Chapter Twenty-Five: Underworld

The underbelly of the Fantas Estate was dark and dusty; it felt like some kind of old root cellar. The smell of rotting wood and mildew was everywhere and to Tom, it felt as if he were passing through the intestines of some massive beast. It was unsettling, as if the whole house had just devoured them. Tom wondered quietly to himself if he would ever see the light of another day again. He envisioned in his mind, him and Kaplen wondering in the darkness for days without food or water. He envisioned them coming across some kind of man eating creature in the dark tunnels that now surrounded them. He could almost see it’s bulging red eyes and deformed features. It was absolutely amazing how the human brain could come up with grotesque images in times like these; how the mind could just bring panic and desperation into a situation by thinking about it too much.

Tom shook his head vigorously in an unsuccessful attempt to clear the images from his mind. Fear was an unwelcome guest at the moment. He needed to stay focused on the task at hand but he couldn’t pull away from his thoughts of how ugly the thing would look. A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about the creature and what it could do to them. Tom wasn’t much of a fighter, as a matter-of-fact, the thought of dying scared him more than he wanted to admit.

It’s not real; it’s not real, thought Tom as he took in a deep breath. He was trying to take control of his thoughts and feelings. The last thing he needed right now was to go into a complete panic attack. He folded his arms across his chest and gripped his sides with his fingers. He was trying to stop his breathing from moving up and down so much. He listened cautiously as the pipes over his head dripped and expanded randomly. It was eerie and unnerving to listen to. The more and more he thought about his situation, the more and more he didn’t want to be here. Maybe we should have gone back through the nightmare halls? Maybe that would have been safer?

“Try and keep up with me” whispered Kaplen through the darkness, “it would be a very bad thing if we got separated from one another down here,” he said, his voice bouncing softly of the walls and ceiling. The darkness seemed to encompass Kaplen completely, and the only indicator to Tom that he was with him at all was the fact that he could hear his heavy footfalls directly in front of him as he walked. It was almost impossible for Tom to follow the bodyguard. His black business suit was like camouflage against the benighted atmosphere.

“A lot of repair is needed around here” Kaplen pointed to the stones and wooden beams around him that were virtually impossible for Tom to make out in the darkness. “There are a lot of cracks and decay in this foundation. This is a very old building.” He cleared his throat and stepped over a pipe. “Would you believe that this building was built entirely on sand and lime stone from the beach? I didn’t believe it when I heard it as a boy, it sounded almost foolish that a house could stand on such principles, but it does.”

Tom reached out and placed a hand on the wall beside him. He wondered how Kaplen could see so clearly in the dark. He ran his fingers over the smooth rocks and cracks to stabilize himself as he went along. The air around him seemed to get colder and colder as they got deeper and deeper into the cellar. “How old did you say this house–” Tom stopped talking abruptly as his face collided with something stringy and sticky. He pulled back from it and whipped his arms around his head to get free from its entanglement. “What is this?” He yelled out, wiping the silky string off on his pants but found that it was very cohesive and resistant. Something big was crawling up his arm at the moment. It felt like soft baby fingers on his flesh. It almost tickled as it went along. It wasn’t until the thing was about to his bicep that he realized what it was. It felt like a spider. Tom lost all control at this moment, he started to scream and thrash around. His voice echoed wildly off the walls. 

Kaplen stopped at the weird noise and turned around. He studied Tom’s frantic movements in the darkness for a second. The young school teacher was slapping at his arm and body. He was shaking his limbs like a mad man. He looked terrified out of his mind. Kaplen stepped forward. He could see something crawling all over him. It was a thick, five legged creature. Tom was trying desperately to get it off. It was moving so rapidly, Tom couldn’t catch it even with his best efforts.

“Get it off! Get it off!” Yelled Tom as he staggered backward almost tripping over a lead pipe in the process. Kaplen came up to him and started patting his clothing. He was trying to slap the nasty looking creature away. The thing was making a weird sound. KI-O, KI-O, KI-O, KI-O. Its beady little eyes were glowing red hot now. Its saucer like body was throwing hairs left, right and center. It looked angry.

Kaplen waited patiently for the thing to come back over Tom’s shoulder. When it appeared he slapped the thing off and stepped on it several times with his shoe. The thing made a loud crunching noise as it was ground into the cement floor. Bright white guts began to ooze out from its shattered frame.

“What was that thing?” asked Tom franticly. He was still jerking around and slapping his clothes. His skin felt like it was going to slide off in disgust. He could still feel the thing crawling all around him. He could still feel it’s weird legs hooking into his T-shirt as it ran circles around his body.

“It was a Ki’o spider.”

“It certainly didn’t look like a spider” said Tom as he squinted down at the dead thing resting on the floor. He could barely see the legs twitching in the darkness. “It looks more like a severed hand!”

“Yeah, they do, they’re not part of the spider family at all. Their name is very misleading. They’re different from regular spiders in a lot of ways. The reason that they were given that name ‘Ki’o spider’ was because some stupid zoologist was too lazy to think of something better. ‘Ki’o’ is the sound they make when they attack.  They squeeze their prey to death with their legs, so it’s typically small animals or bugs.”

“Was that thing dangerous?”

“Hardly,” said Kaplen. “It doesn’t have any venom, and I think it might be an endangered species. There are only so many of them in the world today. They like cold dark places.”

“How big can they get?” Asked Tom, suppressing a shudder. He could just imagine one large enough that it could wrap itself all the way around his body and squeeze like a boa constrictor.

“I don’t know how big they can get. I haven’t seen a Ki’o spider in years, but I would think that they can get pretty big,” he turned and started walking back down the hall. Tom followed him closely, “do they make webs and stuff?” 

“I don’t know. Why?”

