Chapter 13: Sonny

5:30 PM

Sonny looked up at the four-storey apartment building in one of the ghettos of Yonkers. Its brick exterior was weathered and in dire need of repair, but its unremarkable facade made it the perfect hiding spot for escaped criminals — like the one he was looking for — from Maya Lokam. Compared to even the most run-down buildings in that pocket dimension, this one looked like a complete disaster.

Sonny leaned up against a post just outside the building, looking casually down at his phone. It wasn’t a good neighbourhood, but Sonny wasn’t afraid of anyone who might happen by. He was very good at blending in; he was also very good at defending himself. He also had the benefit of looking like another downtrodden, distracted local, dressed in blue jeans, a light black sweater, and a grey shirt. The only thing that would have made him stand-out was his belt-sword, but his shirt and sweater hid it well.

After a few moments, he made a practised gesture with his free hand, Puppetting a common pigeon. He split-screened his vision, and sent the creature to spy.

It was far easier and less taxing than Body-Swapping; since he wasn’t trained in the military, or even as an on-duty officer in Maya Lokam, he didn’t have hundreds of hours of practice in the latter. Puppetting was second nature, though, and it also didn’t leave his human form completely vulnerable. It was the right tool for the job. With only subtle motions of his hands and fingers, Sonny directed the bird to fly wherever he wanted it to go.

The building was nearly empty. Most of the lower sections had run-down rooms, peeling paint and debris from broken ceilings, or broken windows. One room on the third floor stuck out as an exception. It wasn’t clean by any civilised standard, but it wasn’t a death trap.

Fucking idiot, Sonny thought to himself. The criminal he’d been assigned to look for was wanted for a laundry list of crimes: impersonation of an Archon, rape, forced sodomy of an adult, sodomy of children, assault, murder, and necrophilia. He was due to be executed by the Primus Lictor. He had escaped custody, though — a feat that would have been impossible without assistance. The accomplice had already been dealt with.

After gathering the information he needed, Sonny called the pigeon back to him through their Link. He thanked the bird and rewarded it with a treat: a salted cracker. Animals, whether they had a Link or not, were often friendly and amicable towards those from Maya, particularly those from the Path of Blood. Treats still helped, and Sonny naturally liked animals.

Sonny walked up the short steps, opening the front door of the apartment. It wasn’t locked, because the lock was broken. A functioning one would’ve been suspicious, Sonny knew, but he wondered if his target had actually thought about that. He didn’t seem to be much of a mastermind. He didn’t seem to Sonny like much of anything, in fact. Sonny had been, and remained, curious as to why anybody would have helped him to escape custody in the first place.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have personally gone in to get the criminal. Too much work, just for a lowlife. He’d have just sniped him from afar. He was a good sniper. But the order he’d gotten was to detain the runagate. That meant he had to do everything in his power to avoid killing him. Sonny wasn’t opposed to ‘emergencies’ or ‘accidents’ happening on his jobs, but he’d developed a sense for which jobs were important, even if he couldn’t understand why. This one, to his bafflement, was one of those jobs where an ‘emergency’ or ‘accident’ would get scrutinised heavily.

He was in a pretty bad mood because of it. His quarry’s list of charges had set his blood to boiling. He knew he would’ve relished the act of killing him, even from afar.

As he entered, Sonny Sight-Swapped with the bird he’d made a Link with earlier and let it fly around on its own. He didn’t see any homeless people around — people who might be squatting. Instead, he saw someone watching not just the building, but him. They were from the Path of Maya. Why are they following me? He shook his head and chose to ignore them, as they were of little consequence. It wasn’t uncommon to see another Maya Lokakkar on this side of the world. Most just stayed out of sight and toured around, or simply watched normal people. This one was just tailing him.

He reclaimed his sight fully and began his sweep of the building’s interior. He moved slowly and quietly; he was fairly sure the sounds of passing cars were covering the sounds of his footsteps, but he took care nonetheless. He looked around to get a basic idea of how the place looked, in case the criminal chose to run.

Just as he was walking up the stairs, he heard a noise coming from one of the nearest rooms on the second floor, next to the stairs. A dog, Sonny thought to himself. He could tell by the gait, and the sounds its nails made with each step.

He walked towards the sound, his footsteps light and unintimidating. He pushed open the door — which only had an empty circular socket where the doorknob would’ve been — and saw a big black Rottweiler. The dog glared at him, its posture tense, its teeth bared. It let out a low warning growl.

