1. The Kidnapping
It was dead quiet like it was at this time every day. The house on the hill was a cream colored block against a big blue North American summer sky behind a full 20 yards of fresh cut grass. Early in the day gardeners and other workers would come and go from any of the enormous houses on the street but after lunch time it was a ghost town.
A silver van pulled up to the curb, rolling along a little more than it needed to. Two men in black jumpers and work boots got out, slamming the doors behind them and made their way up to the front door. They moved slowly but with a frantic energy. One of the men was tall and thin, and had to stagger his steps to not get too far ahead of his shorter, stockier companion.
When they approached the front door, the taller man stood to the side while the shorter man rang the doorbell. He stood with his feet wide and his shoulders slouched out to make himself bigger.
A young woman opened the door. She was tall for a woman, thin and pale, with long dark hair, wearing tight jeans and a t-shirt with fire and the logo of heavy metal band printed on the front. She looked at both of the men for a moment. An unconvincing look of shook appeared on her face.
The stocky man pressed a finger to his lips to hush her. In his other hand he held a gun at stomach height. He motioned towards the ground. The woman obeyed, dropping to her knees and pressing her face to the floor. She felt each man take an arm to pull her up and then a shirt went over her face and the world went dark.
They marched back down the path with her. She kicked a bare foot on the edge of one of the tiles and winced in pain. They dragged her along the rest of the way until she heard the sliding door of the van rip open violently. They tossed her into the back in a heap.
“Stay still or you’re gonna get cut!” she heard a voice say. They held her arms and legs and she heard the loud roar of a power tool and a blast of air near her right leg. Sparks blasted the edge of her leg, burning hair follicles and skin until the tracking bracelet dropped from her ankle. When it was over, her captors scrambled to the front of the vehicle without hesitation. They started the ignition.
She took the shirt off her face but before her eyes adjusted, the van took off and she was flung backwards and collided with the back hatch door.
“What the fuck Mac?”
“We gotta move man. They’re watching this place, remember?”
“You didn’t even warn her you were going to do that you asshole. Are you ok back there Vanessa?”
She was breathing heavily, her heart pounding. It happened so fast. The second time she’d been shoved in the back of a van by men with guns.
She gripped the handle of the rear door for balance. “Um, I’m ok.”
“We need you to keep down. Can you do that?” It was the taller man talking, the stocky man was driving.
“Yeah. I can do that.”
“My name’s Eddie. That’s Mac driving. We work for Shade, you’ll be safe with us. Assuming we don’t get caught.” Eddie had a high nasally voice. He was a skinny man who looked to be around 40 with short iron gray hair and square glasses. On the side of the neck he had an anarchy symbol tattooed, on the back of his hand a skull and bones. Mac still had his hood pulled up, but she could see red hair and freckles, huge nostrils and a primitive looking face.
“I heard you’re a Nazi, is that true?”
Vanessa froze. She hadn’t prepared for this conversation.
“Come on Mac, she’s Shades girl. Of course she’s not a real fucking nazi. Just focus on driving man.”
“I’m just saying yo. I’m jewish, so she better not be a nazi for real, that’s all.”
“Shade doesn’t pay us to worry about that kind of thing.” Eddie said.
She hadn’t heard the name Shade. She hadn’t heard any names. “I’m not a real white nationalist. I was undercover, for Shade.”
Picked up by an angry jewish criminal. Had she been set up?
“See Mac? She works for Shade. Probably CIA. So we’re going to be nice to her and get her there in one piece.”
Mac lit up a cigarette. “Ok, whatever nigga.”
“Jesus Christ.” Eddie screwed up his face. “You have got to stop saying nigga before we meet up with Uriah. Definitely before we meet his cousin.” Mac was silent. Eddie started talking louder. “Can you do that Mac? Can you stop saying nigga for twenty four hours?”
“Aight I guess.”
“Hey Vanessa, I’ve got something for you. Wait until we stop.”
Eddie took a black cellphone from out of the glovebox and held it up for Vanessa to see.
Once they got a red light, Vanessa crawled back to towards the front of the van. As he turned out of his seat to hand it to her, she saw the red and black logo on the arm of his jumper. Antifa.
2. Meet the Boss
The phone had a notification from a strange app with a demonic looking smiley face as the icon. It was a messaging app.