“Because I walked into a big, nasty web before I felt that thing crawl up my arm and onto my body. I was wondering if they make webs, I would like to avoid having another one on me.” Tom shivered.

Kaplen chuckled. “I see what you mean, but I don’t think they make webs… that might have been a real spider’s web you walked into. The Ki’o actually chases its food and grabs it. Once they have it they don’t let go until its dead.”

Tom shivered at this bizarre exchange in information and felt a rush of dread at what they could see next

“How old did you say this house was?”

“It’s old. Very, very old.”

“How old?”

“You certainly have a lot of questions, Mr. Hoffman,” stated Kaplen as he rounded a corner. “I’ve already told you how some of the rooms in this house were constructed by different family members at different times. Some parts of this house are twenty years old and others are more than a hundred years old. The Fantas Estate is constantly growing and expanding with each generation. One day Brian will be the master of the manner and he will add something special on to the house that will make it unique and interesting” Kaplen reached over and placed his index finger on the wall beside him. Tom watched as the bodyguard continued to walk forward into the darkness.

“So then there is no real answer to the question. The house is old and young, is that what you’re getting at?” Kaplen turned to face Tom with an approving smile.

“Well observed, Mr. Hoffman. But there is an answer,” said Kaplen. “The Fantas Family in general has been on this earth for centuries. The oldest part of the manor is nearly four hundred years old, this place dates back to the continental wars, and the day King Nel left with his people into the sea,” Kaplen stopped and looked at the two hallways in front of him. He didn’t quite know where to go from here. A tunnel ran to the right and the left. Tom couldn’t see Kaplen completely, but he knew that the bodyguard was having trouble with the direction. Both hallways appeared to stretch into eternity. The sound of pipes cracking was herd down each of them. The weird smell of salt water began to fill the air all around the tunnels. Occasionally the distant and unsettling sound of the powerful surf could be heard from overhead, echoing through the pipes they now stood in.

After a few minute of waiting Tom finally spoke up, “So, which way do we go from here? Is there a sign we can follow?”

Kaplen could hear the concern in Tom’s voice. He turned around and looked at the school teacher in the eyes. “There are a lot of the secret passageways under the Fantas House, but some are not secret passage ways at all. We have to be careful which way we go and which door we open.”

“What do you mean?” Tom was growing a little fearful.

“A lot of the tunnels that we think are secret tunnels are really huge water pipes that lead to the ocean. It’s one way in which the foundation of this house has lasted so long. A lot of the sea water that could have destroyed it years ago is being diverted back into the ocean. If we open the wrong hatch it will sink part of the Fantas House into the earth and, undoubtedly, kill us.” Kaplen turned and started walking down the left tunnel. He still kept his finger on the wall as he went along. His voice sang out lightly. He was humming a tune that Tom did not recognize.

Tom followed him, “wait just a minute, so what you are saying it that we are in a giant death maze, looking for Mr. Tash?”

“No, we are not in a death maze,” stated Kaplen firmly. He was getting sick of hearing Tom’s voice every three minutes. “Stop dramatizing every little thing we come across. The tunnels are easy to navigate, if you know what you are doing… you just need to know what to look for, that’s all.”

“Do you know what to look for?”

“I think so.” 

“Great!” said Tom sarcastically. “Just great!”

The two men pressed onward for what seemed like hours. In the darkness they seemed to turn and walk in all directions. They went left for a while then found another turn and went right for a while. The sounds of small creatures running along the floor at their feet were heard as they passed through a small chamber. Toms mind seemed to drift all over the place. He thought about the day’s events. He thought about Runts death. He thought about god and religion. He thought about hell and darkness. He thought about all these things and more as he followed the bodyguard deeper into the tunnels of the Fantas Estate. It was situations like these that got the creative juices flowing. Each new idea led to another avenue of thought and deception. Strange questions and feelings began to rise in Tom’s mind; questions that he had never considered before. It wasn’t until they came to the first hatch that Kaplen broke the silence. He sounded very serious.

“I think this is the door we take.”

Tom looked at the rusty old thing. It looked traitorous and old. The smell of sea water could be sensed coming from beyond its cracks. “how does one tell if a hatch has water behind it or not? Are there any signs to look out for?”

Kaplen reached out and gripped the door. He placed his ear on the cold, hard, metal and listened patiently. After a few minute he pulled away and looked over to Tom. He smiled really big and scooted closer to the door, “one can tell if there is water behind a door by doing this” the bodyguard grabbed the circular hatch and turned it quickly; He threw open the hatch and stood back. Tom’s heart almost jumped out of his chest. He braced himself for a wall of water to jump out from the threshold and smash his body, throwing it in every direction, just like the tidal sink hole had done to him just that morning. Kaplen let out a deep, throaty laugh as he saw Tom’s expression.

“Calm down Mr. Hoffman, it’s only another hallway, nothing to get excited about.” Kaplen’s voice sounded oddly cheery.

“I thought that....” Tom trailed off, looking down the dark hallway before him.

“You though that this door had water behind it, because you could smell it, right?” Kaplen leaned over and looked through the large hatch threshold before them.

“That’s why you don’t follow your nose down here.” Kaplen stepped into the circular passageway. “If you follow your nose, you’ll wind up dead. All the hatch doors to the tunnels have the same scent. The whole foundation is made up of the large pipes we’re walking through right now. Some have water in them and some don’t.

“So, is there a way to tell which door is safe?”

Kapeln continued to walk into the abyss with a smug look on his face. When the large man gave no response Tom asked again

“How can you know which ones have water behind them?”

“Well instead of using your nose, Mr. Hoffman, try using your ears.”

“Were you listening for water before you opened the hatch back there?”

 “That’s right. It’s hard to tell because the doors are so thick and there are no air pockets so actually hearing any sort of echoing or movement of the water can be tricky.

