Pieces on a Board

   The headline had the effect Barker desired. From the morning press right to the eyes and ears of every resident in Urgway, and then, to everyone in Maharris. There were news broadcasts from as far away as Italina producing segments for afternoon unrolling. Barker sat back, feet crossed, and watched with glee. Several times he checked his watch, waiting on Vulpecula to call him with the shock of revelation. For hours already, he had been disappointed. There was no way Vulpecula still slept. Even in his drunkard states, he came in for work on time; when he showed up. 

   Barker checked the clock again. Still technically early, there was no need to get so anxious about everything. Sometimes things took time. Patience was something he strove for every day. Waiting for things to fall into place instead of stuffing them into areas where they did not always fit. Going blind into the fray was how his father had been caught. It was how Noel poked so many holes into the Canes balloon. Barker wouldn’t follow the same path. Even something so minor as a phone-call, he would wait for it to unfold naturally. It had to be Vulpecula who called him. If it was the other way around then it would all fall apart. He needed the emotion to spew from the white-haired fox in a way he had never seen before. Then, he could harness it and use it. Vulpecula had already suspected Norms. Had almost killed himself following the reporter. This was just the extra push he needed to jump overboard.  

   Barker rocked forward, drumming his nails against the table. With his other hand, he flipped the channels. There on one was the disheveled Logan Norms. His eyes were wide, his face a wreck of emotion, he hadn’t been crying but there was panic there. Barker turned the volume up, hoping to catch the interview, but the monitor clicked back to the host of the show.  

   “We are sorry for the colorful language provided there by our normal correspondent Logan Norms. There were some interesting tidbits to take away there. After the break, we will try to unpack what he had to say. Maybe we can get him calmer and try to get to the bottom of this.”  

   The commercials kicked onto the screen, knocking any hopes of enjoyment from Barker’s dreams. He checked the clock again. Not ten minutes had passed since the last check. Maybe the fox had been up late with a case.  

   Clicking off the television, Barker walked to the window behind his desk. Out there, the city was alive. The bustle of everyday still occurred even with the news. Conversation topics may have been different this morning, but the world still moved forward. Barker took a deep breath, refusing himself another glance at the clock. Instead, he chose to adjust his collar. Maybe a walk would do him well. Something to take his mind off the wait. With nothing else coming to him, he made for the door right as the phone rang.  

   “I underestimated you, it seems,” came the words from the other end of the line.  

   Barker didn’t have to play guessing games to know the man’s voice on the other side. Logan Norm’s sounded a bit high strung, but it was undoubtedly his voice.  

   “Not sure what you are talking about,” Barker said, feigning ignorance. Barker knew exactly what Norms pressed toward. It had, after all, been exactly what Barker wanted. Norms stumbling around with his high passion and making a mockery of himself. The reporter had shown his one flaw to Barker. It had been his inability to do anything without passion and derogatory language. Once outed, Barker had known Logan would make it worse by storming around from set to set. Now, the people would see Norms as the hothead he was. They would attribute every death in the last decade to the scathing reporter. Not because he had committed the crimes, although he may very well have, but because of the way he reacted to this very situation. Sometimes the court of public opinion was harsher than any court of law.  

   “You know exactly what I am talking about. Writing an article in my name is a clever tactic. One I didn’t plan for and I consider myself a man who plans for everything. Outsmarted by a mutt. What would my dear mother say? I bet she is rolling around in the grave I made for her. It is a shame really.”  

   Barker wasn’t sure what to make of the revelation. Had Norms just admitted to killing his own mother? Maybe Barker had misheard him.  

   “I am sure you are upset. If you didn’t write the article, just say so. You have a public platform. People will surely listen to such a sensible man like yourself. There is nothing to worry over. Now, if you do not mind, I am a busy man.”  

   Barker didn’t move to hang up. On the other end, Norms waited for the drop of the call. It was a game between them now. Who would break first? 

   “Do you fancy yourself a man of wits, Mayor Barker? Do you often find yourself playing a game of chess while the rest of the world plays checkers?”  

   “I don’t have the time for your riddles. I am truly sorry about whoever wrote the scathing piece on you.”  

   Norms pretended to not hear Barker. “Because, often I think about the world as a big board of pawns. There are no bishops, queens, kings for me to use. They are all pawns and they make me play the game without a real shot at making headway. How do you win a game of chess if there are no kings and queens?” Norms was louder than he had been before. The way his voice carried through the receiver almost made Barker think he had cracked. “There isn’t a way to win! Not if you continue playing the game by the rules. Then again, if there are no rules, how do you play the game? Do you see the issue here? Barker, do you see what I am saying!?”  

