Absolution Black Book 5

[Absolution Black]

PART 1

Knoffler sat at his desk just staring at the piles of reports and statements that had piled up over the last week or so. It was always the same when he ended up getting caught up in Black’s shenanigans, though this time the stakes seemed to be a lot higher than normal. It would be a miracle if any of them came out of this mess alive. He picked up a piece of paper from the top of the pile and looked at it: a witness report of a mugging two days ago. He screwed up the tattered page and threw it at the bin across the office.

“I saw that sir” a woman’s voice broke the silence, “I should report you for dereliction of duty. That statement could be important”.

He looked up and saw a young woman, probably only in her early twenties standing before the desk. She wore the crisp clean uniform of a new recruit to the Guild, the clothing not yet sullied by a few days on the job. She had short blonde hair that was hidden under the traditional wide brimmed hat that was issued to Guild officers. She smiled and placed the thick folder of paper she was holding onto his desk, dislodging another messy pile.

“And you are?” Knoffler grunted.

“Officer Reagan sir, assigned to you. I guess I’m supposed to help with this hush hush job you have been given. But no-one really tells me anything, they still see me as the rookie”.

Knoffler sighed. An assistant, that was all he needed right now. Someone else for him to worry about, or most likely in this case, someone else to report his misdemeanours and corner cutting.

“Assigned? By who?”.

“One of the nobs in head office, I guess. But he had the weirdest voice, almost snakelike”.

Knoffler smiled. So that was the game was it. That slimy lawyer had assigned this rookie to keep an eye on him, to ensure he didn’t shirk the responsibility given him. To make sure everything was above board. He actually liked the fact the Lawyer obviously didn’t trust him, it meant he was doing his job right. He leant back in his chair and rested his head in his arms. Well, he had been dealt a low hand, so he had to make the best of it. Maybe she could be of some use.

“So how much do you know?” he asked.

The girl sat in the chair opposite him and leant forward.

“All I know is, we have to recruit a large force of officers and that we are expected to be away from the city for a couple of days. After that, I’m clueless”

“Ok. So you know as much as me really then” Knoffler laughed. “I do know I want the best sharp shooters we can get, I have a feeling this job might just need them”.

“”I guess that’s why I was assigned to you then” the girl smiled, handing a piece of paper over the desk to the Captain, “Top of my class on the range. In fact, the top score achieved in the last three years”.

Knoffler scanned the report in front of him. These truly were impressive statistics. He smiled, Maybe lady luck was smiling on him today.

“Of course, you do realise I tend not to do things by the book…” he let the statement hang.

Reagan simply smiled her sweet smile back at the older officer.

“Then I think we shall get on brilliantly”……………

Lydia ran to catch up with Black as he stormed down the stairs and into the street outside. She grabbed his arm and forced him to stop. She heard Joshua pause on the stairs inside. Black’s face was a mixture of anger, determination and also sadness. She pulled herself close to him, leaning in so she could whisper what she needed to say.

“I know this is a shock to you, and you have every right to be angry. But he is your father Absolution, and he appears to want to make amends”.

She saw his lips tighten as he fought to hold back the bitterness that was threatening to overwhelm him. His father had explained to her the ‘curse’ that had affected the Black men through several generations. For some unexplained reason, emotions were heightened within them and could easily result in loss of control. In Absolution’s case his weakness was anger. From an early age he had been subject to bouts of uncontrolled rage under which he was a danger to himself and others. The Order his father belonged to had recognised this afflication and had sought to utilise it for their own needs. Black had become an ultimate killing machine, allowing the anger to sweep through his body.

In this state he was able to swathe bloody paths through almost any force set against him. It was under one of these rages that Black had believed he had slaughtered his own father, when in fact it had all been a ruse to gain both of their freedom. Now she watched as he fought to control that emotion once more.

“He let me believe I had killed him. What father does that to his child?” He snarled.

“It was the only way he could see to get you out of there, to force you to run. Surely you can see that. You knew how oppressive the Order was”.

“I had a purpose there” he was speaking softly now, “ I had a home, I had people who cared about me”.

She held his head in her hands as she pulled his face to hers.

“You have a home here now. And you have people who care for you. Abernathy, your father, even that old captain”. She moved closer to him “ And I care for you too”.

