Killer's Quest: A Dark Crossroads Urban Fantasy, page 9
"Because I didn't have any rope and I had to restrain him with something."
"No, I'm not asking why you used a chain, I'm asking why you took him prisoner!"
"Oh, that," said Cain. "I did find something in Seattle. Found this fucker and a few of his buddies chasing down some supernatural kid. They were all wearing masks and carrying weapons. Seemed pretty similar to what we think happened to Kel, so I intervened and took this guy prisoner."
"What about the others?" asked Dex.
"They didn't make it."
"What do you--" Dex's features darkened when he caught Cain's meaning. "Oh."
"Fuck..." Maya placed her hands on her head and moved away from the car, starting to pace. "You just kidnapped some dude...and you used my car to do it..."
"Perhaps we should get him inside before anyone else comes along and then we can debate the merits of kidnapping. This isn't exactly a clandestine location," said Dex.
"'Debate the merits...'" Maya repeated and then sighed. "Okay, just hurry up, get him in my room."
Cain opened the door again, grabbed his prisoner by the chains, and dragged him out. He threw the prisoner over his shoulder and walked up to the room door, which Maya had left open. Cain dropped him on the floor and then pulled one of the chairs over. He removed the chains just long enough so he could seat the guy on the chair and then bind him once more.
Maya and Dex entered the room, with Dex shutting and locking the door behind him. Maya made sure the curtains were completely drawn and that no one could see inside.
"Okay, let's start this off simply." Maya sat on the edge of the bed and leaned towards their prisoner. "I'm Maya. The tall guy is Dex. And you've already met Cain. Now how about you tell me your name?"
The guy kept his mouth shut. He glanced at Maya to indicate that he had heard the question, he was just refusing to answer.
"I'd prefer to call you something other than 'hey you,'" said Maya.
He looked at her and then spat in her face. Maya recoiled in disgust and grabbed a tissue from the bedside table. Cain responded by punching the prisoner across the face so hard, the chair tipped over.
"Are you crazy?" Maya cried out.
"Me?" Cain pointed at the prisoner who spat blood onto the floor. "What about him?"
"Outside, Cain," said Maya.
"Why?"
"Now." Her voice was very stern. She glanced at Dex. "Help him back up, Dex."
Maya walked to the front door and opened it. She led Cain outside and then closed the door behind them.
"What exactly do you think you're doing? Do you even know how an interrogation works?" Cain pointed at the room. "That's the enemy in there. You and me? We're supposed to be on the same side."
"I know that, but do you?"
Cain scoffed. "What's that mean?"
"So far, you've been a huge pain in the ass. You're second-guessing me and running off on your own. If we're supposed to be on the same side, I'd like you to start acting like it," she said.
"Do I have to remind you that I just brought you the biggest lead yet?"
"No, you don't. I still don't think it was a good move to run off based on a rumor, but this could be useful," said Maya.
"Then why are you getting pissed at me when that asshole's the one who spat on you?"
"Do you know how an interrogation is supposed to work?" asked Maya.
"Sure. Every time they withhold information, you turn the screws until they start talking."
Maya shook her head. "No. That's how you get them to say whatever they think you want to hear, even if it's not true. You want real information, you have to play it differently. Establish a bond so they let their guard down."
"And how long does that take?"
"As long as it needs to," said Maya. "Plus, if it doesn't work, there are some other methods we have at our disposal. Now come on back inside, but this time, stay back."
"This is a waste of time."
"Then let me waste time. If my way doesn't work, then you'll have your turn."
Cain nodded. "Okay. Have your fun then."
They went back inside the room. Dex had sat the man back upright and also tended to the blood inside his mouth. As soon as the prisoner saw Cain again, he started to get agitated.
"Keep that psycho away from me!"
"Easy, it's okay," said Maya, moving over to his side. She gently laid a hand on his shoulder and started speaking in a soothing tone. "I'm sorry about him, he's new and a bit overzealous. But he's not going to try anything again, I promise."
The prisoner's breathing slowed and his body started to release some of the tension it had before.
"Now, let's start over. My name's Maya. You don't have to tell me your real name if you don't want, but I'd like to call you something."
"Fine," he said. "Call me...Jason."
"Jason, good. We're getting somewhere." Maya sat on the bed again. "Cain tells me you and some friends were chasing down a kid. I'd like to know why."
Jason shook his head. "Wasn't no kid at all. It was a monster."
"Monster?" asked Maya. "What makes you say that?"
"Monsters are real, you and I both know it. That big bald fucker you got with you is one of them," said Jason. "Demons, werewolves, vampires, faeries, whatever you wanna call 'em, they're all real. Trying to pose as human, walk among us. And when the time is right, they attack."
"Interesting theory," said Maya. "Where'd you hear about these monsters?"
"Mike's the one who got me turned onto it. Found some podcast all about it. Going into detail about mysterious deaths and cold cases. Did you know the reason most of those cases are unsolved is because they're committed by monsters?"
"Is that so?" asked Maya. "What's the name of this podcast?"
"It's called The Rising Darkness."
"Podcast?" Cain whispered to Dex.
"Like an internet radio show," Dex whispered back.
