:Children of the Golden Jaguar"
May. 23rd, 2022 11:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dochermes"Children of the Golden Jaguar"
6/29-6/30/2002
I.
Jeremy Bane stepped out of his rental car onto the sidewalk of a 96-degree day in Los Angeles. He was a New York City boy and didn't know if he was going to get used to this constant brilliant sunlight and dry air. It made him feel as if he were in an adjacent realm like Maroch. Worse, for the first time in his life he was having trouble finding his way around. Los Angeles didn't seem to have a plan, it just went on for miles in every direction. He had a pile of maps in the glove compartment of his Jeep Cherokee but it sure was going to make action difficult if he had to keep pulling over to study maps while the bad boys got away.
Ah well, I'm just getting old and stodgy, he thought. I can adapt. I've hiked through the jungles and ice fields and swamps. LA isn't any worse. Already, his body was adjusting. More than twenty years of a tagra diet from Tel Shai had boosted his immunity and regeneration properties past what medical science could explain. Even in his black turtleneck, slacks and sports jacket, he was starting to feel comfortable. Standing in front of a Rite-Way pharmacy, though, he went in and bought a pair of BluBlocker sunglasses. Not only would they be more comfortable, they would conceal the distinctive pale grey of his irises.
Now to start looking. On the next block was the HAPPY DUCK. The Dire Wolf did not smile at the painted sign in the window of a demented-looking duck with a leer. He didn't have much sense of humor in the first place. At ten, the restaurant was just opening. Bane walked into a cool dim interior that smelled of kimchi and flowers. Behind the counter, an elderly man glanced up. He was wearing slacks and a white dress shirt without a tie. "Yes?"
"Annyeong haseyo," Bane said and continued in Korean. "My name is Dire Wolf. Your manager knows me from a long time ago. Please inform him I am here."
The man gave the barest possible bow and went behind a hanging curtain. A second later, a very tough-looking Korean man stepped out and grinned. He was not good-looking in any way, with a short bristling crewcut over a flat face and unfriendly eyes. Jack Hwang was in his early sixties, but the body under the white T-shirt and jeans was hard and muscular.
"Mr Bane! So good to see you. I had no idea you were in the area."
Still in Korean, Bane said, "It's been a long time since Winter Snow kicked the Black Mantis into the river. I don't think we will see fighting like that again."
Hwang nodded in agreement. "Times change. Fighters train different, they take steroids and painkillers. Listen, can I help you?"
Bane stepped closer and lowered his voice. "I am here on a mission. Yes, I am still a Tel Shai knight, still hunting ghosts and chasing tigers. May I take Insun for a walk?'
"A... walk? That is not why she works here. Perhaps a massage. She uses hot stones and walks on your back. It would be most refreshing."
"No, just a walk. I will pay for her time."
Hwang dismissed that with a handwave. "Please. The man who pulled three Black Mantis off me and threw them into the river? I owe you much. Her time is free. Walk with her all day if you wish."
"I appreciate it, Jack." Bane looked around. "Very nice place. I can tell by the aroma the food must be great."
"We try. Please wait here." He went through a door and was gone for a few minutes. Bane remembered the fight decades ago between the Winter Snow School, which practiced Hapkido, and the Chinese gang Black Mantis. The battle was short but so brutal. As he thought about martial arts of those days, Hwang returned with Insun Choi. Bane had never met her. Insun was barely five feet tall, about forty, with a presentable face. She had a double eyelid fold. This place was discreet, so she wore dark pants and a light blue blouse rather than a too-short skirt and halter.
"I do not know you, sir," she said in English. "Perhaps there is some mistake?"
"Do as you are told," Hwang ordered her bluntly. "This is a man of honor. You will be as safe with him at your side as if you were surrounded by bodyguards." He gestured toward the door. "Please stay to chat when you are ready, Dire Wolf."
"Thank you," Bane said and led her to the door. They stepped back out in the heat and light, and he started walking.
"Insun, I know you only through someone who fights crime here in the city. Not the police, a private investigator. He is not available now or I would go to him directly."
They went past store after store, loud music coming from apartments overhead. "Will you tell me your business, sir?"
"Do you know the name Tel Shai?"
"Oh, yes. A legend. My parents believed it was an order of knights who had Ki powers."
"I am a Tel Shai knight. I have spent my life fighting bandits and tyrants."
She smiled for the first time. "I completely believe you. Your voice... You have conviction."
Bane noticed there were not as many people on the sidewalks as he was used to. Everyone seemed to stay in their cars until they had to rush indoors. "Insun, my concern is not with normal street gangs. Drug dealers, thieves, they are not my prey. I hunt those with special powers, who have forbidden knowledge. I want to know about the Children of the Golden Jaguar."
That stopped her in her tracks. She glared at him as if he had said something filthy. "You must be mistaken. There is no such gang, they are just a story."
"Any names? Addresses? Just point me in the right direction."
"No. You are crazy. I must return-" She froze again and pointed. "Look. Abe Normal."
Bane frowned. A big man, shirtless, was running headlong down the sidewalk right at them. He held a gun in one hand. Bane shoved Insun Choi into a doorway, out of harm's way.
"Let him pass!" she shouted but Bane stepped right into the man's path. This Abe Normal had a nearly shaven head, a long narrow face that held rage in it. He was well muscled and ran like a track star. The Dire Wolf blocked him and stood with lowered arms.
"Bloody 'ell, mate!" Normal shouted, slamming out an arm which Bane seized and levered down hard. The shirtless man hit the sidewalk face down and the gun would have gone off but the Dire Wolf had wrestled it away with his other hand. Bane got the biggest surprise he had received in years. Face down on the hot pavement, Normal kicked back with his heavy boot and caught the Wolf right on the jaw. He fell backwards to a seated position and got another vicious kick to the face as Normal spun around, then leaped up.
The man had a funny expression on his face, as if he had been shown something new when he thought he knew everything. "We need to talk, my darling. Later for you." And he was off again.
Bane got up,rubbing his jaw. He still held the man's Glock. How was that guy so fast? Bane felt he had met someone his equal, which was rare in his long career. Turning to ask Insun, he saw she was gone. Well, no surprise. Maybe later he would go back to HAPPY DUCK but now he wanted to return to his car and move on. Bane picked up his sunglasses and turned to face a woman who had been watching him with an amused smile.
Somehow he felt he was in more danger than before. A lifetime of fighting had left him with sharp instincts.
II.
The woman was of medium height, thin, with gorgeous long black hair down to her waist. She was wearing sneakers, jeans and a denim vest held closed with just one button over a bare torso. Her face was not exactly pretty but magnetic in a feral way with a pug nose and huge amber eyes under arched brows. "I saw that. Pretty funny, hombre. You gave Abe Normal the biggest surprise in his life."
"He sure tagged me. Who is that guy anyway?"
"Shouldn't you ask who I am first? Marisol Benitez, Mr Dire Wolf. Oh, yes, I recognize you. I am Midnight War, as you are."
Bane held out his hand and she shook it firmly. "I guess there is much you can tell me, Marisol."
"More than you realize. Do you have a car nearby?"
"A few blocks that way," he answered and they started walking.
"Abe Normal is on one of his rampages. The police can't do much about him, he is hard to catch and impossible to hold. After awhile, he disappears again. No one knows how he got that way, but he can't be killed, at least so far. He has been shot more times than you have have had a hot meal, been run over by a city bus, been poisoned and stabbed and dropped from the Wyland Tower. After a few minutes or an hour at most, he snaps out of it and heals quickly."
"Sounds like Samhain. I was hoping there wasn't another one like that. What does he do for a living?"
"Hitman. Thief. Bodyguard. Not the nicest person." She flashed white teeth up at him. "You know, I always wanted to see you and him in the same city. I think maybe his good times are about to end."
They had reached his Jeep and Bane opened the door for her. "Oooh a gentleman, very nice. Thank you."
The Dire Wolf started up the vehicle and pulled out into traffic."Maybe I should make a point to meet up with this guy. Abe Normal, that's sick. What's his real name?"
"No one knows. But you have not come to the City of Angels for him, have you?"
"Not at all. I am looking for a group called Children of the Golden Jaguar. Sound familiar?"
Marisol did nor answer right away. She was looking ahead. "I think you need to understand how the Midnight War works out here. There are four big occult gangs and a few smaller ones. They are under the Truce but, naturally, now and then someone gets killed and the grandmasters have to meet and smooth things over before the streets have war."
"Not like that back in New York," Bane admitted. "There are some cults but they have different agendas and never cross. Who are the big gangs?"
"Turn right up here," she directed. "Yes. Another mile or so. The occult gangs are on ethnic lines. The white gang is the Roar Devils. The Vietnamese gang is the Joyful Rain. The black gang is the Knuckles of Correction. And the Latinas, the Kings of the Night. Children of the Golden Jaguar, they are new."
Bane shook his head. "Sounds like some interesting boys to play with. A colleague of mine was robbed of a mystic talisman he spent years crafting. He asked me to see if I could reclaim it, and he told me this Golden Jaguar was responsible."
"And you believe him?"
"Until I have reason not to. Dr Galloway has been straight with me for years. I know he has been working on that talisman for a decade or so."
Marisol said nothing for a long pause. "I have heard much of you, Mr Bane. The Dire Wolf. Head of the Kenneth Dred Foundation. Before I was born, you were fighting the creatures of the night. I must say, I did not expect to ever meet you."
"Nice to be appreciated. Now, how about telling me a little of yourself?"
"Pull up that side street," she said. "There. On the gravel." They were in a rundown neighborhood that was not too bad but which had single family houses. Up a gravel driveway was a house in serious disrepair, with a dead lawn and a windows boarded up from within. A sign over the front door said SAN JORGE SUPPORT GROUP. Marisol got out and stood with folded arms as Bane locked the Jeep and came around beside her.
The Dire wolf gazed up at the shabby building. There were no other cars nearby, no signs of anyone being in there.
"You must come back tonight, maybe midnight. When you knock, you will be asked about who your family is. Answer 'Mi madre es la tigra oro.' Got it?"
"I think so. What are you going to be doing?"
"You never know, I might be around. Go now. My neighborhood is near but you do not belong here."
"Fair enough. Thanks, Marisol. If I run into Abe Normal, I'll beat him up for you."
She snorted gleefully, "I would PAY to see that."
III.
With a wave, he walked back to the Jeep Cherokee and got in. He felt fine, his body had acclimated to the heat and he was comfortable. Retracing his steps, he got out on the main street and cruised along slowly until he saw a Holiday Inn set back in its own plaza with a pizza joint and ice cream parlor. Bane pulled in and looked around suspiciously, then backed into a space near the motel. From the back of his Jeep, he took a knapsack and small shoulder bag, locked the doors and walked into the lobby. He tried to get a room on the ground floor and lucked out. Bane paid with cash, which meant having to show his driver's license and walked down a long corridor past an indoor pool and video arcade room.
His room was near the end of the hall, almost opposite an alcove with a Pepsi machine and a door to the outside. That could be useful. He did not unpack, just checked out the standard room and went back outside. It was only one-twenty in the afternoon, which meant one of the long vigils he hated so much. At least he could keep busy.
Bane went across the parking lot to the pizza place, bought a meatball sub and a large bottle of seltzer. On his way back, he stopped by his Jeep and fetched the laptop from the back. This was in a satchel he slung over one shoulder. Stopping in the lobby, he bought copies of three different newspapers. He went back to his room, dropped down in the big chair by the coffee table and dug into the newspapers. After a few minutes, he started taking bites of the sub without really being aware of it.
As a young man first entering the Midnight War, Bane had discovered that many newspapers contained hints of what went on in the middle of the night. Reporters evidently knew a lot more than they dared to say outright, but there were recurring phrases and ways of talking around things. A few New York journalists had confirmed this for him and given him pointers what to look for.
As Bane examined the newspapers as if solving a code, the afternoon slipped by. He was frowning. There was a lot of Midnight War activity going on out here that no one was dealing with. A canvas bag full of headless chickens, found in a basement. Two bodies found, tied back to back, with their eyelids removed. Sightings of strange large animals, like white bears in the middle of the city. It was all too familiar. Then there were the Roar Devils and the Joyous Rain, so called because they throw showers of tiny blades in a fight. Yes. Bane sat up. Maybe he needed to come back here when the present case was settled. Maybe LA needed a Dire Wolf for a while.
The sub was gone and the bottle of seltzer half empty. Bane used the bathroom, brushed his teeth and came back to the chair. He felt excited at finding out what was going on here. New York had been quiet for years, mostly because his new KDF team was vigilant there. Maybe this was the new hunting ground he was looking for. He should open the laptop now and start doing searches for Abe Normal and Marisol Benitez, but he decided to do his form first.
Stripping down, he moved to the center of the room. First, he bowed to Teacher Chael far away at Tel Shai. It crossed his mind that Cindy was a Teacher there now, maybe she had her own students bowing to her. Quite an image. Bane began a series of stances and poses that blended into slow punches and kicks, speeding up until he was going full blast.
