"The Eternal Night" drabbles by Christopher
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 271
The Eternal Night #271
I grabbed a big piece of burlap that was draped over a crate by the door and threw it over Gertie, who was still burning and screaming. It eventually smothered the fire but she was still writhing and moaning. I went and grabbed the goon I had knocked out and drug him out of the warehouse and then Harrigan and I both had to roll Gertie up in the burlap to drag her fat ass out of the warehouse. But by then she had passed out.
We saw Jack Salem eventually stagger out but he was still in a daze...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 270
The Eternal Night #270
Then I heard, "You little shit!"
I turned to see Gertie standing in front of some burning crates, pointing her pistol at me.
"Drop the rod!" she yelled.
I looked up to see a burning crate above her starting to fall.
"Gertie...look out!" I screamed.
"Nice try, chump!" she yelled as she started to pull the trigger.
The burning crate toppled down and crashed onto her head and she fell to the floor with a thud. Her hair and clothing were burning as she writhed and screamed.
I looked back to see Harrigan standing up over a very stationary bartender...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 269
The Eternal Night #269
We started toward the door, using the crates as cover. The smoke was making it hard to breathe and if we didn't reach the exit soon we were going to have to get down and crawl to find some breathable air.
Harrigan was leading the way as I was helping Mason. As he turned the corner of the last stack of crates the bartender tackled him and they went sliding on the floor. Harrigan dropped the gun I'd given him off Gertie's goon that I knocked out.
I leaned Mason against the crates and started toward the two brawling men...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 268
The Eternal Night #268
Harrigan caught up with us and asked, "How many are left?"
"I knocked a goon out, you shot the other, and I shot Charlie 3. Salem's in a fog and Buckingham ran out the door. That leaves Gertie and the bartender still armed. That's it unless they have people here that I haven't seen yet."
Harrigan said, "We gotta get out of this warehouse. It's going up like a funeral pyre, and if we don't leave soon it's going to be our funeral."
"Can you walk?" I asked Mason.
He was a little wobbly but he said, "Yeah, I can."
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 267
The Eternal Night #267
Gertie's other goon fell to the floor as Harrigan nodded at me through the smoke. I nodded back as I tucked my gun in my waistband and pulled Mason by his armpits behind some crates.
I untied his hands and said, "Are you okay?"
He produced a weak grin and said, "I've had better days!"
"Stil wanna play a detective?" I asked as I helped him up.
"No, I think I would rather play an Italian ice cream seller if you still have the wig and the moustache."
I laughed, "It's yours as soon as we get out of here."
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 266
The Eternal Night #266
He didn't get a chance to fire, though, as I put a bullet in the middle of his chest. He went flying back as Gertie screamed. She turned toward me and fired. I rolled to the side, fired at her and missed, which was quite an embarrassment considering how big a target she was.
She had ducked behind a stack of crates that wasn't currently on fire.
Nigel Buckingham yelled, "Bloody 'ell!" and started for the door.
Jack Salem was just standing there motionless, apparently still stunned about the situation with Sandra.
I heard a shot and looked toward Harrigan...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 265
The Eternal Night #265
One of the goons rounded the corner of the crates I was hiding behind and I took the butt of the gun and smacked him on the back of the head. He dropped like a dancer's bra at The Devil's Den. Harrigan started toward me so I grabbed the fallen goon's gun and tossed it to him.
Smoke was already filling the warehouse. Fireworks were still going off, so I was sure the blaze had set off the fireworks that were in other crates.
Charlie 3 saw me as I went toward Mason and pulled his pistol from his waist...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 264
The Eternal Night #264
Roman candles and bottle rockets started shooting out of the crate like missiles out of a submarine. There must've been cherry bombs in the crate as well because I heard explosions from inside. Harrigan and I used the distraction to take cover behind a stack of crates that said Fake Dog Poo.
I pulled my pocket pistol from my boot as I smelled smoke. The fireworks had set something in the warehouse on fire.
"Don't let 'em get away!" Gertie screamed over the chaos.
I darted through the crates trying to get to Mason, taking cover, peeking, and then moving...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 263
The Eternal Night #263
Salem really looked distraught. He may have been taking dirty pictures of young girls but he apparently wasn't the murdering thug that the rest of these people seemed to be.
"You killed her for nothing, Gertie. She wasn't going to play ball with the SFPD," I said.
"You don't know what you're talking about, you little punk!" Gertie said as she raised her pistol toward me.
I looked back and saw Harrigan lighting the fuse of one of the fireworks in the crate. As soon as it went off it started setting off all the other fireworks in the crate...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 262
The Eternal Night #262
I pointed to the crate of fireworks in front of us and Harrigan started slowly lifting the lid up. The goons had Mason off the hook and he was lying on the floor, but still with his hands tied. I pulled my lighter out and handed it to Harrigan, then I walked around the crate, heading toward Gertie and Salem.
"Yeah, Jack," I said, "the SFPD was trying to get Sandra to turn on you guys, but she wouldn't. She was meeting a cop in the alley where she got shot to tell him that she was leaving for Hollywood."
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 261
The Eternal Night #261
Gertie looked at me with cold, black eyes and then turned to Salem.
"He doesn't know what he's talking about, Jack. He's just trying to stall us."
Salem walked toward Gertie. "Gertrude, did you have Sandra killed?"
"No!" Gertie yelled.
