Purge of Babylon (Book 8): The Horns of Avalon Read online

  “Hey, what’s that?” Keo said, and pointed at a random spot on the ground.

  The man predictably turned his head to look, and when he did, Keo punched him in the face. Of course, he wasn’t instantly knocked unconscious; he simply groaned against Keo’s fist, but before he could hold out his hands to ward off further attacks, Keo punched him again, and again…

  * * *

  “WHO ARE YOU? What do you want?” the man asked, though it came out more like “Whaphuduuwhump?” because of the broken nose and busted lip. His face was an odd shade of purple and brown, which was a little hard to see in the darkened second floor of the barn where Keo had brought the man, about a hundred meters (give or take) from the field where they had clashed.

  Keo could see the exact spot from one of the open doors; he had been staring at it for the last forty minutes, convinced more of Mercer’s men would be responding to the sound of his gunshot. That had been stupid. He’d fired without thinking of the consequences. He couldn’t even blame it on the dead man for popping up right in front of him like something out of a bad horror flick. He didn’t bother with the lie. He’d shot Deep Voice because he wanted to. After the week he’d had, he just wanted to kill someone.

  “You got a name?” Keo asked.

  “Davis,” the man said.

  “What about your friend?”

  “Butch.”

  Keo chuckled. Davis and Butch. It sounded like a bad Hollywood Western.

  “Where’s Mercer, Davis?” Keo asked, looking back at Davis, who was sitting behind him on an old block of hay.

  The building around them smelled of year-old animal feces and mold. It was at least ten, maybe twenty times worse than the last barn he had been in (with Jordan) in terms of smell, but was still in relatively good shape. This building, along with the farmhouse next door, was going to outlive him; not that that was saying very much.

  If it’s still here after this week, it might outlast me…

  “Mercer?” Davis said.

  “Your fearless leader.”

  “What do you want with him?” Davis was still having difficulty speaking, especially when he had to string more than a few words together. It took Keo a few seconds to understand everything he said.

  “Is he in Lochlyn?” Keo asked.

  Davis didn’t answer. His hands and ankles were presently bound with duct tape, and Keo hadn’t been too worried about the man fleeing as they made their way here, then up to the second floor. Davis was in no shape to run, and certainly not while Keo had the AR. Out there, with wide-open spaces for hundreds of meters at a time, there weren’t a whole lot of places to hide. That was the only reason Keo felt comfortable enough to stop and wait for Mercer’s men.

  Or, at least, that’s what he told himself.

  Give me a break. You’re still here because you want them to show up. You can taste it, can’t you? You want this. Admit it.

  Yes, he thought. I want this. It’s what I’m good at…

  When Davis still hadn’t answered, Keo said, “Lochlyn. Mercer. Is he there?”

  Davis finally shook his head.

  “Where is he?” Keo asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  Keo casually took his hand off the barrel of the slung rifle and rested it on the butt of the Sig Sauer he’d taken from Davis earlier and had stuffed into his front waistband. Davis’s eyes—or his left, anyway, because the right was black and blue and puffy like a blowfish—were drawn to the not-so-subtle movement before snapping back up to Keo’s face.

  “I don’t know where he is,” Davis said.

  Keo didn’t take his hand off the gun. “When was the last time you saw him?”

  “Back at The Ranch.”

  “‘The ranch?’” Keo repeated, just in case he hadn’t made the words out correctly given Davis’s situation. Hadn’t the dead Butch said something about a “ranch” too, before Keo shot him?

  “Home base,” Davis said. “That’s what we call it.”

  “Where is home base?”

  Davis shook his head.

  “You don’t know?” Keo asked.

  “I know. I’m just not telling you.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  Davis nodded with something that could almost be mistaken for conviction, which if true was impressive given his current state. Even though both of them were mostly hidden in the darker corners of the barn, Keo could easily make out Davis’s injuries.

  “What do you want with him?” Davis asked.

