Count them one by one
Like notches in the handle of an Outlaws gun
You can outrun the Devil if you try
But you will never outrun the hands of time
--Mark Collie
The school bell was the sweetest sound that Jubilee had heard all day. She gathered up her books into her bag and made for the door. The halls were alive with loud chatter and slamming lockers as she made her way through the twisting mob of people.
She walked out the front double doors and soaked up the first few rays of sunlight before it hid itself quickly behind a coming cloud. It smelled like rain again. She was surprised this town hadn’t floated away by now with all the storms that came through.
Jubilee walked over to a nearby tree, threw her bag down and sat down beside it waiting for Bobby. He did not have baseball practice today, so he had promised her a ride home. She was grateful for it; her feet were killing her in these boots. She had gotten in trouble for them as well. Mr. Cassidy had written her up for them being out of school standard.
She rolled her eyes at the memory of her History teacher telling her that they were not “becoming of a young lady” and that “Someone may get the wrong idea”.
“Whatever,” she whispered to herself and leaned back against the trunk of the tree. Bobby sure liked them. She had heard him almost whimper when she walked by him this morning, and she flashed him a practically evil grin.
He was aching for it.
She had been dating Bobby for a while now, and the two of them had grown close, she guessed. He was much higher up in the school hierarchy than she was, best player on just about every school team, popular, good looking and all of that. His grades were not always up to their best, but with his athletic prowess, the teachers always cut him a break.
And oh did it ever piss off so many people that he took a shine to an out of town city girl like her. And Jubilee did indeed love rubbing it into the faces of so many of those uptight prep wanabees.
He wasn’t a total prize, though. He was funny and cute, sure, but there was a definite mean streak to Bobby Drake. He could be demanding, arrogant, obnoxious, and sometimes even a little scary.
Especially when it came to sex.
Jubilee had yet to take that step, and she was not sure that she wanted it to be him the one that she took it with.
They had gotten hot and heavy before, and she thought once about giving in, but something deep down inside of her begged her to stop. Bobby had not been too pleased about it, that was for sure. It was the fight that had ended their relationship for a short while, until he came back with all smiles and sweet words. Jubilee felt a tug in the back of her mind to just leave things the way they were, but that smile of his worked its magic on her heart once again.
Things had been a bit different since then. They still made out heavily, but Bobby hadn’t tried to take it further since, and so far they seemed to be getting along better than ever. Bobby had comforted her after that whole diner incident, holding her as she cried into his shoulder. He had listened to her for hours and hours about her sister’s well being.
He really was being a real sweetheart.
But the shadows of doubt still seemed to work their way into the deepest parts of her mind. And it frightened her that she could not figure out why.
“Hello there, you sexy thing, you.”
Jubilee looked up at the voice and there was that so-cute smile of Bobby Drake shining down at her like her own personal star in a midnight sky.
“Hey there, Ice cube,” she said, giggling and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Don’t call me that,” he said, returning the hug. “And keep your voice down, I don’t need everybody to know that story.”
She pulled back and teased him with that little grin of hers. “Oh, don’t want people to know what we did with that bucket of ice that I put on your…”
“Enough,” he almost shouted, and even though he was still smiling, Jubilee caught a glimpse of that old anger flare up in his eyes. She brushed it off and pretended she didn’t see it.
“Ok, James Bond, I’ll be sure to keep all your secrets in a very safe place.” She kissed him on the lips softly.
“Care to tell me where that place is?” he asked, one of his hands gliding down the small of her back and resting on the top curve of her butt.
She reached around and moved the arm back up to her shoulder. “You would have to be a very good boy, and Drake you don’t have a clue on how to be that.”
“You could teach me.”
Jubilee laughed. “Who the hell says I know anything about being good?”
She grabbed his hand and her books, and the two walked toward Bobby’s car.
In the distance, a pair of eyes watched the retreating figures walk to the school parking lot. Eyes of ice underneath an old worn Stetson hat, with wisps of smoke curling and writhing in the air like a serpent.
A crow called overhead and the eyes of the Stranger switched to it. He motioned his head at the circling bird and it flew off in the direction that the car the children had driven off in went.
He sat there a minute more, with the sun’s fading rays warming the leather of his jacket. A bad storm was coming tonight, he could hear the thunder rolling in the distance, and he could feel the cool breeze of rain creeping on his skin.