She kissed him on the lips and felt him respond in kind. She could feel the tension slipping from his body as they embraced and enjoyed this moment of pleasure. She broke the kiss and looked up at his face, now seeing his eyes filled with longing and happiness, and no longer fueled by rage.

Suddenly he pushed her gently behind him. He was looking over towards the darkened alley opposite. He turned to face her and she saw the concern on his face.

“Stay here” He whispered and began to move across the street, slowly but making no effort to hide himself.

Lydia followed, several paces behind. She was determined that he wasn’t going to face this alone, whatever it was. She had lost him once already and had no intention of doing it again. As she approached the entrance to the alleyway, she saw Black hunched over something. She moved closer and let out a gasp when she saw what it was he was looking at.

On the cobbles, and almost the same shade of grey as the stone itself, was a body. A man’s body. His throat had been slit so his head rolled loosely on the ground as Black searched the man’s clothes. The eyes were still open, the mouth stretched wide in a silent scream. Lydia fought the urge to turn away, instead leaning one hand on the wall for support.

“Do you know him?” She asked.

“Its Hackett. An associate of mine. I asked him to run an errand for me. I didn’t realise it would get him killed”.

“And this errand, did he manage to complete it before he….died?”

Black pulled out the paper that had been gripped tightly in the dead man’s hands. As Lydia unfurled it, she read three words that had been scrawled on it in blood.

SHE WILL COME

She handed the parchment back to Black who stashed it into his jacket pocket.

“So should I ask who ‘she’ is?”

Black stood up, and walked out of the alley, heading back across the street to where his father now stood waiting.

“Trust me, you really don’t want to know”……..

The three of them stood before the wall. When the Guild had first come through the breach again they had encountered fierce resistance from creatures unknown in this area of town. They called it the Quarantine zone, and they had erected walls and fences to keep whatever lay behind out, and to keep their citizens in. Now as Black, Lydia and Joshua stood there looking up at the top of the wall, he wondered if this was really his fight. They were going after the resser that had conspired with his father, and by a weird coincidence, had captured him a few days earlier.

But why was he really doing it? He could tell himself it was justice, that killing this freak would be the perfect revenge for his capture, but he knew it wasn’t that. He could tell himself that it didn’t matter, that the simple fact there would be one less resser to terrorise the streets of Malifaux would be reason enough. But he knew he could just hand over the details to the Guild and that would be the end of the problem for him.

No, the real reason, and the one he didn’t want to admit to himself, was that he was doing this because his father had asked. Never mind the fact his father had lied to him all these years, had made him think he had killed him. The simple fact was that his father had asked, and that was all. Blood was thicker than water they said, and in this case it appeared to be true. He smiled to himself and checked his weapons one more time.

“Right, lets get to this” he snarled.

“How are we getting over that?” Lydia asked, pointing to the wall standing six feet away from them.

“we’re not” He replied, “ We’re going under”.

He knelt down and pulled the heavy manhole cover from the drain. He allowed the light to illuminate a few feet inside, and then dropped down into the sewers.

“Sewers? Again?” Lydia held her hands up. “ I’ve only just got clean from the last time!”.

She heard Joshua laugh and she flashed him a quick smile as she dropped down after Black into the darkness. With a final look around Joshua slipped into the hole, pulling the heavy cover back into place above him. Then he followed the glow of the torch down the tunnel, catching up with the others, steeling himself for the battle to come……………

[Absolution Black]

PART 2

As they walked through the sewers, the flickering torchlight uncovered strange writings on the walls of the tunnels. Most were in a strange language that none of the three understood, and those that were in English made disturbing reading. Black tried his best not to read any of them, knowing that whatever had scrawled these utterings on the stone was more than likely insane. And possibly still around. Lydia, however, seemed fascinated and would stop for a while to study the writings, trying to find a meaning in them. When the two men made to usher her onwards, she would complain, stating her belief that the words were important, and that they should be noted.

Finally they began to reach a rather more unused area of the sewer system, dust lay several inches thick in places, and as they walked they left deep footprints on the floor. The air had changed too, from a rather sweet yet sickly smell to the pungent mustiness they could all smell now. Black pulled a scarf up around his mouth and motioned the others to do the same. The last thing he needed was anyone to be overcome and a hindrance. He let his father take the lead for the next section, content to bring up the rear of the formation. It meant he could watch Lydia as they walked, and his mind wandered back to that kiss they had shared on the street earlier.