Tom placed his cold hands inside his pockets and breathed out a sigh. He listened passively to the echoes of their footfalls bounce off the inside of the large pipe-tunnel they were walking through. It felt colder by the second and Tom felt as if Kaplen were giving him the grand tour of a meat locker. He was half expecting to run into some dead animal carcass along the way. Tom hated the thought of them being in a meat locker. He had seen a documentary on channel 17 of meat lockers in Aggerton. All the precious cattle would be loaded into the grad ‘A’ slaughterhouse via a big open industrial door. Men in white rubber suits would then strap the dumb creatures down with big heavy chains, and when they weren’t looking they would auger out there brains with a giant ceiling tool to kill them. Once they were dead their bodies were sent down the line for processing and cleaning. The funny thing about it all is that the cattle before them didn’t seem to mind the killing. As soon as one of the creatures was dead another took its place.

Life can be so cruel, thought Tom. One minute you’re alive and well; the next you’re getting your brain ripped out and your skin peeled off. He reached up and fought off a cold chill that was running down his spine. He rubbed his arms with his hands for a while and breathed in and out slowly. His heart rate and circulation seemed like they were falling. Tom couldn’t tell if it was the atmosphere that was making him shake, or his grim thoughts. Everything was mixing together.

“I don’t want to be here anymore,” whined Tom, the frustration in his voice escalating.

Kaplen stopped abruptly and turned around. The sudden action was so fluid that Tom almost walked right into the bodyguards large frame. He had to side step just to miss the big guy. Kaplen was now string at him through the darkness. His eyes were like to dark pools of hatred. It was as if Kaplen had changed into some terrible beast, “Listen here you little prick, because I am only going to say this once, I don’t want you here any more then you want to be here. If it were up to me, I would have killed you and your little gay friends the moment they stepped into this house. You guys seem to disrupt the natural order of the  fantas house. You guys are like a disease,” he lifted a finger and shoved it into Tom’s chest, “the reason I haven’t killed you yet was because Mr. Tash sees a business opportunity in you and your company.”

“It’s not my company” mumbled Tom.

“It is now,” Kaplen smiled, “your friend made a deal with the devil… and it involves you and this map in a big way” he patted his suit coat pocket with the map in it, “I can’t say that the end will be what you wanted.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll see Mr. Hoffman, you’ll see.” Kaplen turned and started back down the hallway. Tom was going to call out to him when there came an eerie scream from behind. It sounded distant and muffled, as if someone were desperately yelling for help under-water. The strange voice seemed to bounce off all the walls and then fell quiet. Kaplen stopped abruptly and turned around. He looked over at Tom. The school teacher was looking down the hall where the scream had come from. The air gradually got colder as a cool wind picked up from the tunnels ahead. 

“What was that?”

Tom looked over to Kaplen and shrugged his shoulders.

“Did you–” Kaplen was cut off in mid sentence as the tunnels around them began to vibrate slowly. The sound of rushing water could be heard coming from down the hall. moisture began to splash across their cheeks and clothes.

“I think something happened?” stated Tom.

“Run!” yelled Kaplen over the roar.

Chapter Twenty-Four: All Downhill From Here

          Fred Sullen stared out over the wide yard of the Fantas Estate. He walked back and forth through the bushes on the outer rim of the mansion, mumbling to himself as he thought about his situation with his partner, Greg. The guy was a complete moron, he couldn’t do anything right. He was selfish and stupid and egotistical.

“How does an overweight jerk like that even get on the force, let alone stay on it for so long? Some things in life are just plain mysterious.” Fred kicked a rock at his feet and bit his bottom lip. “Does he have to condescend every time we talk? Does he have to call me ‘rookie’ and ‘kid’ and ‘boy’ and ‘coppling’?” Fred felt like yelling his frustration to the high heavens. He had been in a car with this guy for what seemed like an eternity.

It was so uncomfortable being around Greg, it felt like torture. Fred groaned to himself, he had always envisioned hell as a place with fire and brimstone. Boy, was he wrong. Hell was nowhere near that ugly description. Hell was right there in the undercover cop car.

Fred could almost hear the words of the other cops down at the Aggerton Police Station. They would all be having a hay day with this particular assignment given to him and Greg; he could almost see them all standing by the water cooler, talking a hole through their cheeks and gums about this situation. As a matter-of-fact, he could almost hear their satirical comments echoing inside his skull right now. He could almost see their puny little faces as he walked into the police department. They would be saying things like, “Hey ‘Big F’! How does it feel to be on a stakeout with a prehistoric dinosaur?” or something like, “Hey, Fred! Did Grandpa Greg teach you the ropes while you were out there? Did he show you how to be a big boy cop?”

I am never going to live this down, thought Fred. I will always be the one that Greg Times destroyed. He is going to take me, like a towel, and rub his bad reputation all over me until it stays. I am doomed. I am going to have to transfer my papers to Babington. Fred lifted his hands and ran his stocky fingers through his hair.

“I wish that bloody old cop would just let me do my own thing for once. I wish he would just let me get in a little sleep now and then. Is that too much to ask?”

Fred stopped pacing and looked out over the back yard again. Everything was quiet and still. Dark shadows littered the grass at odd angles. A cool breeze picked up from the Northeast and blew across the treetops and bushes. The smell of the sea floored Fred’s senses and brought to his mind better times. The wonderful sensation was like aromatherapy to his beaten and depressed soul. Fred thought about his days on the beach up in Northern Trenton. He would camp up there for days and weeks on end. In the mornings he would surf until the sun went down and the moon came up. Those were the happiest times of his adult life, or so it seemed. Those were the memories he could get lost in, especially when his companion was being a complete moron.

