Fire Water (7 page)

We split up, with each of us using the tree line to disguise our approach. By the time I was even with the front of the boat, my heart was racing ahead of me. I palmed my Glock and swallowed to try to dispel some of the adrenaline. “You've got this,” I whispered.

I glanced back and saw that Cap'n had taken position near the boat's stern. He nodded and counted down three, two, one.

I burst forward from the trees. Before I knew it, I was jumping from the shore onto the deck. My boots landed on the wood with a thud. Inside the boat, the argument cut off. “What the fuck was that?” a male voice yelled. I ducked against the wall of the structure where I couldn't be seen from inside. A loud noise came from the other end of the boat, signaling Cap'n was making his move. I took a deep breath and prepared to kick in the door next to me. But before I could, it flew open. Shorty ran out.

“BPD,” I yelled. “Freeze, asshole!”

Shorty stumbled to a halt and turned slowly. His arms came up instantly. “Shit,” he spat.

I moved toward him, but behind me the sound of a scuffle and male shouts reached my ears. I was torn between helping my partner and cuffing my own catch. Deciding quickly, I jumped toward Shorty. My hand was reaching back toward the cuffs on my belt when Cap'n shouted something. A loud thump echoed from inside the boathouse.

I grabbed Shorty's wrist and slapped a cuff on. Holding on to him, I turned to look into the boat. Cap'n was lying on his side on the floor. He was way too still. “Fuck!”

Yanking Shorty's other hand behind his back, I made quick work of applying the second cuff. Using my foot, I swept his legs out from under him. He slammed onto his back. “Ow, bitch!”

“Stay,” I commanded.

I ran back toward the house and barreled inside. “Cap'n!” Fear made me drop the nickname as I slid into a crouch next his body. He flopped over, cupping a hand on his bum knee.

“Go get him before he shoves off!”

“Are you okay?”

He nodded quickly. “Go!”

I jumped up, my breath panting in and out of my lungs, ran the length of the house, and burst through the second door. Something bit into the side of my face a split second before I heard the sound of a gun go off. My heart stopped and it was only instinct that made me duck. I put a hand to my face and realized the pain was from splinters of wood that broke off when the bullet hit the side of the building. My first thought was that I was okay. My second was that that had been way too close. My third, that this asshole meant business.

From my crouch, I crab-walked to the edge of the house. Lanky was on the port side of the boat, bent over the lines. A flash of metal told me he was cutting the rope.

Gripping the gun in my left hand tighter, I forced myself into a standing position. My pulse was thumping in my ears. My hand shook. I told myself it was adrenaline, but I knew that was a lie. I was scared. That bullet that almost hit my head marked the first time I'd been shot at. Sure, I'd seen plenty of guns and violence, but no one had ever tried to shoot me before. It's not like you see on TV. There's no commercial break for you to catch your breath. Right then, the boring days floating down the river suddenly sounded pretty good.

“Get your shit together, Prospero,” I lectured myself. I sucked in a lungful of air and blew it out slowly. Marginally calmer now, I pivoted toward the side of the boat. “Put the knife down!”

I pointed the Glock at the guy. He froze for an instant and then raised his hands. A snake's smile spread his pale lips. “Too late, bitch.”

As if on cue, the boat slowly began to float away from the shore. My shock only lasted a split second, but it was enough time for Lanky to dive through an open window on the side of the boat.

“Shit!” But before I could follow him back inside, a loud splash sounded from near the front of the ship. I looked over the edge in time to see Shorty bobbing up from under the water. Black sludge coated his face and bald head. He sputtered and his eyes went wide as it occurred to him that with his arms cuffed he couldn't swim.

“Help!” he shouted.

Realizing that sooner or later he'd realize he was only like eight feet from shore, I dismissed him in favor of going after his partner, who was inside the house with Cap'n.

More carefully this time, I approached the house. Crouching next to the door, I held my gun to my chest and turned my head to look inside. I couldn't see Cap'n, but I did see Lanky in front of the lab setup with his back to the door. He was cursing out loud and holding a gun pointed at Cap'n, who was sitting on the floor next to him.

