Part 1: Etaname ….. Part 2: Ruby Milner ….. Part 3: Old Bibi ….. Part 4: Som Pedersen ….. Part 5: Medusa ….. Part 6: Chief Harrison ….. Part 7: MacNamara, Hound of the Sea ….. Part 8: The Treachery of Glenmore Williams
Part 9: A Very Blue Fell King
In large lots, Som always parked away from the crowd, usually a distance considered inconvenient for the average shopper. His inner warning bells rang when he saw the truck with the raised hood parked right before his car. Two men stood facing their engine. He asked them casually, “What’s the trouble?”
One of two nswered him, “Battery died. Been having to recharge it, so I guess I knew it was coming. I got cables. Can you give me a jump?” He handed Som his end of the cables. The man did a visible double take. “Oh, hell, you’re the famous reporter.”
Som laughed and raised his car’s hood to attach the cables to his battery. One Fell King quickly injected him with ketamine, while the other held the cord around his neck. The former operator instinctually shut his eyes and went limp. His ruse convinced the choker to release the cord. Som whirled and crushed in the man’s trachea. Then he jerked the cables away and dealt the other man rapid lashes as he came forward to bind him. Som could feel himself fading. That was no problem, however, because Ralph was pulling up to take over.
Many, many hours later, Som, Ralph, and Chief Harrison circled the obstetric bed and watched the Fell King flutter awake.
“Rise and shine, Ethan!” Som wafted some coffee by the man’s face. “You’ve slept like a little angel worm, Ethan.”
“Yeah, Ethan. Hey, let me ask you something, Ethan. Do all you Fell Kings carry your wallets around with you when you go out to pull this shit? Ethan?” Ralph tipped some coffee toward him. “I thank you for this coffee by the way. It’s been hard work watching you sleep so long. I was beginning to think we comatosed you, but you look like you’re ok. Ready for a nice little chat over some morning coffee.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes. “You kidnapped me and you’re holding me hostage. Completely illegal.”
Som answered, “Nobody knows you’re here but us.”
“You can’t hold me here forever. And anyway, they’ll come for me. You better believe we’re going to sue the pants off you, Reporter,” Ethan threatened.
“Well, Ethan, you’ve been missing for almost two days, and no one’s come looking for you yet,” Ralph told him. “We’ve been camped out here all night. Som did his morning report earlier, and I don’t remember hearing anything on the news about a missing dirtbag named Ethan.”
Som tugged at the cords binding Ethan. “So, Ethan, it’s obvious that you and your buddy Chris weren’t successful. He’s off in a better place, and nothing really matters anymore to him. But you, Ethan, are in a bad spot, buddy. You failed your mission, and you got caught, and you’re missing. The Fell Kings probably don’t have the warm fuzzies for you right now. Maybe they’ll ‘have a heart’ when they finally catch up with you again.”
Ethan deflated.
Chief Harrison stepped into view.
Ethan recognized him and withered.
“That’s right. You have a very hard road ahead of you, son. Let’s talk about how we can both make this a little less painful for you.”
Part 10:
