Mercy and Justice in Both Hands: Chapter 3 – Enemies of Evil

Chapter 3 – Enemies of Evil

When I wake up in the morning, I feel a weight pressing on me and a warm embrace. Opening my eyes, I see that it’s Idelle with her arms and snakes wrapped around me. I can hardly move my arms and legs, and it looks like Idelle is in a peaceful rest, her face appearing to be happy rather than her usual blank expression.

“Idelle,” I whisper and tapping her back with my hand. “Wake up.”

Idelle grunts and nudges her head to rest on my neck. I keep tapping and whispering to her until she eventually gets up. When she does, she stretches and takes a few seconds to realize where she is. Once she does, she jumps up, she apologizes, and blames her snakes, which I’m not sure is true in the slightest. Regardless, I accept her apology and go downstairs to see Raziel, who has the news on, is praying his rosary, and preparing breakfast. While waiting, I think to myself about what Timeo said to me about being careful around dangerous women, especially if they get attracted to me. I guess I can’t consider that advice now.

As we eat, I go over Idelle and my plan for today. From my investigations, the discoveries by my contacts in law enforcement, and what I learned from reading the souls of the criminals we encountered yesterday, I conclude that there’s a syndicate of a combined group of villains and criminals out there, trying to establish themselves in Meridian.

I explain to Idelle and Raziel that, “They’ve been at it for years, ever since Timeo cleaned Meridian’s reputation as a crime-ridden city, and are getting close to establishing a beachhead.”

“What’s their goal?’ Idelle asks.

“The only one I’ve been able to discern as their shared goal is creating a safe place for all criminals to do business. It’s the sole reason why they’re putting up with one another. Afterward, some have their own goals, which I’m not privy to.”

“I guess it won’t matter if we stop them before they can get to the second step of their plan.”

“How come they’re targeting Meridian?” Raziel asks.

“For the glory of it and because they know its primary protector is out of the country. It’s true that when Timeo took a break that this city got worse without him, but with us here in his place, we should be able to meet the challenge.”

“I assume you have a plan?” Idelle asks.

“The plan is the same as always. Shoot first, ask questions later. If we show them that no criminal syndicate can escape our notice, that should keep the rest of them away from the city, at least until the next band of idiots shows up.”

“I hope you don’t end up shooting ex-hero association members without letting us know beforehand,” Raziel says. “Polina called me about that and was going to come here to personally reprimand you if I didn’t talk her out of it.”

“That was my fault. I talked Kane into attacking them.”

“Don’t worry about it, Idelle, and thank you for saving me the headache, Raziel. My contacts in law enforcement have all the evidence you need to write a legal justification for us to pursue the targets we’re after. While Polina and you handle the paperwork, Idelle and I will start the cleanup job, alright? Alright.”

“Just be careful out there, brother.”

“I’ll be as careful as I can be facing people who want me dead.”

Idelle and I head off to different locations, taking out criminals, one after the other. One particular location that we have on our list is a police station, of all places, which was used by criminals who bought out members of the police force so they could use it to rescue or recruit others to their cause, under the nose of the law.

Before heading in, Idelle says, “Polina isn’t going to like this. How will I know which people to target?”

“Easy. They’ll start shooting at us when I get things going, but to be safe, try not to kill them. We need to interrogate them for information,” I say.

Going into the police station, I go up to one of the officers I know and tell her to give the signal to exit the building. It’s a silent signal that gets set to each officer we trust that tells them that there are rogue officers among them that the Dominion needs to arrest or kill. Even though it may cost us time, I’d rather there be fewer friendlies, innocents, and misunderstandings when the fight begins, and it looks like one of our targets knows something is up. I try to keep Idelle and me out of sight of them until all of our allies are out of the building and covering the exits. Once we’re ready, I step into sight of one of our worried and confused targets and lock eyes with them. I smile, point a finger gun at them, manifest my revolver, and shoot them.

Idelle leaps into action, breaking and twisting arms and legs in painful ways to disable them, while I only use my revolvers to ensure everyone here is taken alive. The rogue cops try fighting back with their guns and acquire body armor and specialized anti-superhuman weapons from their armory. Still, they end up cornering themselves and putting the majority of themselves in a convenient corner. The smarter ones, knowing their cover is blown, free the criminals in the cells, give them weapons, and help them retreat, only to further expose themselves and fall into the hands of honest cops outside who shoot or arrest them, depending on whether they surrender or fight. After that, I thank my friends, and, as expected, Polina arrives in a cop car.

“Here we go,” I say.

Before Polina says a word, I point out her fellow officers arresting suspects, that most of our targets are taken in alive, and that the officers were given a heads up and helped us out. The look in her eyes suggests she still wants to tear my head off, but she simmers down.

“Good work,” Polina tepidly says.

“Did you get the rest of my list and everything I sent over about the syndicate we’re after?” I ask.

“Yes, we have, and the Dominion and officers are going after them all as we speak.”

“Great, but don’t think this is over yet. We need to question these suspects for further information. This syndicate needs to be wiped clean from the face of the earth. Nothing and no one can be left standing.”

We wait ten minutes for our prisoners to wake up to start questioning them. To get the results we need faster, now that the syndicate must know that they’re secret is exposed, Polina, Idelle, the other officers, and I each get a criminal to talk to. Reading the soul of the person I’ve chosen to interrogate, I can already see a plot to blow up parts of the city. It’s an emergency plan to ensure that their leadership escapes to the suburbs, assassinate key members of the city, so that their allies can take their place, and sneak in their people to the underground parts of the city in the chaos to keep their syndicate going in the dark.

“You won’t get anything out of me,” the scumbag says.

“I already got most of what I wanted,” I say, and then explain the basic details of their plan. “Care to tell me where the bombs are and your secret hiding spots?”

Shocked by what I said, the scumbag says, “I…I don’t-”

I shoot my gun near the scumbag’s face, leaving it bleeding from the grazing.

“I don’t have time for this! Explain what you know, and I may do you a kindness. If you don’t, I’ll just shoot you and move on to the others.”

“I…”

I shoot another shot that grazes her face.

“Decide! Now!”

“Okay, okay!”

The scumbag tells me several locations that she knows where the bombs are located, and the locations of others who may know the other bomb and hiding spots.

“Thank you,” I say before pulling my pistol out and pointing it at her. “Beg God for mercy one last time.”

“Wait! You said you’d do me a kindness!”

“This is kindness. He’s already decided that you should die, despite my praying for you. This last chance to repent is a favor.”

“Please, please-”

I shoot the scumbag in the head, killing her.

“I hope for your sake that was acceptable to Him.”

Going over to Idelle, I find her strangling and questioning an injured rogue cop with her snakes and bare hands.

I put one foot up on a chair, manifest a pistol, point it at him, and say, “You’d best tell the pretty lady what you know. She’s the bad cop, and the good one is pointing a gun at your head.”

Sure enough, I get every answer out of the rogue cop, whom I shoot and kill afterward, after giving them one last chance to repent.

Outside of the interrogation room, Idelle asks, “Do you think I’m pretty, even with my armor on?”

Honestly, I didn’t expect my thoughts to so easily come out of my mouth.

Backed against a wall by Idelle, I admit it and say, “Yes, I do.”

Idelle blushes and thanks me. I move us on to learn what the other offices have learned and deal with the criminals and rogue cops, respectively, according to the judgment they are given. By the time Polina hears about what I’m doing, I already have officers, heroes, and vigilantes scrambling to take care of the bombs and hiding spots of the syndicate. She yells my name on the way out, and I simply wave goodbye at her as Idelle and I get in on the action to ensure that no member of the syndicate escapes justice.