It was an amazing sight. If anyone had ever filmed Bane practicing, they could have made a fortune selling it. He had been born with reflexes and voluntary movements much quicker than the norm, he was what they called a Variant, but it was the decades of Kumundu which had brought out his full abilities. He was not invincible, of course. He had beaten throroughly a few times, but it had cetainly not been easy for his enemies.
After a little more than an hour, he slowed down and was doing stretching again. Finished, he bowed gratefully to Chael and promised himself to return to Tel Shai soon. He walked around the room for a few minutes, cooling down, then went into the bathroom to take a shower. That had cleared his head. Bane took his laptop to the bed and did some searches but, as he had expected, found nothing on the internet about the characters he was interested in. That was not surprising. Bane put the laptop back in its satchel and glanced at the clock over the TV. Six-thirty. This was hopeless.
Although he disliked doing it, Bane stretched out on the bed under the top sheet, turned off the light and folded his arms over his chest. Using the breathing method Chael had taught him years ago, he put his body into a light trance that slid down into genuine sleep. He aimed for five hours. When he gave a start and opened his eyes, the room was dark and chilly. He clicked on the bedside lamp and saw it was just before ten. Not bad. At least he had rested and emptied his mind through dreams.
The Dire Wolf got his knapsack. He had already fastened the leather sheaths to his forearms after doing his DohRa. He seldom left the silver daggers off his person for too long. Now he took fresh clothes from the knapsack and put on a tight bodysuit of what looked like wet silk but which was actually Trom armor. Over this went an outfit of black slacks, long-sleeved turtleneck and sport jacket. This monotonous wardrobe was useful. Black of course was good for sneaking around at night, and the jacket held a dozen tiny gadgets and tools. Through his belt, he fastened the holster which held one of the anesthetic dart pistols. He also carried mundane items like keys, wallet, handkerchief and a leather case holding his PI license and consultant badge.
It was ten-thirty. Bane checked the room, carried his laptop satchel with him and went back out to the parking lot. As he approached his Jeep, five big Harley-Davidson thundered in. They sounded as if they had been modified to be even louder than usual. He paused in curiosity. The riders were all blonde, with long curly hair and two had short beards.They were body-builders, packing some sculpted muscles that glistened as if rubbed with oil. One had a vest, but the others were shirtless. Interesting. Only the leader wore a helmet, which had large devil horns fastened to its crown. Of course, he thought, the Roar Devils.
As Bane stood there, the leader spotted him and started rolling toward him. He was intercepted by a big man who raced in from nowhere and tackled him, knocking him off and spilling the motorcycle. As they hit the ground, the newcomer jumped up and threw a punch that cracked like a whiplash. He wearing a red sweatshirt now, but Bane recognized Abe Normal instantly. He drew back to observe and learn about foes he might have to face.
Normal swung away from the downed leader on the paving to face the Devils coming at him. The first Roar Devil throttled up and plunged toward the madman, who stepped closer and slammed an elbow to the biker's chest. That man fell back off and his bike went on without him. He hit the ground hard and Normal stepped closer as another Devil circled and smacked him in the back of the head with a length of pipe. Normal fell to his hands and knees but did not collapse completely.
Bane glanced around. There were faces at many windows but no one had come outside. He saw a woman scoot from her car into a doorway and did not blame her. Surely the LAPD would be here in a minute? As Bane turned back to the fight, a blast of thunderous sound hit him like the shock wave of an explosion. He was dazed by the ongoing noise and almost fell down. Clapping his hands over his ears, the Dire Wolf opened his mouth and kept his footing. He saw one of the Roar Devils standing next to a cycle on its kickstand. The blonde muscleman had his fists clasped by his sides, feet far apart and his mouth wide open. The sound was coming from him. Caught in that blast, Normal held his hands up in front of him as his skin started coming off. Blood sprayed behind him as if blown by a wind. But Normal still stood and defied them.
Watching, Bane dug in his jacket and found a paper wrap holding a pair of high density foam rubber ear plugs, and jammed them in. The roar faded to bearable levels. He was fascinated as he saw Abe Normal take a step forward. By now, bits of muscle were pulling off him but he lifted a bloody leg and stepped closer again. This was impressive.
The leader of the Roar Devils had gotten back on his bike. Still no police. Normal had reached the biker and started throttling him, lifting him off his feet and slamming him to the ground. The biker struggled free, pulled out a revolver and threw four slugs right into Normal's face. That dropped him. As he dropped to the ground, the Devils got in formation and rolled back out onto the highway.
The Dire Wolf pulled the plugs from his ears. His head hurt and he had been fifty feet away from the confrontation. Still no cops, that was strange. Someone must have called them by now. He strolled over to where Abe Normal was trying to get up and stood over the man thoughtfully. The skin was gone, there was blood all over but Normal was still aware and trying to get up. The bullet holes left his face a mass of ripped tissue but somehow it was not fatal.
"Need a hand?" Bane asked.
"F- you, you bloody bastard!" Normal managed to get up on his hands and knees, then rose. The bleeding had stopped somehow. "Wait, Oi know you. You're the f-ing Wanker who took my goddam gun. I actually paid good money for that."
Bane remained placid as if discussing the weather. "Quite a trick you've got there. You're not related to a guy named Samhain, are you?'
Normal growled like a animal. His skin was beginning to grow back in tiny patches. The holes in his face were sealing up and a spent bullet popped out of one to clink on the ground. "Look, I don't have time to waste with you. I got me job to do and I earn my pay." He stopped suddenly. "You- you seem a might calm about what you're seeing, mate."
"I've been around."
"I reckon you have. You know what, my sweetheart, we'll be meeting again." With that, he loped off into the night, dressed in tatters. Bane watched him with fascination, then got in his Jeep and started it up. Those Roar Devils deserved a little investigation, too. He rolled across the parking lot and decided not to follow Abe Normal. He had the same hunch they would be crossing paths again. Bane glanced in his rearview mirror and sighted two LAPD patrol cars entering the lot. Had they deliberately waited until it was quiet before showing up?
IV.
Just after midnight, he parked his Jeep on the outer edge of the gravel. The SAN JORGE SUPPORT GROUP building had lights in every window and raucuous music throbbing. Four cars and two trucks were parked haphazardly. On the porch, under a yellow light, two men stood and watched him approach. Bane was still wondering about Abe Normal. Maybe he had been experimented on by the Mandate as Peril had been? Or was it a gralic talent innate in the man? He felt now he couldn't leave LA without finding out a lot more.
