Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
LIAR
“Out,” Jezebel ordered, still in her sequin bra, pointing at the door and glaring at Beastie.
I’d been dozing, a bit blurry from the medicine Aunt Willie gave me after she pulled all those slivers out of my feet and knees and shoulder and arm.
Apparently, my big dive and roll had been a bad idea.
I should have gone for the pool instead.
Then maybe Nix’s mom would still be alive.
My stomach knotted up miserably every time I thought about it.
I shouldn’t have left her to die, but she’d creeped me out so much that I didn’t look at her until it was too late.
I shouldn’t have picked up the knife. Then again, I might be the one who’d died. But I was already dying.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Beastie said, crouching slightly ready to rumble with the Texas Queen who would eat him for breakfast.
Four other women came in, flanking Jezebel.
Trixie shook her head, looking at me instead of Beastie. “You look rough. I’ll make some spaghetti.” She walked towards my happy kitchen, leaving the stand-off slightly less intimidating since she was the tallest and scariest one of them.
I threw my remote control at Beastie, hitting the side of his face.
Oops. I’d been aiming for his body. My limbs weren’t super responsive.
“Beastie, go find out what’s going on with my, er, father.
Flowers. Is he alive or dead? Is he being held captive by Roger?
You know, that kind of thing. If these delicate females are going to kill me there’s no way you could stop them. ”
He shot me a frown then placed the remote next to me, studying me intently. “Don’t do anything rash.”
I gave him a look. “Like try to walk to the bathroom unassisted? I’ll make a point of having Trixie carry me.”
He hesitated before turning and striding past Jezebel like she and her crew weren’t there. Only a psychopath wouldn’t notice that many different kinds of beautiful, but that was him.
“You killed the Crocodile,” Jezebel said the second he’d closed the door behind him. “Why?”
I scowled at her. “Because I didn’t know the knife was poisoned! It was just a scratch! I was trying to knock her out with morphine.”
She shook her head soberly. “Wrong answer.” She shifted her voce so it was soft and cute, delicate, eerily like my own.
“How could I have killed the Crocodile of Alabama? Me? I couldn’t hurt a fly, but you think I killed that thick-skinned monster?
” She glared at me. “Try again. You killed the Crocodile. Why?”
I blinked at her. “Um…Who’s the Crocodile?
You mean my husband’s mother? You think that I’d murder that sweet old lady?
” I blinked tears to my eyes. “If only there was something I could have done to help her. I think she must have had a heart attack from worry about her son. Who could blame her for worrying? He’s so precious to her.
” I wiped the tears away and frowned at her. “Like that?”
She smiled, a slow, predatory smile. “I’m so glad you can do something. We can use that.” She came over and perched on the edge of the couch so she could stare down at me like a raptor. “What else can you do?”
I wrinkled my nose at her. “You want me to teach you some board tricks? I’m super good at stabbing people with needles too. Mostly myself.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “Tell me why she tried to kill you?”
“She would never…”
She put a hand on my wrist, almost painful, but not quite. “Seriously. Why did she come here?” Her grasp was so terrifyingly competent. Like Nix with the pressure control. Of course, because she worked with all the skittish animals, the veterinarian.
“Didn’t you see the feed?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sugar.”
“Nix’s in a cage fighting. At least he was at some point. She showed me the video on her phone, but it looked like security feed, not actual broadcast cameras.”
She nodded then turned to Felicia who was still by the door. “Chica, can you hack into the King of Macao’s personal security feed?”
The lovely Latina flinched. “I don’t have a computer. And look, this house has no screens. Not even a video game console.”
“I have a whole room of screens in the bedroom. I’d show you, but…”
Jezebel scooped me up and carried me into the bedroom like I was a fluffy kitten. She whistled when she got here. "I don't see this as being Nix's."
"It's not. We corrupted it the last time he abandoned me to get stabbed by Flowers. Is that really his name?”
She tucked me in bed before she rested her hand lightly on my forehead. Felicia, Minx, and Pinkie followed more slowly. Pinkie took a position near the door, arms crossed, like she was the guard.
“His name is nothing so fanciful. Flowers is what they call him. It’s what he paints, and how he crafts his poisons.
He has greenhouses filled with flowers, from the edible to the truly dangerous.
Flowers are also what he puts on the graves of his enemies after he takes care of them.
