Murder Genes (51 page)

The Tag was a spiked ball the size of a marble, meant to stick to anything it was shot at, triggered when enough barbs lost contact or tore off of a surface.
 
There was no creative amount of ass surgery that would remove it.
 
"Didn't you hear me?
 
I can get him," Bitch said.

"No Bitch," Jay said lamely.
 
"Not gonna happen.
 
I'm not OK with you suicide bombing Immortal Leader with an assbomb.
 
We saw how well that worked last time."

“Not your choice anymore. You quit acting like I'm something you need to protect."

"You are.
 
You stuck an explosive up your ass you dumbshit."
 
Jay paused.
 
"And you're all I got left."

"Liar.
 
You got a son out there.
 
Fuck Jay, this is what we've been waiting for.
 
Save the world and everything, Protector instinct, remember?"

"Somebody's got to survive.
 
Otherwise it's pointless.
 
Someone has to make it.
 
Chances are I'm dead in less than a week, you heard Karah."

"Karah doesn't know anything.
 
The point is that you can't fight Immortal Leader.
 
And face it, I'm good at baiting.
 
Immortal Leader will bite and then he'll fight me and then we'll win.
 
If we win, then no one's got to survive to save the world."
 
Bitch smirked as if at the irony of his own statement.
 
"And you never know, we might just save your son's life in the process.
 
Plus, it isn't like you can stop me so you might as well quit trying."

Jay didn't answer.
 
A long, long, silence followed.

Then Bitch spoke again.
 
"Jay."

"Yeah Bitch."

"Your name, what's your full name?"

"Jason.
 
Jason Nelson."

Bitch repeated the name like he was savoring the sound.
 
"I like it," he said.
 
"Can I use it?
 
The last name?"

"Sure Bitch.
 
What's wrong with your last name?"

Bitch let out a soft chuckle.
 
"I don't remember it."
 
Jay heard Bitch mumble something to himself, when Bitch repeated it again, Jay was able to pick out what he was saying.
 
It was a name.
 
His old name:
 
Chris.
 
And his new one:
 
Nelson.
 
Jay had almost forgotten that Chris was Bitch's real name.

More silence followed.
 
"Jay," Bitch said again.

"Yeah Bitch."

"I'm so fucking glad I'm here, right now.
 
You made this hellhole place the best thing that's ever happened to me in my life."

The words were like an anvil dropped on his heart.

The feeling washing over him was strange.
 
Like all of a sudden, Jay realized that this whole time he hadn't been Kyle's father because it'd been impossible.
 
And somehow during this whole fucked-up adventure, Bitch had taken Kyle's place.

But the irony, the pure insane hilarity of it all was that the proof of Jay's nurturing was that his Murderer City "son" had stuff an explosive up his arse for Jay's sake.

Jay heard Bitch roll to the side, facing away from Jay.
 
"G'night Jay," Bitch said.

"Night..."
 
Son.

It was the first time Jay'd seen the whole army together.
 
As infirmed as he was, he could tell there were millions of the Slant-Eyes.
 
He couldn't understand how Hunter had done it.
 
Morir was the biggest of the Murderer Cities and it seemed the U.S. has planned on having the whole DPRK imprisoned here since the beginning.
 
But how had Hunter gotten the DPRK everything they wanted?
 
Jay leaned back, his legs shook underneath him.
 
One of the guards impatiently prodded Jay back to standing.
 
Bitch glanced sidelong in concern.

The DPRK had uniforms, weapons, equipment and technology here.
 
Supplies, rations, food...like they were guests.
 
Jay was sure some political humanitarian bullshit had something to do with Hunter and Immortal Leader getting so much, but this was ridiculous.

Jay shivered, feeling fever and sweating from the hot sun that was killing him.
 
Baking him like an ant in a kid's sandbox.

Morir's wall, the wall that looked like bars in a jail above and behind them suddenly didn't seem like overkill.

Jay lolled his eyes to the massive army a second time, he could see them like he was the king of a mountain, except he was on a slope and not a mountain.
 
The army formed a half-moon, facing Bitch and him, and when Jay looked behind him, he realized that they must be where the point of exit would be.
 
Otherwise known as the point of explosion.
 
Great.
 
More febrile shivers overtook him and Jay couldn't stand anymore.
 
He collapsed to the ground.
 
His guard started yelling at him and hitting him, but Jay didn't care.
 
He hardly even felt it.
 
At some point the guard gave up, content with Jay sitting cross-legged, propped on the wall behind him.

Jay saw Immortal Leader appear in the distance, riding a horse.
 
A horse?
 
Where the hell did he get a horse?

Immortal Leader clopped down the center of his army like he was Napoleon himself.
 
Cheering from a few million soldier's throats chorused as Immortal Leader took his merry time toward the two of them.
 
At his side was Hunter, jogging alongside the horse like a dog.
 
On Immortal Leader's other side came Jinn the translator.
 
Following the three of them were Immortal Leader's generals, five of them.
 
Mean bastards with mean expressions.

Something like ten or fifteen or thirty minutes later, Immortal Leader got to the top of the slope where Jay and Bitch were being held.

"You fuckerrr!" Bitch screamed at the top of his lungs, throwing himself against his restraints.
 
"You slimeball fucking bastard retard shittingmotherfuckingmurdering DUMBFUCK!"

