Inside the diner, Red stood in the kitchen humming happily to herself as she busied herself cooking dinner. She admired the busy shelves and the small chest freezer that she knew was fully stocked. After rescuing Party, they had returned to Candi and Ice’s apartment, where Ghoul had recalled seeing numerous boxes in the basement. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but with hindsight they wanted to return to check them out. They had been right to. Stacked high from floor to ceiling were boxes filled with supplies that had been meant for distribution to the citizens of Dust Bowl. Candi had been clever enough to supply most of the deliveries but it seemed had always held some back for her and Ice’s personal use or for sale. Red reflected on their part in the capture of the Killjoys and the fact that they clearly already had no shortage of money. They were greedy and had paid with their lives. The only person she held any sympathy for was Jet for having to kill someone he thought was a friend, someone he believed he could trust. Killing never sat well with Jet; Kobra had explained it in terms of Jet having less anger in him than the others and, yes, she could accept that idea, but there always seemed to be more to it than that. Perhaps, one day, he would discuss it with her, but she didn’t want to press the matter; certainly not with Candi and Ice’s deaths so recent in his memory.

Before leaving Dust Bowl they had distributed most of the supplies that they had discovered. In addition, they found thousands of carbons stacked in wads. Giving the bulk to build a new hospital and most of the rest to an orphanage. They had held some money and supplies back for themselves. They almost felt guilty at the decision, as they would normally consider such items as luxuries, but they had to pay Kami for the clothes she had made for them all and they so desperately wanted to eat some real food. They had recovering to do - Party from torture, Kobra from his operation to remove the governor in his neck, Ghoul from his operation following the explosion in the hospital and the others simply from exhaustion. Somehow, a bottle of water didn’t seem so much of a luxury any more. Now the shelves were stocked and Red was making dinner.

It wasn’t as if anyone expected her to take over the cooking, she had volunteered - after tasting their attempts. Jet could cook some reasonably decent eggs on a good day, Kobra’s food was usually edible, Party’s was most definitely not and a can of Power Pup generally tasted better than whatever Ghoul managed to get to a plate. If you wanted something burnt, he was your man, otherwise, not so much. She wasn’t a chef by a long way, neither had she learned to cook, but to them, her touch in the kitchen was magical and they had begged her to keep cooking. She hadn’t taken much convincing - she didn’t want to eat their food either.

To their consternation however, she had insisted on a few changes in exchange. She had originally thought she was pushing her luck somewhat, but insisting that they washed regularly, both themselves and their clothes had been agreed to surprisingly easily. Jet wanted to be a model big brother perhaps, Kobra had made no secret of the fact that he loved her and would do pretty much anything for her approval - even wash - but incredibly Party and Ghoul had followed suit. She didn’t know, of course, how much pressure was brought to bear on them from the others, but she likened herself to Snow White forcing the dwarfs to get their act together. It always drew a smile to her face when she thought back to watching the movie as a small child and now here she was - Snow White but with only four dwarfs. She chuckled to herself again - well, maybe just one actually qualified?

Today she was making Ghoul’s favourite - ‘vegetables with vegetables’ and it was taking the form of a vegetable stir fry, using a packet of sauce that merely described itself as Chinese along with a huge pan of rice. What wasn’t eaten tonight would be recycled for lunch. It was a practical way of using up food that had come to the end of their usable shelf life. Most of the fresh vegetables and salad items were almost used up. From here they would use frozen, but it was still wonderful in comparison to their usual foul tasting and highly questionable canned dog food.

Looking through the hatch to the diner, she watched what everyone was doing while she waited for the rice to finish cooking. Jet was picking out a tune on his guitar and Party and Kobra were playing cards, occasionally getting loud and animated.

“Where’s Ghoul?” She finally asked, noticing he was nowhere to be seen.

Jet looked up and noticed the light outside.

“Still fixing the car by the look of it.”

He raised a questioning eyebrow towards the booth in which Party and Kobra were seated in case they had any different information. Looking up, they merely nodded before Party broke away with a loud shout at some perceived cheating on Kobra’s part.

“Well, dinner’s nearly ready,” Red replied. “About three or four minutes.”

Jet offered an appreciative smile as the aromas from the kitchen finally made their way over to him.

“What are we having?” He asked, placing his guitar on its stand and getting to his feet and noticing he was salivating as he thought about eating.
“Ghoul’s favourite - Veg in some sorta sauce with rice,” Red grinned at the vagueness of the description.
“Lovely!” Jet beamed sounding genuinely interested as he walked over. “Doubt he’ll be much longer, it’s getting pretty dark out there.” He nodded in the direction of the main doors.

