Better him than them.
Rayford slid the shockstick back into his hip pocket. A descendant of the old cattle prod, it was supposed to be a non-lethal device, used by police for crowd control, self-defense, and perp apprehension. But anybody who knew anything about basic electricity could easily modify it, making it a nasty little tool in the hands of thugs like Rayford Tuttle. The shock delivered to Toby was ten times more powerful than the factory setting.
Both were now rifling through Toby’s pockets, trying to find the man’s PDC and the code that would open the door and reveal the mystery hidden inside that necessitated two armed guards. They also helped themselves to his pocket knife, his wedding band and any other things they thought might be valuable.
“Found it!” Junior held up the DataCom with glee like a kid on Christmas.
“Gimme that!” Rayford yanked it from his hand.
“Can you hack into it?” Gideon asked eagerly.
“Is an Injun red?” Rayford scoffed, as his fingers flew over the touchscreen with surprising agility. “I thought you had more faith in me, Paw.”
“Just quit talkin’ and git it done!” the old man growled. “A’fore some sumbitch decides to be a hero and calls tha ZiPs!”
“Hell, Paw! You’re getting to be a worrisome ol’ fart in your golden years,” his eldest retorted sharply. He smiled in triumph and held up the PDC for his father to see. “That fast enough for ya, ol’ man?”
“It’ll hafta do!” Gideon grabbed the device from him impatiently. “You boys get ready!” At that, they moved apart, Junior pulling a pistol from his waistband, while Rayford now held Toby’s shiny rail pistol. Once they were in position, their father punched the access code into the door’s keypad.
The door’s seal cracked and Gideon grabbed the handle. Pulling it open, he peered inside. What he saw made him freeze in shock. Rarely was Gideon Tuttle speechless, but he could find no words for the sight before him.
“What is it, Paw?” Junior moved forward to gawk over his father’s shoulder. His eyes grew wide. “Jesus H. Christ!”
Rayford pushed his brother out of the way. “What the hell is that?”
Gideon finally found his voice. When he did, it rolled like that of a prophet delivering thunderous judgement down upon the wicked. “It’s a perversion of nature! Man tryin’ ta play God!” He turned to his sons. “Git that thing unhooked from all that shit and outta there! And lock the guard in! We got God’s work ahead of us, boys!”
***
Tanner walked out of the bar and lit one of the fine cigars Cutter had given him. He took an appreciative draw on it, as he let the cool night air wash over him. As he savored the stogie, he patted the bottle of fine Tennessee sippin’ whiskey inside his bag. He was really looking forward to tomorrow night. It was always good to see Lulah after such a long time apart. She didn’t like cigars, but she always enjoyed a Jack and Coke.
A nightcap at her house would be the perfect ending to a good dinner date. Hell, never know where good whiskey and conversation might lead. Hopeful thoughts raced through his head. He knew right where he wanted it to lead.
He was about to start for the Gus when he heard a pained cry from around the building. He blew the smoke out with a sigh. Whatever it was, he knew he could just walk away. It didn’t concern him.
Yeah, well. He’d never walked away yet. He doubted he would start tonight.
Clenching the stogie between his teeth, he unslung his flight bag and walked around the corner.
***
“Git that thing up agains’ tha wall!” Gideon commanded as his boys threw their victim hard against the cinderblock wall that was the back of the bar. It slid down the old abrasive concrete and balled into a defensive position, eyes wide with fear.
None of them had ever seen anything like it before. It was like something out of a comic book come to life. It was a female humanoid of some kind; that much was obvious, as it was completely nude. It was small in stature, probably not even five feet in height. Its face and body was that of a woman’s, with the exception of being completely covered in a fine hair. The light furry covering was an auburn color except for white starting around the mouth and throat and running all the way down her chest to her belly and groin area. The iris of the eyes was a startling golden-yellow, the pupils big and black. Two triangular canine ears protruded through long, thick, blondish hair.
The body was feminine, the hair-covered breasts well-rounded and full. A prominent peculiarity was that she had two sets of them, a smaller pair under the normal set, which itself was slightly smaller in proportion to a normal female her size. A huge bushy tail, the length of her body, sprouted out the end of her backbone.
“Well, we got ourselves a foxy li’l bitch, ain’t we?” Rayford leered at her, as it cowered in fear. Several of the lights around this side of the building had been shot over the years and never replaced. As a result, many bad things had happened in the darkness of this spot. One more was now in the making.
Junior stared at the creature, a lustful look on his face as he took in the curves, the breasts and the pinkness of the genitals. He shamelessly sported a bulge in his dirty jeans, as he looked to his father.
“Damn, Paw! You sure we gotta kill it?” he asked, licking dry lips. “Look at that
