Revenge of the Three (Hand of God) Read online

  “Who is this? Where is Maria?”

  “Maria is mine,” the voice said while letting out a guttural laugh. “Your friend Lucifer is gone too.”

  “Gone where?”

  “To the Abyss! Where he belongs. Now I just need you to come and get your girlfriend,” it laughed some more, a deep and creepy snicker.

  “Well that is going to be difficult. If you were actually all knowing, you’d know that I’m out in the middle of the desert, half dead.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad. I guess I will just have fun with your honey here while I finish the rest of my work. Looks like someone took care of you for me.”

  “Don’t you dare hurt her.”

  “Or what? You’ll take my name in vain?” It laughed some more. It apparently thought itself really funny. The laugh was enough to make the hairs on my neck stand on end. “Too bad for you Charlie. Looks like I did what my brother couldn’t. Now I will finish. And just so you know, after all the suffering you just went through, you’ll wake up in the Abyss when you die here.” It laughed again then hung up. This day couldn’t get any worse.

  Chapter 24

  When I woke up, it was dark outside and my feet were throbbing. I looked down and saw they didn’t look as badly as they had earlier. I figured my Nephilim DNA must help me heal quicker. I never stayed injured for very long. The burns were still pretty bad, though. I was a little concerned since other than the throbbing, I couldn’t feel anything else. I crawled to the edge of the tent, looking around. I could see the sun on the horizon, so it was early morning. The other tents were still up, but none of the cartel guys had come back.

  I climbed out and stumbled to one of the other tents and dug around. This one had a first aid kit. There wasn’t much useful in the kit, but I took a blanket and tore it up. Carefully, I wrapped my ankles and feet with it. I dressed in some jeans and a blue t-shirt that I’d found. I put on two pairs of socks and pulled on a pair of boots. I had to push the pain aside for the moment and figure out where I was and how to get back to Del Rio. It also occurred to me this wasn’t the first time I was stranded in the middle of nowhere in a stranger’s clothes.

  I stuck the .38 down the back of the tight jeans and started walking. I could see a road a few hundred feet away. So I headed toward it. Once on the road, I walked along the shoulder headed for what I’m pretty sure was north. I was glad I drank the water earlier, but I was also starving. I hadn’t eaten since the night before. There wasn’t anything I could do about it at the moment. The heat was getting intense too. I wished I’d kept some of the water. After walking for an hour or so, my feet felt like they were still on fire. If I didn’t get a ride soon, I wasn’t going to make it much further.

  I heard a car approaching from behind me. I turned and saw a dark colored Jeep getting closer. I waved my arms as much as I could to flag it down. I hoped it wasn’t a cartel guy, or it would be a short ride. The Jeep pulled up next to me and I walked over to the window. I tried to speak to him but he would only reply in Spanish. I knew a little, but not enough to get what he was saying. I definitely didn’t know enough to explain to him what was going on.

  “Yes, I need a ride. Can you help me?”

  “Que?”

  “Help? Ride? Please?”

  “No Ingles,” he said. Then he began talking so fast I couldn’t have understood him in any language. I was tired, sore and not in the mood for this. Plus I couldn’t afford to let him drive off and leave me walking again. I was sure I’d die out here if I didn’t get a ride and out of the heat. So without another word, I pulled out the .38 and shot him in the face. Now, I had never used a gun before, knives were my thing. I have to say it is quite an effective killing tool, though it was incredibly messy. Since I was only a few feet away the bullet tore through his face and head, causing the back of his head to explode, sending blood and chunks of brains and skull all over the dashboard.

  I opened the driver’s side door and dumped him out onto the road. I dragged him off the road as much as I could and got into the Jeep. The Jeep’s air conditioning felt incredible. The inside of the Jeep was soaked in blood and brains. It hurt my foot to push on the gas, but I ignored it as much as I could. I wasn’t overly concerned about the body being found. People get shot all the time in Mexico. I figured they’d chalk it up to another cartel killing. I just hoped this guy wasn’t someone important. There were enough people out to kill me at the moment.