Yes, they had kissed before, even shared a bed, but this one felt different. For the first time in a long while, Black had felt something other than lust from the kiss of a woman. His memories immediately jumped into his brain, thoughts of a girl so many years earlier when they had both been young and reckless. He swallowed hard. Too reckless, he thought, and shook the past from his head. He thought once more about the kiss, and a smile crossed his lips. He realised he actually felt happy for the first time in years.

Suddenly they stopped. Joshua motioned them to be quiet and then lifted himself up the rusted metal ladder to the manhole cover above. He cautiously slipped it open a few inches and peered around. Then sliding it fully across, he was out into the street above. Black and Lydia waited until his head re-appeared in the hole and motioned them up. Black remained below as Lydia climbed up and was lifted out by his father. Then, chucking the burning torch into the stagnant water, he climbed up and lifted himself out of the sewer. They slid the cover back across slowly and quietly and surveyed their surroundings.

It was obvious they were deep inside the Quarantine zone. Houses stood empty, shutters and doors hanging loosely from their hinges. The streets were deserted and although it was early afternoon, the buildings cast an oppressive gloom over everything, adding to the mournful appearance. Joshua was searching around, trying to find some sort of bearing that would enable them to locate their target. Black took this opportunity to talk to Lydia as she sat on the ancient cobbled pavement.

“About what happened earlier” he began “ Did you mean it?”

She smiled back up at him.

“What the kiss, or that I cared for you?”

“Both”.

“I meant it. I can’t explain it, but since that day you abducted me from the Star, I have felt an incredible attraction towards you, as if fate had drawn us together. It sounds silly, I know”. She blushed.

Black smiled and moved to sit next to her.

“Its not silly. I feel it too. Its just that….I’m kind of dangerous to be around. I have so many skeletons in my closet that could come back to haunt me. I would hate to see you caught up in that”

“We all have our secrets Absolution, its what makes us who we are today. I will need to tell you something, but now is not the time”….

“You mean your power? I know about it, Knoffler had to tell me. I will admit I am wary of such a talent, but its part of you. And it’s the whole of you I like!”

He leant in for a kiss, but was interrupted by his father’s voice.

“Time for that later. Right now, we have other pressing matters. But, on the positive side, I think we are on the right track”.

They looked up to see several figures shambling down the street towards them. And as they got closer, it was plain to see that they weren’t alive……..

Knoffler had to hand it to Officer Reagan. She really could organise, and do it well. He had been told he couldn’t organise a knees-up in a brewery, and he was inclined to agree. Why invite anyone else if you had access to all that beer? He smiled as yet another recruit walked past him and down to the ordinance yard. That made a total of sixty-three guardsmen from all over the city who had signed up for their little mission. And what made it even more incredible is that less than half of them had actually asked what it was they were signing up for. This girl’s powers of persuasion were definitely impressive.

He sat down behind his desk and watched the steady arrival of more officers signing up. They had only put the call out an hour or so ago, and already they were over half way to getting their team. And they had managed to acquire some highly talented shooters as well. He recognised Old Murt, a training officer from the firing range. Legend had it, Old Murt could hit a horsefly on a clothes line from fifty paces, whilst stood on one leg. He didn’t believe it, but legends had to start somewhere.

Reagan stamped the seal on the last of the guardsmen’s papers and sat back in her chair smiling. She took a swig from a canteen she had stashed in her jacket.

“A drop of the strong stuff?” Knoffler asked, as she screwed the top back on tight.

“Water” she replied matter of factly, before gathering up the pieces of paper and filing them in the large red file on the captain’s desk.

“That makes seventy-two” She stated

“Not bad for an afternoon’s work” Knoffler replied, grabbing his hat from the desk.

“But its still early sir, There may be more recruits yet”.

Knoffler stood up.

“One thing you’ll learn girl, is not to be so eager. If they want to sign up, they’ll come back. Right now, I am fancying a cool pint of beer at the Horse and Strumpet. Coming?”

He half expected her to slap a citation or similar on him right then, but she simply stood, grabbed her own hat from the desk and pulled her jacket closed.

“Fine, but you’re paying” she said, as they walked out the door, “And I really should put this in my report”

“You do that girl” Knoffler laughed, pulling out his cigarettes, “care for a smoke?”

“No. It’s a filthy habit. Plus it’ll kill you”.

