01:06
Episode 1: The Original Blueprints
Part 6
“”This isn’t good,” said Ned.
Violet and Ned stood on Independence avenue, next to Ned’s car, watching a young giant and a small, rat-faced man enter Dr. Swanson’s house.
“That’s Carl The Rat,” said Violet. “He used to be a soldier before my uncle cut him out.”
“Whose the muscle?”
Violet shrugged.
“Don’t know. Must be new in town.”
“You think we’re all here for the same thing?”
“Maybe,” said Violet, “or maybe they’re here for us.”
The pair walked along the side of the house and into the back yard. From there Violet could look in through a kitchen window. Inside she saw Carl pointing a pistol at a man who looked very much like Cary Grant. She watched Carl make the man walk in front until they disappeared behind a door then heard one muffled gunshot and another. Carl and Benny reappeared without the man and left through the front door. Ned had not seen anything and now stood behind Violet, holding a tiny pistol inside his jacket.
“Did they just shoot the doctor?” he asked.
“That’s what I’m guessing,” Violet answered.
She heard a car drive off and tried the door. It was unlocked and they both went in.
“Go look upstairs,” Violet told Ned, “I’ll check down here.”
Ned disappeared up the stairs while Violet searched the main floor looking for anything out of the ordinary. It was just another suburban house with too much cheap furniture. She went into each room, opening drawers, turning over furniture and generally destroying everything. She found nothing of value. The single odd features were three photographs over the plaid couch in the main room. Each one featured a group of people dressed in lab coats standing in front of what looked to be a covered corpse on an operating table. In the final one the corpse and the table were gone and a teenaged girl stood at the center of the group.
There was a girl’s scream from above and Ned shouted for someone to stay down. Violet raced up with her thirty-eight drawn. Upstairs Ned stood with his pistol pointed down at a dark-haired girl and brilliant purple eyes who cowered on the floor. Violet recognized her from the photos downstairs.
“Don’t hurt me! Don’t hurt me!” The girl whined. Her arms covered her head.
“Who the fuck are you?” asked Violet.
“Found her in the bedroom,” said Ned.
“Where’s – where’s my dad?”
Violet hesitated. The girl was about the same age she had been when she was attacked, and suddenly Violet felt sorry for her.
“Ned let her up. She’s just a little girl.”
“No. I think not,” said Ned. “I think I aught to bring her downstairs and kill her next to her father.”
Violet came up close behind Ned and held her pistol to his neck.
“Ned, let the girl up. She’s harmless.
Ned didn’t turn around and he didn’t lower his pistol. He kept the gun and his eyes fixed on the girl.
“If we leave her alive she’ll tell the police we we’re here and then they’ll come looking for us for that corpse in the basement. Kill. Her. Now.”
“Corpse?” the girl shrieked. “Is my dad dead? Who are you?”
Violet said nothing. The girl’s purple eyes stared into hers, unflinching. Violet cocked her revolver.
“If you kill her Ned, I will cut off your head, boil it down and use your skull as a pencil cup. Put the gun away.”
Ned put the pistol back in his pocket then turned to face his partner.
“You can’t protect her and yourself, Violet. This won’t end well.”
“Protect me from what?” the girl screamed. “Where’s my dad?”
Violet swung the thrirty-eight down to the girl’s head.
“Shut up. Your father is dead. I don’t want to kill you but shut the fuck up.”
The girl started to cry. In between sobs she murmured “Oh fuck, oh fuck,” over and over.
Violet holstered her pistol and turned to Ned.
“There’s nothing here, nothing really unique. I’m thinking Carl got it.”
“Well shit. Now we gotta kill Carl.”
“Saddle up then. We can still chase him down.”
“And her?” Asked Ned. “You can’t seriously trust her not to talk.”
Violet sighed. It was obvious that Ned was right, but her tattered soul screamed for her to spare the girl.
“Not here’” she told Ned. “The bullets won’t match. Do it when we find Carl.”
Ned pulled the girl up by her arm.
“Up!” He told her. “We’re goin’ for a ride.”
“I – I can help you,” the girl stammered. “I know where the thing is.”
“What thing?” asked Ned, “What is it?”
“I don’t know w-what it is. My dad built it. It’s across the city, in a house over in St. Paul.”
“Great,” Ned said. “Give us the address and we’ll leave.”
“I d-don’t know the address …”
“Oh that’s just perfect,” groaned Ned.
“… But I can find the house when I see it.”
Ned took out his pistol once more, pointed his pistol at the back of the girl’s head and cooed “I’ll help you remember.”
“Put it away,” Violet demanded. “She comes and no shooting.”
“Not a good idea. We can’t keep her alive.”
“I’ll take her,” Violet assured him. “It’s just a drive across town.”
“On a motorcycle? If Carl sees us leaving he’ll follow. He might have back-up. You can’t protect her. I’ll take her.”
Violet shook her head. “You’re one of the people I’m protecting her from. She rides with me.”
The wail of sirens sounded in the distance. Violet glared at Ned. They both grabbed the girl and bolted down the stairs and out into the back yard.
“What’s your name, girl,” Violet asked her as they ran.
“Laurel. L-laurel Swanson.”
“Keep your head down Laurel and you’ll get out of this okay. I promise.”
As Violet and Laurel climbed on to Violet’s motorcycle Ned shouted to them.
“Milk run, huh?” and climbed into his car. They left.
A fox’s muzzle pushed out of a low shrub in the corner of the yard — far enough so the fox’s eyes were visible. The fox watched the trio drive off and then emerged. As it came into the open, the fox-shape melted and stretched until it stood on the shady lawn as a very angry Brenda Kitsune. She held out her left hand palm up and flicked her right hand over it. A phone appeared and she lifted it to her ear.
“Carl,” she barked into the phone, “Guido Capagio’s daughter just left the house with a girl. Get the girl and bring her to me. Oh, and Carl – get the boys and tell them it’s open season. Anything goes.”
Brenda ended the call and threw the phone over her shoulder where it disappeared. She snapped her fingers and her body melted away until a raven hopped in the grass where she had stood. The bird spread its wings and turned its head to admire the change and then leaped into the air to fly after Violet and Laurel.
