The Deadwyng Detective Agency: Payback
Shepard Black strikes back.
Deadwyng | Payback
The clock is set for nine
But you know you're gonna make it eight
All the people that you've loved
They're all bound to leave some keepsakes
Leif Erikson, Interpol
Shepard Black admired the contents of his safety deposit box as he stood in one of the private rooms of the Level 27 Bank on the Taurus 45 space station.
“Anastasia, you’ve done it again,” he murmured approvingly as he removed the NS25 machine pistol, a leather shoulder holster, and four spare magazines. Also contained within was a snub nosed Black Widow revolver in a concealed carry holster that Shepard tucked into the back of his waistband. Taurus 45 was controlled by a collective of crime syndicates, and visitors weren’t allowed to enter the station armed unless they were with one of the Houses. This usually wasn’t a problem for Shepard, as most of his sojourns here were recreational. However, he had received reliable intel that his quarry was hiding out somewhere on Taurus, so the bank drop had been arranged.
Shepard finished slipping the machine pistol and shoulder holster into place, donning his jacket again to conceal them, when he heard panicked shouts from the lobby. A short burst of automatic gunfire wasn’t far behind. He stealthily made his way through the brightly lit corridor leading to the front of the bank, and peered around the corner. Four masked gunmen wielding Vektor submachine guns had crowded bank employees and customers alike into a huddled, frightened mass.
The apparent bank robbers were shouting aggressively as they rummaged through people’s belongings. Shepard’s first instinct was to just shoot the hostile gunmen, but he thought better of it while observing the innocent bystanders. Besides, he had suspicions about what was really going on here. Playing the situation by ear, he raised his arms above his head and stepped into view.
“You! Get over here!” shouted the first bank robber to catch sight of him.
“Hey, that’s him!” another one blurted out. “Just like the senator said!”
“Shut up, you damn imbecile!” yet another scolded.
“You guys looking for me?” Shepard queried conversationally. “You know, you feds aren’t very good at masquerading as criminals.”
“Who says we’re feds?”
“Well, Vektors are mainly used by Sentinels. And the Storm is manufactured exclusively for you government types.” Shepard pointed to the pistol that each man had holstered in his belt. “This your first time playing crook? Using government issued weapons is a rookie mistake.”
“That’s enough out of you!” one of the men raged. He swung the butt of his Vektor at Shepard’s head. The private detective caught his assailant’s wrist mid-swing and twisted. The man’s arm bent unnaturally with a sickening crack as he screeched in agony. His compatriots leveled their guns and opened fire.
Using Broken Arm as a human shield, Shepard plowed forward into the nearest Sentinel. Blood rained down on him as his thrall’s body was riddled with bullets. Shepard pulled the Black Widow revolver and fired twice in rapid succession. The pair of gunmen still standing collapsed to the floor with bloody craters in their foreheads.
A deafening spray of automatic gunfire erupted as the lone remaining Sentinel regained his feet. Shepard sprinted for the door. Bullets ricocheted and sparks flew all around him. He burst out onto the bustling Level 27 thoroughfare. There were cries of dismay and consternation as he disturbed the flow of pedestrian traffic.
More gunshots rang out behind him, and Shepard vaulted over the security railing directly ahead, disappearing into the bowels of Taurus 45.
An hour later, Shepard Black and Sara Davenport walked into Club Chromatic, several levels removed from the bank. Strobe lights pulsed overhead, and overproduced bass lines boomed tumultuously from the speakers. The dance club served as the headquarters for Anastasia Petrov, known to the criminal underworld as The Matriarch. She was Shepard’s contact on Taurus 45.
They found Anastasia sitting at her private table in the VIP section at the back of the club. Her lustrous auburn tresses glimmered vibrantly in the pulsating lights as she regarded the duo curiously. Anastasia took a drag off her e-cig, and motioned for Shepard and Sara to sit across from her.
“I hope you have a good reason for showing up here with the competition,” Anastasia Petrov chided. The meaning of the emphasis on that last word didn’t escape Sara’s notice and she locked eyes with The Matriarch.
“I just had a run-in with four Sentinels at the bank where you dropped my stuff.” Shepard cut right to the chase, oblivious to the silent battle of wills between the two women.
“So I heard,” Anastasia remarked drily as she took another puff of smoke. “All of Taurus is abuzz with news of your misadventure. What of it?”
“You were the only one who knew I was going to be there.”
“You think I sold you out to the feds? After all these years of being…partners?” Anastasia trembled with indignation, disbelief etched across her alluring visage. “I thought you knew me better than that.”
“So prove me wrong. I would love nothing more.”