Stepping up to the porch, Bane nodded politely to the hostile glares he received, and rapped sharply on the door. When a voice asked him a question, he could not quite catch, he shouted, "Mi madre es la tigra oro." The door opened and he stepped in. It was not a typical party. There was no smoke in the air, no one was drinking.About fifteen men and women of different ages were standing in a circle watching him. All looked Latina, but he could not place them. Colombian, maybe.
Bane said, "Can we turn that down. Thanks. Marisol, come on, I know you're here."
From a curtain in a doorway, she stepped through and tilted her head quizzically. She was wearing a thin white shirt under the vest now. "And just how do you explain that?"
"A clan is not without its princess. You are leader of the Golden Jaguar, of course. You did not lure me here to do me harm, though."
"No. Of course not." She held out a hand, gesturing for him to step forward, which he did. "The Children of the Golden Jaguar has a long history, Dire Wolf. Its line was broken a generation ago and I intend to revive it. The city needs us. At night, the occult gangs do what they will, demanding tribute, forcing women, killing for a perceived slight. The police have orders to stand away. The mayor, the governor, they hide their heads in fear and pretend they do not know any of this."
"I got a look at the Roar Devils tonight," Bane said. "If the other gangs are as dangerous, I see your point."
"Our powers come from a holy relic. You know of the Cat's Claw, the talisman of the Bakwanga tribe?"
Bane nodded. He did not mention that Kwali, holder of that artifact, had been his friend and teammate for years.
"There are other, similar talismans. Not as powerful perhaps but still potent. With our relic, we can draw on gralic force to fight these gangs. Without it, well.. we are well-meaning but ineffective."
"You are wearing the Golden Jaguar claw now," he said quietly.
Marisol blinked. "Wait, what?"
"I can see the outline under your shirt."
"Oh. Yes. Well, that claw has been in our possession for hundreds of years. It was ensorcelled by our greatest shaman. It was lost in 1980, when our chief was in the United States and was robbed of everything on him. Since then, the Children of the Golden Jaguar have had to wait helplessly and watch wickedness flourish. But that is over now."
Bane said,"Dr Calloway mentioned nothing of this."
"Why would he? He prized the claw because he felt its potency, even though he could never tap it. It was precious to him but useless. Maybe he did not even know it was stolen property. He thought it was fairly his."
For a long moment, the Dire Wolf was silent. "Calloway asked me to retrieve the talisman and I agreed. That is an obligation. He did not pay me, he is not my client and so I have more leeway to use my own judgement." He looked over the uneasy faces which surrounded him. These were students, retirees, clerks. Not warriors. But he liked what he saw in their faces. He turned back to the woman who watched him warily. "Marisol, I will not attempt to take the talisman from you. I think I need to talk to Dr Calloway and see how much he knows of its background. Regardless of whether it was his property at the time, even if he paid for it, it seems to me that you and your clan here are the rightful owners."
She smiled. "I was right about you. I'm glad."
Bane started to speak when there was a scream of pain right outside the door. "Normal. Of course." He wheeled and got outside in a blink. A dead man lay across the doorway, one of the Golden Jaguar sentries. Abe Normal was standing by the railing, trying to get a machete away from the other man. The madman had picked up a white shirt and shorts from somewhere. He was bleeding again from slashes across his chest and he held a .357 Magnum in his free hand. As Bane hurtled forward, Abe Normal pressed the barrel to the man's forehead. The Dire Wolf lunged in and grabbed that gun, bending Normal's wrist backwards to get the pistol away.
Bane tossed the gun far away behind him and faced the enraged man, who screamed, "You again! What the f-, man! Why are you always in my f-ing face, f-ing my sh- up?"
"Quite the mouth on you. Does your mother know you talk like that?"
"My MOTHER! Mate, you are jumping up and down on a mine field. You are begging for death."
"Right." Bane still did not seem intimidated. He noticed the gashes on Normal were closing up. "Listen, I want to ask you a few questions.."
"Wait for me in bloody Hell itself, darling!" Normal shrieked but stopped abruptly. He turned to face the doorway where Marisol Benitez stood. "You. The f- little thief."
"That's rich, I'll say. So. You hired on to retrieve the Golden Jaguar claw? Let me show you how it works." She took a quick step forward and as she left the doorstep, her form shuddered and changed in an instant, and a sleek big cat pounced directly on Normal. Even he was taken aback. They rolled around, the jaguar pinning the man underneath and gouging out his stomach with her hind feet. But Normal got one forearm up under the cat's jaw and began pressing its head back. They broke apart. The jaguar snarled its defiance and wriggled its hind legs before its attack.
"Forget it, Marisol." Bane stepped in between them. "You can't hurt this guy. We could punch and claw all night and not get anywhere."
"Damn straight!" Normal screamed. He was pressing his hands to his body as if to keep his intestines from falling out.
"So," Bane said quietly. "Let's try something else." He became a blur of smooth motion. Stepping next to Normal, he hooked his left foot under the man's ankle and crashed his other foot down to the back of that knee. Normal fell hard. Bane dropped to plant a knee between the shoulder blades, grabbed the man's right arm so high that it broke audibly. At the same time, he pinned the left arm down with his foot. Normal thrashed and cursed but he could not get leverage and he was not quite strong enough to break loose. He tried bringing his legs back up to kick but the Dire Wolf was ready for that. Bane had him in a position where his healing factor was no help.
All this had taken place in less than a second. The watching Golden Jaguar members were just realizing what had happened. The Golden Jaguar herself trembled and reverted to Human form. "I- I couldn't follow what you did."
"Training and experience," Bane said, not breathing any quicker than normal. "I can't let this fool get up, though. Has anyone got a saw? Or an axe?"
One of the members went inside and came out with a regular axe used for yard work. "Thanks," Bane said. "Okay, off with his head. No other way."
"What the f-!? Man, you can't cut my head off! It's inhuman."
"Look who's talking. Nope, it's the only way. Maybe the arms and legs, too. I don't know if they will still heal when seperated but we'll find out."
"Are you f-ing crazy?" Normal was screaming. "You just can't do sh- like this."
Bane shifted his weight a little to put more pressure on Normal's neck. "I've done worse than this, don't kid yourself."
But he paused. "On the other hand, I want to take you back to be studied. If I get caught with you tied up crossing state lines, I'm up on kidnapping charges. I have to first register you as a captured fugitive I'm escorting back to stand trial. I could get away with that, I have connections. But I get pulled over and my car is full of loose arms and legs and a head, well, that's going to be hard to explain."
He looked up again. "Forget the axe. Bring me wire. Wet clothesline. Pliers and nails, I'm going to have to do a major binding job here."
Abe Normal bellowed, "You f-ing as-, I'll bite your bloody c- off and p- down your throat when I get loose!"
