Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives

I listened through Sue as I walked and got more nervous as I progressed. It wasn’t just the darkness, but the scents and sounds that came from far ahead of me. There were snakes, all right. Lots of them, and the sounds of whimpers and screams that echoed off the walls. The fact that the lady behind me gave off the citrus scent of happiness with each scream wasn’t the best encouragement for sticking around.

“What do you need from the box? Maybe we can make a deal.”

I was surprised when she answered calmly. “We want the virus back, of course. But we shall see what else is inside. No doubt there are other things of value, as well.”

The virus? What the hell!? Pass that along, would you? What the hell is Carmine up to? I want answers, Sue. Get them however you have to before I reach this box.

I felt her body race for the next room where Lucas had taken Carmine to chat. It annoyed me he wouldn’t let her attend, but he’d always been really protective of Sue. I heard when she told him and heard his swearing when he threw open the bedroom door again and slammed it behind him. I needed a minute to talk to Carmine myself, so I paused and spoke with my back turned.

“Let me see the photo. I need to orient myself. I’ve never actually been here without a guide. By the way, do you have a name?”

Hell, I hadn’t been here at all, so I was actually doing pretty good so far. I felt a barrel press into my spine and kept my hands in the air. She didn’t speak, but there was a fumbling with my back pocket and when the metal left my shirt, I reached back. There was the photo I’d seen.

“My name isn’t important. Now, orient yourself and let us finish this.”

I had a feeling that finish this didn’t just mean getting the box. Clearly, I’d seen too much to live.

While I held up the photo and stared, I slipped into Sue’s mind. I’d only done this a couple of times before, but it was time I got some answers from Carmine.

The bedroom door was locked, but it wasn’t a high end hotel. It would only be a hollow core door with a flimsy lock. I pushed into her further, almost too much. I nearly dropped the photo. Stepping this way and that, all with the light trained beyond me into the darkness, I stepped forward in one body and kicked outward in another. The door to the bedroom slammed open and Sue caught Lucas with both hands clutching Carmine’s shirt, mid-threat.

It was Sue’s voice speaking, but my words. “Goddamn it, Leone! I’ve got a gun pointed at my head and another at my heart, and if you don’t spill what the hell this is about, I swear to God that I’m going to rip your chest open and shove your beating heart up your ass!” He’d be able to see Sue’s eyes glowing blue. They always did when I slipped into her body.

I advanced threateningly toward the bed and Lucas backed up a little in surprise. He probably knew I was subject to Sue’s physical limitation as a human, but those limitations had extended somewhat recently, ever since she’d done a magic ritual that saved her life. Nobody was really sure what we were capable of together. I didn’t want to find out right this second, but nobody else had to know that. Trouble was, I was starting to feel hot, and that wasn’t a good thing. On the first night of the moon, I may or may not shift, and have no control over the process.

Carmine scrambled backwards on the bed, apparently believing whatever he saw. I didn’t want to look in the mirror to see what that was. “Okay, okay! Fine, Tony. I’ll talk.”

“Be quick about it. I’ve only got a few more minutes to stall here.”

I slipped back into my own body and stepped forward a few paces, then zig-zagged and pointed for the woman to aim the light at the ceiling where the pipes were. “This would be a lot easier with more light.”

“Just keep walking. We have time.”

The scent of snakes was getting stronger, and I was liking this less and less. I slipped back into Sue. “How do I find the box? I won’t turn it over if I can avoid it, but I need to know what I’m looking for.”

Carmine sighed. “Right wall, six rows up, and look for a thumbprint in the mortar.”

“Tell me about the virus. What the hell, Carmine? When did you get involved in bioweapons?”

I couldn’t really smell through Sue’s nose, but he actually looked contrite. “It wasn’t intentional. We raided a warehouse to get hold of an ammo shipment we heard was being stockpiled. It was in a briefcase that was handcuffed to the wrist of a guy with a Russian diplomatic passport. We couldn’t figure out what he was doing there, but decided it needed to be in safekeeping while I decided what to do with it.”

The logic escaped me. “Uh, turn it in to the CDC maybe? Why would you keep it? Jesus, Leone. Are you insane? What kind of virus is it?”