Sonny crouched down. He held out another cracker in his palm. Might not be your favourite, I know, he thought to himself. Still, he smiled - without showing teeth - and gazed into the dog’s eyes. “Here,” he whispered in a soft voice.

The dog immediately relaxed, hid its teeth and moved towards Sonny. It ate the cracker off his palm, sitting on its hindlegs. Sonny pulled out more crackers, and the two of them repeated the process. Little snack for a big fella, Sonny thought. Whenever he was given an assignment such as this, he’d often carry around small snacks for birds, but not often for dogs. He wondered if maybe he should start.

When he was sure that the dog was completely calm, he began to pet it slowly. The dog’s tail waggled around.

“What’s your name, friend?” Sonny asked in a soft voice. He wasn’t going to get an answer, but it felt right to ask. The dog didn’t have any name tag on him. “For now, I’ll call you Kaala. It sounds right.” Sonny nodded to himself. “You look strong too, so it fits. Want to come with?”

Kaala jumped to his feet, alert and ready, and followed Sonny as he walked up the third flight of stairs. Kaala was surprisingly quiet, given his size and earlier temperament.

Sonny stopped three doors down as soon as he noticed a handle on a single door: an obvious sign that somebody was staking a claim. He sighed in annoyance. I thought he’d be smarter than this.

He crouched down beside Kaala, petting his head and looking into his dark eyes, making a Link. “Wait here,” he instructed, and the dog obediently stayed put, sitting on its hindlegs and looking as if it was waiting for something. As a reward, Sonny gave the dog another treat and petted his head one last time.

Sonny Puppeted the first Linked bird outside again to look into the room. The runagate criminal inside was sleeping on a mattress, dressed in a white tank top and jeans. There were dozens of bottles of alcohol scattered around.

Sonny walked up to the door, looking at the keyhole to see if it was locked — it wasn’t — before opening the door, slowly. He wasn’t scared of the criminal. Even if Kaala hadn’t been outside, he still wouldn’t have been scared. The criminal was a lowlife from the Path of Maya, with magic powers that allowed him to change how he was perceived by others, and heal. The first, Sonny conceded, was useful to an extent when on the run, but the other one was of no consequence at all.

The fugitive didn’t notice Sonny intruding into his small abode. Sonny walked to a dark corner and leaned against a wall, watching the rapist, paedophile, murder, and necrophiliac sleep for the very last time. That thought made him smile. He still would’ve been happier to do the deed himself. He could only hope that there was some particular unpleasantness awaiting the man back in Maya Lokam.

He was a scrawny man, half the size of Sonny.

After a few moments, he switched his Sight to Kaala’s to make sure that the dog had stayed where he had left him. He had. Switching his Sight back to his own body, Sonny studied the man. He was clearly intoxicated and barely fit enough to do anything. Guess that’s why they only asked me to locate him.

Sonny took out a piece of paper from his back pocket. He couldn’t recall what the criminal’s name was.

Leighton. That was his name.

Sonny walked close to the door, and stuck out his arm, calling for Kaala. The dog continued to impress Sonny as he walked softly and slowly. I wonder why someone would abandon such a loyal dog. I’m good, but I’m not that good.

When Kaala walked into the room, Sonny motioned to him, with his hand, to go near the mattress. The dog compiled without any objections, standing on his four legs, facing Leighton.

Then, Sonny groaned very loudly, waking the sleeping man. The criminal jumped on his mattress upon seeing Kaala right in front of him. His face paled. Good lighting for a jump-scare, Sonny thought with a smile.

With fear in his eyes, Leighton lifted his gaze from Kaala and found Sonny leaning against the wall of his room, looking at him with cold eyes.

“Who are you?” the criminal whimpered.

He’s scared of Kaala. Good. Less work for me.

“Well usually I’m the Grim Reaper to shitstains like you,” Sonny said with a snarky smile, “but today’s your lucky day. Today, I’m just the ferryman, and your trip’s all paid for.”

Leighton looked at Sonny with sunken eyes and a frightened expression on his face, shaking. He wasn’t scared of Sonny; he was scared of the Rottweiler in front of him.

Kaala hadn’t bared his teeth yet. He just stared at Leighton, waiting for a command from Sonny.