Alpha Male (12 page)

"I wish you wouldn't call him that."

"What else are we gonna call him? You can't be a superhero and not call him a damned supervillain."

*****

Eddy chuckled with glee as he examined all the money in the bags before him. The duffels had been unzipped, and the over packed contents were now spilling out onto the floor. He grabbed a stack of bills and flipped through it, his eyes growing wider. Placing the money beneath his nose, he inhaled deep.

"Jon, you did a great job," he said turning to the boy behind him. Jon didn't move, but grinned at the compliment.

"I couldn't have done it without your plan," he said, both hands behind his back.

Eddy walked over and hugged the boy, patting his shoulder. Xavier and Keen stood behind Jon. Both were smiling as Eddy brought them both in for a big group hug. He kissed them both on the cheek, and pulled away, wiggling with excitement.

"We are in business now," Eddy said, holding the money up above his head. "Where is Al?"

"He's down in his room, resting," Xavier said. "That thing he does really takes it out of him. I think Ivy is down there taking care of him."

"Yeah, I think she's got a bit of a crush on him," Keen replied, with a smirk.

"Good. Maybe she'll be able to help us keep in him line," Eddy said.

Jon’s lips began to curve into a frown, but he caught himself. "I don't trust him," he said.

"None of us do," Eddy said. "But he's our best weapon against those assholes up there!"

*****

Ivy knocked on the hard iron door that lead into the small storage locker where Al had made his home. The sound of her knuckles hitting the metal was dulled, but Al's voice came from within.

"I want to be left alone," he said. She peeked in the room and saw him lying on a cot, his arm draped over his eyes.

"It's me, Ivy," she said.

"Oh, hey," he said, looking at her. "Come in, I guess."

She stepped over the raised threshold. Inside was the cot and some bare metal shelves. Circular lights covered in hard metal mesh lit the room with a dull yellow light.

"I brought you some stew," she said, placing the bowl on the ground next to him. "It's not very good, but it's alright."

"Thanks," he said, staring at the ceiling.

"You OK?" she asked.

"No, I don't think I am," he said.

"It's your friend isn't it? Larry, right?"

"I killed him," Al said, turning towards her.

"You can't blame yourself," she said. "These powers…Who knows where they came from. It's not your fault you can't control them."

“I…just leave me alone, OK?” he said and rolled over on his cot to face the wall. She lingered for a moment, unable to find the words, then left; storming out of the small room.

Chapter Thirteen.

"You know, now that I've had time to think, I can't figure out why she gave me this case," Reedy said, and took a sip of his coffee. He reached across the table and grabbed two sugar packets from their holder.

"They didn't give you the case," Vaughn said, before a large bite of his mayonnaise filled patty melt. "They gave me you, and gave us the case."

“Can you not talk with your mouth full?” Reedy asked, blocking the view with his hand. “All that mayonnaise in there is giving me the creeps.” Vaughn smiled large, exposing his food covered teeth. He swallowed it with a swig of his coffee.

“Look,” Vaughn said. “I’m pretty good at this stuff. I’ve never been given a supervillain case before, but I know what I’m doing. If there’s a lead to find, we will find it.”  

"I don't know if I want to find it. I almost died the last time I found that asshole." Reedy took another drink of coffee and held it in his hands as he stared out the window for a moment. "My wife, she's ready for me to retire, but what else am I going to do?"

"I've lost one wife to this job already, and the other threatens it quite often" Vaughn said with his mouth full. "Problem is, I still love both of them. You sure you don't want to eat anything? It'll help you out in a few hours when there's only stale donuts to eat."

"Yeah, that's a good point," Reedy said, picking up the menu. "Jesus, can you believe this shit? The Alpha Meal? It’s nothing but a patty melt with extra mayo…” Reedy looked up at Vaughn who was stuffing the last bit of his breakfast into his mouth, and shook his head  

“What? It’s good,” Vaughn said. “Don’t act like you’re too good.”

“You know, it’s not that,” Reedy said. “It’s just all this Alpha Male shit. People fucking worship that guy! I mean literally. Have you been down to that church on Miller Street?”

“That place is the worst,” Vaughn said, wiping his mouth. “All those people in ceremonial masks. It’s amazing what passes for a tax exemption these days.” With a casual glance, he signaled the waitress who was at a nearby table. Vaughn took his finger and pointed towards Reedy.

