The Abyssal Pt. 01

Violetta realized then that it would surely be locked, and she was right. She tried the knob carefully, very quietly so as not to alert anyone inside, but it wouldn't budge. And what had she expected exactly? What had she hoped to accomplish by coming here? Was there supposed to be a big book with her name on it that revealed all the secrets of her family? Some little fairy waiting at the door to sprinkle magic dust on her and tell her everything? There was, of course, none of that, there was nothing, just a locked door. Is that what her sister had become, a walking talking locked door?

Violetta leaned back against the wall next to the door and breathed a deep sigh. Was she so desperate to be a part of her family again that she had to sneak around to do it? Couldn't she accept that there were things she did not need know, did not have the right to know?

She was used to getting her way, that was all. She always had been.

A sudden, high-pitched tone rang out through the alley, echoing off the walls and scaring her out of her own head. She had forgotten to plug the earpiece back into her cell phone, which was now ringing loudly. So much for secrecy; thank God there was no one here.

'Hello?'

'Hey, kid,' Jeff Van Owen said, sounding much less exuberant than the last time he had called, much more cautious.

'What've you got?'

'Well... I've got some weird shit. Seems this M&E Imports is part of some larger conglomerate with connections of all kinds, corporate, government, political... even some suggestion of ties to the Vatican. I mean, why the hell would some two-bit import/export operation in the North-Jesus-East have ties to the Vatican? This ain't the local Rotary club here.'

'Jeff, you sound concerned,' Violetta said, not bothering to keep her voice down.

'I am, I guess. I'm just an old-fashioned guy. In my company, I like to know where the money is coming from and why, how much and when. This—this is a labyrinth of financial red tape, political dealings, religious influence. I mean, I don't even know where to start. You sister's company would only be a drop in the bucket in all of this, but it's still in the bucket.'

'Any idea who or what is at the top of this thing?' Violetta asked. 'It seems like even with a conglomeration as big as you're suggesting, there'd have to be a single entity in charge, don't you think?'

Jeff sighed, obviously not wishing for the part of the conversation. It made Violetta want to hear it even more.

'Look, kiddo, I'm not a researcher and my connections only go so far—'

'Whatever you have, Jeff, please. This is my sister, and if she's in some kind of trouble, or if she's in with the wrong people, I need to know.'

'Right,' Jeff said, 'you're right, Violetta. I'm a little spooked with this, that's all. We're movie producers, and we never claimed to be anything more, right?'

'Why are you spooked?'

'You asked who was at the top. The best I could find was a French company, Gardien. A Dutch company, Berschermer. An Italian outfit, Guardiano. And a German company, Wachter. Plus dozens of others from dozens of other countries, all with the same name. Guardian. It's this Guardian that scares the shit out of me because they've got their hands in the hardcore of the hardcore. Weapons technology, nuclear technology, antimatter research.'

'Antimatter research?'

'Yeah, real end of the world kind of stuff. And this company, this group, Guardian, has a distinctly paramilitary tone in its ring. From what I can tell, they make Blackwater look like a pack of pussy JROTC recruits. I'm not sure who exactly they are or what exactly they do, but they could be real dangerous if they wanted to be.

'Now, the real question, what does this have to do with your sister? Maybe nothing at all. Remember, we're talking about the very tip of a very, very tall iceberg. Just because we're all descended from Adam doesn't mean we all fucked Eve in the garden, know what I mean? So your sister is part owner in a business she inherited from a dead lady with a nutcase son. It doesn't necessarily mean she knows jack about shit.'

'Eloquent as always, Jeffrey. What exactly is your point?'

'My point is,' Jeff continued, his voice noticeably softer than she had ever heard it, 'that none of this proves anything. And if things seem really weird to you around there, it may only be because your mother just died.'

His words finally took the breath out of her because the idea was so simple she had never considered it. The death of a close family member causing stress, anxiety, depression. Those things that lead to lying, emotional highs and lows, self-consciousness and self-doubt. Why did Maddalena have to be hiding something, why couldn't she just be in mourning?

'God, Jeff, you're right, you—' she choked her words off suddenly. She had not noticed the door open behind her; it must have been well-oiled because there had not been a whisper of sound. And the knife she had pressed to her throat now looked sharp and ugly.

