Carter flashed into an alley, sending newspaper and other debris sailing throughout the filthy brick and mortar gap formed between two red brick buildings. He stumbled forward, grabbing the edge of a thankfully convenient, but rank, blue dumpster. He leaned over and inhaled, filling his nostrils and lungs with the garbage-scented air. "Damn that shit stinks!"
"You're tellin' me, buddy..." slurred an unseen voice. "Old Chinese food can get funky, quick..."
"Who said that?" Carter asked, darting his eyes around the alleyway looking for the source of the words.
"Over here, behind the dumpster," said a man revealing himself from beneath an old army blanket.
Carter closed his eyes briefly as the reek of alcohol and urine hit him square in the face.
"Hey you gotta dollar, space man?"
"Space man?"
"I seen you beam in like Cap'n Kirk...don't go and play me," the bum spat.
Carter backed a couple of steps away from the pungent combination of the strange man lying next to the dumpster.
"Anything will do," the bum said and leaned forward from where he was resting with his back against the building's brick wall. He jutted an open palm out at the sniper. Carter patted the pockets of his black, rip stop fatigue pants eventually locating a five-dollar bill. "Here you go fella. I know I am wasting my breath here looking at those empty bottles lying all around you, but why don't you go get something to eat this time? You look like you need it."
The other weathered hand joined the first as the old man accepted the paper bill from Carter, clutching the Original Soul's hand in between his two. "Son, I thank you so very much for your kindness...bless you! Bless you!"
Carter lightly retrieved his fingers from the grasp of the aging vagrant, smiled, then turned to leave. He stopped as a thought hit him. He had no idea where he was. "Hey, fella?"
"Yeah?" the old man sputtered.
"Where am I?"
"Fort Smith, Arkansas. You must really be from Mars not to know where you are," the bum said with a laugh, several teeth missing from his mouth. "Hell, I've drank so much my liver's beggin' for mercy, but I still know where I am an' all..."
Carter raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Thanks!"
The elderly man threw the sharpshooter a thumb up and lay back once more, disappearing behind the garbage dumpster and his blanket.
Carter emerged from the alley, stepping onto the early evening sidewalk of downtown Fort Smith, the streetlights lining Garrison Avenue flickered to life. "Why in the hell would you be here, Carter?" he thought to himself. "I have never even thought about going to Arkansas." He glanced up and down the street at the occasional cars passing by. "Maybe Azazel is here and he teleported me..."
The sharpshooter looked to the left and then the right, contemplating which direction he should go. He hoped that the angry Watcher's voice would just suddenly pop into his head, guiding him to his friends; however, there was no reply. Carter shrugged his shoulders, crossed the avenue, and walked to a nearby street corner. There he stood for an hour or two leaned up against the wall of the furniture store watching people walk by, completely oblivious to either him or the entire ethereal world they had no idea existed.
"Damn, where are you guys?" he asked under his breath, cursing the silence. "Maybe I should just shoot over to Gadreel's house?" he thought, then tensed, preparing to teleport to Detroit.
Nothing happened.
"Why the hell can't I teleport?" Carter shouted, throwing his large arms into the air in frustration.
"You ain't goin' nowhere, demon! You jus' landed in a big ol' demonic roach motel," said an unseen voice. "We got a couple of Watcher friends who done used their magic to make sure you and any other of your demonic friend's stay put right here in ol' Fort Smith where you can't cause my boss any more problems 'round here. Now, why don't you go on and get on down the street."
Carter stood away from the store and travelled cautiously up the sidewalk. "Show yourself!"
"Well I'll be!!! As sure as I don't live or breathe, is that you, Bass? Sure, I know the skin-suit is different, but I can see that lawman's soul in there and it is definitely you! The boss has a reward out for you and your friends' hides..."
The former deputy could now see three Grigori taking positions on the rooftops lining the avenue.
Carter shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I imagine. Now, who the hell are you? Why won't you show yourself?"
"Name's Dozier...Bob Dozier! But, I can bet you don't remember me, do ya' Reeves?" shouted a fourth Grigori angel wearing a Stetson hat, perched on top of a building directly across the street from Carter. He tilted the cap back with a finger and stepped from the ledge, gliding effortlessly into the middle of the street. "In fact, I would almost bet on it since ol' Holok up yonder prolly smoked off all your sweet and tender memories."
"Well, you're right, pal. I don't know who you were, but I know what the hell you are now, you Grigori piece of shit, selling out your fellow humans!" Carter said, his rifle shimmering into existence in his hands.
"Nice rifle...But, it ain't no Winchester," the Grigori said, keeping its distance. "The news is out that your Watcher weapon is a one-shot wonder like a musket." The golden creature grinned widely.