NeroEternal666: Message me back when you receive this. My messages are for you only and no one else. They will disappear after you respond to them.
VanessaCony: Message received.
She knew three things: They were going to make it look like a kidnapping and ask for ransom, to cast doubt that she’d escaped willingly; she was going to be given a phone that unlocked with her fingerprints; and she was promised the opportunity to get revenge.
NeroEternal666: We finally meet.
Nessa looked up at Eddie and Mac, as if she was worried they could read her thoughts. Mac glared at her slightly then looked back at the road.
VanessaCony: Yes. Who is this? Are you Shade? Who is Shade?
NeroEternal666: I’m not Shade, I’m your boss. Shade answers to me. So do you, understand?
The van took a sharp corner and Nessa held onto the handle of the door tightly. The jew, Mac, glared at her for a moment and then he looked away.
VanessaCony: Thank you for getting me out.
NeroEternal666: Don’t thank me yet Nessa. Get to Shade in one piece first.
She shivered a little. This person knew what her family called her. What else did they know?
VanessaCony: What about the men that I’m with? They’re Antifa. I don’t know if I’m safe with them.
“You want to listen to music Vanessa?” Eddie called out to her.
“Sure!” Anything to keep their attention off her.
Suddenly the cars speakers erupted with distorted guitar chords and frantic drum beats. The vocals that sounded like a yapping dog and Eddie was banging his head and singing along. Mac looked annoyed but didn’t say anything. Nessa forced a smile. “Good tunes Eddie.” She looked back down at the phone.
NeroEternal666: Three of them. Edward Sharp, Jason MacLaruen and Uriah Jackson. They will take you to Buffalo to see the man named Shade. They’re loyal to him. There shouldn’t be any problems.
VanessaCony: Shouldnt be?
NeroEternal666: Mac and Uriah both have convictions for violent crimes against women. If you have any concerns you’re free to handle them how you see fit.
She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling of the van. A few days ago, she had sat with her brother by the pool, dangling her ankle bracelet into the water to muffle the sound to any recording device. He’d told her somebody on the internet could help her escape. He didn’t know who he was, but he would want Nessa to do something bad. Its your choice, Jesse said, go to prison or do something really bad.
She’d thought about ending it all ever since she’d been released on house arrest. Hang herself from rope from her step fathers hoist in the garage or run the diesel generator until she suffocated. Maybe she’d take the generator to the poolshed so it would fill up quicker and Jesse would take longer to find her. But she was Clan Ragnarok. Her husband would have greeted her in Valhalla with shame.
Jesse pleaded with her. Their mother was lying in a hospital bed with pieces of shrapnel in her legs and torso from a car bomb. This person, Nero Eternal, had promised him she would be safe if he could get Nessa to agree to the escape plan. She didn’t know what he’d want from her after that. She would find out when the time came.
VanessaCony: What do you mean by handle them how I see fit?
The music changed from the frantic punk rock to a slow, grimey hip hop beat. Now it was Eddie who looked annoyed while Mac screamed rap lyrics into his face.
NeroEternal666: I mean you’re the only one in that car who I need alive Nessa.
3. Riding Dirty
The side door made the ripping sound again when Mac pulled it open. “Get out of the car. We’re goin for a fucking hike.”
To call it a hike was an exaggeration, the track at the park they’d pulled up in front of was almost completely flat but it snaked from side to side between the trees and quickly disappeared from sight. It was easy to see why this could be part of an escape plan. Luckily there were no other hikers in the car park to see the strange trio in black exit the van.
Nessa kept to the side of the path so that her bare feet touched soft grass. Eddie and Mac walked with the awkward stride of men wearing work boots for probably the first time in their life. They’d disguised themselves unconvincingly as construction contractors in case they were spotted from the man home security cams in the neighbourhood.
They passed a couple in their 50s wearing bright colored hiking clothes who actually smiled a remarked what a lovely day it was. Mac mumbled something back to them in awkward wiggerspeak and Eddie nodded in agreement.
She could tell by his gait that Eddie also carried a gun. Ian had showed her YouTube videos on how to analyse a person’s body language to figure out if they’re armed and if they’re a threat. Mac was a threat to someone, that’s for sure. Eddie wasn’t such a ticking time bomb, but it would be a mistake to underestimate him.
