On Tim’s motorcycle they rode to a garage somewhere in the outskirts of town. They were so far from the center that the roads now had numbers instead of names. Jaguar wondered where they were going and why they only had a sport bag of stuff with them, aside from the ammunition vests they wore beneath their dirt bike jacket. The mighty engine roared as Tim hit the gas and it made Jaguar hold on to him a bit tighter.
“Buckle up, bitch!” Tim screamed as he immediately started coughing. “Fucking bugs!” he cursed on top of his lungs after he cleared his throat. Jaguar couldn’t help but to laugh at Tim’s enthusiasm. This time it was his turn to put some holes in a motherfucker. Suddenly Tim changed his pace and tried to keep the noise to a minimum. Jaguar knew that they would reach their destination anytime soon.
Finally, as Tim rode through different little streets they ended up in front of a forsaken looking garage. It was like it once burned down and someone attempted to rebuild it, only to stop halfway through. The danger of that place awakened a silent fire inside of her, soon strong enough to burn the entire city if she wished. It wasn’t until Tim tapped her shoulder and gestured that they should walk around the block that she stood there daydreaming again.
“The kill is mine” Tim hissed at her in Russian.
“Not if I’m faster” Jaguar replied in German. “Really now, you act all cool because Emre taught you one sentence in that language?” she asked in English.
“For all you know he made you say that you eat dog shit for breakfast.”
“How are you so sure that they didn’t taught you the same thing?” Tim asked as he kept looking around, wondering if someone saw them walking down the street.
It wasn’t like they looked weird, but Tim didn’t want anyone to notice them. Right now they just looked like two fat people coming home from the gym with their motorcycle, a purple Indian.
As they reached the old Garage’s back doors, Tim took out a key and took off the padlock on the gate and opened it.
“Thank Momma” Tim muttered as he kissed the key and took over the motorcycle again. As Jaguar unzipped the gym bag, her partner in crime gestured that she should stop doing that.
“It’s not here” Tim whispered as he looked for the other key. With it he opened the garage door Jaguar helped him pull the door up. Mechanisms like this reminded her of the base she lived on for so long. Her head was cloudy tonight, but she didn’t really care. As they walked inside she realized that it was a lot bigger on the inside than she expected. The place looked like it had been abandoned for at least two years, judging from the graffiti on the walls. There was nothing of value inside this place and Jaguar wondered if someone hadn’t already found the truck.
“Are we safe in here?” Jaguar whispered, fully aware of how this empty space would amplify her voice.
Tim nodded and gestured that she should follow him.
“This is where the magic happens” Tim said as he took off his helmet and held it in his left hand as he spread his arms to make jaguar aware of the void around them. What used to be his bright red Mohawk now fell over the left side of his head, sticking to it because of all the sweat.
From the shadows they heard footsteps slowly approaching them. The reverberations made it hard for jaguar to find out where they were coming from, and she couldn’t really count on her partner since he was deaf in one ear. Just to make sure Jaguar got her hand gun from her belt, took off the safety and aimed it in front of her. Tim saw what she did and placed his back against hers, covering her for whatever was going to attack them.
“Calm your shit” a familiar male voice said as the footsteps became closer.
“Oh it’s you, Mortis” Jaguar sighed as she put away her own Beretta.
“I can’t help that you guys are paranoid motherfuckers” Mortis said in his usual calm voice. The walls around them amplified any sound they made and he was well aware of it.
“How long have you been lurking in here?” Tim asked
“A few hours” Mortis calmly replied as he watched his team for this mission put away their guns.
“Where’s Mad Cat?” Jaguar asked as she gazed around the old garage, hoping to find her no matter how well concealed the girl usually was.
“In the truck” Mortis calmly replied as he guided them to it.
“Did Momma also give you a set of keys?” Tim asked a bit confused, wondering if Momma would really do such a thing, but Mortis just cracked a smile.
“It might have been a while since we worked in the field, but we ain’t stupid amateurs” Mortis replied as he stood in front of the monstrosity that they would hit the road in.
“When Mortis talked about a Big Mack this wasn’t what I had in mind” a female voice said from above the truck.
“Mad Cat” she simply said as she tucked her purple hair behind her ears and looked at the two people with their purple dirt bike.
“Cat, this is Tim and Jaguar, we’ll work together on this mission” Mortis said as he placed his arm around her. Mad Cat simply nodded at them.
“I look forward to work with you. The last time we had a blast” she said as she walked up to Jaguar and tucked on the sports bag. Jaguar immediately took it off and followed Mad Cat to the back of the truck.
