Family Business Part 9: The Man

  The latest in the life of Em De Mone... 

The Man

Guns came out from all over. Everyone of Nikki’s goons was cocked and ready. The biggest one pulled open my front door and backed out of the way. 

There in the doorway stood a man. 

He was tall, and he held his hands up in surrender. His shoulders were relaxed, and one corner of his mouth curved in amusement. He ignored all the weaponry pointed at him and waltzed through the door with his gaze fixed on me.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the legendary and treacherous Sebastian ‘the Bastard’ De Mone,” my captor said with an exaggerated bow, “thrilled you could make it, Bass.”

“Nikki Chambers? Is that you?” the man asked, making casual conversation while two goons searched him and pulled a gun from each side of his torso, “Grown up a bit, huh?

One goon reached for the machete strapped to the man’s leg, but the man made a noise, like a cluck out of the side of his mouth, and shook his head no. The goon backed away. 

The man dropped his arms and sauntered into the room. 

That man was my dad, and saunter is the only way I can explain it. He was calm and collected, like he was strolling through the park on a beautiful Sunday morning. It didn’t seem to phase him one bit that at least six men had guns pointed at him, his kid was tied to a chair, and this was a volatile situation. By the way, we (me and my dad) have never actually met.

“How’s the family?” My dad asked, giving me a curt nod before he plopped onto the couch and put his feet on the coffee table. The machete was still strapped to his leg. 

“It’s not my family you should be worried about, Bass.” Nicky spat back, waving a gun of his own.

Family was a trigger for this lunatic. I saw it clear as day. So did my dad.

“Family can be a pain-in-the-ass for sure, and my pain-in-the-ass tracked me down and told me I needed to deal with you,” said Bass, “So here I am.” 

“Ah yes, and you came running,” Nikki grinned, clearly thrilled with himself. 

“I did,” My dad folded his hands on his lap, and a thin line formed on his lips, but his eyes danced.

“Why Bass, you seem amused,” Nikki taunted. 

“Do I? Because I’m not,” My dad leaned in, planting his feet on the floor and this elbows on his knees. But I am curious. Why on earth didn’t you let sleeping dogs lie? You could’ve flown under the radar with a small demon hive for the rest of your life, but you had to get greedy and mess with my family. The pain-in-the-ass that they are, they are mine to deal with, not yours. Plus, you hit my mom with a tire iron, kidnapped my kid, harmed two witches, and beat up a basketball star,” Bass gave a sardonic laugh before he continued, “And you think I’m amused. Truth be told, you’re lucky I don’t jump up and snap your neck right now.”

“Still such a fool, Bass De Mone,” Nikki nodded, and the guns pointed at my dad turned toward me. 

I gulped. 

“It seems you need a reminder,” said Nikki. 

“If you say so,” My father’s jaw clenched ever so slightly, but his voice remained even, “Look, now that I’m here like you wanted, why don’t you point all your guns back at me and let these women go? There’s no need to hold them hostage anymore.”

Nikki shook his head as beads of sweat coated his forehead. He gripped his gun, pointed it at Bass, and screamed, “Leverage…I have it!”

“You may, for the moment,” My dad’s voice was razor sharp, “But let me be clear, you kill either of these women, and I will kill you before you or any of your men can get to me. Then, my family will hunt and kill everyone in this room and everyone they love, including your family…you’re mom’s still alive, isn’t she? Of course, we wouldn’t crack her upside the head with a tire iron. Granny would probably give her a nice shot of poison.” 

“That’s not going to happen!” Nikki shouted, losing his composure, “I’m in charge.”

“Indeed,” My dad stifled a yawn, “So do something with it.”

I watched as Nikki's eyes bulged and the veins in his neck pulsed wildly. I wondered if my dad knew he was inciting this guy, who was already simmering dangerously close to a meltdown. Nikki waved his gun at me and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. I thought he might be having a stroke.

In the slightest whisper, I heard it, “His magical shield is down, Em.”

Enraged and out of control, Nikki pulled the trigger. 

I closed my eyes and sent all my telekinetic force toward the bullet, stopping it mid-air—inches from my face.  

