Guilty Eye

Chapter 8

We quickly came to a sliding stop while at the same time Portia fired one shot at the hulking Jerima.He dropped to the ground and cursed, grabbing his shoulder. We turned and ran past a few doors before stopping in front of a brown door with a white cross painted on it.

I tried to open it and failed. "It's locked."

"Hurry up,Ba Blessed, he's getting up." Portia panted beside me and ,sure,as I followed her gaze, I saw Jerima struggling to his feet, a grim look of determination on his face.

With that incentive, I barged my shoulder into the door.It held but my injury did not. Pain ripped through my leg and I stifled a cry. I stepped back and hit the door once more. It broke open.

We stumbled into the room and quickly shut the door,looking around the dimly lit room for something to hold it closed.

My eyes took a moment to adjust to the semi-darkness, but when they did, I could see we were in a high ceilinged room with brown walls and a dozen or so wooden benches arranged in two rows. The only source of light was a thick candle set on an altar at the far end of the room. Beside the candle a wooden cross stood, apparently fixed to the altar.

While I was taking this in, Portia was pulling a bench to the door.

"What are you doing? Who are you? " A voice startled us.

It came from the altar. I looked closer and saw a figure in a long dark cloak kneeling.

"Get up and keep your hands where I can see them." Portia ran towards the altar, her pistol ready.

The figure rose and turned to look at her. It was a priest. He was about five feet tall and had a deeply lined face.

"You are trespassing in the house of the Lord. " His voice sounded weary."

"Well, if you could just show us another way out we will be on our way." Portia lowered her gun.

The priest shook his head,his face becoming more lined and more weary. "My children, the only way out of this holy place is through the door you just barred."

He paused as booted footsteps sounded in the corridor outside. "But I guess that's no option for you." He finished in a loud whisper.

"Shut up!" My wife hissed venomously.

I slowly turned to face the door. The footsteps were getting closer.Apparently our pursuers were trying doors as they moved along the corridor. I was frozen to the spot in indecision.

What now? Oh,for Christ's sake, can't I catch a break,for once.

"Ba Blessed, move!" Portia's half-whisper snapped me out of my self pity.

I limped to where she crouched behind an overturned desk. I could see her beautiful face twisted in a frown. "You're limping, what happened?"

"Long story," I muttered, trying vainly to sound nonchalant. "Let's get out of here first, and I'll tell you about it. In bed."

She grinned, nudging me on the elbow. "Naughty boy,Richie. Very naughty."

And I smiled,despite the pain. It is not every day my wife calls me by my first name. As you might have noted she almost always addresses me in the culturally acceptable way as "Ba Blessed" which means "Blessed's father".

" Oh,how adorable, my children." The priest coughed pointedly. "But I think you should concentrate on the problem at hand."

At that moment there was a loud crash and the door opened slightly,pushing the heavy bench a few inches. Portia raised the gun over the edge of the desk and held her breath, waiting.

Another stronger crash, the door opened wider,revealing Jerima and another similarly dressed man with a silenced pistol.

Two shots in quick succession close by scared me and the priest out of our respective skins.

Portia jumped up and ran to the door where the two men lay."Don't even think about it,"I heard her say.

Cautiously, I peeked over the edge of the desk and gasped. Jerima lay still on his back,his mouth twisted in a frozen grimace. A dark line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth to form a pool on the floor. His comrade was writhing in pain as he clutched his bleeding elbow.

"Clear!" Portia called out.

As I rose from our makeshift cover ,I saw the priest crossing himself and mumble a prayer that sounded like a sigh of tiredness.

"Is he dead?" I asked.

"Yes,I believe so." Her voice was cold.

The priest kept muttering ,"Madre Dios.Oh,oh madre Dios."

"Hey, shut it!" Portia rounded on the priest and he visibly shrunk.

"B-but you ki..."

"I said shut it,Father!"

The way she said it reminded me of our first meeting thirteen years ago...

...I was part of a six man team investigating the abduction of her father,Wicknell Percival who also happened to be the CEO of Real Giant Security.

Portia had taken a special leave from Bhagabha Barracks where she was stationed.

When she arrived she found our team without any clues and she immediately took charge.

She was a no nonsense,fiery and smart woman with a sharp tongue...

"...call the cops," her voice broke through my reverie.

"Huh?"

She rounded on me, her eyes cold, drilling through me for a moment before she blinked once and sighed.

I pulled her into a hug and felt her ramrod stiff body relax. "It's going to be fine, babe," I whispered into her hair.

She straightened up with a small smile. "We need to call the cops."

"Of course," I said,putting a hand into my pocket and pulled out Inspector Tsono's business card. "Let's call this one."

Author's note

Thanks for reading.

Votes and comments appreciated.

Peace,

Joseph