“How have you been, Mad Cat?” she asked the petite but flexible girl.
“Please, just call me Violet, Mad Cat is just my code name” Violet said as she helped Jaguar with opening the container on the back of the truck.
“Here you go” Violet said as she turned on a flashlight and shone it inside of the void. In the very back they could see two dirt bikes and a forklift.
“Shouldn’t you take off all that stuff first?” Violet asked before Jaguar attempted to climb inside the truck.
Jaguar nodded and took off her helmet, goggles, mask and the baggy clothes she wore to cover up her protection gear. Sweat gleamed on her forehead as she finally freed herself from this hell of heat, as if living in Arizona wasn’t hot enough already.
With no real effort Jaguar climbed into the truck and Violet handed the bag she left on the ground. After that she came in as well.
“I have a few questions” Jaguar said as she moved her hands across the bright red Kawasaki KX-250F and stared at the stickers on the Yamaha 450. “How the fuck did you guys load it in and how will we manage to take everything with us?”
Violet smiled as she pointed at a thick metal plate. “We will use this ramp to load everything in and out.”
“With “we” you mean the two of us?” Jaguar asked as Tim and Mortis also got inside.
“Listen up, folks we’re having a long day ahead of us” Tim said as he sat down and gestured that everyone should follow his lead. As they all sat down in a circle, Tim reached for the sports bag and whipped out a piece of paper and a pen.
“Alright ladies, as you might have figured out by now it is time for operation Spitfire. In case anyone here suffers from amnesia let me explain this one more time: We will take anything we see there, whether it’s lives or anything we deem usable.
This is our situation: we have six people in our crew, respectively the four of us, Greg and Daniel, yes those are Kitten and Danny, They are already heading out to the arms deal as undercover buyers” Tim explained as he saw Mortis’ confused face.
“Mortis stays here with the truck, giving me, Mad Cat and Jaguar a head start of ten minutes. Just before I arrive, I will give Greg and Danny permission to open fire. Why? Because I need an opening act” Tim smiled as he drew the plan out.
“While they cause panic and chaos, I’ll kill anyone holding guard. Make sure that no one escapes us; slash tires and throats for all I care, ladies. Just make sure you don’t fuck up Greg’s car. ”
“Is that really necessary?” Mortis asked as he mentally prepared himself for all the bloodshed that was going to happen.
“Of course it is, dipshit. What will happen if someone gets away? Besides, this is exactly why you got to watch the ride. You don’t need to kill anyone; all you have to do is to make sure that you do exactly as I say. As I mentioned earlier: you’ll give me a ten minute head start, Jaguar and Mad Cat get five, it isn’t that fucking hard. In ten more minutes you roll up with the truck and we’ll have forty-five minutes to stock everything we see in it and then we’ll head back to Yggdrasil. Any questions so far?”
“This plan is so illogical and strange” Mortis said as he looked around.
“A basic operation Spitfire, yes” Jaguar agreed. “Blame Tim, he designed it.”
“Alright then, Class dismissed. Mortis, you come with me” Tim said as he got up. In moments like this Jaguar noticed that even he was getting older as it took him a little more time to get up on his feet. As Tim walked away Jaguar gave him a lunch box.
“Ah, I forgot about that” Tim smiled as he made his way out. “Jaguar made us some food for when we hit the road.”
“There’s more” Jaguar said to Violet as she pulled out a second box.
“Why the fuck is there a guitar in my truck?” Tim asked Mortis as they made their way up to the driver’s seat and pre-installed bed.
“First of all: it’s not your truck; it belongs to Theodore and Barry. Second of all: Violet and I have been here for at least two hours. What else was I supposed to do? Besides, I think I finally found a good sound.”
“Good for you, champ” Tim said as he started the motor, hit the gas and slowly got the truck out of the garage. After a few turns they ended up on the high way.
“Where are we going?” Mortis asked as he sat against the back of the cabin while plucking on the strings of his guitar.
“North-east Arizona” Tim explained. “Our destination is not too far away from here.”
“What kind of place? A city?”
“Ya think?” Tim asked with his eyes fixated on the long and empty road in front of them. “There are thousands of abandoned places here throughout the state, places no one in his right mind would ever visit. What makes you think we’ll go to a goddamn town for this shit? We will meet near the Bloody Basins. Those things have turned into meth labs.”
“I see” Mortis muttered as he kept himself from asking another question. He was fairly certain that Tim would end up making sarcastic comments, they were siblings after all.
“How is it to be back in the field?” Tim asked as he became aware of the silence between them. The only things he heard were the sound of the engine and his own breathing. It made him feel uncanny.