   Norms didn’t sound like he had a clue what he said. Barker wasn’t certain how he was supposed to get a grip on the mad ramblings.  

   “What do you want from me, Norms?”  

   Barker was curious why he had called. He hadn’t expected him to reach out. Every expectation Barker had thought of had Norms on every talk show throughout the day he could get onto. With the revolution letter, Norms should have been able to get on every news program from Urgway to Jalint. Yet, here he was calling Barker as if they were long lost friends.  

   “What do I want from you? To tell you that you played your king. I see him. There he is, sitting alone on the board. He is surrounded by my pawns. You see the difference between kings and pawns is a simple distinction. Most see it as terms of power. A pawn is weak and a king is strong. That is how most people play the game. However, not me. I see the pawn for what it really is. A sacrificial lamb. A scapegoat. Something to be sent out in the masses to draw the king from his castle. Then, with their overwhelming numbers, the pawns can attack the unprotected king. With all his power, he is nothing without the walls to protect him. The king will fall, and the game will end.”  

   More nonsense. Norms had cracked. Barker almost hung up. There wasn’t a point in continuing the conversation. He needed to talk to Vulpecula, not Norms. Norms had played his part in the plan.  

   “You have yourself a good day, Norms.”  

   Barker hung the phone up. Then, he stepped from his office and walked toward the elevator. He still planned to take a nice morning walk to clear his mind.  

* * * 

   Outside, there was still a nice, crisp morning air. The breeze awoke Barker’s skin and sent a shiver down his spine. The only thing he could think about the entire elevator ride down had been his conversation with Logan Norms. Ramblings of a madmen never made sense, but something caught him about the dialogue. It hadn’t been something completely insane. Barker did see the world as a game. To beat the game, he had to know the rules and understand where everyone would fall into place. Norms had said he stopped playing by the rules. Too many, that would make him a wildcard. A man without a sense of stability. Maybe that was what made him so dangerous.  

   Barker took to the first alley past his office. He hated walking in the crowds. People accosted him for the most mundane things. Fill a pothole, lower the taxes, change the menu of a local diner. People spent too much time thinking of the small things surrounding them and never enough about the bigger picture.  

   The sun dimmed behind the walls of the buildings. Somewhere in the distance, a homeless man grunted his displeasure at being intruded upon by the mayor. As soon as he saw who had awoken him, he would accost Barker for the few spare coins in his pocket. Barker gripped his wallet a little tighter in the front of his pants. He doubted the man would be brave enough to attack him, but there wasn’t a certainty.  

   Still, it was better to walk here with the slight fear than it was to walk out there with all the eyes and ears trying to catch him slipping. There wasn’t a friend to him on the streets. Many of them were more dangerous than a knife to the soft of his ribs. They were like vultures, always looking for the weak and carless. Barker wouldn’t provide them with a target. Right now, he was too busy thinking about Vulpecula and how he could get him to jump off the ledge.  

   That was probably why he didn’t hear the homeless man coming up behind him. By the time he noticed the sound, something hit him over the back of the head. Barker lurched forward, stars zooming around his vision. The already dark alley blurred when another hit crashed into the back of his skull. Barker tried to reach out for the wall of the closest building, but his depth perception was off without his vision. He tumbled toward the ground and hit it hard. His first thought was about his suit and how he had probably ruined it. His next thought was to turn around and kick his legs forward, trying to stop his attacker from driving a third shot into his head. There weren’t too many more of those he could take before he lost consciousness or something worse.  

   Turning as fast as he could, Barker did kick out. The laugh he heard as he did wasn’t that of a homeless man. It was the same frantic pitch he had heard from Norms on the phone call earlier. The man had waited for him to step from the office. How long had he been watching Barker?  

   “What are you doing?” Barker asked, his vision coming back to him slowly. Although the darkness of the alley played new tricks on his eyes.  

   “I am showing you how the game has passed you by. Taking you on a trip you never knew you needed. It will be good for you, Mayor. This will help you become a better man.”  

   Barker felt fingers dig into his shoulders and squeeze. The initial shock of pain made him wince. Then, he reached backward trying to swipe at Norms. The reporter was too fast, or Barker was still too dazed to make quick movements. It didn’t matter which it was, the result was the same. Norms waited for Barker to relax a smidge and came back at him again. This time, a rag moved over Barker’s muzzle.  

