A half-hour later, Titus leaned against the sheetrock of an unfinished building waiting for Kermit and Miss Piggy to wake up. Those had been the names they gave the attackers, and Titus made a mental note to check out this thing called The Muppets. He couldn’t imagine a frog and pig in love, but Hudson swore it to be true.
They’d found a few chairs at the construction site among the tools, nails, and wood, and Hudson had guessed the workers used them for lunchtime breaks.
Now, the chairs were being used for holding the attackers.
They each sat in one with their hands tied behind their backs, their heads lulling to the sides. Both seemed to be in their mid-thirties. Dressed in black jeans and black, long-sleeved shirts, it seemed they had definitely coordinated their outfits. Frankly, they dressed in the same manner as him and the other Warriors, so he had to guess they didn’t want to be noticed, just as his crew didn’t. No, these two had wanted to fade into the shadows.
However, what they had stumbled on, he had no idea. He hoped they would prove to be Colonist offspring, but he could have also walked in on a revenge killing, or even a drug dealer evening the score with the user.
They’d left the drug user at his apartment. He had no idea what the male would think when he woke up with his neck bruised and a puddle of blood on his bedroom floor, but it wasn’t his concern. Perhaps he’d chalk it up to a bad trip.
He found his patience running on low as he waited for Piggy and Kermit to wake, so he took a long sip from his water bottle he’d bought at the local convenience store a few moments ago, then poured the rest over the male’s head. He sputtered, then slowly came awake.
“Good morning, gorgeous,” Hudson said, bending down in front of him so they met eye to eye. “How’re you feeling?”
The man glanced at Hudson, then over at Titus and Roman as confusion crossed his bloody face. “Where am I?”
“Does it really matter now?” Titus asked. “You’re tied to a chair. Who cares where you are?”
Kermit tugged at the duct tape holding his hands together, also purchased at the convenience store. Titus liked the owner, Tim, and appreciated the efficiency of the establishment, but also wondered who else besides him walked into such a place with the intent and need to buy duct tape while picking up a day-old hot dog and a soda.
He and Simon had stopped into the store many times while out in the Phoenix area. Tim had always greeted them with a smile and never questioned their odd purchases, such as duct tape.
“Why are we here?” Kermit asked, glancing over at Piggy.
“Why were you trying to kill that male back there?” Hudson asked.
“It’s none of your business.”
Titus studied the man. He’d moved quickly at the apartment, so Titus guessed he probably had some type of martial arts training. Also, the man had a slim frame, but wiry and muscular. Purple rings were appearing around his brown eyes, but that’s what happened with a freshly broken nose. He winced as he noticed the way it slanted to the right. It wouldn’t be any fun getting that thing back where it should be.
“I made it my business,” Titus said, stepping up to the man and giving his nose a small flick. “So now, you tell us what we want to know, or my friend over here is going to break more than just your nose.”
Kermit grimaced at his touch, and before Titus could see it coming, he leaned forward and head-butted Hudson, who still rested on his haunches in front of the male.
Titus pulled out his gun, having every intention of putting a hole between Kermit’s eyes, but Hudson lunged up and threw himself at the male, sending both of them toppling backwards. As Kermit’s hands twisted and flattened against the concrete floor, the sound of more bones breaking echoed around the room.
Hudson slammed his hand over Kermit’s mouth, drowning out a bit of the scream emanating from him.
Anger radiated from Hudson as he glared at Kermit. “I’m going to take my hand from your mouth. Then, I’m going to sit you upright. Don’t be a pussy and scream for help, got it?”
While he righted Kermit, Piggy woke up. Short and thin in stature, her long face looked nothing like a pig. However, her long, blonde hair did remind Hudson of Miss Piggy, or so he claimed. Titus wouldn’t know.
“What’s going on?” she mumbled.
He stepped over to her, placed his finger under her chin, and lifted it so she had to look at him. “Why don’t you tell us? Why were you trying to kill that male?”
Her eyes widened as she tried to move her hands.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
Titus sighed, almost wishing he had stayed home.
“Let’s try this a different way.” Roman strolled up to Kermit. “Why don’t you tell me how Daniel’s doing?”
Titus turned as the man paled, blatant shock covering his face. He glanced over at Piggy, who held the same expression.
Yep, sometimes, the direct approach seemed to be the best.
“Who are you?” Piggy asked again.
Roman smiled. “Friends of Daniel’s.”
She grinned. “Thank goodness. Then you can let us go. We’re his followers and—”
“Shut the fuck up!” Kermit screamed.
“Don’t tell me what to do! They know Daniel!”
As the two argued, Titus shook his head. Sometimes, stupidity knew no bounds.
“You don’t know that they’re friends of Daniel, you dumb bitch!” Kermit yelled.
“They just said they were!”
“They could be from the Saviors! You don’t know for sure!”
Well, well, well. Daniel had shared quite a bit with his followers.
That also shut Piggy up, and both glared at Titus, Hudson, and Roman. He could practically see the hamsters running on the wheels where their brains should have been.
After a long silence and a stare down, Titus asked, “So, where can we find Daniel?”
“Up your ass and around the corner,” Kermit muttered.
“Oh, I can guarantee you he’s not there.” Hudson bent down in Kermit’s face. “But if you like that ass stuff, we can make something happen.”
The male spit in Hudson’s face.
Titus walked over to him. “If that’s the way you want to play it, I can move from nice to nasty in record speed, asshole.”
He placed his gun against Kermit’s forehead. “Start talking.”
“Fuck you.”
He glanced over at Hudson, who nodded, and he placed his gun on the male’s kneecap.
Kermit looked at the gun, then spit at Titus. He wiped the mess from his face, then pulled the trigger, thankful for the silencer.
