The Woman They Kept Read Free

and
stood, eager to be away from the small but persistent woman. He
began to walk toward the stairway when something grabbed him, he
looked back and the woman was holding his hand. “Please,”
she said, her eyes quivering with what might have been fear. “I
can't get a drink and not bring anything back to the house. They'll
make it bad for me. Let me do something for you, anything.”
    From the cage Gideon saw the
final seconds of the fight as the man swung a hard right into the
wolf's jaw with one hand and following with a karate chop to the
throat. A high pup-like whelp went out from the wolf and it
collapsed to the ground. The fighter raised a foot high to finish
it off and Gideon turned back to the girl. She looked young, and
frightened, a shiver running down her arms. He pulled out another
few notes and gave them to her.

    ...

    It was still early enough in the
night to get out to the Bloom house, so Gideon took the rail again.
As he watched the city once again pass under him he wondered how
many places in Kitswitch were involved in this. Hopefully not more
than two.
    The houses grew larger as he
neared his destination. By the time the rail stopped he was in a
section of the city where every house had a wrought iron fence
around it, sometimes taking up the entire city block. He walked
until he got to the Bloom house, daunted by the impressive amount of
security cameras mounted around the place. There was one right on
the front gate with a button under it that said, 'Push to talk.'
Gideon pressed it.
    “ I've been directed here
for a bit of business,” he said into the box near the button.
There was no reply, but there was a buzz and a snap of the gate
opening. He entered the complex and the gate shut behind him, a
sudden hum coming from it that dimmed the lights from the path.
    He walked the stone path that
cut through the grass. The house was Gothic, the roof peaking
sharply into the air and peppered with stone gargoyles glaring down,
the windows arching high, giving the place a very foreboding
feeling. If Gideon were a child he would think that the house was
haunted.
    A short man met him on the steps
of the house, he wore a set of gold spectacles that he pulled off
and polished as Gideon approached. His hair was combed back in a
pronounced widows peak almost as sharp as the spires coming out of
the roof. He did not smile as Gideon approached.
    “ Hello, my name is
Bertrand. You have come to see our wares?” he asked
cordially, bowing slightly as he spoke.
    Gideon nodded and Bertrand
opened the door for him. The doorway opened up to a cavernous hall,
their footsteps echoed loudly as they walked. There were couches
around for sitting and the corners of the room all had statues of
various Abrahamic figures, cherubs and demons, carved in great
detail. There was a second floor that twin staircases ascended to,
but Bertrand took Gideon to a side door instead, holding it open for
Gideon. It led to a small room with a pair of golden doors on one
wall. Bertrand pulled out a key from his pocket and fit it into a
keyhole next to the doors and the sound of an elevator approached.
When it opened Gideon hesitated for a moment.
    "You guys are pretty lax on
security here, aren't you?" Gideon said before stepping into
the elevator.
    "Are we?" Bertrand
said with a smile as he joined him. On the inside of the elevator
there were no buttons, just a pad that Bertrand placed his thumb
against. "I think you'll find that we are more than well
equipped for our purposes."
    Gideon had no clue as to how far
underground they were going, though they seemed to be traveling
quickly. “Are you Bloom?” Gideon asked as the elevator
descended.
    “ No sir. There is no
Bloom. I am simply a middle man for someone who would rather not
put his face forward. It is safer this way.”
    “ For him anyway,”
Gideon said. Bertrand simply smiled at him.
    The elevator doors opened to a
room equally as cavernous as the great hall, but instead of