Rusty Nails (The Dade Gibson Case Files) (16 page)

“Kill the boy, Dade. This the last time I’m going to tell you.”

“You’re the angel of death and you’re afraid to kill a twelve-year old boy. Maybe you should resign and let someone else fill the position.”

Samael growled and bared his long incisors.

“Ooh, you have teeth,” Dade said.

Samael fearlessly took a step forward, daring Dade to pull the trigger, and the barrage of bullets immediately tore through the feeble husk of a body that he wore like cheap tissue paper. Leon stepped forward to help his friend, squeezing off round after round until Samael fell.

Not really believing that he had just killed death, Dade took a tentative step forward, his hands trembling, his stomach churning from the shock. As he crept closer, the death angel’s predatorial eyes opened slightly.

Like a copperhead coiled to strike, the death angel’s hand shot out and clamped around Dade’s ankle. Realizing his mistake far too late, Dade emptied his gun into Samael and watched him convulse in a mock parody of death. Yet, the death angel’s grip never wavered. Not even when Pyriel and Leon were desperately trying to pry away his cold, black-nailed fingers.

Dade had one clip left in his jacket pocket and he loaded it as quickly as he could. Biting his lip and resisting the urge to scream, he glanced down at the angel that looked like his father and knew that Jack Gibson, despite all the horrid things he had said over the years, wasn’t capable of the kind of hatred that was eating away at that face like a ravenous cancer. Dade aimed the gun, shut his eyes to the pain, and squeezed the trigger until the magazine was empty. The grip on his ankle loosened, and the burning immediately stopped. Before Dade could back away from the danger, Samael had scrambled to his feet and jumped through the window, leaving the skin of Jack Gibson behind like the shroud of some trick-or-treat ghost. What was more, he had taken Rush with him.

Dade stared numbly at what was left of his father and fell to his knees, throwing his gun haphazardly into the corner like a child’s unwanted toy.

Chapter 38

Once Dade had control of himself, he stood up, retrieved his pistol from Leon and began to think about what they could do. “Where do we go from here?” Leon asked, voicing the question in everyone’s mind. Normally, Dade would have had an answer. But not this time. The answers weren’t so clear cut.

“We go after Samael,” Pyriel said, not needing to think. Everyone looked at him. It was immediately apparent that he was an angel in a room full of humans.

“I don’t care what happens to that boy anymore,” Dade said. “You said yourself that he’s not what he seems to be.”

“There’s more at stake here than that,” Pyriel explained.

“Such as?” Liz asked.

“What is it with you people?” the angel said. “Don’t you realize that what happens in the next world affects this one? The angels are at war over this drug. If Samael gains control of the drug, he’ll have the addicted eating out of the palm of his hand. They will do anything he wants for a hit. With control of the seraphim army, he can stage a revolt the likes of which Lucifer couldn’t have even imagined.”

“There’s no way we can fight seraphim,” Leon interjected. “Besides, doesn’t God have angels to handle this. Aren’t you one of those guys? What have you been up to all this time?”

The shame on Pyriel’s face was immediate. “Even the faithful slip sometimes.”

“This is all very complicated,” Dade said. “But I’ve got other things on my mind.” He pulled out one of the photos of his father and sister that had been left by Louise Hartwell.

“We’ve got to get our hands on Edgemore’s stash,” Dade said, suddenly determined. “Maybe we can bargain with him if we have that.”

“Maybe you won’t have to,” a voice from the doorway said.

All eyes turned to the leather-clad angel.

“Abbadon?” Pyriel said, confused.

“I don’t think Samael or Louise Hartwell has as much leverage as you give them credit for,” Abbadon replied, stepping aside to show the two spirits that were behind him.

“Dad? Jane?” Dade whispered. “How?”

The angel of the bottomless pit held up the keys that unlocked the gate. “I went and got them,” he said.

For a moment, Dade didn’t know what to say. It was such a shock to see his father and sister standing there, quivering images from the past like snippets of a home movie.

“Dad?” he said, tears flowing freely down his face. “I just shot something that looked a lot like you.”

“Samael may have looked like me on the outside,” Jack explained. “But on the inside we we’re nothing alike.”

Dade nodded and looked at his sister. “And you didn’t kill yourself?” he asked.

“No,” Jane said, running an ethereal hand alongside her brother’s rugged face. “I would have never done anything like that, no matter how severe things became. Samael was the one who slipped the rope around my neck.”

Even now, Dade could still see the mark of Samael burned into Jane’s flesh.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Dade wept. “I’ve spent all these years being angry at you. I was convinced that you drove Jane to kill herself.”

“I’ve made amends with your sister,” Jack explained. “And I understand why you felt the way you did, why you left after your sister died. But there were things going on that I couldn’t share with either of you. Decisions I had made that were coming back to haunt me. I suppose I took my grief out on you and Jane because there was no one else left. I’m terribly sorry.”

“I don’t understand,” Dade whispered.

“There’s something that I need to tell you just in case I don’t get another chance.”

Dade wasn’t sure that he could take any more earth-shaking revelations, but he was tired of living under false pretenses. “Go ahead,” he said, preparing for the worst.

“Your mother was a special woman,” Jack said. “She gave me two very special children. But there were things about your mother that you never knew. Things about her that I didn’t find out about until the war started and we all became involved.”

“Like what?”

“Like the fact that she was a member of the highest order of seraphim. Or that you and Jane inherited some of her angelic talents.”

“Mom?” Dade said, puzzled.

“Yes,” Jack said. “I fell in love with an angel…and surprisingly enough, she fell in love with me. Samael saw potential in you and your sister. Even when he was in the plotting stages of this war, he knew there was something about the two of you that he could use. Your mother and I were prepared to fight to keep him away from you. But he’s very powerful. Neither of us could figure out how to battle death and keep him at bay forever.”

“In the end, we negotiated a trade off. Samael agreed to take your mother when the time was right and leave the two of you alone. It was a decision I wasn’t happy with, but your mother wouldn’t have it any other way. Still, there was a price. You both wear the death angel’s mark.”

The symbol on Jane’s neck stood out like a cattle brand, leaving Dade to wonder where the death angel had laid his touch on him. Then he felt something under his hairline burn and itch and knew the secret place.

“Samael went back on his deal after taking mom,” Jane added. “He came for me, hoping I could use my gift of healing to help him win the war. I refused and he killed me for it.”

“And where is mom now?” Dade asked.

“A battalion of war seraphim staged a rescue attempt. She’s safe.”

“Samael’s about to learn what it is to lose a war,” Dade said through gritted teeth. “I think it’s time to take away a little more of his leverage.”

“What do you mean?” Abbadon asked.

“I mean it’s time for some psychological warfare. I don’t appreciate anybody playing me for a fool while wearing the skin of my father or murdering my sister. It’s time I showed Samael just who he’s dealing with here. Give me the name of his best assassin.”

“Midael,” Pyriel said, not giving Abbadon the chance to reply. “The stiletto angel.”

“Perfect,” Dade said. “Where do I find him?”

“A place called The Black Cat,” Abbadon said. “I’ve been watching things down here for a while, and he seems to like that joint.”

“I think Leon knows the place pretty well,” Dade said.

The big black man smiled. The light gleamed off of one gold tooth. “Oh, yeah, I think I’m familiar with it. I just might be able to get you in without a cover charge too.”

“You da man,” Dade said.

Leon smiled. “I know,” he said.

Chapter 39

The Black Cat was a den of flesh and flashing neon. It was a place that prided itself on dancers who oiled themselves up under the warm glow of the spotlights and earned their keep from the businessmen of Crowley’s Point. It was a tough place to get into on a crowded night. But doors opened for Leon that didn’t open for anyone else. The girls recognized him on sight and waved despite being in the middle of dance routines. Leon, always the ham, waved back.

With some argument, Dade had persuaded Pyriel, Abbadon, his father and sister to stay with Liz at the office while he and Leon searched for Midael. Liz hadn’t liked the idea of him going out to look for an angel who made his reputation by pinning his victims to the wall like insects in a bug collection. But she understood the graveness of the situation. She said she could use the time to get to know Jack and Jane Gibson better. It seemed an odd time for making acquaintances, but Dade suspected that this might be the only time Liz would ever see his family.

Not wanting to seem too out of place and draw unwanted attention to themselves, Dade had suggested that they change clothes. He should have known better. While he had dressed in conservative black, Leon had opted for tight red leather pants and a red feather boa. In other settings, Leon could have been a construction worker or a bodybuilder. But here, with his fingernails painted in a shade to match the boa and a diamond stud in each ear, Leon looked like he belonged to the club. And everyone noticed him. So much for incognito.

Dade considered drawing his guns and charging in. But he knew that that was about the quickest way to get himself killed and decided against it. That was when an idea occurred to him.

“Just how well do you know these ladies?” he asked, rifling through his pockets for what money he had left.

“As well as you need me to,” Leon replied. “They work for me.”

“Good. Then I need three of your finest girls for about five minutes.”

Dade told Leon of his plan and then waited until the bouncer had informed the girls of what they were to do. On his cue, Leon sent a dancer named Raven into the VIP section where Midael and an auburn-haired female were having drinks.

Even with the lights dimmed and the hazy cloud of cigarette smoke, Dade could see the smile spread across Midael’s face like a cancer. He also saw Midael’s companion reach into her handbag and pull something out. It gleamed brilliantly in the spotlights, but in the dimly lit club, he couldn’t tell what it was. He would have to be careful of her.

“You want a private show?” Raven whispered. “There’s two other girls in the back besides me who have their eyes on you.”

This time the light hit the object in the woman’s hand at the right angle, and Dade saw the razor-tip on one end. Just from that alone, he knew this was going to turn out badly. But he knew that there was no other choice except to proceed. Fortunately, Midael was going along with the plan. At Raven’s suggestion, he was already out of his chair and heading toward a private room in the back of the club.

Taking their cue, two blonde dancers stepped out from the unlit corners of the room. Midael willingly began to shed his gunslinger-styled overcoat, his boots, his denim shirt. His pants, however, he left buttoned.

While Dade normally would have thought that a large black man with a red feather boa wouldn’t be all that hard to spot, he never saw Leon as he slipped out a back door, circling around the building to come back in through the entrance. He wouldn’t have even noticed that the woman named Lilith was gone, but he kept his eyes on her until he saw two enormous hands emerge from the darkness, one covering her mouth and the other wrapping itself around her throat. For his part Midael never knew anything that was going on around him. Raven and her two girls were making doubly sure that the angel was well occupied.

“Those aren’t real wings, are they?” one of the girls asked him playfully, rubbing her hands across his muscled chest. Midael closed his eyes and laughed. That was when Dade made his move.

Fortunately, the girls knew exactly what he was needing them to do and giggled to cover up the sound of his footfalls on the hard cement floor. For his part, Midael looked like he was in Heaven. One moment, he was kissing Raven hard on the lips. The next his mouth was filled with the cold, acrid taste of blue steel. Having let down his guard, Midael’s eyes immediately snapped open, and where there had been the glazed over look of unadulterated pleasure there was only rage. But he couldn’t say a word.

“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” Dade suggested. “I’m sure you would make a terrible mess.”

Midael didn’t have to be told twice. The barrel of the .45 was more than enough persuasion.

Chapter 40

Lilith tried hard to have a look at the man who was dragging her by the hair. But it was dark and so was he which presented some problems.

Her abductor had taken the stiletto from her immediately so she guessed that he had some experience in dangerous situations. His hands also seemed strong enough to rip the New York City phone book in half, and Lilith saw no reason to make him angry just yet.

Although her head remained mostly down as she was being pulled toward the door, she could see enough to tell that people had stopped watching the dancers and were focusing on her. Which gave her an idea.

“Just because I wouldn’t give you my phone number doesn’t mean you have to throw me out,” she screamed. “Let me go!”

Leon gave the handful of hair a mean jerk. “What did I tell you?” he asked, not really wanting an answer. “If you open your mouth again, you’re going to have a big bald spot where all that pretty hair is.”