Knoffler smiled. “There’s a lot of stuff that’ll kill you. I’m finding that out the hard way”……..

Black ran straight into the group of rotting figures, drawing his revolver and sword. He let loose with a volley of three bullets, dropping three zombies with clean head shots. Then he was in amongst them, weaving and dodging their clawing grasps whilst using his sword to quickly dispatch them. He watched as his father joined him in the fight, the older man showing some subliminal sword moves. He hoped Lydia had enough sense to hang back and pick them off from a distance, as he wasn’t sure her short sword was the right tool for the job, putting her dangerously close to the opponent.

He parried a swiping arm with his, then thrust the sword up under the zombie’s neck, severing the head from the torso in one move. The rotted skull bounced on the cobbles and was swiftly joined by the tumbling corpse. There hadn’t seemed so many of them when they first started fighting, but more and more began to pour from the surrounding buildings. He fought across to his father and stood back to back, allowing them to protect each other. They were slowly being forced back up the street towards a large old town house.

“Seems to me they want us to go in there” Black growled to his father.

“Then I guess that’s where we’re going” Joshua replied, decapitating another undead with his sword strike.

They motioned to Lydia to stay behind them as they backed up the street, picking off the zombies should they stray too close to their swinging blades. As they were pushed back towards the doors of the large building, the tide began to slow, until they stood in a semi circle around the trio. They backed slowly up the stairs to the heavy wooden doors and stopped. Realising the zombies weren’t moving towards them, Black looked around.

“Well, I guess we are supposed to go in there”.

“I don’t like the look of this Abs” Joshua grimaced. “I don’t like being told what to do”.

They heard a loud creak behind them and turned to see Lydia standing in front of the now open doorway. She made gestures that seemed to suggest she hadn’t opened them. Black cursed. This was not good. He preferred fighting on his terms, and knowing his exits. This wasn’t going to plan at all.

He lowered his revolver, re-holstering it.

“Well, here goes nothing”.

He stepped through the doorway into what appeared to be a stately home inside. Plush furnishings and paintings filled the hallway, and though it seemed empty, he remained on alert for the slightest sign of trouble. He was joined by his father and Lydia. As she stepped through, the heavy doors slammed shut behind them. Lydia tried to open them but they wouldn’t budge. It was clear to Black they had walked into a trap. But faced with the alternative: being ripped apart by the undead, he found himself preferring this option. At least he was still alive, and they had a chance to regroup and formulate a plan.

A loud grinding noise scuppered that idea, as the trio watched the doors open at the opposite end of the hallway. From the adjoining room stepped an abomination of nature. Formed in the guise of a man, but standing over ten feet tall the undead construct stooped through the doorway and shuffled towards them. It wielded a heavy double bladed axe as big as a man. As it made its slow and silent path towards them, they fired off several shots into its torso and head. The bullets disappeared into the putrescent flesh with a sucking sound, leaving no damage.

“I think this is going to get messy”………………….

[Absolution Black]

PART 3

Black crashed into an old ornate chair, sending it skidding across the lacquered floor. He felt the air tug at his hat as the large blade passed within inches of where he lay. He paused for a few seconds waiting until the backwards swing had cleared him before jumping to his feet. He could see the construct had changed its focus and was now looming menacingly towards Lydia, who had found herself backed into a corner. She lifted her revolver instinctively and loosed a volley of bullets that ineffectually disappeared into the mass of putrid flesh.

“Save your bullets” he yelled as he leapt towards the giant, swinging his sword around in an effort to hamstring one of the rotten legs.

He felt his whole arm jolt as the sword hit home, the force wrestling it from his grasp, his fingers numb with the impact. He watched in horror as the weapon fell to the floor seemingly leaving the undead creature unscathed. As if attempting to swat a fly, the construct swiped an arm around behind itself, causing Black to dodge once more. Thankfully the distraction had given Lydia time to break free from her position, and she rolled under the axe sweep to stand in clear ground once more.

Joshua was keeping the creature occupied, staying just out of reach of the axe at all times, feinting left and right of the swings. Black watched as his father taunted and played with the monster, and found himself admiring the man he so wanted to hate. He saw the creature reach out to grab his father in frustration, but Joshua was too quick and sliced a rotting finger off with a flourish of his blade. At least this thing is beatable, thought Black. It may just take a long time. And time was something they couldn’t afford. With every second that passed the resser that created this freak would be preparing for them, setting new challenges. They needed to beat this thing fast before fatigue overcame them.

