Dead Man's Hand (24 page)

If I could have moved my
body at all I would have thrown a punch.  It was bad enough that I had to
humble myself this way but now he was going to add insult to injury.  I
attempted to calm my frustration as I replied. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s a rather simply
technique to infuse your body with some heat, for little enough of an
investment.”  We stood there, well I stood there in silence until he have
registered the fact that I still had no idea what he was talking about. 
He eventually asked me a follow-up question, though I would have preferred him
not to adopt such a condescending tone of voice.  “Do you use hand
warmers?”

“Yes.” 

“Well then, just think on
a bigger scale."  He said dryly.  I tried to think about this,
but the thoughts kept slipping from my grasp.  Nothing that he had said
made any sense.  He continued to wait with a hopeful expression plastered
upon his face; however, he didn’t wait long before filling in the blank for
me.  "You would simply turn the inner layer of your cloths into a rather
large hand warmer.  Make sense?"

Aggravated by the man’s
arrogance I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. “Nice thought that.  I wonder why
I just didn’t try to change something, anything.  Oh wait, I did! 
Unfortunately for me those IVs were filled with something that was designed to
keep me from doing anything like that.”

“They were able to
prevent you from forging with some drugs?”  Alexis asked in puzzlement.

Did Dempsey know more
about people like me than Alexis, or was it Dempsey's woman that knew
more?  With a mental shudder I forced myself to think about Alexis'
question.  All that mattered was his shock at Dempsey's ability to hold
someone like me. 
Wait, he doesn’t know how to keep me from, what had
he been calling it, forging?  Could I possibly...? 
No, he had to
be misleading me, there was no way I would be able to forge something. 
But Alexis' shock told me quite plainly that I was restrained purely with
physical restraints.  And if that was true, then it would stand to reason
that I could forge something.  Not that it would do me any good since I
was unable to touch anything with my hands.

Of course all that these
thoughts did was feed my anger at the recent twists in my life. 
How
have I ended up here?
  Sighing I knew I wouldn’t be able to speak in a
civil tone so I clenched my teeth and bit off a single word, “Yes.”

I saw the wonder in his
eyes and in that moment the man was transformed into a child on Christmas
morning.  After staring past me for a while he idly spoke to no one in
particular.  “I wonder what kind of drug would be able to accomplish that
effect.”

“You’d have to ask his
witch?”  My mouth blurted before I could think about trying to leverage
that small piece of information.

“Witch?”  Dempsey asked
as he slowly raised both of his eyebrows.

“It’s something I
overheard my two guards talking about.  So I assumed that this witch made
the drugs that were coursing through me.”  I instinctively tried to force
a shrug from my shoulders, but like every other part of my body, they refused
to comply with the command.  So instead I just finished voicing my
thought.  “I guess I could be wrong, but that connection just feels
right.”

In the utter silence that
followed, Alexis repositioned himself ever so slightly.  His back, or
something, must have been uncomfortable.  But his eyes finally fell upon
the gun resting impotently in my hands.  Without taking his eyes from my
weapon he issued his next command.  “All right that tells me how you ended
up in my home.  Now I want to know why you agreed to come.  And I
don’t want to hear the cheap answer.”  With a deep breath he moved his
eyes from my gun back to my eyes and his tone took on a mocking expression as
he told me what he considered the cheap answer—“I didn’t want to die.”

Without hesitating I
answered.  “Too bad, because it’s all I have to offer you."  I
paused only long enough to moisten my lips with my tongue before continuing
on.  "In the end I was able to convince myself that you were a dead man
already for interfering with Dempsey.  And to be blunt, I wasn’t willing
to die in a vain attempt to protect a dead man.”

With a wry smile
spreading across his face, he replied.  “Without that little explanation
your answer would have been wrong.”  After taking a deep breath Alexis
continued, “I can see how you were able to ease your conscious.  However,
just so you know, your argument is flawed.  For the moment let’s just say
that you were able to assassinate me.  What about the next time? It would have
gotten harder and harder to use that line of logic in the future.” 
Staring into my eyes I could swear he knew I had simply been planning on biding
my time, but he ignored this and continued.  “Yet that is neither here nor
there. I’m more interested in the most important question.  Why are you
still alive?  Normally Dempsey is not that forgiving to people who try and
cheat him.”

“I asked him that as
well.”

“And…”

“And he told me…”  I
began until I realized that he hadn’t even blinked at the fact I had actually
met with the crime lord.  “Wait, you’re not the least bit surprised he met
with me personally?”