Cain noticed that Dex had taken out his phone and was already searching for the podcast. He'd never had much use for too much technology, but now he was starting to see just how useful these gadgets could be. Dex scrolled down his screen and Cain could see that the podcast had well over a hundred episodes.
"And this show tells you all about the monsters, huh?" asked Maya. "So how did you know this kid was one of them? The podcast told you what to look for?"
"No, but through the show, we learned about the Humanity Front."
"And what's that?"
"Group of monster hunters. They trained us in ways to fight them, told us what to look for, and how to capture them."
"Capture!" Cain started towards Jason, but Dex moved in his path.
"Don't do it," the dryad whispered. "Maya's making progress, don't screw anything up."
Cain exhaled heavily and restrained himself, but his teeth were clenched behind his lips.
Unfortunately, Jason noticed the exchange. "Yo, I'm not saying anything else with him in the room!"
"It's okay, Jason." Maya gently rested her hand on Jason's knee. She patted it and rubbed it just a little, giving him a sweet smile as she stared into his eyes.
Cain realized that she was doing something a little more than just establishing a bond. He could see how Jason's eyes almost seemed to glaze over as she spoke to him and how swiftly he became compliant.
"Can we talk about capturing monsters? That's the part I don't get. If these things are so dangerous, why take them prisoner? Why not just kill them?"
Jason shook his head, but he increasingly seemed like he was stoned. "I dunno. All I know is that they said they needed us to bring them monsters."
"You're in Seattle, but do you know of anyone in Portland who's also part of the Humanity Front?"
"I...I dunno. They might be on the Discord or something."
"You have a Discord? Can you show it to me?"
"Sure. Just need to get my phone."
Maya glanced back at Dex and Cain. She mouthed the words, "Watch him" before she loosened his chains. Once Jason's hands were free, he took his phone out, unlocked it, and opened the Discord group for the Humanity Front.
"Mind if I borrow this phone for a bit?" asked Maya.
"You gonna give it back to me, right?"
"Of course."
"Okay, then I don't see why not." Jason handed her the unlocked phone.
"Thank you so much, Jason." Maya looked up at Dex and nodded. "Dex is going to drive you back home, okay?"
"Okay, sure."
Dex came over and helped Jason stand. He escorted him out the door and into the car. Cain shut the door and stared at Maya.
"You could've told me you were going to use magic on him."
"And you could've told me before you went off on your little joyride."
"Point taken. But you're just letting him go?"
"He gave us everything he knows and his phone now has more information we can use."
"Not what I mean. Fucker was hunting down supernaturals. Shouldn't there be some kind of punishment for that?"
"If there was something we could do, I'd be all for it. But not like we can turn him over to the cops. So Dex will take him home and use a spell that fogs his memory of the past few days. It'll be like he's just coming off the worst bender of all time, he won't know what was real and what wasn't."
Maya went into the phone's settings now that it was unlocked and changed the security so she could access it.
"We'll go through that Discord server and the podcast and see what we can learn about this Humanity Front."
"You ever hear of them before?" asked Cain.
Maya shook her head. "No. But any organization that's trying to encourage regular people to take up arms against supernaturals isn't likely to be good for us."
15
Jason remained silent on the drive back to Seattle. Maya's magic had put him so much at ease that he dozed off after the first hour. Dex kept to the speed limit just on the off-chance that he might run afoul of any speed traps. The last thing they needed was a state trooper pulling him over and asking questions.
Dex put some soft jazz music on streamed from his phone and allowed himself to relax in the tranquility of the open road. He'd been working with the Black Lodge and Maya for about two years so far. Before that, he was living in the Amazon with the rest of his dryad tribe, until hunters came through.
What Jason had told them during Maya's interrogation sounded very familiar to the dryad. Humans who thought they were pursuing a righteous crusade. Of course, it was in the interests of corporations and politicians who profited off the desolation of the land, but they weren't afraid to hide their true motives to recruit loyal followers.
Mercenaries could always be bought off, but true believers would fight to the death.
Dex thought about how different things could have gone for him if he hadn't discovered the Black Lodge and Sameera. He could understand Cain's cynicism and might even go down that same path had things been different. He thanked the gods for that twist of fate that brought him to his current path.
He became so lost in his thoughts that he was surprised when the car's GPS informed him to take the next exit. Dex double-checked the clock and saw that it had been just about three hours since he left Portland. Time had certainly flown by.
He signaled and took the off-ramp, glancing in the mirror to check on Jason. Still sound asleep in the back. Dex turned his focus back to the road and exited the ramp, merging with local traffic. After leaving the highway, it was another fifteen minutes before he arrived in Jason's neighborhood. It was a neighborhood lined with single-family homes, which definitely seemed out of the price range of a kid like Jason. Dex assumed he must still live with his family.
The GPS pinpointed the home and Dex slowed down as he drove past it. It was after nine in the morning and getting Jason into his home in broad daylight would be tough. Instead, Dex drove to the end of the block and turned the corner. He pulled up to the curb and stopped the car, then looked back at Jason.
"Jason, we're here," he said, reaching a hand back and nudging the young man.