“Good girl,” Bass whispered.

I exhaled and held the bullet still with my mind, ensuring I had total control. Opening my eyes, I met Nikki’s raised eyebrows and turned the bullet to face him, “Disarm your men, or I will send this into your brain, you dick.”

One by one, each goon set his gun on the table next to my dad’s feet and took several steps back. 

“How?” Nikki turned to me with wild eyes as he spiraled into turmoil. His gun was pressed to his temple, “What are you?”

I opened my mouth to give him some smart-ass retort, but I caught the subtle shake of my dad’s head.

Then there is a knock on the door. 

“You’re gonna want to get that, Man-in-Charge,” My dad said with a smile. 

To Be Continued

Family Business Part 8: Kidnapped

  The latest in the life of Em De Mone... 

Kidnapped

I hear it far away. There’s a piano and maybe a violin or another stringed instrument. Then a crescendo of sound. There are no words, only dark and waning melodies whispering the deepest of terrifying secrets. I couldn’t place the classical piece, but it set an ominous scene, which appropriately translated to my current situation. 

The fogginess in my mind subsided while pins and needles riddled my body. I was heavy and immobile, not just because I was blindfolded and tied to a chair. I’d been drugged. HARD. I didn’t have much to go on. The only thing I could hear was the music, and the only thing I could smell was me. I’m pretty sure I peed my pants, but I didn’t care at the moment. Between the throbbing in my wrists and the pounding in my head, it was hard to focus on anything else.

What was the last thing I remembered? 

The Hell ride down the freeway. The hospital. The parking lot. The tire iron. Granny! Oh, gods!

Silence blanketed the room. Everything shifted, and suddenly the space around me was filled. My senses heightened, and I knew. Six lackey-goon-types lurked around. Another human sat next to me, but she was in bad shape. I had a feeling that was poor Violet. The last being was seated in front of me. Calm and cool. I knew.

The sudden collision of Heavy Metal into my ears and smelling salts under my nose caused my head to snap involuntarily. The ammonia tickled, and I sneezed just as the blindfold came off. One of the many goons jumped back at my spittle. Good. I blinked several times. I was in my living room, tied to a kitchen chair. 

Violet was next to me. Her situation was worse than mine, with her head slumped to the side and cigarette burns littering her hands. The rise and fall of her chest was subtle and labored, but she was alive. Thank goodness. 

“AH…here… she is!” Nikki Chambers gave a smug clap of his hands from the couch in front of me. He looked right at home with one leg casually crossed over the other. “I was wondering when you’d join us. It seems the dose my guys gave you was a bit too much for your body size. Terribly sorry.” 

I forced a smile as I took a deep breath.  This greasy-haired-wiseguy-wannabe wanted to scare me, but I’m a half-witch, half-demon raised in the American foster care system.  Even loopy from the drugs and tied to a chair, I didn’t scare that easily. 

Plus, I had the home advantage. I tried to tap into any magic, but it was blocked. Probably whatever drugs I’d been given. I would have to rely on my wit and charm. “Mr. Chambers, welcome to my home. Although you should’ve called, I would’ve had snacks.”

“Em?” Violet gasped. 

“I’m here,” I said. 

“Why you little arrogant little shit, you are just like your father,” Nikki said. He gave the nod, and one of his goons stuck Violet in the neck with a lit cigarette. “It would be in everyone’s best interest for you to take this seriously.”

Fuck. This guy was unhinged. I would’ve held up my hands and taken a step back under different circumstances, but instead, I nodded, “Alright, alright, no need to burn my friend. What do you want?”

“Perceptive girl, I like that,” A self-satisfied smirk crossed his face as he held up my cordless phone, “Let’s call your dad. He and I have some unfinished business. What’s his number?”

Confusion took over. I was sure I’d misheard. “Huh?” 

That was the wrong answer. One of his goons cold-cocked me right in the jaw. “WHOA…” I screamed and hissed at him. “What the fuck? I didn't hear you. It sounded like you want me to get my dad here. I’ve never even met him. I don’t know his number. And he’s certainly not going to come running.” 

