Kings of Hell

Wendy’s POV

Even though I return early to the ULTRA offices, I’m left alone for much longer than 24 hours. And it has me really pissed off. Because of what it meant.

Casey nor Dale thought I would return.

In fact, it made sense why I was so shocked being Transpendised to officials in Atlantis.

I was now sure, Dale alerted them and betrayed me. He sent me back to Atlantis, not to work, but to be apprehended.

No one wanted me.

And now I had intel and enemies.

I realise after some time, Casey is never coming to check this office, and it’ll remain empty. The program, in early stages, would not receive many more candidates as easily as I had been let through. I had no doubt about that.

So, I leave on my own terms, wearing their uniform, but feeling hopeless.

The number one reason I joined was for food, to get off the streets.

I tried to act tough, and Casey and Dale did seem to give me a home. For a very short time.

I walk through the military buildings, hiding tears in my eyes, my hands in my pockets as I try to hold in my full need to sob.

I had all this information, that I had no idea what to do with. No friends, no home, no future.

But just as I’m feeling the full weight of abandonment, I see something of interest.

I see STRIKE and their faces – walking through the corridor. Three men. Serge, Ace and Jose.

I follow behind from a distance, curious by their tough and fast pace. They were clearly on a mission. Heading straight toward High Military Detention. I follow them all the way toward some red line I don’t dare to cross.

I hide out around a corner, near other cells, pretending to stand guard or on security, my back against the wall, as I hear the men standing at a single door – talking to a prisoner.

“He’s fucking lost it, calm down boss!” one beast snarls.

“Screaming is not going to calm him down, we have to let him out,” another member suggests, in a hiss.

“Not by Alyssa’s order, she has a plan. Apparently.”

“When do we take orders from her?”

“Fuck this. We’ll deal with him. I don’t like seeing a brother in a cage. In his own fucking army.”

“…agreed… how do we open this fucking thing?”

A phone rings, and a silence ensues briefly, before I hear, “Yeah, we’re on the way.”

“Who?”

“Alyssa, leave him for the moment. She wants to talk. ASAP.”

They gruffly say a few things under their breath and start to walk again. I press myself a bit harder against the wall, knowing they’ll see me briefly as they walk by the adjoining corridor.

Or – nope.

They stalk by so fast and so directly, they don’t have time to bother with me.

I wait until their footsteps echo further out, and I slowly slide to the other corridor and suck in a breath.

What or rather who was in that cell?

I casually walk down to see, taking in the high security door with a small hand sized plastic panel to see through.

This particular cell area, maximum security, is made of thick concrete, and as I rise on my tip toes to look in the cell… my heart finally calms itself.

Dale.

Imprisoned.

That’s why I hadn’t been checked on.

Pacing the cell – now he turns with my shadow alerting my presence, and he is clearly just as shocked to see me as I am to see him. He stalks up to the door and holds my eyes. Dale is panicked. I hate small spaces too. I understand that. I just nod slowly at him, to let him know I’ll help.

“HEY YOU –” security?! Shit! I spin right around, and I see a fully armed soldier making his way toward me, “I saw you sneaking around, what do you want? How did you get in here?”

“Let him out,” I don’t blink, I stand back, hands shaking in my pockets, eyes wide as I try to appear confident, “On… order… of Alyssa,” my voice goes a bit more quiet, unsure if this will work, I just want to test his reaction.

“What?” the soldier snaps, standing in front of me, “Who the hell are you, kid?”

As he looks me over, I get a chance to look him over too. Plenty of guns and tasers and batons. And I see one more very obvious device at his belt – used to open the cell doors. Not a simple key, but a coder. I needed that.

It might be crazy, but I step into him, and pretend to challenge him, glaring up at the soldier on patrol.

“Who the hell am I? Who the hell are you?” I throw the question back in his face.

The soldier seems to work out his solution, and on an eye roll he grabs my arm with a lot of force – and I know he’ll be able to remove me quickly.

But he was too close to the door, so my only chance was now!

I snatch the coder key and slam the end into the holes on the door, where it’s meant to go.

It starts to fall out, not connected properly – and he snarls as he grabs both my arms and pulls me back, as my body struggles backward, I kick my legs up and slam the sole of my boot into the coder at the last moment – pushing it into place.

Some green light floods the edges of the door on a release code, and the soldier immediately releases me.

“You fuck –” he lunges for the coder, but the door is already open.

He slips in front of Dale, and I dust myself off as I stand.

“You think it’s funny,” Dale is whispering at him, on his knees, “That they locked up the President, do you? You were laughing when I came in here.”

“N-no, well –” the solider is almost begging already.

“I disavow myself, I was never a President anyway,” Dale speaks, casually, “Put your gun in your mouth, soldier.”

The soldier has tried to scramble up the wall, but with Dale’s approach, he slips back down in submission onto his butt, hands up in meek surrender.

“Please, please have mercy. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t find any of this bullshit funny,” Dale drawls, as he squats and motions to his gun, “Put it in your mouth and prove your fucking loyalty.”

I watch the soldier’s hand rise and shake as he obeys. My mouth pops open, aghast. The solider grabs his own gun, and he chokes on a sob as he puts the barrel in his own mouth. I look over Dale’s shoulder, my brow raised. What the hell? Dale grabs the man’s hand and pushes it in further until he gags, his head hits the wall and Dale says, so calmly, “Next time – this bullet goes through your fucking head,” he pulls his hand back, and takes the gun out of the soldier’s mouth, “You’re forgiven.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. President.”

