Equal Part 1: The Confrontation

  “Your move, Janus.”

  Orcus had moved a chess piece, taking a pawn from Janus, Orcus losing a rook in the process. Rules of chess dictated that you had to lose one of your own pieces whenever you took a piece from another player. Orcus had used his rook to take a pawn from Janus, so Orcus was required to remove both the rook and the pawn from the chessboard. Rules of chess—designed to preserve self-esteem—ensured that every game ended in a tie. There were no winners or losers.

  Now Janus stared at the chessboard. It was hard to concentrate with all the noise in the Sheriff’s Department. Sheriffs booking lawbreakers. Citizens making complaints. Janus finally moved a chess piece forward. Then he leaned back in the chair and laced his fingers over his stomach and beamed with satisfaction at the cleverness of his move.

  Orcus registered the move. Then he told Janus what he knew about Haven. Orcus said it was a legend about a place where Runners could go to escape from society. He said he believed this place really existed. He told Janus about a guy named Mercury. This guy? He’s supposed to have connections to Haven. You want to find Haven? Find Mercury first. Shouldn’t be too hard. Mercury runs the black market.

  Janus gave Orcus a nod. Orcus had provided useful information. Getting the information from him was worth the pain of playing a game of chess.

  Orcus’s eyes flickered to the chessboard. He held his hand above a chess piece for a moment. Then he moved the piece backward.

  And the desk wobbled again.

  As Janus stared at the chessboard he realized something for the first time. He thought, Playing chess is like being a Sheriff. You have to use strategies and maneuvers and creativity. Maybe that’s why Orcus plays the game so much. Maybe every Sheriff should play the game.

  Now Janus shifted his jaw off center and studied Orcus’s move. He took his time. He considered his options. After a while he slid a chess piece diagonally across the chessboard. It seemed like a good move.

  Orcus grunted when he saw the move.

  Janus took a moment to study Orcus, curious about how the man’s mind worked, wondering if it ever pondered deep thoughts. Did Orcus ever think about the meaning of life? Did he ever wonder about the universe?

  Janus had to smile now as he watched Orcus digging out ear wax with his forefinger and then wiping it on his tunic.

  One of the other Sheriffs was coming this way. She strode up to Janus and looked at him with no great enthusiasm as she handed him a fresh loaf of bread. There was a note attached to it.

  Janus raised his eyebrows at her. “What’s this?”

  “A gift.”

  “From?”

  “Some woman who stopped by.”

  Janus watched as the female Sheriff drifted away from his desk. She was young, not bad-looking.

  Now he read the note.

  ENJOY THE BREAD. IT’S YOUR FAVORITE, I KNOW. SORRY ABOUT LAST NIGHT. THERE WAS SOMETHING I HAD TO DO BEFORE SURRENDERING MYSELF TO YOU. I PLAN TO STOP BY YOUR LODGING AGAIN TO SURRENDER MYSELF. I’LL SEE YOU TONIGHT. TRUST ME. DIANA.

  Janus looked up from the piece of paper to see Orcus staring at him. The man wanted to know what the note said. He didn’t come right out and say so, but you could see it on his face. Janus remained calm, in control of his facial expression, yet he could still feel a tension between the two of them. He cleared his throat.

  Orcus was still staring at him with suspicious eyes.

  Janus leaned forward and called out to the female Sheriff, “That woman still here? The one who stopped by?”

  The female Sheriff was facing the other way. She half-turned to look at Janus, shrugged, and then went back to what she was doing.

  He called out again, “How old was she?”

  She half-turned again, glaring at him this time. “Almost fifty. She wore a gold tunic.”

  Janus held up his hand. “Thanks.”

  He thought, Gold tunic? Could it have been Diana disguised as Fama? Was she the one who delivered the note? Walking right into the Sheriff’s Department would have been a pretty bold move for a Runner.

  Janus folded the note.

  Orcus watched him. “Something important?”

  Janus said, “Nope,” without looking up.

  Orcus gave a skeptical grunt, drumming his fingers on the desk, the desk wobbling.

