The Book of Masks (Vol. 3)

The Special Mask

Previously: "The Lost Weekend" 

Will Patterson be pissed about what you did? Not a hard question: "Yeah, probably," you say. "But it'll be worse if he finds out and we didn't tell him." You shudder.

"Well, I'll leave it to you," Caleb says.

"It was your idea."

"You put the mask on."

"Alright, fine. Be a pussy. But don't think I won't tell him about your part in this fiasco." Caleb turns pink. "Come on, help me get changed."

Caleb puts your mask back on the golem, and the two versions of you struggle out of your clothes. That done, you replace your mask on the golem with Jeremy's. His eyes glitter darkly when he reappears. You frown at him. "Who's your master," you ask him.

"You are, of course," he says, but can't suppress a smile.

"Why don't I believe him," Caleb says.

"You calling me a liar, Johansson," Jeremy snarls, and grabs Caleb by the shirt.

"Let him go!" you say.

Jeremy snorts, but releases Caleb, and ostentatiously smooths down his t-shirt. "Sorry to rumple you there, Johansson, but I have to do what my master says."

"Wait downstairs," you order it, and with an ironical salute it exits your bedroom. "I don't believe it either," you say to Caleb. "If I'm its master, it would tell me I was. On the other hand, if I'm not its master--"

"--it might have been ordered to tell you it was," Caleb finishes your thought. "The golem is supposed to obey you, though."

"But we don't know how that stuff inside the mask works," you point out. "Just get it out of here. The less we have to deal with it, the happier I'll be."

"Yeah, that's gonna be fun, driving home with it," Caleb mutters. "Call me tomorrow?"

"After I talk with Patterson, yeah," you say. "And if I'm still alive," you glumly add.

* * * * *

"How are you doing with the Eastman job?" Patterson asks. "I hope you're not here to ask for my help."

It's Sunday afternoon, but you're not at the fuck room; Patterson, when you called, told you to meet him at his house. You're in the back yard, and he's tossing that baseball again, thoughtfully, from hand to hand.

"Not really, not yet," you say, swallowing. "Though it's kind of related. I need to talk to you about Jeremy Richards."

"What about him?"

"You told Caleb to use him to get to Jessica."

"And he got her. So what's the problem?"

"Well, he had a neat idea. I could also use Jeremy to get to an Eastman player."

"Makes sense," he says. He tosses you the ball, lightly and easily. "So why are you here instead of doing that job?"

"Well, I tried using Jeremy," you say, and toss the ball back. "Caleb and me figured it would be easiest if I put on Jeremy's mask. That way I could help him directly to get Eva, and then I could turn around and make a stab at an Eastman guy."

"You tried putting on Jeremy's mask?" he says, and his eyes freeze.

"Yep."

Too late you duck; the ball bounces hard off the side of your face, and the world briefly turns black and red. You yelp and nurse the side of your head. "Well, I see you got out from under it," Patterson says, and his tone is just as calm as before your confession. "What happened while you were under it?"

You glare, but master your temper. Fuck if you're going to give him that baseball again, and you make no move toward retrieving it. "Well, Caleb managed to get Jessica, you know. And he got the mask off me. But I don't remember being inside Jeremy. And Caleb says I was acting weird the whole time. Like I wasn't me."

Patterson puts his hands on his hips and sighs. "Yeah, okay," he sniffs. "I was going to explain all that after you did your fifth job. I was gonna bump you up to senior level, equal with me and Gordon, once you did that. But I guess I better tell you now. It's my own fucking fault," he mutters as an addendum.

He gestures you should throw the ball back. You comply, as he seems pretty calm.

"There's special stuff inside that mask," he says. "You can't wear it. No one can, except me. Anyone else puts it on, they forget who they are. It's just Richards, just like when the mask is on that golem."

"And he's your slave, even on a golem, right?"

He nods. "You got out from under it because I told Richards to play along with you, pretend you were still his boss. So don't go putting it on again. Also--" He glares hard at you. "Me and Gordon have masks too, and they're treated the same way. So leave them alone if you find them."

"But they're locked up, right?"

"Naturally."

