(A drug dealer is cursed with a twist on the Midas touch)


Empty beer bottles littered the off white carpet, now stained in half a dozen places. Cain's latest party to attract more business from the University had been profitable. A collection of glass pipes cluttered the living room coffee table, each one stained dark from burn marks. From his recliner Cain watched a number of sleeping tweakers on the down side of a weekend binge.

He never relied upon tweakers like he did the guys he grew up with. With Play Station controllers at their command these two shorter than average best friends of his would not have impressed anyone. But they certainly made an impression if anyone was foolish enough to threaten Cain.

'Hey.'� Eddy and Jorge turned away from the bloody abuse perpetrated by their Mortal Kombat characters on the big flat screen. 'Which one of you wants to drive out to pay a visit to the cooks?'�

'I'll do it.'� Eddy let his controller bounce on the couch when he stood up. 'I'm getting tired of Jorge kicking my ass.'�

'You must get tired a lot,'� said Jorge.

'Ha. Ha. How about you start kissing my ass instead?'�

'That would take all night, Wide Load. Besides, Cain wants to go now.'�

'That's enough,'� said Cain. Kidding was common between them, but Cain knew that Eddy was sensitive about his weight. He couldn't allow them to turn on each other after the three of them had spent so many years protecting each other. As far as Cain was concerned these two were better than any family he'd ever known. Now, no one dared to say a word against them. It was their turn to be on top and it felt damn good to be there.

'Do you have to go?'� Shadayva massaged Cain's shoulders. He liked the feel of her long hair lightly brushing the back of his neck almost as much as he did the pressure of her breasts bumping against him.

'Yeah, honey,'� said Kaisha, 'you haven't decided yet which one of us you want to spend the night with.'� She handed Cain a fresh beer and then used the same hand to stroke the taught muscles of the forearm he was using to grip the bottle. He gave Kaisha a once over that stopped at her lips. She might not be as filled out as Shadayva, but the fullness of those lips made up for it.

'Maybe I'll choose both of you." That sounded real good. Nothing compared to two at a time. But first things first. "It all depends on what kind of mood I'm in after I deal with the cooks.'�

'Word is,'� said Eddy, 'that the cooks are holding back on you.'�

'The word is what I say it is.'� Cain stood and adjusted the mini Glock that he always kept tucked inside his jeans. It seemed to him that once he'd made it to the top there was always someone trying to drag him back down again.

He and Eddy got into the Acura waiting at the curb. Cain put his passenger window down so that he could enjoy the warm summer night. That's when he heard Father Diego.

The old priest had been around ever since Cain could first remember. Heavy black robes covered the wrinkled skin of his body. A look of disapproval--that would not die until the priest did--shadowed his face. Father Diego stood on the steps of Saint James pointing a wizened finger directly at Cain.

'Woe to you who loves the wages of wickedness! Blackest darkness is reserved for you.'�

'Damn. How can you put up with that?'� asked Eddy.

'I just do. Who cares about a crazy old man,'� Cain lied.

'You shouldn't have to listen to that.'�

'No one says anything to my mother's priest. You got that?'� Eddy's hand tightened on the steering wheel and Cain could tell that he'd offended the big man.

'I was just thinking that the disrespect was bad for business.'�

'Don't worry about him. He's too old to be around much longer.'�

The road out of town to reach the cooks was a twisted route mostly avoided by the cops. They almost never patrolled the logging road that branched off into the hilly countryside. Twenty miles rolled past the odometer before they entered the scrub brush valley occupied by a trashy Volkswagen van.

He knew it was the right place when he saw the Red Brothers peering out from the other side of the VW. Little Red and Big Red lowered their guns when they recognized the car. What they differed in size the Red Brothers matched in hair color and swastika tattoos. But they no longer used the same recipe that once kept Nazi pilots awake during World War II.

'What are you doing all the way out here, Cain?'� Little Red wiped something onto his already stained blue jeans when Cain and Eddy got out of the Acura.

'I brought some extra ice to cool down the reaction.'� He motioned for Eddy to open the trunk.

'We got plenty.'� Big Red pointed to a scratched Igloo cooler.

'Where's the finished product?'�

Little Red nodded his head toward the van. 'Why?'�

'Cause I'm taking it!'�

'But we haven't finished with the whole pound yet,'� said Little Red.