Mac glanced at the Tyr rune tattoo on her forearm. She locked eyes with him for a second and he turned his attention back on the path. There was no point in being sheepish. Nessa had always been confrontational for a girl. She inherited the domineering spirit from her mother but while her mother used it in service of the neo-liberal establishment, she fought against it. She didn’t go on the run from the federal government just to take shit from some jewish wigger.
Nessa knew the park. The track on the right went across a bridge over a creek towards another car park, less than 5 minutes walk. She figured they were going there to switch cars, which means the FBI wouldn’t take long to figure it out either.
Her feet were in excruciating pain when they arrived. They passed through the treeline and looked around. It was empty other than truck with an Asian family getting out, a small RV to the other side without any visible occupants.
“Where the fuck is Uriah?” Mac said.
“Keep your voice down.” Eddie responded.
“Why? If we don’t have a ride we’re fucked anyway.” He emphasised the curse word.
Eddie took a pocket watch from his jeans. “I told them to be here half an hour ago.”
“That’s why we should’ve had phones man.” Mac said.
“I’m not going to explain to you why we shouldn’t have phones in our present situation.”
“Vanessa’s got a phone. Hey Vanessa, see if Shade put Uriah’s number in that phone.”
The moment he finished speaking they heard the roar of a large motor revving. An enormous black SUV hummer appeared on the horizon. It had white LED lights lining the bottom of the body and the top of the windshield. It swerved around in the culdesac of the car park stirring up a cloud of brown dust and then slammed on the breaks and pulled up right in front of them.
All three of them stared in disbelief. The tinted window on the driver’s side rolled down and the face of a black man appeared. He had short dreadlocks and a huge grin on his face revealing cartoonish thick metal grills on his teeth.
“Someone lookin’ fo’ a ride?”
4. The Jokercard
Nessa sat in the middle on the back seat, shoulder to shoulder with Mac and Eddie. Eddie told her to wear his Antifa hoodie so she couldn’t be recognised from the road. She couldn’t argue with the logic. She felt like Ian’s ghost could see her and it made her feel sick with shame.
Uriah was the one in the passenger seat, a light skinned black with his hair bleached orange and tattoos on his neck and arms similar to Eddie’s. The driver was his cousin, Anthony. Anthony insisted on being called JC, the initials of his rap name, Joker Card. He was lively and high spirited, blowing his grape flavoured vape all through the car.
“Hey so what you on the run for li’l lady?” JC asked her, turning his rap music down slightly to hear the answer.
Everyone was silent. JC overtook another truck on the highway and zoomed past.
It was Mac who finally spoke. “You don’t need to know man. Just drive.”
“Oh I ain’t need to know huh?”
“He’s bullshitting you.” Uriah said. He had a permanent scowl, a resting bitch face. “He knows.”
JC cackled with laughter as if he’d told the joke of the century. “Li’l KKK bitch huh?” He was grinning and didn’t sound hostile, but you can never be sure with blacks.
“I was an undercover operative.” Nessa said.
“Oh really? Why are the FBI after you if you was undercover?”
Eddie spoke this time. “Seriously bro. You’re not here to ask questions.”
“Hey yo, I’ll drive for a plantation owner if the price is right.” JC took a drag from his vape. “But Buffalo’s a long way. I wanna get to know the only person in this car who ain’t ugly as ass.” He punched Uriah in the arm as he breathed out.
Nessa snorted a little, the closest thing to a laughing she’d done since the massace. He had a point, it was going to be a long drive.
“They are… they were a white nationalist religious group. They believed in the old European gods. They believed the US government is a force of evil that must be destroyed. They were preparing for an apocalypse. Ragnarok. The reckoning.”
JC chuckled. “Spooky. I like these cats already.”
“What?” Uriah gave him a disgusted look.
“Those white trash motherfuckers think black people are inferior bro.” Mac said, shaking his head.
“Fo’ sure man. I’d cap their asses if they came near me yo’. But still, I gotta respect it y’know wha’ mean?”
“No.” Uriah said firmly. “We do not know what you mean, JC.”
“All y’all crackers are racist anyway. E’rybody racist. E’rybody in Amercia crazy as fuck. These cats are just honest about it. Ain’t that right Vanessa?”
Vanessa hid her smile with the sleave of the hoodie. “I don’t know. Maybe a little bit.”
5. Love in a bar fight
“What’s going on with you Nessa?”