Bane added, "Something for a gag, too."
5/15/2013
6/29-6/30/2002
I.
Jeremy Bane stepped out of his rental car onto the sidewalk of a 96-degree day in Los Angeles. He was a New York City boy and didn't know if he was going to get used to this constant brilliant sunlight and dry air. It made him feel as if he were in an adjacent realm like Maroch. Worse, for the first time in his life he was having trouble finding his way around. Los Angeles didn't seem to have a plan, it just went on for miles in every direction. He had a pile of maps in the glove compartment of his Jeep Cherokee but it sure was going to make action difficult if he had to keep pulling over to study maps while the bad boys got away.
Ah well, I'm just getting old and stodgy, he thought. I can adapt. I've hiked through the jungles and ice fields and swamps. LA isn't any worse. Already, his body was adjusting. More than twenty years of a tagra diet from Tel Shai had boosted his immunity and regeneration properties past what medical science could explain. Even in his black turtleneck, slacks and sports jacket, he was starting to feel comfortable. Standing in front of a Rite-Way pharmacy, though, he went in and bought a pair of BluBlocker sunglasses. Not only would they be more comfortable, they would conceal the distinctive pale grey of his irises.
Now to start looking. On the next block was the HAPPY DUCK. The Dire Wolf did not smile at the painted sign in the window of a demented-looking duck with a leer. He didn't have much sense of humor in the first place. At ten, the restaurant was just opening. Bane walked into a cool dim interior that smelled of kimchi and flowers. Behind the counter, an elderly man glanced up. He was wearing slacks and a white dress shirt without a tie. "Yes?"
"Annyeong haseyo," Bane said and continued in Korean. "My name is Dire Wolf. Your manager knows me from a long time ago. Please inform him I am here."
The man gave the barest possible bow and went behind a hanging curtain. A second later, a very tough-looking Korean man stepped out and grinned. He was not good-looking in any way, with a short bristling crewcut over a flat face and unfriendly eyes. Jack Hwang was in his early sixties, but the body under the white T-shirt and jeans was hard and muscular.
"Mr Bane! So good to see you. I had no idea you were in the area."
Still in Korean, Bane said, "It's been a long time since Winter Snow kicked the Black Mantis into the river. I don't think we will see fighting like that again."
Hwang nodded in agreement. "Times change. Fighters train different, they take steroids and painkillers. Listen, can I help you?"
Bane stepped closer and lowered his voice. "I am here on a mission. Yes, I am still a Tel Shai knight, still hunting ghosts and chasing tigers. May I take Insun for a walk?'
"A... walk? That is not why she works here. Perhaps a massage. She uses hot stones and walks on your back. It would be most refreshing."
"No, just a walk. I will pay for her time."
Hwang dismissed that with a handwave. "Please. The man who pulled three Black Mantis off me and threw them into the river? I owe you much. Her time is free. Walk with her all day if you wish."
"I appreciate it, Jack." Bane looked around. "Very nice place. I can tell by the aroma the food must be great."
"We try. Please wait here." He went through a door and was gone for a few minutes. Bane remembered the fight decades ago between the Winter Snow School, which practiced Hapkido, and the Chinese gang Black Mantis. The battle was short but so brutal. As he thought about martial arts of those days, Hwang returned with Insun Choi. Bane had never met her. Insun was barely five feet tall, about forty, with a presentable face. She had a double eyelid fold. This place was discreet, so she wore dark pants and a light blue blouse rather than a too-short skirt and halter.
"I do not know you, sir," she said in English. "Perhaps there is some mistake?"
"Do as you are told," Hwang ordered her bluntly. "This is a man of honor. You will be as safe with him at your side as if you were surrounded by bodyguards." He gestured toward the door. "Please stay to chat when you are ready, Dire Wolf."
"Thank you," Bane said and led her to the door. They stepped back out in the heat and light, and he started walking.
"Insun, I know you only through someone who fights crime here in the city. Not the police, a private investigator. He is not available now or I would go to him directly."
They went past store after store, loud music coming from apartments overhead. "Will you tell me your business, sir?"
"Do you know the name Tel Shai?"
"Oh, yes. A legend. My parents believed it was an order of knights who had Ki powers."
"I am a Tel Shai knight. I have spent my life fighting bandits and tyrants."
She smiled for the first time. "I completely believe you. Your voice... You have conviction."
Bane noticed there were not as many people on the sidewalks as he was used to. Everyone seemed to stay in their cars until they had to rush indoors. "Insun, my concern is not with normal street gangs. Drug dealers, thieves, they are not my prey. I hunt those with special powers, who have forbidden knowledge. I want to know about the Children of the Golden Jaguar."
That stopped her in her tracks. She glared at him as if he had said something filthy. "You must be mistaken. There is no such gang, they are just a story."
"Any names? Addresses? Just point me in the right direction."
"No. You are crazy. I must return-" She froze again and pointed. "Look. Abe Normal."
Bane frowned. A big man, shirtless, was running headlong down the sidewalk right at them. He held a gun in one hand. Bane shoved Insun Choi into a doorway, out of harm's way.
"Let him pass!" she shouted but Bane stepped right into the man's path. This Abe Normal had a nearly shaven head, a long narrow face that held rage in it. He was well muscled and ran like a track star. The Dire Wolf blocked him and stood with lowered arms.
"Bloody 'ell, mate!" Normal shouted, slamming out an arm which Bane seized and levered down hard. The shirtless man hit the sidewalk face down and the gun would have gone off but the Dire Wolf had wrestled it away with his other hand. Bane got the biggest surprise he had received in years. Face down on the hot pavement, Normal kicked back with his heavy boot and caught the Wolf right on the jaw. He fell backwards to a seated position and got another vicious kick to the face as Normal spun around, then leaped up.
The man had a funny expression on his face, as if he had been shown something new when he thought he knew everything. "We need to talk, my darling. Later for you." And he was off again.
Bane got up,rubbing his jaw. He still held the man's Glock. How was that guy so fast? Bane felt he had met someone his equal, which was rare in his long career. Turning to ask Insun, he saw she was gone. Well, no surprise. Maybe later he would go back to HAPPY DUCK but now he wanted to return to his car and move on. Bane picked up his sunglasses and turned to face a woman who had been watching him with an amused smile.
Somehow he felt he was in more danger than before. A lifetime of fighting had left him with sharp instincts.
II.
The woman was of medium height, thin, with gorgeous long black hair down to her waist. She was wearing sneakers, jeans and a denim vest held closed with just one button over a bare torso. Her face was not exactly pretty but magnetic in a feral way with a pug nose and huge amber eyes under arched brows. "I saw that. Pretty funny, hombre. You gave Abe Normal the biggest surprise in his life."