The soldier scrambles to his feet.

“Apologise to Wendy too,” Dale’s eyes don’t waver once.

“I’m sorry, Wendy,” the soldier nods in my direction.

“One last thing,” Dale can’t contain a smile, “I need you to pass on a message. To the new President, as I believe she’s taken my old position. Tell my Kitten, next time she sees me, she’ll have to put a gun in her mouth.”

“Yes, sir?” the soldier doesn’t know how to address him anymore.

“Your new military superior will soon be a female, probably called Strawberry,” I don’t like the way Dale says it with revulsion, but he also adds, “I’m going under, I’m the King of Hell. Tell her that too.”

The soldier nods and walks backwards a few steps, almost stumbling, before turning and stomping off.

Dale finally turns to me, and I notice his black suit has blood stains on it.

“Are you hurt?” I ask.

“No,” Dale looks me over, “Are you?”

“I got the intel for free,” I shrug my shoulders, smiling, “Apparently I’m some kind of… accidental Ultimate? That’s what they were injecting me with. No, actually, it was called S…E… or…?”

“S.D.” Dale is shocked, but at least he understands what I’m trying to say.

“You know what that is?” I ask, hopeful.

“Go find Casey,” Dale dismisses me, “Tell him what you told me.”

“Oh…”

“He is your only superior now,” Dale starts to walk off, “We’ll exit then you go your own way to find him.”

“But what about ULTRA –?”

“Casey,” Dale’s short with me, and I shut my mouth. I follow him from behind.

By the time we reach an emergency exit, I have the guts to say it.

“No thank you? I got you out of maximum security.”

“Listen, kid,” Dale turns to me on the outside stairs, exasperated by my question, “If you want to stay in this, just go to Casey. Okay?”

“Kid – that’s how you see me? That’s how everyone sees me. Just a kid,” I state, monotone and hurt.

“Hey. Casey is like a big kid to me,” Dale tries to explain it, “Because I raised him. It’s like an endearment. Relax. Wendy. Go to Casey. I have shit I have to do.”

“Aye, aye, your highness,” I roll my eyes, “King?”

“King of the Shadows, it’s a gang name,” Dale walks down the stairs with me.

“Am I in it?”

“Talk to Casey.”

“But I’m talking to the King,” I snap.

Dale is walking towards some black car in the carpark. He doesn’t have keys – but he somehow manages to open the door. Some kind of glitch.

I walk right up into his backside, trying to annoy him. Dale doesn’t like me grinding up against his back to get his attention, so he turns into me, hand on my face as he pushes me back up a step.

“Listen, I know it sucks to have no family, believe me. I also killed the first person to take me in, because she messed with my fucking head,” Dale leans down to my level, “I know it sucks to be an orphan, but you’ll never change your past – accept you come from no family. Now make your own.”

“Get pregnant?” I screw up my face, “What the fuck is wrong with you –”

“No,” Dale tries not to laugh, “Make friends. Casey is a good start.”

“Cause he was adopted too?” I whisper, understanding it.

“That’s right, he’ll understand what you’re going through.”

“Huh, okay,” I try to hide my shy smile, “Okay then.”

“Come with me,” Dale gives in slightly, “I’ll fucking drive you this once,” he tries to be tough, but he clearly has a soft side for ‘kids’.

I skip to the other door, and slip right in.

In the passenger seat, I watch him casually hot wiring the car.

“So what were you in for?” I ask, trying to act tough too, “Your friends were trying to get you out,” Dale doesn’t want to answer that, “Okay…”

“I’m not your friend,” Dale warns me eventually, as he starts the car, “I was in because of a girl probably your own age… I slit her throat…”

“Bro, that’s not okay,” I gulp, suddenly feeling really nervous.

“It was a slip of judgement,” Dale whispers, “I fucking shouldn’t have done it.”

“Like I shouldn’t have killed my family?” I whisper.

“No, you should have. They hurt you, they die,” he snaps.

“Why did you kill the girl?” I ask it, scared of the answer.

Dale finds it hard to answer me.

He shakes his head as he drives off. Taking his time.

Eventually he replies.

“I’m fucked up, kid.”

“Well, that doesn’t answer the question,” I know it’ll prod him but… I want to know.

“I was sending a message, not to cross me.”

“By killing a girl like me? My age? Sounds kind of stupid of you.”

“We do stupid things when we’re in love,” Dale murmurs under his breath.

“You killed the girl you loved?!” I gasp.

“No, I –” Dale tries not to choke on laughter again, or maybe humiliation, or both, “If someone you love, provokes you to do something stupid, try to stay calm, Wendy.”

“Sounds like you’re telling yourself that.”

“I’m not calm,” Dale tries to keep in a smirk, “I’m dropping you off and then I’m going to descend.”

“Descend, to hell?” I ask, off the bat, trying to be witty.

“Something like that.”

“If you’re the King of Hell, can I be the princess of hell?”

“Shut up. I got a whore already,” Dale’s angry now, “Don’t let your mouth run off – it’ll get you into trouble.”

“Already done that to Casey, pretty sure he hates me.”

“He understands you,” Dale is adamant about that.

“Okay.”

“Okay,” Dale affirms it, “Now shut the fuck up,” he turns on the music to drown me out.

I smile and dance in the seat for a bit, pretending to, while he takes me to Casey.

I was trying to throw off my jitters.

Because I was really truly nervous now.

Honestly?

If Dale was the King of Hell. I kind of, just maybe, had a really big crush on the prince.