"I don't believe you," Salem said.
"Well, that's yer tough luck, buster!" she said.
"Why?" he asked in a plaintive voice. "She was a sweet girl. And she was on her way to Hollywood. She was leaving that night. That's why you killed her, isn't it? To keep her from leaving."
Gertie gritted her teeth, "This conversation is over, Salem!"
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 260
The Eternal Night #260
"Okay," Gertie said, "now we have three chumps to deal with. Get Mason down off the hook and let's get this done. We've gotta make a beeline for the east coast. It's too hot for us here in the west."
I remembered back to when Jack Salem was telling me about Sandra's murder. He seemed very upset, like he didn't know who actually killed her. I thought I'd play on that.
"So, Gertie, before I get plugged tell me how you did away with Sandy Snow."
I was watching Salem's face. He didn't know anything about it.
"Gertrude?" he said...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 259
The Eternal Night #259
"D'you know who this is, you big fat moron?" I asked, looking at Gertie. "This is the...,"
Harrigan cut me off, "Can it, Randolph!"
Apparently he didn't want me to tell them he was the Deputy Chief of Police of Los Angeles. Then I realized my mistake. They'd know they had a valuable hostage if they found out who Harrigan was.
"Is this your back-up, chump?" Gertie asked.
I lied and said, "No, there's a lot more outside."
The bartender said, "Didn't see anyone else, boss."
Gertie smiled, her cheeks looking like she was storing nuts for the winter...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 258
The Eternal Night #258
"Okay," I said, "I'm here so you can let Mason go."
"Oh no," Gertie said. "Did you really think we'd let any witnesses go?"
I shook my head, "No, I assumed you were dishonest. That's why I brought back-up."
"Bullshit!" Gertie barked. "You're bluffing!"
The door opened. Harrigan started walking in.
I smiled until I saw the bartender from The Devil's Den behind Harrigan with a gun in his back.
"I found this schmoe snooping around outside," the drink slinger said with that raspy voice.
Harrigan looked at me as if to say, "I'm sorry."
I nodded at him...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 257
The Eternal Night #257
"So," I asked, stalling for time, "is the Nexus Novelty Company a front for your illicit activities, too?"
Jack Salem spoke up, "No, it's just someone I know letting us use their facilities."
"So, they're okay with kidnapping, torture and murder happening on their property?" I asked.
"Who gives a shit?" Gertie asked.
I was trying to see who all had firearms: Gertie and her two goons did, Charlie 3 had a pistol tucked in his pants, and unless they were well concealed it looked like Salem and Buckingham were unarmed.
I couldn't take on four armed people without Harrigan...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 256
The Eternal Night #256
"Hands up, chump," Gertie said. "Will one of you idiots actually pat him down this time?"
The movie-loving goon came over and started frisking me, finding the gun in the holster under my left shoulder. He went down my torso and then down my legs but didn't reach his hands down into the boots. So I still had my pocket pistol, even though it was in my boot.
I looked around the warehouse. I saw crates stacked up to the ceiling, some marked Whoopie Cushions, Joy Buzzers, Fake Vomit, and Fireworks.
Fireworks, huh? That just might come in handy...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 255
The Eternal Night #255
"D'you know how much trouble you've caused us...you little asshole?" Gertie asked.
"Not enough apparently," I said, looking at Mason. "You okay, Brick?"
He said in a weak voice, "Yeah, I was just hanging around waiting for you."
I chuckled, even though I felt terrible. One more person I cared about that I'd gotten hurt.
"Man," Charlie 3 said, "you is a one-man wreckin' crew! I gotsta admire it. We's still gon kill ya, but I gotsta admire it!"
"How'd you make bail that fast?" I asked.
Nigel grinned, "Pays to 'ave friends in 'igh places, me ol' China."
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 254
The Eternal Night #254
Gertie's goon, the movie lover, came out the little side door of the warehouse.
"Inside, big boy," he said, holding a pistol on me.
I made my way to the door, hoping like hell that Harrigan was monitoring the situation.
When I got in the warehouse I saw Mason tied up and hanging from a stevedore's hook that was on a winch. He looked pretty banged up but he was conscious.
Then I saw the rest of them: Jack Salem, Charlie 3, Nigel Buckingham, Gertie's other goon, the one perpetually in a bad mood.
And the big, bloated woman herself...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 253
The Eternal Night #253
"But not too close," I added.
"Jake, I know how to do this. What happens when you find the warehouse?"
"I've got to go in alone and see where they have Mason. You'll just have to monitor the situation and play it by ear."
Harrigan nodded and I got back in the car and drove until I found the Nexus Novelty Company's warehouse. Harrigan had tailed me on foot and I never spotted him so hopefully Gertie and her gang hadn't either.
I got out of the car and started for the door to the warehouse.
It was 11:58 PM...
Jake Randolph in "The Eternal Night" Pt. 252
The Eternal Night #252
“Tell me something, Randolph,” Harrigan said as I approached his car. "How is it that you're no longer a private detective and yet, here we are, with me having to bail you out of another sticky situation? Can you explain that, please?"
"I'd love to, Harrigan, but we don't have the time. If we live through this night I'll buy you a beer and tell you the whole story."
He nodded, "That's probably as good a deal as I'm going to get out of this, I suppose."
"I'm looking for a warehouse for the Nexus Novelty Company. Just follow me."