"He sure tagged me. Who is that guy anyway?"
"Shouldn't you ask who I am first? Marisol Benitez, Mr Dire Wolf. Oh, yes, I recognize you. I am Midnight War, as you are."
Bane held out his hand and she shook it firmly. "I guess there is much you can tell me, Marisol."
"More than you realize. Do you have a car nearby?"
"A few blocks that way," he answered and they started walking.
"Abe Normal is on one of his rampages. The police can't do much about him, he is hard to catch and impossible to hold. After awhile, he disappears again. No one knows how he got that way, but he can't be killed, at least so far. He has been shot more times than you have have had a hot meal, been run over by a city bus, been poisoned and stabbed and dropped from the Wyland Tower. After a few minutes or an hour at most, he snaps out of it and heals quickly."
"Sounds like Samhain. I was hoping there wasn't another one like that. What does he do for a living?"
"Hitman. Thief. Bodyguard. Not the nicest person." She flashed white teeth up at him. "You know, I always wanted to see you and him in the same city. I think maybe his good times are about to end."
They had reached his Jeep and Bane opened the door for her. "Oooh a gentleman, very nice. Thank you."
The Dire Wolf started up the vehicle and pulled out into traffic."Maybe I should make a point to meet up with this guy. Abe Normal, that's sick. What's his real name?"
"No one knows. But you have not come to the City of Angels for him, have you?"
"Not at all. I am looking for a group called Children of the Golden Jaguar. Sound familiar?"
Marisol did nor answer right away. She was looking ahead. "I think you need to understand how the Midnight War works out here. There are four big occult gangs and a few smaller ones. They are under the Truce but, naturally, now and then someone gets killed and the grandmasters have to meet and smooth things over before the streets have war."
"Not like that back in New York," Bane admitted. "There are some cults but they have different agendas and never cross. Who are the big gangs?"
"Turn right up here," she directed. "Yes. Another mile or so. The occult gangs are on ethnic lines. The white gang is the Roar Devils. The Vietnamese gang is the Joyful Rain. The black gang is the Knuckles of Correction. And the Latinas, the Kings of the Night. Children of the Golden Jaguar, they are new."
Bane shook his head. "Sounds like some interesting boys to play with. A colleague of mine was robbed of a mystic talisman he spent years crafting. He asked me to see if I could reclaim it, and he told me this Golden Jaguar was responsible."
"And you believe him?"
"Until I have reason not to. Dr Galloway has been straight with me for years. I know he has been working on that talisman for a decade or so."
Marisol said nothing for a long pause. "I have heard much of you, Mr Bane. The Dire Wolf. Head of the Kenneth Dred Foundation. Before I was born, you were fighting the creatures of the night. I must say, I did not expect to ever meet you."
"Nice to be appreciated. Now, how about telling me a little of yourself?"
"Pull up that side street," she said. "There. On the gravel." They were in a rundown neighborhood that was not too bad but which had single family houses. Up a gravel driveway was a house in serious disrepair, with a dead lawn and a windows boarded up from within. A sign over the front door said SAN JORGE SUPPORT GROUP. Marisol got out and stood with folded arms as Bane locked the Jeep and came around beside her.
The Dire wolf gazed up at the shabby building. There were no other cars nearby, no signs of anyone being in there.
"You must come back tonight, maybe midnight. When you knock, you will be asked about who your family is. Answer 'Mi madre es la tigra oro.' Got it?"
"I think so. What are you going to be doing?"
"You never know, I might be around. Go now. My neighborhood is near but you do not belong here."
"Fair enough. Thanks, Marisol. If I run into Abe Normal, I'll beat him up for you."
She snorted gleefully, "I would PAY to see that."
III.
With a wave, he walked back to the Jeep Cherokee and got in. He felt fine, his body had acclimated to the heat and he was comfortable. Retracing his steps, he got out on the main street and cruised along slowly until he saw a Holiday Inn set back in its own plaza with a pizza joint and ice cream parlor. Bane pulled in and looked around suspiciously, then backed into a space near the motel. From the back of his Jeep, he took a knapsack and small shoulder bag, locked the doors and walked into the lobby. He tried to get a room on the ground floor and lucked out. Bane paid with cash, which meant having to show his driver's license and walked down a long corridor past an indoor pool and video arcade room.
His room was near the end of the hall, almost opposite an alcove with a Pepsi machine and a door to the outside. That could be useful. He did not unpack, just checked out the standard room and went back outside. It was only one-twenty in the afternoon, which meant one of the long vigils he hated so much. At least he could keep busy.
Bane went across the parking lot to the pizza place, bought a meatball sub and a large bottle of seltzer. On his way back, he stopped by his Jeep and fetched the laptop from the back. This was in a satchel he slung over one shoulder. Stopping in the lobby, he bought copies of three different newspapers. He went back to his room, dropped down in the big chair by the coffee table and dug into the newspapers. After a few minutes, he started taking bites of the sub without really being aware of it.
As a young man first entering the Midnight War, Bane had discovered that many newspapers contained hints of what went on in the middle of the night. Reporters evidently knew a lot more than they dared to say outright, but there were recurring phrases and ways of talking around things. A few New York journalists had confirmed this for him and given him pointers what to look for.
As Bane examined the newspapers as if solving a code, the afternoon slipped by. He was frowning. There was a lot of Midnight War activity going on out here that no one was dealing with. A canvas bag full of headless chickens, found in a basement. Two bodies found, tied back to back, with their eyelids removed. Sightings of strange large animals, like white bears in the middle of the city. It was all too familiar. Then there were the Roar Devils and the Joyous Rain, so called because they throw showers of tiny blades in a fight. Yes. Bane sat up. Maybe he needed to come back here when the present case was settled. Maybe LA needed a Dire Wolf for a while.
The sub was gone and the bottle of seltzer half empty. Bane used the bathroom, brushed his teeth and came back to the chair. He felt excited at finding out what was going on here. New York had been quiet for years, mostly because his new KDF team was vigilant there. Maybe this was the new hunting ground he was looking for. He should open the laptop now and start doing searches for Abe Normal and Marisol Benitez, but he decided to do his form first.
Stripping down, he moved to the center of the room. First, he bowed to Teacher Chael far away at Tel Shai. It crossed his mind that Cindy was a Teacher there now, maybe she had her own students bowing to her. Quite an image. Bane began a series of stances and poses that blended into slow punches and kicks, speeding up until he was going full blast.