  After a few hours of driving, I saw a town ahead. Traffic was starting to pick up and the roads were getting wider. I hoped to ditch the Jeep soon, before someone noticed all the gore in the front seat. I wasn’t sure what city this was, but there was another sign that said twenty miles to the US/Mexican border. I drove through town until I was a few miles from the border. I pulled into an alley and left the Jeep and headed toward the border on foot. My feet were feeling much better as I began to walk. I wasn’t sure if the rest helped, or if they were starting to heal. It was still going to be tricky getting across. I had no ID or a passport. I’d considered that if I told the border agents that I was a tourist who had been beaten and robbed, they’d let me through. Problem was, I still had some blood on my pants and shirt. My best bet would be to find a coyote and see if he couldn’t me across.

  Chapter 25

  Maria stood outside the large church. It was a huge cathedral, with large stone steps and huge wooden double doors. She didn’t know where she was or how she’d gotten there exactly. There was something controlling her, something inside of her. She saw what it had done to Dennis, or Lucifer as it had called him. This must be what being possessed is like; or perhaps she was possessed. She’d seen movies about demon possession before. She never considered what happened to the person’s consciousness who was possessed. Now she realized she was just a passenger in her own body. She could see, hear, feel and smell everything, yet could do nothing on her own.

  She stood watching the double doors as strong wind began swirling around her. A large, dark cloud rose around her, rising up like two large pillars. Then the doors of the church blew inward. The people inside jumped and shouted as the blast startled them to her presence. One of the heavy doors landed on a parishioner. Several others ran to his aid, but they would be of no help.

  “What is the meaning of this?” the priest shouted. “This is God’s house!”

  “That’s right Padre,” Maria heard herself say. “It’s my house, and I’ve come to take it back.”

  “What do you—” the priest began, but was interrupted by the stained glass behind him shattering and raining down on him. He fell to the ground under the glass shards, but tried to get back to his feet. Chunks of skin hung off his face, and blood poured down it. Behind Maria, people were screaming and shouting. She turned to see them running out the back doors. Before anyone could make it, the doorway buckled, and collapsed on top of itself, blocking the only way out. The crowd stopped and looked at Maria. She couldn’t see herself, but felt her face contort into a twisted smile. The priest began yelling at her from behind.

  “I adjure you, ancient serpent, by the judge of the living and the dead, by your Creator, by the Creator of the whole universe, by Him who has the power to consign you to hell, to depart forthwith in fear, along with your savage minions, from this servant of God, who seeks refuge in the fold of the Church. I adjure you again!” He was citing the Rite of Exorcism. Little did he know those words would have no meaning to the creature that had come for him.

  Before he could get out another word, the black cloud protruded from Maria once again and swirled around the church. Everything it touched fell over dead. Men, women, children of all ages; old or young didn’t matter. They died where they stood. The priest was one of the first to go. From inside her body, Maria wanted to scream; to cry out for it all to stop. She wanted to run and help the dying people around her, but she was helpless. All she could do was sit and watch the carnage around her.

  Within minutes, the screams stopped. Maria looked around
as the dark mist lurked through the building, searching for any remaining survivor. There were some women and babies in the nursery downstairs. Maria wanted to die herself, as she sensed the life leaving each of the children and women in the nursery one by one. Helplessly, she walked through the church rubble and back outside. Once in the open, she heard the voice of the thing inside her speaking.

  “Don’t worry my dear,” the thing said, “Your boyfriend will be dead soon. Once I finish here, so will you. Then you may rest in peace.”

  Chapter 26

  I found a guy who was carrying several migrant workers across the border. I didn’t have any cash, so I traded him the gun for a ride. I sat in the back of a box truck packed in with at least thirty other people, none of whom spoke English, for almost four hours. It was so hot back there, I probably lost ten pounds in sweat alone. Don’t even get me started on the smell. I’d have rather stuck my face in a bucket of dead fish, it reeked so badly. I managed to fall asleep, and remained so for the better part of the ride. The old lady next to me didn’t seem to mind my propping my head on her shoulder. If she did, she didn’t say so to me.

