The Intangibles Page 14

  “Relax, Mr. Holier-than-thou!” She spat on the busty girl on the cover, and walked out of the room.

  CHAPTER 18

  At Stinger’s Place

  Max’s return had interrupted the conversation between Athena and Osiris.

  “I have it.”

  Osiris nodded with approval. “Well, let’s see it.”

  Max got an oblong greyish object out of his pocket and handed it over.

  “That’s it.” Osiris examined it.

  Max’s cell phone started ringing and he answered the call. “Yes, it’s me. Ready. Got it. I’ll be there.” He put the phone in his pocket.

  The three exchanged looks.

  “Linda will pick me up on Lydig Ave, third block from the Morris Park station. In one hour. I don’t know where we’ll go then.”

  “That’s okay,” said Osiris. “We’ll dematerialize and follow you. And we’ll back you up as needed. But now we should figure out what to do.”

  Max frowned.

  “Don’t forget that Stinger believes you’re under a powerful paralyzing drug. Nobody knows that the poison is partially neutralized, so you’d better act like you’re dying.”

  Max nodded.

  “You will go with Linda wherever she takes you. Without the Switch. It’s too risky, as they might find it. You’ll take this instead.” Osiris handed him the Eraser. “Here is the control panel with indicators. The device won’t turn on by itself. You need to touch it with two fingers simultaneously, twice.” Osiris showed him how to turn it on.

  After a few operations, a dim neon-like light appeared in the very center of the Eraser. There were two icons on the control panel that looked like icons on a smartphone touch screen but smaller. Both were colorful triangles pointing outward.

  “The green triangle activates the Eraser, the red one turns it off.” Osiris aimed the weapon at the mug on the table. He held it so that the control panel was visible, and touched the green triangle. The mug vanished.

  “Holy shit!” Max gave a cry of surprise.

  Touching the red triangle immediately turned off the control panel, and the weapon in Osiris’s hands again turned into a pen.

  “Be careful with it,” Osiris warned Max, handing him the Eraser. “You will need to use it right away. You will have to dematerialize each witness. One by one.”

  He got silent as he pierced Max with his look. They had already discussed the potential disaster many times. Dematerializing several people was the price of saving millions.

  Max fiddled with the Eraser, which looked like a regular pen.

  “You will have to use it right away, once you get the antidote,” Osiris repeated. “Don’t give them a chance to stop you.”

  The Eraser felt good in his palm. Its smooth yet rubbery surface provided a nice grip. Max was itching to touch the green triangle; he aimed at another mug. So he does it and another mug will be gone from this Earth. But what about the living souls: will they just be gone too? But I’m not a murderer. But I’ll have to dematerialize those people, have to murder them?

  “No,” his answer was quiet but firm.

  “Do you mean you will deal with those guys? You will simply walk up to Stinger and take the Switch from him? Just like that?” asked Osiris.

  Max wasn’t really listening. He touched the green triangle; the Eraser vibrated and the mug was gone.

  “You will be there watching me, won’t you?” said Max.

  “Yes, I will, but you’ve got to understand: if you don’t get rid of them, they will come after you eventually.”

  “I know!” exclaimed Max and put the Eraser in his pocket. “But I’m not a murderer.” He looked askance at Osiris’s gloomy expression.

  Athena walked up to Max and hugged him tight. “Promise me it’s gonna end today. Please,” she whispered, hardly able to hide her unease.

  Max hugged her back. A light kiss on the cheek was meant to comfort her. “It’s gonna be okay, darling,” he said.

  * * *

  The red Lamborghini Diablo slowed down and stopped near Max. The door slid up. Max walked up and looked inside. He recognized the luscious girl in the driver’s seat as Linda. She cast an impassive look at Max and motioned to him to get inside, which he did. The door slid back down and the car started along the road.

  “Well, hello,” said Linda, sizing up her passenger. “I see you look just fine.”

  “I’m holding up,” said Max, as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

  The car accelerated, then stopped at a red light before speeding up again. Max started to feel carsick, and he opened his eyes.