It was an amazing sight. If anyone had ever filmed Bane practicing, they could have made a fortune selling it. He had been born with reflexes and voluntary movements much quicker than the norm, he was what they called a Variant, but it was the decades of Kumundu which had brought out his full abilities. He was not invincible, of course. He had beaten throroughly a few times, but it had cetainly not been easy for his enemies.
After a little more than an hour, he slowed down and was doing stretching again. Finished, he bowed gratefully to Chael and promised himself to return to Tel Shai soon. He walked around the room for a few minutes, cooling down, then went into the bathroom to take a shower. That had cleared his head. Bane took his laptop to the bed and did some searches but, as he had expected, found nothing on the internet about the characters he was interested in. That was not surprising. Bane put the laptop back in its satchel and glanced at the clock over the TV. Six-thirty. This was hopeless.
Although he disliked doing it, Bane stretched out on the bed under the top sheet, turned off the light and folded his arms over his chest. Using the breathing method Chael had taught him years ago, he put his body into a light trance that slid down into genuine sleep. He aimed for five hours. When he gave a start and opened his eyes, the room was dark and chilly. He clicked on the bedside lamp and saw it was just before ten. Not bad. At least he had rested and emptied his mind through dreams.
The Dire Wolf got his knapsack. He had already fastened the leather sheaths to his forearms after doing his DohRa. He seldom left the silver daggers off his person for too long. Now he took fresh clothes from the knapsack and put on a tight bodysuit of what looked like wet silk but which was actually Trom armor. Over this went an outfit of black slacks, long-sleeved turtleneck and sport jacket. This monotonous wardrobe was useful. Black of course was good for sneaking around at night, and the jacket held a dozen tiny gadgets and tools. Through his belt, he fastened the holster which held one of the anesthetic dart pistols. He also carried mundane items like keys, wallet, handkerchief and a leather case holding his PI license and consultant badge.
It was ten-thirty. Bane checked the room, carried his laptop satchel with him and went back out to the parking lot. As he approached his Jeep, five big Harley-Davidson thundered in. They sounded as if they had been modified to be even louder than usual. He paused in curiosity. The riders were all blonde, with long curly hair and two had short beards.They were body-builders, packing some sculpted muscles that glistened as if rubbed with oil. One had a vest, but the others were shirtless. Interesting. Only the leader wore a helmet, which had large devil horns fastened to its crown. Of course, he thought, the Roar Devils.
As Bane stood there, the leader spotted him and started rolling toward him. He was intercepted by a big man who raced in from nowhere and tackled him, knocking him off and spilling the motorcycle. As they hit the ground, the newcomer jumped up and threw a punch that cracked like a whiplash. He wearing a red sweatshirt now, but Bane recognized Abe Normal instantly. He drew back to observe and learn about foes he might have to face.
Normal swung away from the downed leader on the paving to face the Devils coming at him. The first Roar Devil throttled up and plunged toward the madman, who stepped closer and slammed an elbow to the biker's chest. That man fell back off and his bike went on without him. He hit the ground hard and Normal stepped closer as another Devil circled and smacked him in the back of the head with a length of pipe. Normal fell to his hands and knees but did not collapse completely.
Bane glanced around. There were faces at many windows but no one had come outside. He saw a woman scoot from her car into a doorway and did not blame her. Surely the LAPD would be here in a minute? As Bane turned back to the fight, a blast of thunderous sound hit him like the shock wave of an explosion. He was dazed by the ongoing noise and almost fell down. Clapping his hands over his ears, the Dire Wolf opened his mouth and kept his footing. He saw one of the Roar Devils standing next to a cycle on its kickstand. The blonde muscleman had his fists clasped by his sides, feet far apart and his mouth wide open. The sound was coming from him. Caught in that blast, Normal held his hands up in front of him as his skin started coming off. Blood sprayed behind him as if blown by a wind. But Normal still stood and defied them.
Watching, Bane dug in his jacket and found a paper wrap holding a pair of high density foam rubber ear plugs, and jammed them in. The roar faded to bearable levels. He was fascinated as he saw Abe Normal take a step forward. By now, bits of muscle were pulling off him but he lifted a bloody leg and stepped closer again. This was impressive.
The leader of the Roar Devils had gotten back on his bike. Still no police. Normal had reached the biker and started throttling him, lifting him off his feet and slamming him to the ground. The biker struggled free, pulled out a revolver and threw four slugs right into Normal's face. That dropped him. As he dropped to the ground, the Devils got in formation and rolled back out onto the highway.
The Dire Wolf pulled the plugs from his ears. His head hurt and he had been fifty feet away from the confrontation. Still no cops, that was strange. Someone must have called them by now. He strolled over to where Abe Normal was trying to get up and stood over the man thoughtfully. The skin was gone, there was blood all over but Normal was still aware and trying to get up. The bullet holes left his face a mass of ripped tissue but somehow it was not fatal.
"Need a hand?" Bane asked.
"F- you, you bloody bastard!" Normal managed to get up on his hands and knees, then rose. The bleeding had stopped somehow. "Wait, Oi know you. You're the f-ing Wanker who took my goddam gun. I actually paid good money for that."
Bane remained placid as if discussing the weather. "Quite a trick you've got there. You're not related to a guy named Samhain, are you?'
Normal growled like a animal. His skin was beginning to grow back in tiny patches. The holes in his face were sealing up and a spent bullet popped out of one to clink on the ground. "Look, I don't have time to waste with you. I got me job to do and I earn my pay." He stopped suddenly. "You- you seem a might calm about what you're seeing, mate."
"I've been around."
"I reckon you have. You know what, my sweetheart, we'll be meeting again." With that, he loped off into the night, dressed in tatters. Bane watched him with fascination, then got in his Jeep and started it up. Those Roar Devils deserved a little investigation, too. He rolled across the parking lot and decided not to follow Abe Normal. He had the same hunch they would be crossing paths again. Bane glanced in his rearview mirror and sighted two LAPD patrol cars entering the lot. Had they deliberately waited until it was quiet before showing up?
IV.
Just after midnight, he parked his Jeep on the outer edge of the gravel. The SAN JORGE SUPPORT GROUP building had lights in every window and raucuous music throbbing. Four cars and two trucks were parked haphazardly. On the porch, under a yellow light, two men stood and watched him approach. Bane was still wondering about Abe Normal. Maybe he had been experimented on by the Mandate as Peril had been? Or was it a gralic talent innate in the man? He felt now he couldn't leave LA without finding out a lot more.
Stepping up to the porch, Bane nodded politely to the hostile glares he received, and rapped sharply on the door. When a voice asked him a question, he could not quite catch, he shouted, "Mi madre es la tigra oro." The door opened and he stepped in. It was not a typical party. There was no smoke in the air, no one was drinking.About fifteen men and women of different ages were standing in a circle watching him. All looked Latina, but he could not place them. Colombian, maybe.