'Kiddo? You still there?'

'Ahh...'

'You be very calm,' a voice whispered into her ear, 'be very calm and tell him you're okay.'

'I'm here, Jeff,' Violetta said, and when her voice wavered a bit, the knife pressed more firmly to her skin. 'Uh... sorry, I thought I saw someone I knew, that's all.'

'Good,' the voice said, 'now tell him you have to go.'

'Jeff, I have to go,' Violetta said, unable to keep the mechanical quality out of her voice.

'You alright?' he asked. 'You don't sound so hot all of a sudden.'

'I'm fine,' Violetta said, now feeling a hand grasp her arm in an iron grip, 'I just... I think I owe my sister an apology. I've totally taken what she did for our mother for granted, and now this sneaking around...' It all sounded good coming out of her mouth; it sounded honest, at least, and she hoped her attacker was satisfied.

'Sounds reasonable to me,' Jeff said, 'let the past be the past and enjoy the time you have with her now.'

'Right. Thank you again, Jeff.'

'Yeah. Talk to you, kid.'

Violetta hung up as directed by the knife-wielding maniac, yearning now to hear a comforting voice. No such luck. The hand tugged hard on her arm, but the knife did not budge.

'Now,' the voice said, 'back up slowly. And watch your step; if you slip you'll get a new smile to go with that pretty mouth of yours.'

And now, Violetta recognized the voice. She had found what she was looking for.

* * *

When the iron door clanged shut, the knife went away, and Violetta's hand went to her throat unconsciously checking for damage.

'I didn't cut you,' Katie said, locking the door, 'not yet, anyway. And if this goes well, I won't have to.'

'You fucking crazy bitch,' Violetta growled, suddenly infuriated. She was sure Katie would attack her for this, but she did not care. Katie only laughed, a kind of frantic sound.

'We're all crazy,' she said, slipping the blade back into a sheath that she tucked into the back of her jeans. 'And we're here in the middle of crazy times.'

Katie turned away and headed deeper into the building, which was mostly empty save for a few wooden crates against the walls and in the middle of the floor. Katie sat down on one of these. Violetta was surprised by her casual demeanor when only a minute ago she was certain she would get her throat cut. The young woman gestured to another crate, and Violetta cautiously sat down.

The space appeared to have once been used as some kind of store, and it was filled with a kind of musty, unused scent. Beneath that was the scent of something else, a vague and faded miasma of spices and floral scents.

'You,' Katie said, 'have done a truly spectacular job of nosing around in business that isn't yours.'

'I was trying to protect my sister.'

'I know,' Katie said, almost pleasantly, 'and I understand that. But I'm sorry, I just don't like you very much, so I can't help but be slightly antagonistic when I talk to you.'

'I don't like you either, so why don't you put that knife down so we can solve this like sensible, mature women.'

'You mean beat the hell out of each other?'

'Yeah,' Violetta said, feeling her heart quicken, and unable to keep a little smile from playing on her lips. It had been a long time since she had stood behind home plate with a bat cocked at her shoulder, but here she was, and she was ready to swing.

'God, that would be delicious,' Katie said, 'it really would, but we have more urgent business to attend to.'

'You're not really a lawyer, are you?'

Katie laughed again. She seemed to be in a much better mood now that she had gotten the opportunity to cut Violetta's throat.

'Figure that one out by yourself, genius?'

'Fuck yourself. Who are you, really?'

'Doesn't matter. All you need to know is that I'm here to protect your sister, as well as various other... assets.'

'So you're a part of this group, Guardian?' Violetta asked. For a moment, Katie seemed completely caught off guard, and then the smile spread back on her face.

'My,' she said, 'your little feelers really have been busy, haven't they? I'll tell you, you'd better call them off because if they're that good and they find out any more, it could become very dangerous for them.'

'Did you bring me in here to do any more than threaten me? If so, get on with it. I'm getting sick of your mouth.'

'Oh God, Letti, really—'

'Do not call me that.'

'Sorry, Violetta,' Katie spat, 'but I know if it were up to you, we'd go around in circles with this all day, all the name calling and accusations. And while the thought of gutting you makes me... ooh... all wet and tingly, frankly, I can't. It turns out that you, unfortunately, are now one of the assets I have to protect.'