Fred stationed his feet far apart and spread his hands out wide to keep his balance. He closed his eyes and imagined that he was actually catching a big wave into the white sandy beach. The wind was blowing through his long brown hair and the sea was pressing up against his feet. He could almost feel the board vibrate as it shifted in all directions as it rode the powerful surf. Fred looked up and was going to wave to some hot girls on the shore when a burst of cold water hit him in the face and threw him off balance. He opened his eyes quickly and staggered back. His face was dripping with real moisture. The sudden presence of it caught him off guard. 

“What the heck?!” said Fred as he lifted a hand and wiped himself off. He looked around the yard and noticed that the sprinklers were now on and turning in regular cycles. He walked to a different part of the grass that wasn’t being soaked at the moment. He spat out a wad of spit and tried to relax his shoulders. The cold water on his face had been a cruel way to pull him out of his daydream. I bet those sprinklers are working for Greg Times somehow, thought Fred. I bet he was the one that turned them on and told them to wet me.

Fred was going to head back to the police car when he spotted a shadowy figure staggering across the south wing of the lawn. From the angle at which he was standing, it looked as if the person were injured. Fred smiled at this and got behind a big bush. He waited patiently for the person to get close. This could be our big chance, he thought. This could actually be the guy that will help pull me out of this stagnate hell that I am in right now.

*          *          *

Bob grabbed his knees and hobbled cautiously to the outer lines of the mansion. He was trying to be careful not to attract any more attention to himself. He needed to get away from the Fantas Estate as quickly as possible. All hell had broken loose back in Tom’s bedroom, and no doubt, Mr. Tash would be sending his bodyguards and staff to wipe him out completely. Bob kept looking behind to see if that crazy, gun wielding maniac was following. Luckily for him, the bodyguard wasn’t daring enough to jump out the window and onto the lawn like he was. If Kaplen had followed, there was no telling what could have happened. They would probably both be dead by now.

“Good riddance to you all!” Bob cleared his throat. “You bunch of WOG’s!’”  His chest was pumping and his breathing was heavy. His left hand was bleeding badly and throbbing in pain. I’ll just find a safe place back at the company, thought Bob. I’ll just go back to the company and find a chair and sit down in it and sort through the damages of tonight. They might have the star map in their possession again but now we have a copy of it. They might try and find me, but I have their top secret papers resting in the folds of my jacket. If they try to harm me in any way, these files go straight to the authorities. It will be game over then. It will be the end of the Fantas Estate then. We have the upper-hand in this cheese match.

Bob reached down with his good hand and rubbed his hamstrings for a minute. He had pulled them terribly when he had hit the ground back there. With every stride he took, it felt like someone was stabbing him in the back of the leg with a steak knife. His whole body ached with fatigue and sweat. All he needed right now was a nice hot shower and a deep rest. As a matter-of-fact all he wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep. He had been working on and off like this for a week straight.

Bob cringed and looked down at his bloody hand. There was a weird burning sensation taking place now in between the metacarpals. It felt as if someone had dropped a hot coal into his palm. He held the nasty looking appendage up into the light so that he could get a better view of the gore. There was a big gaping hole just under the joint of the thumb. Bob almost passed out when he saw the wound and brought his hand back down to his side. He didn’t want to look at it anymore.

What the heck am I going to tell the doctor when he sees this thing? What the heck am I going to tell Ruler when he hears about what happened tonight? I am going to be on the hit list of two very powerful people.

He approached the edge of the bushes. He was going to leave when a man in dark clothing jumped out and blocked his mode of escape. He was holding a badge and a gun.

“APD! Freeze, dirt bag!”

Bob staggered forward and tripped over a big tree root sticking out of the ground in front of him. Both his legs gave out from under him as he flew forward straight into the chest of the Aggerton cop. They collided into each other and hit the ground in a mass of limbs. 

Fred could feel the air leave his lungs as Bob crashed into his rib cage. Each man struggled to gain control of the situation. After a few moments of wrestling, Fred found a weak spot on Bob’s left hand and used it to his advantage. He grabbed the wound and squeezed as tightly as he possibly could. Bob let out a yell and rolled over onto his side. Hot salty tears were now coming to his eyes. His whole arm was screaming out with pain now. It felt as if a car had run it over.

Fred was holding him at bay now. He turned the man over and put a knee on his back.

“What the heck are you doing!?” yelled Bob between clinched teeth; he was in so much pain right now. “I am innocent! I have done nothing wrong!”  His left ear was now resting in the dirt. He was kicking his legs in protest. He wanted to break free. He wanted to go home. He wanted this crazy night to end.

“I am subduing you for questioning,” stated Fred as he stood up and shifted so his foot was resting on Bob’s back. He brushed himself off and stretched his shoulders. His breath was coming in and out wildly, just like the pistons of an engine.

“I am guilty of nothing,” yelled Bob. “I’ll get my lawyer on you. You had better let me go, or you’ll be sorry! I swear I’ll—”

“Shut it!”

“I am innocent!”

“Well if you’re as innocent as you say you are then you won’t mind me searching your person for any items that might convict you,” Fred bent down over Bob and fumbled through his pants pockets for any incriminating evidence. Bob struggled a little as his pockets were searched.

“You’re a freakin’ moron, you know that? You don’t even know who you are messing with! I have people on my side that could eat you for breakfast. I have people that could make you disappear!”

“Shut it, jail bait!” said Fred as he moved from Bob’s pockets to the inside of his white catering coat. As he did this, Bob go stiff; the cop was sure to find the papers he had taken from the Fantas House, and once he found them, he was sure he was going to pin that evidence on him. He had to be stopped, he had to get away.