*

Fun Ghoul stood up, the cool desert night air blowing his black hair across his face, tickling his nose and causing him to crumple his face in an attempt to avoid the sneeze that was likely to overtake him. The sensation remained and he wiped the end of his irritated nose on his sleeve, rather than smear oil and grime on his face, again. It seemed to help but there was a part of him that believed that all he had done was to delay the inevitable. The sneeze was in there, waiting patiently for him to lose concentration then when he least expected it, it would strike. Oh yes, he knew all about sneezes, he knew how cunning they could be.

He looked back down at the engine; he was working on the trans am again. It had taken him the better part of three days so far and it was still not working. It was strange because he’d managed to get it working the previous day, but somehow overnight it had broken down again.

Four nights ago, Kobra was at the wheel when, Ghoul assumed, he had pushed it too hard - again. He and Jet had returned to the diner with the car which had which had limped most of the way, coughing out black fumes and screaming with the sounds of metal scraping on metal. The final three miles, the two men had pushed the ailing car back to the diner, glad of the cover of darkness and the limited risk of a drac patrol.

He didn’t know exactly what Kobra did with the car - well, no that wasn’t strictly true. Kobra regularly thrashed the engine to within an inch of its metal life but this time it seemed he’d pushed it an inch too far. Ghoul knew the engine desperately needed oil, almost all of the car’s existing supply had somehow leaked out, hence the screaming from the moving parts. He had found a significant leak the night before and repaired it, but a simple test showed that there must have been at least one other and until he could find them he could not replenish the car’s tank. Could there be multiple leaks? A rupture maybe? There was no way he could risk diminishing their supplies further by pouring oil into a leaking car.

His last three hours had been spent looking for the other source of the leak but repeatedly he came up empty. Eventually reaching for the hose that he had repaired the previous night, he pulled it up so he could check his repair. Frowning deeply in confusion, he saw that his repair had failed completely and not only had the previous crack in the hose reappeared, but had somehow widened. He shook his head at the sight of it; surely no one had tried to use the car? But how else could it have happened?

There really was only one possibility - sabotage. Yes, they were on Route Guano, one of the more well travelled roads in the Zones, but out there in Zone 6? Hardly anyone passed by. The puzzle left Ghoul staring at the hose and chewing his lower lip. They had seen no one for days. What was going on? Was he paranoid? Worrying over nothing?

Either way, in the short term, he needed to get the car working but he didn’t have a spare hose and it would be even more difficult to fix again - not that the previous night’s fix had held. The sealant hadn’t worked, maybe if he taped it up it would last long enough to get to Larry’s Auto Shop? He wasn’t that far away, just Zone 5, but he didn’t want it to break down in the middle of the desert again. It was time to beg the use of Doctor Death Defying’s van once more. Ghoul smiled to himself; the Doc never refused, but it always helped to tell him how much it was appreciated. He chuckled to himself as he lowered the hood of the trans am; it was always good to tell anyone how much he or she was appreciated.

“Ghoul!” Red called from inside the diner. “Dinner’s ready!”
“I’ll be right there!” He called back.

Wiping his hands on a rag to get the bulk of the oil off his fingers, he threw it down on the car. As he did a faint, distant noise drew his attention. It sounded familiar yet not at the same time; perhaps as if it was something he hadn't heard for a long time. It began as a soft fluttering sound that seemed to be coming from the sky, like a thousand bats all flapping their wings at once. With a furrowed brow, Ghoul stared upward. As yet he could see nothing but the noise was growing steadily louder. Now it reminded him of a swarm of insects, perhaps locusts, but with a deep throbbing undercurrent.

Still uncertain, one thing he did know now was it was a man-made sound and he reached for his gun. Before his fingers closed on the butt, he grimaced and raised his hand up to his neck as something stung him.

“Ow!”

Lowering his hand to see what his fingers had closed on, he frowned as instead of an insect that had bitten or stung him, a small piece of pointed metal lay between his fingers.

“O..oh,” he gasped as immediately his senses began to swim and his knees buckled underneath him.
“Ghoul!” Came the shout once more. “Get in here or Kobra’s gonna eat it all!”

Ghoul was already collapsing to the floor, hearing only a roaring in his ears as his quickening heart now pumped wildly, the rushing of his blood drowning out all sounds as blackness fell over his eyes. Vaguely aware of two sets of hands on him, he swallowed before trying to shout for help but not even a whisper emerged. In reality, it was unlikely he even managed to part his lips.

*

Inside the diner, the card game now abandoned, Party and Kobra had made room for the five of them to sit at the booth. Everything was ready, plates, forks a big bowl of rice and another containing the colourful, delicately scented stir fry, the dark sauce clinging to the various vegetables somehow not diminishing their colours - a rainbow of red, orange, yellow green and purple. Party checked the time and rolled his eyes as a minute or two later there was still no sign of Ghoul. Kobra was already helping himself. He was hungry and waiting for Ghoul to tear himself away from the engine before washing at least his hands and face was not on his agenda. There was a strong risk of the food going cold if he waited, and he wasn’t about to let that happen. As soon as Kobra placed the ladles back down, Jet was picking them up; he agreed with Kobra, but told himself that Red had worked hard and he was going to eat it while still warm. Almost as an afterthought, he dished up a portion for Red too. Now only Party was seated at the table with an empty plate. He sighed; if anyone was going to fetch Ghoul, it would have to be him.