An hour later, Kermit lay dead at Piggy’s feet. He’d refused to give up any knowledge of Daniel’s whereabouts, and the more tactics they used to extract the information, the more obnoxious and defiant he’d become. Hudson had put a bullet in his skull, and all three now turned to Piggy.
He didn’t consider himself a violent person, but he did have Warrior blood flowing through his veins. His job had been to protect his people on SR44, and he’d done the job to the best of his abilities, up until the last second when he’d stepped on the vessel with an order to carry on his race. He’d killed many Miladrids in the war, and a few Colonists. If he felt the cause was just, he could separate his emotions from his actions.
Right now as he studied Piggy sitting in her chair and staring at the far wall, he felt as close to his old self as he’d been since he landed on this rock. He excelled at his Warrior role, and perhaps, he’d found the very thing he needed to keep his pain of losing Simon at a minimum.
However, he knew he didn’t have it in him to kill a female, and he doubted Hudson or Roman did either. It went against every fiber in his body, and that thought made him want to vomit.
So, what would they do with her? Sunrise quickly approached, and the construction workers would be in to start their jobs at any time.
“What’s your name?” Roman asked.
“Kelly.”
“You’re Daniel’s follower, right?”
She nodded, and Titus noted she showed no fear, not even a bit of worry. Did she think of herself as invincible? What had Daniel taught his followers? Couldn’t she see she sat in a shitload of trouble? Her friend lay dead at her feet, for God’s sake. What was wrong with her? Maybe she just thought her fate would be the same.
“Where is he?” Hudson asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him.”
“How did you find out about him?”
“On the Internet.”
Titus sighed. If he didn’t know better, he’d think it bullshit, but Micah had told him that was how Daniel recruited and contacted his followers, and more recently, Blake had said the same. Yet, they’d never been able to figure out how, regardless of how many searches they did. “How did that go? Did you just look up how to be a killer or something like that?”
She grinned at him, her gaze raking over him from head to toe, making him want to check his fly. “Something like that. You guys have to be a part of the Saviors Daniel spoke of. That’s the only way any of this makes any sense.”
“Here’s the deal, Kelly,” Hudson began, ignoring her last statement. “I’m tired. I want to go home. I get really cranky when I’m tired. So, start telling me something useful, or I promise you, I will make you hate the day you took your first breath.”
Titus stared at Kelly, hoping she would give them something. With Hudson being an assassin, he didn’t want to be around to see him torture a female. He’d definitely lose the meager contents of his stomach watching that.
“I’m not telling you anything.”
He turned and walked away from her, expecting to hear some bones breaking, or the slap of Hudson’s hand on her skin. Instead, silence blanketed the room.
“Very well.”
Titus looked over his shoulder to see Hudson cutting her hands loose. She brought them around to her lap and massaged each one.
He then took out a phone as he stared at Kelly. Titus listened as Hudson gave them their address. “I think I heard screaming coming from the building, but I’m afraid to go in.”
A beat of silence ensued.
“Yes, please send someone.”
Hudson shoved the phone in his pocket. “There’s only one way out of here, Kelly, and we’ll be watching that door. If we see you come out before the cops come, we’ll shoot you dead.”
She glanced down at Kermit lying on the floor, a little bit of panic crossing her face as she put the pieces together. “They’ll think I did this!”
“That’s the point, sweetheart,” Roman said.
“But I didn’t!”
Titus walked over to her. “Consider it payback for those you have killed.”
Her face blanched, and he smiled. They weren’t dealing with any saint caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
If he were to ever cross paths with the simple-looking human being before him, he would never guess her as evil. In fact, he could see her as a librarian or a nurse—someone who did good deeds in the world. Yet, she knew of Daniel, and she’d all but admitted that she’d killed before. He had to peg her as a Colonist offspring.
Because of this, he didn’t feel bad leaving her to take responsibility for Kermit’s death.
They walked out while she sat there staring at the body at her feet. He half expected her to beg them to come back so that she could spill her secrets, yet she remained silent until they were almost out the door.
“I can’t tell you anything or they’ll kill me!” she called.
He didn’t look back. As far as he was concerned, rotting in jail could be a fate worse than death.
As they stood a block away watching the front door, the first rays of sunlight appeared, coloring the sky a light gray.
He stared upward, watching the last of the stars fade. “I thought you were going to kill her.”
Hudson scoffed. “What do you think I am? Some kind of animal? I could never hurt a female.”
“Even a Colonist offspring?”
“Even one of them. I’m standing out here, and she’s alive and well in there. The thought of laying a hand on a female twists up my stomach.”
“Are you sure about that?” Roman asked, his eyebrows dancing. “I’ve heard about your past, and it seems to me that you liked to lay your hands on a lot of females.”
Hudson grinned. “You know what I mean. And for the record, there’s only one female for me now, and that’s Beverly. My past is securely behind me. Sex was only one of my ways of dealing with the death of the female I loved. It was a necessity at the time. Now, it’s nothing but a distinct pleasure.”
Titus couldn’t help but smile, and found himself surprised when Macy’s face popped into his head. He probably should have her look at his ribs as they had begun to hurt a little while ago. Perhaps later in the day or tomorrow.
The sirens sounded in the distance, and Titus guessed them about a three blocks away.
“And what if she comes out that door?” Roman asked.
Titus sighed. “Can you kill a female, Roman?”
“Hell, no.”
“Then I guess we watch her walk away.”
He trained his gaze on the building, hoping she wouldn’t leave. He wanted her to pay for her past deeds, to suffer as much as those she’d killed.
The cops pulled up, and the trio moved around the corner.
“Who’s ready to head home?” Roman asked.
“I was thinking breakfast at that little diner over on Fifth,” Hudson commented. “They should be opening soon.”
Titus’ stomach howled at the thought, despite the death and violence he’d just witnessed. “Count me in on that.”