Trace, Chapter Nine

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Chapter Nine

The lights had gone out around midnight. When they did, Colin had struggled up further in the bed; he couldn't leave it -- the orderly's bindings were in place -- but there should be no reason he'd have to. He'd promised Joseph not to touch Galano, and there was no point in chasing if Galano ran. Colin was bait, not warrior. Gutierrez and Laney were there, and Laney was flush with newfound power; they'd just have to do it without him. The point was to do it.

"How's your mojo?" he asked Gutierrez, as their eyes adjusted to the dark. The infirmary had been dimly lit before; now, with the office and hallway lights off and the floodlights off outside, it was pitch black. Colin imagined he could feel his pupils dilating.

"Not this good," Gutierrez answered in the darkness, and there was the sound of a chair scraping backwards.

"Got a light?" Laney asked, humorlessly.

"Don't look at me," Colin said, and Gutierrez laughed.

"It's fine," Gutierrez said. "Hey, don't suppose you could call your amante, huh?"

Colin closed his eyes. There was a hum of power rising, most of it normally obscured by the electric lights and machines, now a soundless whine in the stillness. It was hard to push through the thick, cloying air to find Joseph, but he managed; Joseph was crouched behind a desk in the guard captain's office, his emotions spiking high on triumph and concern. Must've found something, then.

"With the power out they'll be squadding in the yard," Colin said. "They'll get guards here eventually. Not soon enough, though. And no guarantee it'll be him."

"Just us, then," Gutierrez said. Laney had wandered over to one of the barred windows and was looking down, face impassive.

"Whatcha see, Laney?" Colin called.

"Darkman riders," Laney answered, one hand gripping the bars. "Lots of 'em. Guards are mustering out, riders are there too."

"You see any soldiers?" Colin asked. Laney shook his head. "None at all?"

"They're with the prisoners," Laney answered.

"Can they keep them safe?" Gutierrez asked, surprising Colin. Laney looked back over his shoulder.

"No," he said.

"This is nice," said a third voice, and Colin widened his eyes, for all the good it would do him. Galano's voice, the nasal twang in it unmistakable. "Very literary. Big showdown," he added.

Colin heard him snap his fingers, and the lamp above them exploded in sparks that scattered around the floor and kept burning yellow long after they should have winked out. Galano stood in their shattered-glass glow, arms crossed, hair hanging in lank strings over his forehead. He looked irritatingly smug. "Hiya, Colin."

"Galano," Colin growled. Gutierrez was moving, subtly, putting himself between Colin and Galano, trying to block off Laney as well. Galano turned to look at him and waved a hand; the little shards of light flared bright. Gutierrez froze.

"You were afraid of power back when you put me here," Galano said, looking back at Colin. "Don't know why I thought you'd be any different in prison, snitch."

"Least he don't poison the food," Laney said, and Galano turned slowly to face him. He'd acquired a pair of guard's boots from somewhere, and the glass ground loudly beneath them when he took a step.

"You, I don't know," he said.

"Don't care," Laney replied. Galano grinned. He cocked his head at Gutierrez.

"You're a pair of strange bodyguards," he said. "You're -- "

"Leonel Gutierrez," he said.

"The saint who talks to God," Galano observed.

"No saints in prison," Laney murmured.

"That's a nice scam if you can pull it off. I applaud your initiative, Colin," Galano said.

"It's not mine," Colin replied. "And it's not a scam. Why'd you come, Galano? Bring me flowers?"

"I know you're gunning for me. Which is okay, I'm gunning for you, too. Now we could be civilized about this; we ain't in the same block. No reason to go messing each other up."

"Except you poison the food," Gutierrez said.

"You keep out of this."

"It's our food too."

Galano glared at him; Gutierrez stood his ground.

"It's true, though," Colin said.

"Fuck you, Byrne," Galano snarled.

Colin sighed, bluffing boredom even as he was studying Galano's defensiveness. He didn't think the man could control the power he had, didn't think Galano could stop if he wanted to. Galano could put the power to use -- but only because it was that or surrender to it completely, and Galano didn't want to starve to death.

All of which made it the perfect taunt. "Galano, why do this?" Colin asked. "What's the point?"