“Don’t eat my food!” He pointed at Kobra, a severe and determined expression on his face, as he pushed himself to his feet. “Or Ghoul’s.”
Kobra merely grinned in return. “You got two minutes, Party, then it’s fair game,” he replied between mouthfuls.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Red admonished.
“I’d prefer you don’t talk with your mouth open,” Jet smirked as Party grabbed a flashlight and headed for the door.

Even before Party arrived at the door he could hear the increasingly loud whirring and fluttering that Ghoul had noticed. He wasn’t certain what the sound was, but he knew it was something to be concerned about and whatever that something was, it was close.

“Something’s wrong!” He called back to the others and all heads turned to the door. Within moments of Party stepping outside as he began to shout. “Ghoul! Ghoul, where the fuck are you?”

All three had already dropped their forks immediately and had headed outside to see Party standing near the trans am, alternately staring up, searching for the source of the loud thrumming sound and aiming his flashlight on two sets of footprints in the sand, clearly deep impressions, heading around the back of the diner.

No longer hearing anything above them, Party realised that the source of the noise was now coming from the rear of the diner, perhaps even behind the motel that stretched even further back.

“At the back!” He yelled as he was joined by the others.

Simultaneously the sound of a car screeched along the highway behind them and the whirring sound altered in tone as something began to rise behind the diner.

“What the hell?” Kobra cried at the sight of what they now realised was a helicopter with its running lights switched off.

Party and Kobra looked up, reaching for their guns as Jet and Red turned toward the road. As the black car with tinted windows neared them, Jet and Red opened fire. Unable to see the occupants, Jet aimed for the driver and Red for the back seat as the movement of the rear window caught her eye. Party and Kobra both fired upward towards the quickly rising helicopter. At first they saw the flash of scorched metal as the laser hit its target, but within a few more moments it seemed to have pulled out of range, unable to see it clearly in the dark they couldn’t be certain.

Gasping as she felt a sharp pain, Red kept firing for a few moments until she too dropped to the ground. Behind her Kobra did the same. Alarmed, both Party and Jet reset themselves, blocking the firing line to their fallen friends. Almost as quickly as it had started, it was over. The car pulled away with it’s wheels spinning on the asphalt before heading back down the long highway and the helicopter was already only a vague fluttering sound in the distance.

The car had travelled no more than fifty yards before an explosion ripped it apart, sending flames and pieces of metal far into the surrounding area. The blast pushed outwards, taking Party and Jet by surprise, lifting both off their feet and hurling them over six feet from where they had been standing. Crashing heavily to the ground, Party was unconscious purely from the blast and was lucky enough not to feel the discomfort of landing. Jet huffed in shock and pain as it seemed the ground had risen rapidly to meet him. Hurt and disoriented, his head spinning and the volume of the explosion temporarily deafening him, he had no choice but to close his eyes. Within moments, he too was unconscious.

*

The helicopter landed smoothly on a large expanse of lawn in the grounds of the mansion as the time was nearing midnight. As the blades began to slow, a tall man wearing a suit, his hair dark and slicked back smiled and nodded. He had arrived.

It had taken some effort certainly; few people would believe that they would be prepared to go to such lengths to catch their prey. But they had been determined and resources had not been a problem. He watched as two men jumped down from the helicopter and began unloading their cargo - the still deeply unconscious form of Fun Ghoul. From behind the seats, one of the men pulled out a collapsible gurney and lowered the wheels, securing them. The other man lay Ghoul on top as they both fastened wrist, ankle, leg and chest restraints - partly to stop him falling off but mostly to prevent him fighting should he wake. Satisfied that they had completed their task, one of the men turned to the man who had walked from the mansion to meet them.

“Where do you want him, Mr Sorby?” He asked politely.
“This way,” Sorby indicated with the flick of his hand before leading them toward a side entrance to the mansion.

Walking through a maze of corridors, Sorby led the men with their precious cargo to a goods elevator.

“Thank you for your assistance, gentlemen, I can take it from here.”

Reaching into his inside jacket pocket, Sorby removed his wallet and handed each man a large bundle of carbons.

“If you go back to the helicopter, my pilot will take you anywhere you need to go.”
“Thanks, Mr Sorby, but that won't…”
“I have security to think about and I don't want you seen leaving the mansion,” Sorby snapped and frowned deeply. “Go to the helicopter and get the pilot to take you out. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” the man replied sheepishly.
“Good,” Sorby nodded. “Be sure that you do.”

