Killer of Giants

building with lights on was Valeshnikov’s – not exactly the safe haven we needed.

  Pushing off the wall, Raj sprinted across the street. At the other side, he glanced over his shoulder and staggered to a stop, breathing heavily, his nose and mouth crusted with blood.

  Gordie grabbed his crutches and clambered to his feet. “Oh jeez. Oh jeez!” He hooked his crutches under his arms and fumbled the handles, dropping one of them onto the street.

  “Fuck!” Raj shouted. “What are we going to do with him?”

  Gordie crouched and leaned over the curb, straining to pickup his crutch, his lower lip wobbling. “Please don’t leave me here.”

  The question didn’t need any thought. I couldn’t leave him. One way or another, he wouldn’t survive what they’d do to him. Protecting him wasn’t an option, but I could make sure he didn’t face this alone, and that counted for something. I nodded at Raj. “You go.”

  Raj rubbed his brow frantically. In the other direction, Kyle and Bundy crossed the street onto our block, closing in fast. With a loud sigh, Raj ran back across the street and lifted Gordie’s crutch. “Get out of here, Gordo. No point in you getting any more broken.”

  That was the first time I’d seen Raj give a damn about Gordie. Truth was, he cared about most things more than he'd let on, and it’d take a kind of heartless that wasn’t in him to leave Gordie to face this alone.

  Gordie climbed to his feet, holding the end of his crutch like a baseball bat, his knuckles white and his hands shaking. “I can’t leave you guys here because of me.”

  Raj gave me a searching look. He gripped the crutch he was holding by its end and propped it over his shoulder. “You know, with three of us and two of them, and these crutches, we can maybe at least take some of the shiny out of their day.”

  It almost brought a smile to my face. Seeing Raj and Gordie stand side-by-side, knowing they’ll be annihilated, but ready to give it everything made me proud to be their friend. I stepped in beside Gordie. “Taking the shiny out of their day would make me feel better.”

  Ahead on the sidewalk, Kyle and Bundy marched closer, passing a boarded-up apartment building. Kyle stooped at the stairs and lifted an empty beer bottle. Gripping the neck, he swung it and struck the doorframe, smashing the end and spraying shattered glass across the sidewalk. He raised the broken bottleneck and examined the jagged edges.

  Next to him, Bundy picked up an empty bottle and plunged it onto a fire hydrant, showering the curb with glass. Together, they started down the sidewalk toward us, holding their gleaming weapons.

  Raj let the crutch fall off his shoulder. “What the…?”

  I held out my hand to Gordie. “Give me your phone.”

  Sobbing and leaning on his crutch, he dug his hand into his pocket.

  Taking the phone, I dialed 911 as Kyle and Bundy approached from the sidewalk a hundred feet from us. The skin around Kyle’s right eye was in bad shape, swollen and discolored with a bruise about the size of Raj’s fist.

  “This is 911. What’s your emergency?”

  “Three people have been murdered on the corner of…” I looked in both directions for street signs. “McCarthy and Deards.”

  “We’re sending a police unit now. Stay on the line and tell me what happened.”

  “Just hurry.”

  I tapped the red button on the phone’s screen.

  18. The Friend of My Enemy is My Enemy

  “Murdered?” Raj asked.

  The wind fell to a dead calm. I handed Gordie his phone as Kyle and Bundy drew nearer, clutching their jagged bottlenecks.

  “Oh my God… oh my God.” Gordie sucked in deep, wheezing mouthfuls of air.

  Kyle stopped six feet from us and grabbed Bundy’s arm, holding him back. His eyes flicked to Raj and then to Gordie, and then settled on me with a chilling emptiness.

  For a long moment, they stood and watched. If they stood a little longer the cops might get here in time to be useful, if they didn’t decide to help Kyle instead.

  Pulling his hoodie over his head, Kyle said, “You paid Drac to kill me?” He pointed at the door to Valeshnikov’s. “My buddy Drac from the gym? That same Drac?” He grinned over his shoulder at Bundy. “Next they’ll hire my old man for protection.”

  A vein in my forehead throbbed like a creature trying to escape. I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets. “We didn’t hire him to kill you.”

  A slight smile lifted the corner of his lips. “I know what you did. He told me about your plan to kill me.”

  “We weren’t trying to kill you,” Raj said. “We just wanted–”

  Bundy stepped forward and lifted the sharp end of his bottleneck to Raj’s throat. Raj raised his palms and stared down his nose at the broken glass.

