Dream City Ch. 12

The minute I entered the precinct they treated me like a criminal; taking my fingerprints, my mug shots, the whole nine yards. Like I said, it was all bullshit; nothing on me but they insist I did the crime. Four of the worst criminals I put away are on the loose and they want to throw this shit at my face. Sadie kept me company while I was locked in some cell that's supposed to be unbreakable. Instead of the usual iron bars, stood a field or whatever they call it. All I knew was when touched, you get a little shock for your troubles. You don't see it but it's definitely there.

"Bollocks," said Sadie. "Fucking bollocks. We need to get you out of here."

"Yeah, no shit," I said, pacing back and forth in my cell, like a restless tiger at the zoo. "I get arrested while the crazies run wild."

"I mean right now. This is a waste of our time, and you still have a job to do."

"Relax, these guys have nothing on me and they know it. They've had a hard on for my ass for a long time and it never gets old. This is all just a wet dream for them."

"What do you want me to do?"

"What can you do? I'm the one in here. It won't matter much with you standing there all day."

"I'm going to get you out, even if I have to burn this place to the ground to do it."

"I hope it won't come to that."

Officers Reilly, Douglas, and Lopez walked in only to rub it in my face even further. They were all in a cheery mood, believing they have enough on me to keep me locked up. Not on my last dying breath or even Sadie's for that matter.

"Here we go," I said, "my three favorite people on the planet. What kept you, buying doughnuts for half price? Standing on line for the freshest coffee in the world? That's the problem with cops like these, they'll believe all the bullshit they're told."

"Save your jokes where you're going," said Lopez. "See if you laugh your way out of this."

"You guys are pathetic. You have nothing on me and you're wasting my time while the real threat is out there."

"The real threat is right here," said Reilly, "locked up like you should have been in the first place."

"The cage suits you, Johnny," said Douglas. "You're like a big, sad ape, and this is our zoo. You hungry? You want a banana?"

They really knew how to get under my skin, but I could play the game just as well as they.

"Hey, Dougie," I asked, "you got one in your pocket, or are you happy to see me? In fact, you're probably undressing me with your eyes right about now."

Sadie placed her hand over her mouth, covering the little chuckle she let out. Douglas didn't handle it well.

"I know I'm pretty," I said, "but I'm not your type."

"Don't worry," said Lopez, "Johnny is going to have plenty of bananas to suck on upstate. Ain't that right, Octane?"

"And what exactly do you goons have on me?"

"You've already been told, remember? You shot up a diner, put a few people in the hospital, and ran off like a coward."

"Really? Where are you getting all this shit from?"

"We received an anonymous tip," said Reilly.

"What tip?"

"You were seen fleeing the scene after you shot up the place."

"Otto Mays is the one you need to look for. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Otto Mays?" Reilly said. "A drug addicted scumbag handling a firearm? I don't think so."

This was going nowhere. These guys wouldn't listen to me if their lives depended on it.

"While we're at it," Reilly continued, "you can add grand theft auto and reckless endangerment to the list. Let me guess, your vehicle was towed and you couldn't resist taking that nice little corvette for a ride."

"Fuck you," I said, "did it look like I was driving when you guys were chasing me? I already told you who was behind the wheel."

"Oh, right, Jennifer Chang, AKA The Mannequin. Last I heard she was committed upstate."

"Not anymore. Someone arranged for her early release."

"Who did?"

"How the fuck should I know?"

"Oh, you don't know. Well, that really helps a whole lot, doesn't it?"

"Do whatever you want, asshole. Bottom line, you got your facts all screwed up."

"Whatever you say, Johnny," said Douglas, "bottom line, you're not going anywhere. Your hunting days are over. You are done."

"I'm far from done, and you're all making the biggest mistake of your lives."

"You threatening us now?"

"You don't understand what's really going on out there."

"Oh, we know what's out there. It's dirt bags like you that turn this city into a war zone."

"You don't know the concept of a war zone."

"I couldn't care less. Right now, you're our top priority."

I just wanted to slug at least one of them, and it'll all be worth it. Instead, Sadie decided to get involved in the conversation; her frustrations started kicking into high gear.

"Johnny," she said, "save your breath. You're not going to reason with these poor blokes any time soon."

"Listen, lady," said Reilly, "if you don't like what you're hearing then wait outside."

"I'm not going anywhere. It's you three who need to leave."

