The Big Enchilada

partner who understands you.”
    “It has been a most successful arrangement.”
    “Until tonight.”
    “Until tonight. Now I must leave.” He paused and stared off into the distance before he continued. “That is all right. It will be good to go. It feels right. I would have liked to leave with more, but I will have enough for my purposes.... I will go to some Latin American country, I think. They understand there that some men are set apart from others—that power must be exercised. Yes, it will be fine.... You will help me, won’t you?” He smiled confidently at me.
    I smiled back at him. “I’ll help you—right into the slammer.”
    His smile faded. “What do you mean? You agreed—”
    “Too bad. You see, I don’t really give a shit about the heroin operation. I think it’s a dirty way to make money, but I’m used to dirt.”
    “Then what—”
    “It’s the girl. The girl you killed. The girl whose death gave you pleasure. The girl whose name you don’t know. Her name is Linda Perdue. She’s the daughter of a friend of mine. She’s the reason I’m going to bring you down.”
    “I do not understand. She was nothing. She was a tramp. She probably would have been dead now anyway.”
    “She was the daughter of my friend.”
    “Do you want more money—money to give to your friend?”
    “I should take all of your money, and then still turn you in, but I won’t. I’ll just turn you in. And I’ll feel good doing it.” Acker’s mask of icy control cracked. His face contorted into a grimace of anger and ferocious hatred. Foaming saliva appeared at the edges of his mouth. “You’re all the same,” he screamed, his pale blue eyes rolling in their sockets. “All the same! You try to bring me down because I am too great. But you cannot do it. I have The Power, and The Power is supreme.” He ran to the wall and pulled the four-foot-long broadsword from its cradle. Oh, shit. Holding the heavy weapon overhead with both hands, he ran at me. “You will pay the price! All my enemies will pay, and you will be first.” I could have pulled my gun and plugged him cold, but I didn’t. It would have been too easy, too impersonal. I wanted Acker’s blood, but I wanted to taste it. I wanted to hurt him in a way that he would feel the pain for the rest of his life. This was for Linda... and for me.
    The sword came down toward me with enough force to split me in half, but it was slow and I easily stepped aside. The sword hit an end table, splintering it. The weapon was sharp, all right.
    I looked around and spotted something. I grinned. It was a weapon amusingly called a morning star. Before Acker could make another charge at me, I removed it from where it hung on the wall. It was heavy in my hand. The steel ball weighed about five pounds with two dozen sharp spikes sticking out of it. It was attached to the wooden handle by a short heavy chain. Fuck! Acker had gone back seven hundred years and taken me with him.
    I swung the ball in a slow circle, backing Acker away from me. His eyes gleamed feverishly and his lips were pulled back in a snarling smile. The goddamn maniac looked pleased that I too had a weapon.
    He circled me cautiously, but the small room did not provide much space to maneuver in. He feinted once and then slashed at me. I backed up, but tripped over a footstool, and the blade caught me on the arm, tearing the sleeve of my jacket but only grazing my skin. At the same time I swung the mace and it hit him on the side of the upper leg, cutting through his robe, pulling it open, and digging into his flesh. A long gash appeared that soon welled up with blood. Acker looked surprised and put his hand on the wound. His fingers came up red. He uttered that same metallic giggle I heard when I entered the apartment.
    “Blood. Purifying blood,” he said, and giggled again.
    Suddenly he ran at me, catching me off guard. His leg shot up and kicked me in the ribs, knocking me off balance. As I stumbled to the side he closed in on me, preparing to bring the blade down on my neck. In desperation I yanked the ball from the floor in an upward arc. It caught him square between the legs, crushing his testicles and ripping them from his body. Dark red blood spattered the floor. An animal groan rose up in his throat. He clutched what was left of his bleeding balls.
    He advanced toward me with the sword held straight out in front of him, the sharp tip gleaming dully as it approached me. I tried to back