He slid across the floor to where Lydia stood, sword in hand, unsure of what to do.

“Did you leave this bag exactly as you found it?” he asked, pointing to the cloth carrier slung over her shoulder.

“Yes, why?”

Black reached inside and felt for what he hoped was still there. This bag had served him well for several years, and he tried to carry it with him wherever he was. His fingers gripped the familiar shape and with a smile he pulled his hand from the bag, clutching a stick of miner’s dynamite. He searched his pockets for anything that could serve as a light, but was dismayed to find nothing. He kicked himself for not thinking about that, and then cursed the fact Knoffler wasn’t here. At least he could always be counted on for a light.

He could see his father tiring now, his moves and steps becoming heavier and slower. The great blade slammed down just inches from him, shattering floorboards and sending splinters of polished wood into the air. He whistled to attract the older man’s attention and his father nodded when he saw what Black was holding. Dodging a blow, Joshua pointed his sword at the far wall before swiping ineffectually at the creature’s grasping hand. Black followed the line of the point and saw immediately how this would work. He ran across the open floor to the opposite wall, grabbing the oil lamp off the hook. Thankfully it was still burning well.

He smashed the lamp onto the wall, the oil splashing the furnishings and catching fire. He pulled the fuse straight and lit the end in the flames, turning to assess the situation. He had a clear run now to the creature’s exposed back and he took it. He ran across the floor and used a nearby chair as a launching pad to reach the construct. As he flew past the rotten hulk he stuck the dynamite deep into the flesh and rolled away across the floor. He climbed to his feet and screamed at the other two to take some sort of cover before jumping onto a chaise long, tipping it over and using it as a screen.

Seconds later he heard the explosion, a muffled burst, and it began to rain flesh. Chunks of rotted body splashed to the floor around him, the smell almost overpowering. When the cascade finished he looked out over the top of the furniture shield and saw the smoking hulk of the creature as it slumped to the floor, its entire back and head blown away. The giant axe slammed into the floor inches from where his father squatted, using a chair as cover. Flames began to lick the wall where the oil lamp had been broken, filling the room with a grey smoke that caught the lungs. He stood up and as the other two joined him, he retrieved his sword before they ran from the room and further inside…………..

Knoffler stood at the back of the wagon smoking the last of the cigarette, leaning back against the canvas side. He was deep in thought and didn’t notice the young guardsman approach until he was literally in front of him. The younger man held out a handful of papers and Knoffler took them reluctantly, already knowing what was on them. Orders. Orders that he most likely would not be happy carrying out. He dismissed the runner and stuffed the pieces of paper into his jacket.

“Not one for orders then?” The woman’s voice said in his ear.

He jumped and cursed as the cigarette dropped out of his mouth and caught his hand on its way to the dry ground below. He looked up to see the smiling face of Officer Reagan, his apparent assistant. He smiled sarcastically back as he ground the smouldering stub into the dirt.

“You could say that. Besides I know what we’re doing, and if I’m in charge, we will be doing it my way”

“Fine. Good job I have a copy then, just in case”. She smiled, tapping the pocket of her jacket.

Knoffler sighed. That was about right. No-one in the Guild seemed to trust him, even though his success record was almost second to none. It was because of his ‘extra curricular’ activities and he knew it. Well, stuff them. He would do this his way, and just let the young lass try and stop him. He turned away from the young woman and started to walk away to where the guards were busy arranging supplies and munitions. To his annoyance, he found the officer walking alongside him.

“I’m not here to undermine you.” She sounded sincere, “It’s just the ‘powers that be’ want this done right…no mistakes”.

“No mistakes?” He grunted, wanting to know what she meant by this.

“They know your connections to this Absolution Black. They fear that you will put him before the mission”.

“Well, they would be right” he growled, “We do this my way, or not at all”.

She laughed, taking the carefully placed orders out of her pocket and ripping them into pieces before him, letting them drift to the earth below. He looked on surprised. Then with a large grin he put his arm around her shoulder as they walked in a comraderly fashion.

“You are fast becoming my type of officer” he said, as they broke apart. He opened the flask he had retrieved from his pocket and took a swig, offering it to the woman.