Bane said, "Can we turn that down. Thanks. Marisol, come on, I know you're here."
From a curtain in a doorway, she stepped through and tilted her head quizzically. She was wearing a thin white shirt under the vest now. "And just how do you explain that?"
"A clan is not without its princess. You are leader of the Golden Jaguar, of course. You did not lure me here to do me harm, though."
"No. Of course not." She held out a hand, gesturing for him to step forward, which he did. "The Children of the Golden Jaguar has a long history, Dire Wolf. Its line was broken a generation ago and I intend to revive it. The city needs us. At night, the occult gangs do what they will, demanding tribute, forcing women, killing for a perceived slight. The police have orders to stand away. The mayor, the governor, they hide their heads in fear and pretend they do not know any of this."
"I got a look at the Roar Devils tonight," Bane said. "If the other gangs are as dangerous, I see your point."
"Our powers come from a holy relic. You know of the Cat's Claw, the talisman of the Bakwanga tribe?"
Bane nodded. He did not mention that Kwali, holder of that artifact, had been his friend and teammate for years.
"There are other, similar talismans. Not as powerful perhaps but still potent. With our relic, we can draw on gralic force to fight these gangs. Without it, well.. we are well-meaning but ineffective."
"You are wearing the Golden Jaguar claw now," he said quietly.
Marisol blinked. "Wait, what?"
"I can see the outline under your shirt."
"Oh. Yes. Well, that claw has been in our possession for hundreds of years. It was ensorcelled by our greatest shaman. It was lost in 1980, when our chief was in the United States and was robbed of everything on him. Since then, the Children of the Golden Jaguar have had to wait helplessly and watch wickedness flourish. But that is over now."
Bane said,"Dr Calloway mentioned nothing of this."
"Why would he? He prized the claw because he felt its potency, even though he could never tap it. It was precious to him but useless. Maybe he did not even know it was stolen property. He thought it was fairly his."
For a long moment, the Dire Wolf was silent. "Calloway asked me to retrieve the talisman and I agreed. That is an obligation. He did not pay me, he is not my client and so I have more leeway to use my own judgement." He looked over the uneasy faces which surrounded him. These were students, retirees, clerks. Not warriors. But he liked what he saw in their faces. He turned back to the woman who watched him warily. "Marisol, I will not attempt to take the talisman from you. I think I need to talk to Dr Calloway and see how much he knows of its background. Regardless of whether it was his property at the time, even if he paid for it, it seems to me that you and your clan here are the rightful owners."
She smiled. "I was right about you. I'm glad."
Bane started to speak when there was a scream of pain right outside the door. "Normal. Of course." He wheeled and got outside in a blink. A dead man lay across the doorway, one of the Golden Jaguar sentries. Abe Normal was standing by the railing, trying to get a machete away from the other man. The madman had picked up a white shirt and shorts from somewhere. He was bleeding again from slashes across his chest and he held a .357 Magnum in his free hand. As Bane hurtled forward, Abe Normal pressed the barrel to the man's forehead. The Dire Wolf lunged in and grabbed that gun, bending Normal's wrist backwards to get the pistol away.
Bane tossed the gun far away behind him and faced the enraged man, who screamed, "You again! What the f-, man! Why are you always in my f-ing face, f-ing my sh- up?"
"Quite the mouth on you. Does your mother know you talk like that?"
"My MOTHER! Mate, you are jumping up and down on a mine field. You are begging for death."
"Right." Bane still did not seem intimidated. He noticed the gashes on Normal were closing up. "Listen, I want to ask you a few questions.."
"Wait for me in bloody Hell itself, darling!" Normal shrieked but stopped abruptly. He turned to face the doorway where Marisol Benitez stood. "You. The f- little thief."
"That's rich, I'll say. So. You hired on to retrieve the Golden Jaguar claw? Let me show you how it works." She took a quick step forward and as she left the doorstep, her form shuddered and changed in an instant, and a sleek big cat pounced directly on Normal. Even he was taken aback. They rolled around, the jaguar pinning the man underneath and gouging out his stomach with her hind feet. But Normal got one forearm up under the cat's jaw and began pressing its head back. They broke apart. The jaguar snarled its defiance and wriggled its hind legs before its attack.
"Forget it, Marisol." Bane stepped in between them. "You can't hurt this guy. We could punch and claw all night and not get anywhere."
"Damn straight!" Normal screamed. He was pressing his hands to his body as if to keep his intestines from falling out.
"So," Bane said quietly. "Let's try something else." He became a blur of smooth motion. Stepping next to Normal, he hooked his left foot under the man's ankle and crashed his other foot down to the back of that knee. Normal fell hard. Bane dropped to plant a knee between the shoulder blades, grabbed the man's right arm so high that it broke audibly. At the same time, he pinned the left arm down with his foot. Normal thrashed and cursed but he could not get leverage and he was not quite strong enough to break loose. He tried bringing his legs back up to kick but the Dire Wolf was ready for that. Bane had him in a position where his healing factor was no help.
All this had taken place in less than a second. The watching Golden Jaguar members were just realizing what had happened. The Golden Jaguar herself trembled and reverted to Human form. "I- I couldn't follow what you did."
"Training and experience," Bane said, not breathing any quicker than normal. "I can't let this fool get up, though. Has anyone got a saw? Or an axe?"
One of the members went inside and came out with a regular axe used for yard work. "Thanks," Bane said. "Okay, off with his head. No other way."
"What the f-!? Man, you can't cut my head off! It's inhuman."
"Look who's talking. Nope, it's the only way. Maybe the arms and legs, too. I don't know if they will still heal when seperated but we'll find out."
"Are you f-ing crazy?" Normal was screaming. "You just can't do sh- like this."
Bane shifted his weight a little to put more pressure on Normal's neck. "I've done worse than this, don't kid yourself."
But he paused. "On the other hand, I want to take you back to be studied. If I get caught with you tied up crossing state lines, I'm up on kidnapping charges. I have to first register you as a captured fugitive I'm escorting back to stand trial. I could get away with that, I have connections. But I get pulled over and my car is full of loose arms and legs and a head, well, that's going to be hard to explain."
He looked up again. "Forget the axe. Bring me wire. Wet clothesline. Pliers and nails, I'm going to have to do a major binding job here."
Abe Normal bellowed, "You f-ing as-, I'll bite your bloody c- off and p- down your throat when I get loose!"
Bane added, "Something for a gag, too."
5/15/2013