Fred was patting around the man’s chest and ribcage when he suddenly jerked away and started for the road. The action was quick, but not quick enough. Fred leapt out and grabbed the man by the collar. He pressed him to the ground and then turned him over. He was going to yell at the idiot when Bob suddenly kicked up at his groin. Fred saw the motion but was too late to react. He doubled over in pain and fell backwards as Bob’s shoe pounded him hard.

Bob smiled and came to his feet.

“Sorry about this, copper.” He chuckled for a bit, Fred looked like he was about to barf. “But it appears that this man is about to leave the station.” Bob was feeling empowered now; he had overcome his enemy. He walked over and kicked the worthless cop square in the forehead. Fred let out a groan as his left eyelid split in two and splattered blood everywhere. His world was spinning in and out, in and out. He puked on the grass.

Bob watched the beaten cop for a minute. He was completely amused at his suffering.

“If this is how tough the APD is, it’s no wonder crime is soaring in Aggerton. You guys are complete pushovers!” He kicked Fred in the ribs but this time not so hard; it was more of a playful gesture. Bob was going to turn and leave the pitiful cop when something hard struck the back of his head. It felt like his whole brain had exploded inside his head. The taste of blood filled his mouth and his vision went black. In seconds he dropped to the ground completely unconscious.

*      *      *

Greg Times stood over Bob and rubbed his knuckles with satisfaction. He looked at the unconscious miscreant with utter triumph and pride. He had done a wonderful job of sneaking up on the lousy, no-good crook. The idiot didn’t even know what had hit him just then; criminals can be so dumb sometimes. Greg chuckled at this and looked over to his partner lying in the cool grass. Dirt and small twigs were now sticking to his face and hair. Blood was trickling down his eye and cheeks and mixing with the dirt. He looked like he was in bad shape. He looked like he had fallen out of the ugly tree.

Ah, rookies, thought Greg. They think that they can break the rules and get away with it. They think that they can do things their way and that everything is going to work out just peachy. I hope Fred learned something from this whole ordeal tonight. I hope he learns that no one is exempt from the rules of the force, not even rookies. I hope he learns that listening to me is one of the best things he could ever do. Greg walked over to Fred and helped him to a seated position. He looked like he was still in a lot of pain. His eyes were rolling all over the place inside his skull. To Greg, he reminded him of a mindless zombie; the only thing missing was the desire for human flesh. 

“I hate it when criminals don’t play fair,” mumbled Fred, he tried to swallow the lump of spit forming in his throat. “I hate it.”

Greg smiled and patted his companion on the back. He was going to be as sympathetic as humanly possible to his friends’ situation.

“Well, Fred, you’re going to have to expect that sort of stuff on the job… criminals don’t play fare, as a matter-of-fact, it’s in their nature to not play fair. They will do anything to get you, that’s why you have to be focused and ready for anything that happens.”

“Shut up, Greg, I don’t need your advice!”

Greg pulled his hand away and looked over to Bob. Fred could be a real hot-headed jerk when it came down to it, he really could. Greg let out a big breath.

“Why was this little dolt trying to get away?”

“I don’t know,” said Fred as he slowly came to a standing position. His head was still spinning from the blow that Bob had given him a few minutes ago. “I was just trying to search him when he went all wild like that.” He held up a hand and rubbed his swollen eye socket. It felt like someone had shoved a massive ping pong ball under his skin. He was beginning to feel sick again. It felt like all the blood in his head had seeped out from his swollen face. He sat back down on the ground and tried to control his breathing. The last thing he wanted to do was puke again.

Greg walked over to the unconscious man and knelt down.

“He would have to be hiding something pretty bad if he fought that hard to get away. Innocent people don’t just fight back like that. Innocent people respect the law.” Greg ran his hands through the unconscious man’s pockets. He patted his sides and arms. When he came to the chest he pulled out the papers and examined them closely in the soft light. His eyes slowly lit up as he read each line of the crinkled documents. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Everything that they needed to convict Mr. Tash of his crimes was all there in black and white. He felt like shouting, he felt like running and dancing. He felt alive!

“What did you find?” asked Fred. He could just make out that Greg was holding something in his hands. “What is that stuff?”

Greg turned and smiled. His hands were shaking with excitement; he looked like a kid at Christmas.

“This stuff is what we have been waiting for, Fred, for so long. It’s the evidence we need to convict Mr. Fantas of his illegal trading. It’s all here, I can’t believe it’s all here!”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I am serious.” He held up the papers. “It’s all here in black and white. Mr. Fantas signature’s are all over the place.” He looked down at Bob. “We need to contact the station and prepare for the raid of the Fantas Estate.” He threw out a hand and pointed to the Fantas Estate in the distance. “I want this place full of police by morning, I want to have that no-good crook convicted by sundown. I want justice!”

“What was this guy doing with those papers outside the house?” asked Fred with puzzlement. “It doesn’t make sense why he would do that. Why would he send them with this guy? For a man as smart as Tash to do something like this is, well, stupid! There has to be a trap in it all, it can’t be this easy!” He staggered to his feet again and held his sides. The nausea was slowly going away.

Greg shook his head.

“I don’t know, maybe he’s one of Tash’s go-to men, maybe he’s just an errand boy, but whatever he is, we’re going to find out soon. Let’s take him to the station and get what we need.” He grabbed Bob by the shoulders and pulled him up to a seated position. “I want everything to go smoothly for tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“Because tomorrow we make history!”

Fred hated the drama oozing from his partners lips. Greg always made things sound more exciting than they actually were.

“Give me a hand here.”

Fred walked over and helped Greg haul the unconscious man to the squad car.  