“I don’t know, man” Mortis said as he searched for the pick he kept in his pants pocket. Just in case he also wore a bullet proof vest, fortified boots and several protection pads on his knees, shins and arms. His helmet lay on the foot end of the bed. “Let’s say there are places I’d rather be than this death trap. I’d love to be at home, tracking guitars for my project and all that shit.”
“Look at the bright side” Tim said. “Maybe this trip will give you some inspiration for your project.”
“How so?” Mortis asked as he swiped his long black hair out of his face.
“I don’t know man. I just know that this will do something to you, the best way is to hold it in for a moment and release your artistic fury onto it.” It was rare for Tim to speak in such a way.
“Are you alright?” Mortis jokingly asked.
“Of course I am. What’s wrong with some honest advice?” Tim asked as he refused to look up from the road.
“Nothing, it’s just that I’m not used to see you like this.”
“I’m still perfectly capable of ripping your teeth out, boiling your skull clean and decorate it with paint and rhinestones” Tim said as if he talked about his plans for the weekend.
“I know that all too well” Mortis said, both intrigued and disturbed by his demented younger brother. The worst part was that he knew that Tim didn’t bluff; the collection of teeth and knowledge of how to break down a human body said it all. To avoid talking Mortis slowly played a medley on his guitar, hoping that his brother would recognize it.
“Gun” Tim muttered as he nodded and sang along. “We’ll have blood on the windows and blood the walls in a few hours, just so you wait, Mortis”
“Really, that’s all you got from that song?” Mortis laughed as he kept playing and singing.
“Well, I actually think like a gun” Tim said “No surprise there, right?”
“Not really” Mortis thought as he played something from the Sex Pistols next.
After a while Mortis decided to check the car radio for the time.
“fifteen more minutes” Tim replied as he gestured that Mortis should set up the hand free mode.
“We’re almost at our destination, but we need to confirm something first” Tim explained as he drove a bit slower. As Mortis decided to play something on his guitar again, Tim got an incoming call.
“You shut the hell up” Tim warned his older brother as he answered.
“Hey there, honey bear!” Tim said with a feminine lisp as he batted his eyelashes for the effect.
“Hello baby, I need to see you!” a male voice replied. “I got you some chocolate for tonight.”
“Oh, stop it you!” Tim giggled. “Do you have lavender in your bonbons?”
“All the lavender you could wish for” the voice replied.
“I will meet you at the motel, I am the sexy guy in red” Tim replied as Mortis’ questioning face amused him. “Wear something protective this time, it’s going to be a rough night for you.”
“Alright darling. Hurry up, I can’t hold it any longer” the voice said before he hung up.
“Goddamnit” Tim muttered as he went back to his normal voice and sped up again.
“Booty call?” Mortis asked as he tried to wrap his head around the conversation he just heard.
“That was Kitten” Tim explained. “You never know who listens to our conversations.”
“What did it all mean? Mortis asked, desperately hoping that Tim didn’t in fact bring a lingerie set with him.
“The chocolate part means that he’s in position” Tim explained as he kept looking at the clock.
“The lavender in the bonbons means that he’s stand by, locked and loaded just in case. The motel is our term for the place we meet and the red part is about the dirt bike in the back.”
“What about the protection?” Mortis asked.
“That is to ask if he wears a condom when we shoot up everything” Tim sarcastically said as he pointed at Mortis’ protective gear. “He said he can’t hold it any longer, which is a distress signal. Basically it means ‘hurry the fuck up, we’ll get in serious trouble if you don’t show up immediately“, something like that.”
After a few minutes Tim suddenly stopped and got out. Mortis tucked away the guitar and followed him to the back of the truck.
“Good morning, ladies!” Tim said as he put on his mask and helmet
“What did Kitten say?” Jaguar asked as Mortis helped her set up the metal ramp while Tim helped Violet to take off the suspenders from the dirt bikes in the back.
“Something about having lavender in his bonbons” Mortis muttered.
“Anything else?” she asked.
“Yeah, that he really wants to see Tim because he can’t hold it any longer”
“That changes everything” Jaguar said as they laid down the heavy metal plates together.
“That’s what I thought” Mortis replied as he gave her a rather traumatized look.
As the ramp was ready to use, Jaguar and Mortis stepped aside to allow Tim to walk out with the red dirt bike.
“I like this one the most” Tim said as he made a turn and put it into position. “It needs a code name for this mission.”
“Like what?” Mortis asked as he looked at how well the dirt bike was maintained.
