Demonic Designs (To Absolve the Fallen) (26 page)

“Good,” Matt said as he got to the area where the rookies were training.
 
“You’re prompt—even early.”
 
With lightning speed, he moved between them and snatched both of their sidearms as they saluted him.
 
“Disarm me,” he ordered.

They looked befuddled.
 
They’d barely seen him move, let alone confiscate their pistols.
 
They even looked to their sides to make sure that the guns he held in his hands were theirs. They were.
 
The guard on Matt’s left looked up in time to see the sidekick that landed him on his back.
 
The other went for Matt’s right arm, but that arm was already moving to intersect.
 
Before the man could react, the gun was securely positioned at his neck.
 
He paused, seeing defeat, but the encounter, it seemed, was not over.
 
Matt dropped and threw his left leg at the standing guard’s feet.
 
The mercenary tried to react, but the sweep came too quickly.
 
Then, he too was on the ground.
 
A gun was leveled at each of them, and they stared up at Matt blankly.

“Your respect for me is similar to the fear you may feel in battle,” Matt explained.
 
“If you come across something that you’re not accustomed to seeing, you might freeze.
 
I assure you, it would be your death to do so.”

“How’d you move that fast?” one of the guards gasped.

Matt smiled.
 
“I don’t move as fast as some.
 
In the future,” Matt continued, “it may be wise
not
to bring guns to practice.
 
I know that you’ve been told to not let them leave your sides, but I think this can be an exception.”

They looked at each other and nodded, a weak laugh escaping their lips.
 
Matt flipped the guns around to present the butts to them.
 
They took their pistols and looked at them in awe.
 
It didn’t escape either one that, at some point during the encounter, Matt had enabled the safeties—probably immediately after he’d taken them, but with that kind of speed, they couldn’t know for sure.

For the next several minutes, Matt worked with them on other moves—blocks and parries that might be able to counter blinding speed or demon-powered punches.
 
Eventually, he stepped back and let them continue on their own, and he thought about another upcoming encounter that he was both looking forward to and dreading.

***

Elizabeth sat down at her computer with a cappuccino in her hand.
 
She rifled through her emails with a typical lackluster, until she got to one from [email protected].
 
She hated it when Jeremiah sent her emails.
 
They were always heavily encrypted, and they sometimes took a half hour to decode.
 
She set down her cappuccino and began to work on it.
 
After, surprisingly, only five minutes, the message opened in a manner that she could read it.

Liz,

Moving forward, I believe that we should consider previous allies less than reliable.
 
I think it’s wise to know where our enemies and allies might be hiding.
 
I have enclosed access codes to databases within the F.B.I, C.I.A, Department of Defense, and Homeland Security.
 
Use what I have given you wisely.
 
Then, discard it.
 
I have been told in no uncertain terms that what you have in front of you is very hush-hush, and should someone find his database being accessed, we might not stay hidden long.
 
Once you have definitely located Patheus, we will make a surgical strike on his stronghold.

Happy hunting.

Jeremiah

Elizabeth was more than pissed.
 
A job like that could take months!
 
And, of course, this was not something she could give to her assistants to help with.
 
They’d fumble around, and the mansion would be discovered by the end of the night, if they were lucky.
 
She sighed and clicked on the attachment.
 
It, too, was encrypted.
 
She cursed under her breath.
 
This was going to be a long day.

***

Alex walked out into the sunlight.
 
It hit him hard.
 
He squinted and wondered if he should’ve asked the servant to bring him sunglasses.
 
Then, he decided that sparring with Matt while wearing sunglasses probably wouldn’t have been prudent and abandoned the notion.
 

It didn’t take him long to find Matt.
 
He was on the same hill he’d been practicing on the previous day.
 
Alex walked slowly toward what he thought might prove to be a very dangerous locale indeed.
 
Matt was training with two guards, and his movements seemed to be only a blur.
 
He thought that it might just be the distance he was away from the scene or that his eyes were tired from a week of uneasy sleep, but as the two fell in an almost simultaneous motion, Alex decided that Matt’s moves probably looked like a blur even to the other combatants.

Alex shook his head and walked faster toward his destination.
 
By the time he’d gotten there, Matt had already effectively disabled the guards three more times, and he looked as if he were about to do it again.
 
And, as if sensing Alex’s arrival, he stopped, bowed, and the two who were with him left.
 
They each picked up a gun, and, as they came down the hill toward Alex, they told him with a hint of irony, “Good luck,” and continued on their way.

Matt turned and peered down at Alex.
 
He didn’t seem to be as accommodating has he’d been the last two days.
 
“Morning,” he acknowledged.

Alex looked up at him, determined not to show fear.
 
“Hi,” he replied.

“Are you ready to learn some basic defensive moves?”

Alex breathed deeply and said, “As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.
 
But first, I need to set the record straight.”

Matt waved his hand.
 