  Once we arrived, the back door flew open and the man told us all to get out. He looked me up and down, shaking his head and gestured for me to keep moving. He apparently didn’t give a lot of rides to white Americans. Once again, I was in the middle of nowhere. There was a large chain link fence, part of it was cut open and bent into place. We all walked through the opening and onto U.S. soil. I was surprised to see no border patrol around, but I guess they couldn’t watch hundreds of miles of border. Once through the fence, there was another truck waiting.

  We climbed into the back of that truck and drove for another hour or so. It stopped again and let us all out. We were at a bus station in Laredo, Texas; just a few hours from Del Rio. One of my fellow travelers paid for my bus ticket. He must have felt sorry for me. I was filthy, I smelled horrible and probably looked like I just went a few rounds with Chuck Liddell. The bus ride to Del Rio was uneventful. Once back in town, I walked back to my apartment where I kept a spare key on top of the light by the door. I let myself in and walked straight to bed. I was hungry too, but that would have to wait.

  I carefully peeled off what I could of the borrowed clothes. Most of my burns had healed, but I was still in a lot of pain. I was afraid to look too closely at my feet or legs. I climbed into bed without covering up. I had no idea how long I’d been gone or what was happening with Maria, but I needed some rest if I was to be any good to anyone. Within a few minutes, sleep pulled me into the dark place. Hopefully there would be no dreams. I’d lived enough nightmares the last few days.

  When I woke up, I felt like a new person. My feet and legs had mostly healed, though I still felt some throbbing throughout my body. I eased out of bed and limped into the bathroom. I climbed into the shower, and let the water pour over me, massaging my aches and pains. It was the best thing I’d felt in ages. Well, besides the other night with Maria. I still wasn’t sure what to make of that.

  After washing off, I got dressed and pulled out my laptop. I looked through local and national news sites to see if anything had been reported about my arrest or “escape” from federal custody. There was nothing at all that I could find. Someone within the Feds sold me out to the cartel. Chances are, the whole case against me was all made up to get me to the cartel. I needed to find out who was behind it. Problem was, I had much bigger issues on my hands with the Ghost. The cartel was going to be a headache in the meantime. Hopefully after the show I put on in the desert, they’d leave me alone once they heard I was El Blanco Diablo.

  I heated up a TV dinner out of the freezer and choked it down as if it was the last meal I’d ever eat. I found my extra keys and headed out to my Explorer, and drove to the funeral home. I doubted Maria would be there, but figured it would be a place to start. The Ghost, or whatever it was, had her, was controlling her, but I had no idea what it’d be up to. When I arrived at the funeral home, it was empty as I had suspected. I knew Lucifer would be no help since he was in the Abyss. It looked like once again I was on my own to fight God.

  I went into Maria’s office and looked around her desk. There were papers and notes lying around. It was as if she were in the middle of something when she was taken. The sound of the front door opening rang through the halls as the sound of footsteps approached. I stood and walked into the foyer to find Ranger O’Brien and Agent Jenkins.

  “Well well, Charlie Sims. For a fugitive, you sure didn’t run very far did you?”

  My blood pressure shot up at the mere sight of them.

  “I’m not a fugitive. You arrested me on bullshit, then delivered me to the cartel.”

  The two men looked at each other and laughed.

  “What are you talking about? You killed a federal guard.”

  “You locked me up with a cartel thug who was sent to kill me. Then, when I got away, your guards hand delivered me to the cartel, who tried to barbecue me over a bon fire.”

  “Well now,” O’Brien said, “That’s quite a story. Why don’t you come with us and we can sort this out.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you two.”

  “Look Charlie,” Jenkins started. “I don’t know what happened at the jail. We had a dozen guards with stab wounds saying you cut them all with a shiv and sliced up your cell mate.”