   “Take a few deep breaths. It will only hurt for a long time,” Norms said. The laugh that followed would have made Barker’s skin crawl if it hadn’t been for whatever Norms had coated the rag with. Instead of shivering, or any other movement, Barker’s body went limp. He didn’t pass out, but it was the same effect. His limbs refused to follow his orders. Barker watched Norms reach into his pocket and then, watched him pull the mobile device out from his jacket.  

   “Yes, hello. Is this Mayor Barker’s secretary?”  

   Norms had used his phone to call the white Maltese. Barker tried to scramble to his feet. He didn’t move a muscle. Norms had outsmarted him somehow. The mere thought of it made Barker’s temper flare. How could a reporter have done this? Barker tried his hardest to move, but his limbs only mocked his poor attempts.  

   “Yes, the Mayor has expressed his desire for you to return home for the morning. Said he was feeling generous and wanted you to have the day off.”  

   Barker could tell it took everything in Norm’s power not to let his laughter go. A moment later and the phone thudded back into Barker’s chest. Barker didn’t feel it. He felt nothing at all.  

   “She will be gone in just a moment. Then we can start to play the second round of the game. I do not think all our players are present yet. There is one more I would really enjoy having with us. What do you say? Should we bring in your last pawn to watch their king die?”  

   Norms licked his lips twice and then, let out the laugh he had been working so hard to hold in. Barker could do nothing to stop him from having his fun.  

* * * 

   Thirty minutes later and Barker was back inside his office. Norms had used the back entrance to the building and dragged Barker into the elevator. He had done so after expressing to Barker that the white-haired secretary had left her post. Barker wondered how, after all this time working for him, she had fallen for such a lame attempt at trickery. Maybe Barker had expected too much from her. Norms had lured him into an alley without him even realizing it. Why did he expect the woman to do any better than he had?  

    Norms tossed Barker into a chair down the hallway from his office. He closed the doors so no one else could join them unexpectedly.  

   “Do you ever get tired of this view?” Norms asked from the window behind Barker’s desk.  

   Barker still found it hard to move any of his body. His limbs and face were starting to tingle, and he supposed that was a good thing, but it was just as annoying at not being able to move or feel at all.  

   “Because, I do believe I would get tired of watching everyone who hated me moving about their daily lives. There isn’t a single soul down there who cares for men like you and I.”  

   Growing bored with the view, Norms turned back to Barker. He had yet to tie any bindings to Barker’s wrists or legs. Once the sedative wore off, Barker would be able to move. Once that happened, then, he would be able to get out of this unexpected predicament.  

   Norms ran his fingers across the top of Barker’s desk. Then, lifted his fingers and pretended to check the area for any signs of dust. Barker knew better than that. The secretary may have been too simple minded to understand a ploy when she heard it, but there was absolutely no way she would slack at her duties. Logan gave an appreciative nod as he placed his hands back into his jacket pockets. Barker tried to wiggle his jaw but couldn’t yet. The tingling had grown stronger and some feeling came back to him, but not enough to make a pounce.  

   Norms took a deep breath, checked the clock, and then, pulled out his own cellphone. Barker wasn’t sure what he had done with the phone he stole from his pocket. This phone was smaller than Barkers, but seemed to accomplish the same tasks. Logan’s fingers moved in a flurry across the screen before he stopped and nodded.  

   “Not much more time now. Do you think it would be fitting to chop off a king’s head? Like they did in the old times? It is grotesque, but hear me out.” Norms came fully around the desk and leaned against the edge. His body language implied he and Barker were having a normal friendly conversation. “It is dramatic and people like dramatic. I didn’t get my start in reporting until far after I started becoming loud. I wasn’t always so brute force. Once upon a time, I was a beat reporter for common crime.” Logan cleared his throat. “Logan Norms reports there has been an accident on I-Sixteen between a golf cart and a four-wheeler. We send it now back to the live coverage of two men playing with balls.” Logan laughed at his own interpretation of news.  

   Barker didn’t share in the mirth. Couldn’t have even if he had wanted to. The humor and joy seeped slowly from Barker the longer he sat in the chair looking at Norms. The man had one upped him. It didn’t happen often but here he was. Barker flicked his eyes to where he knew a secret compartment for a handgun lie in the wall. Norms would never be able to stop him if he could only move.  