One of the little things leaped atop his handlebars and danced and mocked him, hurling its insults with its little fang-filled mouth.
The stranger sat so still for a moment before reaching out and grabbing the small piece of filth with one hand and holding it firm.
Its tiny mouth bit with jagged teeth, leaving torn flesh on the Stranger’s hand. He paid it no mind and took the cigar from his mouth, pressing the lit end against the little filth’s head.
It screamed and thrashed trying to break the grip, until it moaned one final time before melting away into that oil black tar that made up its body.
The Stranger wiped his hand on seat of his bike, trying to rid himself of the disgusting mess that was left. That smell would stay on him for a while. He caught it with full force and he wrinkled his nose at it. He could never get used to it.
He needed a drink.
He kicked the bike to life and roared off into the distance, with only the crack of thunder to echo his leaving.
He ended up in a small bar on the outskirts of town by the name of Harry’s.
Small, but neat and comforting.
He ordered a beer and a bottle of whiskey and sat alone in the back in the darkest and furthest corner.
It was empty in here other than himself, Harry, and the one waitress working.
He lit a cigar to ignore the stench coming from his raw hand. He had gone to the bathroom and scrubbed at it until it bled. That smell would just not come off.
The fumes of the cigar helped some, but it was not enough. It was never enough.
The door to the bar opened, and the scent of roses on a summer wind circled all around him. It seemed there was a faint smell of incense in the air and the Stranger knew that smell all to well.
And he hated it worse than even the stink coming from his hand.
In came a woman dressed in very simple clothes, faded jeans and a badge shirt with a simple brown jacket. She was tall, with long red hair and deep green eyes like undiscovered emeralds shining brightly in some dark mine.
She saw him instantly, walked over and sat down with him.
He didn’t look at her, only took another mouthful of whiskey down.
She said nothing to him, only sat that with a little smile playing on her lovely face.
He sighed slowly and loudly. “Can’t I get one moment to my fucking self.”
“Good to see you, too.” She took the shot he had just poured for himself and swallowed it in one graceful motion.
He snatched it away and refilled it, swallowing the liquid quickly. “What are you doing here, Jean?”
Even though she was smiling at him, her eyes were mirroring the sadness in the depths of her being. “After so long, that’s all that you have to say or ask?”
“Ain’t nothing else fucking worth asking.” He answered, slugging back another shot. “If you’re here about the thing, save your breath. Warren already came and spoke about it.”
She nodded. “I know, I’m kind of acting as his back-up.”
The stranger scoffed. “Surprised they assigned you, all things considering.”
“I asked for this,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. “I thought maybe you and I could speak on certain things when the job was done.”
“When the job’s done, you know what happens; things go on for a little longer and then it’s the last hurrah, so who gives a fuck.” He slammed the shot glass down on the table and finally met her gaze. “You go back to where you were, and I get what I got coming. No more need for me when all this is over.”
“There is a horrible end waiting for you,” she said, her eyes ever so slightly brimming with tears. “Please, I am sure something can be done, you know what is written, I don’t want to see that happen.”
“Fuck what is written,” he shouted. “What do you think, Jean? You think that I’m gonna come back with you, that it’s all gone be changed?” He reached over and placed a hand against her cheek. “You think I am gonna fucking forget what happened the last time?”
The look in his eyes, that hurt, that pain, and most of all, so much hate.
“I didn’t ask for any of this, Jeannie, but somebody, somewhere decided to hand me the biggest fucking ever, and I got to live with that, so don’t be like the other side and try to make deals with me, because like I told them, I really don’t give a shit as to which one of you wins.” He stood up and began walking away.
Jean stood up and followed. “You know what happens if they get her, right?”
He stopped and slightly turned his head.
“The balance will be broken, and all will be lost,” she continued. “If they get both of them, then all of this will have been for nothing.”
“I told you I don’t give a shit,” he spat.
“You do; even if you don’t want to admit it, you do.” She countered. “No one was ever dealt a worse hand than you, I know it, and all of this time you have had to do what no one else has, but you still carry a spark of caring inside you.”
“I don’t see your boss doing any fucking thing about it, huh? No, he leaves guys like me to do the dirty work.”