"You know why," Galano said, grinning. The room was already cast in shadow, but now they were moving, bodies forming in the darkness, riders for the Darkman beginning to coalesce. Galano tipped his head at them. "New Mexico's gonna look like a fucking picnic compared to what I got planned."

"Ain't your plan," Laney said suddenly, and Galano turned to him again.

"Shut your mouth -- "

"Ain't your plan," Laney repeated, like the whole thing was dawning on him. He was watching the riders moving in the shadows. "Darkman, he made you do this. Ain't your plan. Darkman told you. What, he get tired of eating kiddies?"

"Shut up!" Galano roared.

"Guess you're just a tool after all," Colin said. "What'd he give you to set this up? What do you get out of it?"

Galano looked at him, grinning, and took a step closer to the bed. "And why do you care, Colin? We all know why you're here, and it isn't the poisoned food or the hit the Italians put on me. They're next when I'm through with you, by the way," he added. His eyes swept Gutierrez and Laney. "You boys know the real reason Suicide here wants me dead, don't you?"

Laney, who'd spent a lot less time being lied to in prison than Gutierrez, glanced at the older man. Gutierrez's hands curled slowly.

"Doesn't matter," he said.

"Oh, I think it does," Galano replied. "Did you tell them about Grace, Colin?" he asked, then continued before Colin could answer -- but his mouth was too dry to answer anyway. "Grace was his woman on the outside," Galano continued.

"I know that," Gutierrez said patiently.

"This is some bullshit, we -- " Laney started, but Galano snapped his fingers and one of the little glass shards zipped through the air, slicing a narrow gash along Laney's arm. "Ow, motherfucker."

"Grace," Galano repeated loudly, "was his woman on the outside. Pretty thing, too pretty to wait for her boyfriend. We ran together for a while, but you know how it is." He grinned. "We fell out over business. I think he tells people she overdosed, doesn't he? Truth is, I picked her up and when I didn't need her anymore, I dropped her." His grin widened. "Off a bridge. And you can't prove it," he sing-songed.

"Suicide?" Gutierrez prompted, without looking away from Galano. "This true? That why you're here?"

"Yeah," Colin said, unashamed.

"He killed Grace?" Gutierrez continued. "And you...?"

"Lied," Colin admitted. "Tipped off the police about the case once I knew it was him, so they'd send me here. I knew they'd send me back. Took a while to figure it out, or I'd have paid a call sooner," he added to Galano.

"And now I want you," Galano said to Colin, "to get out of bed and face me like a man and we'll see if you're capable of killing too."

Galano, whatever else he might be, hadn't been an inmate for more than a few months, not that much longer than Laney. He hadn't learned the thing that kept you alive in prison, hadn't had to yet. It only came with time, but it was learn or die: no taunt, no insult to pride, no assault to the body could be met with anger and rebellion, not if it came from someone stronger or more powerful. It was easy enough to look on Galano in this light, for Colin; he'd learned humility in prison, or at least he'd learned to fake it. And he couldn't kill Galano himself. He'd promised Joseph. He kept his anger under control.

"You killed his woman?" Laney asked Galano.

Galano, looking smug, nodded. "It was just business. Shame, she was a great fuck."

"He's lying," Colin said evenly. "He's lying now, they never fucked."

Laney glanced briefly at Gutierrez. "But he killed her."

"Yeah," Gutierrez said. "One more reason to take care of this problem now."

Galano looked surprised at this. Gutierrez grinned.

"You don't get gangs, do you?" he asked. "You mess with one of us, you screw with all of us."

Colin felt a jolt of something, some sharp strong emotion, and identified it as Joseph.

"Gutierrez?" he said.

"Si, mijo," Gutierrez answered.

"Mi amante viene de prisa."

"You want a fight, bring it on," Galano said, and uncrossed his arms. He raised his left hand and the little glowing shards of very sharp glass lifted up off the floor. The light shifted over Galano's face as they rose, throwing his scar into sharp relief, shadowing his eyes. Colin reached for the heavy bottle of disinfectant on the table next to his bed.

Before he could throw it, before Galano could make another move, Gutierrez charged forward, darting around one of the little glowing shards, and shoved bodily into Galano. The impact clearly startled him; it pushed him back into some of the glass and tumbled both of them to the ground. Galano screamed in pain.