Shrugging his shoulders
Alexis replied, “It's not like I know all that much about him.  I try not
to get involved with that sort of person.  But one of the things I do know
is that there isn’t a single person in his organization that he hasn’t
personally recruited.  He is very hands on with his employees.”

“Now his meeting me
actually makes sense.”  I paused for a bit to allow the statement to sink
in, but I eventually answered his earlier question.  “To tell you the
truth I don’t think he was being entirely honest with me. What he said was,
well what he implied was, that he could use someone else like me on his
payroll.”

Through a scowl Alexis
asked, “He simply wanted another forger on his payroll?”

“That’s what he implied,”
I answered.  But after a moment I added my opinion of Dempsey’s so called
reason.  “But that doesn’t make sense to me.”

I would have continued
but Alexis broke in.  “Well, that’s because you don’t know enough for it
to make sense. That man could do some dangerous things if he ever managed to
get someone like you on his payroll.”  He paused a moment to consider
before going on.  "But from what you're telling me he already has
someone like you on his payroll. Now we just have to find a way to keep him
from getting his wish with you.”

Shocked, I looked
straight at Alexis and asked, “You’re going to help me?”  But before he
could answer the question, the gun that had been resting in my hands finally
reverted back to its original form.  Since I was unable to move my
fingers, thanks to Alexis’ enforced paralysis, the pen fell from my grip and
tumbled to the floor.

Looking from the falling
pen to me, I could see Alexis’ eyes bulge as he bent down to examine the
pen.  “I knew you had forged that gun, but I had just assumed it had been
forged from a toy."  Shifting his shocked gaze from the pen back to
me he asked, "You forged it out of a pen?”  The incredulity was thick
in his words.

“Impressed?”  I
asked through a proud smile.

“You do have lots of raw
potential.”  He replied as he stood up.  He began to chew on his
upper lip for a moment as he thought in silence. I could almost hear him trying
to figure out what he was going to do with me.  When his eyes finally
locked back with mine he stared for a moment before declaring.  “You are a
very gifted young forger.  The world is not ready for someone of your
potential to wind up as Dempsey’s puppet.”

Even though I was afraid
of what I thought his answer was going to be, I forced myself to ask my next
question.  “Not that I’m trying to sound ungrateful…”

And no sooner was that
partial thought spoken than did he finish my question.  “But why am I willing
to help the boy who just took a shot at me?”  I nodded in
confirmation.  He leaned in close and spoke as quietly as he could and yet
allow me to hear what he said.  “Who said you would want my help?”

“What?”

I must not have been able
to keep the fear from my voice because I could see a slight smile crack his
lips as he replied.  “What you don’t know…” he paused to emphasize that I
should have known what he was alluding to, but of course I had no idea what he
was referring to.  But then with a shake of his head he seemed to dismiss
the other half of the thought because the next words out of his mouth made no
sense.  “And to be honest with you, I honestly don’t care why you don’t
know.”

In my growing fear I
spoke flippantly, “So what? I get some kind of forger’s jail time or
something?”

He either ignored the
tone or he just didn’t care, either way, he merely replied to my question,
“There is something like that for the lesser laws but for breaking any of the
major laws like you just did, no, we only have one sentence for that,
execution.”

If I could have fallen,
I’m pretty sure I would have collapsed on the spot.  I was that astonished
that he could speak about an execution, scratch that, about my execution, so
casually.  I was so frustrated I blurted out, “What?!  You’re going
to execute me?!”  I fought to reign myself in, but all I accomplished was
to start stuttering.  “Y…
Yo
… Y… You can’t do
that, I didn’t even know these laws of yours.”

“Like I said, I don’t
care.”  His words were completely devoid of emotion. “Ignorance of the law
isn’t a valid excuse in this country; you’re expected to educate yourself about
them.”  Leaning back against the wall he asked me a question, “So what
makes you think I’ll find your ignorance a valid excuse in regard to our code
of laws?”

“B… B… Bu… But…”

He used his index finger
to signal me to keep quiet, and with that serene look, I was only too pleased
to comply with the command.  Once he was sure that I would remain silent
he went on in a casual tone—I couldn’t believe this, he was casually speaking
about my death, great.  “Don’t bother trying.  I’ve heard every
possible excuse you could ever come up with a dozen times over.”

“That’s not fair.” 
I was grasping at straws and I knew it, but when the only other option is death,
you grasped at any straw you could find.