“No thanks” she declined. “ but there was just one thing in the orders that bothered me….”

He grunted at her to continue, swilling down a mouthful of whiskey.

“This Absolution Black, Who is he exactly?”

“A friend. Why?”

Knoffler was beginning to get that twitch again. The one he always seemed to get when he was about to get bad news. She stopped walking and turned to face him.

“Well, I was just wondering why we had to kill him too”……………….

The hallway was dark, though the light from the flames illuminated a good portion of the corridor. Black could see that several doors led off on the one side. He cursed, this search could take too much time and the resser knew they were coming. As they approached the first door he placed his ear to the wood and listened. After a few seconds he shook his head and moved on. They did this for every door they came to. The fire was getting stronger at the front of the house and smoke was beginning to drift along the hallway towards them. At the final door Black stopped and listened. He turned the handle slowly, and as quietly as he could before pushing the door open. The room was small and lit by a single candle.

As Joshua and Lydia followed him into the small space, he searched around. Piles of clothes were strewn across the floor, dirty plates and china cups littered the ancient dresser. They were about to leave when a low moan made them stop. Picking up the candle carefully, Black shone it into the darkest corner. Lydia gasped and turned away at the sight she was confronted with whilst Joshua drew his sword again and advanced to stand shoulder to shoulder with his son.

There, hidden in the shadows, was the figure of a woman. Her hair was matted and coarse and her skin was covered in filth, but she appeared to be alive. But that wasn’t what was so disturbing; the fact her eyes had been sewn shut crudely, however, was. She was lashed to a chair and she slumped forward as the candlelight reached her. Black moved closer still and reached out to lift the woman's head. He retracted his hand in time to avoid her gnashing jaws, intent on biting a finger off.

“Devils and Damned. Begone. Death stalks your shoulders, and he will be sated”.

The voice was hoarse and frail, yet there was a spiteful tone to them. The woman lifted her head to stare at them with her unseeing eyes, moving unerringly from one to another. Her teeth were almost rotted away, a few stumps remaining in her swollen mouth.

“Begone. Wings of hate beat their drum. Death sharpens his blade.”

“Who are you?” Joshua asked, stepping closer to the woman.

“Vengeance. Pity. Lust. Greed. I am all these things and more, man of black”.

Joshua glanced across at Lydia who had been searching through the detritus in the room. She handed him an old photo in a tarnished golden frame. He took one look at it and gave it to Black to investigate, who turned it over and saw the photo. One of the people in the picture was the man they had come to kill, Dieter Grauss. The lady next to him was unmistakably the woman he saw before him now, though taken in happier times.

“This is his wife?” Black asked, not believing the evidence before them.

“Looks like it” His father replied “ What do we do?”

Black went to cut the bonds that held her to the chair. Immediately she began to snap at him, trying to bite. He gave up and moved back.

“There’s nothing we can do, she’s too far gone. Besides she’ll slow us down”

He lifted his pistol and aimed it at the woman’s bobbing head. Joshua led Lydia from the room nodding at his son. As they left Black began to pull on the trigger. The woman began to spew gibberish from her mouth, spitting and cursing at him. He pulled it completely and the woman’s head snapped back with the force of the bullet. The room became silent and he re-holstered his pistol.

Outside he followed the other two up the staircase that led to the next floor. He was now more determined than ever to dispose of this vile man whatever it took. And now they were in a race against time, as the flames began to take hold below them……….

[Necromorph]

Can't wait for the rest!

[DavidKerrSmith]

I've just finished reading the whole Black storyline thanks to the master thread you made. Brilliant and compelling reading.

[Absolution Black]

PART 4

Knoffler stopped in his tracks. At first he thought he hadn’t heard the officer correctly, but after pulling his crumpled orders from his jacket pocket and reading them, the truth was there to see in black and white. The Guild had virtually ordered him to take out Black, though it wasn’t as obvious as that…..guild orders never were. They had ‘suggested’ that should Black meet with an unfortunate accident, that it would be considered collateral damage. Obviously Black had ruffled a few feathers within the hierarchy of the Guild.

He spent a few minutes reading the rest of the orders as Officer Reagan waited quietly, leaning against the nearest wall. He carefully folded the pieces of paper and tucked them back into his pocket.

“Bloody fools” He cursed under his breath, “We’ll see about this….”

