Chapter 17

I was over at Paul’s place. I always found it kind of strange that even though he had his own place, we spent at least one night a week or so at Riverfront Park. Maybe because it was romantic, or because it was close to his work and half way between his apartment and my house. But either way, this night we went to his place.

I was bent over the seat of his couch, my knees on the floor and his cock sliding nicely in and out of me. My fingers were doing a lovely dance on my hard clit, and I was almost there. Finally I shuddered, and came. I was pushing my face into the cushion, my orgasm making me shiver with release. And I felt something wet and fat sliding into my ass.

I moaned, and thought he had licked his thumb and slit it into my back door. Anal was never anything I really considered before, but this felt kinda nice. I felt his fat thumb in my ass, the digit moving around inside. I moaned, and whispered that felt surprisingly good.

I felt his thumb leave, and his fingers reach under me, gathering some of the wetness leaking out of me with his fingers then spreading it around. Then they returned, and did it again. Finally he slid his cock out of me, and pressed it against my asshole.

I tried to loosen myself, and I felt him press. I felt the tip of his cock start to penetrate, and then all I knew is it hurt! It hurt way to much to be enjoyable, and I asked him to stop. And he started to pull out, and then pressed in yet again! I screamed, and tried to pull away from him.

He pushed again, and I could feel he was all the way in my ass! I screamed again, feeling my hole rudely stretched, feeling even bigger than any shit I had ever passed out of that hole. I then screamed at him to stop and pull it out, but he just kept going.

And I woke up shuddering. What the fuck? This time I did not wake up Gloria, she was actually curled up on the other side of the bed. And this was a bit unusual, because she was normally cuddled right against me. I took a deep breath, and started to relax. This was obviously one of the other kinds of dreams, because I never allowed Paul to fuck me up the ass. Not ever, not even once. Every time he tried to even touch me there, I pulled away.

And it is not that I hate that area. Guys could squeeze my cheeks, play with them, even kiss them. I found out that a finger caressing my ass cleavage, running up and down the soft skin in between my cheeks was a major turn-on for me. However, I wanted nothing lower. I had even tried it a few times a year when masturbating, either with a finger or once the handle of my hairbrush. Nothing, nothing but “Nope, I don’t want that!”

Thankfully sleep was not long in coming, and before I knew it my alarm was waking us up. We shared several kisses, then Gloria went to shower as I made us breakfast. I was eating my half of the french toast as Gloria came out, and when I finished I gave her a tender kiss on her with syrup covered lips and took my own shower.

We worked together in the shop until 2, and several of my regulars were saying how nice it was that I was back. I said that I had been spending a lot of time working with new distributors and with my doctors, but Gloria was helping me a lot. And they all had praise for how great she was in running things in my absence.

There were 2 people in the shop when it was time to go, so I kissed my fingers and pressed them to her fingers. She then brought them to her lips and did the return, which I again copied.

Down to the bunker, and a tram ride later I changed and dressed for battle. I still had the asps I had grabbed on Monday, and tonight I think I was going to need them. At 5:30 I climbed into the back of Di’s truck, and saw it was disguised as a FedEx truck. And in front of me was Blackie, and Clint was behind me. As soon as it stopped we hopped out, and Di ordered it to go to the Navy dock.

And we came under immediate fire. Blackie and I charged, as we heard Clint grunt in pain and Di take cover behind a nearby truck. I took several hits, but between Blackie and I we took out the Mafia guys with AK’s that had shot at us. Thankfully Clint had a high pain tolerance, and a high healing factor so he was still good to go. And my new armor was a bit worse for wear.

As we pushed west, we saw all the whores and pimps fleeing before us. But we largely ignored them, because it seemed like at every other corner there were more Wiseguys. Finally we hit the first massage parlor, and the backup crew was right on our heels. Clint and I covered the entrances as Di and Blackie went inside. Gunfire rang out, then a growl and scream.

Finally about 20 girls came out, and were hustled right into the vans. At least eight of them looked to be teens, mostly black and Hispanic. Di dragged out a body, the right arm missing. And Fang had a bloody muzzle. I called out “Good doggie!”, and he howled.

Next block, we found a pimp hiding in a car, three girls with him. All put in vans and hustled away. Next block we met of the first elements sweeping towards the river from the north, and they had pushed about 15 people in front of them. Hookers, pimps, and dealers separated and put into vans, we continued west.

Then some of the Wiseguys made a tactical mistake. We saw two of them, taking potshots at us from about 50 yards away, hiding behind some young hookers. I crouched and ran at them, Fang right beside me. I took a few bullets in the chest then extended and let fly my first asp as I was still running. It tumbled end over end, and hit one of them right in the forehead. I snapped out the second, and as I jumped over two girls I did a flip, smashing on the back of his head with all my might.