The Goon raised his arm to hit me again.

“NO!” I screamed. The walls shook. 

His hand froze in mid-air, and his eyes widened, “That’s what you get for beating up little girls, you piece of shit,” Then my gaze shifted to Nikki, “Call your goon off. NOW.”

He snapped his fingers, and the guy faded into the shadows on the side of the room. 

Nikki got up and walked over to me and stared. “Well, now, that was a cool little parlor trick. Maybe after I deal with your dad, you and I can team up.”

“I’d never get involved with you,” I spat. 

“It’s not like I’m really going to give you a choice,” he came closer and eyed me, “Show me something else. Can you free yourself?”

Warning bells sounded in my head, so I went on the defensive, “Why? Do you want to steal my power like you stole Danny Wellman’s gift of sight? Bury my body under a casino? Or out in the desert?”

At this, he threw back his head and laughed, “If and when I want you to disappear, you will. Don’t worry.”

“Well, I hope that works out for you,” I continued, “And I know you have this business with my dad, but in the process, you are also pissing off the rest of my family. A tire iron to my Granny’s head? I’m new here, but they don’t strike me as the kind of folks to take an assault like that very well.”

That was the wrong thing to say.

 At first, I thought it bought me some time when he walked to the window and stared out. I took the quiet to concentrate on getting my hands untied. If I could stop a man’s arm in mid-air, the drugs must have worn off, and I should be able to undo the binding around my wrists. However, none of my usual telekinetic tricks were working.

“I’ve shielded your magic and rifled through your apartment for the obvious charms and talismans. That’s why you’re struggling. And also why I’m so impressed you were able to stop Ivan’s hand,” He paused. “I like you, Em. You’re powerful and feisty. You really would make a wonderful addition to my enterprise. And I think you also need to let go of the hope that your family is going to come in here and save the day. I mean, look what I’ve been able to accomplish in such a short time,” At this, he laughed, tight and angry. Muttering under his breath, he began to pace.  

This guy was a time bomb. And I did have faith that someone from my family was working to help us. I also knew time was of the essence, and I needed to do what I could to get myself and Violet out of this mess. I tried to tune out his rambling and focus on the knots behind my back. If I could get through his shield once, I could do it again. 

Violet whimpered. Poor thing was probably in shock and close to passing out again from the pain. There was an immobilization potion on the table disguised as a shot glass. If I could get untied, I could toss it to the floor, freezing Nikki and his goons in place. That was all I needed to grab Violet, throw her over my shoulder, and get us out of here. 

Nikki stopped right before me, and his eyes bore into me.

Crap. I needed more time. 

“You really think your family is something special, don’t you, you little witch?” he said.

I looked up with my best contrite fearful face.  I forced an uncomfortable laugh, “That’s not what I said. Look, my family scares the bejeezus out of me. I just shared a casual observation. But I also don’t know you.”

“Indeed!” he exclaimed.  

That was the right thing to say. 

“And you don’t know…you have no idea how much freedom I’ve given back to the demons. Your people.” Nikki ranted and returned to pacing.

I didn’t trust good things to come out of my mouth if it opened. So I nodded and returned my focus to getting free. 

“Danny was the beginning. You know,” He said with a dramatic wave of his arms, “I have always hated how that went down between him and me. I would’ve much preferred to have him, here by my side…instead of…” he rubbed his chest and faded into a memory.

What was around his neck? Was it the dead man’s eye? That seemed pretty egotistical, but that did track with this guy. Perhaps with some luck, I could grab that on my way out and return it to my family. Danny’s soul deserved to be released to the After Realm, but first, I had to get out of here.

A knock on the door startled us all. 

“Who is it?” Nikki screamed as veins pulsed all over his face. 

Great, I thought. All we need is some Girl Scout coming by and making this more complicated.

“Niklaus, it’s Bass De Mone. Apparently, you and I have some unfinished business and some new business.”

Silence. I sucked in my breath. My dad was here.

“You gonna open this door? Or am I gonna break it down?” 

To Be Continued