“You know the ways in which he works,” she said.
The stranger spit on the ground. “And all of you know the way I work, my fucking way.”
He got on his bike and started it.
The roar from it tore at Jean’s hearing. “Romulus has come on Samiael’s behalf.”
Romulus.
That son of a bitch.
He killed the engine.
Jean walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “I know this will not be easy for you.”
He looked at her. “Romulus hasn’t been around since…”
That dark look came over Jean’s eyes and she bowed her head in shame.
The stranger steeled himself. “Yea, since THAT day when all the world needed you the most, when I needed you the most, and you just stood by and let what happened happen.”
“You know we couldn’t interfere; we didn’t know the plan, none of us did. what did you expect me to do on that day, defy the orders?”
He sneered at her and shook his head.
She was crying so silent, but her words came out strong. “Madelyn is here, too, I know; you know they are both going to try you.”
“Yeah,” he said not bothering to bring up the little run-in he had already had with Madelyn. “And as always, can’t expect nothing from your side, right.”
As much as it pained her, she nodded her head.
“Good.” He started the bike once more and revved it hard. “I do this and then it’s all over, and I hope that I never have to see you again, Jean.”
He charged off in a cloud of smoke and gravel.
Jean watched him go with tears still running down from her eyes.
”Forgive Me,” she asked, but her words were lost on the wind.
Elsewhere, Nathaniel Essex was brooding over the current state of events. The last thing he needed in this town was a pair of trigger-happy gunmen on his front doorstep. He and his men were more than capable of taking care of what was needed. He’d hoped to get a message to Big Boss Fisk, but that fat, bald prick never responded to him. That dumb fuck of a son was never any better; always thought they were so fucking smart.
He lit a cigarette and rolled down the window of his patrol car and waited. It was close to closing time and he didn’t want to miss one of the few things he got to enjoy nowadays. The door to the diner opened and out walked the finest piece of ass in the whole town. That skin, that hair, that ass, every part of her screamed to be taken against the nearest wall.
Essex rubbed at the crotch of his pants as he watched Ororo walk into the alley. It was actually starting to become painful watching the way she moved. He ground his teeth and clenched his free hand in a tight fist.
As drop-dead fuck me as she was, she really knew how to give a guy a cold shoulder, with the exception of Dayspring, that is.
“Fucker,” he whispered to himself, blowing out a stream of smoke between his almost unnaturally white teeth. That big ox didn’t deserve a woman like that. John Ruckus, one of his deputies, had told him he saw her with Dayspring and the Summers the other night at Hank’s.
He also told him about some drifter runt that had come in and got a dance with her.
Essex pulled the smoke from his mouth and put it out on the underside of his wrist. The burn made the erection in his pants throb with excitement.
It felt so good.
He spared one more glance at Ororo, who was now in her truck, and breathed deeply. He swore he could almost smell her bathed in sweat, bent over his bed, screaming in both pleasure and pain.
The satellite phone’s ring brought him free of his perverted fantasy.
It was Fisk.
Shit.
“Sir,” he answered, barely hiding the contempt.
“They are here, get your ass to my place in an hour.” Click.
Essex threw the phone on the passenger seat with a huff and started his car.
“Soon, baby, really soon,” he told her and drove away.
He did not know that he was being watched all the time. A pair of malicious green eyes had been studying him from the dark. Madelyn could taste the wonderful contempt and lust emanating from within the police cruiser, and she let it wash over her.
“Things are about to get interesting.” She spoke to the shadows and they seemed to quiver at the sound of her voice. She stepped into them and faded away as if she were never there.
Bobby was sure of it this time. He reached up and rubbed Jubilee all along her chest as they continued to vigorously make out. He had been playing the nice guy thing for a good while now, knowing that if he let his temper flare or get too worked up that he would never get into her pants.
She seemed to be so willing right now.
They had parked atop the Arkham Heights, way out of the sight and ears of any passerby. He knew that today would be the day.
His hopes were dashed, though, as he reached down to undo the button on her jeans.
“Whoa, there tiger,” she said between kisses. “You know the drill.”
“Just relax, Jubes,” he said and continued to fumble with the button.
“Bobby.” She spoke louder and pushed him off. “I thought we had worked through this crap.”