He looked up at the woman standing opposite him. He knew that what he was going to do would effectively amount to insubordination and would see him stripped of his post and more than likely shipped off to the mines as cheap forgotten labour. Or they could take the simple route and make him disappear another way. Could he really expect to avoid everyone involved not to be tarred with the same brush?

“So what do we do?” Reagan enquired.

“We do nothing…I’ll have to deal with this alone. You haven’t had this conversation with me, ok?”

“But the order still stands?”

“Well, as far as I know, I’m the only one with rank enough to receive these. Apart from you, who have obviously been given them as a back up plan. They know me too well.”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out the last of his cigarettes. He lit the end and took a long drag, savouring the feeling. He had a feeling it would probably be his last one for a long while, possibly ever.

“I can’t make you defy orders, you have the makings of a good career in the Guild. I’m old and surplus to demand. You will do what you have to do, but don’t stop me doing what I need to do”.

“But I don’t have any orders Captain” She smiled, indicating the fluttering pieces of paper scattering across the field.

He smiled. He was beginning to like this girl. Shame he was probably never going to be working with her again after tomorrow. Well, not as law enforcement anyway. He had a vision of a future mining soulstone chained to the criminals and deadbeats he had spent years hunting down. That would be fun.

“You know Reagan”, he said “You’re clever. That’ll take you far. Just don’t get cocky with it, like me. If we both get out of this alive, you’ll come visit me at my execution?”

She laughed and nodded. “It would be an honour sir”.

As they turned and continued on their final checks, he finished the last of his cigarette, stamping the butt into the earth. He wasn’t a religious man, but right now Knoffler was willing to take all the help he could get. He looked up at the sky and muttered under his breath.

“Well, I could use some help right now. Though if this is what you have planned for me, then bring it on you son of a bitch. I won’t give up without a fight. However, if you could miraculously make some cigarettes appear, that would be good ”……………….

The heat was starting to make the trio sweat as they finally located the man they had come to kill. His laboratory was large, taking over most of the second floor. Shelves of organs and limbs in bottles lined the walls, and large mortuary slabs held the decomposing remains of his latest experiments. Flies buzzed through the air, making it hard to hear properly. They covered their mouths and walked further into the horrific room. In one corner stood several tanks of fluid. Black guessed that this was most likely preservative of some kind. Papers fluttered in the draught from a slightly open window on the opposite wall.

He sidestepped carefully across the floor towards the dirty glass and peered out. There was another building close by, but it was a drop of several metres to the rooftop below. If, as he feared, the flames cut off their main escape route, then he guessed the window was their only other alternative. He tried to push it further open but the window remained firmly locked in place. He shook his head at his father’s glance. Lydia had moved to the desk nearest him and was looking at the books and papers with disgust, the crude drawings and notes displaying the maniac’s latest research.

It was then that he heard his father shout and saw the fine spray of blood splatter the floor. Something had caused a nasty gash on his arm, yet there was nothing in the room apart from the three of them. He heard maniacal laughter from across the room and in frustration let fly with a hail of bullets in the general direction of the sound. Apart from a few shattered bottles and splinters from the shelves, he hit nothing. He realised that this was the resser again, probably pumped full of his latest experimental serum. It had been the same in the tunnels beneath Downtown, but then he had been able to locate the maniac when he had listened hard. With the droning of the flies in the room, this was almost impossible.

He watched as his Father ducked sharply, and saw the cloth of his tunic split from a blade stroke. Joshua was moving in a split second, swinging his own blade around fast but hitting nothing but thin air. He heard the laughter yet again, echoing around the room.

“Stay together, back to back” he yelled as he grabbed Lydia by the arm and ran to meet his father.

“How is he moving so fast?” Lydia exclaimed, holding her short blade in front of her.

“His damn experiments. I’m guessing a serum that speeds the body somehow. Resser Freak”.

He moved his sword in front of him, hunting for the prey he couldn’t locate. He could see movement out of the corner of his eye, but before he could focus on it, there was nothing there. The heat was beginning to rise significantly now, and sweat trickled down his brow and into his eyes. He wiped the moisture away with the back of his jacket sleeve and blinked.

“How bad’s the injury?” He asked over his shoulder to his father.

“Only a flesh wound. Looked worse than it was. Just hope the blade wasn’t poisoned”.

They were interrupted by a burst of laughter and the heavily accented voice of Dieter Grauss.