“Tragedy Machine” Tim smiled as he let the engine roar for a moment. “See? She likes it!”
“What about this one?” Jaguar asked as she got the Yamaha 450 from the truck and positioned it twelve feet behind Tim’s dirt bike.
“Shadow” Tim replied as he gestured that they should gather around him.
“Thanks” he nodded as Jaguar brought him his Kalashnikov and strapped it onto his back for now. As he pretended to ride his dirt bike Tim reached for Rotten and Banshee, the guns he kept with him at all costs. Everything happened just as he wanted it. From his back pocket he grabbed a glow stick and cracked it.
“Keep heading north and as soon as you see this light you get off the road and head out east, ladies. Leave it for Mortis and he has to pick it up when he reaches this point. Jaguar, I want you to ride Shadow and Mad Cat; I want you to be ready to open fire, even if it’s just to scare the opponent. Got it? I warn all of you because this is a goddamn rocky road. I actually wanted a jeep for this shit, but this is all I got. Be careful ladies.”
With that said he took off and slowly disappeared from sight. They could hear Tragedy Machine’s engine get softer with every second that passed. Jaguar and Violent inspected their gear while Mortis checked the headlights, tires and amount of gas in the tank.
“Be safe” Mortis muttered as he gave Violet a kiss on the forehead just before she put on her helmet.
“I will” Violet kindly said as she put on a heavy back pack.
As she hopped on the back of the dirt bike, Jaguar started the engine and hit the gas. With a loud roar Shadow disappeared into the night as well, leaving behind a shattered man with his guitar and a truck.
Mortis climbed back into the truck and left out a huge sigh as he reached in his pockets for his pick. He had ten minutes to kill before his cue and he didn’t mind. He needed this rest before the bullet storm would swallow him whole. He had his Little Sister by his side, together with the cranky old Uncle Leviticus. He reloaded both of them just in case, but his mind got clouded with hatred towards himself. Out of pure stress he lit up a cigarette and smoked it with the window down. For some reason
He swore that he would never become a killing machine again. If Tim kept his promise, he would be alright for now. The words in his mind felt chaotic, so Mortis rearranged them, trying to find the roots of his code again: He was alright with killing to defend, but not to murder for the sake of it. That was his brother’s department. After he finished his smoke he turned on the truck and headed north until he would find this damned child’s toy they left for him.
In the meantime Tim had already found the hidden path that would lead him to the basins. Without wanting to waste too much time he placed the glow stick on the road for his colleagues, after that he made his way down the badly maintained sandy road. He figured that neither Jaguar nor Mortis would have trouble operating under these circumstances since they used to work in desert areas. He already let Danny know that he was coming and gave him the signal that they would open fire. All he had to do was kill everyone in sight.
As Tim approached the abandoned buildings he could hear the sound of bullets fade away in this dark and morbid night. The halo Tragedy Machine’s headlight casted onto the road kept shattering as Tim sped up. He wasn’t planning on letting anyone escape Momma’s wrath. He had a whole new collection of teeth waiting for him over there, waiting to get pulled out. For a moment Tim got pissed off as he realized that Danny and Kitten probably killed people before he did. When he got close enough to the abandoned house Tim turned off the engine and let his dirt bike lay there on the ground, got his Kalashnikov ready and crept towards the battle that was going on. He carried six more magazines, just in case.
He lied down on the ground, camouflaged by a large bush, waiting for someone to appear in front of him. From their angle he would be invisible. Suddenly he saw someone moving towards him, anonymous and silent like a ghost or a shadow. Tim held his fire, realizing that the person in question may not have seen him in the first place. Just as the entity passed, Tim heard another gunshot. The figure immediately fell down and lied there motionless. Somehow Tim could identify the thing that passed him by the cry it made. He couldn’t turn his head as he was still focused on the enemies, approximately five men standing there near the building, laughing and complimenting the one that fired the gun. Amongst the men stood Danny, casually laughing as he showed off how he blew away the smoke in a dramatic and cool way. He just had to wait for his colleague to say the magic words.
“I would have loved to see the light fade from that fucker’s eyes” Danny’s loud voice laughed as he used his hand as a gun and pointed it at the nearest guy’s head and made a sound effect.
“I didn’t trust that skinny little rat” another man said as he vaguely pointed at Tim.
“He’s dead now. Leave it, Marco” Danny said as he gave the man a sincere pat on the back.
“I guess this settles it, then” another man from the group said as he extended his arm to shake Danny’s hand. “Welcome to the group.”
“Thank you, Curtis” Danny said as he shook it. “I will not let you down.”