Hearing the derision in
his voice I could tell he considered me nothing more than a disobedient
child.  “Neither is a rogue forger who is doing things that make the rest
of our lives harder.  All your exposure would manage to do is put magic
back into people’s minds."  He flashed that threatening index finger
back in front of my face as he spat out his next few words.  "Let’s
see just how poor your education was.  Have you ever heard of the Salem
witch trials?”

I offered a curt sound of
affirmation in response and Alexis continued.  “Well what you probably
don’t know, though hopefully you’ve put it together by now, is that some of
those witches were external forgers like you and me.  But they weren’t the
ones who brought the attention down upon our kind.  They were innocent
forgers who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Those
rogue forgers managed to escape their punishment.”  He paused as if trying
to keep control of his escalating anger.  “Right now I’m trying to decide
what I’m going to do with you.”

I made a last desperate
attempt, “There’s no way you have the kind of authority to execute me.”

As he shook his head in
reply, all I could see was that calm face.  How could anyone so calmly
discuss executing someone?  “Unfortunately for you, you tried to murder
one of the few forgers in the United States that actually wields that kind of
authority.”

His revelation stunned me
into silence. I couldn’t even manage to mutter a curse, and at this point, that
was all I wanted to do. 
How did I possibly manage to anger two people
with that kind of power within a twenty-four hour span?
  It must be
some kind of record. No one was that unlucky.  Glancing around I noticed
that Alexis was no longer in the hallway, or rather he was no longer in my line
of sight.  That was when worry truly began to build up inside of me. 
What would happen to me if he simply left me here?

Tentatively I called out
to my would-be executioner, “Alexis, where are you?  What are you doing?” 
I was answered by silence and after having a mild heart attack I called out
again, “Alexis, please don't leave me here.”

“Don’t worry boy.
 Like I said, I haven’t decided what I’m going to do to you, yet.” 
Alexis answered as he exited his den.  As he patted his freshly dawned
coat he continued.  “First thing’s first, I need to rescue you from that
mobster.  Then I’ll be able to figure out what I will do with you.” 
The smile he wore on his face made me think of a ravenous lion staring down at
a lame zebra.  I only wish I knew who he had pegged as the zebra.
 Me, Dempsey, or both of us.

Despite
the trepidation building in the pit of my stomach, I gritted my teeth and
forced myself to ask the next question. 
“If
you’re not going to execute me, would you take me with you?”  To be honest
I had no idea what I was hoping for, but I figured if I was potentially a dead
man then there was no harm in asking.  And if I could go with him, maybe I
could convince him to let me live.

Instead
of speaking he stood and stared at me for a moment.  All I knew was I
wouldn’t retract my question nor would I be the first one to break the
silence.  I had poked the proverbial sleeping bear, and speaking would be
the same as running away, I had to wait for Alexis’ next move.  While I
stood there I could see him thinking about my question, he was honestly
considering it.  Perhaps my request would turn into more than wishful
thinking.

Waiting
for the answer that would change the rest of my life...  Okay maybe that
was a bit strong, but the answer would at least affect my life in some way.
 I tried, I really tried to wait patiently, but he still kept silent, all
the while studying me with those unwavering eyes.  As the silence
stretched I came to a couple of conclusions, first, he was reweighing my worth.
Granted, I had only known the man for a short while but for some reason I had
the feeling that he was typically steadfast in his decisions.  If nothing
else, I had managed to make him reconsider my worth.  Now if only this was
enough to tip his decision in my favor.

The second
thought that ran through my mind was much more simplistic. Alexis
knew how to use silence almost like a physical weapon.  As the strain
grew, second by second, I could swear I was being pummeled by fists. 
Despite the mental beating I was taking
I
would like to say that I managed to keep my dignity and never resigned myself
to whatever was to come.  I would like to say that, but it wouldn’t be
true.  The truth was that, for a moment, I was willing to accept my
death.  After that initial moment I found my determination once
again.  I wouldn’t resign myself to merely wait for my execution.   Only
a dead man patiently waits for death when he thinks there is even the slightest
chance he will live.

After
allowing my anxiety to build, he slowly started to nod his head in assent. He kept
silently nodding until I lost count at around thirty nods. What ever happened
to a simple “yes” or “no”?

