Starbourne, page 31
“Alexander! You stop this right now!” Nellie screamed as she slammed her hands on the counter of the bar. “I swear on everything good and right in this world if you don’t stop right this—”
“That’s enough out of you, too, Nellie!” Hoss bellowed, turning his blazing gaze onto her now. “Both of you, and Teagen too. You all think you can boss me around all the time, like I’m some kind of loser.”
He stared the woman down for a moment, a look in his eye that threatened action if she challenged him again. After a moment, Nellie released the tension in her shoulders, and stepped back from the bar. With that, Hoss turned his attention back to Jaeden, whom he still had gripped by the collar tightly. His friend’s neck had begun to turn a bright red from where the pistol was shoved.
“You think I’m a screw up?” Hoss started, readjusting his grip on his gun. “Well, if I’m a screw up, what does that make you?”
“Alex,” Jaeden started, releasing his grip on Hoss’ hands and putting them open palmed into the air. “Just, be cool, man. If you wanna talk this out—”
“Who said anything about talking?” Hoss spat back and gave Jaeden’s collar another shake. “I’m done talking about this with you.”
“Listen,” Jaeden said softly. The tone only irritated Hoss further. He was not a child to be handled.
“No, you listen,” Hoss said before slamming the butt of his pistol into the side of Jaeden’s face and shoving the man towards the ground. Jaeden hit the ground, connecting with the floor so hard that he slid across the surface.
The atmosphere in The Wishing Well was so thick and it weighed down on Hoss heavily. He could feel his animosity for Jaeden radiating off himself. A small part of Hoss regretted his actions immediately, but another larger piece egged him on. Afterall, he had been the one slighted by his friends, not the other way around.
The sound of the city street suddenly filled the bar as the front door swung open. Just his luck that a customer would barge in at a time like this, Hoss thought to himself. Alexander glanced over his shoulder to see a woman dressed in a blue jacket enter the building, with a man dressed in black soon after her.
“We’re closed!” Hoss barked at the newcomers. “Come back later.”
“Oh, don’t mind me,” The man said as he leaned up against the doorway, crossing his arms in front of him. “Please continue.”
Hoss furrowed his brow as he focused on the man in black. He suddenly recognized Nyx. What was he doing here? Shouldn’t he be waiting for them to contact him?
Nyx viewed both men with clear contempt, shaking his head disapprovingly. Hoss looked back towards Jaeden laying on the floor and lowered his pistol. Jaeden in turn scrambled back to his feet and brushed himself off. Hoss and Jaeden eyed each other for a moment, both trying to calm themselves down in front of their company.
Jaeden leaned back against the bar, wincing. He reached into his pocket and produced the same metallic cylinder Hoss had seen him with before. Jaeden popped out a small red pill and threw it into his mouth.
Pill head. Hoss thought, turning his attention back to Nyx.
“What’re you doing here?” Jaeden asked, straightening his jacket.
A sneer spread across Nyx’s face, but he made no effort to respond. Hoss shifted his weight uncomfortably and raised his hand to rub the back of his neck. He watched as Nyx remained motionless, leaning against the doorway, while his female associate casually walked further into the building. Hoss didn’t recognize the woman but knew instinctively that she was associated with Desmond just the same as Nyx was.
“What gives, Nyx?” Hoss asked. “We ain’t supposed to connect for at least a few days.”
"Well see here’s the thing,” Nyx said, looking at his fingernails. “The job ain’t finished yet.”
“The case, yeah,” Hoss said, remembering that he had sent Teagen off with the asset. “I’ll get T to drop it off tonight.”
“Oh no, no worries there,” Nyx said, a smile forming on his face. “We got that already.”
“Teagen already dropped off?” Hoss asked. That wasn’t part of the plan. Why would she go there to see Desmond by herself?
“Yeah, the Streetie dropped the case. No issue.” Nyx said, wiping his fingernails against his jacket. “Not that she had a choice in the matter.”
Hoss cocked his head to the side. “Wait, what?”
Nyx sneered back at Hoss condescendingly. “I mean, that’s a heavy case to hold onto when there’s a blade sticking out of your chest.”