“You better not” Curtis replied in an eerie dark voice. “I will hunt you down and kill you all by myself.”
“Well, you can take this life, I’m right here” Danny smiled as he opened his arms and left his chest vulnerable. Though Tim knew that he wore a bullet proof vest as well, he sincerely hoped that this guy named Curtis wouldn’t go for a headshot. “The Gods of death are watching us.”
“Any god is the god of death” Curtis said as he gestured that Danny should lower his arms. “And don’t you ever do such a thing again. Next time I will fulfill your death wish but I will make sure that you get the remaining life tortured out of you.”
“We have all been marked down and chosen by the Martyrs” Danny smiled as he could hear bullets pierce the flesh of the men around him. The scent of warm iron filled the air and then he collapsed too. Slowly the sound stopped and Tim felt like he could finally move forward again.
Jaguar and Violet were late, but for now it didn’t matter. As long as he made it inside before they would arrive.
Gently Tim got up and reloaded his rifle as he got closer to the pile of human carcasses. It reeked of blood, burnt flesh and guts. He always loved this stench, the almost sweet smell of decay. He was pretty sure that he didn’t actually kill Danny, but he didn’t even care if that would be the case. The mission was more important than this guy eating dust Right now he had to make sure that they were in fact alone.
Tim wondered how Momma’s goods got stolen so easily and how they knew that the stuff would on the market at this place. Was this a trap set up to eliminate the group of Martyrs he belonged in? It would explain why it took so long for Jaguar and Mad Cat to join him, but he relied on their experience in this kind of situations. Escaping death was part of the contract they never signed.
Finally he went inside the building but Tim couldn’t find anything besides a few empty jerry cans of muriatic acid, measuring cups and some beer bottles. It was obvious that they were just waiting here for him to arrive, but then the chasing happened. He was certain that more people were waiting here for him; he’d tear down the entire basin if he had to.
“Wake up you goddamn sugar plum fairy” Tim hissed as he slapped his colleague across the face.
“Easy there, tooth fairy” Danny replied as he attempted to grab Tim’s hand to keep him from slapping again.
“You do know what happened the last time someone called me that. Why did you even fall to the ground?” Tim asked.
“In case there would be more people around” Danny grinned. “Also: my blood sugar is rather low. Diabetes is a bitch.”
“Take this” Tim said as he offered Danny one of the pastries Jaguar made. “Jackie and Mad Cat should be here in a few seconds. What’s the status of things so far?”
“Go east for a couple of miles and you’ll find the actual camp” Danny replied while munching.
“This was just for safety measurements, a watch tower of some kind.”
“Stay here and wait for my ladies to get here, all three of them.” Tim replied as he thought about the current situation.
Annoyed Tim spat on the ground. Jaguar carried the bag with the big pliers and anything else he needed for the grand finale. Though he told everyone that they had to make their way to the Bloody Basins he forgot to include that they had to go past it. Again he took out some glow sticks, broke some and made a signal out of them. A bright green arrow now led the way to the actual location. He found some speed loaders, but wasn’t sure if they fit his own gun, so he also took that from one of the corpses.
“Get kitten and come with me” Tim said as he threw a bullet at the person that nearly fell on top of him earlier. “I know your ass is alive! I can hear your fucking snoring from here!”
Tim walked up to the man, knowing damn well that he should at least have felt the little piece of metal bounce off his body. “I said get your ass up!” Tim growled as he picked up the young guy by his hair.
“Christ dude! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Kitten cried as he swiftly pulled the earphone out of one of his ears.
“Come with me, you sacks of shit” Tim said as he still held Momma’s tech guy by his black and red dyed locks. “I assume that car over there is yours? Take it and drive back to the camp and I will follow you. If you did everything I asked you to, there are some pretty sweet machine guns in the back of your car for this very moment.” Tim took a moment to let them confirm their status, but continued after a few seconds.
“You guys will head back to the camp and just show up. Tell them that their buddies sent you out to get beer or some shit like that. After that I want you to get out of the car and shoot some, but leave the big guy for me.”
Though his heart was pounding with excitement Tim managed to control himself and think rationally. He tried to come up with a plan in the spur of the moment, but after crossing off several he felt like the best thing he could do was just sneak up and ambush them on his own. He wondered if the others were planning on staying behind any longer and it irritated him. As he could see a light in the distance Tim slowed down and observed it from a distance. Just as Danny said he could see some people surrounded by trucks, talking and probably waiting for something to happen. Again Tim tried to come up with a plan, realizing that they would just grab a gun and shoot him if he got any closer.