The Daughters of Men

Chapter 19

The truck rocked back and forth as it sped along the road, making Holly hit her head against the side of the bed. She looked up, trying to place where she was, but was unsuccessful yet again. Holly was having a difficult time finding any signifying landmarks, so she settled for assuming she would not know until it was far, far too late. Next to her was Tanya, still unconscious, tied up and bruised. Holly wished she had been able to come alone, but this mysterious kidnapper did not seem to care an awful lot what it was she wanted.

Eventually, however, they did stop. The man turned the car off and got out, taking some time before opening the back of the truck and dragging Tanya out with a few internally-projected grunts. Giving himself a reassuring sigh, he hoisted Tanya onto his shoulder and slowly marched her away. After what Holly had guessed to be about fifteen minutes or so, the man came back and grabbed her ankle before sliding her out to the edge of the bed of the truck, and tossing her over his shoulder like a fireman. From her new vantage point she saw the large, abandoned building the truck was parked at, where the man walked straight through the doors as though he owned the place. There was a lot of large machinery around, though Holly could not figure out what it might have been used for. The man had walked across the entire length of the floor before turning to go down a long flight of stairs. Down the stairs, he went into an empty, brightly lit room where Tanya was tied to a chair. A second, empty chair was sitting next to her, and Holly was quickly put in place to fill it.

The man exited the room and came back shortly, placing a chair a few feet in front of Holly. He stared her down for a moment before standing up once more and taking the few steps to stand over her. With a swift motion, he ripped her helmet off of her head and threw it into the corner of the room.

"You're a girl," he grumbled.

"You don't seem that surprised," Holly noted, looking him over as he took a seat once more.

The man shrugged. "So, you're related to Roland Howl, is that right?"

"Who the hell are you?" Holly spat back at him.

"That's not how this works. I'm asking the questions."

"So my questions don't count? Good luck selling that."

Sighing, the man replied, "Alright, fine. Answer for an answer?"

Squinting aggressively, Holly took a moment before nodding her approval.

"You're related to Roland Howl?"

Holly nodded. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

The man shrugged. "I came to visit him once. I asked him for his help. He turned me down. He was the Black Hand back then and I didn't get the vibe he was willing to pass the mantle down to just anyone. Is he dead?"

"Yeah," Holly answered, her voice suddenly much quieter than before.

"How'd it happen?"

"No, it's my question. Who are you?"

The man took a pause, running his lip across his teeth before answering. "My name is Joe."

Holly frowned. "Joe? That's it?"

"How'd it happen?"

Rolling her eyes, she responded, "He went to try and take out this crime boss, Barrett. Apparently, he got a good lead and went in for it, but Barrett was waiting for him. As soon as he went in, he was ambushed and badly injured. So he came home, bleeding and almost dead. He was alive just long enough for me to dress the whole thing up like a motorcycle accident and tell me about his exploits as the Black Hand of Grand Rapids."