I can still feel his head shatter under the blow. two down, one permanently. All four of the hookers were from 15 to 17. Into the vans, sent to safety. The one I killed was their pimp, the other was his muscle. No fucks given.

Finally I could make out the lights of the Cockeye’s sign in the distance. Like a beacon we were heading right for it. Then one of them let fly with a fucking molotov cocktail! I got some splash on my arm and it hurt like hell! I ran through the pain and saw he was on the roof of an apartment. I whipped out another asp and let fly, hitting him in the leg. He fell three floors to the ground, and crunched when he landed.

Clint and I covered the doors again as Di and Blackie went inside to secure it with help from Vision, a guy that had x-ray sight. Three more bad guys pulled out without a fight, and 30 girls! At least 10 were minors. Apparently this was one of their rooming houses. Thank you for being idiots! If they had not attacked us we would have just passed it by. But by attacking we had “probably cause” to enter and clear it.

Then I heard a car engine rev up, and the screaming of tires. I turned around just as a large red SUV with a light bar on top plowed into Blackie! I saw her go flying and crash into a parked car. And then it was driving right at me! I started running at it, then right before it hit me I jumped into the air and aimed my feet at the driver. I felt my body hit then pass through the windshield, and saw my feet connect with the driver. Face crumpled, and head snapped way too much to be natural.

I climbed out of the car just as the paramedics were arriving at Blackie. I watched them check her over, checking vitals. Then they pulled a packet from one of their bags and were putting a sheet over Blackie.

Then I got mad. And it was not just anger, I think I actually went more than a little insane.

The final five blocks were a blur. I had images later of bodies, blood, and Wiseguys finally falling to the ground in surrender. I finally became aware that the other element was already there and waiting for us. The club was secured, and the girls were all sitting in the parking lot, with the men that worked there sitting next to them in zip-ties.

And Sarge was giving totals over the radio. We had six KIA, and 22 wounded. Blackie, and two guys from Security, and three from the CCPD were among the dead.

Bad guys, 55 KIA. 75 in custody to be transferred to the Navy, 112 others in custody. And another 140+ hookers.

And 102 children! Apparently one of the places the other team hit was a staging area, and had 35 girls and boys being held. With the guards often taking turns on them, trying to make them compliant and accepting of their future “jobs”.

I directed Security to start loading vans and taking the strip club girls to detention. And for some reason, there were too many girls for all the vans, so a second trip was needed. I even sent some of the girls to the West Side detention area.

By then the head of Security for the operation was there, and asked why I was doing that. “They are not involved, they will be released tomorrow.” I ignored him, and finally the last van was full and driving away, nobody noticing that one girl was left behind.

Kim came up and hugged me tight. Then she gasped, and started to cry. Then hugged me even tighter, as Di came up and hugged her from behind.

Clint was walking up looking puzzled, and I said “You done good Flinx, time to come home.”

We were sitting inside the club, and Control agents were pouring over everything. Kim went and grabbed a bottle of scotch and poured us all drinks, saying “Just settle up your tab at the bar as you leave.” I raised my glass, and once the rest were up high I said “To Paladin Blackie, she gave her life to help others.” Everybody echoed the toast, then threw their glasses at the bar once they were emptied.

“Bo, you need to know this. You got Roberto.”

“We did? Where in the fuck is he, I want to interview him personally.”

“You can’t, he’s dead. The guy that hit Blackie, I saw it. That was Roberto driving. You crushed his face and broke his neck, he’s gone for good. And that is the good news. The bad news is that Paolo is still out there. He was doing a pickup of heroin from the triads at the time, and I can guarantee he’s gone to ground.”

Fuck! “Does he have enough clout to bring the organization back together?”

“Nope. He’s only half Italian, the other half is German. He is not a made man, he is only an associate. Nobody will follow him other than his own crew, and you snagged most of them tonight.”

“OK Kim, you go to Control and go to ground also. Guys, we are hitting Chinatown tomorrow night.”

As before, we headed to Sister Clarissa’s. The mood there was both celebratory, and somber. Nuns and children were scrambling to process all the new children. I looked at the new building, they were working on the third floor. And I sank to my knees and started to cry as I saw the sheet of plywood propped against the front with spray painted lettering.

Sister Francis came up behind me and rested her hands on each shoulder. “When we heard the news, we took an immediate vote. And it was unanimous. We can never repay what she did for us, but we can show our thanks and gratitude.”

I continued to cry as I read the sign again. “Paladin Blackie Memorial Dormitory”.

She would have loved it.

I held Alicia for a while, and sat in a chair in the cafeteria as she sat in my lap. I felt her hands stroke my head as I cried. I was both glad I had killed Cavallo Pazzo, and mad that I could not rip him apart piece by piece. I had only met Blackie a few times, but she was a fine lady and a great hero. We would all miss her. Finally, I had regained control, and Alicia was asleep in my lap. Sister Francis broke the rules as she let me carry her upstairs and tuck her into bed.