Will was a handsome young man with a thin face, well dressed and from a good family like her. He was a good boyfriend. It was nothing personal, but she needed a change. She’d decided it had to happen that very night.
“I’ve just been thinking.” She was still looking at her phone. She scrolled past a meme of the muscular “gigachad” calling the wojak Andrew Tate a racial slur. It made her chuckle a little. She looked different back then, her hair pulled back in ponytail, her face covered in make up, a nice tan winter coat. A glass of Rose was on the table in front of her.
“Is that what you call that? You never get off your phone. What are you doing? Scrolling instagram?”
“You wouldn’t understand Will. I’m not saying that to be mean, but you wouldn’t.” She put the phone down and squared up her posture, getting ready for the talk. Then something occurred to her. “Where the hell is Ashley?”
“I’m trying to understand. But I don’t think this is working.”
“That’s fair.”
“Because you’re not trying.” Before he finished the sentence Nessa was out of her seat.
“I’m going to find that dumb bitch.” She stood up abruptly and headed inside towards the bar. Will sighed and followed her in.
They spotted their friend from across the room, blond hair hanging over a denim jacket. She was talking to two men sitting on barstools. It looked like they’d been watching the game but the pretty young white girl was a welcome distraction. They were grinning from ear to ear, white veneers glowing against the backdrop of their ebony skin.
Will grabbed Nessa by the wrist, softly but firmly. “Come on. Let’s go.” But she resisted and he gave up immediately, afraid to look like the controlling boyfriend in public. He gazed at the exit for a moment but ultimately kept following her.
Nessa grabbed her drunk friend by the shoulders and turned her entire body around in one movement.
“Hey! What are you doing?” she protested.
“Woah!” One of the black guys jumped out of his seat and jogged around to cut her off. He was about 6 foot tall with short hair, a brown leather jacket and bright white sneakers. His head had a sort of rectangular shape. “Yo what’s wrong? Can’t a man just talk to a pretty lady?”
Nessa squared her posture and smirked at the man. In heels she was less than an inch shorter than him.
The man continued. “I don’t want no trouble. I just want to understand what the problem is? Why can’t we just buy your friend a drink?”
“Because it’s a girl’s job to keep her friends away from strange men with bad vibes.”
She heard the other black man cackle with laughter behind her.
“Look I don’t know who you think got bad vibes.” The tall black said with a smile. “My name’s Carl. What’s your name?”
Nessa’s face hardened. “None of your business.”
“Her name’s Vanessa.” Ashley said.
“Shut up!” Nessa snapped at her. Both of the men were laughing now. Over Carl’s shoulder she could see Will shaking his head in frustration.
“Yo’ why are you being such a bitch Vanessa?”
“Carl.” Nessa paused and twisted her face into a grimace. “The reason why I am being such a bitch is because when I was 15 I lost my best friend. She was killed.” She bared her teeth like an animal to say the next part. “Killed and raped by a black man. He was about your age.”
Carl’s jaw dropped to the floor. He shook his head. “Yo. You can’t just say that shit.”
Will appeared behind Nessa and took her by the waist, dragging her away. She was still looking at Carl, their eyes locked on each other and burning with an ancient hatred.
“I’ma teach you a lesson you racist ass bitch. You too homie.”
Carl’s friend blocked Will’s path. He was the size of a linebacker, no getting around. Will took his arms off Nessa. He backed to the side away from both men with his hands up in the surrender pose. Carl stood eye to eye with Nessa like a prize fighter at the weigh ins.
They won’t be able to hide it, she thought. I’m a congresswoman’s daughter. They won’t be able to lie anymore. This world of lies and hypocrisy will be destroyed and all it will cost is my life. Not a bad trade.
Looking back, it seemed so insane to her now that she didn’t see the bouncer approaching to her left. He was the biggest white man she’d ever seen, standing a full head taller than Carl, shoulders like he was wearing armor and a blond beard the went down to the middle of his chest.
“What’s the problem here?” He said in his deep baritone voice. His eyes darted menacingly between one black man and the other, like he intended to hurt them now and ask questions later.
“No problem.” Carl said.
“Then get away from the girl you coward.”
Carl stepped back. His eyes were still on Nessa and the muscles of his face still twitching with fury. The bouncer turned his attention to the man behind Will, he shouted something and pointed his finger.