 

Chapter Twenty-Three: Just Missed Me

          Bob put away his cell phone and stared at the star map lying on top of the red satin sheets. A triumphant smile crossed his face. He was no longer in deep trouble with his boss, no longer in danger of being killed and thrown into the sea. He was a free man right now, his perseverance and quick thinking had paid off. I am a genius, thought Bob, an absolute prodigy to the sneaky craft. I think I deserve a raise for being so daring and forthright. Any other man would have cracked under the pressure, but not me, not this man… I was calm, cool and collected the whole time. I saw the prize and seized it like the last slice of apple pie.

Bob chuckled at his own wit. It had all been by blind luck that he had found Tom’s room and the map. Skill and talent had nothing to do with it. He had found the strange star map under Tom’s pillow, but only after making a mess of the luxurious bedroom. He had thrown Mr. Hoffman’s jeans and t-shirt on the ground and had pulled off the fluffy white down comforter. He had mixed up the linins and sheets and checked under the mattress and the bed. For a while it seemed that he wouldn’t find the map, but his determination paid off. A worn corner of a sturdy piece of paper was sticking out from underneath one of the pillows and Bob had seized it brusquely and, at the same time whipped out his phone and dialed his boss. 

The maid, who had fixed the whole room, had to watch painfully as Bob tore apart every piece of the bed; all her labors of the day seemed to fly right out the window. It was enraging to watch, but there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. She felt trapped and helpless as her captor singlehandedly destroyed the beautiful and meticulous work she had put into making the room beautiful. Here she was, leading a complete stranger around the Fantas House in hopes that he wouldn’t kill or hurt her once he got what he wanted. Well, she had lived up to her end of the bargain, and it seemed, that she was getting the shaft.

Bob leaned over the map and examined it more closely. His eyes ran over the bright white dots on the surface of the impenetrable fibers. The whole dark canvas looked like someone had sprinkled a jug of bleach on it. How does anyone read this thing, thought Bob? It looks like it’s been run through the wash a few times. Bob noticed that there was a bigger, brighter white dot in the corner of the map. It was about the size of a small coin and had sharp points coming out of it.

“What the heck is this thing and how is it supposed to get us to the island?” He ran his finger over the big dot. It felt smooth and tough. Bob started to fold it back into the little square that he had found it in, turning to the maid he gave her a sly, almost devilish look. He still needed to take care of her before he left the Fantas House for good. No one could ever know that he was here. No one could ever know that he was the one that had taken the map. The maid was a loose-end that needed to be tied up. He would have to do it quickly.

The maid was in complete shock still. She couldn’t believe how inconsiderate Bob was being right now. The man had totally desecrated the room with which she had spent hours vacuuming and dusting. He was a slob and needed to leave right this instant. She would not stand for uncleanliness. She had done her part; it was time for him to leave.

“Sorry about the mess,” said Bob as he noticed the maid’s indignant expression. “That’s just the collateral that comes with my job. I run into heaps of collaterals and loose ends in this job… as you can very well see, and sometimes…” He pause and thought about his words carefully. “You just can’t avoid getting your hands dirty.” He walked over to her slowly. He was trying to be casual. He didn’t want her to run before it was time, that would make more work for him, and he hated the thought of using up more energy than was necessary. He wanted to play it off like it was cool, and that nothing was going to happen.

The maid watched him approach with disgust. She resisted the urge to run and hide. She wanted to punch the idiot in the face for underestimating her. She hated it when people thought she was stupid and didn’t know what was going on. She hated it when people made prodigious assumptions about who she was as an individual. If this stranger thinks he can walk on me, he has another thing coming, thought the maid. She balled her hands into fists and bit her bottom lip.

Bob didn’t seem to notice her emotional rage as he confronted her; she was hiding it semi-well behind here long black hair and deep brown eyes.

“Is there an easy way out of this place?” Bob looked around the room. His eyes fell on the open balcony in the corner. The doors were open and the wind was blowing gently through the burgundy drapes. In the distance the sound of the birthday party could be heard. People were talking and laughing. The band was playing softly. Bob looked back over to the maid. “Is there a back door or do I have to use the window?”

“Yes. You shouldn’t go back through the house,” said the maid in an attempt to finally be rid of the man. Bob could see the hatred burning in her eyes now. He stopped his approach and tried to sound a little more sympathetic.

“Hey, look, I am sorry about the room, but if you show me a way out of here you won’t have to look at my face again…” He smiled. “I promise you, you won’t even know I was here. You can go back to doing whatever it is that you do around here and just forget about me.” Bob kept his distance. He tried to look friendly. “You see, I can be a reasonable guy… now that I have what I want, no one has to get hurt. We can just go one living our lives.”

The maid wasn’t buying his sweet-talk. She was still as mad as fire. Her nails were beginning to dig deep into her palms.

“You are going to pay for this. Mr. Tash will hunt you down and kill you… no one can get away from him.”

“I am pretty sure I can.” Bob patted the chest of his catering coat. “I have a few documents here I found in the boarding office that will have Mr. Tash eating from the palm of my hand. Once he sees what I have, he’ll call off the hounds. He’ll do it or all this information will go to the cops,” said Bob with confidence. “Now, show me the way out of here and we’ll call it a day.” Bob paused and shook his head. “Better yet, just hand over that map thing you were looking at in the hall a few minutes ago, and we both can go our separate ways. You can go back to cleaning rooms for the rest of your adult life, and I can go get that raise that I am in much need of. ”

The maid put her hands over her pockets and shook her head firmly. She was determined not to give Bob a single thing more. The wretched man would need to find his own way out of the house. Plus, giving away her map to this friend would only tell Mr. Tash that she had helped him escape. It would mean death for her. She had to hold her ground now.  

“No I can’t do that…”

Bob was getting fed up.

“Well then, I am afraid you leave me no other choice. I am going to have to kill you.”