Immortal Leader raised an eyebrow.

Bitch stopped his raging and glared at Jinn.
 
"Can you translate that?"

Jinn shook his head and spoke to Immortal Leader.
 
It obviously wasn't word for word, or even close because Immortal Leader just smirked in amusement.
 
Jinn translated the reply.
 
"Phantom Warrior fought well.
 
He was honored to fight him."

"Hell, you didn't even fight him.
 
Or didn't you notice?
 
One of your men
shot
him."

Jinn might have translated, or said something entirely different to Immortal Leader.
 
Immortal Leader didn't reply.
 
Instead, Immortal Leader got off his horse and walked right up to the brick base of Morir's walls.
 
He touched them and said some more things.
 
Hunter nodded and spoke something and Jinn translated but Jay couldn't hear.

They conversed for some time, Bitch screaming at them throughout while Jay just sat, watching the events unfold.
 
Jay groaned and forced himself to a stand, pushing him up the wall, wobbling.
 
"Tell Immortal Leader...that we both want to fight him," Jay managed.
 
"In honor of our comrades...and in honor of Phantom Warrior, Xiaos Wayng."

Hunter, halting his conversation with Immortal Leader, walked right up to Jay.
 
"What's your plan, Jay?
 
I've been waiting and waiting and waiting, but I don't see any plan.
 
What is it?
 
What happened?
 
I thought you were smarter than this."
 
Hunter had that calculating smile on his face.
 
Cocky shithole.

Jay grimaced.
 
"Plan's to kill Immortal...Leader.
 
Because I'm dying...so I might as well...kill the fucker...first.
 
Then in my spare...time I'll kill...you."

Hunter shrugged.
 
"I really thought you were better than this, Jay.
 
All this time, it was just a fluke that you survived."
 
Hunter sauntered over to Bitch.
 
"And what's your plan?" Hunter asked.

Bitch snarled and a stream of curses fell from his mouth.
 
He took a breath.
 
"Same thing," he summarized.
 

Hunter laughed.
 
"I don't think so boys.
 
Just in case, I'm gonna make sure you don't even get a chance."
 
Hunter said something to the guards holding them, Jinn didn't translate.
 
He just nodded with a pained expression at the guards, they seemed to know what to do.

The guards surrounded Bitch and Jay, pinning them straight against the wall.
 
One of the Slant-Eyes, a big bastard, walked up holding a huge sledgehammer and a foot-long metal stake.
 
Hell no.
 
"At least... give us the chance!" Jay tried to throw the men off him.
 
It didn't help, he was far too weak.
 
"Ask him...translate for us! ...Jinn!"
 
A guard lifted Jay's entire body while another took the stake and Jay's hand, putting them both high on the wall.
 
The one with the Sledgehammer spit into his hands and rubbed them together.
 
He lifted the sledgehammer over a shoulder.
 
"Jinn!" Jay screamed again.

Jinn turned and spoke to Immortal Leader.

The giant sledgehammer struck and the stake plunged into Jay's wrist and into the wall behind him.
 
"FUUUUUCCCKKK!" Jay sobbed.
 
The pain.
 
It was too much.
 
Not the worst physical pain he'd ever felt, but where was the justice?
 
Not even a damn chance?
 
What had he ever done to deserve this?
 
He'd been a good father to Kyle, a loving father.
 
A hard worker and a good person.
 
Jay let everything out, and sobbed like a newborn baby.

He felt the guards let go of him so that he hung from the stake in his wrist, pinned to the brick wall like a one-armed hanging crucifix.
 
The world swam and Jay knew he wouldn't last long.
 
If he closed his eyes...he probably would never open them again.

A part of himself didn't care because nothing mattered and struggling made no sense.
 
The other part of himself was just too curious to let go.

Immortal Leader and Hunter were talking rapidly, pointing at Bitch and Jay.

Bitch was next, his body hoisted and the first hand was raised by the guards.
 
The man with the sledgehammer approached.
 
"Hey!" Bitch screamed.
 
"Tell Immortal Leader that I was Phantom Warrior's student!
 
I learned to fight from him.
 
It's only right that I avenge him!"

The stake rose with the hammer.

And paused.

And dropped away.
 
The Korean with the sledgehammer sighed and leaned on the hammer.

"He wants to know if this is true," Jinn said.

"Stop translating," Hunter snarled.
 
"It's pointless.
 
Let them die."

Jinn bowed at Hunter.
 
"I am sorry, but it is my job to pass Immortal Leader's words to these men.
 
Just as it is my job to pass their words to Immortal Leader."

Immortal Leader, Hunter, and Jinn approached Jay who could hardly hold his head up anymore.
 
Jay felt full of shit, he stomach actually was full of shit, from the sounds of it.
 
He felt like he'd never had a choice in his own life.
 
When Andrea died, when he'd dropped out of school, when he'd been taken here...
 
His life had been controlled by everyone but himself.
 
Just like Karah said.
 
Jay felt himself letting go, and the pain and everything else was melting away.

Jinn spoke.
 
"Immortal Leader wants to hear it from your mouth.
 
Was this boy Phantom Warrior's student?"

Jay blinked, the world flooded back around him and then reality reversed and vomited him back into ethereal mush.
 
He was dying, why were they asking him questions?