Nessa saw Carl reach into his jacket pocket. He licked his lips like a predator then locked eyes on the bouncer’s back.
“He’s got a knife!” Nessa shouted in horror.
The man who was the size of a bear moved with the speed of humming bird. In the blink of an eye, there were now two unconscious black men on the floor and the huge bearded man stood before her. Ashley and Will were no where to be found.
Nessa had no idea what she’d just seen happen. The huge man saw the puzzled look on her face and grinned at her. He held up a taser in his right hand.
“When it comes to their type I don’t fuck around.” He said.
His name was Ian. He was the man that she would marry.
6. Swarming Locusts
VanessaCony: did you know about the other guy? Uriah’s cousin, he’s driving.
NeroEternal666: I did not. Who is he.
She sighed. Great news.
VanessaCony: He calls himself Jokercard. His real name is Anthony something. They can’t control him, it could become a problem
NeroEternal666: I will find out what I can. You can kill him if you want to. You can kill anybody unless I tell you not to.
VanessaCony: I’ve never killed anyone.
NeroEternal666: Get used to it.
It was after dusk and they were in Pennsylvania just south of the New York state border. The car had been stopped for over an hour. All four of the men were standing outside of the car on the side of the road, arguing intensely. Nessa was calm now. If the FBI had identified their absurd getaway vehicle they would have found them by now. Even the Antifa hoodie no longer bothered her. I’m wearing the skin of my enemy, she thought to herself with an evil grin.
Ian said that Loki plays games at the worst of times and it’s best to just go along with it. Have a healthy respect for the unexpected, for chaos. JC was an agent of chaos. He stopped to get malt liquor. He constantly asked questions about Shade and the “mission”. He rambled about flat earth and how he thought the moon was a hologram, how the vaccines for the plague were filled with graphine nanobots that the pharmaceutical companies used to remotely control your immune system.
JC’s wildest conspiracy theory was about the mysterious political assassinations. He said that Yakub, the creator of white people had programmed them to break out in senseless, random violence once a century or so, like the swarming phase of the locust. “Y’all nice and cuddly ‘til ya ain’t. That white devil’s in there. You never know when he’s gonna come out.”
His eccentric behaviour brought the dynamics of the rest of the group to the surface. Nessa learned that Eddie and Uriah were vclose and both more ideological than Mac who was basically an opportunistic criminal who attached himself to the gang. Eddie was neurotic and understandably anxious about Uriah bringing JC on board but struggled to express concerns because as far leftist, he was committed to opposing racism. Mac was butting heads with JC because he didn’t like not being seen as the toughest guy in the room.
A few hours into his rants, JC started talking about jews in the music industry and how they manipulate and exploit black artists. That infuriated Mac. He threaten to shoot JC. They stopped the car and faced off, with Eddie and Uriah trying to calm both of them down on either side. Then Nessa saw JC do something unexpected: he calmly told Mac to “take some time to think on it” and then walked away. He walked about a two hundred yards with the keys to the hummer and the three anxious Antifa begging him to come back. Nessa thought that earned his name as the “Jokercard” and strangely, it earned him some of her respect as well.
However, she knew this freak show couldn’t continue. She had to get away from the feds and start her new life. There was no telling whether these idiots could get control of JC long enough to get her there, or whether they had the courage to handle him the way professional criminals should be handling an insolent subordinate. Nero had told her she could handle them how she sees fit. Did he plan this? Was it a test?
A coyote howled in the distance. For a moment Nessa was transported back to a meeting in the forest with the Clan. Ian was leading a troupe of men to dance around the fire howling like wolves. It was silly and it would have been embarassing if anybody else had seen them. But those men had courage and loyalty. And love like she had never known. Now maybe she’d never know it again. She remembered childcare duty at the lodge, being mommy to a dozen screaming infants. She hated it. But it was time to put that practice to use.
She stepped out of the car and began to march towards the outline of the four men on the horizon. Her bare feet found a stone immediately but she pushed through the pain. Between her mother, her step father, Ian and the leaders of Clan Ragnarok, she knew the way strong people carry themselves. It was time to show these retards who was boss.
When she approached she saw that Mac and JC were still crouched like animals ready to pounce on each other with ugly grimaces on their faces. They weren’t shouting anymore, but neither wanted their fatigue to show. She came and stood between the two parties, her pale face a glow in the light of the dusk.