I rose from my crouch and stormed the room. “Put down the gun and step away from the lab, sir,” I said, projecting my voice. “You're under arrest.”

Lanky turned sideways to look at me. He held my eyes and with deliberate movements knocked over a glass flask filled with bright green liquid. The movement tipped over the Bunsen burner, as well. My eyes flared a split second before the chemical caught fire, which crawled rapidly over the table.

“Oh shit!” I yelled. “You stupid son of a bitch.” Lanky had decided to destroy the lab in a vain effort to hide the evidence of his crimes.

Lanky cuffed Cap'n on the head with his gun on the way to the door. He burst through the back door and dove over the edge of the boat.

Stopping Lanky took a backseat to getting Cap'n and me off the boat before it blew. I ran past the rapidly spreading fire and knelt next to my partner. The blow on his head had rendered him unconscious. With strength born of fear, I grabbed Cap'n under his armpits and bodily pulled him toward the door. Loud popping noises signaled that fire was causing the tubes in the lab to burst. I tugged and cursed and yanked toward the door.

I was almost at the threshold when Cap'n snorted and shook himself violently. “Kate?”

“I need you to move!” I yelled. Tugging him by his collar, I pulled him the rest of the way out the door as the fire gave chase. Sweat poured down my forehead and trickled down my back. “Come on!”

He stumbled in my grasp toward the railing. I tried to urge him over the side, but he balked. “We'll be poisoned!”

“Better than getting flash-fried!” I bumped him with my hip. His arms windmilled for a moment before he tumbled ass-over-elbows into the sludge below. Once I was sure he bobbed back up and was out of the way, I sucked in a breath and jumped.

The water was cold despite the warm summer day, and thick; it was like jumping into a barrel of oil. I sputtered up toward the surface. I had to use my hands to swipe away the worst of the pollution to be able to look around. Cap'n was about five feet away, and judging by the slowness of his movements and the wincing frown on his face, his injuries were making it hard to paddle. I swam toward him instead of the shore. Grabbing him by the arm with my right hand, I stroked with all my might toward the shore. Behind us, the flaming houseboat was floating toward the main channel of the Steel River.

I labored toward the shore. Next to me, Cap'n was sputtering and cursing, but he didn't fight me. He kicked his good leg and moved his arm to help move us forward. It felt like it took forever to reach the side of the channel. My feet touched bottom and I used the leverage to help push Cap'n out of the water. He cleared the lip of dirt and fell onto his back, panting. I glanced over my shoulder one more time.

The burning houseboat had come even with the police river cruiser, which was a good two hundred yards from where we were.

“Kate, come on.” I looked up to see Cap'n leaning over and extending a hand toward me. “Quickly now.”

I scrambled up out of the water with his help. My knees hit the shore and I spit to clear the taste of pollution and stagnant water from my lips. Commotion to my right caught my eye. I looked over and saw Lanky lying on the shore not fifty feet from us. Beyond him, in the distance, Shorty was struggling to regain his feet. They both looked like those ducks you see after an oil spill—covered in black oil and shell-shocked. I couldn't blame them, I felt pretty shitty myself.

I didn't hear the explosion. But I sure as hell felt the wall of searing heat slam into my body. The concussion knocked me to the ground and made my hearing go fuzzy.

I don't know how long I stayed down. But when I opened my eyes, I couldn't see very well. They throbbed painfully, as if blood vessels had burst. I blinked a few times to try to clear my vision. A blurry mass lay to my left. Realizing it was Cap'n, I crawled toward him. Each movement felt like a new injury, but soon my fingers touched something solid. “Marty?” I couldn't hear myself. “Marty!”

A hand touched my face. I blinked again and my eyes finally cleared enough to see Cap'n's face in mine. He looked like hell with a gash bleeding freely from his head and his face streaked with sludge. “Are you okay?” he mouthed. He'd probably spoken out loud, but the only sound in my ears was high-pitched static.

I swallowed hard and nodded. Despite my confusion, I was pretty sure I didn't have any serious injuries. His face changed from relief to shock, and he pointed behind me.

I turned slowly. My mouth fell open.

The river was on fire.

