Confession of a Henchman

Part 2

In a pouring rainstorm, I went to the address. It turned out to be near the docks of the Tower River. Rows and rows of abandoned factories until I found the right one. Could've found it even I hadn't gotten the address. This one was painted with rainbow colors that still shone through the dirt and grime. A huge clown head leaned over the roof, smiling down at the darkened neon sign that read, "Funny Face Toys, Inc."

I couldn't believe it. I mean, the most notorious clown in the country is hiding in a warehouse with a clown head on it? Could he be any more obvious? If I was the Undertaker, the first place I'd go would be to all the clown-related buildings in the city. I started to wonder how Giggles got such a reputation as a criminal genius.

Even so, I went to the front gate. The chain link fence had a rusty gate that hung open. I squeezed through it and made my way to the warehouse. It was nasty. Had to go through an empty parking lot with weeds growing in the cracks.

I knocked on the huge gate. Rust flaked off and turned the water streaming down it as red as blood. Banging scared the crap out of me. Thought the cops would come flying in any minute.

The door opened a crack. The muzzle of a gun pushed through the crack to aim at my head. A deep voice growled, "Password."

At the sight of the gun, I froze, but managed to blurt, "Popcorn."

A moment passed, and I could hear whispering inside. The door slammed shut. It opened again.

"Get in here," the voice growled.

I hurried into the factory with rain pouring off my clothes in waterfalls onto the floor. I was so busy shaking water off my clothes and hair that I didn't notice who stood in front of me.

He was a clown. I guess I should've expected that, but it was still a bit of a shock. I've never been scared of clowns, but I was scared of him. He was huge, well over six feet. He had on a clown outfit, but it would've made any kid start crying. It looked grimy and had weird stains, and looked so tight that it'd bust open if he tried to breathe. His face was painted white and red, but was streaked and uneven with pink skin showing in the creases. My heart jumped into my throat at the thought that I was facing Mister Giggles, but I remembered his mugshot on the news, and this wasn't him.

Behind the big clown, five other guys stood with guns in their hands, held casually but ready to fire. They dressed up as clowns, too, but not like the big guy. They wore simpler outfits and had the front of their faces painted in scrawled lines that only vaguely resembled clown faces.

"You Jake Coleman?" the big clown rumbled.

I could only nod.

The big clown looked down and made a note on a clipboard in his hands. "Okay, that's the last of us. We can get started."

The big clown held out his hand. "Name's Reggie. But when the boss is around, call me Jester. Ever do any henching before?"

I shook his hand. It felt gritty from the gloves. "Nope."

Jester headed off through the grimy factory floor. His heavy footsteps echoed through the cavernous building. "Well, it's nice work. I been doing this ten years. Worked for all the biggies. Ended up sticking with Mister Giggles. Plans a job better than anyone I know. Always a big payoff, rarely any trouble with cops. And when there is, he can usually handle it. He's a little nuts, but trust me, they all are, even the ones that look straight. Gotta be to do what they do. But you got to follow the rules."

The factory felt dead and cold. A huge pile of stuffed animals like birds and puppies stacked up against one wall. Conveyor belts threaded through the factory, all now still and silent.