Nessa channelled her mother. “Gentleman. It’s time for you to put your differences aside and get us back on the road.”
“JC’s got the keys.” Mac reminded her. His voice was menacing, it was clear how he thought they should handle the problem.
“JC.” Nessa looked at him. “Both of you. Cut the bullshit until we get to Buffalo. Then you can finish each other off if you must.”
To her surprise JC nodded. “Yeah. You’re right Nessa. Let’s get movin’.” He skipped past Mac and Eddie without saying a word.
Nessa turned to Uriah. “I’ll ride shotgun this time, you can sit in the back.” With his mouth still contorted into the hideous frown, Uriah nodded in agreement.
Next Nessa put an arm over Eddie’s shoulder and walked him slightly away from the group. When Ian needed somebody to listen he used to get close and make physical contact like that to emphasise his words. Once nobody was looking she whispered in Eddie’s ear:
“Give me your gun.”
7. Niggas in Valhalla
NeroEternal666: Anthony Smith-Jackson. Studied law at UCLA in 2017. Dropped out and joined the LAPD. Discharged in 2020.
The hummer had been making a wurring noise since just before the big argument. It was after midnight and half way from the New York state border to Buffalo when it lost the ability to accelerate and JC was forced to pull the vehicle over once again. JC cursed and all three men in the back seat looked ready to scream.
JC sat in the driver’s seat for a moment with his eyes closed then let his body go limp so that his forehead was resting on the steering wheel in a gesture of defeat.
Nessa straightened her back to anchor her consciousness to channel the commanding archetype of her mother. “JC. Pop the hood and go and see what’s wrong.”
JC shook his head. “I’unno nothin’ ‘bout cars yo’. Any y’all know shit?” He looked in the rearview mirror to indicate he was referring the passengers in the back. They were silent. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling in disappointment. “Fine.” He opened the driver’s side door and dropped down the two foot drop like a cat. A moment later the huge black hood cover was blocking the windshield.
Nessa glanced back at Mac for a moment. He caught her eye and nodded. Then Nessa opened the door and she too dropped down into the darkness.
She crept around the front of the car slowly, gaining distance to her right and getting closer to the trees. At first, she thought JC must have run off again because she didn’t see him in front of the bonnet in the light of the headlights. Then her eyes adjusted and she realised he was standing on the front bumper bar in order to get high enough to see inside. He was muttering something to himself and holding an iphone over the engine with the flash light on.
Nessa continued to circle until she was standing directly in front of the car and directly behind the black man, about five yards away. She took the pistol out of the pouch of her jumper and held it low so it didn’t look obvious to any passing traffic.
“JC. Stay where you are and don’t turn around.”
JC paused. “The fuck…”
“If you turn around I’ll shoot, do you understand?” He nodded. She continued: “I want you to take your gun out of your pocket, put the safety on. Hold it by the barrel and drop it on the ground. No monkey shit, I know you were a cop.”
“Monkey shit? Really?”
“Shut the fuck up you moon criket! I’d rather keep you alive but don’t tempt me.”
“You know what to do with that thang babydoll?”
“I’m Ragnarok, asshole. I’ll shoot your dick off from 200 yards away. You wanna try me?” JC shook his head. Nessa felt her trigger finger tingle as he reached his right hand around the front of his body slowly to grab his pistol. He moved slowly and with a discipline she wouldn’t have thought him capable of. It felt like an eternity, but finally, he clicked the safety on and then held it above his head by the barrel with his right hand, placing his left hand back on his head. He dropped the gun on the ground. She began to creep towards it.
“That white devil comin’ out huh. I thought we wuz cool Nessa.”
“Stop talking like that for fucks sake. I know you went to law school.”
“Ok fine. I thought we were starting to build a rapport.”
As she got closer she reached one foot out and used it to pull his gun towards her. She took a half step back again before she reached down to grab it.
“You make me laugh Anthony,” she admitted. “But you’re a pain in the fucking ass. I just want to get to Shade.”
JC forced a laugh. “You don’t know anyone called Shade.”
“Sure I do.”
“No you don’t. I used to play poker, that’s where I got the name. I see you bullshitting. You have no idea what’s going to happen when we get there. I don’t think you even know who you’re talking to on that phone.”
She was silent for a moment. “So what? Their boss told them I work for him. What difference does it make?”