'I'm done doing business with a couple of cheats.'�

'Cheats!'�

Cain threw himself behind the right front wheel well of the car when the guns pulled level again. Loud blasts announced the metallic hailstorm into the hood of the Acura. It was just the distraction that Eddy needed.

It took Cain a second or more to pick out the steady blat from the Mac 10 that Eddy pulled out of the trunk instead of ice. By that time Cain had the Glock out and firing. More staccato firepower from Eddy produced a grunt from Big Red near the van's back bumper. The cook crashed over, taking out a number of glass beakers, decanters, and round bottom flasks.

More lead punctured automotive glass before Cain had a chance to get into a better firing position. Up until then he'd only been dumping blind shots over the top of the hood. He hugged around the corner of the front bumper. That's when Cain saw Little Red dashing to get behind the van. Cain's bullets chewed into the meth cook's spine and the glassware scattered around him. It only took one round to flash fire the red phosphorus that Cain had failed to notice.

***

'Just lay there, man. I'll get us home.'� Cain heard Eddy's voice from a long way off. He barely felt the sway of the wounded Acura. His mind drifted and he wondered about the creeping ache in his hands and face. It felt like the slow burn of a charcoal barbeque.

***

Cain woke to 8:00 p.m. displayed in red on the bedroom digital. He pushed himself out of the bed to find a bathroom mirror.

The face filling the reflection hadn't changed too much. The light brown hair bore a few scorch marks, but the rest had been spared. It was the flesh that caught his attention. Not flash fried as expected--Cain's skin held only a tinge of redness--but rubbed raw.

What he couldn't see he felt below the surface. For a brief moment the searing tingle flared into a fiery scald. Then it eased to leave him with a persistent ache. Even his fingertips felt fiery when he pressed them against the bathroom counter top. He yanked them back to see his fingerprints on the surface as clearly as when the police rolled his prints after each arrest.

Cain counted himself lucky that it hadn't been worse and he went in search of the others. They awaited him in the living room, the big screen blaring out a music video that Eddy muted at the sight of him. The big man's face also held some redness. Kaisha rushed to his side.

'I'm so glad that I got to see you before I leave.'� Kaisha planted several kisses on him and the needles penetrating under his skin caused him to jerk back. 'What's the matter, honey?'�

'Just a little tender.'� He popped his grinding teeth open long enough to say it.

'I'm sorry, baby,'� said Kaisha.

'Yeah, my face burns some too, but I had the trunk lid protecting me,'� said Eddy.

'I hope you both feel better by the time I get back,'� said Kaisha.

'What?'� asked Cain.

'Daddy's retirement ceremony.'�

'Yeah, Cain,'� said Eddy, 'after tomorrow he won't be able to come blow our asses away us with a tank.'�

'He wasn't a tank commander, silly,'� said Kaisha. 'He was in the Special Forces. Anyway, I'll be back in a couple of days. Shadayva, don't let Cain forget about his mamma's birthday tomorrow.'�

'Don't worry girlfriend. I'll be taking care of him both tomorrow and tonight.'�

'Just save a little somethin-somethin for me when I get back.'� That started a low ripple of giggles.

'You don't worry either, Jefe. I'll drop Kai off at her parent's while I check on our friends in the city,'� said Jorge.

'Sounds good,'� said Cain. He watched them leave before sitting heavily into his recliner.

'You look tired,'� said Shadayva.

'A little, but mostly I'm just hungry.'�

'Good. I got you some Taco Bell. Then after that I'm hoping that you won't be too tired for us to have a little fun.'� She gave him a wink and then brushed up against him on her way to the kitchen. Cain was a little hesitant because of the way his face and hands were feeling, but he figured the distraction would be worth it.

***

By late morning the next day Cain felt much better. He wasn't sure if it was from Shadayva's attention or the good night's sleep. He showed his appreciation by slipping out of the room without turning on the light.

Cain looked through the house and found Eddy's note about taking the truck to the pharmacy to get some sunburn cream. He hoped that Eddy would bring back enough of whatever he got for the both of them.

He eventually found the keys to the Honda that Jorge had replaced the damaged Acura with. They were buried under a dozen plastic baggies still containing a light dusting of crystal flakes. Cain also found the necklace with the silver dove and hoped his mother would like it.
Gulping down the last quesadilla Cain wadded up the wrapper and pitched it into the garbage to rest next to the others from dinner. He paused when he noticed the other Taco Bell wrappers riddled with holes. He was still thinking about it when he left for his mother's place.

