Right of retribution, p.12
Right of Retribution, page 12
Daria set her purse down next to the tray and put her keys into the tray.
Not bothering to argue with that, Warner went to his bedroom, stripped down to his boxers and slumped into his bed. He was far too tired to care.
He had aches throughout his body which reminded him of when he’d urinated blood.
But worse.
“Ugh, so tired,” Daria grumbled, collapsing into Warner’s bed. She pulled the covers up to her chin and went still.
I… whatever. I don’t care.
Warner fell asleep immediately.
***
Waking up to his alarm chirping away at his bedside, Warner groaned.
It was too damn early.
“Maya’s already awake, she’ll call you in about fifteen minutes. She knows when your alarm goes off,” muttered Daria next to him in the bed. She had her back to him and was facing away from him.
Huh? Uh… oh. Yeah.
The psychic.
Maya. Right.
Breakfast.
“Bacon, sausage, milk, thank you,” Daria murmured. “Don’t worry about the burn, it’ll still taste good.”
Rolling out of his bed, Warner pressed his hands to his face.
“You see anything else?” Warner asked, rubbing at his face.
“No. Just a few bits and ends,” said Daria, her voice drifting off. “A few sexy outcomes, not many. I’ll get more visions later, I’m sure.”
Daria let out a soft sigh and went still in the bed again.
As oddly as he’d felt about her early this morning, he realized a lot of those uneasy feelings were gone now.
In the light of morning, he’d slept next to her, she hadn’t invaded his space, betrayed him, or done anything.
She’d just slept there, doing exactly what she’d said she would.
Transparent as could be.
Levering himself up, he went to the kitchen and started making breakfast for Maya and Daria.
Althea’s coming over for lunch later. This’ll be tight getting my car back, I bet.
That and all my gear is in it.
Losing himself in the task, Warner worked quietly. It was a good distraction from the traveling pain that was moving around his back and sides.
Puking up that blood wasn’t good at all. Was it?
Something’s really wrong with me. Something’s really, really wrong. That’s not normal at any level.
And the blood-pee. That’s…not good either.
I’ll make a doctor’s appointment and see what they say.
Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Warner began typing in a note and a reminder to set up a doctor’s appointment.
“Dad?” Maya called right as he was finishing up.
“Making breakfast,” Warner called back. “You ready to get up?”
“Yeah. Move me to the living room? Need to fix the pan, too,” Maya said.
‘Fixing the pan’ was how they talked about emptying her bedpan.
“Okay,” Warner said, putting his phone back into his pocket and turning back to the food.
Much to his surprise, the bacon had managed to burn slightly.
“Hi, I’m Daria.”
The voice made Warner’s brain freeze over even as he worked at salvaging breakfast.
“Uh, hi,” Maya said. “I… uh… hi. I’m Maya.”
“Here, I’ll get you to the living room. Your dad’s just finishing up breakfast,” Daria said. “And I’ll take care of the pan, too. I also brought you a…well…here.”
“Oh! Oh. Thanks! I… thank you,” Maya said, sounding very surprised.
“No worries. Here, put your arm around me,” said Daria.
There was a light clatter followed by the thump of footsteps into the living room.
Frustrated with himself at losing track of the fact that Daria was in the house, Warner quickly plated up the food.
Turning around, he went back to the coffee machine to finish making a cup.
A clack behind him was the only warning he had of Daria zooming through the kitchen, grabbing Maya’s plate and taking it out to her.
“Here you are, dear. And some orange juice as well. Need anything else?” Daria asked while Warner stood there floundering.
“Uhm, no. Thanks… Daria,” Maya said, sounding genuinely shocked now.
“Of course. I’m going to go talk with your father for a bit. I’ll check in on you later,” Daria said, before coming back into the kitchen. Shutting the door, she smiled at him and then walked over to the plate he’d put together for her.
“Oh, that’s a bit less burned than I’d seen. Thanks!” Daria said, picking up the slightly blackened bacon.
Shit. She did tell me not to worry about burning it.
This is just… too strange to deal with.
“So, I saw another vision as I was dozing off. I felt I should come talk to you about it,” Daria said, smiling at him. “If you’re going to kill Jimmy Goff, you’ll have to do it tonight.
“Something’s going to happen tomorrow that’s going to pull him away for a very long time. I have no idea what it is, but I just know that your window to finish him up is tonight. And only tonight.
“We’ll need to go get your car shortly. Though don’t take the sword. Just the guns.”
Warner opened his mouth and then promptly closed it.
He’d just been given a far more definitive answer on Daria, her role, and his future.
A sidekick then.
“You and me till the end, Warner James,” Daria said taking a bite of the very crunchy bacon. “Since my end was supposed to happen last night after all and I can’t see anything but you.”
***
Breakfast went uneventfully. Then lunch with Althea did as well, even if it was short. Thankfully, Daria had left by the time Althea arrived.