The waitress walked up to the table sporting her small notepad and pen. The hard life she had lived was written on her face in the deep lines that gathered at the edges of her mouth and eyes. Her age was masked by the sad expression that deepened her eyes with puffy bags and sagged her lips into a permanent frown.

“You change your mind honey?” she asked, staring at Reedy.

“Yeah, I’ll take what he’s got,” Reedy said.

“You got it,” she said, writing on her pad and walking away.

“So, where do we start?” he asked, looking at Vaughn.

“I don’t know,” Vaughn said. “I’ve already combed over the place where you got hurt. You know, the guys said the place was clean. No fingerprints, no nothing.”

“That’s weird, right?” Reedy asked.

“Oh yeah, very weird,” Vaughn said.

“Ok, so who would benefit from wiping a scene clean like that?” Reedy asked. “Other than the perp, of course.”

“I don’t know,” Vaughn said. “Someone with connections would have to do it. Or someone very sneaky.”

“So, we have zero leads,” Reedy said.

“Not necessarily,” Vaughn said. “We have a superpower perp. Let’s start with Alpha Male. He knows a thing or two about superpowers.”

*****

Rose sat at her desk, looking across at the man sitting in front of her. She was sitting up straight, shoulders back, and her chin tilted slightly up.

"I'm not asking you to do him in, Rose," the man said, with his fingers interwoven in front of his mouth. "Just show him the ropes. If you don't, we'll have to find someone who will."

She exhaled, and said, "OK, I'll give him the warning."

"Good," he said.

"You know, he's probably the only person who can stop this guy," she said.

"I know," he said, leaning forward. "That's why having him under control is so important. The people are getting scared. They need to see a clear distinction between their hero and villain.”

“Things have been calm for years!” she said. “You can’t just dump this on him because things went wrong a few times.”

“Yes, we can,” he said, getting up. “If it doesn’t fall on him, it falls on us. Right now, the public is screaming for his blood, not ours.”

He pulled the door shut and her head went into her hand as the lock clicked in place.

“God damn it.”

*****

Alpha held up his champagne glass as the entire room toasted his presence. The mocha skinned woman on his arm placed a red lipped kiss on his cheek. He smiled, picking her up with one arm and planted a larger kiss on her lips. Her legs went up as they embraced and the toast turned into a cheer.

“Thank you everyone,” he said, putting the flustered woman down. “But, we aren’t here to celebrate me. Not exactly, anyways. We are here tonight to celebrate a wonder artist, my personal favorite, Francisco Frazetta!”

The short man standing a few feet from Alpha bowed, grinning. Behind him was a statue covered by a white sheet. “I’m sure I am your favorite artist since you are my favorite subject. Tonight isn’t just about a gallery opening. It’s about years of work coming together. A culmination of effort that has coalesced into something bigger. Something greater. Tonight, I give you, Alpha!”

Francisco pressed a button on the wall, and all the around the room, white sheets began to rise, exposing the paintings beneath. The last sheet to ascend was the one on the statue. Beneath was a marble likeness of Alpha Male, posed in flight. Everyone clapped, while Alpha and Francisco just smiled.

After the unveiling, everyone dispersed to admire the different works around the room. Champagne was offered by men and women in suits, while the onlookers discussed their various interpretations on each piece. Alpha made one walk around, giving each painting of himself a moment’s reflection before moving on. It wasn't long before he was on the roof, looking out at his city.

"Is everything OK?" his date asked, approaching from the stairwell.

"Ah, yeah," he said, not turning. "I just got a lot on my mind right now."

She placed her hand on his shoulder and came around to look him in the eye. He turned his head to her with a frown on his face.

“Look, whatever you are about to do, don’t,” he said. “This mask is a barrier you will never get through, OK? So, just don’t.” He turned back towards the city and watched the cars pass by. She sneered and stormed off, slamming the stairwell door behind her.

Alpha levitated off the roof, then took off. He soared through the buildings, always keeping a keen eye on the streets below. The people of his city appeared nervous and uneasy as he watched them, constantly glancing over their shoulders, and jumping at loud noises. Things were simpler when there wasn’t a supervillain to be afraid of.