  Janus took his time putting the folded note in his pocket. Then he looked up. Orcus was nowhere in sight.

  * * *

  DIANA WAS AT his door. Sheriff Janus let her in. She crossed the threshold and surveyed his lodging, the orange glow of the fireplace, the silver moonlight in the window.

  When he closed the door she turned to him. Her eyes probed his. He stared into those eyes, feeling a desire, unaware of its origin.

  She smiled at him, her eyes filling with a spark, their sweet grayness bright with anticipation.

  He smiled back at her, intense sensations surging through his body, flooding his veins with passion.

  They stood gazing at each other, knowing it, feeling it. Neither said a word. Words were unnecessary. Man and woman understood. They understood what could be. What would be. They were two lost souls shutting out the cruel world of forbidden freedom and happiness. They were lost in a world of their own making, a world of promise and possibility.

  She stared at him, desire conveyed in her eyes, her lips.

  He stood still, aware that the first move must be hers, and hers alone.

  The moment possessed a sense of ease. Contentment.

  The glittering surface and myriad colors of her sparkling tunic filled the room with endless reflections. Its low cut revealed the swell of her breasts. Which she wanted him to see. And he knew it.

  Her eyes searched his, never looking away, as she reached for his hand. He met her halfway. Their hands touched. Their fingers caressed, becoming entwined, two becoming one.

  They came together, embracing each other, her face pressed against his chest. He drew her closer, kissing her hair, stroking her hair. She brought her hands up to his shoulders, paused for a moment, and then linked her arms around his neck, pressing her body into his, gentle at first, and then with growing intensity.

  His hands went to her waist. She reached back, cupping his hands in hers, and led his hands down lower. He felt the soft swells of warm roundness. He trembled, aroused.

  She lifted her head, gazing up at him from under her eyelashes, long and dark and thick. Reaching up, she cupped his face in her hands, her lips parting as she brought them to his. His lips covered her open mouth. Her throat moaned with pleasure.

  She pulled her lips from his and took his hand and led him toward the bedroom. There was an awkward moment when he almost stumbled over a loose floorboard. It made them laugh till tears came to their eyes. Then she led him into the bedroom, her eyes saying, Oh, Janus, Janus, Janus . . .

  “Janus? Janus? Wake up.”

  Janus opened his eyes, blinking and yawning. He looked up. A man was standing before his desk. One of the other Sheriffs.

  The man was saying, “You keep falling asleep at your desk, you might think about bringing a pillow to work.” Chuckling as he walked away.

  Yawning again, Janus stretched his arms. Then he rolled his head to work out the kinks in his neck. That was when he saw the loaf of bread on his desk. It looked good. And he was hungry. He reached for it, tore off a piece.

  Janus considered his options as he chewed. It was already evening, and thick snow blanketed the world outside, so riding his horse all the way to the black market would be an act of insanity. It’d be better to wait till morning. Besides, that citizen who ran the black market—what was his name? Mercury? Yep, that was it. Mercury would be easier to find during the daylight hours.

  Janus tore off another piece of bread and bit into it and smacked his lips. Something else was coming to mind. He was thinking about the looming deadline for capturing Diana. Tomorrow was the last day. His last chance. The day after tomorrow the assignment would be given to another Sheriff, and Ja
nus would no longer have a perfect capture record.

  Now he wiped the crumbs from his hands, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the note from Diana. He read it again, focusing on the last part.

  I’LL SEE YOU TONIGHT. TRUST ME.

  Janus tapped his lips with his forefinger, thinking, Well, maybe she really will show up tonight. Could happen. Right?

  He shrugged.

  There was a familiar scent in the air. Janus wrinkled his nose, sniffing at the smell. It smelled good. Like perfume. Where was it coming from? Janus looked around. He didn’t see any women within smelling distance. He looked down at the note in his hand. He pressed the piece of paper to his nose. It smelled like perfume. Had Diana sprayed it with perfume?

  Now Janus folded the note and slid it into his pocket. Feeling a hole in the bottom of the pocket, he said to himself, You need to get that mended.

