Ballistic Kiss (Sandman Slim 11)

My stomach knots up, because I know where I am.

What the hell is going on? I’m in the goddamn Jackal’s Backbone. Only a few people are supposed to know about this place. It used to hold L.A.’s wandering dead. More important, it shares one of its walls with Mr. Muninn’s secret cavern where he keeps his storehouse.

And if there’s a secret passage here from Dan and Juliette’s mansion, it means they know about the place. But do they know how powerful it is? They’ve probably been using it for their fucking excursions. That stops tonight.

I grab Dan and Juliette and drag them away from the others. No need for the rest of the kids to end up covered in their blood.

I bounce Dan off a wall, but Juliette just stands there looking bored. Once I get him back on his feet, I shove Juliette against the same wall and start talking very quietly and clearly.

“Do you have any goddamn idea how dangerous it is down here? There’re things in these tunnels you don’t want to know about. There’re things I don’t want you to know about.”

I take the black blade from my boot and hold it to Dan’s throat.

“Stark?” says Janet. “What are you doing?”

“I’m protecting you. I’m protecting these two losers. I’m protecting everybody.”

“It doesn’t look like it. Please put down the knife.”

“Not until these two agree to get out of here and never come back. Or I’m putting their heads on the trophy wall upstairs.”

For the first time, Juliette starts looking a little worried.

“Dan?” she whispers.

Dan’s lips are bleeding and he has a nice cut on his forehead. But he doesn’t look as scared as he should be.

“May I say something?”

“Keep it short.”

He leans to the side and waves to the rest of the Lodge.

“Thanks, everybody, for a wonderful evening. We’ll see you in a month for something truly spectacular.”

Not very fucking likely. But it gets the mooks to leave. While the rest of the Lodge files out, I keep hold of the doom twins. I have a hundred questions for them. How did they find the place? What have they been doing down here? Who else have they told about the Backbone? But mostly, I’m just anxious to hurt them.

Janet takes hold of my knife hand.

“Please don’t do this,” they say. “Juliette and Dan have something to tell you. Please listen to them. It isn’t just about you, but me too.”

I don’t like the sound of that, and I don’t let the doom twins go. Out of the corner of my eye I can see a few Lodge members who haven’t left, including Maria. Something weird is going on and Janet has a secret they haven’t told me. The easiest thing to do would be to kill everyone and take Janet away, but that would put a definite crimp in our romance.

I’m about to let go of the doom twins when I say, “Just so we understand each other, if one of you runs, you both die.”

They nod. Juliette pulls Dan away from the wall and says, “We wouldn’t dream of running, would we, dear?”

Dan wipes away blood from his split lip with the back of his hand.

“I have a proposal for you,” he says.

“I don’t want your proposals. I want you out of here now.”

“Please listen to him,” Janet says. “I told you. This is about me too. About something bigger than any of us.”

I look at them.

“What are you talking about?”