Fiction Friday: Veniamin Makes His Mark

Part two in a set of stories about Veniamin Kovalenko, the detective/fixer I’m playing in a Dresden Files RPG. Ryan very astutely noticed that I am hesitant to throw my characters into conflict, so I thought I’d work on a situation that pushed Veniamin a little further then “Oh no, will he like this delicious cup of coffee?” It turns out, I had a lot of fun with this — expect to see him getting pushed around a little more often!

Veniamin wasn’t sure if the man he was following had spotted him or not. He had made sure to keep a respectful distance, look as casual as possible, even stare down at his phone every now and again. Still, he was closer than he would have liked to be. He couldn’t help it — his night vision wasn’t too great, and the scents of downtown San Francisco were so overwhelming they made his nose useless. He was just going to have to rely on his weaker senses for this one.

The man walked with his head down and collar up, obviously trying to render himself invisible, trying to pass himself off as just another person shuffling his way from A to B. His gait was long and true; he walked with a confidence and awareness of his surroundings that marked him as someone who knew a thing or two, if you knew how to read body language. Venimain did. His family expressed themselves largely through movement, and over time he developed a sixth sense for that kind of thing.

He slowed down and looked at the phone he held in his hand when the trenchcoat half a block away shifted and the hat above it turned in his direction. This was a residential neighborhood, one of the few that non-technical workers could afford at this point, and it would be obvious that there was nothing of interest for him here. He doubted his mark would believe a feinted look around, at a street sign or one of the barred doors that kept residents safe this time of night. So he scrolled through his apps without looking at them, trying his best to keep his ears trained on his quarry.

After a few seconds, he looked up to see the trenchcoat break into a run. He cursed under his breath and tucked his phone into his pocket, taking a step in pursuit.

Another man appeared in front of him from an alley. Veniamin stopped short to avoid running into him. Before he knew what was happening, the man pulled a gun from his short leather coat and squeezed the trigger.

The bullet punched his shoulder and spun him to his right. He felt the joint crack, then his arm go numb. As soon as he realized what had happened, he felt his senses go dim — like his nose had been stuffed with cotton, like he was listening to the city underwater. The slug burned the blood that had welled up around the wound. Silver. This guy was using silver bullets.

How did he know? Veniamin had just enough time to think this before he dove behind a set of stairs. Another bullet whizzed past him; he could feel the displaced air ruffle his hair. He fell back into a forward-leaning crouch by instinct. He had only bought himself enough time to prepare for the next attack.

He leapt as soon as he saw the man in the leather jacket round the short flight of wooden stairs, crashing into the center mass with his good shoulder. His long legs provided good propulsion, and he had put on enough weight since coming here that the impact would be more than enough to knock this guy off his feet. Veniamin tried to ignore the way the jolt reverberated through his wounded arm, or the feel of another shot grazing his arm just above the elbow. It opened a line of broken skin that blood welled and seared along the edges.

Veniamin’s momentum carried him and his attacker into a parked car, which rocked under their combined weight a moment after he heard a window shatter behind him. The bullet that had just missed him went wide and into someone’s home; if the sound of three gunshots weren’t enough to get someone to call the police, the sound of breaking glass almost certainly would.

“Stop firing!” Veniamin hissed. He tried to pin the man against the car with his good shoulder, but his momentum made it easy for him to be rolled off to the right side. He flipped until his back was against the car, adjusting his weight to make another leap at the man. Probably sensing this, Leather Jacket took a few steps back and swung the revolver up into the space between them with both hands.

Veniamin stopped. He might be able to rush this guy, but not without taking another bullet. The pain had settled into a deep throb that rung through his clavicle, down the numbness of his right arm and forced tension in his neck and jaw. He wasn’t sure if he was light-headed from the sensation or the lack of blood. He was sure he didn’t want to get shot again.

“All right!” He put up a hand and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to push the pain aside. This guy wasn’t supposed to kill — or at least, he didn’t want to — because if he did there would have been nothing stopping him now. Veniamin had to assume this was meant to scare him off the trail. He had to be honest, it was a pretty effective maneuver. “Just…stop. The cops are going to be here any minute. Say what you’ve got to say so I can get out of here.”

Leather Jacket shook his head, rolling his shoulder, taking a slow half-step forward. “No they won’t. We’ve got enough time to tell me why you’re following Sgt. Schraeder.”

Veniamin blinked. He didn’t know what to say here. If he told the truth and he was talking to a corrupt cop, he’d probably come off as a threat and maybe the guy holding the gun would feel justified in shooting him right here on the street. He wasn’t a good liar, though, even in the best of situations. Nursing a bullet wound wouldn’t make him any more convincing.

“Would you believe me if I told you I was hired by a jealous wife?” He tried to smile through his grimace, but it only made the joke seem weaker.

The man in the leather jacket snorted. “Well, you tell your ‘jealous wife’ that there’s nothing going on and you’ve decided to drop your investigation. Because if Schraeder calls me again, the next bullet is going right between your eyes.”

He stepped forward and pressed the still-warm muzzle right against Veniamin’s temple, erasing the safety that distance had provided him. Worse, in his pressing of the advantage, he had revealed himself to be a grade-A asshole.

Veniamin didn’t hesitate. His left hand came up under the man’s right arm and swiped to his left, hard. He ducked down to avoid the gun shot, felt the back window of the car explode against his neck and skull. He slammed into the man’s stomach, driving the breath out of him, and brought his head up to slam against his chin. He felt his crown force the man’s jaw closed, snapping his assailant’s head back and forcing him to the ground. Veniamin took a couple of steps forward and slammed his foot down on the man’s right arm. He cried out, but his hand opened up to release the gun.

“You’re assaulting a police officer!” The man croaked.

Veniamin’s anger flared, and he put more weight on his foot. The man cried out, and a brief, weak sense of satisfaction rose between the painful throbs in his shoulder. “I’m giving as good as I get. A police officer shot me, point-blank, without cause. I’m merely defending myself.”

“Fuck you.” The police officer spat. A glob of saliva flecked the ankle of Veniamin’s suit pants.

He snarled, unable to help himself, and bent down to grab the man’s wrist. He brushed the gun aside and yanked up sharply, moving his foot up the arm to keep the man’s shoulder in place. There was a satisfying pop and a scream that cut through the sudden explosion of pain that spread over Veniamin’s torso. “Tell Schraeder that he has my full attention now. And I will find out whatever he’s up to. Make sure he knows that when I’m through with him everyone else is going to know too.”

He dropped the arm, letting the man go to curl around it on his side. He started walking, briskly, towards the end of the block. He turned the corner before he grabbed his shoulder, leaned against a wall, and groaned loudly. Now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off, the pain felt like it had moved into his bones. He felt weak, and cold.

Veniamin glanced at the street sign. Who did he know in this neighborhood? Didn’t Marian live here? What would she make of him showing up at her doorstep after midnight, covered in his own blood?

He blinked a few times as the sidewalk grew hazy and the street light dimmed. It didn’t matter what she would make of him. He had to get off the street, and he had no other place to turn. That bullet needed to come out. He needed to shift. And all of that needed to happen very soon.

Veniamin groaned as he pushed himself off the wall and stumbled into the night, gripping his shoulder. Even with his dimmed hearing, he could hear the wail of sirens coming closer.