Dream City Ch. 04

My next stop was Mulligan's Stew, the local strip club run by Frankie Mulligan, AKA Frankie "The Ferret." Years ago his joint used to be what Saturn's Moon is today. Bands from all over the world came over with dreams of being discovered one day. Frankie made so much money he even thought about expansion.

Then along came Acid Rain and everything changed. Sadie and her boys brought in bigger crowds and attracted other acts to come perform. They became Frankie's meal ticket, unfortunately for the band he was a cheap bastard. As the band's popularity grew he took it upon himself and sold bootleg CD's of their performances behind their backs. Once Sadie found out she wanted a percentage of the profits and a bigger pay raise. Despite becoming the main attraction and putting his business on the map, he flatly refused. Frankie felt if he paid them more, then the other acts would want more as well.

Sadie took her leave and built her own business to immediate success. Frankie's business on the other hand went down the tubes. The crowds grew less and the bands either stopped showing up or headed for Saturn's Moon. Frankie lost money and in order to please his silent partners he revamped the place and began his new business venture. The people he attracts these days are gangsters, corrupt cops, and maybe a few celebrities.

I stopped by his joint with some questions I needed to ask. Frankie hated Sadie for ruining him, but would he stoop this low in taking Prudence to even the score? For his sake he better not. Before I had my chance to chat with him, I needed to get by his goon squad of bouncers first.

"We're closed," said the first guy approaching me. "Hey! Did you hear me?"

"No, I didn't," I said. "I need to talk to your boss."

"Make an appointment."

"I don't have time. Frankie! I know you're here, Frankie! Come on out!"

"I'm not gonna tell you again."

The big ape grabbed my arm and I drove a knee straight into his balls. The next guy took a swing at me and missed. I responded with a kick to his stomach and one across his jaw. Two more tough guys came my way and they were put down with ease. My combat skills always came in handy.

I landed two jabs on the next guy, but he didn't feel a thing. I noticed something green coming down the corner of his mouth. Once I realized the problem, I just pulled out my shotgun and blew his head clean off. Plastic, wires, and more of that green shit decorated the place. After all this time Frankie was still a cheap bastard now that he was purchasing android bouncers so he wouldn't worry about paying them. The headless android finally fell to the floor, gushing more of that green shit. The other tough guys remained groaning in pain and bleeding real blood. All that noise finally drove Frankie right out of his office in a frenzy.

"What the hell is going on?" He said. "Who's shooting up the place?"

"Hey, Frankie," I said, "sorry for the mess. You can put it on my tab if you like."

"Johnny, what the fuck are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"I don't have time."

"Then make time before I start remodeling your place."

As you can tell Frankie and I don't like each other, due to the fact that I've dropped by his place on a few occasions. I made a fool out of him when I dropped by on a few occasions, collecting bounties on some of his customers. After that embarrassment he sends his boys to my place to teach me a lesson. They all ended up in the hospital and are no longer in Frankie's payroll. I ended up in the ER myself when one of the idiots chopped two of my fingers off with a machete. Lucky for me the doctor was able to save both digits. Without hesitation he invited me up to his office. I took a seat with my shotgun planted on my lap and Frankie standing tall behind his desk, picking up his white furry ferret named Romeo.

Frankie was an albino who had a miserable childhood due to other kids bullying him over his appearance. He got into fights and got expelled from every school he went to, leaving his parents with no choice but to home school him. As he got older he hung around with a bad crowd, growing into a wannabe gangster tough guy just to let everyone know he wasn't a man to intimidate. Anyone who insulted him or poked fun of his appearance usually ends up MIA. I'm hoping that didn't happen to the poor girl. Frankie sat down quietly, stroking Romeo throughout our conversation. He reminded me of that movie with the bald guy and his white cat.

"So," he said, calmly, "look what we have here once again. The legendary bounty hunter dropping by to be a pain in my ass. What is it this time? Did I park in your favorite spot? The noise keeping you up all night?"

"Let's cut to the chase, Frankie," I said, showing him the holo disc of Prudence's face. "Recognize her?"

Frankie took a good look. He took his time before finally responding, "yeah, I know who that is. Prudence Hill. So what?"

"Now we're getting somewhere. I would love to hear the rest of this story."

"What do you want to know? That she was an annoying little brat who had no business dropping by my place? If she were my kid I wouldn't allow that type of shit. My place has no room for little snots like her. I run a respectable business, not a nursery."

"Frankie, choose your words carefully when you're talking to me."

"You trying to scare me, Johnny? Is that your tactic for today? Let me ask you something, why so worried over this girl? Huh? She ran away from home? Joined the circus? She break your heart? What?"

"If you must know she's missing."

"Missing?"

"Yeah, missing. Disappeared. Vanished into thin air. You know anything about that?"

"Why are you asking me? Why should I care about her-."