“You…” Hoss started. Movement to his side caught Hoss’ attention and he looked over to see Jaeden withdrawing his pistol. He looked back at Nyx, still rationalizing the comments. “You attacked Teagen?”
“Yeesh, this ain’t even fun anymore,” Nyx said, sighing deeply. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a pair of pistols in each hand. “Light ‘em up!” He called out. Nyx’s companion produced a shotgun, cocking it menacingly.
Time seemed to slow as Hoss readied his pistol towards Nyx. He glanced over to see Jaeden turning to move towards the bar. Even poor Nellie armed herself with a bottle and sent it soaring towards Nyx.
The bottle just barely missed Nyx’s head, crashing against the wall behind him. Although missing its target, the bottle still managed to be a valuable distraction. It caused Nyx to flinch and duck down, buying both Hoss and Jaeden time to maneuver themselves behind the counter.
Nyx cursed at the woman as he re-oriented himself and fired wildly at the counter. The other female agent fired her own firearm and took aim at the bar where Hoss and Jaeden took refuge. The two friends, along with Nellie, took shelter from the barrage behind the counter.
Still holding his pistol, Hoss racked the slide of the weapon and engaged it fully. He looked over at Jaeden, who was fumbling with his own firearm. Jaeden finally managed to rack the slide and pressed up against the bar. Hoss watched his friend breathing heavy, and blood form on the side of his mouth.
“You good?” Hoss called out.
Jaeden swallowed deeply and nodded. “I’ll be fine. Blow this guy away.”
“He’s mine!” Hoss yelled back, moving himself into a kneeling position behind the bar. He had to deal with this quickly and find Teagen. If that dirk laid a finger on her, he would kill Nyx with his bare hands.
“Nellie, stay down until we fire!” Jaeden called to the bartender. “Once we shoot, get the hades out of here!”
Hoss closed his eyes and waited until he heard a lull in oncoming gunfire. He figured that between both Jaeden and himself, the two could hold their own against Desmond’s agents. They had been in worse scenarios before. Hadn’t they?
As the oncoming shots subsided slightly, Hoss charged forward, firing his weapon indiscriminately towards Nyx, hoping that Jaeden was doing the same to the female agent. At first, he was shocked that he was able to make it more than a few feet out from behind the counter, but he soon got over it and pushed on.
Hoss was relieved to hear that Jaeden had reacted just as quickly as he had hoped. Both Jaeden and Hoss fired at Desmond’s goons, keeping them at bay and taking cover. The return fire allowed the friends to reposition themselves and even the battlefield. While running, Hoss noticed that the female agent had been getting closer to a power box on the ceiling.
Oh, stay there, you idiot, please stay there, he thought to himself.
Hoss continued to fire and move towards a thick metal table littered with bottles and glasses. He had been keeping a rough mental count of how many shots he had fired, and knew his magazine was close to empty at this point. As he closed in on the table, he grabbed hold of the corner and with all his might, threw the table onto its side, creating a makeshift barrier for himself. The bottles and mugs crashed onto the floor, and the table landed with a thud. Once established, he crouched behind it and reloaded his weapon with one of his few remaining magazines.
In true showdown manner, the criminal agents returned fire on Hoss and Jaeden’s positions as they now moved further into the building. Hoss cursed as he hunkered down, not wanting to let the assailants make any more progress but unable to do anything to stop them at this point. He was confident that if they could take out the woman, he and Jaeden could overpower and beat Nyx.
As the blasts continued to rain down on the two friends, Hoss waved to grab Jaeden’s attention, careful not to be in view of the two criminal agents. To his dismay, Jaeden shifted his position and turned his back to Hoss, likely looking for a different angle. Sighing to himself, Hoss looked around for something to toss at Jaeden to get his attention. Knowing that Nyx was a rather skilled Technologist, Hoss didn’t dare send him a message out of fear it would be intercepted.
After a moment of searching, Hoss found a piece of broken glass from a mug that shattered when he flipped the table. Cautious not to cut himself in the process, he hefted the dense shard and aimed carefully; he could not afford to miss this chance. Lining it up as best he could, Hoss launched the piece of glass across the room. It collided with the back of Jaeden’s head, likely causing a bit of pain as it connected.