“I don’t know. But if we waste those commie assholes you might be in a better position to negotiate.”
Nessa started to laugh. The whole thing was absurd. A black gangster was offering her a truce to betray a car full of anarchists. And she was actually considering it.
JC was still standing remarkably still on the front bar with both hands on his head. “I’m serious. Show these guys we’re better operatives than those dipshits and take all of the money ourselves. And you get to waste some commies and make your boy Hitler proud. It’s a win win.”
“I’m not here to make money Anthony. My life is already over. I just want to kill as many enemies as I can before I die. That’s what I was promised.”
“You want to go to Valhalla huh?”
“Yeah.” She raised the pistol higher and pointed it towards the back of his head and bit her lip for a moment. It would be so easy.
She heard the door of the hummer creek open. Uriah collapsed out onto the ground in a heap. Mac followed, pointing his pistol at him. When Uriah got to his feet he put his hands on his head in submission. Two light skinned captors with dark skinned hostages. She nodded in approval at the jewish wigger.
JC ignored them and kept talking to Nessa. “You know it’s full of niggas there right?”
That got her attention. “What?”
“Valhalla. The hall of the fallen. Legend says you get there by fighting to the death. Niggas will fight to the death over anything. They’ll fight a cop if they get pulled over for a tail light out. They’ll kill their brother over brushing their sneaker. Where your white ass is going, there’s going to be a lot of niggas. You gotta be ready for that.”
“I guess you’re right.” She sighed. “You can come down from there now.”
He put his hands on the edge of the bonnet and lowered his feet to the ground. Every movement was robotic, keenly aware that he didn’t want to startle a woman with a gun.
Without turning around he said “Are you ready to die like a nigga Nessa?”
She said nothing.
8. White Girl Goes Cold
From her volatile position as defacto leader of the posse, Nessa made the decision that they would wait until morning to look for a ride to Buffalo. To pass the time, they sat in a circle on the other side of the car to the road and played cards. They played black jack with Eddie as the dealer. JC won the majority of the rounds and wore a triumphant smile until the early hours of the morning. Nessa blinked out of consciousness a few times but her eyes never left him.
She weighed her options over and over again. The most obvious choice was to kill the two black guys, but that left the possibility that Eddie would turn on them. If she killed Eddie as well then she would ultimately be left alone with Mac, a jewish rapist who had repeatedly accused her of being a “Nazi”. On the other hand, she’d given Eddie his gun back when she’d taken JC’s, so if she took JC up on his offer of an alliance against the white antifas, she would face two armed men with only unarmed men on her side. Ultimately, she was resigned to let them all live. At least until they got to Buffalo.
She didn’t remember falling asleep. She dreamed of her life in federal prison, living out her days in an orange jump suit. She saw her cell, the mess hall, the gym. She met cell mates and guards who had names. Lived an entire life in her mind that was so real that she wondered whether it was this bizarre road trip with these men that had been the dream.
She woke up with a shock. Immediately remembering the danger, she stood up and drew her pistol. The four men were all sleeping. JC was even snoring. She pointed her gun at each one of them one by one. The last one in the circle was Mac, and when she reached him, his eyes slowly opened and his hands reached quickly towards his own gun.
“Forgot where I was.” She said to him, lowering her weapon. He nodded suspiciously, keeping his hand at his waist. “I’m gonna get us a ride. Wake everyone up when I call out to you.”
She around the hummer and stood by the road. There was brown dirt caked over her jeans and dry blood on her bare feet. She put the gun back into the pouch of the hoodie and leaned her back against the truck so nobody could sneak up on her.
The car that finally pulled over for her was a nice tan coloured camper van. A European man in his 40s got out of the passenger seat. He was wearing hippie clothes and had a warm smile on his face.
“Having some car troubles miss?” He said.
She pulled out her gun and pointed the barrel right between his eyes. “Get on the ground now motherfucker!”
The man went pale, but he obeyed. “Please, don’t hurt me or my wife.”
She ignored him and went to the driver’s side. “Out of the car, now!” she screamed. The woman driving exiting the vehicle, shaking and sobbing.
Nessa’s entourage poured out from behind the hummer one by one. JC stopped as he passed the couple on the ground. “She’s a cold ass bitch hey?” he said to them.
When they got to the van Nessa hurried everybody into the back and Mac into the driver’s seat. He took off like a maniac just like the day before. And this time she was grateful.