"Sweetie-."

"Don't call me sweetie."

"I don't give a shit what you call yourself. If you want to share the same cell with him, that's fine by me. I got no problem with that."

"I'm going to be your problem if you don't leave us be."

Sadie's guts were impeccable and her fearlessness embraced my heart. I had no doubt she would have made an excellent soldier.

"You're telling us what to do?" Douglas said. "I'd watch it if I were you, lady."

"Your threats won't work on me," said Sadie. "You people are some of the reasons this city has gone to hell. You stepped aside and kept your mouths shut , allowing the disease to spread from street to street and for what? To fill up your pockets in blood money?"

Sadie was letting them have it and didn't give a shit. I was sure these three have never heard a real woman talk back at them before, and I had a front row seat.

"You got a smart mouth," said Reilly. "Lady or not, I'm throwing your ass out. Let's go."

Sadie slapped Reilly's hand aside, preventing him from grabbing her arm. With her finger pointed right at his face, Sadie let him know she was not to be intimidated.

"You don't get to touch me," she said, "not ever. So why don't you and your girlfriends piss the fuck off, and leave my man alone, or I'll make sure your sad careers are flushed safely down the loo along with the rest of the shit."

"Striking a police officer", said Reilly, "that's a serious no-no."

"How about police brutality? You ever try to get rough with me, and you'll have a shit storm you won't be able to seek cover from. And yes, that is a threat."

"Fuck it," said Lopez, "she's not worth it. Let's go."

Reilly backed off, with his eyes still focused on her. He certainly picked the wrong woman to start a fight with.

"I'll see you again," he said. "Mark my words, I'll see you again."

"Perish the thought," said Sadie.

As soon as they left we were finally alone, having the area all to ourselves. Sadie just looked at me while I stood there smiling, enjoying what she had accomplished without any help from me.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm your man?" I asked, ready to laugh.

"I was caught in the moment."

"I like it."

I had to get out of here. Only a key card can disable the field and it was far from my reach. There was no way, no fucking way they were shipping me to Seagull Island. They'll have to kill me before I lay one foot in that place. There were plenty of lowlifes in those cells who would die to get a crack at me, and I'll be damned if I was going to spend the rest of my days, watching my own back twenty-four seven, worrying about who was going to shank me first.

"I'm impressed," I said.

"About what?" Sadie said.

"You, handling yourself against those three. You embarrassed the hell out of them."

"That's nothing. I've dealt with their kind before."

"When was this?"

"A few years ago, a couple of fine officers attempted to extort money from my club, because they had dirt on one of my employees. Supposedly, they had disturbing photos that would put this person away for a long time. But it turned out the photos were fake. Photoshop. Very convincing I should say."

"What happened to the cops?"

"Once they were exposed, they never came back. The photos were put together by a professional, who was hired personally by my old friend, Mr. Mulligan."

"Ha! Leave it to Frankie to come up with ingenious ways to ruin your business."

"I told you I had no love for the man."

It started out with gunfire, and after that came laser blasts. We heard screams of the boys in blue, fighting off whoever barged into their station. Once I heard that familiar voice screaming out my name, I already knew I was in fucking trouble.

"Ah, shit," I said. "Not now."

"What?" Sadie asked.

"One of my friends stopping for a conjugal visit."

"What now?"

"You need to leave. You need to leave right now."

"Johnny, I'm not leaving you."

"This is not up for debate. Get the hell out of here."

"No, it's not up for debate. That's why I'm getting you out of here."

"Sadie, don't do anything stupid. I'm telling you right now, just go."

"I'm getting that key. One of them has it, right?"

"Don't do it. Listen to me, do not go out there."

"I need you, remember? You still have a mission to fulfill. I'll be all right."

"No, Sadie. Don't go out there. Sadie! Sadie! No! Fuck!"

I wanted to tear down this cell, bust right through the field and run right after her. She should never have run off the way she did. I didn't want anyone dying for me, especially, Sadie. The problem was if she gets killed, Mumbo Jumbo busts right in to kill me, and Prudence would never be found.

"Damn you, Sadie," I said, growing restless and helpless at the same time.

I heard the creaking sound of a door opening up, believing this was it; Mumbo Jumbo was here to finish the job, as well as collect the bounty on my head. Instead, a beautiful angel stepped forward, giving me a glimmer of hope.

