Notorious Nineteen

happened I was in a truck in Afghanistan.”
    “Lesson?”
    “The divine intervention that showed me the penalty for Ranger’s sin. The day the devil was allowed to visit me.”
    I could feel goose bumps break out on my arm and a chill slide the length of my spine. As a bounty hunter I’ve come into contact with a good number of unhinged souls, but there was an otherworldliness to Orin that I hadn’t seen before. A total detachment from reality that could only be described as cruel serenity.
    “We were under fire and the truck took a hit,” Orin said. “The impact was so violent the truck was tossed into the air and came to land in a field. There were five of us in the truckand everyone but me was blown to bits. Nothing left but bloody body parts. As it was I lost my foot.” He raised his camo pants to show a prosthetic. “That’s how I was identified as dead. Nothing left of me but my foot.”
    “But you didn’t die.”
    “I’m not allowed to die until Ranger and Kinsey die. Only part of me burned in the explosion. The rest of my mortal body is waiting.”
    “Why weren’t you found with the rest of the men in the truck?”
    “I was captured and caged. After years of imprisonment, when I realized my purpose for living, I escaped. I inched my way out of the Middle East, to Europe, to rehabilitate myself enough to complete my mission. And here I am.” He said this very matter of fact, his hands folded in his lap. “Imagine how saddened I was to learn that Ranger and Kinsey had infected two women with their evil. Although in a way it enhances the process for them. They’ll have the additional agony of knowing someone they loved had a painful and early death. Perhaps it will save them from eternal hell. So you see I’m not actually a zombie. I’m an angel.”
    I was sure he believed it. He believed everything he said. The whole crazy jumble of devil and divine intervention and abandonment.
    “I’ve brought this fire starter,” he said. “I thought I would burn you a little at a time. Let you enjoy the pain. Allow youto see your flesh blister and melt away. I don’t want to go too fast and rob you of the experience.”
    “I could help you,” I said. “Counseling, drugs, a religious advisor, a girlfriend.”
    “I don’t need help. I’m in a good place. I just need to finish my task. It’s taken me years to get to this point. It’s all I’ve worked for.”
    He grabbed my ponytail and set fire to it.
    I shrieked and tried to jerk away but he held fast. I smelled my hair burning, felt the fire burning my neck. And over my shrieking I heard someone pounding on my door, ringing my doorbell.
    “I hate this sort of distraction,” Orin said.
    He yanked me up by my hair, shoved my head under the faucet, and turned the water on to put the fire out. He went to the door and looked through the security peephole.
    “It’s a man,” he said. “Tell him to go away.”
    I went to the peephole and looked out. I’d expected to see Hal but it was Brody Logan. “Go away,” I said.
    “I want Tiki. I got a bad feeling. Tiki’s sending out weird vibes. I want to see him to make sure he’s okay.”
    Orin had me by the arm, squeezing hard enough to bruise.
    “Go home,” I said to Logan.
    “I don’t have a home.”
    “Then go to your tent.”
    “No way. I want to see Tiki.”
    “Help!” I yelled at the door. “ Get HELP! Call the police! Get the Rangeman guy! ”
    Orin grabbed me by my bound wrists and threw me across the room. He opened the door, yanked Logan inside, closed and relocked the door, and drew his gun.
    “Dude!” Logan said, eyes wide.
    I struggled to my feet, got a running start, and head-butted Orin, knocking him to his knees.
    “Do something,” I shrieked at Logan. “ Do something! ”
    Logan went spastic, arms flailing, feet not knowing which way to move. He spotted Tiki in the kitchen and lunged for him, lifting him off the counter, wrapping him in his arms.
    Orin stood and pointed his gun at Logan. I knocked into Orin again, jostling the gun, and Orin drilled two rounds into Tiki.
    Logan let out a roar and charged Orin, bashing him in the face, using Tiki like a battering ram. Blood gushed from Orin’s nose, and Logan immediately rammed Orin again, catching him square in the chest. I heard something go plink onto my tile floor. I looked down and saw that it was a pin to one of the grenades. Time stood still for a moment while we all stared at the pin.
    Orin grabbed at