Althea managed to stick around for an hour before she started to fall asleep in her seat. Shortly after that, Warner had walked her back out to her car, got a kiss on the cheek, and she was on her way.
Her precinct was understaffed due to a recent round of budget cuts.
And that’s just how it always goes with government services.
Everyone needs more of them, but no one wants to fund them.
Warner was sitting in his car not far from Jim’s home. Only a full street away really.
As a public figure, Jim Goff was pretty easy to dig up information on with a few discrete searches done with the appropriate precautions.
Daria hadn’t been able to offer him much, other than that he needed to make this happen today or it wouldn’t happen at all. She didn’t know why, but she knew it was more or less a dead end on his quest for revenge with the District Attorney.
So I have to end him today.
Reaching toward the pistol in his pocket, he felt the weight of it there.
A reassuring weight, but also a deathly promise if he got caught with it on his person. There was no doubt in his mind that the weapon had been used in nefarious acts before he’d ever gotten a hold of it.
Is this the right thing to do though? We’re assuming the DA is a foul person who isn’t going after Travis for bad reasons.
We need to be sure of that first and foremost.
Glancing to the clock in his car, he realized it was nearly time to start moving to his location. Jim technically got off work about five minutes ago. His office was fifteen minutes away but there was no telling if he’d stop somewhere else on the way home.
Nodding at his own thoughts, Warner got out of his car. He needed to be close enough to get a whiff of and a look at Jim. But not so close that the man saw him or someone else identified him.
Shutting the car door, he managed to come up with only one course of action and plan that’d get him through this easily enough.
Pulling up the collar of his coat Warner, looked at himself in the reflection. He was wearing an ugly ski mask which was bunched up to look like a cap, a coat that he’d found stuffed at the bottom of an old trash bag in the garage, and clothes that looked overly worn.
A perfect bum.
Walking away from his car, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders. Looking at the ground, walking to the edge of the curb, and staying as far away from everyone as possible, Warner did his best to channel a “homeless man” feeling.
Moving slowly, he more or less already had a plan he was going to try. Attached to Jim’s building was a parking garage for residents only. There was no guarantee Jim would park here, but it was really the only lead Warner had right now.
When Warner had cruised past it the first time, he’d noticed a fire-exit ladder that wasn’t working quite right. It hung down just enough that if someone had something to jump from, they’d be able to climb into the building.
That entry was behind a chain link fence without any razor wire over the top or any other security. In fact, it was set in a small alleyway type of culvert which meant unless someone was walking by him right as he went over, he most likely wouldn’t be seen.
His goal was simple, get inside, wait near the entry, and see if he could spot Jim on the way in.
Such a terrible plan. Terrible and awful plan.
But I don’t have more time to plan and… and I believe Daria. She said it was tonight or probably never at all.
Warner was terrified this would all go sideways on him.
Reaching his planned entry point, Warner saw that this was the best chance he was going to get. No one was around, no cars were passing by, and there weren’t many people in either direction.
Pivoting and going into a jog, Warner got down low in a crouch and leapt for all he was worth for the top of the fence.
Reaching up about three fourths of the way, he quickly clambered up the rest of the way.
Throwing his leg over the top, Warner dropped down over the side.
As far as athletics went, it was more of falling to the ground than dropping lightly.
Hitting the ground, Warner felt the impact in his ankles and knees despite bending with the drop. Stumbling forward, he tried to keep moving toward the fire escape. He needed to get out of this alley which led into what would likely be a fire escape area at the back of the parking garage, and into the garage itself as quickly as he could.
Unfortunately, his lack of planning was now coming to bite him in the ass almost instantly.
The ladder was considerably higher than he expected, and there was nothing nearby that he could use to raise himself up.
Even if it was clearly not at the height it should be, it was well beyond his grasp from the ground.
Shaking his head, Warner glared up at the ladder dangling above him.
“Just… just gonna jump,” Warner muttered to himself. “And I’ll make it.”
Believing in that statement far more than he should, as if it would actually happen, Warner jumped.
And missed spectacularly. Not even coming close.
“Fuck,” Warner hissed, kicking at the dirt and stomping around in a small circle. “Fuck!”
His mind began winding up faster and faster over the idea he was going to miss out on taking a shot on Jim. On the man who wasn’t pursuing a known felon hiding behind a badge.
That the blue line existed and was being protected.
Growling, Warner glared at the fence not far away, considering getting back to his car and trying to get to Jim tomorrow morning.
An insane itch spread out across his back and Warner didn’t feel the pain in his joints anymore. The strange ache across his back and spine vanished.
Crouching down low, Warner stood up and leapt for the ladder above him again.
Grabbing a rung five up from the bottom, he hung on for dear life, not really understanding how he’d managed the jump.
With a loud clang and clatter, the ladder shot down toward the ground. Stopping just a foot above the ground, the fire ladder continued to shudder and made an ominous pinging noise.
Scrambling up the ladder quickly, Warner got to the deck and then scurried into the parking garage.
