Highway To Armageddon (12 page)

           
Boom Boom grabs the bookie by his shirt. “I think you do. I’m sure you don’t
want me making a scene out here in front of all these people. Not everyone
knows
Remy
is here.”

           
The bookie gasps when Boom Boom mentions Remy’s name. He wipes the sweat from
his brow and stutters, “F… follow me.”

           
The bookie takes off at a rapid trot. Boom Boom and I hurry after him. The
bookie climbs some stairs to the top of the auditorium, right outside a club
box. The bookie presses his finger against a scanner, and the door slides open.
The three of us walk into a smoke-filled room jam-packed with fancy couches,
recliners, pool tables, and a smorgasbord overflowing with booze and food.
There’s over two dozen people sitting in the room, most of them strippers
entertaining older guys who appear to have lots and lots of money. One of the
guys in the room is the senator whose son I saw moments before. He has two
young girls on his lap, and he’s yakking about how much power and influence he
has in Washington.

           
The senator looks over at Boom Boom and smiles. “Hey pretty lady, come sit on
daddy’s lap. In my world three ain’t a crowd.”

           
He then busts a gut laughing at his own words.  I clench my fists, seconds
away from popping the sleazeball in his mouth, but Boom Boom grabs my hand for
like the millionth time and pulls me away.

           
The bookie leads us to the back of the club box and places his hand against
another scanner. We go through that door and walk down a long, deserted
hallway. The bookie stops at another door, places his hand on the scanner, and
ushers us inside.

           
This room is similar to the box club we just left, but it’s a bit bigger, and
there are fewer people. I make out four armed guards, a few strippers, and the
Devil himself, Remy Pelletier. Remy is sitting in a chair, watching several
holographic monitors sprawled out in front of him. The monitors show live
images of the steel cage brawl and the crowd.

           
I can’t help but gasp when I first see Remy. It’s like meeting a celebrity for
the first time (if that celebrity was one of the world’s most wanted
fugitives). He is a tall, slender, 30-something guy with long black hair tied
back in a ponytail. He’s wearing a pin-striped suit, and multiple ruby-studded
gold rings adorn his fingers. Two stunning strippers cling all over him, but he
acts like they’re not even there. He’s too focused on the monitors, watching
all the bookies to make sure they don’t screw him out of money.

           
The bookie who led us to the secluded room nervously says, “Mr. Pelletier, I
brought, ah, two young people who were eager to meet you.”

           
Without looking up from his screen, Remy says, “I told you I did not want to be
disturbed, Mario. I don’t like employees who don’t follow orders. I would hate
to have to…
liquidate
… your position.”

           
Mario’s hands begin to tremble. I can only assume
liquidate
is being
used figuratively and
literally
.

           
“My sincerest apologies, Mr. Pelletier, but…”

           
Boom Boom shoves Mario to the side and marches over to Remy. The guards watch
her cautiously.

           
Boom Boom shoves the strippers off Remy’s lap and spins him around in his
chair. At first Remy appears enraged, but that gives way to shock when he gets
a good look at Boom Boom.

           
“We didn’t come all this way to be given the cold shoulder,” Boom Boom says,
plopping down on Remy’s lap. “My friend and I want to place a bet, and we
wanted
you
to manage the transaction.”

           
Boom Boom drops the burlap sack of coins onto Remy’s crotch. Remy groans as he
picks the bag up. His grimace turns into a grin when he looks inside the bag
and says how much we brought.

           
“Merci, Cherie,” Remy says in his thick, French accent. “You are oh so
beautiful. What is your name?”

           
“Marie,” Boom Boom lies.

           
Remy smiles, revealing perfect white teeth. “Ah, Marie. What a beautiful name.
In fact, it’s my late mother’s name. She was a very pretty woman, but you… you,
my dear, blow her out of the water.”

           
“You are too kind,” Boom Boom says, resting her arm on Remy’s shoulder. “I hope
you don’t mind, but my friend and I would like to watch the fight up here. I
prefer company that has some class.”

           
Remy smirks and runs his fingers through Boom Boom’s hair. “I concur, Cherie.
The people out in the auditorium help me pay the bills, but I wouldn’t invite
them into my house.”

           
The strippers make their way over to me and start rubbing their hands along my
chest and back.

           
“You are cute,” one of the girls says.

           
“Er, thanks. So are you,” I reply stupidly.

           
The girls giggle. Remy stares at me coldly and asks, “And who is your friend?”

           
“Don’t worry about him,” Boom Boom says, flapping her wrist. “He won’t steal
your women, he’s gay.”

           
The strippers step back and frown.

           
“Man, all the cutest guys are gay,” one of the strippers pouts before storming
to the other side of the room.

           
I give Boom Boom a dirty look, but Remy grins as he realizes I won’t be trying
to take his ladies. At least, he
thinks
I won’t.

           
Remy snaps his fingers. “Thank you, Mario. You are dismissed.”

           
Mario bows his head and exits the room. Remy and Boom Boom continue talking
about how awesome Remy is. The strippers make their way over to the guards and
flirt with them. I sit in the back and snack on some grapes and apple slices
while Boom Boom works her magic. She’ll lure Remy into a false sense of
complacency and then, when he least expects it, WHAM!

           
I pretend to watch the fight, waiting for the right moment to strike. Wolverine
finally takes Stingray down with a knockout punch. The referee outside the cage
counts to ten and declares Wolverine the winner. Wolverine raises his hands to
the cheering crowd while Stingray is carried out on a stretcher. A few people
rush into the cage to wipe down the pools of blood, then it’s time for the main
event. The lights in the auditorium dim and a spotlight shines on the
heavyweight champion, Abyss, as he stomps down the entrance ramp to menacing
music. The crowd cheers even louder than they did for Wolverine, which I did
not think was possible.