  Buildings, windows, traffic lights, hasty yellow taxi cabs ran by. The usual urban life.

  Linda was driving masterfully and remained silent all the way, so Max closed his eyes again.

  After a while, the car stopped and the engine ceased to rumble.

  “Get out,” said Linda, as she stepped out herself.

  Max shivered. Maybe it was due to the evening chillness or the anxiety of total uncertainty.

  He looked around and recognized the place. Linda left the car on a small pad and went toward the entrance of Stinger’s home. “Follow me,” she ordered, and entered the dim entrance hall.

  Max hesitated for a couple of seconds and complied.

  Suddenly, someone grabbed his arms from the dark behind him and twisted them, then pushed him forward so he had to practically run to remain standing. He tried to break free, but they twisted his arms even more.

  “Keep it cool,” Max heard a deep voice say.

  They walked a bit more and found themselves in a spacious, well-lit hall.

  While Max was restrained, all he could see was the perfectly even parquet floor. Yet he managed to look up a couple times, and he saw several paintings in posh frames and a big sliding door, behind which he saw Linda walking by.

  They rudely shoved Max forward again, and he eventually got to the living room. Two burly men were still holding him, though not as tightly.

  Now he was able to look around. The posh interior indicated that the owner did not skimp on anything. An elegantly carved fireplace with comfortable sofas around it and several floor vases in the corners of the room emphasized the luxurious classical style.

  Right there, in the armchair, to the right of the fireplace, Max noticed Eddie, with dark circles under his eyes, who started fidgeting and looked away when he noticed who’d entered.

  Another of Stinger’s minions stood in the corner to the right, indifferently fiddling with a pair of brass knuckles.

  Linda walked to the window and leaned on the sill. Now Eddie was to her right.

  Stinger was standing in the center of the room as he welcomed Max. “Well, well, good evening!” he said with a smile.

  Max looked at him sullenly. “Not quite good, considering how I was dealt with when I entered. Would you tell your watchdogs to let me go?” His hands were numb and stiff. But the worst thing was that the Eraser was in his vest pocket, and Max couldn’t reach it.

  “To be honest, I don’t really want to play with you.” Stinger made a face as he walked up to him. “Besides, I don’t really trust you. Search him.”

  The order was addressed to the hulks who were holding Max.

  They let go of him and started to frisk him. Keys, bank cards, everything traveled from Max’s pockets onto the small table near the exit. At some point, the pen-like object was also fished out of the pocket.

  “What’s this?” Stinger took the unusual thing from the guy.

  Max didn’t say a word. Every beat his heart made resounded in his head with a thud.

  “I said, what is this?” Stinger repeated his question and moved the pen all the way to Max’s eyes.

  Max didn’t say a word again, but groaned and dropped to the floor, as the goons weren’t holding him anymore.

  Stinger watched Max’s limp body with a sneer. “Get him seated!” he ordered in annoyance.

  They dragged Max to one of the sofas nea
r the fireplace and threw him onto it. He lay there, like a rag doll with his head thrown back. Both goons stepped back and took position beside the floor vase in the left corner, the one closer to the exit.

  Stinger walked up to Linda. She was standing by the window, gazing outside.

  “Take a look, honey.”

  She fiddled with the Eraser and shrugged. “No idea.” She handed it back.

  “For Pete’s sake,” grunted Stinger.

  He returned to the table and the pen joined the heap of confiscated belongings. Max heard it clatter into the pile and a cold wave of despair overwhelmed him.

  “All right, let’s start.” Stinger rubbed his hands and approached Max. “I see you don’t feel very well.”

  Max opened his eyes.

  “This will end soon,” Stinger continued. “Now you will unlock your… uhm… invention, and then I’ll give you your medicine.”

  His file appeared in his hand, glinted before Max’s eyes, and disappeared back into a pocket.

  “I need the combination and the user’s guide. Then I will let you go, and we’ll never see each other again. To be honest, I’m sick and tired of meeting assholes like you and your assistant.”

