged against the ground and Jason screwed his eyes up tight as it dragged painfully across the concrete with a high pitched squeal.
Helen climbed out of the car and tentatively stepped towards him,chewing on her bottom lip. She sucked her lips fully into her mouth and turned to survey the damage, trembling imperceptibly. Steam billowed from the hood with a hiss and Jason walked forward, clasping one of the headlights in his hand as it dangled from it's fixture, a look of sorrow painted across his face.
"Jay," she choked out between breaths. "I'm sorry." He turned to her and she thought for a moment he might cry but he merely let go of the lamp and stepped closer.
"Are you okay?" he asked breathily, reaching out to hold her shoulder. She looked into his eyes and nodded, trembling ever so slightly. He reached up with his other hand and turned her to face him, his eyes raking up and down her body. He opened his mouth to speak when a strangled moan drifted up from behind. They turned towards the sound to see Worrall shifting his arms against the section of fence that lay atop him. Jason's face hardened at the sound and he dropped his arms from Helen's shoulders, lifting his leg over the iron rail and approaching the writhing form on the ground.
He stooped and the fence clattered against the ground as he shoved it aside. He crouched down beside Worrall's crumpled body and grimaced.
"Ah, he doesn't look so good," he said in a wavering voice, turning his head to peer at Helen over his shoulder. She gripped the railing and stepped over stiffly. Wincing as she crouched down, she ran her eyes up and down Worrall's twisted form. Worrall groaned again, his eyes rolling in their sockets before his head turned to the side and a forked tongue lolled out between his lips. Helen bent down on her knees and held her cheek in front of his mouth.
"He's alive." She looked up at Jason's face to seem his staring intently with a look halfway between curiosity and revulsion. She reached forward and began to rifle through his pockets. "Check his phone," she said as she handed it across his torso. She found a wad of grubby bills and pulled out a knife from inside his coat. Throwing it to the side she continued, dropping several small plastic packets onto the floor beside his body. Jason leant across and picked one up, turning it over in his fingers.
"What is it?" he asked and Helen sighed.
"I'm not sure but I'm sure it's highly illegal and highly immoral," she said with disgust.
"Ground up lizard babies?" Jason said half-joking but when she didn't crack a smile, he dropped the package back onto the ground. "If he's a lizard man, why would he trade in lizard eggs anyway?" He asked as she pulled a set of keys out of Worrall's pants. She shrugged slightly as she flicked through them.
"Some varanids are cannibalistic," she said absently as she squinted at one key in particular. "The flesh of some smaller species are thought to be an aphrodisiac." Jason raised his brows and quirked his lips as his gaze fell back to the tiny packets on the floor. "What does this look like to you?"
He craned his neck closer. "CCT?" Helen read the tiny letters on the yellow plastic cap.
"City Container Terminal," Jason said.
"Hmm," Helen replied sitting back on her feet. "What's are the odds that's where he keeps his stash?"
Jason tipped his head to one side as he looked her in the eye. "You wanna check it out?" She nodded. "What about lizard guy?"
"Well we can't leave him here," Helen answered flicking her eyes up and down the body on the ground.
"I'm not sure we're going anywhere," Jason replied looking over his shoulder at the mangled front of the Mustang. Helen turned her head and swallowed.
"Yes, um...sorry about that," she said in a quiet voice. He shook his head slightly and chuffed out a breath through his nose, his nostrils flaring.
"What happened?"
"I ah, the breaks gave out, I couldn't stop." She told him contritely but he wouldn't meet her eyes, merely pushed up off the ground and walked back to stand in front of the car. "Is it very bad?"
He grasped the light where it was hanging down and stooped to slot it back into place and then ran his hand across the front to tug at the bumper. The sound of wrenching metal made Helen wince.
"I don't know, I'll have to take a look. We can't go on the road like this, the cops'll pull us over in a heartbeat." Jason stood and gestured at the cracked windshield. Helen rose and brushed grit off her damp knees. "It's not far from here to the shipping yards, maybe if we stay on the service roads."
"Perhaps we could just leave it somewhere? Go on foot?" Helen suggested as the sky rumbled over head and the light rain that had been falling all evening turned into a heavy downpour.