The Red Queen

Later, in hospital, Curtis is lying in a hospital bed, his stomach and left side of his face are heavily bandaged with tubes running from his arm to a small bag containing clear liquid. There are also two round pads attached to his chest above the bandages with wires leading to a heart monitor. Chief Babadore, a tall, bald man with a white goatee, dressed in a neat black suit, white shirt and blue tie, is standing outside the room, peering in through the window at Curtis.

‘So can we talk to him or what...?’ he asks in his gruff voice. Maria is standing beside a young doctor with dark skin and black hair wearing the typical white coat of a doctor.

‘I think he is up to it...’ she says, ‘...but nothing too stressful. He took quite a blow to his chest which narrowly missed his heart’.

‘Thanks, Doctor Monroe...’ said Maria, ‘...we really appreciate this’. Doctor Monroe smiled and glanced at Babadore with concern, before turning back to Maria.

‘Just go easy on him... huh...?’ she said, ‘...he’s been through enough’.

‘Of course...’ promised Maria, as Babadore went into the room followed by another man. This man was tall with a thin face, shaggy brown hair and large eyes. He also wore a neat black suit.

‘Hey there, kid...’ started Babadore, sitting on the edge of the bed as Maria came in and closed the door, ‘...heard you had a rough night...’

‘Rough...?’ cried Curtis, ‘...you have no idea, man, no idea at all...!’

‘Ok, son...’ started the thinner man, ‘...take it easy...’.

‘It’s Ok, Henson...’ said Babadore to the thinner man, ‘...kid’s a little shaken, is all - aren’t you, son? Just take your time and tell me what happened...’

‘Man, it was freaky...!’ stammered Curtis, '...this monk dude sliced the cop’s head off. I’m no fan of the cop, but, Jeez...!’

‘After that...?’ asked Babadore, ‘...what happened after that...?’

’After that, the cop’s body started glowing, man! Then there was, like, lightning, all around and making stuff explode and all...the monk dude got hit with like, a gazillion bolts or something. He must’ve been like a fucking robot or an alien or something. We had a fight and he stuck me and laughed. He actually fuckin’ laughed as I lay there dying, ‘till you guys showed up...’.

‘Would you recognise him if you saw him again...?’ asked Babadore.

‘Jeez, man...’ cried Curtis, ‘...he stuck a fucking sword in me! That ain’t the kinda guy you’d forget...!’

‘Ok, son...’ started Babadore, getting to his feet again, ‘...Henson here will try and draw the guy, ok...?’ he paused to pat Henson on the shoulder, ‘...good luck...’ he said to Henson and joined Maria as she exited the room, closing the door behind him.

‘So, what do you think...?’ asked Maria.

‘I think the kid’s deranged...’ said Babadore, ‘...or high. Either way, he’s clearly making it up. All that “Sci-Fi” bullshit about laughing fucking robots...’

‘Forget the comic book crap...’ said Maria, '...fact is, this kid saw Agent Bertyn murdered and he saw the murderer. Can’t be too many “mad monks” running about with a fucking sword, can there...?’

‘What I don’t get...’ started Babadore, ‘...is why the fuck was Bertyn carrying a sword in the first place? Why didn’t he just shoot the bastard?’

‘Maybe he collects swords...’ answered Maria, knowing full well the real reason, ‘...Bo uses a sword for a prop in her history lectures down at CCU...’

‘Yeah, I know...’ replied Babadore, ‘...my kid, Ryan, is constantly raving about how great she is. I think he has a bit of a crush on your girl, Tindale...’

‘Well, she is...’ started Maria, pausing to search for a suitable end to that sentence. A sudden smile crept across her face as the perfect phrase came to mind, '...reasonably attractive...!’

‘Oh, she’s a looker alright...’ agreed Babadore, completely missing the joke. Maria smiled at the fact she had forgotten that Babadore wasn’t in on the joke in the first place, ‘...you did well there, Tindale...’

‘Thank you... I think...’ she replied with bemusement, ‘...either way...’ she continued, ‘...once Henson has the sketch, we’ll circulate it to the press...’

’But no mentioning guys puking lightning or glowing like a fucking “Ready Brek” commercial...’ spat Babadore. The reference was lost on Maria, ‘...this “mad monk” has killed one of our own, and we need to stop him before he strikes again...’.

‘I’m going to go back over to the yard we found this guy...’ began Maria, ‘...see if those forensic boys missed anything...’.

‘Yeah, you do that...’ agreed Babadore, absently, looking back at Curtis getting animated with his description, ‘...I’m gonna find an excuse to lock this guy up. I’ve a feeling he’s connected deeper than he lets on...’.

*

An hour later, Maria is back at Mulligan’s yard. There is blue “Police - Do not cross” tape strewn everywhere and chalk outlines of Bertyn’s body and head. Some talented artist has added a cock and balls to the outline of his body, and helpfully drew on a replacement head with a speech bubble announcing; “I’ve wanked myself to death”. At least he would’ve died with a smile on his face, Maria muses, frowning at the maturity of the artist. She produces a small torch from her pocket and begins to scan the immediate area. Near Bertyn’s body is a scorched patch where the other Immortal must’ve been standing when he received the “Quickening”. The burned out husks of the fire-bins lay strewn nearby, and there was evidence of scorch marks all over the walls and even the post that held up the now dead signage for Mulligan’s Fencing Co.

She was about to turn the torch off and leave when something caught her torch beam. Near the scorch mark on the ground was a small square of shiny card, folded over and half covered by fresh dirt. She thought about leaving it; just another piece of rubbish left behind by kids or some homeless guy, but it looked too clean, too...out of place. Maria took two steps towards it and scooped it up. In her torch light, she examined the scrap of shiny cards closer.

It was a match-book.

Nothing unusual there, she thought.

She turned it over and gasped at the name on the back; The Highlander Guest House. Her head snapped around to her right, and she scanned the dark street ahead through the gaps in Mulligan’s fence. There were lights still blazing in the distance. She knew it must be “The Highlander”; it would be the only place open at this time at night. She quickly left the yard and climbed into her car.