  Someone knocked on the door. The guards grabbed their guns and turned toward the exit.

  Stinger and Linda exchanged looks.

  “Front door! We have an intruder! Deal with them!” Stinger ordered.

  Both guards ran out of the room. The one who was on the right took a position closer to the door, his gun ready.

  There were sounds of wrestling and a struggle, and then a muffled shot.

  Stinger put his file in his pocket and grabbed a gun.

  The sounds were getting louder, with new groans. Another shot, then a third one.

  Stinger clenched his jaw, turned around, walked to Max, and put the gun to his head. Max recoiled, but Stinger grabbed him by the hair.

  “Sit up and don’t move!”

  Linda crossed the room and stood beside Eddie.

  “Leave me alone! I’ve got nothing to do with this!” He tried to get up.

  They heard steps in the hall. Apparently, there were several “guests.”

  “Shut up, you bastard, or I’ll slit your throat,” hissed Linda as she got out her dagger and held it against Eddie’s neck.

  Two men in long black cloaks popped up in the doorway. Stinger’s guard, who was standing to the right of the entrance, was ready for them, and once they entered the room, he fired.

  The one who was closest collapsed to the floor. But the guard wasn’t fast enough to shoot again. The other man responded lightning-fast. Something glinted in his sleeve with a pop.

  The guard wobbled. As he was falling, he shot three more bullets, and then collapsed too. One bullet reached its target and the other uninvited guest thudded beside the first one.

  Four more cloaked men slipped into the room like shadows. Stinger’s guard, who was still bleeding, attempted to reach for the gun, but one of the four saw the motion and fired. The bullet nailed the guard to the floor, and the shooter slowly came up to him and kicked the gun away. As if he were following some plan, he went to the living room, with his gun pointed at Linda and Eddie. The second guest pointed his weapon at Stinger, and the third one was standing beside Max.

  The fourth man looked around, made a step toward the door, and motioned invitingly.

  Zet entered the room. “Good job, Philip.” He patted him on the shoulder.

  “You… Is this you?”

  Eddie stared at Zet. He couldn’t believe it. How could he be here? Perhaps…

  “You came to save me! Please, help! I… these people… they… please help me!” Eddie was totally tongue-tied.

  “Shut up!” Linda snapped, pressing the blade to his neck, making a light cut, which started bleeding.

  Eddie squealed and shut up.

  Sinewy arms appeared from inside the shapeless black cloak and removed the hood. Watchful, keen eyes scanned the room and stopped on the small table near the doorway with Max’s belongings. Zet walked up to the table and took the pen-like object.

  Max watched the Eraser be examined it by the stranger, who, with a satisfied chuckle, hid it inside his long black cloak.

  Zet sneered as his eyes met Stinger’s hateful stare. “And who welcomes one’s brother like that? Guns, blades…” He threw up his hands.

  “You’re no brother of mine. You haven’t been for a long time.” Stinger forced the words out between his teeth. He looked at Zet sullenly, holding the gun against Max’s head.

  Zet slowly approached him. “Why all this fuss?” he continued calmly, and again spread his arms and stopped opposite his brother. “I came in peace…” He paused, leaned forward and said softly, “I am open to negotiations…”

  When he received no answer, he made several steps toward Linda. He stared at the sobbing Eddie, whom she was still holding by the shoulder with the dagger against his neck.

  “There she is…” he mused, looking at Linda.

  “What do you need?” Stinger snapped.

  This woke Zet up.

  “You want to get rid of these jerks?” Stinger motioned at Max and Eddie. “Okay. And then what? What’s next?”

  Zet plunged his hand into the cloak and fished out a gun, flipped off the safety, and slowly aimed it at Linda. “Perhaps I’ll just get pissed and finish her off…”

  Stinger’s eyes flared, but he stayed where he was.

  “Or maybe not.” Zet moved the gun down and then back up, but pointed at Stinger. “Should I do him first?” he asked Linda. “And then we’ll have time for some fun… They say you’re a great lay.” He gave a sick grin.

