Chapter Nine

A deep inhalation was the first thing Rey did when he awoke.

The weight of Zeke pinning his arms to the floor wasn’t uncomfortable. Compared to the pain he felt in the rest of his body.

A large syringe stabbed into his right side had Rey’s full attention.

He could see it out of one eye. The other eye swollen shut.

“Thanks man. You’re a real life saver.” An excruciating coughing fit followed Rey’s words.

“Take it easy Rey. We need to get you to the hospital. Don’t touch the needle. I’m going to get off of you then we’ll get you in the car.” Zeke said.

“No hospitals.” Rey said.

“Rey you’re going to a hospital!”

Extending a hand to Zeke, Rey said, “Help me up and I’ll explain what happened. And why I can’t go to a hospital.” Talking was getting easier.

Zeke pulled on Rey’s hand to help. But Rey landed right back on his ass.

“Damn. I still can’t feel my legs.” Rey said more to himself than to Zeke.

Cold tile and desk drawers didn’t make a good seat.

Zeke knelt down beside his long time friend. Rey didn’t have to look at him. To know what the he was wearing.

Cargo pants, short sleeve button shirt, and tactical boots was Zeke’s daily uniform. He always said, “Clothes could be tools too.”

“Jesus Christ Rey. What happened? It looks like you fought a Gorilla in here.” Zeke said gesturing to the room at large. He followed the blood trail from the shop door to Rey’s desk with his eye’s.

He didn’t know how close his analogy was yet.

Zeke listened as Rey recounted the fight.

“That doesn’t tell me why you can’t go to a hospital.” Zeke said across the room. As he was looking down on the half dead man.

“This is where the situation gets crazy.” Rey said.

Zeke looked at Rey, one eyebrow raised, and said. “This is where it gets crazy? Please continue. I’m all ears.”

Zeke didn’t flinch when Rey told him about Leeb and the integration.

“Wow what’s the chances of that?” Zeke said

“Chances of what?” Rey said.

“I ran across a video last night and it sent me down a Youtube rabbit hole.” Zeke paused scrolling on his phone. “Here it is. Look.”

The title read ‘The world is ending in 7 days’.

“This guy basically said the same thing. I can’t remember the name of the god that picked him. Whose champion was he?” Zeke said. Pointing in the direction of the giant.

“Heracles, believe it or not. I think he put all his points into strength because his reflexes were average. And he didn’t strain throwing me fifteen feet.” Rey said.

“If we aren’t calling the cops. What are we going to do with him?” Zeke said.

“I think I have an idea. I can’t help you load him up. But if you pull my truck into the big door. You can use the crane. I have some straps in the cabinets.” Rey said.

Zeke left and Rey heard the roll up door being raised.

“Nobody has friends like I do,” Rey thought. Zeke hadn’t flinched at any of this craziness.

Now what to do with the body. He only knew one place he could quickly get rid of the body.

Rey winced as he pressed the phone to his ear.

“Come on. Answer you old bastard.” Rey said.

“Hey are you done with it already? I didn’t expect you to finish so quick.” Clyde said.

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“Hey I need a favor. Could…” Rey said.

Talking over Rey, Clyde laughed and said. “Remember Becky Lynn, Rey? She told all of Perry County. How quick you was!”

Rey tried to laugh through the pain. But, a cough cut him short.

It wasn’t Clyde poking fun at him. That made him laugh.

It was the bizarre situation he found himself in. He sat, bleeding on his floor, half dead, in his office. While Zeke loaded a body into his truck. And he was being made fun of. For something that happened when he was sixteen.

Zeke walked into the office and locked the outside door. “We don’t need any bystanders walking in right now. Do we?”

Rey gave Zeke a thumbs up and a mouthed thanks.

Returning his attention to the phone. Rey said “I need a favor.”

The conversation was a short one.

There would be a hole waiting for Rey and Zeke when they got to Clyde’s place.

One big enough for a cow to fit in or a giant man.

….

“The big one is loaded and ready to go. We need to get you in the truck now. You think you can get up?” Zeke said.

Rey poked at his legs and it felt like a million fire ants were biting them. He tried to wiggle his toes and he received the same feeling for his efforts.

He thought he felt his toes move. But he couldn’t be sure because of the pain and the shoes covering his feet.

The pain of trying to move his legs was obvious on Rey’s face.

When Rey tried to stand Zeke moved to help his friend.

Him and pain had been well acquainted. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t very distracting for him.

Rey nearly forgot about the pain when he heard someone try to open the door. Then a knock came.

