A Story of Cinders: From the Ashes

Chapter 20: The Hangman's Song

           

The door handle jiggled. The Saint jumped back, surprised. Gray Wolf emerged, blood on his hands and face. He reeked of booze, cigarettes, and the faint metallic smell of blood. He flipped the Ka-Bar in the air, caught it by the blade, and handed it back to Sarge.

"I heard screaming. How'd it go?" The Saint asked, sounding almost joyous. Gray Wolf was staring at his hands, trying to rub the blood off.

"Sang like a bird. Where can I wash my hands?"

"Three doors down on the right. Then tell me what he told you!" Gray Wolf left down the hallway. On his way to the bathroom, Nox popped out from around the corner. Gray Wolf stopped in his tracks.

"Hi..." he said casually. There was still some tension lingering between the two of them. Gray Wolf had to be careful. It was like tiptoeing through a minefield. One wrong step, and it would all blow up in his face. Nox looked at Gray Wolf's hands. The crimson coloring was apparent even in the dark light.

"Is that Antonov's blood?"

"Yeah. Fucker talked."

"I was just on my way to go talk to him. Is there anything left to talk to?"

"Already done. He's still alive and conscious if you have anything else you want to ask him."

      Nox nodded, then disappeared down the hallway. Gray Wolf paused for a second, watching him slowly fade from view into the darkness of the hallway. For as little as he trusted the man, Gray Wolf had to admit, he had ambition and drive. He knew what he was doing, that much was for sure. And as far as Gray Wolf could tell, Nox was the only one who knew what that man was doing. Whatever... He opened the door to the bathroom. That was unpleasant. He wasn't a torturer. He could've just talked. Just hope none of this got on my jacket, or else I'm gonna fucking kill Stan.

     Nox found the other four members waiting by a door. The Saint was standing in front of the door, with his back against it. Brawler was standing in the middle of the hallway, arms crossed, staring down the way they had come. Sarge was opposite the Saint. Red was by Brawler, sitting on the ground cross legged, staring down the hall toward Nox. She saw him first, and whistled to let the others know. The Saint turned to face Nox. "Need something?"

"What did the prisoner say?"

"Gray Wolf hasn't told us yet. Lieutenant doesn't speak any English, so we can't really ask." Nox looked at the Saint, and noticed the blood on his face and the cattleprod in his hand.

"You tried to talk to him, didn't you?"

"Tried, yes. Succeeded, no."

Nox sighed, then said to the Saint, "Let me in, I need to ask him something." The Saint stepped to the side and opened the door. Nox enters the dim room, his cloaked figure merely a silhouette in the doorframe. He looks at the pitiful man inside. He is battered, broken, and bloody. There is a gaping wound in his hand and he is missing fingernails. There are burn marks on the man's arms and face. He is breathing rapidly, and his eyes widen as soon as he realizes what appears to be the Angel of Death standing in the doorway. The room smells of whiskey and cigarettes. Gray Wolf has obviously been in here. He asks the man a question in Russian. "Do you know who the blond man was?"

Antonov, through his hyperventilating, manages to reply. "It was... the Saint..." Nox nods his head. Antonov knows too much. He raises his right hand, pointing it at Antonov. His pistol, Equus Pallidus, appears in his hand, seeming to materialize from darkness. There is a flash, and a loud bang, but Antonov never hears it. He is dead before he can. One .45 bullet to the head, and there isn't much of a head left. The Saint jumps back, throwing his hands to his ears and staring at the source of the noise. Brawler spins around, assuming a combat stance. Red doesn't move, but her eyes snap open, annoyed that her silence had been broken. Sarge already has his pistol drawn, pointing at Nox.

"So you just gonna shoot everyone who doesn't have any use to you, is that what's going on here?" Sarge barks, gun steady. Nox turns around slowly, hands pointing up. He is still holding Equus Pallidus. The gun disappears down Nox's sleeve. Spring loaded mechanism, probably Sarge thinks. Nox replies, calmly. "He knew too much already. He saw the Saint, and he recognized him. If we let him go, then any element of surprise we had would be gone. You all may be good fighters, but we're not ready for open war."

     Sarge stands there, unmoving. Thinking. Then he shakes his head and holsters his pistol. "I suppose you're right. I don't have to like it, though... Thank you for being forthcoming, this time."

"It wouldn't have mattered if you let him go or not," Gray Wolf said, his voice echoing down the hall as he slowly came into view from the shadows. "They already have suspicions." The Saint turned around and started pacing, his hands behind his head, containing his frustration as best as he could. "Fuck!"

"Where are the vehicles?" Nox asked.

"They're by where Tucson used to be. Right now they're just on standby."

"Okay, they're not doing anything. It could just be to secure routes against bandits," Red said, breaking her usual silent demeanor.

"No no no. Karlov wouldn't move them that close to a major city unless he wanted that city. In a little bit he's gonna ask politely to let me house his troops for a short time. Then that short time will become an indefinite amount of time. And just like that, I'll be fucking occupied. He's done this before, all over Europe." the Saint said, still pacing about the hallway.

"So then we strike now, while we still hold the element of surprise," Brawler grumbled, loudly enough for everyone to hear. He he he he he...

"I second that," Sarge said. "We have to attack before they can. But we need some more manpower for this one." Gray Wolf nodded in agreement, and added "No more of this four man war bullshit. Last op was a fucking fiasco."

"Very well," the Saint said, smiling. "I'll find some more available men, and we'll take care of these assholes."

"Good," Sarge said. "Rest and recover, everyone." They all started heading back to their rooms. Then the Saint's eyes widened. "Shit. Wait!" he called after the four. "I forgot to mention, Karlov is sending in a team of enforcers, just to make sure nothing's going on here. And I have to accommodate them. He said they were coming within a week, which means they should probably be here tomorrow. So..."

"We can't stay here for a while, can we?" responded Sarge.

"Glad you understand. Just until they leave."

Gray Wolf sighed. "If I'm not staying here, then where's a good brothel?"

"Try The House of the Rising Sun. That's the one everyone seems to like the most."

"Huh. That has a bar, too, doesn't it?"

"And a casino."

"I was literally just there..." He turned to walk out.

"Well this begs the question. When do we attack?" Sarge asked.

"I don't know. I will let you know as soon as I do."