  Linda shot him a look of detest, and pale Stinger practically vibrated with hatred. Now he was willing to kill his brother without a second thought.

  “Who are you and what do you need?” said Max in a low voice.

  Zet lowered the gun and slowly paced the room, looking at Stinger, then Linda, then his assistants, who were still aiming their guns at both of them, and eventually stopped at Max.

  “It’s all too damn confusing, isn’t it? I don’t want to fight. Look.” And he threw the gun away. It hit the floor and bounced over to the wall.

  “I am not armed now,” he said, raising his hands.

  Suddenly there was a rustling sound in the doorway, to the right of which stood Philip, and a shot followed. Eddie jerked. Philip’s eyes grew round with surprise, he tried to turn around but started to slide down the wall. One of Stinger’s guards appeared behind Philip. He was covered in blood, with his gun aimed at Zet. Blood was soaking under Philip’s hand.

  Zet responded lightning-fast. With a swift motion, he pulled the pen-like object from his cloak.

  Max had chills. The Eraser…

  Zet indifferently aimed at the man who had shot Philip, and in a second there was nothing there.

  Everyone was rooted to their spots as if enchanted. Only dying Philip, leaning against the doorframe, groaned audibly.

  Zet turned off the gadget and put it back inside his cloak.

  Considering how agile he was with the Eraser, Max understood that he had something to do with Veles. And with Osiris, and with himself for that matter. Compared to Zet, Stinger was a joke.

  “Yes, my scientist friend,” said Zet, as if he’d read Max’s mind. “I also have some inventions, so to speak, And quite a few questions for you.”

  There was a sudden bang, and Stinger screamed and grabbed his left shoulder. The gun dropped from his hand right onto the glass table. It cracked. It was one of Zet’s people who’d been aiming at Stinger all this time. The gun was still smoking, and the shooter watched Stinger with satisfaction.

  “Well done, Martin!” said Zet, then grabbed Max by the neck, propelling him toward his assistant.

  Max fell to the floor on his stomach in front of Martin, who kicked him hard, then pressed him down with his huge boot, while he pointed the gun at him.

  Zet
picked his brother’s gun up from the table and walked right up to him while he was still writhing on the floor. “Sometimes things are so complicated, but… the right move totally changes the game.”

  He lifted his brother by the neck, shook him, and drove him to his knees. The cold barrel touched Stinger’s temple.

  “What do you want, you scum?” Linda yelled deliriously.

  “Well, that you behave, to begin with. Or…” Zet motioned at the bodies scattered on the floor. “Or else.”

  Linda was about to burst into tears. Eddie was shaking and moaning right next to her.

  Stinger panted as he stood on his knees and dropped his head. Zet crouched but still held the gun against Stinger’s head. “You’ve been looking like crap lately. You shouldn’t have messed around with her.” He glanced at Linda. “You needed to get rid of her back then.”

  Linda jerked toward Zet.

  “Darling, don’t,” Stinger growled and looked up. “Don’t.”

  Zet smirked. “We’d been working well together. Do you remember that dork, how you planted the spider in his apartment?”

  Stinger winced and dropped his head again.

  “You do remember,” Zet nodded. “It was a very large female wolf spider. Adrian didn’t want to give her up. Must have had a gut feeling.” He laughed. “Wolf spiders are venomous, but their venom can’t really harm a human. But that sinner…” Zet leaned forward. “As far as I remember, he was a college professor who’d jump anything that moved. He deserved what he got. But what happened then…The guy was a total moron!” Zet paused and continued. “Wolf spiders never attack first. But if you annoy or attack them… Newspapers wrote about that horrible fire at the apartment building. Yeah, that asshole sinner caused a lot of trouble. We knew he was afraid of spiders, so we thought we’d just scare him a bit, right?” Zet scrutinized Stinger’s eyes. “You remember, don’t you?”

  Stinger nodded.

  “Never attack a wolf spider, or it will attack you,” Zet chuckled. “But that idiot didn’t know that. Or maybe he did, but he went mad and did the dumbest thing. Would you set fire to the spider that got into your home?”