After
a few more moments he stopped moving his head and latched his eyes upon mine,
keeping the silence intact.  If I could have, I would have started looking
for wounds from this bloody silence.  Eventually, he broke the silence and
his words honestly shocked me.  “To tell you the truth, I was thinking
about telling Dempsey that I had just killed you out of hand."  The
bluntness of those words were like a knife to my heart. He must have seen the
look of fear that sparked in my eyes because he quickly finished his
thought.  "It would have been mostly accurate if not completely
true…”

I quickly
interrupted his train of thought, “You
still
haven’t made up your
mind?!”  I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

With my
words I could see the rage bubble up in his eyes, but that didn’t last very
long.  Attempting to recover from the lapse of control Alexis shut his
eyes as his lips closed down upon a captured breath.  Right then I
realized that my mouth could have either gotten me struck down or restrained in
complete darkness.  “Don't you listen, boy?  Or are you too intent
upon running your mouth?  Not two minutes ago I told you that I haven’t
made a decision.  Do you honestly think that I could have decided such an
important issue in as little time as that?"

As he
paused just long enough to catch his breath I realized the questions were merely
rhetorical.  I was barely able to keep my mouth shut, but I did it and continued
to listen.  "Though, when you ask questions like that I definitely
lean in a very unfortunate direction."  Rubbing his face with his
hands, he mumbled something unintelligible before lowering his hands to
continue the conversation.  "But no matter what I end up doing, if I
brought you along with me now, that would send a much more powerful
message.”  Clenching his hands into fists he added, “And those tend to
create the more lasting impression.”

“So, you’ll
take me along?”  Right then I didn’t care if he thought I was dense, all I
knew was I was going to get a chance to change his opinion of me.  A feat
I wasn’t entirely sure I could manage, but, at least I would have the chance to
try.

Then I
saw the glare he leveled at me and began to wonder if the question had been all
that good of an idea. He seemed to be hunting for anything to use against me,
whether it was catching me in a lie or just a reckless question.  And I
got the feeling that I wouldn’t survive long once if he found it.  In that
moment I knew with absolute certainty that I would never be able to lie to
him.  Held spellbound by those truth seeking eyes, I almost missed his
question.  “Can I trust you to behave yourself and act strictly as an
observer?”

“Can I
ask him a question or two?”  I asked without any hesitation, what was I thinking?

As I
started cursing my big mouth I saw a glimmer of respect appear Alexis’
eyes.  It was gone so quickly I thought I had merely imagined it, but then
I saw it again.  With this newfound respect in his eyes he chewed his
lower lip as he pondered my question.  After another interminable silence
he focused his eyes upon me and spoke a single word, though he still managed to
make the one word sound very imposing. “Questions?” He seemed slightly
surprised by my request. Once he had fully regained his composer he continued.
“You want to stand in front of Dempsey so that you can ask him some questions?”

“The day I
stop asking questions is the day I have nothing left to do.”  I leaned
closer to Alexis, or at least I would have if I hadn’t still been frozen, and
added, “And I’m in no particular rush to die.”  I had the feeling that he
thought I was joking but I couldn’t have been more serious.

It took him a
few seconds to catch on, but he eventually did.  I was expecting him to
have an argument of some kind ready, no one liked to be strong-armed into
something.  What I wasn’t prepared for was the jolly laughter that
emanated from him.  I stood there, slack-jawed at his response, but before
I could reply he said, “You can’t see the humor in your question can
you?”  I’m sure he could see the bewilderment on my face, I was not looking
good in front of my would-be executioner.

“Yes, I’ll
allow you to ask your questions.”  Sticking his left index finger right
under my nose the intensity in his voice rose while his volume remained the same,
it was an impressive trick.  “But I will not threaten him for you. 
You’ll have to deal with whatever new target you get all on your.”

He was
getting dangerously close to the truth behind my real reason for working for
Dempsey, and that was enough to send a shiver down my spine.  After a
couple of slow breaths I managed to make a reply, “Which is why I also have
some questions I would like to ask you.” 
Why did I let my mouth run
wild?
 

This time I
saw the reaction that I had expected to see earlier.  His eyes narrowed
and once again he began taking stock of me as if he was hoping to find
something wrong.  I was beginning to wonder if this man was capable of
doing anything else but measure people against his standards.  That
certainly wouldn’t leave him much time for anything else.  As if sensing
my thoughts he quickly put away those mental scales, folded his arms across his
chest, and asked the logical question.  “And just what kind of questions
do you have for me?”

Before I
could lose my nerve I quickly asked the two questions that I wanted… no that
wasn’t strong enough, the questions I
Needed
to
ask.  “Well for starters, how did you stop the bullet?  Not to
mention how have you managed to hold me like a statue?”