When Cain turned the Honda out of the cul-de-sac he saw Father Diego standing in the same spot on the church steps. And though part of him resisted it, Cain lowered the window.

'You are a brute beast, a creature of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed. For the sake of your mother turn back.'�

'What the hell?'� Cain jabbed the brakes and looked back, but could no longer see the priest. He stuck his head out the window. 'Leave my mother out of this!'� The front of the church remained empty.

Cain drove forward again and by the time he pulled into his mother's retirement complex he had replaced the tension from Father Diego with the same restlessness that he always felt every time he visited his mother.

He knocked on the olive green door that opened to his mother's scowl.

'It's about time, boy.'�

'Sorry, Momma, I've been busy.'�

'Too busy for your own mother?'�

The visit proceeded as usual after that. And though she brightened at the sight of the dove necklace, she still managed to bring out all of her old gripes. She asked about his classes at the University, oblivious to the fact that he'd dropped out over a year ago. As usual, she also complained about the foolish mistake she made by letting his late father choose his name. His mother's alternate of Gabriel had never stuck. He endured the visit into the late afternoon until announcing that it was time for him to leave.

'Aren't you going to give your own mother a kiss goodbye?'� She offered him that same sunken cheek, age spotted and withered. He knew that this ritual was important to her, for he had been her last hope of having a child before she turned fifty. Now he was all that she had.

Cain pressed his mouth against the wrinkled surface, feeling the limp flesh against his stinging lips. He left before she could offer another complaint about why he didn't visit more often.

It felt good to have the birthday visit behind him. Despite his mother's nagging he still felt a desire to be a good son. That's why he always made sure that her bills got paid every month.

Cain tightened again at the sight of Father Diego as he rounded the corner. This time he quickly rolled the window up. He regretted that the entrance to the cul-de-sac passed right in front of St. James. Maybe he would have to consider doing something about that old man after all.

The truck was still gone and Cain wondered why Eddy hadn't come back yet. He hurried through the house clicking on light switches and calling for Shadayva. There was no answer until he got to the bedroom.

In the light from the hallway he could still see the lump of her body under the covers. Now, he no longer cared whether he woke her. Besides, it was almost dark outside.

'It's time to get up!'� Cain flicked on the light and froze at what he saw laying in the bed.

The covers had partly melted away. In dozens of different places shiny white glistened back from the glare of the overhead bulb. The white protruded through Shadayva's dark skin and it took Cain a moment to recognize it as bone. Skull, jaw line, ribs, thighs, and fingertips escaped gleaming wet out from where the flesh had melted. His once gorgeous Shadayva wallowed in a sunken mattress that sponged dark from her blood.

Cain stood unable to think. The fiery stabs in his hands and around his mouth intensified as he focused on them. He realized that his side of the bedspread and pillow were just as devoured. Not clawed or ripped, but eaten away. And there, on the floor, his clothes from the day before, riddled with holes in the same pattern as on the bedding and the food wrappers.

He turned his palms upward to see them glisten with a milky tinge. The clothing he had on bore the beginning stages of the disintegration in front of him.

Questions began, but were forgotten just as readily when he remembered his mother.

He drove way too fast, despite the risk of being stopped by the police. Cain blew by Father Diego, finger pointing back at him, words unheard. He didn't arrive nearly as quickly as he wanted to. When his mother failed to answer Cain kicked in the door. The inner door jam cracked down the middle to shower splinters from the forced deadbolt.

Cain found his mother in the recliner where he'd left her. The tan material had soaked a darker color, forming almost a blackberry stain. It had all dripped out of the hole bored through the same cheek where he'd kissed her. The gap exposed glistening teeth. He left, unable to bear the sight of it and still not wanting to believe that he had been the cause.

Neither did he want to return home, but he needed to know what had happened to Eddy. He noticed that Father Diego wasn't in front of the church when he drove by.

Relief flooded him when he saw Eddy's truck in front of the house. He rushed inside expecting to find Eddy and instead found a digital photograph of Jorge. On the kitchen counter it sat, framing a body drained of its former color except for a garrote line around the neck.

