ReKill Chapter 6
Warning: This book contains rough language and violent scenes. The rough language is not gratuitous, nor are the violent scenes. ReKill is the second book in the series that started with ReWire
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The boss was not a happy man. His knee hurt more every day. The call to Karl Heyworth had been eight days ago. The boss’s little zoning problem wasn’t even on the docket for review. Either Karl didn’t believe him or he didn’t have the power he used to have. If Karl didn’t have the power, what did he need him for? He didn’t bother to make an appointment and didn’t bother to call. He had the driver park in the handicapped space. The car had a placard. He was handicapped. He was even more handicapped by his unwillingness to let fucking cripples get all the good parking spaces.
He brought Harry with him. He didn’t particularly like Harry, but he had his uses. He was immensely, and freakishly strong. He was supposedly stronger than Bruce. That would be very strong indeed. Bruce and David awaited his instructions in Redding, or he would have taken Bruce with him. Harry might be bigger and stronger, but Bad had a palpable menace and ferocity. Most times simply having Bad stand next to him was enough.
He and Harry walked into the lobby, past security and to the elevators. The building was an altar to government excess. What did they need security for in a building that housed the zoning commission and the government toadies that handled the permit process? Why did they need with original art, commissioned especially for this building? What did they need marble for? Where were all the employees that were supposed to occupy the empty desks? What did all these people do?
By the time they made to Karl’s office, his knee was throbbing, his hemorrhoids were on fire and he was hungry. Mary looked up with a warm smile until she realized the identity of her unannounced visitors. The warm smile turned to a professional smile. She didn’t know enough to be afraid. He would change that one day soon, but not today.
The boss smiled and said, “Harry and I need to see, Karl. It’s an emergency.”
“I know he’s on a conference call. I’ll let him know you are here.”
She murmured into the phone, looked surprised at something she heard, stood and walked them into Karl’s office, leaving them with Karl and closing the door behind her.
“Mr. Smith, I am on a conference call I must get back to. It’s taking more time than I had expected…”
Karl stopped talking. Karl was not a big man. He was a runner. Ran on his lunch hour. Ran marathons. If it were a foot race Harry wouldn’t have had a chance. It wasn’t a footrace. Harry grabbed Karl by his head, one hand on each side, and lifted him off the ground. Harry gently placed him back down in his chair and flicked invisible lint off of the man’s clothes.
The boss tasted Karl’s fear and pain. It wasn’t the same as Kobe beef, but as good in its own way. Karl’s fear had a rich, savory taste, like a good stew. The fear was gone too quickly. He hadn’t enjoyed it as much as he would like, because he needed to stand. It would have been impossible to generate the fear he needed if Karl watched Harry help him in and out of a chair.
“I forgot to send you the picture of your daughter I told you about. Here it is. Sorry about Harry’s exuberance, he gets excited sometimes when he sees good friends, friends he knows will help us. You will help us won’t you, Karl? You want to take care of your friends, don’t you Karl?”
Karl’s fear was back stronger than ever. This time it had a smoky texture. The picture of his daughter created a stronger fear than when Harry picked him up by his head. The picture of his daughter was quite innocent. It was simply a picture of the girl running by herself in a cross-country race in an isolated spot. All the rest was in Karl’s head. The boss hadn’t done anything to her. He hadn’t threatened to do anything to her. Yet, Karl’s mind made an implied threat very real. Why did people have children?
As they walked back to the car he thought about his mother. She had loved him so much. Father said their relationship was unhealthy. Father said a boy child his age shouldn’t sleep with his mother. He still remembered the way she smelled as they curled up in bed together. The scent of her perfume sometimes didn’t cover the little fishy smell she had when they cuddled. He missed her smell. That smell had gone away quickly when she fell down the stairs.
He remembered looking at her lying there with her head tilted so funny to the side. He had to laugh. She would have thought it was funny too, he was sure. She made choking noises, looking at him with big eyes. He tried to listen, but after a while he got bored and went to the library to look at books on anatomy to see if he could figure out what was wrong. When he came back her skin was a little cold and she had soiled herself.
When he told father what he had done, father had him see psychiatrists. After that, father locked his bedroom door at night.