Alpha watched as a young man in a black leather jacket ran down the sidewalk with his hands full of stolen merchandise. The guy dodged around the pedestrians, desperate to keep a hold of the goods held tight against his chest. Alpha swooped down, diving in towards the thief with a satisfied smirk.

“Good, something to do,” he said.

The runner turned his head, just in time to see Alpha. He dropped everything he was carrying. A purse, a laptop, a portable stereo, and a watch, all hit ground. Broken plastic and electronics were scattered across the sidewalk as he sprinted away. The thief collided with a man on his cell phone, but didn't stop. He didn’t even turn back.

"Watch it, you prick!" the man said, looking back as Alpha swooped over his head.

Alpha was closing in on the thief right when he turned into the closest alleyway, forcing him to turn around to maintain pursuit. As he came into the narrow passage, the flash of muzzle fire lit up the dark area. The repetitive roar of machine guns pumping out bullets echoed against the brick walls. Alpha was blind and deaf as a barrage of projectiles pelted him.

His arms went up to protect his face, but the place went silent. Lowering his elbow, Alpha peeked around his hand. The white of the flash remained in his vision and he couldn't see the sledgehammer coming at his face. It slammed into his temple, the wooden handle cracking apart, and knocking him off balance. The metal clanked against the concrete.

Alpha took a dazed step to the right. Stumbling with his arms out, he felt the next blow crack against his head. He went down to one knee, but saw the approaching shadow. His vision began to clear up, and the ringing had dulled enough for him to stop the oncoming attack. He blocked it just in time. As he rose to meet the man with the axe, a low growl came up from his throat. Alpha yanked it away with no effort and snapped it in two. With the handle, he smacked the man in the face, rendering him unconscious. The only sound he heard after that was the man hole being replaced.

The alley was empty, save for him and the limp man at his feet. Blood ran from the man's mouth and a few teeth had landed on the ground nearby. Alpha exhaled his anger and frustration, then walked over to the manhole. Pulling up the cover, he was hit in the face with a powerful explosion. The force pushed him back through the wall and into an apartment living room. The sound of two people screaming could be heard upstairs.

Alpha lifted his head, but couldn’t hold it up. It fell back against the brick and mortar. He exhaled deep and said, "Damn it."

Chapter Fourteen.

"So, was it money well spent?" Eddy asked as the small group of men wielding submachine guns entered the chamber.

"The guns all worked, but they didn't faze him much," said Xavier. He pulled off his mask and ran his fingers through his drooping mohawk.

"Yeah, the sledgehammers seemed to do the most damage," Keen said.

"Yeah, he got Bobby though," Xavier said, his chin low. "We rigged the cover, and it blew up in his face, but we aren't sure how well that worked either."

"Poor Bobby. I guess a few losses are to be expected in the beginning. Do you think he can keep his mouth shut?"  Eddy asked.

"He's probably not going to be saying much for a while," Xavier said, rubbing his mouth.  "He took an axe handle to the jaw. But once he's healed up, you better believe he'll talk. What reason does he have not to?"

“Get the door,” Eddy said, to one of the guys standing near the entryway. Once the door was closed, he walked over to his dais and sat down on the edge. Xavier and Keen huddled around him and they spoke in hushed tones. “I think you know what needs to be done.”

“I do,” Xavier said. “Question is, how are we going to do it?”  

"It's gonna take ‘em a while to get him fixed up," Eddy said. "Give me some time to think about it."

Ivy stormed through the door, pushing past the two men standing guard. Her face was fixed with rage as she approached the dais. Eddy held out his hand, signaling his men to stand down.

"It's ok, guys," he said. "I need to talk to Ivy anyways."

"You sent men out into the street with machine guns?" she asked, fuming. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"We've had this conversation before, Ivy. Nothing's changed," he said, scooting back onto his chair. He sat up straight, looking down on her from the height of the dais.

"Don't you have any concern for the innocent people up there?" she asked, almost in tears.

"Concern? Why should I?" he asked, rolling his eyes and mocking her with his tone. "Those innocent people up there worship him. They have clothing lines, TV channels, and toys all dedicated to him. Hell, I saw him on that stupid channel endorsing a damn toaster. Those people up there are a part of the problem. So, no, I don't have any concern for them."