Gutierrez pinned him with his knees across Galano's shoulders and Laney dove in, holding down his wrists, knees skidding in the glass while Colin watched helplessly from the bed. The shadows came forward, the Darkman's riders with their hands on their batons --

"In the name of God I cast you out," Gutierrez said. The riders stopped, tilting their heads, curious looks on their washed-out faces. "In the name of God I cast you out!"

"Exorcism?" Galano laughed breathlessly, but he screamed again when Gutierrez ground him down into the glass shards, and the riders began to back away. "Seriously, you think I'm possessed?"

"No," Gutierrez said. Colin struggled against the restraints, trying to see clearly what was going on. "You are the evil. In the name of God, I cast you out -- "

Galano's third scream was cut off by a new voice: Joseph, bellowing Colin's name as he burst into the infirmary. The door flew off its hinges and the noise distracted Laney for just long enough. Galano jerked his wrists out of Laney's grasp and bucked, flipping Gutierrez off his shoulders with a manic twist. He rolled through the glass to his feet while Laney was still trying to get upright, while Gutierrez gasped for breath with the wind knocked out of him.

Galano turned to face the new threat; Joseph's baton was already in his hand, almost two feet of wicked black steel alloy, cocked at an angle from his body. The riders in the shadows were giving him a wide berth.

"Hands up, all of you," Joseph barked. Behind Galano, Gutierrez was struggling to his feet; Laney had his hands out at his sides, but not nearly as submissive as he was pretending.

A smug grin crossed Galano's face as he raised his hands. The glowing glass shards orbiting around him lifted in sync with his palms --

"Down!" Colin yelled, as Galano twisted just enough to send the broken glass hurtling through the air towards Joseph. Laney grunted as one passed right through his chest; Gutierrez dodged another as he stood.

Joseph didn't duck. He didn't move at all. A dozen pinpricks of light should have shredded him to nothing, but they blinked out and fell whenever they got too close. Joseph himself seemed dimmer somehow, greyed out against the light -- protected by the shadow. Galano stared, stunned; Gutierrez saw his chance and lunged, but this time his arms passed right through Galano's throat. Colin made a frustrated, aggressive noise and tried to roll out of the bed again, but it held him fast.

Galano and Joseph were circling each other now, the room dimmed almost to darkness, only a few shards of glass still lit. Laney was clutching his chest, trying to stay upright; Gutierrez was watching Galano, crouching, waiting for his chance, but somehow Galano always seemed to be on the far side of Joseph when an opportunity arose.

"Mijo, I don't think exorcism is going to work," Gutierrez called, without taking his eyes off Galano. "If you wanted to come up with a plan now would be a really good time."

"I'll let you know," Colin answered. "Joseph, be careful -- "

Joseph swung and managed a hit on Galano's upper arm; Galano swore and danced backwards, cradling it against his chest. Joseph grinned viciously, teeth bared. Colin leaned out over the bed, reaching, straining. He could almost touch one of the madly vibrating shards of glass --

"Give up now, Galano," Joseph insisted, as if this was an ordinary out-of-bounds prisoner recapture. Colin was so close to the glass, but it slipped through his fingers, leaving them bloody.

"Your boys came after me first," Galano snarled back. "This is between me and them."

"That's not what it looked like when you had a knife on Colin," Joseph said, and swung again. The baton passed through part of Galano's chest and then lodged there. There was no blood, and it didn't look like there was any pain -- Colin watched, horrified, as Galano jerked his body back and took Joseph with him, still holding the baton. Joseph wouldn't let go. Instead he telescoped it in, shoving it so that the blunt ends of the segments slammed into Galano's body.

Galano staggered, right into Gutierrez, who caught him in a bear hug and twisted, trying to haul him away from Joseph. Colin struggled harder and finally one of the shards danced into his fingers; he brought it down in a slash, cutting the bed open, and threw his body sideways, tumbling to the ground.

Gutierrez was struggling with Galano; Laney was on his other side, eyes red and unblinking, arm around Galano's shoulder in a wrestling hold, bleeding chest pressed up against his side. In the shadows there was more movement now; some of Guye's soldiers had joined the fight and were holding back the riders, if only just. Joseph kept trying to get a hand on Galano, but his fists passed straight through every time. His shadow was dancing along the floor, snagging on broken glass on the ground, flickering in and out; Colin saw it as he ran forward, broken glass crunching under his feet.