'Oh God, what now?'� Cain spun at the sound of movement in the hallway. A short-barreled shotgun pointed at him under the face of Kaisha's father. The man's graying eyebrows and crew cut framed the storm in his contorted face.

'I don't know what you sick bastards contaminated my daughter with, but she'll be the last one.'�

'Get down, Cain!'� Eddy's voice came out of the back bedroom. The shotgun erupted in that direction even as Cain threw himself behind the kitchen counter. Then the shotgun ripped into the thin paneling in front of Cain. Buckshot tore into his right leg though he barely felt it.

Cain pulled himself over the linoleum until his Glock pointed around the lower end of the counter. He squeezed off shots'the older man caught in the cross fire between Cain and Eddy--until the slide locked back empty.

'He's dead, Cain.'� This time Eddy sounded weak.

Cain realized that his right leg wasn't hurting. He swiveled to look back at it and wiped away the blood covering his calf. The hole from the shot looked healed over. Reaching for the counter with his left hand, Cain pulled himself upright and discovered that both legs equally supported him.

Only a slight limp persisted during his journey toward the hallway. Kaisha's father lay bleeding from numerous locations. Cain saw Eddy not far behind, his friend's left hand restraining the innards threatening to escape the hole in his belly. His right hand held the Taurus revolver that Cain had seen him use many times before.

'What was he talking about, Cain?'� Now that he was closer he could see the sores all over Eddy's face. They were far worse than anything that Cain had ever seen from meth use. It was like the skin couldn't hold together anymore.

'I think we brought something back with us from the lab.'�

'Then why doesn't your face look like mine?'� Eddy's voice came out like he was trying to hold his breath.

'I don't know, but I can feel it under my skin.'�

'I don't want to die like this.'� Then Eddy stopped breathing.

The abrupt end of a siren broke Cain's attention from his dead friend. He limped to the front window for a peek and immediately spotted the bodies in dark blue uniforms approaching the house and realized that he had to get out.

Cain scooped up the shotgun. Then he pushed his way through the back door.

He met the night and sought escape into the growing shadows. Once in the alleyway he paused to listen. Cain heard the jingle of keys on a duty belt and knew that at least one of the cops was moving around to cover the alley. His only hope was to clamber over the chain link fence at the rear of the property directly across from him. The three feet of height provided little difficulty other than the awkwardness of holding onto the shotgun.

Cain heard a radio squawk and knew that the next street over also had a police perimeter. He could only move parallel by crossing backyards. A few yard debris obstacles slowed him some, but his eyes finally adjusted to the dim. That was when he saw the pit bull. It nearly got close enough to sink fangs into him just before he canted the shotgun and pulled the trigger.

Sparks of light spat out of the point blank discharge and wet mist spat back. The dog didn't have time to yelp or make any other sound at the moment of death. All it could do was drop.

A half dozen shouts responded, feet pounding pavement and other sounds of movement increased toward Cain's position. He sprinted away, dodging from one yard to the next until he had to stop behind a shed to catch his breath. Only then did he recognize that the outbuilding stood behind the Parish house for St. James. Father Diego stood in the open back door, silhouetting bright light.

'The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.'�

'Shut up!'�

Cain knew that it was the wrong thing to do, but he couldn't help himself. The light eclipsed when Father Diego shut the door. The sound from Cain's voice and the closing door became a cop magnet.

The light temporarily destroyed Cain's night vision, tripling his panic at the echoes of approaching officers. He fired the last two rounds from the shotgun. The accompanying flashes drew pistol fire into him. Cain felt the collisions all over his body until he fell.

***

Cain floated face up in a soupy mixture the consistency of mucous. People in white lab coats ignored him as they monitored flashing and toning equipment. No one would speak to him despite his shouts until all of the lab coats had left and the lights dimmed low in the windowless room.

It gave him a long time to think about what had happened. Too long. He floated, grieving what he had lost and wondering what newly found power he had gained. Whatever had happened, he vowed to maintain control of what was left of his life.

Only much later did a voice speak directly to him from a speaker in the ceiling. He ignored the greeting.

'What am I doing here?'�

'This is a research facility for The Center for Disease Control. You were initially declared dead, yet somehow you managed to revive during shipment. Once they determined your level of toxicity they turned you over to this department.'�

'Which department?'�

'Department of Defense. This is an opportunity to serve your country.'�

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