His smile
slowly spread across his face and a chuckle began to emanate from those
separated lips.  The effect was absolutely terrifying, which was what he
intended I guess.  But it lost some of its effect when he waved aside my
questions and his smile became more genuine.  “Whoa, whoa, just hold on
for a second my little would-be-assassin.  You’re getting way too far
ahead of yourself.”

 “What?” 
My eyes went wide and my words were thickly colored with exasperation. 
“What do you mean I’m getting ahead of myself?”

Ignoring my
question, Alexis bent over, picked up the pen from the floor, and gave it a
once over before muttering something unintelligible.  He placed the
would-be-weapon on top of the nearest table, brought his gaze back to me, and
without emotion, explained my situation to me once again.  “As I told you,
your crimes are still pending boy.  Just because Dempsey forced you into a
bad situation doesn’t mean you get a free pass on attempted murder.

“Now I know I
would have a hard time proving your guilt in a court of law, after all there
isn’t even a murder weapon laying around.”  He waved his hand over the pen
as he finished the thought.  “At least not anymore.”

Once again
turning around to face me Alexis pressed on, “And that’s where my authority
comes into play.  After all, we both know the traditional legal system
would have… a somewhat difficult time even holding you, much less actually
punishing you.  But to be frank, attempted murder is not your most
egregious crime.”

“And what
would that be?”  I asked, hoping I was able to keep the fear from my face.

“Your worst
crime was your use of forgery to aid in your attempt.” He quietly moved right
up to my ear and spoke very clearly, “To us, that is the crime that cries out
for your execution.”

Before I had
a chance to object Alexis waved his hand slightly and, just like that, my jaw
was immobilized, and he continued as if I hadn’t been about to speak. 
“Now before you can voice what I’m sure will be a very passionate
objection.  It is within my purview to put aside that judgment if I think
you are willing, but more importantly are able, to learn from your
mistake.”  Alexis paused his somber explanation just long enough to let
his words to sink in, he must have had plenty of opportunities to intimidate
people like me.  “Now you just expressed your willingness to learn from
this mistake when you asked for permission to accompany me to face Dempsey. And
while that is a very good first step, it is only a first step.”  I could
tell from his tone that this was not the time to interrupt him, which is
probably why he had gagged me. 

“I have yet
to make a decision concerning your ultimate fate.”  And with another pause
I got the impression he was unhappy having to repeat himself yet again. 
“Rather, I have yet to change my initial judgment.”

He would never
win an award for tact, but no one could doubt his honesty.  “Now let me
ask you this boy.  Since there is still the chance that I might have to
execute you, why would I teach you something that could possibly help you
prevent yourself from being held accountable for your crimes?”

And with
another wave of his hand I could feel that vice like grip that held my jaw
slacken and finally melt away.  Instead of rushing to answer his question,
I forced myself to take a few moments to collect myself before speaking.
 “So if you do decide to let me live…”

This time
instead of gagging me with a wave of his hand he just spoke over me.  “If,
and I strongly stress the word if, you manage to impress me to the point where
I pardon you, I will let you ask your questions.  In fact I may even see
to your forging education myself.”

I mentally
licked my lips at the thought of such an opportunity, I didn’t want to actually
show him how desperate I was.  When I got myself back under control I
spoke in my meekest voice.  “What do I have to do to convince you to let
me live?”

With a sigh
Alexis looked me squarely in the eye and answered, “I’ll be honest with you,
I’m not entirely sure you can do that.”  With a ferocious slap on my back
he went on with a voice that held far too much sincere joviality.  “Cheer
up boy, you’re not dead yet.  We have a long night ahead of us.” 
With that the warmth in his voice vanished like water down the drain. 
“Now answer my question.  Can I trust you to behave on this little outing?
 Aside from asking your questions, will you act strictly as an observer?”

Great!
Fantastic! So to recap my day, first I managed to let a major crime lord get
his talons into me.  Then I agreed to dispense with some of the thorns in
his side, only to have said thorn capture me instead and threaten to execute me
because I had changed a pen into a gun in my failed assassination
attempt.  If I was smart I would simply have stayed here and waited for
him to return.  There was a pretty good chance that whatever he had
planned was going to end poorly.  But at least with Alexis there was the
hope of freedom… or at least the hope for continued existence at any
rate.  I could only hope that it would someday turn into freedom as well.

Looking up at
Alexis I forced a smile onto my face and answered his questions.  “You
have my word that, aside from my questions, I’ll remain an observer.”