“Get ready. There’s another one.” Rey said to Zeke.

“Can you stand on your own?”

Rey nodded but he was unsure if he could.

“Reymond! Open the door!” A whiny voice came through the door. “It’s hot out here!”

“Could you hand me that?” Rey asked pointing at the gun on the floor.

Zeke checked the magazine and handed Rey the pistol.

“It’s empty. So its not going to do much good.” Zeke said.

“They don’t know that. You have your’s on you?”

Zeke never left his house without it. A practice, Rey would have to take up.

“I stay strapped baby.” Zeke said as he removed the full size, high capacity, Rock Island tac-ultra twenty eleven.

Rey always wondered how he managed to conceal the large gun.

Zeke unlocked the door without making a sound and backed away.

With the two of them pointing their weapons toward the door Rey said “Its open! Come in slowly!”

The door opened and the first thing Rey saw was bright pink. The pant suit the man wore cast a pink reflection onto everything in his office.

“This place is hell! Literal hell!” The man said before noticing Rey and Zeke.

The man in pink was pulled back.

A baby faced kid who looked to be playing an FBI agent now stood between Rey, Zeke, and the loudly dressed man.

“Don’t fucking move!” The kid was reaching under his coat but stopped with Zeke’s warning.

“Everybody calm down! Calm down.” The man in pink said as he stepped around the kid. “Oh my god! You look like shit.” He said looking at Rey.

“Me?” Rey said pointing to himself. “Says Pepto Bismol’s number one fan.”

“This is Gucci bitch! Where is Buddy? It looks like he came to get another piece of that ass.”

Rey’s last fight in the cage was against Buddy McCoy. He beat Rey’s ass for five rounds. Leaving him looking similar to how he did now.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Rey glanced at the screen and put it back.

“Sorry that was Sam Elliot. He wants his mustache back.” Rey said.

The man in pink put his hand over his mouth and stared holes into Rey. He stepped forward and said “That’s it! Come here so I can slap that ugly smirk off your ugly face!”

“Whoa there sister. Lets not do anything we regret.” Zeke said gesturing with the large pistol for the man in pink to back up.

He walked back muttering something about Antonio Banderas.

“As much as I would like to chat with you fine gentlemen. I’m pretty busy at the moment.” Rey said.

“I’m a chosen just like you.” The man in pink said. “And the god that chose me. Wanted me to meet the man he made the Index for.”

Ian said something about the Index too. What was this damned Index.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have an index.” Rey said.

“The Index.” The man in pink said.

“Fine ‘The Index’” Rey said. “I don’t have it. I don’t even know what it is. You’re the second god damned champion today that has said something about it. And the other one tried to fucking kill me!” The day’s stress was getting to him.

Rey ranting with a gun pointed at him unsettled the man. “Calm down Rey. Can I call you Rey?”

“You know my name but I still haven’t heard your’s.” Rey said.

“Angel Martinez. I just want to talk. I don’t want the Index.” Angel said.

“You’re the..” Zeke was searching for something in his head. “You broke the story about that spy in a college. You remember Rey I told you about it. I think it was last year?”

“You said that he had integrity. If I remember correctly.” Rey said.

“Yep that’s him.” Zeke said.

“That’s me.” Angel said and curtsied.

Rey and Zeke looked at one another and lowered their weapons.

Rey, Zeke, Angel, and Dick, the baby faced kid, talked.

His name wasn’t Dick and he kept reminding Angel it was Richard. But to the other three he would forever be Dick.

Angel explained what the Index was. The only way Leeb was able to get Rey the thing he wanted. Was to allow it to drop from his inventory upon Rey’s death. And if a champion was able to kill Rey before the integration. Then they would have it placed into their inventory.

Angel turned out to be a nice guy and very smart. He didn’t flinch when Rey told him about killing someone earlier in the day. He also informed Rey that he should definitely look out for champions that belonged to the Greek Pantheon. Now that he killed one of them.

They exchanged phone numbers. Angel told Rey that he needed to get a burner phone. There would be champions in the government and he would need to do his best to lie low for the next few days.

It would be hard for Rey to do that. He had to get his people ready. Hell he had to get himself ready.

Angel and Dick started to leave when Rey said. “I was talking shit earlier. The suit is pretty cool and the stache is more ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’ Clooney than Sam Elliot. Thanks for the info. Holler at me if you need any help.”

Angel waved goodbye and the door was opened before Dick could grab the handle.

Nova stood in the doorway holding what looked to be lunch.

“God damn it,” Rey thought. “She going to be Pissed.”