"Call it what you want, but I only need one shot."
"Heh, well, there's four of us in my posse and only one of you. I ain't never been too good with the math and all, but even I can do the cipherin' on this one." Bob laughed. "One word of advice, I won't be fooled by your antics this time, Bass and none of my boys are gonna be lining up like that dumbass Nazi's outfit. Yeah, I heard about Detroit."
"I suppose you have me at a disadvantage whoever you are. You seem to know who I am, but as you've said, Holok took my memories of you, Bob Dozier. Did I arrest you or something?"
"You did more than arrest me; you up and shot me dead in that ravine, asshole! Playing 'possum and all," Bob said angrily. "And now, I am going to gun you down right here in the street the old fashioned way. No tricks, just dead man to dead man." The Grigori lifted two golden Colt-esque pistols from the holsters strapped on either side of his waist. "I got my own God-guns courtesy of one Bezaliel," he said, waving them around, barrels glowing radiantly as he pointed them toward the dark nighttime sky.
"I have never heard of that name either," Carter said, stepping out into the streetlight lit road.
"You will, Reeves. In fact, your boy, King David is getting a good ol' dose of her right now before he gets shipped off to Holok!"
"Dustyn?"
The old west bandit laughed, "Just like old times, huh, lawman." Bob lowered the brim of his hat, narrowing his eyes at Carter. "Each of us on the opposite end of a gun, I do the bad stuff, you try to stop me. Woowee, I have missed that!"
"Not for long, Dozier." Carter said, readying his rifle. "You won't be missing anything else after tonight."
Lightning cracked across the sky illuminating the entire avenue. Carter used the momentary flash to dive behind a white Hummer 3 as the boom of a soul disruptor joined in unison with the echoing thunder trailing the sky borne, electrical discharge. Carter poked his head out to gauge the position of Bob and his gang. Two narrow energy bolts whizzed past his head, leaving black marks on the white surface of the SUV and forcing him to duck back into cover. "Shit!"
"Come on out, Reeves! This ain't like last time, I will shoot you on sight, no games. Let's just get this over with, so, I can get on back to Holok and get my reward."
"What reward?"
"A new body, Reeves, just like you, but without all the demon stuff. Holok's going to shove me in a baby with all my thoughts and memories...I cannot wait!"
From the alleyway, a bum stumbled out into the light of the streetlamp. All of the Grigori turned to look at the drunken human as he began speaking to them.
"Damn, there's a whole bunch of you spacemen out tonight, huh?" he said.
Carter shook his head, wondering how the homeless old man could see the Grigori. He used the opportunity to slide around the Hummer, wishing he could teleport instead. Regardless, he managed to get close enough to the Grigori lookout above him to see the creature cleanly. He prayed it wouldn't see him in return. The sharpshooter glanced over at Bob in attempt to assess the chances of his survival, and readied his rifle. He sighed, watching the vagrant stumble toward the bandit.
"Shit..."
"Hey, Las Vegas cowboy, where's the other spaceman?" the old man shouted at Dozier. "I wanted to tell him I bought a burger with the money he gave me!"
Carter resisted the urge to point his rifle at the bandit, choosing instead to swing the Heavenly weapon around and sight in the Grigori overhead. POW! Carter watched the golden body fall from the roof, bringing with it a Watcher made six-shooter. The weapon clattered to the ground next to Carter as the embers and ashes of the deteriorating Grigori vanished into nothingness.
"Dammit, law man you are a smart one, aren't you," Bob said spinning around to look for Carter once more.
The discharge from the rifle sent the homeless old man scurrying back to the alley and to safety.
Carter put the rifle away and examined the strange shiny pistol. He pulled the hammer back to the ready and exhaled. "One, two, three..." he said under his breath and darted down the sidewalk hoping the weapon he held in his right hand was still working.
"Damn you, Reeves!" Bob Dozier yelled, squeezing the triggers of the two demonic Colts held in his golden claws.
Lightning tore through the heavens, arcing through the barely visible clouds above. On the ground, smaller bolts of energy discharged from several pistols, whizzed through the humid night, narrowly missing their moving target.
Carter dove behind the wheel of a large four-wheel drive truck, only millimeters from the blast of a Soul Disrupter. He could feel the energy of the beam on his skin. "Wow that was close," he thought.
The overzealous Grigori leapt from the building perpendicular to Carter's position in an attempt to surprise him.
"Okay, what is this idiot about to do?" the sharpshooter thought to himself.
On its way to the ground, the Grigori aimed the Soul Disrupter at Carter and squeezed the trigger.
Carter rolled away from the beam, quickly putting an energy bolt straight through the face of the Grigori. "Two down..." The victory was short-lived as Carter felt something hot tear into his shoulder.