He could feel distant pain and slickness underfoot, but there was no time to be delicate; when he reached Joseph he bent in a swift effortless motion and passed his hand through Joseph's second shadow. The blood on his fingers caught it and tugged it free.

Colin yelled "Gutierrez!" and shoved Joseph's shadow into one open, grasping hand while Laney struggled with Galano. Joseph stiffened and his whole body jerked when the shadow separated; Gutierrez grasped it and pulled it up to Galano's face. Laney caught the other side, tugging it tight across his head as if they could suffocate him with it.

Colin became aware of the pain in his hand, the bleeding cuts on his feet, and of a ringing silence in the room, a sudden stillness. Joseph grabbed the baton again and yanked up, hard; it jerked through Galano's ribcage with a crunch. Galano screamed against the shadow on his face as Gutierrez and Laney pulled it tight against his mouth. His body went limp, suddenly, and Gutierrez and Galano went backwards together, Laney staggering to one side, clutching his wound.

When Galano hit the ground, he shattered.

White crystals and translucent shards scattered over Gutierrez's legs, over Joseph's boots, bounced off Colin's bare ankles and Laney's canvas shoes. Glass and salt poured down. Gutierrez scrambled away, horror on his face. Joseph bent to help him up and Gutierrez raised a hand, thrusting the shadow straight into Joseph's chest. His hand went in up to the wrist before he pulled it back.

Joseph gasped on a long inhale and stumbled backwards a few feet before he doubled over, dry hacking coughs shaking his body. He dropped to his knees in the middle of the white spray on the floor, arms around his ribcage. All Colin could hear were Laney's harsh breaths and Joseph's choking gasps.

He shuffled forward, leaving bloody streaks on the floor, and crouched next to Joseph. Joseph shook as Colin wrapped an arm around his chest and held tightly, murmuring apologies and soothing nonsense until the wracking coughs had passed.

One by one, the unbroken lights flickered back to life. If there had been riders or soldiers left, they were gone now. Colin swept every corner with his eyes, just to be sure, before he turned back to Gutierrez.

"I'm sorry," he said to him, one hand absently smoothing Joseph's hair.

"You should have just told us," Gutierrez replied. "We would have helped you."

"Old habits," Colin answered, looking down. Next to him, Joseph gave one last dry, hacking cough, and tried to stand. Colin got a shoulder under his arm and helped him up.

"Well," Laney said, skin greying out, blood dripping down his shirt. "This is a fucking mess."

***

Laney had torn up knees and a hole in his chest that needed stitches, but apparently the glass that passed through him like a bullet hadn't done too much harm. Gutierrez was sliced up, all along his arms and legs, and the doctor said he was dangerously dehydrated. Colin sat on the edge of his own bed, right wrist cuffed to the restraint rail, and let an orderly bandage his left hand and his feet, watching as another ran an IV into Gutierrez's arm.

Joseph, once he'd stopped coughing, had cuffed Colin to one bed and Laney to another, then gone back and helped Gutierrez out of the minefield of broken glass around him. He'd left his baton lying in the middle of the heap of glass and salt, ripped off his radio belt with something like terror, and run to get the night-shift orderlies, who'd been huddled in a secure barred room at the far end of the infirmary floor. It had taken a good five minutes to talk them into giving aid; now, Colin could feel him on the other side of the wall, pacing back and forth as he talked on the phone.

The orderly that had been treating him placed one last strip of tape on the bandages on his feet and then stood up. Colin rattled his handcuff a little, a wordless plea to be released, but the man just walked away and came back with a broom and a dustpan. Colin and Gutierrez both watched, dull-eyed, as he swept up the glass and salt.

"That was interesting," Gutierrez said conversationally. Colin turned to stare at him; Gutierrez laughed first, but once he did, Colin joined in. "I think we won."

"Yeah, I think so," Colin agreed. The orderlies carefully ignored them. "Leonel -- "

"Suicide, shut up," Gutierrez told him. Colin smiled a little. "Look, we needed him gone. Doesn't matter why. He killed your girl, he poisoned the food, eh..." he wavered a hand. "Six of one, half-dozen of another. Now, you want to explain yourself to Laney, maybe he's not so inclined to be forgiving."