A week later I hefted a box from the trailer I'd rented to move our meager possessions into the new house. The move made the still-tender burns on my arms flare painfully. According to the doctor who'd treated my wounds, we were all extremely lucky to be alive—although I doubted Lanky and Shorty would have agreed with the sentiment.

Lanky, whose real name was Earnest Tuttle, and Shorty, aka Fred Higgins, had been arrested for conspiracy to distribute illegal Arcane substances, attempted murder of two police officers, destruction of public property, as well as couple of fuck-you charges courtesy of the EPA. It had only taken the fire department an hour to get the fire under control, but by that time the full brunt of the BPD and the media had descended on the river. After giving our initial statements, Cap'n and I had both been rushed off to the hospital. I hadn't seen him since.

On my way to the front door, I paused to watch Danny climb the tree in the side yard. With a determined look on his face, he scrambled his feet against the bark. A wave of some strong emotion rose in my chest. Pride mixed with hope and a lot of love.

This house was a dream realized. After years of struggling, I'd finally gotten us far away from the place where all our old nightmares lived. We could finally start building some semblance of a normal life.

A few days earlier I'd been officially sworn in as a full-time patrol officer with Danny and Pen looking on. I'd start walking my new beat on Monday night. That morning, Danny and I had a date at Meadowlake for a tour.

“Hey, Kate!” he called. “Look at me!” He'd finally reached the tree's lowest branch and was hanging from it like a monkey.

I smiled. “I see you, buddy. Great job!”

I continued into the house and set the box filled with plates and cups on the kitchen counter. Pen was at the sink, looking out the front window with a smile. She'd been watching Danny, too. “I think he approves of the new digs.”

I laughed. “I might never get him out of that tree.”

She adjusted the rubber gloves and got back to scrubbing the sink with cleaner. “We should make the beds first. Where's the bedding?”

I ran my hand through my hair and nodded. “They're in one of these boxes somewhere.”

She paused and stared at me for a moment. I tilted my head. “What?”

“I'm so happy for you, Katie. This place is perfect for you guys.”

Warmth spread through my midsection. But before I could answer, a knock sounded at the door.

I walked over to open the screen and found Baba standing on the porch. “Hi, neighbor. I brought you a housewarming gift.” She held out a platter of cookies.

I took the offering and held the door open with my hip so she could shuffle in. “You didn't have to do that.” If anything, I owed her a gift for convincing the landlord to rent to us.

“Ah, it's nothing.”

Pen came forward and introduced herself. The old woman shook her hand, but her gaze moved back and forth between us. “You didn't say you had a partner, Kate.”

I frowned but then her meaning hit home. “Oh, no.” A laugh escaped my lips. “Pen's my
friend
, Baba. We're not together.”

She looked unconvinced. “Wouldn't be a problem if ya were. I'm hip.”

Pen bit her bottom lip. “I'm just here to help Katie unpack.”

“Hmph.”

The awkward moment was interrupted by the sound of running feet a moment before Danny burst through he door. “Did someone say cookies?”

Baba smiled down at him. “You must be Danny.”

He paused and looked up at the old woman. There was a streak of dirt on his cheek, and the starchy scent of boy sweat emanated from his skin. “Yes, ma'am,” he said solemnly.

Baba's lips twitched, but she schooled her features. “My name is Baba. I'm your neighbor.”

Danny looked her over, taking in the broomstick skirt, peasant blouse, and long gray hair. “You kinda look like a witch.”

“Danny!” I called, mortified.

Baba threw back her head and cackled. “It's okay,” she said to me. To Danny, she said, “As it happens, I am a witch.”

His eyes widened. “What coven do you belong to?”

Baba shot me a curious look. “I'm a solitary witch. I grow herbs in my garden and use them to make homemade remedies and special teas.”

When Danny still looked confused, I explained. “It's a different type of magic than what wizes use, kiddo.” I didn't mention that Mundane magic was way weaker than the kinds Adepts created. No sense offending the woman after she'd done so much to help us.

“Actually,” Baba said, “that's the other reason I came by. If you want, I could do a simple clearing ceremony to invite positive energy into the house.”