Frankie figured out my real reason for coming over. He even found my visit rather amusing.

"Ah," he said, nearly cracking a smile, "now I see what's going on. You dropped by because you think I had something to do with it am I right?"

"You catch on real quick," I continued.

"Did Sadie put you up to this? Of course she did. She always did have that effect on people."

"She certainly had an effect on you especially. Plenty of bad blood between you two as I recall. She got bigger than you, took away all your customers, and all the acts you had in your payroll. Face it, Frankie you were dead in the water before you turned this place around. I guess I can't blame you. If someone like her killed my business I'd hold a grudge, too."

"You think you know me, don't you? Why would I pull a stunt as low as kidnapping? Huh? What would I get out of it? Ransom? Revenge? Look, I'll admit things didn't turn out as planned between me and Sadie, but I would never, never do this to her or anyone else no matter how you feel about me. Besides, I'm a business man and that is bad for business."

"Yeah, whose business is that, yours or the underboss you call a silent partner? You really know how to make the right connections to keep your so called business afloat. You're slipping, Frankie. I can picture you now in cement shoes or better yet buried in some desert where you won't be found."

"That's what I like about you, Johnny. The way you show your disrespect over me, who happens to run a successful business in the worst city on earth and still make a killing from dusk 'till dawn."

"Successful? Is that what you call it these days? You sell beer for forty dollars a glass, you pay your boys ten dollars an hour, and now you're using machines for security? Oh, how the mighty have fallen."

"I don't like your attitude."

"I don't like yours either so let's keep it that way, and don't even think about sending more of your boys at my place. Unless you can afford their medical expenses I'll be glad to bust some arms and legs, maybe even cause a few concussions."

"Are we done here? Don't you have any more bounties to collect? As long as it's not here because I don't need you taking away my best customers."

"When did you ever have a best customer? Oh, yeah we're done, but I'll be back and If I find out you've been lying to me, I'll make sure you never have another customer for as long as you live."

"Is that a threat? Did you just threaten me?"

"More like a promise, Frankie."

"I'm shaking in my boots, Johnny. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

I was all set to take my leave, but Frankie just couldn't resist saying one last thing to infuriate me.

"Oh, before you go," he said, behind my back, "I want you to tell that one eyed bitch if she has a problem with me she should say it to my face, and not send her errand boy out here to waste my time. Got that?"

Frankie, why couldn't you keep your trap shut?

"Nice looking fish you have there," I said, looking at the tank on his desk. "Must have been expensive."

"Worth every penny," he said, feeding them. "Why?"

"Hope you kept the receipt."

"What?"

I took aim at the tank and fired my shotgun, shattering the glass and watching his prized pets spill onto his lap and soaking up poor Romeo.

"My babies!" He screamed, dropping Romeo and rushing to recover all of them.

"Oops," I said, "my bad, Frankie."

"Get out! Get out damn you!"

"Make sure Romeo doesn't eat one of them. Unless he likes sushi."

"I said get out! You come by here again and I'll personally throw you out myself. You hear me?"

"Yeah, I love you, too, Frankie."

I closed the door behind me, listening to more of his ranting and raving. I was anxious to leave anyway; the smell of bullshit was starting to clog my nostrils. Once I reached the bottom of the stairs, his boys thought twice about laying their hands on me again. They were still recovering from the beatings they kindly received. One of them had to clean up the mess made by the damaged android laying on the floor twitching.

One of them did come up to me and asked, "what the fuck did you do?"

"If you're worried about your boss," I said, "he's fishing. You fellas have a nice day."

Time for me to resume my mission and report back to Sadie. Just when I was about to head back to my vehicle, my fucking day got a bit more interesting by the minute. An old friend came busting in, greeting me with open arms and open fire. I took cover behind the bar before the first shots were even fired. The goon squad were not so lucky once those laser beams burned massive holes into their bodies, turning the joint into one bloody mess.

"What the hell is going on now?" Frankie said, coming out of his office, believing it was me inflicting more damage to his facility.

Poor Frankie didn't know what he was in for. The laser shots came his way, destroying every organ in his body and turning his white hair blood red. His corpse tumbled down the stairs, drenching every step with his blood.

The assailant was someone I captured years ago, but as I remember correctly he's supposed to be behind bars at Seagull Island. His name was Anton Johnson, AKA Mumbo Jumbo. A tall black man with muscles over his muscles; he pumped plenty of iron while he was away. The laser shots came from the gauntlets worn on his arms; the type of weaponry he'd never used before. He was a mercenary for hire and an assassin to the stars.

"Where are you?" He asked. "I know you're here, Johnny boy. Come on, Johnny boy. You got nowhere to go and my black ass ain't leaving until I wear your head around my neck."

"Anton, is that you?" I asked, taunting him. "I missed you so much, man. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to be in a cell for ten more years?"

"I got out early for good behavior."

"I find that hard to believe with your pleasant attitude."

"Believe that. I've been waiting too damn long to get my hands on you, and today I'm getting mine dirty. That's right Mumbo Jumbo is back on the scene and your ass will be begging me to kill you when I make you my bitch."

"I got bad news, I didn't bring my knee pads."

Carefully, I grabbed one bottle of whiskey and threw it over the bar. Anton heard it smash and fired his gauntlets. I climbed over the bar and made a run towards the runway, feeling the heat of the beams passing through, barely touching any part of my body. I hid behind the curtain and fired back, forcing Anton to take cover.

"Is that all you got?" He asked. "You too scared to face me? Get your punk ass out here little bitch."

"Now you're being rude," I said, reloading my weapon.

Back and forth we exchanged fire, leaving the joint blanketed in dust and the floor littered with wood chips. The both of us could have gone on all day if we wanted to but I didn't have the time or the patience. It wouldn't be long until the cops made their presence felt.

"Someone must have paid a lot of dough to get you out early," I said, "and I'm gonna find out who and why."

"I don't give a shit who got me out. As long as I get the chance to whoop your ass."

"Hey, Anton let me ask you something. You fucked a lot of guys in prison, right? So I was wondering who got it in the ass the most, you or them?"

I got him so riled up that he brought himself out in the open, giving me the chance to make my move. One shot ricocheted off his right gauntlet, causing some damage which was enough for me to make my next move. While he was distracted I fired at the lights on the ceiling, driving him further back. Every bulb exploded, showering him in glass. Anton received minor cuts on his head and arms, leaving him one angry camper.

"Motherfucker!" He yelled. "You're a fucking dead man!"

Our little reunion would be cut short once we heard the incoming sirens of Dream City's finest.

"I think that's your cue," I said. "Too bad we won't finish our little game. Better luck next time."

"I got time," said Anton, "I got plenty of time."

Anton fired above with his remaining gauntlet, bringing half the ceiling down. I cleared out before being crushed by tons of plaster. When the dust cleared he was already long gone and I was stuck dealing with the boys in blue. Lucky fucking me.

After the bodies were cleared out, it didn't take long for the cops to gang up on me. You could say I wasn't their kind of people; in other words they hated bounty hunters. They call us overgrown cavemen looking for handouts instead of getting real jobs. There were many in the precinct that hated my guts, due to the fact I took down one of their fellow officers.

One of their own was a crooked cop and a brutal one at that. When the jig was up the guy took off, making it difficult for the others to apprehend him. Once the bounty was put on his head, I stepped up ready to collect. One day I caught up to him and the police were humiliated, leaving the entire precinct with a black eye.

The press showed no mercy. They never understood how someone like me was able to catch him while the others never tried hard enough. Rumor had it they were protecting him and covering his ass. Three cops in particular wished something bad happened to me. Already they were getting in my face, doing their best to rile me up. Reilly, Douglas, and Lopez who I refer to them as the three amigos, picked now to get on my nerves.

"Well ," said Douglas, "once again Johnny Octane makes a mess and we're stuck here cleaning up after him. Lucky us."

"If you don't like it," I said, "you can get back in your vehicle and get a move on."

"I'll leave when I'm good and ready. So, Frankie Mulligan and a few bouncers lined up for a massacre. You gone ape shit all of a sudden? Has the excitement of your job getting the best of you?"

"You're not going to pin that on me. Why don't you start searching for Anton Johnson like I told you people? The more you talk, the more he has the advantage."

"Yeah, Mumbo Jumbo, right? He got out early or did you help him escape to make all this happen?"

"Really? That's your theory of today? You're either this dumb, or you don't know it yet."

"Watch it, Johnny."

"I don't have to watch shit. A crime has been committed and all you're doing is wasting my time, throwing all this bullshit at me. You've been on my ass ever since I nailed one of your boys and got all the credit. Do yourself a favor, either kill yourself or transfer to another precinct."

"Whoa, whoa," said Reilly. "What's your problem?"

"There's always a problem whenever I'm dealing with you three."

"Hey," said Lopez, "you need to back up. I got no problem beating your ass myself."

"You need to stay out of my face. By the way how's your mom? Is she still able to walk after I unloaded on her? Do me a favor and tell her I'll be home late."

"You motherfucker."

"All right," said Reilly, "enough already. Walk away, Johnny. Walk away right now or I won't be responsible for his actions."

"You know, Reilly," I said, "you always say the nicest things whenever your blood pressure rises to the occasion. You need to tell your dogs to quit barking at me before I cut off their balls."

"You're really pushing it."

"Not hard enough. Have a sweet day, ladies."

"Don't leave town."

"Where would I go?"

Lopez continued cursing me out behind my back. He always gets irate every time I mention his mom, even though I've never met the poor woman. Who knows what she really looks like.