"But anyone can get to my mask. Or Caleb's or Keith's--"

"Because you're junior," he says. "You get me three more masks, and then we'll put the same stuff inside yours."

"But until then ... Well, anyone can--"

"Don't you trust me, Prescott?" His smile is shark-like.

"What about Gordon or Jason?" you say, avoiding a direct answer to his question.

He snorts. "Gordon's more likely to prance around in a dress than to put on your mask. As for Jason ..." He sucks on his cheek and then shrugs. "I suggest you move really fast to get those three additional masks."

You grimace, then bend to open your back pack, which is at your feet. "Maybe you could keep it here instead of up in the fuck room?" you ask as you pull it from your bag and hold it out. He doesn't move, so you advance on him.

"Don't be a pussy," he grumbles, but then cocks his head thoughtfully as he looks down at it. "You put this on Richards, when you switched places with him?" You nod. "You put it on afterward, get the memories out?"

"It didn't seem like I needed to. Nothing seems to have happened while I was gone."

"Huh," he says softly. "Interesting."

"What's interesting?"

"Nothing," he says, then takes it from you and tucks it under his arm. "Anything else?"

"No. Except--" He cocks an eyebrow. "Except I don't know how to get at an Eastman player without using Jeremy."

He snorts, but looks thoughtful. "Tilley needs a new job," he says, more to himself than to you. "So does Johansson. I won't help you guys, but I don't mind you working together. It's a smart thing to do." He runs his tongue behind his lower lip. "Tell Tilley I want a copy of Seth Javits." You pale on Keith's behalf. "Tell Caleb I want a copy of Cindy Vredenburg." Why does Caleb keep getting the easy assignments? "You know your job. The three of you can help each other, and you can use any of the masks you've already got. You can pick up some blanks tomorrow after school."

"Keith finished his initiation?" you ask.

Patterson grunts. "Fast work, too. Not sure how he did it, because it was a hard one." A light comes into his eyes. "He may be smarter and gutsier than he looks." He smiles faintly to himself.

You know better than to ask for details. "Well, as long as everything's okay," you say. "I'm sorry about what we did, without asking."

"No harm done," Patterson says. He smiles, but you don't particularly like its color. "Tell you what," he adds. "Just to show there's no hard feelings, I'll do like you asked, and keep your mask here so Jason can't get ahold of it."

That's not unalloyed good news, but you thank him for it, and leave.

* * * * *

"Javits!" Keith screeches. "How the fuck am I supposed to get close to him?"

"You're not," Caleb chortles. "You just wait for him to find you for your weekly beating."

"Not funny!"

"It's all right, Keith," you sigh wearily. "That's the point of using masks. Obviously we'll get Cindy first and use her to get to Seth. Well, you'll use Cindy to get to Seth."

"Still not funny!"

"Will's right," Caleb grins. "And to get to Cindy we use some of the cheerleaders we've already collected. I call dibs on Jessica."

"I call Eva!" Keith says, not too distraught to think quickly.

They turn to you. "Kendra, I guess," you say.

"You could use Lisa," Caleb says.

"To quote Keith, 'Not funny'."

"What about Mansfield?"

You start to demur, and then pause. To get inside the head of your rival-- "What's going on between him and Lisa?"

"Last I heard, they were fucking each other. Ow! Stop it!"

You pull back, but don't unclench your fists. "I'm serious. You spent Friday night with Jessica. Did you find out if anything was screwy between them?"

"I thought you'd ask Eva while you were being Jeremy."

"Eva told me that Lisa is really upset with him," Keith volunteers.

"When did she tell you that?" you ask, swiveling on him.

He gets a stricken expression. "Um ... Friday night? She, uh, called me?"

"Since when does Eva Garner call you with gossip?" Caleb demands.

"Since when does Eva Garner think you give a fuck about my love life?" you ask.

"Well, I guess she thought-- You haven't got a love life!" He crosses his arms and glares at you.

You peer at him. He's been acting awfully weird since--

"If you're trying to cause trouble between them, go as Mansfield," Caleb says.

"If we're going as Eva and Jessica, you should go as Kendra," Keith says.

Next: "Who's the Mansfield?" 

*
"Table of Contents (Vol. 3)" 
"The Book of Masks (Vol. 3)"