The Tomb (Repairman Jack)

'You know I never ask, Jack, but this time I've got to: What are you up to? You could raze a couple of city blocks with what you've got here.'

Jack didn't know what to say. How could he tell anyone, even his best friend, about the rakoshi and how the necklace he was wearing made him invisible to them?

'Why don't you drive me down to the docks and maybe you'll see,'

'It's a deal,'

Abe groaned under the weight of the case of incendiary bombs while Jack, still in harness with the flamethrower, maneuvered his way up the steps to the ground floor, After Abe had deposited the crate in the rear of the panel truck, he motioned Jack out to the street. Jack darted out from the doorway and through the rear doors of the truck. Abe pulled the iron gate closed in front of his shop and hopped into the driver's seat.

'Where to?'

'Take West End down to Fifty-seventh and turn right. Find a dark spot under the highway, and we'll go on foot from there.'

As Abe put the truck into gear, Jack considered his options. Since climbing a rope with a flamethrower on his back and a crate of bombs under his arm was out of the question, he’d have to go up the gangplank—his variable frequency beeper would bring it down. Events could go two ways after that: If he was able to get aboard undiscovered, he could set his bombs and run; if discovered, he’d have to bring the flamethrower into service and play it by ear. If he found any chance to do it safely, he’d let Abe get a look at a rakosh. Seeing would be believing —any other means of explaining what dwelled in Kusum's ship would be futile.

Either way, he would see to it that no rakoshi were left alive in New York by sunrise. And if Kusum cared to interfere, Jack was quite willing to help his atman on its way to its next incarnation.

The truck stopped.

'We're here,' Abe said. 'What now?'

Jack gingerly lowered himself to the street through the rear door and walked up beside Abe's window. He pointed to the darkness north of Pier 97.

'Wait here while I go aboard. I shouldn't be long.'

Abe glanced through the window, then back at him, a puzzled expression on his round face.

'Aboard what?'

'There's a ship there. You just can't see it from here.'

Abe shook his head. 'I don't see anything but water.'

Jack squinted into the dark. It was there, wasn't it? With a mixture of amazement, bafflement, and relief growing within him, he sprinted down to the edge of the dock—the empty dock.

'It's gone!' he shouted as he ran back to the truck. 'It's gone!'

He realized he must have looked like a crazy man, jumping up and down and laughing with a flamethrower strapped to his back, but Jack didn't care.

He’d won. He’d defeated the Mother rakosh and Kusum had sailed back to India without Vicky and without Kolabati. Triumph soared through him.

Bon voyage, Kusum.

28

Gia ran up the steps of the five-story brownstone and stepped into the vestibule inside the front door. She pulled on the handle of the inner door just in case the latch hadn't caught. The door wouldn't move. Out of habit she reached into her purse for the keys and then remembered she’d sent them back to Jack months ago.

She went to the callboard and pressed the button next to 3, the one with the hand-printed slip of paper that said Pinocchio Productions. When the door did not buzz open in response, she rang again, and kept on ringing, holding the button in until her thumb ached. Still no responding buzzer.

Gia went back out to the sidewalk and looked up to the front windows of Jack's apartment. They were dark, although there seemed to be a light on in the kitchen. Suddenly she saw movement at the window, a shadow looking down at her. Jack!

She ran back up to ring the 3 button again, but the buzzer started to sound as soon as she stepped into the vestibule. She pushed through the inner door and ran up the stairs.

As she approached the third floor, she found a long brown wig and a flowery, broad-brimmed hat on the stairs. A sickeningly sweet perfume hung in the air. The newel post on the landing was cracked almost in two. Torn pieces of dress fabric were strewn all about the hall, and splotches of thick black fluid spotted the floor outside Jack's apartment.

What happened here?

Something about the splotches made her skin crawl. She stepped around them carefully, not wanting to touch one, even with her shoe. Controlling her unease, she knocked on Jack's door.

The door opened immediately, startling her. Whoever was there must have been waiting for her knock. But the door swung inward only three inches and stopped. She could see the vague shape of a head looking out at her, but the dim light from the hall was at the wrong angle to reveal the face.

'Jack?' Gia said. She was plainly frightened now. Everything was wrong here.

'He's not here,' said a hoarse, cracked, whispery voice.

'Where is he?'

'I don't know. Will you look for him?'

'Yes...yes.' The question was unexpected. 'I need him right away.'