Stepping inside the elevator and pulling the gurney in with him, Sorby closed both the outer and inner doors then pressed the button to take the lift down to the basement. The journey barely took a few seconds but it did give Sorby chance to stare down at the gurney. He thought it amazing that the two men had been relatively gentle with their victim. He noted a small bruise on his forehead but it was possible that had occurred when he fell after being tranquillised. Otherwise, he seemed unhurt and quite peaceful.

Opening both elevator doors in the basement, Sorby pushed the gurney into the cellar. It was vast, almost half the length of the entire mansion; the walls dark and cold. It seemed at first glance to be the type of place you would expect to see water streaming down the walls, and a dozen or more rats huddled in the corners. However, in reality, the cellar was quite dry, comfortable and its temperature and humidity carefully monitored and regulated for optimum storage. Along the entire length of one wall and floor to ceiling on rack after rack, lay countless pre-war bottles of wine: red, rosé, white, champagne all of varying vintages and from a variety of vineyards. Across the back wall lay a selection lay a smaller selection of dry, sweet and cream sherry, red, white and tawny port and several oak barrels of Scottish whisky and even a few Irish whiskeys. Along part of the final wall and much of the centre stood a sixteen by twelve feet cage, bolted in several places to the floor and wall, its door standing conveniently open. Inside and against the wall stood a comfortable looking bed, a toilet and a sink, with a small stack of towels. One section of the bars had been closed off roughly four inches from the floor and was about sixteen inches wide - large enough for a plate of food to be passed through, perhaps a bottle of water, but little else. Between each bar lay a fine transparent mesh. Tough and durable, it would stop him reaching through the bars, but Sorby knew it had another, much more sinister, purpose.

Bringing the the gurney to a complete stop, Sorby tested Ghoul to see if he were awake by slapping his cheek hard. If he had been even barely awake, Sorby knew he would react in some way - a sound, a grimace, something. But on receiving no response, Sorby began unfastening the restraints across Ghoul’s legs and chest, leaving his wrists until last. By the time he had finished, the helicopter pilot had joined him. Waiting until the blond man had drawn up alongside him, Sorby spoke.

“Did you take out the two men who flew in with you?” Sorby asked without emotion; barely bothering to look him in the eyes.
“Yeah,” the pilot nodded. “Both dead. I’ll dispose of the bodies after this.”
“And the two in the car?”
“Seems to have had a bomb in it,” the pilot chuckled.
“They were still in it?” Sorby asked.
“Oh, yeah,” he laughed again. “Going pretty fast according to the tracker.”
“Thanks,” Sorby nodded, relieved to have no witnesses other than his long-term and trusted pilot. “Probably keen to get paid.” Sorby sneered. “You got the money I gave the two who came in with you?”
“Of course, Mr Sorby,” the pilot reached into his jacket to retrieve the cash.
“No, keep it. Think of it as a bonus.”
“Thanks, Mr Sorby!” The pilot’s blue eyes widened at the substantial gift.
“Give me a hand with this,” he asked nodding to Ghoul’s still unconscious form.
“Yes, sir,” the pilot replied, still buoyed up by his good fortune.

Lifting him between them, it was an easy matter for them to carry him to the bed, depositing him with little care or attention. At the side of the bed lay four metal cuffs that he wasted no time fastening around Ghoul’s wrists and ankles.

“Let’s see you or your friends get you out of that,” Sorby spat the words with a sneer.
“What do they do, Mr Sorby?” The pilot asked, puzzled by what appeared to be nothing more than chunky jewellery.

“One of my inventions,” Sorby sneered. “Electromagnetic cuffs. They will hold firm to each other or any metal surface at the press of a button. They will also give very unpleasant electric shocks. They’ll keep him under control. Maybe not at first, but given enough pain, he’ll learn. Even Pavlov’s Dogs learnt, I’m sure he can.”

The pilot merely laughed as they both turned to leave. Locking the barred door firmly behind him, Sorby walked to an open grey box on the wall to the left of the cage and pulled a lever located inside. Momentarily, the mesh between the bars seemed to make a gentle fizzing sound and one or two flies that had settled on the mesh suddenly burst into flames and dropped to the floor. Closing the hatch over the lever, he locked it and, without even a backward glance, both he and the pilot headed back to the elevator.

“What are you going to do with the bodies?” Sorby asked conversationally.
“Acid, probably,” the pilot shrugged. “Don’t worry, Mr Sorby, there won’t be anything left of them soon.”

“I’m not worried, Bob,” Sorby smiled. “I know I can rely on you.”

.

Notes

Hello lovely readers! Given that I go back to uni next week, I’m not sure how much time I’ll have for updating this and BTWF, but I expect they will be to key to retaining my sanity! :D

I hope you like it.

Thanks!!
Sas xx