“It’s not exactly a secret that you’re on Taurus, you know. And there are plenty of others who’ve got an axe to grind with you. You might be a straight arrow private dick now, but don’t think for an instant that anybody around here has forgotten about your days of doing her father’s dirty work.” The Matriarch glared at Sara.
Shepard held up his hands to mollify the female crime boss. “Sorry. But I had to be sure.”
“I can’t believe it would even cross your mind that I would do that to you.”
“Look, I said I was sorry.”
“You have a lot more to be sorry for than that.” Anastasia continued to stare at Sara with open hostility. Shepard finally clued into what had been happening right in front of him all along. “But we can have that conversation another time. I assume you’ll want to know where the good senator is hiding out?”
“And I assume you know where that is.”
The Matriarch laughed humorlessly. “I wouldn’t have arranged everything for you otherwise. Though you certainly don’t deserve my help since you’re intent on breaking my heart.”
Shepard winced. Sara rolled her sparkling blue eyes, even as they twinkled with amusement.
“So…you and Anastasia, huh?” Sara Davenport remarked as they walked toward the lift that would take them to the luxurious upper levels of Taurus 45.
“It just sort of happened,” he said, somewhat defensively. “When I left the Praetorians, I still needed guns. And she is, of course, the best.”
“The best at supplying guns? Or the best at something else?” Sara teased.
Shepard groaned. “I didn’t think she would take it so hard that you and I are back together. I thought our arrangement was just business. Casual.”
“For women, it’s almost never just casual.” Sara’s tone was melancholic. “Plus, you did accuse her of betraying you. Quite a serious accusation against a woman you’ve been sleeping with.”
“Now, wait just a minute: whose side are you on anyway?”
Sara grabbed Shepard by the hand and leaned into him, draping her arms over his shoulders. “You know I’m on your side, darling. I’m just trying to help you understand how Anastasia feels right now, even though I never liked her. Especially after learning her hands have been all over you.”
“Well, at least now you know how I feel about you and Senator Douchebag.”
Senator Douchebag, whose proper name was Sheldon Hodges, lay in a chemically induced stupor on a plush couch in the living room of an elegant penthouse. Floor to ceiling windows bathed the room in the bright lights of neon billboards and taxi shuttles that chauffeured passengers from one side of Taurus 45 to the other. Sheldon Hodges should have been alarmed that he hadn't yet heard back from the four Sentinels he’d sent to deal with Shepard Black. But the potent cocktail of drugs and alcohol had numbed his senses. All he could think about was how damn comfortable that couch was, and how he planned to never get up from it.
There was a series of peculiar thwacks, followed by several muffled thuds outside in the hallway. Sheldon Hodges lazily rolled over until he faced the penthouse entrance.
“The hell’s goin’ on out there?” he slurred. After several beats of silence, the senator stumbled to his feet and shuffled over to find out why his Sentinel bodyguards were suddenly ignoring him. Before he took two steps, the door burst inwards with a violent explosion. Sheldon Hodges reeled in terror as Shepard Black, brandishing a silenced Night Scythe machine pistol, stepped through the smoking hole in the wall where the door had been mere moments before. Sara Davenport wasn’t far behind.
“Hello there, senator. Glad we could finally meet face to face,” Shepard greeted the man affably, despite the fact that his face was a grim mask of righteous anger.
“Imp-impossible!” Sheldon exclaimed with fright. “Th-the S-s-sentinels at the b-b-bank-”
“That wasn’t such a smart move on your part, senator,” Shepard interrupted. “Everyone knows that government agencies don’t have jurisdiction on Taurus. And that very public display of government agents attacking denizens of the station didn’t go over so well. Even now, The Matriarch is meeting with the other Houses to get to the bottom of the situation. You’re going to have quite a bloodbath on your hands. Lucky for you, you won’t be around to see it.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
Wordlessly, Shepard grabbed the senator by the robe and dragged him across the room. Sheldon Hodges flailed and squealed with fright, but the private detective’s iron grip was unbreakable. Shepard hurled the floundering man, and shatter resistant glass exploded as genetically enhanced muscles propelled his victim through the window.
“It’s good to have friends in low places, isn’t it, senator?” Shepard Black murmured as Sheldon Hodges plummeted into the darkness below.
As they took the lift to the Spaceport, Shepard Black tenderly held Sara Davenport in his arms while tears of relief rolled down her beautiful face.
“Is it over?” she asked hopefully.
“It is for now,” he reassured her while stroking her luminous blonde hair. “It is for now.”
Afterword: To enhance the impact of this story, listen to the song below after you read.
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Quite brutal.
You did it again, Josh. Well done! 👏