The Cold And The Dark: Four stories of Kaijus, Giant Mechs, Girl Kings, and Hollow Earth by James R. Tuck

Author:James R. Tuck [Tuck, James R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blammo! Books
Published: 2019-06-05T06:00:00+00:00

2

Detroit, Michigan 1978

The old beater shuddered to a stop outside the gates. All the parts of the heap stayed together but they complained about it in a rust-on-rust whine. A uniformed beat cop pushed off the metal gates to the stone fence, head down to cut the glare of the headlights that bathed him in cream-colored light. He walked over briskly and leaned into the open, driver's side window. His eyes lay in their sockets, flat as the feet in his department mandated footwear.

"Jim, you just can't do this." The beat cop's voice had a brush of Irish to it.

The man behind the wheel filled the seat, thick afro brushing the headliner that drooped. His anger pushed against the cracked windshield. A brown polyester suit crumpled around him, one shade lighter than his skin. He didn't look over at the cop, eyes laser-locked on the house that sat up the hill a quarter mile on the other side of the gate. His hands clenched the steering wheel so hard that they pulsed with each heartbeat.

The beat cop pulled his cap off, running his fingers over the fifty-cent brush cut underneath. He tried again. "Jim-"

"Don't 'Jim' me, sucka." Jim Magnum's eyes cut over at the cop. "Why are you here by yourself?"

"The Chief thought you might listen to me."

"Just cause we used to walk the beat together don't mean shit, Donno. You shoulda told him."

"I tried."

Jim glanced in his mirrors. "Where's your back up?"

"It's just me." Randall 'Donno' Donovan leaned in, putting his arms on the window of the car door. "The Chief thought that if we cordoned off the house with a regiment you'd come in shooting. Believe it or not, he doesn't want you dead."

Jim laughed, the sound barely making it out of his chest. "Martens knows me better than you. He knows I wouldn't shoot at cops. I may not still be blue but I still be true. He wants me to go in, wants me to put this bastard down so his lily-white hands can stay clean."

"It's not like-"

"Shut up, fool," Jim growled. "All this jawin' and what do you think is happening to those little girls at the hands of that sick twist."

"You've got no proof."

"Don't need it. I ain't a cop anymore."

Donno reached for his sidearm. "I'll stop you."

Jim's arm shot out, grabbing the regulation tie Donno wore. Everybody else wore a clip-on, not wanting a noose around their neck if they got into the mix with a criminal, but Donno was a straight arrow, not an ass kisser, but never an order questioner. The rule book said no clip-ons and he never wore one. Yanking the tie hard slammed the beat cops head into the door frame. His eyes crossed on impact and his hand slipped off his service revolver.

Jim shook his head. “You should've brought back up.”

His foot dropped on the accelerator like a rhino on a skating rink, sinking the pedal to the floorboard. The engine roared, then caught, jolting the car forward in an elephantine leap, two-tons of Detroit iron charging like a mad beast.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.