She then blessed me, and I held her tight. “Bo, you have now saved over 150 children. And there are more raids to come, right?”

I nodded. “We are going to clear every district in Compass City. Every single one before we are done. Expect a lot more kids, we are going to take them all out. But I did not save them. Blackie saved them, Clint saved them, Di and Fang saved them, it was a huge team effort, I was just part of that team.”

She nodded sadly, and blessed me. “You know, you seem to be completely unable to ever accept praise. You either deny that you do anything, or you pass all of the credit off to others. That’s admirable, but it’s also so frustrating when I try to thank you. But go home, grieve, and hold your girlfriend. You need her most of all tonight, I think.

As I left the home, I realized I was numb, and simply pressed the button on my phone for my car and walked outside to wait for it.

For the first time, I did not drive home. I just sat there and let the car do all the work. I was sitting in the garage for several minutes before I realized I was even there. I walked into the shower fully clothed, and when I looked down to kick off my boots I realized the water pouring off of me was tinted red.

All of my clothes went into a wet pile, and it took ages until I felt clean. I picked up the wet clothing and dropped them all into the large trash can in the garage. And naked I took the tram home. Gloria moaned when she saw me, naked and still damp. “I heard baby, I am so-so sorry,” is all she said, then enfolded me in her arms.

At some point she must had taken me to bed, because I awoke sometime in the night with her sleeping next to me. I was able to fall back asleep, and finally awoke as daylight was just starting. Chris walked into the living room naked and turned on the TV.

The first report was on the life of Blackie. The number of people she had saved, her arrest record. That her identity was secret, but it was believed she was an immigrant from Panama or Columbia. She appeared for the first time a little over a year after the Night, so some believe she took advantage of the blanket amnesty all Paladins shared once they registered.

I did not care about any of that, all I knew was I lost a friend. I had only worked with her a few times, but I was actually looking forward to doing so again. And she was so gentle with the children she helped us rescue.

Gloria finally joined me, and I did not even notice what she made us for breakfast. All I know was I ate it. The news was reporting the death of Ricci, and at least three of his top leadership. Over 70 were imprisoned by the Marines on the Navy ship. They then reported on the first children being moved into the first floor of the Paladin Blackie Memorial Dormitory. I cried again, and they talked about having so many children rescued this time that the original building was over capacity.

Finally I snapped out of it enough to go to Gloria and hold her tight. Thankfully my burns had already healed, and we held each other for what felt like an hour. Then I softly kissed her, then changed. “Where the fuck are you going?” she demanded.

“Baby, we’re hitting Chinatown tonight.”

“Tonight? You are not taking a day off?”

“Paulo the Punisher was reported to be in Chinatown. We’re going to try and put him down before he tries to escape.”

“OK, I understand. But you better come back to me, you hear me!”

I kissed her again, then went and got dressed. This time the only kevlar item I had was the knit cap, the rest of it was largely destroyed in the fighting the night before. But I did not care, I was going to stop that bastard no matter what.

I had just opened the garage door, and saw Elijah standing outside. He ran up and handed me a note then took off. I opened it and read.

B,

P the P is in the Golden Dragon Apartments, top floor, Penthouse B. He has heavy firepower.

R.

I saw red. Fuck Control, fuck everything. I told the car to drop me off 1 block away from the Golden Dragon Apartments. I took a photo of the note, and just as I was pulling in front I sent it to Di. I then put my phone in airplane mode. There was no way I was going to risk her trying to talk me out of this.

I carefully walked to my destination, staying in the shadows as much as possible. Finally, I was there, and the back stairwell door was locked. I shoved my fist through the steel door, then opened it from the other side. Then I carefully went up the stairs, floor by floor.

I had just opened the door to the penthouse floor, when I heard a loud boom and my right side erupted in agony. I fell to the ground behind the wall, but knew this was of little use. The gun he was using would go through a cinder-block wall like it was paper. Then I heard a voice yell out.

“Why am I not surprised that you are such a stupid coon that you would show up here alone! I have no idea how you found out where I am, but my cameras picked you up before you even got to the building, asshole. And my guys are blocking the exits, you are dead!”

I know that voice, but from where?

I got as low as I could and peeked around the corner, all I saw was a blonde-brown haired head poking over the top of what looked like a room service cart. I pulled out an asp and quietly stood up. My side still hurt, but I held it in my left hand and as I jumped to the other side of the doorway I let fly. I heard Paolo scream, and then another shot, this time through the wall, barely missing my head.

“Come on nigger, I can play this game all day! Come on out and fight me like a man, so I can send you to fried chicken and watermelon hell! I’m gonna fuck your ass up!”

I jerked at that. I closed my eyes and thought of what he said. And what I saw of him as I had opened the door, then jumped across the doorway. I closed my eyes, replaying what I had seen. Slender build, about 5’9”. A face I realized that I knew very well, along with the rest of him.

