Cursed Knight
"It looked like a huge bat, man!" The thief cried as the police officer cuffed him. "I'm not joking."
"Yeah, right buddy," the cop said. "You wish we were taking a ride to Arkham but your headed for the County Butt fuck."
The crook cried in pain as the cop twisted the cuffs, pressing the hard metal into his wrist bones.
The second officer just shook his head. "That's just wrong McDermott."
"Just being honest, Bullock," McDermott said as he helped the perp a little too much into the back of the police cruiser. The thief's head bounced off the door jam and he crashed into the backseat.
"Ah, what the fuck?!?" The perp yelled as McDermott slammed the door shut.
“Shut up, ya pussy,” McDermott said and turned to look over at the woman sitting in the back of an ambulance.
“If he’s bleeding in the backseat you’re cleaning it up, asshole,” Bullock said over the roof of the cruiser.
“I hope he bleeds to death then. You really think he was going to stop at mugging that chick?” McDermott said. “Betcha half the abortions on this block are products of his forced affection.”
An unmarked cruiser came to a screeching stop next to the ambulance and man in a dark grey trench coat jumped out. He ran over to the paramedic and woman sitting in the back of the ambulance.
“Why the hell is the White Knight here? No reason for homicide's superstar to be down here unless we missed a body hiding under all this fucking trash,” McDermott said.
“You didn’t listen to a word that woman said when she was yelling at us for help were you?” Bullock said. “Her name’s Emma White.”
“Oh shit,” McDermott said and looked in through the window at the perp who was laying in the fetal position on the back seat. He yelled through the window, “You’re fucked.”
*****
“What were you doing in that neighborhood Em?” The detective asked. A plaque on his desk read, Detective Martin White.
“Why do you think I was there Marty?” Emma said. “Want me to really talk about that right here in the middle of the precinct?”
“Are you still on this,” Martin leaned closer to his sister and whispered. “Bigfoot hunt? You almost got killed tonight. You need to give up this childish crap and go back to school."
“You heard that scumbag, he’s telling the truth, and it wasn't a Bigfoot,” Emma whispered. “I saw it.”
“Do not say another word Emma. I can only do so much for you if they try and commit you for a psych evaluation! This isn’t a joke.” Martin looked over his shoulder.
“I told them that a bum hit the guy over the head and walked off into the alley, okay?” Emma said.
“That is only slightly better. But believable,” Martin said. “And why didn’t you tell me or mom you were coming to New York?”
“You called mom?” Emma leaned back in her seat. “Of course you ratted on me. You’re such a dick sometimes.”
“I heard your god damn name over the police band in my city and texted your mother that you were fine after rushing to your side and I’m a dick?” Martin said.
“Yup, a rat dick,” Emma crossed her arms. “Can I go now?”
“Where are you staying?” Martin asked.
“With friends,” Emma said.
“I’ll drive you,” Martin stood up and pulled his jacket off the back of her chair.
“No, I will take the subway. I know my way around this city too Marty,” Emma said as she stood.
“You just got mugged, Em, just let me give you a ride or have a uniform take you over,” Martin said.
“Hell no to the uniform and it will take a lot more than a mugging to rattle me, Marty. Bye,” Emma turned and walked away.
Outside of the police station, Emma was being watched from high above the street, by a young man sitting on the ledge of a building.
“Who are you watching, Billy?” a larger man said from behind the younger man. “And where is your shirt?”
“Her,” Billy pointed at Emma White as she headed for the nearest subway with a 1 train. “And I don’t know, Hank.”
Hank stepped up to the edge of the building and looked down at the woman Billy was pointing at. “Did she see you?”
“See me what?” Billy asked.
“See you?” Hank said. “And don’t avoid answering by asking me what I’m taking about, boy.”
“I don’t think so, but I think she knows something,” Billy said. “She chased after me in the ally. But I was already on the roof top by the time she picked herself off the ground.”
“Billy, I came here hoping this wasn’t true,” Hank said.
“Hoping what wasn’t true?” Billy jumped off of the building and landed in a run in the ally way.
Billy hit the street, tucked his hands in his pockets and followed about ten people behind Emma.
Hank was at his side quickly.
“Why are we following this woman?” Hank asked.
“I, that means just me, am following her to make sure she gets home okay. She was jumped by a mugger and possibly rapist, so I am being a gentleman and seeing her to her door,” Billy didn’t even look at Hank.
Hank grabs Billy but the shoulders and slams him against the building, “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Billy?”
“You need to relax, Hank,” Billy didn’t try and fight, Hank was much older and much stronger than he was. “I’m not hurting anyone. I have a code. You and the Stanton’s saw to that.”
“Doesn’t matter if you’re not hurting anyone,” Hank let the young man go. “The Stanton's think this is a bad idea. You know our kind don’t like making the headlines.”
Heading off down the sidewalk after Emma again, Billy said, “No one believes the crap they print in the Post.”
“It will only take one picture to put fifty pissed off Were’s on your ass,” Hank said catching up easily to Billy as he headed into the entrance to the Subway where Emma went.
“Then I just won’t let anyone take my picture,” Billy said as he slide through the doors of a the train car ahead of where Emma boarded.