Yanking his scruffy ski mask down over his face, Warner stopped a few feet within the garage. Glancing around, he found that it looked exactly as he expected.
Except it was extremely well lit, looked full of very expensive cars, and Warner clearly didn’t belong here. Not in his regular clothes, and certainly not how he was dressed right now.
Thankfully, Warner didn’t see any security cameras.
Not a single one.
Right, okay… so… we continue on.
Okay.
Pulling his pistol out of his pocket, Warner moved over to the elevator bay nearby. There was a map posted on the outside of it.
He saw what he wanted there. The second floor did indeed overlook the entry area, and that was to his left side.
Checking the map for a few more seconds, he felt confident. Moving away from the elevator bay area, Warner got to the wall.
Keeping to the far side of the garage, squeezing between and around the front of cars, he kept moving towards that overlook.
Reaching the spot he wanted, Warner found a shady corner where he could watch the entry. He could just barely see the entry booth below him.
Standing there, cloaked in the shadows, a gun in hand, Warner wasn’t really sure if he was doing the right thing.
I’m going to… assassinate a public figure if they’re committing injustice.
In public.
Because if he’s going to let someone go who’s so obviously guilty, he’s done it before. He’ll do it again in the future for other Mayas.
Other Warners.
A fantastically pristine white car which likely cost more than what Warner made in ten years rolled up to the booth. Warner had seen a number of photos with Jim getting in or out of this ridiculous SUV all over the internet.
Sometimes the web does all the work for you.
Staring hard at the driver’s side window, Warner watched and waited.
Everything came to this.
When the window rolled down, Warner didn’t get the answer he wanted.
Not really, at least.
He actually wanted to be wrong. To know that Jim wasn’t working for the wrong side of the scales and had extenuating circumstances.
What Warner got was so much injustice wafting out from that SUV that it was like passing by a garbage dump on the hottest day of the summer at noon.
“Blessed heavens,” Warner muttered, watching Jim Goff talk to the booth guard with a warm and friendly smile.
“Okay… okay. We… do this then,” Warner said to no one.
Getting cleared to enter, Jim drove into the parking garage, vanishing from view.
Warner knew where the man was though. He could sense it as if Jim were screaming at the top of his lungs. Even through concrete, through a SUV, and a height difference, Warner could sense the man.
Frowning, Warner crouched down low and waited. Jim would have to park before Warner could reach him.
Actually, let’s just go to the exit. Saw it on the map.
There’s only one way out of the garage.
Ghosting away from his position, he set off for the first floor exit that led into the attached residential building.
He’d only get one chance at this and chances were it was going to go bad, fast.
Crouching down next to a black truck parked near the corridor that led out, Warner waited there.
Holding the pistol tightly, Warner kept his breathing in check.
And waited.
Sitting there, he felt like hours passed. That aeons came and went.
Jim appeared then, shattering Warner’s thoughts entirely. Plunging him straight into a quagmire of non-thoughts.
Letting out a slow breath, Warner stepped out from behind the black truck. Lifting the pistol up, he leveled it at Jim’s head.
In the instant that he lined up the sights, Jim became something entirely different.
His eyes became pitch black, a dark aura of malevolent energy spread out all around him, and his fingernails elongated and practically became claws.
“Fear me, Hum—”
Warner pulled the trigger twice.
Jim’s head twitched, his eyes going in different directions as blood began spraying from the two holes in his forehead.
Lowering the pistol down slightly, Warner pulled the trigger several more times.
Jim’s body hit the ground and went limp. Blood spraying out of the bullet holes in his head, and his shirt now stained a dark color where he’d been shot in the chest.
Walking up to Jim, Warner angled the pistol at the man’s head and pulled the trigger twice more.
The feeling of balancing the scales so magnificently coursed through Warner like a flood water going right over the top of a dam.
Panting, feeling incredible, Warner almost missed it when someone screamed.
Standing not far away was a woman in a business suit. Warner hadn’t even seen her standing there.
Shrieking, the woman began running away.
Fuck! Time to go!
Bolting through the corridor, Warner ran into the residential building. Slamming through the doors as if they were more like a game show barrier, he burst into the lobby.
No one was there, but he didn’t want to go out the front door. He needed to get out of the public eye.
Moving to the fire-exit door, Warner shoved it open and found himself in an alley.
Not a lot of time, need to get out of here. Then out of the area.
Sprinting out of the building, Warner fled into the back alley.
Twelve
Turning the corner, Warner entered the long alley that would take him back to the surface streets.
I need to get out of here. Need to ditch the mask and the gun. Can come back and get it later.
He really didn’t like the idea of ditching the gun. It’d be hard to get replacement weapons that weren’t traceable back to him.
Actually, we can just go try and get mugged later. I’m sure we can find someone who owns a gun we can steal. Then we can—
Up ahead, standing at the corner of a building, was a man. He was leaning up against the brickwork, but he was looking down another side alley.