He was about to lunge forward when the door to the room swung open and smashed into the wall. The force of it caused some of the paintings to shudder and hit the floor. Bob and the maid turned quickly to see what was going one. Both of their expressions changed as they made eye contact with the large man standing in the threshold. He was wearing black aviator sunglasses and had a red rose resting in his suit coat pocket. Behind him stood another man who Bob recognized immediately; it was Tom, who looked stunned at the scene in front of him.

* * *

Kaplen gave the intruder a stone-hard stare. His jaw muscles were twitching now with excitement and adrenaline. He had not seen action like this in the Fantas House in a long, long time. And now that it was here, he almost couldn’t control himself. He saw Bob only as a sheet of paper set up for target practice. He saw Bob as the most unlucky person on the planet right now. He was going to make this moron suffer. He was going to smear this chump’s blood all over the walls and ceilings. He was going to pull his spine out from his mouth and beat his lifeless corps with it. He was going to see blood and a whole lot of it; at this thought Kaplen’s expression changed. A slight grin crossed his face as madness set in. He liked the thought of gore and carnage.

“Oh, you’re in trouble now,” said the maid. “Kaplen is going to rip you apart!” She was going to walk over to the bodyguard when Bob seized her from behind. The maid struggled and screamed. She tried kicking and clawing at her captor but to no avail. Bob wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her close to his body. He began to back up slowly. His heart was beating at a hundred miles an hour. He had gotten caught again. 

“Let her go,” said Kaplen softly.

“No!” yelled Bob. He pressed his cheek up against her hair.

“This is your last chance to let her go.”

Tom stepped out from behind Kaplen. The image of Runt’s death was replaying over and over in his head. Bob was the one that had pushed them off the cliff. He had made their day a living hell.

“Let her go, Bob. It’s over, you’re caught.” He was going to get a little closer when Kaplen’s hand fell over his chest and pushed him back.

“Stay out of this, Mr. Hoffman,” said Kaplen firmly. “Bob, here, is going to have to get through me.”

“You’re in trouble now. Kaplen is going to kill you. It doesn’t matter what information you have, you are never going to leave this house alive,” said the maid through clinched teeth. She was still trying to break free.

Bob was getting sick of hearing her childish voice.

“Shut up, you bloody wog, no one wants to hear from a wog!” He took a few more steps back. He gripped the star map tightly in his left hand and held it behind his back. He needed to find a way out of the house. He needed to escape and get back to his boss.

Kaplen reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out his chrome revolver. He pointed it at Bob and smiled patiently.

“Put down the map, Bob.” He put his finger on the trigger. “Put down the map.”

“Don’t shoot me!” yelled the maid.

“Shut up!” yelled Bob. He was trying to think.

Kaplen fired a round at the feet of Bob and the maid. Both of them jumped and screamed. Bob held even tighter to the maid.

“Are you crazy!?”

“Yep,” said Kaplen. He pointed the gun back at Bob’s head. “Hand over the map, and whatever else you have in your possession.” He held out his free hand in an obvious gesture; he wanted what Bob had stolen from the house and bedroom. “That was a warning shot I gave you. The next one won’t be a warning shot; the next one will the killing shot. The next one will be right between your eyes.”
            “You don’t mean that.”

“Don’t shoot me!” yelled the maid.

“Oh, I mean it,” said Kaplen and the smile from his face disappeared suddenly. He hated it when people didn’t believe him. He was going to make this chump see the error in his ways. “I always mean what I say.”

“You wouldn’t shoot your own worker.”

“Is that a risk you are willing to take?” asked Kaplen slyly. “I am a Fantas, I’ll shoot whatever and whoever I please.”

“Don’t shoot me!” yelled the maid again. Tears were coming to her eyes and running down her cheeks now. She knew Kaplen’s nature. She knew that he rarely lied about things like this. “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”

Bob was growing uneasy with every protest from the maid. She was acting like Kaplen was really going to shoot the both of them. She was acting like they both were about to die.

“Shut up!” he yelled in the maid’s ear. “Just, shut up and let me think for a minute!” He looked back over to Kaplen. The bodyguard’s expression was still stone-hard. He looked like he meant business.

“The heck with you!” yelled Bob. “I have a boss that will do far worse to me if I don’t get him this map. Far worse!” He started shuffling awkwardly with the maid towards the balcony. His heart was still pounding in his chest and sweat began to bead his forehead.

Kaplen smiled slightly. It was obvious that Bob wasn’t going to go quietly. He had followed Mr. Tash’s rules of engagement; he had done the verbal protocol, now it was time to act. He reached into his suit coat again and pulled out another chrome revolver. He pulled back the hammers of both guns and took aim.

“I can see that you want to make things difficult. You have a nice day!”

“No!” yelled the maid.

Bob’s composure failed him as he saw the madness in Kaplen’s eyes. This man wasn’t kidding when he said he would kill the both of them.

“Crap!” said Bob as he threw the maid to one side and bolted for the balcony at full speed. Kaplen started to laugh as a dozen .44 bullets left the barrels of the guns. Fire and smoke filled the air all around the bodyguard. Paintings and bits wallpaper were blasted into shreds and fell to the floor as hot led tore through them. An uncontrollable surge flashed through Kaplen and caused his brain to shut down and his instincts to kick in. He was no longer human it seemed. He bolted after Bob. His fingers were still alive on the triggers. Screams and chaos broke out all over.

Bob could see his short, pathetic life flash before his eyes as a jolt of pain shot through his left hand. He screamed out wildly as the star map fell to the ground and landed on the floor. Bullets continued to spray passed his body from behind. Pain and discomfort tore through his legs and arms. Bob reached the balcony and leaped with all his might into the still night air. For a minute it seemed like he could fly. It seemed like he would just sail away into the night air, then he hit the ground and tumbled head over heels for what seemed like an eternity. The cool crisp grass crunched softly under his weight. 