'Protect from what? For who?'

'I can't tell you for who. And you'll find out from what soon enough.'

'God damn it!' Violetta cried out, leaping to her feet. Katie tensed momentarily as if to defend herself, but relaxed when she realized Violetta had no intention of attacking.

'Okay,' Violetta said, 'so what, this is all a big joke on me?'

'Self-involved much?'

Violetta let this little jab go, but filed it away in her ass-kicking log for later.

'Is it wrong for me to want to help my family? To try and make up for some of the damage I did? I mean, have I completely lost the right to care?'

To Violetta's surprise, Katie face softened slightly at this. 'Your family was damaged before you left. No matter what anyone says, including me, you shouldn't keep after yourself about it.'

'So what is it that makes me an asset now? How did you go from killing me to protecting me?'

'It's what you know. And what you are.'

Violetta waited in vain for more, but when she got nothing, she turned back to Katie who only sat silently and looked at her.

'I don't know anything,' Violetta said. 'And all I am is a movie producer.'

'Is that all? If so, I'm wasting my time here. But before I go, I want to show you something.'

'What?'

'Turn around and look out that window.'

Violetta frowned at her, but did as she was told in spite of her better judgment. All she saw was a window, half smeared with black paint, hazy light shining in. When the metallic scrape of a knife being unsheathed sounded behind her, she knew she had made a terrible mistake. It was too late to turn, so she held her ground, waiting either for the next sound or the sting of the knife against her throat. What she heard was the light scuff of a shoe against the floor a few feet behind her. She could picture Katie darting towards her, could feel by the skin of her neck how Katie had the knife held in an upward position near her waist so she could plunge it into Violetta's lung by way of her back.

She saw all of this in the span of a moment, saw it like a movie in the back of her mind. When a second drifted past, when it was close, too close, Violetta stepped to her left and could feel the rush of air as Katie brought the knife forward, just barely missing her. At the same time, Violetta caught Katie's arm and twisted the wrist. She threw out her leg, bumping her hip into Katie and turned the girl, using her forward momentum to throw her to the floor. Katie landed hard with a loud grunt.

Violetta realized she had Katie's knife, a savage looking dagger, turned back at her. With Katie on her back, looking up at her, Violetta shoved forward, but stopped just as the tip of the knife breached the soft flesh of Katie's throat. A tiny droplet of blood welled up from the wound.

Violetta could go no farther. The sight of the blood, so red and shiny, brought her back to some kind of reality, where it occurred to her she was about to become a murderer. A killer. She was about to take from someone the single most valuable thing she could ever take. She couldn't. She wouldn't.

'Fucking bitch,' Violetta said through clenched teeth.

Katie began to laugh. Even with the knife at her throat, she laughed. Violetta could feel her whole body quaking with it.

'Okay, okay, you got me,' Katie said when she regained some composure. 'That was very good.'

'I should kill you.'

'But you won't. You won't, because for normal people like us, the first kill isn't planned, it's not something you say you're going to do, it's something you just do.'

'The first kill?' Violetta asked. 'What the hell are you talking about?'

'I'm talking about what you're capable of, what you just did. You have no idea, do you?'

Violetta was very aware of the knife tip at the girl's throat now. She pulled back just a little, but kept it close. She had no idea what to do with Katie, who seemed completely intent on killing her. If she released her now, would she try again? Violetta had no idea if she was capable of defending against another attack; she had this time, but that had to have been luck. Or was it?

'You should never have been able to take me down like this,' Katie said. 'I've been trained to fight since I was a girl. The people I work for demand nothing less than warriors. Now you've taken me twice, and you're supposedly nothing but a movie producer.'

'I wish I had some clue what you're driving at.'

'Don't you feel it, Violetta? Something inside you, telling you, driving you to fight? Maddy's never discussed you much, I think because it hurt, but what she's told me... there was some fight, when you played baseball as a teenager. Do you remember it?'

Violetta pulled the knife back farther. 'Perry Dean,' she said, 'in my junior year.' Perry Dean had been an absolute shit. He was the catcher from a rival team, and while most of the players had not thought much about a girl playing high school baseball, the Dean kid had been completely shocked by it, and his shock had manifested itself in nearly constant ribbing. When Violetta had first gone up to bat, it had started as typical teasing. As the game continued on, it got worse and worse, had grown consistently more sexist until Violetta was fuming.

