Chapter Three
Heading to the scene of the crime, Hellboy and Abe sits inside a large unusual garbage truck as Maizie sits up in the front. Hellboy watches out the one-way mirror to the crowd outside.
"Look at them ugly suckers, Blue," Hellboy said. "One sheet of glass between them and us."
"Story of my life," Abe responded as he put on a respirator around his neck.
"I break it, they see us. Happy Halloween," Hellboy sighs. "Outside…I could be outside."
Abe looks through his box of otherworldly texts as he responds, "You mean outside…with her."
Hellboy turns away from the window and glares at Abe as he pulls a large utility belt from a small cabinet. He grabs a stogie and puts it in his mouth.
"Don't get psychic with me."
Abe looks at Hellboy, "Nothing psychic about it. You're easy."
Hellboy pulls out a large gun he calls 'The Samaritan.'
"How am I ever gonna get a girl? I drive around in a garbage truck."
"Liz left us, Red," Abe said. "Take a hint."
The red demon cocked his gun, "We don't take hints."
The truck stops and parks as the door come up. Maizie stands on the platform with Clay.
"Okay boys, let's synch up our locators," Clay said.
Abe, Hellboy, and Clay turn on their locators before they enter the building as Maizie follows them. They continue to the end of a large hallway and stop with the agents that crowded around a large door.
"At nineteen hundred hours, an alarmed tripped. B&E. Robbery. Six guards dead," Clay reported to the group.
"I thought we checked this place. Fakes and reproductions," Hellboy said.
Broom emerges from the crowd and speaks, "Apparently not everything was fake."
"Hello Father," Hellboy said.
Broom nodded to his adopted son as more agents came up behind them, bringing a large rolling case. Maizie watches Hellboy as he opens the case and pull out all sorts of bullets. Abe pulls off a glove and spreads his fingers to the door and closed his eyes.
"A 16th century statue was destroyed," Broom said. "Saint Dionysius the Aeropagite."
"Who wards off demons," Hellboy said.
Broom continued, "Smuggled into this country by an overzealous curator. The statue, however, was hollow-"
"A reliquary."
Nodding, Broom said, "A prison. The Vatican deemed its contents dangerous enough to include it on the List of Avignon. Of which we hold a copy."
Hellboy nodded to acknowledge the information from his aging father. He turned to look at Maizie who was looking at the armory inside the case with a look of awe. He picked up a bullet from a metal box and showed it to Maizie.
"Would'ya look at this baby? Made 'em myself. Holy water, silver shavings, and white oaks; the works," Hellboy said as he shook it and loaded up his gun.
Both turned when they heard Abe gasp.
"Behind this door," Abe said as he pulled his hand away. "A dark entity; evil, ancient, and hungry."
Hellboy cocked his gun, "Oh, well. Let me go in and say 'Hi'."
He opened the large doors and closed them behind him. Maizie watched him go with a look of shock. She went up to Abe who was looking through the chest of books.
"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Maizie hissed.
Abe looked up at the woman, "He always does that. He prefers to go in alone."
"Alone my ass! Nobody goes in alone on my watch," Maizie said hotly before she turned away and stood in front of the door.
As Abe watched, she pulled out her gun from the holster at her hip and stood ready, her arm down and away, finger beside the trigger. Her actions surprised him, especially coming from someone who is a recent graduate of an academy and not a seasoned agent. His respect for her suddenly grew and without realizing it, he smiled. He turned back to the books and pulled one out. His earpiece crackled and Hellboy's voice came through.
"Blue, it stinks in here. Finely aged road kill."
Inside the room
Hellboy walked in between dead, chewed up bodies on the floor and wrinkled in distaste from the nasty smell. He heard a noise of bones breaking and chewing sounds and he turned in that direction and stopped. A long stream of slime dripped down in front of him and he groaned in disgust. Looking up he saw the creature hanging from the ceiling, holding onto a dead body.
"Hey stinky! Kitchen's closed," Hellboy remarked to the creature. "Whatcha havin? Six guards raw? Plus belts and boots? Man, you're gonna need some heavy fiber to move that out-"
"Red, I found something, there's not much here. The entity's name is Sammael, the desolate one, son of Nergal-"
"Hold it," Hellboy interrupted. "Hey Sammy, whaddya say we work this out? Peacefully? I'm not a great shot, but 'The Samaritan' here uses really big bullets, so whaddya say?"
Hellboy raises his gun and the Sammael screeches loudly as he lets himself down to the ground. Once he lands, he twists his body 360 degrees and roars at him. Hellboy shoots his gun and Sammael leaps away, but not before one bullet catches him. He jerks from the impact and lands with a thud, growing still.
"That's all for you, Sammy," Hellboy says looking at the creature.
"Red, you need to hear the rest of the information-"
"Nah, he's taken care of," Hellboy said as he put his gun away in his holster.
"No, listen to this; Sammael, the desolate one, son of Nergal, hound of resurrection-"
Hellboy froze, "See? I don't like that."
"Hound of resurrection?"
He turns to see the creature gone from its spot.
"Harbringer of pestilence, seed of destruction-"
"Skip to the end will ya? How do I kill it?"
"It doesn't say-"
Suddenly out of nowhere, the creature came swinging around and knocking into Hellboy, sending him crashing into the doors. The doors concaved inwards and cracked under the pressure of the impact. Hellboy jumped up as Sammael ran and jumped through the window at the other end of the room.
The others outside the door took a step back from the thud of the impact. Maizie glowered, raised her gun at Abe, careful to keep her finger off the trigger, and spoke.
"This is why no one goes in alone! No matter what!" Maizie said with frustration and anger underlining her words.
She turned away from the blue fish, leaving him speechless, and ran to find a way into the room. Abe watched the back of her disappear around a corner before he looked at Broom. The old man smiled at Abe, pleased at Maizie's actions.
"Who is she?" Abe asked.
"A remarkable, unique, young woman," Broom answered.