Strike Three ( Anniefay )
by BuddhistPunk
Posted to Stories on 2002-08-19 07:06:00
I’m not sure about this one I wrote it in a bit of a hurry, I was going to scrap it and start again but then I decided not to bother. So here it is anyway ….
“Do you hear that” I enquired, Colin smiled and nodded, the snoring could be heard from well down the hall. “The prick, he’s at it again” I muttered as I approached the door. The glass read ‘Badass Barry PI. No Job Too Small Finger Stuck In Every Dogs Hole’ it was lame but he liked it. I didn’t even knock, the noise of my fist on his desk awoke Barry from his slumber, the saliva drooping from his chin made the big man look like a stroke victim. He peered out from his one green eye, while wiping his chin with his right sleeve and reaching for a cigarette with his left hand he kick-started his brain and brought the room into focus.
“What the fuck do you want at this ungodly hour” he croaked. “Ungodly, you useless sack of shit, it’s midday, myself and Colin here got up before the sun”. I kicked his ratfuck of a cat off the only other chair in the room and sat myself down, Colin closed the door and perched himself on the corner of the desk. “I got a job for you Barry if you want it” I offered him a light as I spoke. “What kind of job” he asked taking a long pull on the cigarette. “Oh nothing too taxing” I said “just a little surveillance and maybe a little tailing. Think you can handle that Moby”. I always called him Moby, as in Moby Dick, when I wanted to get his attention, he hated it, fact was he resembled a whale more than a man.
He’d been through some strange shit, what with Vietnam and all, losing an eye, one of his nuts and the rest of his platoon, I guess Lucky would have been a more fitting nick name. Although if he didn’t have bad luck he’d have no luck at all. “I’ll take it” he said, “who’s the lucky winner and what’s the retainer”. “The usual retainer” I told him “and the winner is this man” I pushed a photo across the desk at him. “Handsome devil isn’t he” we both laughed. “The guy in the photo goes by the name of Johnny Three Toes and he’s lazier than sin, meaner than the devil and twice as ugly” and this guy was ugly. He looked like his head had gone on fire and somebody put it out with a shovel. “The details are on the back, do not approach him” I said “call me if you find anything”. “Why do you need me” he asked, “he knows us, the guy can practically smell us, besides if I didn’t need you Moby do you think I’d even bother with you”, he shrugged and let it go.
Colin sat in the other room playing solitaire, I tried telling him the deck of cards was missing a jack of diamonds but he didn’t seem to care. I thought about this as I inspected my haggard shaving foamed reflection. The phone rang, wiping my jaws with the face towel I picked up the receiver and listened. “He’s up there alright” the croaky voice on the line said, “I drove passed his place up on Millmount Drive and I’m sure it was him I saw at the mailbox, just like in the picture, the guy’s kind of creepy if you ask me”. I didn’t ask him but I felt a shiver run down my spine, Colin was standing in the doorway cracking his knuckles. “Calm down brother, lets do this by the book” I said. We gathered our things up, double checking everything.
The drive up to Millmount was a silent one, both myself and Colin were reflecting on encounters passed and the one yet to come. It was our toughest yet, Johnny Three Toes was a legend, he’d gone up against and beaten many of our brethren, two previous strikes had gone badly, this was strike three. It had taken us years to locate him, and this time we weren’t going to lose. Armed with our books we donned the robes of our order and started up the steps to his house. The sky quickly turned grey, the wind picked up amid cracks of thunder, he knew we were coming. As we approached the door Colin stopped, raised his hands to his chest and let out a cry, I grabbed his shoulders and whispered in his ear, the pain in his face subsided, he looked frightened, as was I.
Our years of experience had better stand to us, I thought as the door slammed behind us. I turned to face the inner room, he was standing with his back to us laughing, it was a horrible laugh and it cut right through us. Colin stepped forward and spoke his true name in Latin, the laughing stopped and the battle began.
BP.