"One way to find out," Colin said. "Hey Laney! Laney!"

"Shut uuuuup," Laney groaned, burying his face in a pillow. They must have him on something good.

Joseph came through the doorway, interrupting their discussion. He looked down briefly the door, lying on its edge against the wall where someone had dragged it after Joseph had somehow blown it off its hinges. He bent to examine it, and Gutierrez leaned over to Colin.

"You getting out of here, Suicide?" he asked softly.

Colin nodded. "Tell Noel I said goodbye."

"Ah man, he knew he wouldn't see you again. He said to tell you he'd find you on the outside."

"Good," Colin said. He glanced at Laney. "Say sorry to Laney for me."

"No problem. He'll understand."

"You'll be okay?" Colin asked.

"Oh, yeah. Couple of days of Club Med Ward, I'll be good," Gutierrez said. "Hey, have a beer for me on the outside."

"Sure. And tell Laney to keep an eye on Noel."

Gutierrez laughed. "Sure thing."

Colin looked away from him as Joseph picked his way through the last remaining shards of glass towards them. The lines on his face were deeper than usual; he seemed about twenty years older, but he stopped at Gutierrez's bed and spoke softly with him before coming around to Colin. Colin could see salt and glass in his pant cuffs.

"Can you walk?" Joseph asked.

"It's past one in the morning," Colin pointed out.

"There's a car already on its way. Can you get there from here or do I carry you?" Joseph asked. Colin looked up at him and then quickly, quietly, slipped his wrist out of the restraint. He stood with caution, testing his feet gingerly -- and yeah, they hurt, but not badly enough to keep him here if Joseph wanted him to leave. He slung an arm around Joseph's shoulders and limped past Gutierrez and Laney, through the infirmary door. Outside, the orderly was dumping the dustpan into a trash bin.

"What happened here?" Joseph asked Colin softly, as they walked down the hall.

"You really want to know that?" Colin asked, by way of reply. Joseph seemed to think about it; as they drew close to the exit gate, he shook his head.

"Maybe not," he agreed. The guard at the gate nodded at Colin questioningly. Joseph dug in his pocket and shoved a wad of paperwork through the bars. "Release order. He's in my custody."

The guard studied the papers and then looked up, seemingly about to object. Colin glanced sidelong and saw Joseph's eyes almost black with the shade.

The door swung open.

"You get what you came in for?" Colin asked, limping along the cold linoleum of the outer corridor.

"Yep. Photos of the ledger and a list of names. It'll be enough," Joseph answered, his hand warm on Colin's hip, shoulders steady under his arm.

They passed through two more checkpoints -- a guard station and the exterior door -- before they made it outside. A police car from Railburg Township was waiting for them, a uniform officer at the wheel. Joseph helped Colin into the back and then tore off his stab vest, tossing it into the front seat before he climbed into the back with Colin.

"Get us the fuck out of here," he said, and they pulled away.

Colin felt sharp pinpricks all over as they passed the guardhouse, got their paperwork checked again, and rolled out onto the backroad that serviced the prison. He coughed hard into his hands, twice, and felt something rise in his throat; after he spat it out he lowered his palms and studied the little origami crane he'd coughed up.

He offered it to Joseph, who flattened it carefully and tucked it into his pocket. Colin leaned against him, heavily, suddenly so tired.

"Let's get to a hospital," Joseph said, and the driver nodded at him in the rear-view mirror. Joseph took out his phone and made a call; Colin, head on his shoulder, could hear Joseph's precinct answer on the other end.

"This is Joseph Wright," he said, giving his badge number quickly. "I need an unmarked car and a driver at Railburg County Hospital to pick up myself and my case consultant. We'll also need someone to retrieve my car -- it's parked in the bus lot in town."

"Dispatching now," the voice said. "Anything else I can do for you, Detective Wright?"

"Do you know if my Captain's there?" Joseph asked. "I need to make sure the photos I emailed made it through."

"Hold please, I'll check," the voice told him. Colin turned his face, yawning into Joseph's shoulder. "No one's picking up, Detective, but I checked with Evidence and they say they know what you're talking about. Have you removed Mr. Byrne from custody?"