  Then he got up from his desk and donned his heavy cloak and headed home.

  * * *

  LOOK AT THIS guy, Sheriff Orcus thought. Man, look at him. Hotshot Sheriff with a swagger in his step. What a dumb-ass.

  Orcus was leaning back in his chair, his feet up on his desk, watching Sheriff Janus cutting across the floor of the Sheriff’s Department. The hotshot was heading for the door, probably going home for the evening.

  Something happened right before he went out the door. Something white fell to the ground behind him. Orcus stared at the white object. What the hell was it?

  Orcus lowered his feet to the floor and sat forward in the chair and waited till the hotshot was out the door. Then he rose and went to see what the guy had dropped. He took several steps before he could see it was a folded piece of paper. His eyebrows went up, Orcus wondering if it could be that note, the one Janus had been reading earlier.

  Now Orcus stepped on the piece of paper. He stood scanning the room, his eyes darting from side to side.

  No one was watching him. Good.

  He bent and picked it up. He opened it. Read it. Grinned. Yeah, it was the note.

  What was Janus up to? Meeting a Runner at his lodging? Letting her come and go as she pleased? Not just one night, two nights.

  Orcus intended to find the answers. He went out the door to follow Janus home.

  CHAPTER 7

  FAMA WAS AT his door. Sheriff Janus let her in.

  He closed the door and looked her up and down. “Diana, you been wearing that disguise all day?”

  She stared at him, uncomprehending.

  “How come you’re looking at me that way?” he said.

  She opened her mouth to speak and closed it without saying a word. She was still staring at him.

  “What is it?” he said. “Diana, what’s going on?”

  She took his hand and patted it. “My poor boy, you don’t know, do you?”

  “Know what?”

  “Diana played a hoax on you.”

  “What?”

  “A hoax.”

  “You’re not Diana?”

  “No. I’m Fama. I’m a real person, not some disguise.” She patted his hand again.

  Janus stared at her. It took him a moment to register her words. When the words finally registered he frowned and shook his head, realizing he’d been played for a fool again.

  What a fool.

  He paced the room, back and forth, rubbing the back of his neck and muttering to himself. He couldn’t believe it. Diana had lied to him. She’d told him that Fama was just a disguise. Janus had actually believed her.

  What a fool.

  Now he heard snickering.

  He spun around to see Fama snickering, her hand over her mouth, amusement in her eyes. He watched as she put her hand to her neck and started to pull at something. He saw her face contorting and twisting. Then he realized it wasn’t her face. It was a rubber mask. Now the mask came off, and he could see it was Diana. She giggled now, one hand pointing to Janus, the other holding up the rubberized face of Fama.

  When Diana said, “Gotcha,” Janus didn’t know how to react. What he did was glare at her. How come she was laughing at him? Citizens never laughed at other citizens. Never. Nothing was more insulting than to be laughed at. Who’d Diana think she was? Janus had no idea. She was a mystery to him.

  He studied her now, scanning her face, searching for a sign of malice. There didn’t seem to be any malice in her. There was warmth in her eyes, a glow about her, sincerity in her countenance. Everything in her seemed to be goodness, golden goodness, from her eyes to her heart to her soul.

  Now a feeling swelled in Janus. It was that same strange feeling he’d experienced once before. This time, however, he gave in to it without hesitation. A smile spread across his face. Then he laughed. Roared with laughter. Diana laughed with him. They laughed together.

  When the laughter died down, the two of them still smiling, there was a moment when their eyes locked. It was a brief moment, but one of significance.

  Then, a heartbeat later, she gave him a sad smile and came to him and rose up on her toes and kissed his cheek and then spun around and clasped her hands behind her back and said, “I surrender.”

  In that moment, that perfect moment, Diana became even more beautiful than before. Now Janus felt something new, something stronger, more intense. He struggled with his feelings as he pulled the rope from his pocket and bound Diana’s hands behind her back. His feelings began to torment him now, tugging at his heart, relentless.