  “Trust me, if I was gonna cut someone, they wouldn’t be around to tell you about it.”

  “Well, we just want to get to the bottom of this. Not to mention, you’re still wanted on the previous charges.”

  “Bullshit. Someone inside your agency is crooked. This whole thing is a crock of made up shit. You have Federal agents who are working for the cartel. I’d be more worried about that than little old me.”

  Jenkins walked toward me and tried to grab my arm as he reached for his handcuffs. This time I wouldn’t go quietly. I slapped his arm away and placed my hand on his head, feeling my fingers sink in. Within seconds, I knew everything about Agent Jenkins.

  Chapter 27

  I killed Jenkins before he could start screaming. Ranger O’Brien looked at me wide eyed as he drew his gun on me.

  “Get your hands up! Do it! Hands in the air!” he shouted. I did as he said.

  “I get that you’re freaked, but your anger is misplaced. Jenkins was dirty. The Cartel had dirt on him. He had apparently been coercing female informants to have sex with him and one of them filmed it.

  “What the hell are you talking about? Shut your damn mouth!”

  “I’m telling you. The girl had given the tape to the cartel. They used it to blackmail him. Once he started working for them, he couldn’t stop. He’s been at it for years. Info he’s given them has resulted in deaths to other Feds, Texas Rangers, and Border Patrol officers. Once this was all over, he was going to kill you too. He’s not the only Fed who was dirty either. There is a bunch of them down here.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I just do. Hard to explain.”

  “You better try to explain. What did you do to him just now?”

  Part of me just wanted to tell him and get it out there. Maybe I could get him on board as an ally. Though last time I made a cop my ally, he was killed before he knew what he was involved in.

  “It’s complicated. Trust me though, I just saved your ass. And would you please stop pointing that gun at me, unless you plan on shooting me.”

  He lowered the gun and looked around. I could tell he had no idea what to do.

  “Where’s your girlfriend?” he asked.

  “She’s not my girlfriend, and her whereabouts is an even more complicated issue.”

  “What the hell are you into son?”

  “Hell sums it up pretty good.”

  “So how was he gonna kill me if you’re so smart?”

  “He was going to shoot you with your own gun and make it look like a suicide. He’s done it before to other cops. He’s good at it.”

  �
�Jesus Christ on a cracker.”

  That was a new one. I had to try not to laugh.

  “Jenkins was the lead agent out of the Del Rio field office. He had two other agents assigned to him. You suppose they were dirty?”

  “More than likely. I’d say you have quite a mess on your hands. Whatever they are or were up to, they would take out anyone they didn’t trust. They obviously didn’t trust you. Suicide would suck too. You wouldn’t even get the typical hero cop funeral.”

  “Shut the hell up already. What kind of preacher are you?”

  “Not a very good one, obviously. Look, we are both neck deep in shit. We don’t have a lot of time. Maybe we can help each other.”

  “And just why would I need your help? I need to take you in!”

  “Right, so they can hand me back over to the cartel and kill you. Great plan.”

  “How did you get away from them if they had you tied up in some bonfire?”

  “You saw what I just did to Jenkins didn’t you? No one plans for that, so it works in my favor.”

  “My God.”

  “He’s not exactly on our side right now.”

  We stood in silence for a minute. O’Brien finally holstered his gun and looked up at me.

  “So what is going on with your girlfriend or whatever she is?”

  “She’s in danger.”

  “The cartel?”

  “No, worse.”

  He rolled his eyes and looked around.

  “Okay,” he said. “I’ll have to make some calls. We’ll find her, then deal with this situation.

  Sounded like a good idea, if the cartel butted out long enough.

  Chapter 28

  Before we left, I took Jenkins’ body and placed him on a gurney in the back, covering him in sheets. Fortunately I worked at the one place were seeing dead bodies was normal. As we climbed into O’Brien’s truck, his phone went off. He held it to his ear grunting as his forehead wrinkled. Then he hung up.