“That won’t be necessary.”

Alex squinted a little because the sun was in his eyes.
 
“No, I think it is necessary.
 
You and I got off on the wrong foot, and I’d like to explain why.”

“I am well aware of why we got off on the wrong foot.”

Alex shook his head.
 
“I don’t think so.
 
Unless I’m mistaken, you think I hate you.”

“Listen, Alex,” Matt began, “I don’t expect someone like you to understand what it’s like--”

“You’re right,” Alex interrupted, gauging Matt’s reaction.
 
“I don’t understand, but I’d like to.
 
First, however, I need
you
to understand something.
 
Up until Marla told me, after you and I spoke yesterday, that you were g—uh—homosexual, I had no idea.”

Matt winced at Alex’s correction.
 
The word “gay” wasn’t taboo.
 
“Faggot” hurt a little, and “queer” was outdated, but “homosexual” implied too much care.
 
“You didn’t know that I was
gay
?”
 
Matt emphasized the word to prove the point.
 
“I doubt that.”

Alex softly bit his bottom lip and paused to consider his next words very carefully, “Okay.
 
But the truth is that I thought you and Elizabeth were a couple.”
 
Alex proceeded very slowly, “And everything Jeremiah has told me about you two seemed to indicate that I was right.”

Matt looked incredulous.
 
“Well, it must seem painfully obvious to you now that you were wrong.”

“Yes,” Alex replied, “it does, but you need to understand that any discomfort I may’ve shown came from my attraction to Elizabeth and the belief that you knew about it and were offended.
 
Actually, I was relieved to find out that you were gay.”
 
Alex had noticed Matt’s emphasis and decided it prudent not to use the “h-word” again.

Matt narrowed his eyes and seemed to ponder Alex’s words.
 
Then, he nodded his head.
 
“You know, Jeremiah gave a picture of you to me.
 
You were topless, and you were holding a knife.
 
He said he thought I ‘might enjoy it.’
 
It seems you’re a masochist; I guess it make’s sense, though.
 
After all, you
are
here.
 

“I don’t know if I
enjoyed
the picture, but it was informative.
 
From what I can see, the two of us are not as different as you think.
 
And you are kind of cute in a frail, helpless sort of way.”

Several things occurred to Alex simultaneously.
 
First, he realized that Matt wasn’t lying about seeing the picture and was certainly baiting Alex for a response.
 
It also occurred to him that Jeremiah had made a point of taking a rather bizarre picture of Alex, and that caused him to wonder if this confrontation had been the demon’s goal.
 
Finally, the conversation with Elizabeth came back to him, and this was all starting to seem like a conspiracy.

Alex sighed and responded, “I don’t deserve this treatment.”

Matt was taken aback.
 
That was certainly not the response he expected.
 
He thought Alex would cringe from the revelation, which he definitely did, but after that, Matt was sure he would take the defensive stance so commonly associated with a homophobe under attack or being hit on.
 
The boy’s response was too mature to indicate that he was afraid of what Matt had said.

Alex added, “And, now that you, Jeremiah, and Elizabeth have completely humiliated me, maybe I’m in a position to be frank.”

Matt was stunned.
 
He had nothing to say as Alex continued calmly.

“I don’t care that you’re gay, and I was never scared of you being gay.
 
I suppose it’s possible that you’re never going to believe that, but you should give me a chance to explain.
 
I don’t think it’s too much to ask that I should be able to tell my side without you mocking and antagonizing me.
 
As someone who has probably been bullied for something he can’t and won’t change, I would think that you’d be a little more open-minded.
 
Instead, you have jumped to irrational conclusions based on little or no evidence.
 
You hit on me by calling me ‘frail’ and ‘helpless.’
 
If I came out here to defend myself and my actions, I think I’ve done so admirably.
 
I didn’t come out here to be attacked by you.
 
Now, I feel that it was a mistake to come out here at all.”
 
With that, Alex turned and started walking away.

Instantly, Matt felt like shit.
 
“Wait,” he called.

Alex stopped but didn't turn around.

Matt didn’t know how the attacker had become the victim, but he felt very strongly that Alex was telling the truth, and it didn’t really surprise him that Jeremiah hadn’t told the boy the truth about the relationship between him and Liz.
 
That seemed exactly like the kind of information Jeremiah would leave out for his own amusement.
 
It was just like the amusement Matt was sure the demon was getting from knowing that Matt had that picture of Alex mutilating himself, and Jeremiah had made it a point to show Elizabeth before he gave it to Matt.
 
This had all been planned.
 
Jeremiah had designed this conflict for some twisted reason.

“I’m sorry,” Matt continued.
 
“I think it was me who made the mistake.
 
Please forgive me.”

Alex was glad that Matt couldn’t see him breathe a sigh of relief or know that his heart had been beating pretty fast.
 
He slowly turned around to face Matt.