Bobby sighed loudly and slumped against the door of his car. “What the fuck, Jubes?”
She shook her head at him. “I thought we agreed that we weren’t ready for this.”
“I never agreed, I said I would wait.”
She threw up her arms. “And two weeks is all you’re willing to wait.”
“Come on, Jubes, you’ve been teasing me and leaving me with a hard-on that I could hang wet towels on; you need to think of my feelings.”
Oh, that did it.
“Your feelings?” she asked, not quite sure if she heard him right. “Bobby, I like you, you can be a great guy when you want to be, but right now, you’re being a bigger prick than what you claim to have.”
There was that look in his eyes, that strange and terrifying stare that he fixed her with from time to time.
He spoke not another word, and reached over and grabbed her around the throat.
“Bobby, stop it, no….” Her voice was cut off by a hard slap across her cheek. The tears welled up in her eyes, but she kicked and punched for all she was worth.
Bobby Drake was not a large guy, but the time he had spent in all of the sports he had played gave him a hefty bit of strength. He shrugged off her blows and began tearing at her shirt.
Jubilee tried to scream but the hand around her throat was too tight. The scene at the Diner came crashing back down on her, and her spirit was cast down into a deep void of despair.
“Trust me Jubes,” she thought she heard him say. “You’re gonna like this.”
The glass behind him shattered, and an arm reached inside and grabbed Bobby by the back of the hair. He screamed as he was dragged out.
The world snapped back into reality for Jubilee and she was terrified. Was she still being raped? She was afraid that her mind was playing tricks on her until she looked out and saw Bobby slammed atop the hood of the car by the guy from the diner.
She wrapped her shirt around her chest and got out.
The stranger had his forearm pressed hard down on the throat of Bobby Drake and he was gasping loudly for air.
Jubes could only stare in shock.
“Raping young girls, is that your thing, boy?” the stranger asked, pressing harder on Bobby’s throat, not letting him respond. “Is it just the pussy you’re after, boy, or do you get a kick out of the whole dominance thing?”
He raised him up and hit him across the face with an open-handed slap.
Bobby felt his entire body quake from the blow. He could muster no strength to fend off his attacker.
The stranger brought his face close to Bobby’s and breathed air so hot and thick it felt as if it was fanned by flames. “You like taking advantage of people weaker than you, huh boy? You get off on it; with your Uncle being the Sheriff, you never have to worry about it, do ya? This wouldn’t be the first time you would have gotten away with it.”
The stranger slammed Bobby against the side of the car and breathed a warning to him. “I know you boy, I see you when you think nobody else can. I am there when you turn the lights out at night, so I will know, remember, that I will know. Make this mistake again, and I will cut you in ways that would make you useless to a woman.”
The stranger hurled him to the ground in a broken heap.
His gaze then set on Jubilee, and she jumped at the sight of his so cold eyes.
She couldn’t hold his stare long; she looked down at Bobby, who was still moaning on the ground.
She landed a hard kick right into his crotch. “Better find a new place for your towels, asshole.”
She pulled her clothes around her and started walking down the gravel road to the highway.
She said nothing to the stranger as she walked past.
“Need a ride?” she heard him ask.
“No thanks.” She shouted back and continued on.
“Twenty miles back to town, and in those boots you’re gonna be real sore.”
She stopped, let out a deep breath and turned to face him.” You know you just beat up my boyfriend.”
The stranger looked down at the now vomiting boy lying by his car. “Real shitty taste you got.”
She scoffed. “I could be worse off, I could be some weird old stalker, who likes to beat up kids and then offer rides to poor teenage girls.”
He said nothing, but let one corner of his mouth go up in the slightest of smirks
Jubilee rolled her eyes in frustration. “Look, thanks for what happened at the diner, you probably saved me and my sister’s lives, and thank you for today, even though I could have handled it, but trust me, you’ve done enough, so thank you once again and good day.”
He shrugged his large shoulders, tipped his hat to her and walked over to the motorcycle sitting by the side of the road.
Jubilee had not seen that.
Damn, it was nice.
“Is that yours?” she asked.
The stranger stopped turned to look at her, and now he was smiling for sure.
“Your chariot awaits,” he said, offering again.
“Can I drive?”
“No way in hell,” he answered roughly.