“Fools. You should be honouring me, not destroying my work. I am making humanity into gods. I give them powers you can’t imagine…speed, endurance, immortality!”

Black had to laugh at the garbage this idiot was spouting. He tried hard to concentrate on the direction of the voice but struggled to break through the buzzing.

“And you, old man. You come here to kill me? Why? Have I not kept your secret all these years?”.

Joshua raised his sword again, preparing to strike.

“It’s a risk I can’t afford to take. Its nothing personal” he managed a dry laugh.

“Years of research, of experimentation. And you imbeciles are destroying it in one swoop. I will enjoy making you suffer. You’ll beg me to kill you.”

Suddenly a blade appeared in front of Black, as if from nowhere, and sliced into the side of his thigh. Droplets of blood began to stain the fabric of his trousers. He parried the blade away and lost sight of it. He spared a second to assess the damage: just a grazing blow, the blood already clotting. He knew that they couldn’t hope to win this fight without help, and with the flames reaching ever closer, wondered what would actually kill them first: the doctor or the fire.

He almost jumped when he heard Lydia’s voice behind him.

“I think I can kill him”

“Would this have anything to do with that power of yours? You do realise it’s a gamble. We are assuming this freak is still alive, but who knows. It could backfire disastrously, and we wouldn’t be close enough to help”.

“I know. But right now, it’s the only option I’m seeing”.

Black nodded, and glanced at his father who nodded back. He motioned across to the window.

“That’s our only escape route as far as I can see. Once we go through it, we won’t be able to get back. Are you sure this is the only way?”.

She nodded and watched as Black and his father made their way cautiously across the room to the window. Black lifted the small desk in front of him and threw it through the pane, shattering the glass and sending it tumbling to the streets below. He motioned at Joshua who climbed into the frame and dropped out of sight into the gloom. Then with a quick nod at Lydia he hauled himself into the space and concentrating on the rooftop below, he leapt into the darkness..

Lydia watched them go, until she was satisfied they were out of range. She dropped her sword and concentrated, feeling the heat from the flames drying her face. She concentrated on the shelves, wanting them in front of her, needing them there. They shimmered slightly as the power began to take effect but they remained stood against the wall. She heard a scream from somewhere in the room and smiled. It was obviously having the desired effect on the resser though.

She watched as he flashed into view a few feet from where she stood, bent over clutching his stomach, holding a wicked looking blade. She could see the skin on his forehead blackening as her power began to drain the life force from him. But she also could feel herself becoming weaker as she concentrated hard. She knew she couldn’t keep this up for long, yet the doctor was showing amazing resilience in withstanding her ability. She assumed the cocktail of drugs he had flooded his body with were somehow slowing the effects.

She closed her eyes and willed the shelves to move. As she opened her eyes they began to flicker out of reality and she knew it was working. The flames had reached inside the room now and were slowly edging across to the large tanks of fluid in the corner. She hoped they weren’t flammable, but she suspected they were some sort of alcohol…not good. Once more the resser flickered into view, closer now, his sword raised in preparation for the killing strike. His skin was blistering, falling off from his bones. But it wasn’t happening quick enough, she could tell. If the flames didn’t cause an explosion, she knew he would be bringing that sword down on her neck in seconds. She redoubled her efforts, feeling the strength sapping from her bones.

She slumped slightly but steadied herself. With one final effort, she put as much of her as she could into moving those shelves. To her relief they flickered out of view and reappeared inches to her right. She just had time to smile when inches from her face, the leering skull of the doctor appeared, a final scream ringing out from his disintegrated lungs, before the skeleton collapsed into a pile of dust before her, the sword crashing off her shoulder to land on the wooden floor. She yelled in pain as the blade smacked her but was relieved to see no blood appear. She had been lucky, the flat of the blade catching her rather than its razor sharp edge.

She forced herself to stand, and in horror watched as the flames reached the tanks. With one last will of effort she ran for the window , feeling the pressure blow her through it as the tanks ruptured and exploded. As she flew out into the darkness she felt the rush of flames inches from her back and then she was plummeting to the rooftop below. She landed hard on the tiles and felt herself slip. With a winded yell, she realised she couldn’t do anything to stop her slide and, desperately scrabbling to get a handhold, she felt her body tip over the edge and fall……………

END OF BOOK 5