Page 54 of One for the Money

“Wooow,” Erik said, drawing the word out. “You look like a kid let loose in a candy store right now. Are you sure no one else knows about these twisted games you like to play?”

“I suppose there’s a chance, but I only play them with people who are going to die. It’s one reason I like to keep my games secret. If they know about them, it takes all the fun out of it. Plus, I normally give the player a choice between games to keep things interesting,” I explained.

Erik scratched his jaw, looking perplexed. “I know I’m going to regret asking this, but how does it make it more interesting?”

“Simple, they always pick the one they think they can beat or would be the best at,” I shared. “Trust me, it’s far more fun to play with someone who thinks they have a chance.”

“Note to self… playing games with Von is deadly,” Erik concluded. “So this Coronis guy found you a friend to play one of these games with… does that about sum it up?”

I grabbed a handful of bullets and let them roll off my hand as if they were sand. “None of this is making sense. Why go to the trouble of knowing this kind of information? Is it to show me he knows all my games, so I shouldn’t bother playing them?”

“Feels to me like he wants to impress you,” Bear commented. “Like a little boy who likes a girl but doesn’t know how to show it.”

“What gave you that impression?” I asked with a snort.

“You’ll just have to trust me on that since you suck at noticing shit like that,” Bear answered.

Erik let out a bark of laughter. “Damn, shots fired.”

“Enough… the note said Judge would be waiting inside the mine. Let’s see if that’s true,” I instructed.

The mine had been boarded up, but someone cut out an opening we could easily use to enter. Motion-activated lights flickered on as we passed—whoever planned this put in one hell of an effort. When we reached the mine’s main room, Bear flipped on the power breaker, and the space was illuminated. The hum of a generator told me that it was providing the power and there was a time limit.

A muffled cry from the left had us navigating our way around the abandoned equipment and carts used to transport the coal. The sound was coming from a man muted and trapped in a metal prison box that looked like it came out of the Middle Ages. Attached to the cage were a sign and a lever. The sign read pull this to start your game of laser tag. Moving around the thing, I realized once the cage door was open, the only choice the prisoner had was to head into the tunnel.

“That’s rather clever now, isn’t it,” I mused aloud.

Finally, I looked at the man in the cage. He’d aged quite a bit since the last time I saw him. Then again, he wasn’t a spring chicken at that point, either. There was no trace of the dignified man who always wore suits and covered up all his son’s sins with his power as a judge. Coronis had dressed him up like a turkey, beak and all, with a target drawn on his stomach and back. I met his gaze, and I knew he recognized me. The sheer terror in his eyes was a balm to my twisted heart.

“Hello, Judge,” I greeted. “Looks like I don’t have to ask if you remember me. I can see it written all over your face.”

Judge thrashed, trying to get free, but his hands were chained above his head, held there by a hook.

“How does it feel to be the one trapped in a cage at the mercy of someone you know is pure evil? This was what it was like for me under your son’s so-called care. Well, I don’t have to tell you that, you already know what happened. If I remember correctly, you loved to watch. It would get you so turned on you couldn’t help but fucking jack off as your son beat me. How you begged for a turn, but your son knew the truth… I wasn’t to be trusted. Pity he didn’t take his own advice, but then again, you raised him to be the cocky son of a bitch he was. Now, I’m the one with all the power. Isn’t it exciting?” I asked, a sultry purr to my voice as I reached out to flick the beak on his face.

The sharp scent of piss hit my nose, and I chuckled. My laughter filled the cavern, making it ten times louder and manic.

“That’s right, you should be petrified to the point you piss yourself, old man,” I yelled, slamming my fists against the cage. “I vowed one way or another I’d get my hands on you, and now I have. You won’t be able to get away from me this time, Judge. I’ve learned to hone my skills and truly become the monster your son wanted all along.”

Taking a deep breath, I started walking backward. “Now don’t go anywhere. I need to collect my things so we can have some proper fun, you and I.”

I was grateful the guys didn’t ask any questions and silently followed me back out to the bikes and crate. Tucked along the side of the crate was a bullet bandolier that I started to fill with extra ammo. Yes, the case with the machine gun had two extra ammo magazines, or as the gangsters called them, clips, which I filled too. There were a few boxes of normal 9mm ammo for our handguns, but I didn’t think we’d need them. The bandolier also had a few slots for grenades that I made sure to use. You never knew when one might come in handy.

Bear offered me the machine gun, which he’d attached the strap to, making it easier for me to carry. “Thanks, grumpy Bear,” I said with a smile.

“No way,” Erik exclaimed, holding up a pair of odd, bulky-looking sunglasses. “These aren’t supposed to be out on the market yet.”

“Yo, Big Red, it’s not as hard as you think to get your hands on stuff like that. In fact, it’s kind of my specialty,” I shared. “Now, what are they, and why are you so excited?”

“We’re gonna come back to that first part later because I have a feeling that will be a longer conversation,” Erik said, then slipped the glasses on me. “As for these, well, little siren, they are the latest technology in night vision. Smaller, more compact, and can be used in a daylight mode and switched to dark mode.”

He clicked a button that shifted the lenses from sunglasses to night vision. Of course, out in the daylight they didn’t work as well, but I got the feel for them.

“Oh, fuck yeah, this is going to make everything so much more fun,” I cheered. “Is there only one pair?”

“Yeah, but this is your game, not ours, so it makes sense,” Erik reasoned. “Bear and I will keep tabs on things out here while you deal with your unfinished business.”

Sliding the glasses down my nose, I looked at Bear to see how he felt about that suggestion.