  “I want to put a bullet between his eyes.”

  Keo was watching Davis closely for a reaction, but he had to admit he wasn’t quite ready for the grin that broke out across Davis’s face.

  “That’s an interesting response,” Keo said.

  “You’re one of them. Collaborators.”

  Keo shook his head. “No.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I couldn’t begin to tell you how little that means to me.”

  Davis snorted. “Then why do you want to kill Mercer?”

  “Personal reasons.”

  The man leaned slightly forward, as if to get a better angle on Keo’s face. After the almost hour they had spent together, Keo thought that was another very interesting move from his hostage. At the moment, Davis looked more curious than he was afraid, which wasn’t quite what Keo was going for.

  “What?” Keo said.

  “I’m just trying to see if you look familiar.” Davis finally shook his head and sat back. “No. I don’t know you. I’d remember that face.”

  “Scars give a man character.”

  “So I hear.” He paused, then, “What’s wrong with your leg?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with my leg.”

  “Oh, I don’t believe that. You’re clearly favoring one side. Old wound?”

  Not old enough, Keo thought, but said, “Where’s Mercer?”

  “I told you, I don’t know where he is. The last time I saw him was back at The Ranch.”

  “And you’re not going to tell me where this ranch is?”

  “Nope,” Davis said, and grinned back at him.

  Keo sighed and took his hand away from the gun. He snapped open one of the pockets along his pant leg and pulled something out.

  “What the hell is that?” Davis asked, narrowing his eyes at the titanium eating utensil in Keo’s hand.

  “Spork,” Keo said. “Though technically, it’s a scork.”

  “Scork?”

  “Spoon, fork, and cork. Get it?”

  “Ah,” Davis said, though his eyes (or, at least, the good one) never left the object in Keo’s hand.

  “But the word ‘scork’ makes me queasy,” Keo said. “So I prefer to call it a spork anyway and ignore the whole ‘cork’ part. Even though, obviously, it’s incorrect.”

  “You’re a man of eccentricities.”

  “No one’s ever called me that before.”

  “So, what are you going to do with that...spork?”

  “I’m going to see how much pain you can take.” Keo twirled the utensil between his fingers. “I would have used the Ka-Bar, but it wouldn’t hurt nearly as much and you might bleed out too soon. I can’t risk that.”

  Davis stared at the spork, as if mesmerized by its movements. “And that’s…not risky?”

  “It’s a lot harder to cut an artery with this.”

  Davis swallowed. “I won’t tell you where he is.”

  “You said you didn’t know where he is.”

  “I don’t. Not at this very moment.”

  Keo stopped twirling the spork and pressed his forefinger against the metallic tines. “They’re pretty sharp. Not that sharp, but pretty sharp. It’ll puncture skin, and even bone, if you push hard enough. I saw it go through a forehead once…”

  Davis didn’t have to say anything, because his tensing body gave it away. The man looked as if he was mentally and physically preparing to spring up to defend himself, but either his bound arms and
legs prevented him from taking action at the moment, or he knew it wouldn’t do any good. Instead, he remained nervously perched on the bale of hay.

  “Tell me where to find Mercer,” Keo said. “Is he in Lochlyn?”

  “No,” Davis said. “I told you. The last time I saw him was back at The Ranch, before all of this. I don’t know where he is now.”

  “And you won’t tell me where this Ranch is…”

  “No.”

  Keo sighed and lowered his hand. “All right. This is getting ridiculous. I’m running out of sunlight, and you’re just pissing me off now.”

  He began walking toward Davis.

  The man pushed himself up from the haystack and attempted to move toward the stairs, but he predictably tripped on his bound legs and fell with a thump! to the debris-strewn floor on his face. He tried to roll over onto his back, but by the time he finally managed it, Keo was already standing over him. Even in this shadowy part of the barn, Keo swore the eating utensil actually gleamed.