9. Shades of Crimson
They passed a big sign saying Welcome to Buffalo. If this is a test then surely she’d passed, she thought. She’d taken control of four grown men who had every possibility of turning on her and managed to get them to their destination in one piece. She hadn’t killed yet, but there was plenty of time.
Maybe this was the whole point. Maybe this Nero guy wanted her to command a gang of men who she hated and would happily send to their deaths. Whatever the case, she felt entitled to the high of a small victory.
They were on a country road passing some orchards, the sky turning from yellow to blue. Butterflies rose in her stomach and her face flushed red. She stroked her pistol. Soon I will taste the blood of my enemies, she thought.
They began winding around a small hill, getting further and further on to the outskirts of town. Her skin was hot. If the cops had pulled them over in that moment they would have tested her for drugs.
“How about it Nessa.” JC’s deep baritone African American voice boomed from the back seat. “Soon we’ll be secret agents.”
She snorted, trying not to laugh again, but this time she couldn’t contain it. She cackled maniacally like an underslept witch.
They pulled up in front of a small house nestled into the side of the hill. Immediately a dog started barking.
“Scottie.” Eddie said. “He’s normally chill. I wonder what’s gotten into him.”
When they opened the back door of the van, the small brown kelpy was there. He snarled in the low menacing tone of an enemy.
“I don’t think he likes niggas.” JC said, shaking his head. “He’s a Nessa-hound or something.”
“We don’t have time for this shit.” Mac said, getting out of the driver’s set. As Scottie the kelpy raced around to meet him, he raised his pistol in the air and fired. The dog retreated with a yelp. “Yo Shade! We’re here man. Wake your fag ass up.”
“Why are you calling your CIA contact a fag?” Nessa asked him as her feet touched the ground and she slammed the passenger door.
“He is a fag. He’s got a boyfriend and everything. Name’s George or something.”
“Ok but still… Nevermind. Let’s just go knock on the door.”
“He should have heard the gun shot.” Eddie said. He was out of the car with Uriah now. JC stayed in the van, apparently hiding from Scottie. “Something’s not right.”
Nessa had had enough talking. She made her way up the treated timber steps to the front balcony. The door was a sliding door made of glass, a strange choice for the front of the house. The curtains were open so she peered in to see a rather ordinary living room with four gray and white couches and a wooden floor. She banged on the glass with the bottom of her fist. Nothing.
“Hello? Mr Shade?”
“Yo’ send him a message.” She heard Mac call out on his way up the stairs. “You’re the only one with a phone, didn’t you tell him we were close?”
She tried the sliding door. It slid open easily. An intelligence operative who lives his front door open.
She felt a furry welcome mat beneath her feet as she stepped into the front room. The place had a cosy feel, she could see the appeal to a man who wants to stay out of view.
“Mr Shade. It’s Vanessa Cony. I’m sorry for barging in. We couldn’t just stay outside is all.” She called out fruitlessly as she made her way down the hall checking an empty bathroom and two bedrooms. She started to get a sinking feeling. She wasn’t the only one.
Eddie was starting to twitch and shake, like his body produced it’s own meth. “No answer even though he was expecting us last night. The dog going ballistic. The front door unlocked.” He shook his head. “This looks bad.”
“Does he have a basement?”
“The door next to the fridge.”
The three men stared at her, waiting for her to make the first move. Her excitement had turned into terror. She felt sick.
She took a deep breath and turned the nob on the door next to the fridge. The stair case was dark, pitch black. She felt the end of each step with her bare toes. There was no hand rail to hold, so she stretched her palms out to press against either wall. “Mr Shade.” She called out one last time.
When she get to the bottom she felt the light switch with her right hand. Suddenly she was aware of the real true danger she was in, how quickly the men behind her could turn on her. But it was too late. She could already smell the dried blood.
She turned on the light. And there it was before her. The decapitated body of a man. Wearing a suit. Tied to a chair with hessian rope. The crimson hues over the man’s shoulders and caked in puddles all over the concrete floor.
She reached for her gun.
Thats funny man. Because you are right, that was the picture I had in my head, the Rosenkrute or whatever that guys name was, I think he even had red hair. But I forgot until you said it, characters taking on a life of their own in the writing and all that
Is there a synopsis you’re building with this story?