"Missed me?" Sadie said, holding the key to disable the field.

"Sadie," I said, "are you all right?"

"Never better. Now, to get you out of there."

Sadie slipped the key card into the slot, deactivating the field. I didn't know whether to thank her or scold her for doing what she did.

"How is it out there?" I asked, anxious to know the situation at hand.

"It's very bad," said Sadie, "he sounds very upset."

"He always sounds very upset. It's just part of his charm. Come on."

Both of us crawled on our hands and knees, sticking behind the desks where Anton didn't see us. Bodies laid scattered. Blood and bits of bone and brain matter decorated the walls; a gruesome site that brought back too many memories. Some officers were alive, begging for our help, but we couldn't worry about them.

It didn't take long until we ran into the remains of Lopez and Reilly; both shot full of holes. For the moment, Douglas was still alive as Anton had a hold of his collar, demanding to know where I was.

"Where is he?" he asked. "Where the fuck is Johnny Octane?"

"I'm not telling you shit," said Douglas, saying what became his final words on earth.

Anton aimed the gauntlet to his head, blowing a huge, gaping hole straight through his skull.

"Where are you, bitch?" He said. "I know you're here. I can smell the pussy in you."

Anton made his way towards the cells, giving Sadie and I the chance to get out the back door. Once outside, I reached for the cycle's seat compartment, getting a hold of my firearm, filling my pockets up with extra clips.

"Clear out," I told Sadie.

"What?"

"Clear out. I'm gonna draw his fire with my own. I'm ending this right now."

"Johnny, don't be a fool."

"Get going. I'll be right behind you."

"Sounds like a plan," said another familiar voice, "you want to fill me in on it?"

With his nose taped up, Nick Flame was all set to barbecue my ass. Again I told Sadie to clear out, while I kept Nick focused solely on me. He did just that, getting me to run for cover while unleashing his flame throwers. I could feel the heat of the flames right on top of me. I fired a couple of shots, forcing him to take cover only for a minute, long enough for me to steal some wheels. Yeah, I was a car thief again, but this was an emergency.

The yellow cab stood there for the taking and I made my way inside, hot wiring it as quickly as possible. It'd been a long time since I last did this, but those old skills never went away. I got it started and off I went, with the bellowing sound of the cabbie screaming his ass off right behind me.

I wasn't running away from a fight; just leading Nick as far away from Sadie as possible. Anton was probably still tearing the entire precinct apart. By now he discovered the cells were empty, letting out another one of his temper tantrums. Then it hit me. Literally.

"What the hell?" I said, spotting the bus hitting me from the rear. I didn't know who was behind the wheel until the loudspeaker was turned up, with another familiar voice speaking out.

"Hey, Johnny," said Zane. "Where you off to? Give me six minutes to put you out of your misery."

Where there's two psychopaths, there's one more. Now both of us were car thieves, except Zane was using his to bump me off the road. He hit me two more times from behind before I finally pulled out my shotgun. The shells smashed through the cab's back window, straight onto the bus' windshield. Zane steered left, avoiding more shots I laid upon him. We now stood side by side with Zane starting things off, hitting me to and fro. Up ahead, two vehicles were crossing the green light; Zane just plowed right through them without a care in the world. It was time for me to get on board the bus itself.

"Johnny," I said, "you really outdone yourself."

I set the cab on auto drive as I made my move, climbing out from the driver's seat. Carefully, I made my way towards the hood of the cab, keeping my balance straight like I was some mad surfer riding the waves off Australia. Zane came close to knocking me down while in position; lucky for me I had a hold on the windshield wipers.

One of the bus' windows was wide open, leaving me the opportunity to jump off the cab and climb right in. The cab was leveled by an incoming cement truck, causing it to flip over maybe six or seven times. Not my problem. My main problem was on the bus and I was going to end this little trip or die trying.

"Hey, Zane," I said, surprising him, "how many minutes do I have left?"

Zane had that look in his eye, like a rabid dog about to attack. He won't need six minutes or six seconds to deal with me; I'd make sure of that.

"Come on, freak show," I said, "how many minutes do I have?"

"About three minutes," Zane said.

"Let's make them count."

Zane started things off, lunging at me with a butcher knife, slashing away, trying to mark my face. I grabbed his wrist, slamming it against the railing of the passenger seat until he released the weapon. An elbow shot stunned him, but quickly rebounded, charging straight at me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I planted hard elbows upon his back. Finally, he released me, but not before planting a swift cut on my side.