           
I have to admit, Abyss is truly intimidating. He looks to be about seven feet
tall and well over 300 pounds. But most of that is muscle. The guy’s thighs are
almost thicker than my torso. He must eat steroids for breakfast. His skin is
really dark, which is how he got his name, I guess. He almost makes Krystal
appear white by comparison. A gleaming gold championship belt is wrapped around
his waist. The thing looks like it’s worth a fortune.

           
After Abyss plays to the crowd a bit, his opponent comes down the ramp to even
more menacing music. According to the announcer the challenger is Sasquatch.
Sasquatch is a bit smaller than Abyss, but not by much. He has long, blond hair
and a grizzly beard. His chest and stomach are covered in a thick coat of hair
as well, making him look like Big Foot’s long lost relative.

           
After Sasquatch gets into the ring, the referee signals for the bell and the
two monster behemoths go at it, slugging each other in the face and grunting
like bears in heat.        

           
By now everyone is focused on the fight, including Remy’s guards, the
strippers, and even Remy himself. Boom Boom glances back at me and touches her
ear. That’s the signal. I grab a knife from the table and lunge toward the
nearest guard. I’m a split-second from thrusting the blade into the guy’s
throat when the front door flies off the handle and hits both of us. The guard
and I tumble to the ground.

           
The strippers scream and duck under a table as Pitbull barges into the room, his
trench coat flapping behind him like a cape. He grabs a guard with his robotic
right arm, which is still hidden under his coat. A sickening snapping sound
signals that he just broke the poor guy’s neck. The guard slumps to the ground
in a crumpled heap, and Pitbull snatches his gun off the ground.

           
The guard I tried to attack jumps up and fires off several shots, as do the
other guards. Pitbull rolls across the floor and returns fire, hitting one of
the guards in his gut. The strippers scream even louder.

           
Remy jumps out of his chair, toppling Boom Boom to the ground, and dashes out
the back door.

           
I run over to Boom Boom and help her up.

           
“Are you okay?” I shout over the roar of gunfire.

           
“Yes!” Boom Boom shouts, jumping to her feet. “Don’t let Remy get away!”

           
I glance at Pitbull, who has just shot the last guard. Boom Boom seizes my arm
and yanks me toward the rear door. We sprint out of the room, down a winding
hallway, and out the back of the factory just in time to see Remy duck into the
woods.

           
“Come on!” Boom Boom hollers, pulling ahead of me. I stare in astonishment at
her legs, which are moving so fast they blur together. I force myself to speed
up so Boom Boom doesn’t reach Remy alone. The guy has been known to kill when
he feels cornered.

           
Boom Boom reaches the woods first. I shout for her to wait up, but she ignores
me and disappears into the brush. I follow her along a well-worn path that
twists and turns deep into the forest. With the treetops blocking out the
moonlight, it’s nearly impossible to see, even with my goggles on. I trip and
stumble on fallen branches and upturned tree roots. I even collide into a tree,
busting my nose. But I keep moving.

           
I finally reach a clearing in the middle of the forest. Hundreds of cars and
motorbikes are parked on the grass.

           
Off in the distance Boom Boom weaves through a row of cars.

           
“Stop running, Remy!” she shouts. “The gig is up!”

           
I keep running until I reach Boom Boom. I’m confused when I see her hurling
rocks. But then I look up at the car floating into the sky. Remy glares down at
us from the driver’s seat.

           
“I should have known you were government agents!” he hisses.

           
Boom Boom throws another rock, cracking Remy’s left rearview mirror. Remy whips
out a gun and fires, missing Boom Boom by mere inches. I drag her behind a car.
Several more shots shatter the car’s window and nick the ground in front of us.
The gunfire stops seconds later when Remy flies off.

           
Boom Boom slams her hands on the ground. “Damn it, we almost had him!”

           
“We’re not done yet.” I tap the side of my goggles. “Krystal, come get us!”

           
I wait for a few seconds, then shout, “Krystal! Can you hear me? Wake up!”

           
Boom Boom sighs. “She fell asleep again, didn’t she?”

           
I kick a rock. “We
so
need a new partner.”

           
“Come on, let’s try and hotwire one of these cars.”

           
 Boom Boom reaches inside the car with the shattered window and unlocks
the door. I hop into the passenger’s side while Boom Boom rips out the wires
underneath the steering wheel and puts her thievery skills to good use.

           
Rapidly approaching footsteps send me into a panic. “Boom Boom, someone’s
coming,” I whisper. We both duck to the floor. A large shadow rushes past my
window. Seconds later a car door slams shut and an engine revs up.

           
Boom Boom hops out of the car and runs toward the sound of the engine. I
stumble after her. We soon reach Pitbull, who has just extended the wings of
his brand new Fire Chariot XX.

           
“Pitbull, wait!” Boom Boom tears open the back driver’s side door and hops in.
I jump into the front passenger seat.

           
Pitbull stares at us in shock. He slides his shades over the top of his head,
revealing glowing robotic eyes.

           
“What in the bloody hell are you doing in my car?”

           
 I gulp when he bends back part of his steering wheel with his robotic
hand.

           
I stammer, “Uh… well… you see….”

           
“We’re coming with you,” Boom Boom blurts.

           
“Oh really? And why would I allow that when I can simply toss you out?”

           
“Because you need us,” Boom Boom says calmly. “I placed a GPS chip in Remy’s
pocket while I was sitting on his lap. If you want to find him, then you’re
going to need our directions. Now shut your damn mouth and start flying!”

           
Pitbull growls and presses the ignition button. The car blasts into the air,
pushing me back in my seat. The forest below becomes a continuous dark-green
blur.