Kaplen let one more shot ring out over the night sky. He stood on the balcony and watched as Bob Morgan came to his feet and gimped away as quickly as he could. The smell of the long dark ocean flooded Kaplen’s mind as he turned and walked back into the house. The barrels of his guns were now piping hot and smoking. He was calm and cool. He looked over to Tom who was now lying on the ground with his hands over his head. He looked as if he were taking cover from an earthquake.

“He got away,” stated Kaplen. “What are the odds?” He walked over to Mr. Hoffman and kicked him softly in the side. Tom looked up. His eyes were wide and frantic. He pushed himself up off the ground and brushed himself off.

“What the heck were you thinking?”

Kaplen laughed.

“I was hoping to shoot his legs out from under him. Mr. Tash usually likes to talk to the spies that enter his house illegally. We haul them down to the basement for deep questioning. Once I saw he was going to make it to the balcony, I tried to go for more of a body shot, but it was too late by then.” He looked over to the balcony. “He won’t get far. Aggerton is a little city in Mr. Tash’s book. He has a lot of friends on the inside of everything. That Bob character won’t last a day. I’ll have a hit on him by tomorrow. His body will wash up somewhere up North, in Trenton or somewhere.”

Tom stood up.

“Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?” He looked around the room at all the massive holes in the walls. It looked as if someone had taken a metal ramming rod and jammed it into all the fixtures and paintings. There was a jagged outline of bullets from where Bob was standing all the way to the window. The place was a mess, an absolute mess.

“What if you had missed and hit the girl, Kaplen?” asked Tom.

Kaplen shrugged his shoulders and looked over to the maid. She was now on her hands and knees crying over all the damages done to the bedroom. She looked as if she was about to go into shock. This sight was quite amusing for Kaplen for some reason. He tried to keep from laughing as he explained himself.

“She doesn’t seem to even care about that right now, Mr. Hoffman. She seems more upset about the mess than her life being taken.” Kaplen said as the maid clutched at the smoking burgundy drapes and continued to sob. He ignored her and walked over to the far wall and picked up the star map lying on the ground. He examined it for any damages or frays. It appeared to be in one piece, which surprised Kaplen. He had thought he had hit the thing dead on during the encounter.

“How did your little friend know that we have the map? How did he get in here?”

“What?”

Kaplen turned.

“How did Bob know you were here?”

“I don’t know,” said Tom. “Maybe he just overheard us talking about it somewhere. I don’t know how.”

Kaplen looked incredulously over at Tom. Everything that was coming out of his mouth seemed suspicious and dodgy. It felt as if the man was hiding something from him. The Fantas House was quiet and still before Tom and his friends had shown up. No spies had shown up until they had come.

“How did he survive the fall from the balcony?” asked Tom.

“He rolled when he hit the ground.”

“He rolled?”

“Yes, he rolled.”

“Oh.” Tom shifted on his feet. “That’s amazing.”

“We have to get back to Mr. Tash and tell him the news.” Kaplen placed the star map in his pocket and walked over to the far side of the room. Grabbing the dark nightstand, he tipped it over so that the wooden structure hit the floor with a bang and slid a few feet to the left.

“I can’t believe he survived the jump,” said Tom as he made his way over to where Kaplen stood. “The balcony must be at least thirty feet off the ground.” His stomach began to churn with vertigo as he thought about jumping off a tall building like the Fantas House. It seemed like a suicide mission. “It would have killed any other man.”

Kaplen was on his hands and knees now feeling around the floor for something. He pulled back the red rug and was examining the floorboards. He gripped the baseboard and ran his palm along it.

“Well, at least that Bob character didn’t leave here without a souvenir.” He looked up at Tom and smiled. “I put quite the hole in that pretty little hand of his. That will make it easier to find him in the city later.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m looking for a door.”

Tom bent over and examined the floorboard.

“You’re looking for a door? I can’t see a door.”

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be.” Kaplen was going to slide his hand further under the rug when his cell phone went off. The young bodyguard sat up and pulled the thing from his pocket. He hit the “talk” button on it and spoke into the receiver.

“Talk to me.” He paused as the person on the other end spoke. “Why, hello sir. It’s nice to speak to you too.”

Tom couldn’t hear the other person on the phone. All he could hear was mumbling; occasionally Kaplen would grunt and give a response. The bodyguard was smiling as he gave his account of what had just happened in Tom’s room. The person on the other end didn’t seem quite as amused as Kaplen was. After a few minutes Kaplen hung up and looked over to Tom.

“That was Mr. Tash. He wanted to know what was taking us so long. So I told him about the delays in the nightmare halls and about Bob. I can say that he wasn’t too happy to hear about Bob. He wants a full blown hit on the man before the night is done. It might take awhile to settle this matter, but mark my words, it will be settled. Mr. Tash always gets what he wants in the end. Always.” Kaplen gripped something under the rug and pulled up on it. The floor around the wall began to crack and move revealing a small wooden passage. “During the construction of this house, they installed emergency exits throughout the whole basement. These tunnels should lead us to Mr. Tash’s office, that is, if we find the right tunnels.”

“Be sure to come back and put more holes in the walls if you can!” screamed the maid angrily from behind. “You’re idiots! I work all day and clean up your messes. I am through with it!”

Kaplen turned and gave her a hard stare.

“I am not in the mood right now, Elly. Just pick up what you can of this place and go to bed. Me and Tom, here, need to go. We’ll talk about your punishment later.”

“I don’t care what you do to me,” said the maid. She plopped down on the ground and folded her arms. “You can shut up for all I care.” She wanted vindication more than she wanted anything else in the whole world.

Kaplen ignored her and walked into the open passage. Tom followed his lead and closed the wooden door behind him and in minutes everything was quiet again.