I'd forgotten about the other knives he carried around with him; a different knife for a different victim. He had on him a steak knife, already painted with my own blood. Lucky for me it was just a nick instead of a much deeper cut.

"What's the matter, Zane?" I asked. "You lost your edge? All those years in prison could do that to you."

"I haven't lost anything," he said, "but you, on the other hand, have lost time, as in time's up. Time to put you in the morgue."

Again he lunged at me with his new knife. I grabbed both of his wrists, quickly sending a knee to the groin and jaw. Zane was stunned, leaving me to send a swift kick to his face. I was set to disarm him when laser fire came crashing my way, filling the bus up full of holes. I ducked for cover, only to be showered in broken glass and metallic debris.

Needless to say it was Mumbo Jumbo, who happened to grab himself a semi trailer truck. With Zane out for the count, I was left to deal with my next opponent. I disabled the auto drive, taking full control of the bus. Both of us went at it, side by side, trying to knock the other off the road. Dead ahead all we created was a path of destruction.

Anton fired his gauntlet, nearly taking my head off. I pulled out my shot gun and fired right back. He steered left, quickly avoiding my shots. Soon he came right back, picking up where we left off.

"You got nowhere to go, bitch," he said, "and I'm getting paid!"

We could have gone on all day, figuring out each other's weaknesses, but that attempt was denied. Zane just happened to wake up, lunging right at me once again. With one hand on the wheel, the other hung on to his wrist in possession of the steak knife, inches away from my eye.

"Now," he said, "I'm giving you six seconds."

I shoved him down the stairs, giving me a chance to turn that damn switch that opens the door.

"You missed your stop," I said.

He rushed back up, but I shoved his ass right out the door. Soon as I took care of him, Nicky decides to join in on the fun; smashing from my right with the use of a black van, forcing me to drive right onto the sidewalk.

"The fuck out of the way!" I yelled at the pedestrians, so close to getting hit.

Once back on the road, Nick continued causing more damage. I reopened the front doors, firing my shots and forcing him to fall back. I fired at the passenger windows, shattering each one in my attempts to nail the van. All I did was drive Nick further back; enough time for me to reload. Anton came up front when he opened his door, stepped right out, firing his gauntlets straight at me. I flew right out of my seat before the lasers turned the windshield into Swiss cheese. I punched the accelerator with my fist, forcing Anton to cease fire after rear ending his ass.

A quick peek and Anton headed back to his seat, trying to gain control of the truck. He spun around for half a block before coming to a halt right in front of me. The bus flipped over the truck, knocking me right off the seat. Afterwards, it slid across the streets, leaving a trail of sparks and the ear piercing sounds of metal screeching, heading for the brick wall where Dream City Park laid. My only way out was to climb right through the driver's side window, getting a feel of that gust of air smashing into my face.

Nick and Anton stayed right on me. I fired my shots, hitting the front tire of the semi and the black van's engine, causing enough damage for Nick to swerve and flip over. The brick wall drew close in my view. If I knew better, this was going to be extremely painful once I hit the ground.

"Blow me hard," I said.

When that bus hit the wall, I flew through the air at probably five feet or more, but who's counting? As predicted I came down hard, onto the grassy hill that awaited me. I went tumbling down, imagining what my body would look like covered in even more black and blues after I'm done.

I could almost hear my sensei telling me to get my ass back up and fight on. Pain is the enemy that needs to be held back was what I was told, but after my emergency landing, the pain had started taking over. I used the nearest tree for leverage, leaned against it to catch my breath. After that little rest I pulled out my shotgun, preparing for the next attack from the unholy trio. It didn't take long for them to begin their search.

"Hey, Johnny!" Nick yelled. "You down there? I know you're hurting, John boy. Come on out and I'll end this quick."

"Where are you, bitch?" Anton said. "You better be on your fucking knees when I find you."

When hell freezes over, tough guy. I haven't heard Zane as of yet, but eventually he would turn up. I hid from tree to tree, waiting for any one to pop up and give me the jump on them. I heard the sound of snapping tree branches nearby, where I took cover behind the nearest park bench. The park was as quiet as a graveyard due to the fact it was closed for renovations, saving me the trouble of putting up with people screaming and getting in the line of fire.