Instinctively, his friend spun around to take cover, and to see where the fragment had originated from. Hoss immediately used the opportunity to catch Jaeden’s attention, who quickly nodded his acknowledgement. Now with a silent connection made, Hoss smiled to himself as he adjusted behind the table. He gestured to Jaeden, trying to communicate his plan as best he could through hand signals. With a nod of understanding, Jaeden moved as if he knew his own part to play.
With bullets still pelting his position, Hoss aimed carefully at the power box located towards the front of the building. If the female agent was where he remembered, she stood close enough to it that striking it should take her by surprise. Hoss took a moment and steadied his arm before squeezing the trigger of his pistol once.
The shot connected with the electrical box, which instantly ignited into an arcing explosion. The sudden detonation took both Nyx and the female agent by surprise, pulling both of their attention away. Jaeden popped up from behind his bunker and peppered the woman with gunfire.
The electrical arcs overloaded her defense barrier, leaving her entirely vulnerable to gunfire. She cried out in pain as several shots connected and fell backwards. From Hoss’ position, he could see the woman land harshly, and make no effort to move. Clearly the strikes had proved near fatal, if not outright. The advantage of the conflict now tipped towards Hoss and Jaeden as they outnumbered Nyx two to one.
“Looks like you’re down a lackey!” Hoss called out, a sense of confidence building in him. “Hope she wasn’t important!”
Nyx chuckled to himself, reloading his weapons. “Just some part timer. We didn’t even pay her benefits!”
Taking several shallow breaths, and focusing his energy, Hoss prepared for another attack. With one final deep breath, he clenched his jaw tightly and rose, aiming towards the Technologist. As he stood to his feet, Hoss squeezed the trigger of his pistol several times. With his barrage raining down on Nyx’s position, Jaeden was able to move up to get a vantage point on Desmond’s traitorous associate.
Estimating that the magazine in his pistol was nearing the limit of its capacity, Hoss noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A humanoid shape darted out from behind where Nyx had been hiding with incredible speed, faster than anything Hoss had ever seen before. The blur rematerialized in the shape of a man, just to the left of Hoss. He turned his weapon towards the shape forming beside him. To his dismay, Hoss realized it was Nyx; the man moved with such speed that he had closed the distance in the blink of an eye. Hoss was too slow in his reaction and a bullet struck him in the shoulder.
Hoss cried out in pain as he fell back into a defended position behind the table. More shots rang out, both from Nyx and Jaeden. They whizzed and whistled throughout the room, along with cracks and bangs as the projectiles collided with metal and wood. Hoss cursed to himself as he ejected his nearly spent magazine and reached for another.
His heart dropped as he searched through his jacket to find his reserves were empty. During the shootout, he had managed to go through four magazines; he was all but defenseless at this point. He clenched his jaw as he moved to pick up the magazine he had just ejected. It may have only had two or so shots left, but it was better than nothing. Hoss winced as he picked it up, pain coursing through his shoulder and arm.
“Well, shaz,” Hoss muttered to himself as he adjusted behind the table.
Running out of ideas, Alexander weighed his remaining options. With limited ammunition, his ability to fight at a distance was gone. He still had his knife, but that meant getting close enough to use it. If this is the way I’m going to go out, I may as well make it count, he thought.
Pulling the blade free, Hoss planned his route and any possible evasive moves he could make during his assault. Hoss could feel his eye begin twitching with anxiety as he rose to his feet. He squeezed the trigger of his gun three times, but only two bullets fired, followed by a hollow click. Both shots failed to hit their target, as Nyx moved with such unnatural speed.
Realizing his weapon was now utterly useless, and that he was exposed, Hoss dropped the pistol to the floor and rushed forward. He bent his body low and forced his legs to move as quickly as they could. Hoss felt as though time slowed to a crawl as he raced through the room in the open. Focusing on the sounds of his labored breathing, his only hope was that he could at least draw Nyx’s attention long enough for Jaeden to capitalize.