I don’t know his polite society, legal name.
You’ll have to ask him when he recovers. ”
“It’s his superhero name? Nice.”
“This is good equipment,” Felicia grumbled as she pulled wires and things together under the wall of screens.
Minx said, “Do you mind if I make some cupcakes? Things are always better if there are cupcakes, and this situation is scary.” Her big eyes were so emotional, tear-filled, like I’d done on command, only genuine. Not that I didn’t feel like crying all the time what with the pain and the dying.
I beamed at her. “I’d love that. I have a fully stocked kitchen, so make whatever you’d like. Please make yourself at home. I’m sorry I’m not much of a hostess.”
Jezebel snorted and shook her head while Minx left to conquer my kitchen. “Tell me more about Nix. He’s fighting, but why is that a problem?”
I swallowed hard. “She said he wouldn’t stop unless she controlled him.
She said I triggered his ultimate potential.
She thanked me,” I whispered while my stomach churned.
“I think she’s been waiting his whole life to be out of control so she could control him.
But now she’s dead, so no one…” I trailed off as the screens flickered and then showed five different cameras, three focused on the cage with Nix, two others showing a hall and a vault somewhere.
“We’re in the feed. There’s no audio,” Felicia said, standing up to look at the screens for the first time. “Aiee! That’s Death-Hammer? His name’s no joke. How many bodies are in there with him? The smell could kill a man.”
Jezebel had stiffened up as she stared at the screen unblinking.
I carefully touched her arm, getting her sudden, ferocious attention. I withdrew my hand quickly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. What can I do?”
She stared at me for a long moment before she shook her head.
“Security is dense. There are two physical barriers, the high exterior wall as well as the interior wall that encases everything. There is only one entrance for the first enclosure, two for the second. Frontal assault would take an army and a willingness to lose a lot of men. Besides that, he’s always past cutting edge, with retinal scanners, weight displacement floors, and a constant monitor system tracking everyone everywhere.
Happily, Felicia can get in, put a few bugs in the security system so we can run it blind. ”
I grabbed her arm again. “What? We can run it blind? You’re going to rescue him? How can you rescue him when he is a weapon no one can control?”
She crouched down to eye level to stare at me.
“That’s your job. I’ll get us in, but you’ve got to tame the beast. You’re good with needles.
You can stab him somewhere with something that will knock him out once you soften him up.
Of course, he might kill you. No one else would be able to get close.
It’s a risk, but if the Crocodile saw you as a threat, then there’s a distinct possibility that you could be the one who brings him home.
” Her eyes clouded with concern. This whole job was insane.
You don’t break into some villainous lair and kidnap a monster who is programmed to destroy everything.
“Of course I’ll go. I’m dying anyway, but you shouldn’t put yourself at risk.”
Her concern evaporated as she gave me a sharp smile. “Do you not know my job description? I literally get paid to put myself at risk. Felicia will stay in the jet.”
“I have a landing pad that we can bring offshore,” Pinkie said, flashing me a small smile. “We’ll take care of ourselves. You only have to worry about the big game.”
I nodded. “You have a landing pad. Like a helicopter pad?”
“Something a bit larger than that,” she said smoothly. “Being an international arms dealer has some benefits.”
“An international…” I squinted at her. “I thought you were a cellist.”
Jezebel snorted. “You’re saying that a modern woman has to choose between running an international corporation and music? Why not have it all?”
Pinkie frowned at Jezebel. “It’s a hassle. Business interferes with my music in the most irritating ways. No one can have everything.”
“But why would the secretary…” I frowned at Pinkie then shook my head. “Never mind. You’re a superhero. Who knows why you do anything?”
“Supervillain,” she said with a slight smile and pulled a glass knife. “Jezebel rehabilitated me.”
Jezebel didn’t answer. She was too busy studying the feed of Nix fighting in the middle of a dozen men.
“Do you want me to help with the breaking and entering?” Pinkie asked Jezebel, like she was clearly the one in charge of this insane plan.
“It’s your girl’s night. You decide,” Jezebel said, not looking away from the feed.
Pinkie turned to look at me. “Then you’ll have to play ukelele. I’ll teach you on the flight. Low Rider. It’s one of Nix’s favorites.”
I stared at her. “This is going to be like a hallucinatory dream sequence, isn’t it?”