"Only mostly," Joseph replied. "He needs medical attention."

"Sir, can I ask what happened?"

Joseph sighed. "A lot. Anything else you need from me?"

"No, Detective. We'll have that car out for you, should be arriving in about an hour."

"Thanks. I'll check in," Joseph said, and hung up. The cop in the front seat glanced at them in the mirror, but Colin saw Joseph catch the glance, and knew that Joseph would handle it; he was good at handling things.

The bright spotlights of the prison receded behind them, eventually, and sleep ran over him like a shadow.

***

Morning found Colin released from the hospital with a clean bill of health, aside from cuts and bruises, and waking alone in Joseph and Analise's bed, wearing a pair of Joseph's pajamas. He pushed himself upright, groaning. When he drew his feet up, the bandages rasped against the sheets, and the soles of his feet throbbed with pain, dull and constant. His hand hurt too, but only when he pressed on the bandages over the wounds.

He could hear Joseph moving around outside the bedroom but he couldn't reach out and find him anymore, had no sense of where he was or what he was feeling. He could hear Analise too, her tread a little lighter than Joseph's, probably coming down the hall from the kitchen. She elbowed the door open with a cup of tea in one hand -- he could smell it from the bed, all his senses still overly sharp -- and a small bowl in the other.

"You're up," she said, looking pleased. "How do you feel?"

"Thank you," he said, accepting the tea. She sat on the edge of the bed while he blew on the surface of the tea to cool it, sipping cautiously. "I'm okay. Might be a little slow for a while."

"And here I didn't think anything could slow you down," she said, stroking his hair. She seemed troubled, despite her light tone. He set the tea aside and gave her a questioning look.

"Joseph won't talk about it," she said.

"I can, if you want," he answered warily. "But I don't think you want to know."

"Maybe later." She offered him the little plastic bowl she'd brought with her. In the bottom was a small pile of white crystal. "This came out of his shoes."

Colin studied it. "Salt?"

"I think so." Analise leaned in close. "The second shadow's gone. Thank God."

"It's okay. It wasn't...bad," Colin said, stirring the salt with a finger. It was cold. "Throw this out. Far from the house. My prison clothes too. Get rid of them."

She nodded. "Are you okay? Really?"

"I will be," he said, and then on impulse added, "I need to tell you about my name."

"Your name?" she asked, curiosity in her eyes. They were ordinary eyes; no fortunes in them, no shade. He smiled and let his gaze linger on them for a moment.

"My name's not Colin," he said eventually, lifting one of her hands and tracing his bandaged thumb along her palm. "I mean -- my mother named me Colm. You need to know and tell Joseph. Colm. C-O-L-M."

"Why -- "

"I'll tell you sometime, just, someone needs to know," he said, and shivered. "I'm not going back to prison again. It's too much. Don't let Joseph send me back there, ever."

She stroked his hair with her free hand. "Why do you think we do this? The point is to keep you out. Besides, I don't think he could. Whatever he knows, it scares him. Not you," she added, because she could obviously see Colin panicking -- wondering how much Joseph knew about the lies he'd told to get to Railburg, about the man whose death he'd orchestrated. "Whatever it did -- to him, to you -- he wouldn't. But I'll make sure," she added, and Colin nodded and let go of her hand. "Joseph said to tell you the ledger is going to blow the ring wide open."

"Good," Colin said. "Does he need me?"

"No. Sleep a little, if you want," she added, and picked up the bowl of salt from the blankets. He eased back down against the pillow, but he didn't close his eyes.

"Colm," he said.

"Colm," she repeated, and kissed him. "Sleep."

He waited until she was gone, listening for a while to the sounds of them going about their lives -- Analise's footsteps, the slam of a door, Joseph's voice on the phone. He closed his eyes against the pain in his hand, the throb in his feet and the sick feeling from the last of the prison food he'd eaten. It would be gone soon. That was all that mattered.

"Goodbye, Grace," he murmured, closing his eyes.

Epilogue.

Comments

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Hiya! This is such a late reply, and I'm not going to go into detail because I'm trying to absorb and work through all the commentary, but I wanted to say thanks for the comments -- I'm definitely taking notes on stuff, and that wasn't incoherent at all :) Thank you!