On her final play, Violetta had come off third base and charged home plate, knocking Perry Dean flat on his ass.

'Fucking cunt,' Perry had growled at her as he dusted himself off.

'What?' Violetta asked.

'Don't know why they'd let cunts in baseball.'

Violetta's vision had come over all red as she walked up to Perry and shoved him as hard as she could. It hadn't done much more than make him mad enough to charge her back, but she had sidestepped quickly and struck out with a jarring uppercut that knocked Perry out cold, and got Violetta suspended from the next three games. More importantly, Perry had been at least twice her size.

Violetta came back to reality, Katie's eyes still on her. 'Is it true?' she asked.

'Yeah, it's true.'

'You knocked the piss out of a baseball player three times your size? That doesn't seem unlikely to you?'

'It was only two. And it was luck.'

'You must be the luckiest chick on the face of the planet, then,' Katie said, 'because it just keeps happening. It's happened so much that now you're under the scrutiny of the people I work for.'

'What are you saying? They want me to join them?'

Katie shrugged the best she could in her position. 'Without sounding too Dark Side-ish, yeah, it seems likely now,' she said, a little bitterness setting in, 'they may install you as my replacement.'

'Your replacement for what?'

'To protect your sister, among other things. There's always been one of us here. Your great grandfather, your grandfather, your father.... who died too soon before another family member was ready to take his place. You, Violetta. You were supposed to be the one, but things, as you know, went all wrong. And so they brought in outsiders. The last one was a woman named Lauren. And now me. And soon, maybe you.'

Violetta dropped the knife carelessly to the floor, without heed as to whether it was within Katie's reach again. Her mind was absolutely reeling with information that she—even being of above average intelligence—could not quite comprehend. She wanted desperately to believe that Katie was crazy, putting together some fantastic story chock full of magic and mystery, but wasn't this what she had been looking for? Both she and Jason? They had not quite spoken it aloud, but in all honesty, they had been talking about phantom figures in paintings. Omens of destruction and doom magically rendered by an artist unaware of his actions. What Katie was saying could not be that far off.

'Now that we're not going to kill each other,' Katie said, 'can you let me up? I promise I won't try anything.'

Violetta did so without any second thought for her own safety. She crawled back a few feet on her knees, allowing Katie to sit up. Katie glanced down at the dagger, then shoved it away with a distasteful sneer on her mouth.

'I don't understand,' Violetta mumbled, 'I am just a movie producer. I'm not qualified to protect anyone, especially my sister.'

'Sure, you only tracked down someone who wasn't meant to be found—'

'—I had help—'

'We all need help sometimes. But you knew from the start it was dangerous, and you had the nuts to do it anyway. And who you found was a trained killer who you fought off. So... who aren't you qualified to protect?'

'Yeah, but we're not just talking about protection from a trained killer, are we?' Violetta asked.

'No, we're not,' Katie replied, 'we're talking about a perfect killer. A predator the likes of which have not been seen in this world for a very long time.'

'Like... like a dinosaur?'

Katie laughed loudly at this, but with no meanness or sarcasm, and Violetta actually cracked a slight smile. The question sounded quite stupid in her own ears.

'I'm sorry,' Katie said, reigning herself in, 'it's just that I asked someone that same question once. And the reacted the same way I just did. But no, it's not a dinosaur, it's not even the kind of creature you could imagine. Dinosaurs were just simple-minded animals. This is something much worse.'

'But you won't tell me what it is?'

'No, I don't think you're ready to know. And I just don't think it's my place to tell you, in any case.'

'Does Maddy know?'

'Yes.'

'For a long time?'

'Yes.'

'Who was Lauren?'

Silence. Katie drew in a deep breath, for the first time looking surprised by one of Violetta's questions.

'Lauren... was one of us.'

'I got that part,' Violetta said, 'I want the rest.'

'She's the one that taught Maddalena everything she knows. She's the one that opened this world up to your sister, and in a big way made her the woman that she is today.'

'Is that all?'

'No,' Katie said, suddenly looking incredibly sad, 'but I don't feel right telling you the rest. Your sister should do that.'