  Stepping closer, Kyle put his hand on Bundy’s outstretched arm and pushed it down. In his other hand, he examined the sharp shards jutting from the end of his bottleneck. “Paying someone to commit murder is a very serious crime.” His eyes flicked to mine. “I almost reported you to Chief Swindon.” He grinned crookedly. “But then I realized if something bad was to happen to you… well, it’d be self-defense. After all, Drac and his associates are witnesses to your crime.”

  A tear ran down Gordie’s cheek. “Why are you doing this?”

  Kyle’s face tightened. “How about for shooting Fink.” He turned to me and prodded my chest with the sharp end of his bottle. “And breaking Bundy’s nose. And attacking us with a fire extinguisher.” He held the bottle to my nose. “You got me bashed in a convenience store and you nearly drowned me.” He glanced at Raj. “And you split my head open and paid Drac to kill me. And you stole my dinghy.” His eyes narrowed. “I’m just going to come out and say it.” The jagged edges of his bottle glinted like deadly razors. “It’s time for you to die.”

  A rush of adrenaline made me instinctively clench my fists. There’d be no waiting for the cops – this was about to happen. I stepped back. “We can get you the dinghy.”

  Kyle closed his eyes for a moment and then gave me a piercing look. “Say hi to your dead mom for me.” He grunted and lunged at my chest with the bottleneck. I shoved against his arm and leaned out of the way. He turned and gripped my jacket, and we locked eyes as I bore down on his wrist, using all my weight to keep the sharp end at a distance. Straining, he lifted my arms and pressed the glass to my throat, needling my skin like an angry wasp. Movement flashed behind him and a dull thud came from his head. He stumbled into me and a white-hot pain stung my throat. Squeezing his eyes shut, he pressed his hand to the back of his head and staggered away. Behind him, Raj stood gripping a crutch by its foot.

  I touched my throat, smearing warm blood on my fingers. The cut was deep, but not bleeding in a way that’d kill me.

  Standing next to Raj, Bundy creased his brow, almost like he was wondering if this had gone too far, and then wrenched the crutch from Raj’s hands. With his broken bottle in one hand and the crutch in the other, he lifted his leg and drove his foot hard into Raj’s stomach, launching him into the wall. Raj collapsed and lay sprawled on the concrete. With Kyle hurting and Bundy distracted, this was the best chance we’d have to get on top of them. I rushed at Bundy and caught movement from the corner of my eye.

  Thud.

  Every muscle in my body was weak as I woke from what felt like a deep sleep. The cold from the sidewalk seeped through my jeans and jacket, and the dread of what was happening rushed back. I resisted the urge to fall back asleep, forcing my eyes open. The daylight sent a flash of pain through my head. Concrete and grit pressed against my cheek as I rubbed my eyes. With weak legs, I crawled onto my hands and knees.

  The flick of a cigarette lighter came from somewhere nearby, and a cloud of smoke filled my nose. I glimpsed through half-open eyes at Kyle’s face inches from mine.

  He tilted his head sideways at me. “Wakey, wakey, little rabbit.” With a grunt, he swung his skull-ringed fist into my jaw. My face exploded in agony and I collapsed back ont
o the sidewalk, my stomach churning as the world spun in a sickening merry-go-round.

  Above me, Kyle’s blurry figure hovered, possibly about to hit me again but I couldn’t see. I blinked my eyes into focus and shielded my face with my arms, feeling like I could fall asleep if I wasn’t trying so hard to stay awake.

  He leaned down. “I’m about to really hurt you. Are you ready for–”

  Thud.

  Kyle lurched sideways and dropped onto the sidewalk. Writhing and moaning, he pressed his free hand to his ear and examined the blood on his fingers. Gordie stood over Kyle, balancing on one foot and gripping his crutch with both hands.

  Next to the wall, Raj lay on his side, whimpering and clutching his stomach. He lifted his head and pleaded with his eyes to the giant towering over him. Bundy tossed the crutch onto the sidewalk and crouched beside him, holding the broken bottleneck.

  Still wincing from the pain, Kyle shifted his weight onto his elbows and climbed to his knees. He held his hand to his ear, grimacing, and his eyes flicked to Gordie. “That’s about to become your biggest regret.” He climbed to his feet and staggered toward Gordie, clutching the broken bottleneck.

  At the end of the street, a single whoop of a siren sounded and tires screeched. A car skidded around the corner with its engine roaring and blue lights sweeping the street, strobing the sidewalk and buildings. The cavalry had arrived, but on whose side?

  Bundy stood up straight and moved in next to Kyle.