  “One last chance,” Keo said. “Tell me where to find Mercer.”

  “Jesus, please,” Davis said.

  Keo grinned. “I’ve been called a lot of things, but I have to admit I’ve never been mistaken for our Lord and Savior before. You a religious man, Davis?”

  “Yes...”

  “Me, I’ve never had much use for it. More of a hassle in my old line of work. So tell me, Davis. What did you used to do before all of this?”

  “I was a teacher...”

  “Cool. I killed a teacher once.” Keo sat down on Davis’s chest, put his hand on the man’s forehead, and easily pushed Davis’s head back against the rotten floor despite his attempt at resistance. “He screamed and screamed...”

  “Oh, God…”

  “It took a while, and it was messy…”

  “Lochlyn,” Davis said, almost spitting the word out.

  Keo sat back a bit. “Lochlyn?”

  “You can find Mercer through Lochlyn.”

  “You said he wasn’t there.”

  “He’s not, but you can find him through there.”

  Keo let go of Davis’s forehead. “Go on...”

  “We’re using Lochlyn as an FOB. You know—”

  “Yeah, I know what FOBs are. Go on.”

  “The last flight out is tomorrow. Everyone involved in this area is supposed to be back by then. Including Butch and me.”

  “What were you and the other guy doing out here, anyway?”

  “Perimeter security. In case of collaborator counter-attacks.”

  “What happens when you don’t come back?”

  “I guess they’ll know something happened. They’ll be ready for you,” Davis said, and Keo thought the other man wanted badly to smile but was doing everything possible to swallow the urge.

  “Where’s it going?” Keo asked. “The flight?”

  “The Ranch. If you want Mercer, he’s probably going to be there.”

  “Probably?”

  “I’m a small cog in the machine. I’m not privy to all his movements. But it’s your best bet.” Davis let out a heavy sigh and closed his one good eye for a moment before opening it again. “If you’re going to kill me, just make it fast. I’d like to skip the prolonged pain part if at all possible.”

  Keo stood up and put the spork away. “See, that wasn’t so hard. I knew you’d come around.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Not right now; we both have headaches.”

  Davis struggled to sit up, pushing against the floor using his elbows. Somehow, he managed it after a few tries.

  “I’m curious,” Keo said. “What makes someone follow a man like Mercer?”

  “You want the truth?”

  “That would be nice.”

  “There are three types of people running around out here. The true believers, the nonbelievers, and everyone else in the middle.”

  “Which one are you?”

  “Everyone else.”

  “So why do the nonbelievers follow Mercer if they don’t buy what he’s selling? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s dangerous out there.”

  Davis shrugged and looked toward the barn doors, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear what he was about to say next. “He saved our lives. Most of us wouldn’t be here if not for him. That’s the kind of thing that buys a lot of loyalty.”

  “But you don’t believe in his war.”

  “What we’re doing out here...” He focused on Keo again. “You know? About the attacks on the towns?”

  Keo nodded.

  “I’m just a schoolteacher,” Davis continued. “I didn’t even know how to fire a gun until the world ended. Butch believed, though. He was one of the true believers. Me, I’m just trying to get by. Mercer saved my life. He saved all of our lives. I owe him…” He shook his head. “But I don’t owe him to kill old men and pregnant women and children.”

  Keo crouched in front of Davis and stared at the man’s heavily bruised face.

  Davis looked back at him. “I’m telling the truth. All of it.”

  Keo ignored him and asked instead, “How’s the face?”

  “It’s numb. Everything’s numb. I know my right eye is the size of my foot at the moment, but I can’t feel it. Or my nose. Or my mouth. I can hear how I sound, but thank God I can’t feel the reasons why.” He reached up with his bound hands and touched his cheek, wincing at the contact. “Were you really going to do it? Use that spork on me?”

  Keo nodded. “Yeah, I was.”

  “Well, fuck.”

  “Yeah.”

  “So, what now?”