Jason stirred a few times and then finally opened his eyes. He started in surprise when he saw Dex.
"What the fuck's going on?" asked Jason. "Where am I?"
Dex held out his hand. Foliage slowly grew out of his palm and after a moment or two of a flower blooming, Dex blew. Pollen flew from his palm, spraying a cloud around Jason's face. He coughed a few times as Dex muttered an incantation. Jason blinked a few times and then rubbed his eyes.
"What happened?"
"I'm your Uber driver, this is your stop," said Dex.
"Uber...?" asked Jason, looking out the window. "Where was I?"
"Picked you up outside a bar. You closed the place down."
"I was...drinking?"
"Whatever you were doing, you were pretty tired."
"Right...okay...thanks, man."
He opened the car door and started to walk away from the car. After a few steps, he stopped and came back to the side of the car and knocked on Dex's window. Dex kept the window down and pretended like he couldn't hear him. Jason shouted through the glass.
"Dude, I think I left my phone in your car!"
Dex just started to drive off, continuing to ignore him. Jason shouted after him and Dex watched as he grew smaller in the mirror. It wasn't the smoothest of operations, but everything had seemed to work out for the--
BOOM!
Dex had just started to go through an intersection when a car sped right into him from the left, slamming into the rear passenger door. The SUV spun and Dex's body flailed around as he tried desperately to regain control. He held onto the steering wheel to keep from being thrown about.
The car came to a stop and Dex tried to regain his bearings. Before he could, he was slammed into again. That cemented his thought that this wasn't just some random accident--this was intentional.
The SUV tipped over from that second strike, landing on the driver's side. Dex was stunned but relatively unscathed. He unbuckled his seatbelt and pulled himself towards the passenger door, which was now above him. With gravity working against him and no real leverage, the door was heavier than expected. Dex's arm shifted, transforming into its native state, and grew, the branch-like appendage pushing the door open and grasping onto the footstep. Dex pulled himself out of the opening and climbed out, landing on the street.
He shook his head and looked around. Jason was standing nearby, looking completely shocked. He ran towards Dex.
"Dude, you okay?"
Dex looked around for the other car. He saw it just as it slammed into him, pinning him against the SUV's undercarriage. Fortunately, as a dryad, his body was made of sterner stuff than the average human. He would survive this attack, easily.
But it would take time to heal. And it still hurt like hell.
Dex slumped over the hood of the car. There were at least two people in the car and they both climbed out and stepped towards him. The driver pointed off into the distance and gave an order to his passenger.
"Go grab that fuck-up, Jason," he said before he leaned down so his face was inches away from Dex's. "Man, look at you. You're one freaky sonnuva bitch, aren't you?"
Dex didn't answer--he wasn't sure he even could have if he had wanted to. He started to feel lightheaded and his head fell on the hood just as the darkness took him.
16
While Dex drove Jason back to Seattle, Maya and Cain whittled away the morning hours going through the information they'd gotten. Maya set up Cain with The Rising Darkness podcast on her phone and he was listening to the episodes at double speed. As he was doing that, Maya focused on Jason's phone, reading through the Discord server for the Humanity Front that Jason was a member of.
Both had a significant amount of content. The podcast had an episode count in triple-digits while the Discord was very active with thousands of users.
Cain sat back on the bed, his back against the headrest, the phone plugged into a charger on the nightstand and playing the podcast on speaker. The host was a man named Robert Lynch and he was certainly a charismatic speaker. There was an almost hypnotic quality to his voice. Each episode followed more or less the same format--Lynch would open with a prayer and a personal anecdote and that would be followed by a guest. Each guest was someone who had some sort of negative brush with the supernatural--survivors of vampiric attacks, demonic possession, hauntings, and other such encounters. Once the guest left, Lynch would issue a call to action, typically directing people towards a paid subscription where they could get access to exclusive content and special training. Episodes always ended with a final prayer.
Each episode ran just under an hour. Noon had passed into early afternoon and Cain had listened to a dozen or so episodes. Fatigue was starting to set in. He hit the pause button and stood up to stretch. The lack of background noise drew Maya's attention and she looked up from the table where she was still browsing through the phone.
"It's a lot, isn't it?" she asked.
"Nothing original, just your typical fear-mongering bullshit," said Cain.
"Yeah well, it seems to work," said Maya. "You wouldn't believe the shit people say on this Discord. Some of it is just your garden variety shitposting, but there's some pretty vile stuff on here, too."
"Anything useful?"
"It's all pretty disorganized. You've got to be devoted to digging into it to get a good, clear picture of what's happening. But the gist of it is that they're basically a decentralized militia. Amidst all the nonsense, there are a lot of tips here on recruitment, training, weapons, and..." Maya hesitated before saying the last part, "...disposal."
"They talk about this Lynch guy?"
She nodded. "Ohh yeah. They're huge fans of him. Don't see any proof that he's directly involved with the server, but they're constantly talking about his podcast and sermons. New episodes and videos are shared instantly and there's a flurry of discussion around them. And there's something else, too."
Cain crossed the distance from the bed to the table. He moved behind Maya and peered at the phone's screen over her shoulder. "Like what?"