The doors closed on Hank’s face. Billy smiled through the window and waved at Hank.
Hank’s lip snarled as the train pulled away.
Billy sat down where he could see Emma through the doors between the subway cars.
She was off in her own little world, all by herself in the train car. She was oblivious to Billy’s attention. Exactly like he wanted it, for now.
Then the window went black. The subway door slid open and Hank steeped through.
“This is a prime example on why people like you and I should be acting out the fantasies of every fanboy across the globe,” Billy said.
“It is the prime example on why creatures like us should never interact with the outside world on more than a casual basis,” Hank stood in front of Billy, and grabbed the handle above the young man’s head.
“It’s such a waste,” Billy said, still looking over at Emma.
“No matter how well you are trained, no matter how much control you think you have, no matter how much you care about a human,” Hank leaned down and put his face close to Billy’s, “we are not human and one accident will destroy their world.”
“You don’t think I know that Hank!” Billy shot to his feet. “Or don’t you remember I’m the guy who destroyed an entire town. You’re the one who found me cover in my families blood. Literally.”
“That’s why I don’t understand why you’re pulling this masked vigilante crap,” Hank said.
“Do I look like I’m wearing a mask?” Billy looked Hank in the eye.
“No,” Hank said.
The train slowed down and came to a stop. Through the window, Billy saw Emma shoot up and out the train door.
“This is our stop,” Billy smiled and headed out the train door. Hank was quicker this time and the tiles on the station wall read, 157th Street.
Emma walked much quicker in this neighborhood. Billy and Hank kept their distance and followed her down Broadway. She took the first left onto 156th and had her keys out as she headed into the recess of the first building on the right. She had the door open in one smooth motion. Sh eloped out the window, then shook her head and hit the stairs.
“Are you happy now?” Hank said. “She’s safely home, Mr. Chivalrous.”
“A little,” Billy smiled and headed down an empty ally.
“Where are you headed now?” Hank asked.
“I’m gonna do a little sight seeing,” Billy said. “You wanna tag along?”
Grimacing, Hank followed as Billy scaled the fire escape. Hank chose to jump, straight up to the roof of the building.
“Will I be as big and strong as you when I’m grown up?” Billy laughed as he came over the edge of the building.
“You’ll always be petit, but if you live past your first century you won’t have to climb as many fire escapes,” Hank said.
“Petit, I like to think of myself as lanky,” Billy said. Then he ran and jumped to the next roof top, gliding in leathery wings that hung from his arms, roof top to roof top.
Hank shook his head and followed.
Ten blocks down, in the heart of Harlem, there was a scream. Billy skidded to a stop on a rooftop and Hank landed next to him quietly.
“Let the cops handle it, Billy,” Hank said.
“You can either stop me, you can watch or you can help,” Billy said as he jumped from the building into the closest alley.
“Damn it,” Hank looked over the edge and saw a woman being held by one guy, and another with a knife in front of her.
“Yer tears just turnin’ me on shorty,” the guy with the knife said giggling.
The guy holding her reached down and pulled her skirt up, “You built for speed, ain’t ya baby?”
Her mouth was covered by his hand, and she just cried as hard as she could hoping someone would hear.
Then the hand was gone from her mouth and her skirt fell back to where it belonged.
“What the fu—“ the guy with the knife tried to say, but Billy grabbed him by his neck and his nuts and threw him like a spear at a pile of garbage. The other guy was laying there unconscious.
“You okay, miss?” Billy asked keeping his hands up in front of him, shooing that he wasn’t holding anything.
“Lookout behind you!” The woman screamed as a tire iron came down at billy’s head.
The metal club stopped a few inches from Billy’s head, Hank’s hand wrapped firmly around the steel. He yanked it from the man’s grip easily, then backhanded the guy into the wall. He fell to the ground, knocked out and drooling on himself.
“That would have stung,” Billy smiled at Hank, “Thanks.”
“I should have let him knock some sense into you,” Hank bent the tire iron into a loop, and tossed it in a dumpster. Then he looked at the woman, “Take a hike and don’t talk about this with anyone.”
Her eyes were wide and she was shaking. She nodded slightly with her mouth open, turned on her heal and ran back to the street.
“You can’t tell me that wasn’t fun,” Billy crossed his arms.
“A little,” Hank said.
“I can see it in your eyes Hank, like a lights been turned on in a dark house,” Billy said.
“What are you Walt Whitman now?” Hank said. “Keep the waxing poetic to yourself.”
“Come on, be the Robin to my Batman?” Billy put his arm around Hank’s shoulder.
Shrugging the arm off briskly and pointing at Billy, “If you ever refer to me as your sidekick again, I will kick your manbat ass up and down the length of this city. Got that?”
Jumping up and down clapping, Billy said, “You’re in then?”
“I will make sure you don’t get your head caved in and that no one accidentally snaps a selfie with you,” Hank said. “For now.”
“Awesome,” Billy said and jumped up onto the nearest fire escape.
“This is still a bad idea and is going to have to stop at some point,” Hank yelled as he jumped through the air toward the roof top.
“But at least tonight we can put a few criminals in their place,” Bill said as he joined Hank. The two looked from the top of the building out over the city.