  On instinct, without thinking, he withdrew his knife and cut her loose. Right away he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck. She put her hands over his, tilting her head back, allowing his lips to reach farther. When she moaned he lifted her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom.

  * * *

  SHERIFF ORCUS HEARD all of it, everything that happened between Janus and Diana, between Sheriff and Runner. Every word. Every moan.

  Orcus was standing in the dark hall, his head against Janus’s door, his ear pressed to the crack. Waiting. Listening. Hoping to hear some more. But there was nothing now.

  Orcus didn’t know how to play it. Should he bust down the door and arrest them both now? Or, should he wait, see what they do tomorrow?

  He was playing with these two options in his mind, going back and forth, not sure which would be more fun. Either way, Janus would be a dead man, and Orcus would be the only Sheriff in the local Sheriff’s Department with a perfect capture record.

  Orcus stood in the darkness of the hall for a long time. Then he grinned his grin and stepped away from the door. He crept back down the hall in his sock feet. Tiptoed down the stairs. Picked up his boots from where he’d stood them by the front door. Pulled them on. And went out the door.

  CHAPTER 8

  NEAR DAWN. DIANA was curled into Janus. Her cheek against his chest, her breath warm on his shoulder, her round knees pressed against his thigh.

  Janus gazed at her. So beautiful. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She came half-awake, sighing, and then fell back asleep.

  He eased out from beneath her and slipped out of the bed. He covered her body with the soft sheets. He kissed her sweet forehead.

  Stretching to his tiptoes, he reached up and arched his back and let out yawn. His bare feet padded across the bedroom. Then they stopped. He picked up a pair of socks and slipped them on and walked out of the room.

  When he got to the fireplace he took hold of the poker and stoked the embers. He placed another log on top. He waited. Embers glowed warm. Flames licked wood. The log crackled.

  Now Janus crouched forward, hands to the fire, feeling the heat. He closed his eyes, tipped his head back, and took a deep breath. Holding it . . . Then letting it out, slow, unhurried. He kept doing that for almost a minute, breathing in, out.

  Temptation, he said to himself. You let temptation distract you from your duty. Temptation in the form of a woman, a stunning woman, the most beautiful woman ever.

  Janus had to wonder why he’d succumbed to the temp
tation with such ease, with such speed, with so little struggle. As if getting involved with Diana meant so much more to him than everything else in his life. It wasn’t like him to give in to temptation. He was a man of principle, always putting duty first, never allowing relations to interfere.

  Then how come it was different with Diana? Janus wasn’t sure. He gave it some thought. After a while the answer came to him, the reasons why Diana was special. It was because she brightened the muted shadows of his muted existence. And because she reminded him, more than any other woman, of his deceased lover.

  Now Janus stared at the floor and chewed on the edge of his lower lip. He was casting his mind back, staring at the memories, haunting memories.

  His eyes came back into focus when an ember popped in the fireplace. A few moments later he rose and turned from the fireplace and spotted the rubber mask Diana had worn. It was lying on the table. The sight of it made him smile.

  He went to it. Held it up. Examined it. He was impressed with Diana’s artistic skill. The rubberized face of Fama looked realistic. Now he could feel something hard inside one of the rubber ears. He reached in, pulled it out. It was an Equalizer.

  He rolled the small white electronic device between his forefinger and thumb, back and forth, thinking, This must be the Equalizer Diana deactivated, the one she used to wear before becoming a Runner . . .

  A Runner.

  Diana was a Runner. And Janus was a Sheriff. His duty was to deliver her to justice.

  But what if . . .

  His mind raced now. He said to himself, What if you decided not to deliver her to justice?

  His mind toyed with the idea as his feet stepped to the window. He stood at the window and gazed out at the eastern sky. The last stars fading into dawn. Brilliant specks of dust from an ancient time. Janus was thinking he could lie about it, tell Sheriff Aurora that he never found Diana, that he’d tried but failed. Sheriff Aurora would believe him. And Janus would suffer no consequences for failing at his job. Trying was what mattered, not succeeding. Society was concerned only with the effort. Results were inconsequential.