To Hoss’ surprise, Nyx had not turned his attention away from where Jaeden had been bunkered. Either he did not realize someone was charging at him, or he did not deem it a threat. In any case, Hoss was nearly upon Nyx. He steadied his blade, preparing to sink it into the smaller man’s chest and hopefully dispatch him immediately.
Just as Hoss was about to make his move, Nyx turned his attention to the barrelling man. Rather than bracing himself or turning to run, he aimed one menacing pistol towards Hoss and fired off two shots before his own weapon clicked harmlessly. The first bullet struck Hoss in the opposite shoulder, causing him to buckle slightly. The second bullet buried itself deep in Hoss stomach. The pain was both intense and faint, his body fighting to send signals to his brain on how severe the damage was.
The effects of being shot twice all but stopped Hoss in his tracks. Hoss fell to one knee, both arms dangling to his sides. Pain ebbed throughout his entire body, and his breathing was heavily labored. Hoss could feel his shirt getting wet, and the warm damp feeling spread across his torso as his garments soaked up his blood.
“What were you hoping to accomplish?” Nyx said, ejecting a magazine. “Time to put you down like your Streetie girlfriend.”
Rage, pure and unadulterated, unlike anything Alexander Hoskins had ever experienced before washed over him. Something primal escaped from within him as he screamed ferociously and leapt forward. The pain coursing through his body seemed to vanish, or more likely his adrenaline was so high he ignored it outright.
Hoss collided into Nyx with such force that he sent the man flying backwards. The Technologist hit the front window and crashed right through it. Nyx landed on the ground outside of The Wishing Well and rolled across the pavement. But just as he landed, all the strength Hoss had mustered, vanished.
Immense weight came crashing down on the weary Hoss, and he collapsed into a heap on the floor. The pain returned, but this time it was more intense. Overwhelming exhaustion took hold of Hoss as he clumsily stretched his arms and legs across the floor.
“Nellie, close the gate!” Jaeden called out in the distance. He sounded much further than Hoss would have thought.
A slight rumble and loud sliding screech resounded through the room. Through hazy eyes, Hoss could see the shutter gate in front of the entire building had been lowered, effectively locking Nyx out of The Wishing Well. Hoss turned himself over and propped his head up against the wall so he could see into his bar.
There was now a thick silence that filled the room. It was a deafening contrast from the violent echoing of shouts, gunshots and chaos that just occurred. Hoss’ ears were ringing from the commotion, and it was all the more noticeable now that he lay on the floor in silence.
The lights flickered from the overloaded power box. Tables were destroyed and glass littered the floor. The counter was riddled with holes, and nearly every bottle in the cabinet had been shattered. His bar, his most prized possession, had been virtually annihilated. Both Jaeden and Nellie rushed over to the prone Hoss, the latter snatching up his hand and squeezing it.
“I swear…” Hoss started before taking a deep gulp of what tasted like pure iron. “If either of you say this is an improvement to the place, I’m throwing you out there with that psychopath.”
“Jae, he’s hurt bad,” Nellie said, her voice trembling.
Jaeden knelt beside his wounded friend. He winced as the overwhelming pain in his ribs and face ebbed through his body. Jaeden inspected Hoss closely; he had been shot three times during the conflict. Once in each shoulder, and once in the belly. While both wounds to the upper body were concerns, the hole in Alexander Hoskins’ stomach was the real issue. Nellie had pulled off her bartender’s apron and used it to apply pressure on the wound.
“I’ll call Teagen. Maybe she can—” Jaeden started, fumbling on his wrist jockey.
Teagen! Jaeden thought. Was what Nyx said true? Had he already caught her? Jaeden tried to connect a call to her.
“Hey, Jae,” Hoss said with a raspy voice. “You see me huck that dude through the window?”
“Yeah, that was smart thinking, Hoss,” Jaeden responded, still focused on his jockey.
“How the hades did that guy move so fast?” Hoss said, furrowing his brow. He tried to put weight on his arms to push himself up but couldn’t get any stability to do so.
“Stop, don’t move, Alex. Just stay there,” Nellie said, adjusting her position over the prone man.
Jaeden cursed under his breath and looked back towards his friends. “She’s not picking up.”