“You say you gonna fuck my ass up, you Kraut-Wop bastard? Is that gonna be both of us, or just me?”

“I know you are alone in there Bo-coon. I watched you come in, you were alone.”

“I grabbed one of the girls from downstairs. She was in a room, and I brought her here because I wanted at least one person to see me put you down!”

There was a long silent pause, then I heard him yell “I don’t give a fuck. All that’s down there are Chink whores, most barely even speak English!” He then fired another shot, barely missing me as he shot through the wall again.

I closed my eyes, pulled my last asp out of my pocket, then changed. I stepped out of my clothes, and stood there a moment naked. My right side still hurt.

“Paul? Is that you?” I called out.

“Who are you? Are you the whore he grabbed?”

“Paul, I loved you, did you never love me? Why did you run away from me that night?” I yelled, trying to keep from crying. “Why did you leave me all alone?”

“Who the fuck are you?”

“It’s me, Christina!”

I took a chance, and stepped around the doorway. Asp hidden behind my back, naked. “Why did you leave me baby, I thought you loved me! Do you not love me?”

“Chris, oh it is you! What are you doing here?”

“I was staying on the floor downstairs. I had just gotten out of the bath when I heard the noises and tried to get away, then this big black guy burst in the room and grabbed me and told me to follow him! He said he wanted me to distract you, but then he got hurt, I think you shot him. He is hurt bad, the last shot hit him in the head I think. He’s just laying there.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Please, can you protect me? I have been so alone for so long. I want you to protect me, I need you to protect me! Please, make me safe again, baby! Please let me come so you can take care of me.”

I could see his face, he was a little confused, but he was also listening.

“Baby, I will do anything you want, just take care of me. Get me away from that nigger and you can do anything you want with me!”

“Anything?”

I took several more steps closer, I was now just 5 feet away. “Anything baby, just keep me safe. Take me out of here, protect me, and you can have all of me. Can you give me a place to live? I live in a horrible little apartment, if you are here you can take care of me, right?”

I was now three steps away. Then two. Each one agonizingly slow. This time I looked down at my feet, and forced myself to think of what I was about to say. And I think my body responded with the blush I wanted.

“Paul, I, I, I will even let you do me in the ass if you want.”

“Chris, really? I can fuck your ass?”

“You can fuck anything you want, just protect me. The world is evil, I want you to protect me from it. I know you wanted to fuck me in the ass, if you take care of me you can do it. If you let me be with you I will never refuse you anything ever again.”

I was now a foot away. The muzzle of the gun was behind me, impossible to shoot me with it now. I took one more step, almost in front of him now, then when I put my foot down I screamed! I screamed like I was in horrible pain.

“Chris, what’s wrong?”

“Glass! I think I stepped on a piece of glass! Oh it hurts baby, it hurts! Get it out, please get it out!” And of course he bent over to see if he could take it out of my foot.

And I swung with all of my strength. Hitting him in the base of his skull with the asp. I heard the crack, I felt the shock through my arm and hand. I saw him hit the ground, out cold. I looked, his ears were bleeding. I changed and then staggered back to my clothes, and painfully got dressed again. I moved back to Paul, and knelt down. I pulled out a zip-tie, and saw his eyes were still open. I pressed my fingers on the side of his neck.

Well, if he was ever going to fuck me in my ass now, it would only be in hell. And I was already realizing that I was gonna make up a lie for how this all ended. I was not about to ever admit that my power to influence mutants to do what I say was what I used as a tool to kill somebody. And that it not only worked when I was Bohica, it also worked when I was Chris.

I took the phone off airplane mode, and it rang immediately. “Bo, don’t you dare go in there alone! Backup is two minutes out, I will be there with Fang in five. Where are you at so we can meet up?”

“Di, target is down, KIA. Bring medical, I got shot but I should be OK in a day or so. Oh, and we need to update the file before we close it. Paulo the Punisher is, or I should say was, born as Paul Muller.”

Di was pissed when she arrived, but I expected that. The medic examined my side, cracked rubs and deep bruising. He put my arm in a sling and told me to take it easy for a day or so. When Clint arrived with Sarge, they both whistled as they saw what I had been shot with. Sarge walked up and asked one of the CSI technicians to eject the magazine.

“Bo, that would have killed almost anybody else it hit. Even I would have been hurt bad if that thing hit me. That is an M82.50 caliber sniper rifle. And it’s loaded with black tips. That means armor piercing. It that had hit a regular person it would almost rip them in half. This guy was gunning for you hard.”

I nodded. “Yea, it’s gonna be impossible to test now, but I bet we share some of the same powers. Strength, and at least partial invulnerability. That is when I realized I had to take him down with a blow to the head. I guess I just hit him harder than I expected.”