Jon Merz - Vicarious

Kwon shrugged. “No. But if things get hairy I’m sure I can convince him otherwise.”

“Thought you said you were a lover not a fighter.”

“I am.”

“You also said you don’t do much talking with your hands.”

Kwon nodded. “Yep. That’s true.”

“But you think you’ll be able to handle him, huh?”

Kwon leaned into the window and smiled. “I never said anything about not knowing how to use my feet. I studied Tae Kyon and Han Pul back in Korea.”

“For how long?” Curran wasn’t sure any type of martial arts would be useful against a demon but he didn’t say so.

“Long enough.” He patted Curran on the shoulder. “Get out of here, cowboy. Lauren, you watch out for this guy.”

She smiled. “Take care, Kwon.”

Curran drove off, watching Kwon wave after them in the rearview mirror. He glanced at Lauren. “You think it’s still safe at Father Jim’s?”

“Hopefully.”

“Should I be naive and hope that the demon can’t enter a holy dwelling like a church or other blessed home?”

“This isn’t the movie Highlander , Steve. And remember, it didn’t stop him from killing Sister Donovan in her own home.”

Curran sighed. “That doesn’t make me feel good about leaving you alone.”

“I won’t be alone. Father Jim will be with me. Remember? My boyfriend.” She smiled.

Curran grinned. “Add some more salt to the wound why don’t you.”

Lauren stayed quiet for a minute, watching the outside world flash by. “Was it necessary to talk to Darius back at his house?”

“I think so,” said Curran.

“Why?”

“He knows we’re on to him. He’s trying to thwart our attempts to link him to the any crimes that we could bust him on. If he’s able to establish us as harassing him, he’ll have an easier time of completing his mission.”

“That concerns me,” said Lauren.

“What do you mean?”

“The fact that he’s so willing to come out of the shadows and confront us on this whole thing. It leaves me feeling very unsettled.”

“You think he’s up to something else?”

“No,” said Lauren. “But I wish it was just that.” She sighed. “I think he might be getting close to completing the mission.”

“Because he confronted us.”

“Yes.” She tapped the dashboard. “I think he’s reached the sort of point where he’s not so concerned anymore with us being able to stop him.”

“He’s more confident now,” said Curran.

“Uh huh. Think of it this way: if he’s only got one more person to kill, what difference will we be able to make?”

“Hopefully a very big one,” said Curran.

“Yes. But from his perspective,” said Lauren, “he doesn’t have much of anything to lose. He knows he can kill one more person, get their soul into that vat and then begin the resurrection ceremony. Don’t you see? He’s not just confident. He’s starting to feel invincible.”

“I think he’s probably been feeling pretty invincible for a long time,” said Curran.

“Maybe,” said Lauren. “But he’s bound to be feeling more like he’s won now than ever before.”

Curran frowned. “You’re depressing me.”

“I’m depressing myself, Steve. But I think it’s the truth.”

They passed a small noodle restaurant and Curran turned them left. “I never would have expected a demon to behave like this.”

“How do you mean?”

“Guess I’ve got this old fairy tale notion of them being these nasty ugly beasts that can only breathe fire and kill you. But here this guy Darius is using the cops against us. He’s got himself some interesting attributes.”

“Satan is a lot more talented than many people give him credit for. You can bet he’d never send a dimwitted servant with such an important mission to Earth.”

“Yeah.” Curran wove back up toward Commonwealth Avenue and into Brighton. He glanced over at Lauren who was staring out of the window. “What are you thinking?”

She looked at him and smiled. “Just how curious life can be. Two weeks ago, I never would have expected my life to be the way it is now.”

Curran swallowed. “And how is that?”

“You know, chasing a demon. Trying to keep Satan from coming back to make life on earth Hell.” She smiled. “Meeting you.”

“Meeting me.”

“Sure, you’re a good friend, Steve. If not for this evil that’s being attempted, we’d never have even met.”

A friend. He sighed. Great. Just what he needed: another friend. “Yeah, that’s really wonderful.”

She looked at him. “You all right?”

“Yeah. Fine.” He passed Cleveland Circle and cut right up toward Boston College. “Anyway, if everything goes well, we’ll be done with this soon.”

“You have a plan?”

“We still have to get inside and destroy that vat. I figure we’ve got maybe two days to do that in.”

“Less than that now.”

He looked at her. “How do you figure?”

“Remember Sister McDewey and her forty-eight hours? The clock’s been ticking.”

Crap. He’d forgotten. “Still, the cops’ll be pulled off that detail soon. Darius will be vulnerable again.”

“You think he knows that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you think he’d be aware of his vulnerability? That he’d attempt to make sure he’s covered himself before those police are taken off the case?”

Curran frowned. “I don’t know how he could.”

“There haven’t been any deaths for a while now.”

“Not since Simpson, no.”

Lauren nodded. “Maybe there’s one left. Maybe there’s one last person he’s got to get to make the vat as complete as it can be. From there, he’d go ahead and try to start the resurrection ceremony.”

“You think he’ll kill again soon?”

“Yes,” said Lauren. “Before the deadline’s over.”

Curran sighed. “Part of me feels like he’s been playing us for fools ever since he came to town.”

Lauren’s voice was quiet. “Maybe even earlier.”

“What do you mean?”

She shrugged. “Maybe this whole thing — everything, has been carefully planned out from the start.”

“But according to the journals, he’s been wandering for eons gathering the evil that was fragmented.”

“But maybe it’s only been in the last few years that things have accelerated. Maybe it’s only been since then that he’s used people.”

Curran’s mind whirled. “You think he knew what he was doing when his kills came to my attention way back in the Bureau?”

“Seems like he’s been aware of you for some time now.”

“But for what reason? Why me? What good would it do to have me feel so compelled to track him? What purpose would it serve?”

“Everything that’s happened since then, Steve.” She laid a hand on his arm. “Darius might even know things before we do.”

Curran pushed her hand away. “I feel like a damned fool. Playing right into his hands. You know how much he’s cost me in terms of my life and my career?”

“I know.”

“You don’t!” Curran’s voice rose. “You don’t know what he’s done to me, what he’s cost me. All of this — “ His voice trailed off. “It’s all for nothing now.”

“No,” said Lauren. “It’s not all for nothing. There’s still chance we can stop him.”

“Right,” said Curran. “We’ll just keep planning what we’ve got planned. That’ll make him quiver with fear.”

“You don’t have to be so sarcastic.”

“Sarcastic? Lauren, I’m struggling to keep my head above water here. I’ve been tracking this freaker for years and now you tell me he’s probably been playing me for a damned fool ever since I started. How do you think that makes me feel?”