   A crash came from outside Barker’s office door. Wanting to turn, but unable to, Barker instead watched Norm’s reaction. It was slower than normal. A person who wasn’t breaking down would have jumped at the crash. Maybe they would have run for the door to check on the noise outside. Not Norms. He merely looked perplexed. Then, he slowly pushed himself from the desk and walked toward the open door.  

   “Any early morning cleaners I had not expected?” 

   Barker could only hope one of his detectives had come in to speak with him. It was likely the only way he would get out of this without a scratch and his head. No matter how smart he thought himself, there wasn’t any outsmarting his numb limbs.  

   There wasn’t another noise for some time. Logan’s tense shoulders relaxed, and he turned to Barker, still in the chair and still numb to the world.  

   “Drafty air pipes?” 

   Norms expressed this as a question. Barker couldn’t have answered due to his frozen jaw. He wouldn’t have had time to answer anyhow. The crashing sound of a body hitting the floor alerted Barker that someone else had come into the room. His emotions flared. There was someone here to save him. Without being able to turn and see his savior, he had to wait for them to make their presence known. It took a moment and it felt like a lifetime.  

   “Did he really believe I would be so naïve? I have been with you for almost two years. In that time, you have never mentioned reprieve, rest, or vacation to me in any way.”  

   Barker would have chuckled if he could have drawn in enough air. The white-haired secretary came closer to him, looking for ties. He wouldn’t be able to tell her it wasn’t a physical bond holding him back. She would get it soon enough. Barker tried his hardest to move and felt the tip of his paw twitch.  

* * * 

   It took another thirty minutes for Barker to regain enough strength to move his limbs. Even then, it took the help of the white-haired secretary to get him to his feet.  

   “What should we do with him? Should I call for the units to come pick him up?”  

   Norms lay crumpled on the floor. His arm draped over his head and his legs were contorted in a not too comfortable position. When he woke up, he was going to have a splitting headache. It served him right. Barker would have liked to have done something more to him, but the white-haired secretary didn’t know the dark secrets of Barker’s profession. For now, he had to keep it that way. She may have been protective of him, but he doubted she would take his secrets to the grave.  

   “Leave him for now,” Barker said.  

   Clear confusion spread over the lines of her face, but she didn’t argue.  

   “Where are we going then?”  

   Barker let a weak smile reveal his canines.  

   “I need someone else to find him here.”  

   This was the opening he had needed. Norms hadn’t meant to give it to him. Logan’s plan had been something more self-beneficial. He had messed up by thinking himself too witty. Or maybe he had messed up by assuming Barker was a better person to his secretary than he actually was. Either way, he had messed up and Barker would take advantage of it. Plans weren’t always fool proof. Even Barker was apt to make a few mistakes along the way. It would be how he reacted to those situations that would make him.  

   “Should we take you to the hospital?”  

   Barker needed to stay. He had to be here to make the presentation complete.  

   “No, I will be fine. You go make sure no one gets in Vulpecula’s way when he gets here. Clear the offices and send the men away. I want no audience when he arrives.”  

   Being his secretary had created a lot of weird requests from the Mayor, but this was easily the oddest. To her credit, she didn’t balk at the order. She sat him down again in the chair, and then, darted through the doors to the elevator to comply.  

* * * 

   It took a couple of kicks to awake Logan from his unplanned nap. When he did wake, he did so with a groan. The white-haired woman may have been small, but she seemingly packed a heavy swing. Moving his hand to the back of his head, Logan checked for blood or a knot. Barker didn’t see any blood, but he was sure there was a good welt back there.  

   “Good of you to come back to the land of the living,” Barker said.  

   Before kicking Norms, Barker had retrieved his hidden gun from the wall. Barker had faith in his ability to outwit and wrestle Norms if it came to that. Having the gun just made sure he had an insurance policy in case he was mistaken.  

   “I didn’t realize you had a bishop left on the board,” Norms said. His voice cracked, but he didn’t sound upset. There was still the high-throated squeak of excitement there.  

   “Note of advice, when playing on another team’s homefield, watch for preorganized advantages. You had your time though. It was short and sweet. Fate has other plans for you and so I do.”  

   Norms’ eyes flicked to the wall clock behind Barker.  

   “Almost time,” Norms said.  

   “Good,” Barker shifted to let him have a full view. “You complete what you think you must. I will not impinge upon it. I am a spectator here for the show. No longer a fixture in the game but a bystander ready to watch who wins and loses.”  

   Norms pushed himself to a seated position. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone. Flipping it open he dialed.  

   “Hello, Vulpecula.”