  “Tell me about Mercer.”

  “And then?”

  “Mercer. What does he look like?”

  “And then?” Davis pressed.

  “Then I move on to Lochlyn, and if Mercer’s not there, I go on to this ranch of yours.”

  “What about me?”

  “I don’t need you anymore, so you stay here.”

  “I need a gun. If you’re going to leave me behind, I need a gun.” He held up his bound hands. “And you have to release me.”

  “All right.”

  “You swear.”

  “Only on Fridays, but never on Sundays.”

  “Fuck you,” Davis said. “I mean it. You swear you’re telling the truth.”

  Keo raised his right hand and smiled at Davis. “Scout’s honor.”

  2

  LARA

  “PORT ARTHUR’S A NO-GO,” Danny said through the radio. “It’s locked tighter than a virgin’s sphincter.”

  “You know a lot about virgin sphincters, babe?” Carly asked.

  “Hey, I hear things.”

  “I bet you have.”

  “Any trouble getting from Starch to Port Arthur?” Lara asked, and Carly repeated the question into the microphone.

  “Nothing we couldn’t handle,” Danny said, but didn’t expand on his answer.

  He was somewhere outside the Texas port city with Gaby and Nate, though he hadn’t given any specifics just in case someone was listening in on their frequency. It was a small chance, but these days even the smallest something had the potential to blow up in your face.

  Just in case, right, Will?

  “What does he think the collaborators are doing in Port Arthur?” Lara asked, directing her question at Carly.

  “What am I, your personal parrot?” Carly said, and handed the microphone over to her. “I already spent ten minutes talking to him before you showed up. That’s about nine minutes too much with Danny, in case you were wondering.”

  Lara smiled. That wasn’t even close to being true, because she knew for a fact her friend had spent every day Danny was out there worrying about him. That was something they all did a lot of these days. Before Danny, it was her and Will.

  Damn you, Will, you promised me…

  She said into the radio, “Danny, what are they doing in Port Arthur?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” Danny said. �
��The kid thinks they might be trying to block our path to open waters.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I don’t see the point. We’re special, yeah—the special-est in my very humble opinion—but we’re not worth committing this much manpower to capturing, especially with all the fun and games going on out here right now.”

  “Mercer…”

  “Well, I didn’t want to say his name, in case he’s like the Candyman or something.”

  “The what?”

  “The Candyman. Clive Barker? Tony Todd? One of the best slasher flicks of the 1990s?”

  “Is that like the bogeyman or something?”

  Danny sighed loudly through the radio. “You kids and your lack of respect for the classics of cinema...”

  She grinned. It wasn’t that she was that much younger than Danny, but every now and then it was fun to needle him. She remembered when she used to get the same kind of joy out of doing it to Will.

  “Anyway, back to our marvelous road trip,” Danny continued. “I figured we’ll chug on along south-like, find another part of the coastline to link up with you guys. It’s a big state, should be lots of empty beaches for the linking. I’ll radio back as soon as we locate one of them, and you can come over and pick us up. Easy as Mother and apple pie.”

  “Easy, huh?”

  “Hey, good things happen to those who think positively, or so I’ve been told.”

  “I’ll have to give that a try.”

  “Give it a swing,” Danny said. Then, “Carly tells me you guys are doing just fine without us.”

  “We’re getting by. Spend more time worrying about yourself.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

  “That’s my man,” Carly said.

  “Speaking of worrying about oneself, where’s Keo now?” Danny asked.

  “I don’t know, out there somewhere,” Lara said. “He and Jordan were headed back to one of the towns when I last saw them. T-something.”

  “They’re all T-somethings. Well, if I run across him out here, I’ll let you know.”

  “What about Mercer’s people? Any problems with them since Starch?”

  “Luckily we’ve been able to avoid them, too. They seem to be confining their operations further inland. Probably have more FOBs out there all set up and ready even before they launched this little adventure of theirs.”